Instinct Fitness Thorndon

Having a coach can be a double-edged sword.

Take these two people for example…

Similar age, similar starting fitness, similar goals on paper.

One of them questioned everything. Every adjustment from the coach was met with resistance. He wanted to get better, but not if it meant going back to basics or “slowing down”.

The other put her trust in the coach. Took feedback onboard. Turned small tweaks into huge improvements in technique, efficiency movement, and overall fitness.

Six months later the gap between them wasn't close.

Not because one of them worked harder. If anything the first guy probably put in more effort, more sessions, more intensity.

But effort aimed in the wrong direction just gets you further in the wrong direction, faster.

The coachable one kept adjusting. Small things like stepping through every progression, seeking to understand the intention of the session, pacing a workout instead of blowing up in the first two minutes. Each one compounding on the last, because she actually let the correction land instead of half-listening and going back to her old habit next session.

That's basically the key to success here and in any competitive setting, as far as we can tell after 13 years of watching it play out.

Not who's toughest. Who's actually willing to be told something and change based on it.

Leave your ego at the door. Trust the process.

One of the biggest scams in fitness industry is convincing people they're healthier because the number on the scale went down.

Great. You lost 8kg.

Unfortunately, you lost it in six weeks on a crash diet with no training behind it.

Your energy's worse, not better.

You lost muscle along with the fat, so you're weaker than when you started.

Your metabolism is suppressed and holding onto whatever calories it can find.

Your relationship with food is more stressed than it's ever been.

And it's back on within three months, plus a bit more, like it always is.

Unless the whole point was a smaller number for one photo, that 8kg didn't change your life.

Congratulations on your weight loss.

If you want to make a real change that improves your energy, builds lean muscle mass, increases your metabolism, and focuses on functional over aesthetics, we can help with that.

Check the first comment if you want to get started today.

Results are important, but consistency keeps you progressing.

You can have a great session and still lose all the progress because you skipped the next three, let recovery slide, or let two weeks quietly turn into two months.

This is why New Year's resolutions fail every year. People celebrate the good session without understanding what actually keeps them coming back in week twelve.

Know your schedule. Know what's coming up that'll get in the way. Book your sessions ahead. Keep a buffer for the weeks life doesn't cooperate.

Losing consistency removes your progress very quickly.

ExerciseNZ on Mike Hoskins the week pointed out the importance of the fitness industry and true cost of inactivity.

$600 million a year in health costs. $2 billion in lost productivity. That's not a few people skipping the gym. That's an entire country optimizing for the wrong thing.

Roughly 14% of New Zealanders hold a gym membership. Compare that to inactivity rates that, by some estimates, sit close to 40% across the population — and spike even higher in specific age groups.

Our health system is built around downstream treatment with little focus on upstream prevention.

Fix downstream, you manage the problem forever.

Fix upstream, the downstream problem shrinks on its own.

While the current system relies on medication, specialists, surgeries all managing symptoms we’ve come to accept the $600M bill.

Diabetes. Heart disease. Chronic pain. Mental health. All of which can be managed and even prevented with exercise and nutrition interventions.

Your health is more than simply the absence of disease. Your workout is a hedge against illness. Your fitness directly correlates with your longevity.

“If you don’t make time for your wellness, you’ll be forced to make time for your illness.”

"Wasted money": ExerciseNZ highlights 'massive' cost of inactivity in new report Politicians are being urged to pay more attention to our exercise workforce as a way of easing health system demand.

Welcome to the 1000 Club, Mr Oughton! 💛🖤

Pat is a LTC regular. He’s always up for a laugh, always encourages those around him, and never shy’s away from putting in the work.

Also because Pat loves a good beer, it was only fitting to celebrate this milestone with a six-pack! 🍻

Congratulations on reaching 1,000 classes, Pat. Thank you for everything you bring to the Instinct Fitness community.

Hyrox has been getting a lot of attention in the fitness industry of late.

