RTT Personal Training

From Ultraman to Everyday Athlete: Rediscovering the Triathlete Within

Throwback to May this year, this is a picture of me just after I finished the 10km swim of the Ultraman!

It was an incredible journey that demanded so much from me, time, energy, health, and of course, my fitness. But as you can imagine, achieving that Ultraman title was totally worth it.

Fast forward to October, and honestly, I haven’t done much exercise in the past five months. Life happens, right? I know some of you might be thinking, "You’re an Ultraman, getting back will be a breeze!" But I’ve got to admit, just the idea of jumping back into the pool is tough right now let alone setting a new goal!

One thing I’ve learned through my Ultraman journey and beyond is that as we age, we naturally slow down. Like the rest of us, it’s hard not to compare myself to the younger athletes out there. I find myself saying, "I used to run or cycle at that pace!" But here’s the reality: priorities shift. Work, family, and just life in general can take centre stage. And let’s not forget the whole weight gain thing, the stiff joints, and feeling like we can’t do what we used to.

But here’s the good news, whether as a coach or as a fellow athlete, I know how to tackle these challenges. Consistency, determination, and a solid support network can make all the difference. I know I’ll overcome this slump, get back in the pool, hop on the bike, and lace up my running shoes again because I know the triathlete in me is still there, waiting to be unleashed once again!

If you’re a former athlete or someone new wondering if you can do a triathlon, trust me, you can. We all start somewhere, and each of us is on our own unique fitness journey. Less than 14 years ago, the guy in this photo swam 750 meters breaststroke in 25 minutes for his first sprint triathlon.

Remember nothing is impossible. If I can take that leap again, so can you!

Feeling like it’s time to reignite your fitness journey? Whether you're a seasoned athlete or just starting out, let’s tackle it together! Drop a comment or send me a message if you're ready to take that first step toward your next goal. Remember, the triathlete in you is waiting to be unleashed! 💪

So a lot of people have asked me about what this crazy challenge in 3 weeks entails.

Well here is a video from last year's event to give you some idea: https://youtu.be/01KyT2qYUmQ?si=Ju2sDR1hFyBD_0Kf

So I'm dedicating my efforts to support two amazing charities that are making a real difference in our world: Beyond Blue and Cancer Council 🌍❤️

Beyond Blue - Help people in Australia achieve their best possible mental health. Our Role is to work with the community to improve mental health and make it easier for people to feel better earlier, get well and stay well.

Cancer Council - Cancer Council Queensland is dedicated to improving quality of life for people living with cancer, through research, support, prevention and early detection. Our employees, volunteers, and supporters are at the heart of our work – to lead Queenslanders in a partnership against cancer.

I'm reaching out to ask for your support. Your donation, no matter the size, will go a long way in helping these organizations continue their vital work. Every dollar counts, and together, we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those in need. 💪🙏

If you're able to contribute, please click the links to make a donation:
Beyond Blue - https://team.beyondblue.org.au/stuart-payne
Cancer Council - https://www.doitforcancer.com.au/.../ultraman-australia
And even if you're not in a position to give, your words of encouragement mean the world to me as I take on this challenge. 🌟
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and generosity. Let's make this journey not just about crossing the finish line, but about making a positive impact together. 💖

Ultraman 2023 All the action from Ultraman Australia 2023. Filming, photography and edit by Dave Gleeson at www.sunnycoastphotos.com.au.

🤔MONDAY THOUGHT🤔

𝗗𝗢𝗡❜𝗧 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗦𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗬. 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗔 𝗕𝗔𝗗 𝗔𝗦𝗦.

😎Would you like to start your Fitness Journey? Send us a DM 📲✉️ or drop a comment below 👇

🤔FRIDAY THOUGHTS🤔

💡𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗜 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝟳-𝟴 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁❓

The answer is …. YES!

⭐We’ve all heard the popular hustle-and-grind saying: “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

But you’ll actually get MORE done – and do it better! – if you get enough sleep. PLUS, you’ll feel better doing it.

Here’s a quick rundown of WHY sleep is important:

💥Your brain forms new pathways to help your memory while you sleep.
💥Being rested helps you control your emotions and behavior.
💥It improves your recovery from workouts.
💥It keeps your hormones balanced (including those that control stress, blood sugar control, and food cravings).
💥Plus, it triggers the release of growth hormone, which helps your body build muscle and repair cells.
💥Getting too little sleep (in the long term) is linked with a higher risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and kidney disease.
💥Getting too little sleep increases the risk of obesity.
💥Your immune system performs better when you are rested.
💥Getting enough quality sleep helps you be more productive and efficient during the day.

As you can see, your body isn’t asleep on the job when you’re sleeping – it’s actually working hard to keep you healthy, strong, and productive!

