At TWIST , we believe everyone is a athlete and our goal is to help each person unleash the athlete within them in order to reach their potential, maximize their level of health, fitness and performance and BeReady for whatever life or sport throw at them along the way.
You do not have to be a High Performance athlete to create high performance habits; you simply must follow the same philosophies and lifestyle adaptations that allow athletes to achieve excellence. This means a regular training program that is progressive, purposeful and aimed at achieving specific goals. It means understanding your strengths and weaknesses and knowing when to focus on improving each. It means understanding when to work hard, when to work smart and when to back off and not work at all if that is the best option for you to continue to move forward. It means treating injuries and issues that may get in the way of your success properly, not ignoring them and hoping they will go away on their own. It means eating a diet of nutritious, whole foods designed to nourish your cells, fuel you body and drive your spirit. It means getting the sleep, rest and recovery needed to re-boot your system every day and rejuvenate the energy you need to give 100% in all aspects of your life.
An urban myth states that it takes 21-30 days to form a new habit. The truth is that it is often not as simple as simply sticking with it for a specific amount of time. It is quality, not quantity that creates success. Most people who have tried to start an exercise program off the bench, quit smoking or change the way they eat would say it takes much longer. Some people can flip a switch, make a decision and own it, make a significant change in that moment and never look back. For most it does not happen overnight and it is never that easy; they need help to make it happen and even more to continue to succeed.
“When you are going through hell, keep going!” – Winston Churchill –
Churchill’s point was simple, sometimes you have to endure some hardship to get to the other side of something difficult and only then can you achieve the benefit of surviving the challenges you faced along the way. We know that those who can find a way to persevere, to keep moving forward, create new habits, change the way they think and (most importantly) change the way they act, can accomplish amazing things. This is exciting. As strength and conditioning coaches and health professionals, this is what drives us to help people get better, every day!
When it comes to maximizing health, fitness and performance, we continue to expand our approach and to all aspects of the equation. Exercise, nutrition and overall wellness go hand-in-hand and a lack of success in one can have a detrimental effect on the other. Everyone has a different starting point, different goals and different measures of success, understanding each of these is the key to helping you achieve yours.
Some need help getting started in the first place. Getting off the couch, turning off the technology, returning from injury, re-calibrating your nutrition and food intake, finding the motivation to get started and the guidance to continue can often be the most difficult part.
The most important step of all is the first one.
The truth is breaking an old habit and creating a new one is just the beginning. Once you make the initial change you will need to reinforce it, refine and shape it to fit you and adjust the rest of your lifestyle around it so that it can ultimately become who you are. Only then are you winning the battle. If change were easy, everyone would do it. The good news is, once you find a way to make things work for you, to fit your needs and goals, to adapt to your lifestyle and fit your schedule, it all starts to fall into place.
At TWIST , we don’t train; we coach.
We believe that coaching generates both the most sustainable results & the most enjoyment and engagement in the process along the way. We coach High Performance athletes & people of all ages and skill levels who want to be become healthier, stronger, more energetic and perform better in their daily lives. Anyone can put an exercise program together or find a meal plan on the internet, but none of this is designed to coach, teach and fit to your individual needs.
Coaching vs. Traditional Training
- Training is repetitive; Coaching is progressive
- Training is for someone who wants to be pushed through a workout; Coaching is for someone who wants to Be Better
- Training is being told what to do; Coaching is the collaboration, communication and correction to do it well
- Training is something you endure; Coaching is something you enjoy!
Rather than having to motivate yourself to exercise each day, to make better food choices, to get more sleep, and to take care of yourself, begins to drive you as you begin to have more energy, feel better, understand how unhealthy food choices make you feel, and how healthy ones make you feel indestructible. This is when you truly cross the line into not just needing to train more and eat better because it is the right thing to do, but wanting to do it because it become part of you and you cannot imagine not doing it.
Warning: Health, Fitness and Performance can be Habit Forming
One you have found your niche, set some specific goals and found the foods that fit your individual needs, you can easily fall into the routine that works best for you. Whether you are looking for long-term athletic development or short term help to get started in the first place, whether you are working to become an elite athlete with High Performance aspirations or still simply keeping the dream alive as a weekend warrior, whether you are striving to compete at a high level for as long as possible or just want to be a healthy role model for your kids and have a body that works, we are here to help you BeReady for whatever your life or your sport throws at you, every day!
TWIST is not just a place to train, it is a place to learn, a place to be challenged and a place to challenge you to get better, every day. Come in and experience the TWIST Difference and let the TWIST team of coaches and experts help you meet all of your health, fitness, nutrition and performance needs. We are here to help start you on your path to wellness, fitness, health and performance and to create your own High Performance Habits along the way.
*Article originally appeared in Aug/Sept issue of Durham Total Sports Magazine
TWIST Fall Program Start Set 6th. Please CONTACT US for information on:
- Fall Youth Athlete Development
- Fall Adult Fitness and Conditioning Programs
- 1-on-1, Partner & Custom Small Group Training
- Corporate groups and Teams
- In-Season High Performance Hockey (on and off-ice)
- Holistic Nutrition Coaching
- Rehabilitation Services (Physiotherapy, Athletic Therapy, Massage Therapy)