But what is it?

It's basically a race. Running mixed in with movements like sled pushes, rowing, and carries. Not just "who's fastest," more "who's generally capable across the board."

Overall, it's weighted toward running capacity and lower-skill movements than what you find in CrossFit competitions.

That's probably why it's taken off the way it has. You don't need to be a runner or a lifter specifically, just reasonably solid at everything.

We've had a few members go from never having heard of it to lining up on race day within about a year.

If you've seen the clips on Instagram and thought "there's no way," fair reaction, but with the right programming and team behind you, it's genuinely doable.

Have you ever run the numbers on your home gym vs. CrossFit membership?

Kitting out a home gym looks something like:

- Squat rack: $900
- Olympic barbell: $450
- Bumper plate set (150kg): $1,400
- Rower or ski erg: $950 ($2,200 for a Concept2 machine)
- Adjustable dumbbells: $650
- Pull-up rig or wall mount: $350
- Rubber flooring: $350-$500
- 12 months of generalised online programming: $580

That's $5,630. Before you've bought anything you inevitably need six months in. Taking up space in your home or garage. And no one is watching your form or there to motivate you.

So that home gym setup is basically 20 months of training with us, for gear that still needs a plan, and a plan that still doesn't know if you're doing it right.

No coach adjusting things when life gets in the way. No one to train next to. No one checking in on injuries.

If spending nearly $6k on a home gym setup will keep you motivated to workout for 20+ months then more power to you.

But there’s a reason people train with us on average for 29 months and many of our members are hitting the 5, 6, 7…10 year milestones.

Oh and the neighbours don’t mind how much noise we make either!

Had someone ask this week what actually happens in their first class.

We have our formula so locked in that it just happens like clockwork now.

It always starts with the coach brief explaining the session, specific movements, and intention (plus a quick check for injuries or limitations from everyone).

Then a warm up, need to get the blood flowing and loosen up the body, although some members prefer to pretend stretch and catch up on the week.

Then there's a skill or strength bit, usually 15-20 minutes. Technique before load, as it should be. Between sets… more talking.

Then the workout itself. Varies each day but the intention and goals are always set at the start. We provide several different levels of scaling and endless modifications based on your current ability.

At this point, you’d be working too hard to be chatting, but some really gifted people still do between reps.

Once the workout is done it’s high fives, tidy up, and stretch - another great opportunity for a yarn.

All jokes aside, there’s a clear structure, lots of coaching, everyone is working hard, and a bit of banter throughout.

All squeezed into one hour!

Wellington's doing its thing again today. Ice cold southerly, wind, a bit of hail in the mix.

It makes staying home look very reasonable on these dark winter mornings.

And yet our 6am, 7am, and 12pm classes all showed up anyway. Coaches ready to coach, members ready to do the mahi.

It doesn't matter what the wind's doing in the capital, people still turn up before work, on their lunch break, whenever their day allows for it.

4pm teens class is fully booked today. 5pm and 6pm CrossFit and Hyrox still to come tonight.

If the weather's your excuse today, everyone else training here today had the exact same one, and came anyway.

WEEK 10 OF ACHILLES 2026 🔥
RE-TEST WEEK.

This is where the work shows.

Every session has a Week 1 comparison, giving you the chance to measure your progress in strength, fitness, pacing and ex*****on.

🏋️ Monday: Front Squat + “Bodhisattva”
💪 Tuesday: Strict Press + “Be Nice”
🏃 Wednesday: PRVN Engine
🤸 Thursday: Ring Muscle-Ups + “Vaya Con Dios”
🔥 Friday: 1RM Clean & Jerk + “DT”
🤝 Saturday: Partner workout “The Next Wave”
⚡ Sunday: Grip and midline test in “Totally”

The goal is not only heavier weights or faster times.

Show up with a plan. Trust the work. Leave no doubt.

Your best pace is your most sustainable pace.