When is the last time you got 7-8 hours of sleep?! 🤔

😎Would you like to start your Fitness Journey? Send us a DM 📲✉️ or drop a comment below 👇

😎FITNESS TIPS 😎

𝟭𝟬 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟

𝟭. 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝟭𝟮 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 📆
𝟮. 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝟭 𝗸𝗺 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟲 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 🏃
𝟯. 𝗧𝗿𝘆 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 🏋️
𝟰. 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟭𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 🚶
𝟱. 𝗗𝗼 𝗫 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵-𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝟰-𝟲 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀
𝟲. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 🎱
𝟳. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟭𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗼𝘂𝘁
𝟴. 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝟭-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝟯𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀
𝟵. 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝟮-𝟯 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 🫗
𝟭𝟬. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝟱𝗞 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝟯 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 🏃

Comment down below 🤓 😎Would you like to start your Fitness Journey? Send us a DM 📲✉️ or drop a comment below 👇😎

😎 FRIDAY TIPS 😎

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔 𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗥

💸 𝗖𝗢𝗦𝗧
The big barrier for a lot of people when trying to decide whether or not to buy a fitness tracker is the sheer cost of them, which can range from about $65 all the way up to nearly $1000.

⚖️ 𝗔𝗖𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗬
Though champions of fitness trackers will tell you all about the amazing data they can provide, there is some question about how accurate they are. Though like all technology, they’re probably improving with each passing day.

😳 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
Finally, there’s the argument that using a fitness tracker might just distract you from doing what you love and get you focused on the wrong things. After all, there are a great many mental, psychological and neurological benefits to getting outside in the fresh air that has nothing to do with counting steps or heart rate zones and you might miss these if you’re too busy looking at your watch.

𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗚𝗨𝗬𝗦❗❗❗

😎Would you like to start your Fitness Journey? Send us a DM 📲✉️ or drop a comment below 👇

😎FITNESS TIPS 😎

𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗘𝗧 𝗔 𝗦𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟❓

The way you create your fitness goals is so important — if you don’t set yourself the right kind of goals at the beginning of your fitness journey, you could actually be limiting your success before you even get started.

𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖 ✔️
The goal is clear and defined. For example, "workout three times a week" rather than "exercise more."

𝗠𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘 📏
There's a way to track your progress, which could be logging the weights you lift or the distance you run each week.

𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘 ✊
This goal can be feasibly reached within the set time frame. Very few people could train for a marathon in two weeks, but many could over a couple of months.

𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗧 🧩
There's a "why" driving your motivation to reach the goal. Maybe you want to feel stronger, more flexible, or manage an underlying condition.

𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗟𝗬 ⏰
The goal has a deadline whether it's four weeks or six months.

Comment down below 🤓 😎Would you like to start your Fitness Journey? Send us a DM 📲✉️ or drop a comment below 👇😎

🤔TUESDAY THOUGHTS🤔

𝗙𝗜𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗔 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡. 𝗜𝗧❜𝗦 𝗔 𝗪𝗔𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘.

😎Would you like to start your Fitness Journey? Send us a DM 📲✉️ or drop a comment below 👇

😎 FRIDAY TIPS 😎

𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔 𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗥

💪 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Fitness trackers can motivate you using tools that remind you to get up and move around when you have been still for too long, or perhaps it’s just glancing down and seeing steps taken and calories burned that encourages you not to skip tonight’s run after all.

📈 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀
Another aspect of fitness trackers that people really like is that they help you measure how much progress you’ve made in really quantifiable ways.

🎯 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴
Fitness trackers can be great for targeting your training towards specific goals, specifically when it comes to heart rate zones. Often you’re training in the wrong zone for what you want to accomplish – for example, weight loss – and a fitness tracker can help you alter your approach for better result

STAY TUNE FOR THE CONS!

𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗚𝗨𝗬𝗦❗❗❗

😎Would you like to start your Fitness Journey? Send us a DM 📲✉️ or drop a comment below 👇

🥗 RECIPE OF THE DAY 🥗

𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗦𝗠𝗢𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗘

𝗜𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀:
1/2 frozen banana 🍌
1 cup frozen mixed berries 🫐🍒
1 cup fresh spinach 🥬
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon ground flax
1 tablespoon almond butter 🧈
1 cup Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almond Milk 🥛

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁❓
Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Give this smoothie an extra swirl in the blender to make sure all the seeds are crushed up so the smoothie is nice and creamy!

Comment down below 🤓 😎Would you like to start your Fitness Journey? Send us a DM 📲✉️ or drop a comment below 👇

🤔MONDAY THOUGHTS🤔

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗕𝗔𝗗 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗗𝗜𝗗𝗡❜𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗡

😎Would you like to start your Fitness Journey? Send us a DM 📲✉️ or drop a comment below 👇