Jamie Stumpe Coaching

Given my job, people often ask health and fitness-related questions. I know—a super shocking revelation!

Recently when getting my hair cut someone wanting to get back into training asked about pushups. They wanted to know if pushups were good for building strength. I said yes. Then came the follow-ups: “Should I do them daily or weekly? What about dumbbells instead?” “How many should I do?”...

Questions are normal when starting. But sometimes we get caught up in the details when we should just begin.

Running frequency? Exercise selection? Workout timing? Which diet? These are common concerns but questions can easily get in the way of you doing the most important part…Are you showing up and doing the work?

Three Lessons Learned after 10+ year in the coaching game 💪

This is a edited version of my weekly newsletter ✉️ the ”Thursday Three”. A drop of fitness wisdom in 3-minutes or less. Link in my bio to read more.

#1 Do less, but better - Resist the urge to do everything at once. Trying to excel in every area often leads to mediocrity at best.

#2 Consistency is king - Consistency trumps intensity. While many start strong, they often quickly lose steam. Lasting change stems from small, regular actions.

#3 Pace yourself - We often overestimate what we can achieve in a week but underestimate what we can accomplish in a year.

Strength training in your 40s hits a little different than it did in your 20s 💪

A snippet from last weeks Thursday Three about strength training in yours 40s and beyond.

Ambivalence & Relapse: Two unspoken aspects of behaviour change. This a snippet taken from last weeks Thursday Three. For the full post check out the link in my bio. Thanks for reading.

Most of us know what we need to do but are often distracted by our desires to do something else instead... usually, it's the more fun thing.

I should start cooking healthier meals, but it's so much easier to just order a takeout instead...

I need to rehab that injury, but it's boring, and I would rather keep training anyway...

I should prioritize getting better sleep, but staying up late and binge-watch TV is too tempting.

It's a battle between what we "need" and what we "want".

It's tricky; addressing our needs is often crucial for making meaningful progress. However, they are rarely fun, and we usually suck at them (at least to start). We have to be willing to be uncomfortable. Yikes...

On the flip side, our "wants" are generally more satisfying, easier to do and rarely require us to be uncomfortable.

It should be no surprise why so many of us struggle with making these choices when confronted with either a challenging and uncomfortable option or an enjoyable and comfortable option. Who's going to win?

This is part I of exploring our Needs vs. Wants. Check out the Thursday Three for part II coming this week...

Have you ever noticed that social media and Google searches are packed with articles about the "Top Five Must-Do Exercises," "Must-Eat Foods," and so on? While these articles are well-intentioned, they often use clickbait titles to grab your attention; and yes, I see the irony in me using one of those titles.

My favourite is "The ONLY Five Exercises You Need to [achieve X]." It sounds super sexy and cool, right? The truth is, there is no definitive list of the top five exercises. No best exercises for runners, tennis players, or anyone looking to build muscle or maintain their health. Most of these lists are based on opinions and preferences but are often presented as gospel truth.

To be honest, I've been guilty of this too. I'm an avid kettlebell user, and the kettlebell "swing" is often touted as the gold standard exercise that fixes everything. But the reality is that plenty of exercises strengthen your back, butt, and hamstrings, and the kettlebell swing is just one of them. If you love the kettlebell swing, great! But if you don't, that's cool too.

Another example of this is the "top runners exercises." The single-leg deadlift is a common exercise in this list, but why? Is it because most runners prefer not to lift heavy weights, making this exercise more appealing? Or is it because running is single-leg, and this exercise is, therefore, better for running? Remove the specific exercise and the truth is that having a stronger back, butt, and hamstrings helps runners, and exercises like the swing or the barbell deadlift can achieve that too.

Yes there are differences…The single-leg deadlift challenges stability more, the swing explosive power and the deadlift force production, but they all would help a runner.

So before you get sold into a specific exercise because it's "Top Five" status or "Must-Do" list, remember that the best exercise for you is the one you enjoy(ish), which you can do consistently.

Just get it done! Don't stress about making it perfect or looking pretty. Don't wait around for everything to be just right - just get it done!

Now, I'm not trying to preach here or anything; just sharing a little note to myself. Last week, I spent my designated time writing the Thursday Three. But when the time ran out, I still wasn't thrilled with what I had written. The post was flawed and overly complicated, and I was so close to just chucking it in the bin.

But I'm a stubborn one, so on my train ride home that evening, I spent time editing and rewriting it until it was "good enough." I still wasn't totally satisfied, and the temptation to delay or not send it at all was still there. But I knew I just needed to get it done, so I hunched over my laptop until 10:30 pm when I finally hit "send."

Who knows, maybe you read it and loved it. Or maybe you hated it or didn't even bother to read it. But honestly, the result doesn't matter as much as the action. I just needed to burn another good rep. Or should I say, good enough rep?

I don't know what your "It" is, but whatever you're trying to accomplish, whether it's messy, imperfect, or even half-assed, just get it done and burn another rep.

Want to feel super motivated and pumped for every gym session? - It's a nice idea, right, yet the reality is a mixed bag. In some gym sessions, you will feel like a stud; in others, you will feel like a dud.

A simple way of looking at it is the rule of five.

One in every five sessions, you will feel awesome! You walk in motivated. The weights feel light, your body feels great, and you smash your session.

Conversely, one in every five sessions, Is a bit of a dumpster fire. Everything feels heavy, your body feels stiff, and you just about scrape through the session.

And the other three? They are punch-the-ticket sessions. You turn up, do the work, and you leave. Nothing remarkable here.

But here's the kicker…it really doesn't matter all that much. Stud, dud or just okay. The key part is turning up consistently. Our performance will be a variable we can't always control, but attendance is on us.

So if you're having a stud day, kick back and enjoy, but if you're having a dud day, that's cool too; this can be a great chance to scale things back a tad and dial in on your technique instead.

The key part is still turning up.

Stress 🔥- it's a tricky thing, right? We often think of it as something negative and potentially harmful and while stress can be put that, it can also be motivating and performance-enhancing. It all depends on the type of stress we're experiencing.

Eustress is a fancy term for positive stress that's motivating and beneficial, while distress refers to stress that's bad and overwhelming.

Distress typically happens when we feel like the stressor is beyond our control or ability to fix it. In those situations, we might feel overwhelmed and anxious, experience headaches, body tension, irritability, trouble sleeping, and struggle to focus.

Eustress, on the other hand, kicks in when we feel confident in our ability to overcome the stressor. It helps focus our efforts on working through the problem, making us feel confident, focused, and motivated. We're working towards a positive outcome.

We'll all experience distress at some point. Avoiding it altogether isn't really a realistic goal. But it is possible to learn how to better manage its effects

Shrink your focus - When you're feeling overwhelmed and out of control, try narrowing your focus to the aspects you still have control over. Sometimes that's just how you choose to respond to the situation.

Don't be a bully - It's easy to get down on ourselves, pointing out all our faults and calling ourselves "lazy & dumb." But research suggests that this does little to help and often just adds fuel to the fire. Practising a little self-compassion instead can make a big difference.

Embrace physical stress - Learning to manage and control your stress response during physical training can be a great teacher. If you can avoid distress and feeling overwhelmed in a physical environment, it'll help provide the tools you need to handle mental and emotional stress.