When life gets busy or stressful, exercise is often the first thing to go — even though it’s one of the things that helps most. I see this all the time. Work ramps up. Family stuff piles on. Sleep drops off. Stress creeps in. And suddenly the gym feels like “one more thing” you just don’t have the capacity for. So training gets skipped. Then skipped again. And before you know it, weeks have gone by. The frustrating part? Most people don’t feel less stressed when they stop tra

Let’s clear something up straight away. Consistency does not mean perfection. It doesn’t mean never missing a workout. It doesn’t mean training every week forever without interruption. And it definitely doesn’t mean feeling motivated all the time. Consistency is about showing up often enough, over a long enough period of time, to create change. And honestly? Most people make consistency way harder than it needs to be. I see this all the time working with adults restarting exe

If walking into a gym feels about as comfortable as walking into a room full of rugby forwards arguing over who stole their Weetbix, you’re not alone. Seriously. Even people who look confident as hell now once felt exactly the same. I’m Jamie, a friendly Upper Hutt PT who helps adults restart exercise, rebuild confidence, and find some mental clarity along the way. I want to unpack why gyms can feel intimidating — and how to actually get past it without needing to hype yourse

Let me say this clearly: if you are restarting exercise, you do NOT need to train four, five, or six days a week. For most adults that I coach here in Upper Hutt who are restarting exercise, training two to three times a week is the sweet spot. Of all the people that I have given consultations to, those who start slowly and don’t go all in at the start are those who have not only achieved their goals, but they have exceeded them, and they are still exceeding them! And before

Let’s be straight up: motivation is a bit of a diva. It shows up when it wants to, disappears without explanation, and usually ghosts you the moment you actually need it. If I had a dollar for every time someone turned up to a sessions and told me, “I just don’t feel motivated,” I’d probably be retired in a cosy little house in Te Marua by now, sipping coffee and pretending to garden. But here’s the thing nobody really wants to hear — because it’s not sexy or glamorous or “in

Let’s be honest — Christmas in New Zealand is one of the best times of the year. Sun’s out, BBQs are firing, pavs are piled high, and someone’s always passing around the scorched almonds. And that’s exactly how it should be. Here’s the truth: enjoying Christmas food doesn’t derail your fitness. What does is switching off completely, Homer Simpson-style — hands behind your head, loosening the belt, and deciding you’ll “start fresh in January.” The key difference is mindset ,

If you’ve ever been through something that absolutely shook you — physically, emotionally, mentally — you’ll know trauma isn’t just a “mind thing.” It doesn’t politely stay in the past either. It hangs around in the body like a flatmate who doesn’t pay rent. It shows up in how you move, how you breathe, how you carry stress, and even how safe you feel just existing in your own skin. A lot of adults who walk into CityFitness Upper Hutt tell me the same thing in different words

In Aotearoa, many Kiwis juggle work, whanāu and the hustle of life — and that constant pressure causes both stress and restless sleep. Here’s the good news: regular exercise really does help. Exercise offers a proven route to calmer minds. Regular physical activity reduces our stress reactivity: a meta-analysis shows that a single bout of moderate exercise reduces blood pressure spikes and cortisol responses during stress testing. Over time, consistent exercise helps the body

You do not get fitter and stronger from doing exercise. You only get fitter and stronger when you recover from the exercise and your body adapts to the training. Recovery is therefore an important part of fitness. However, when most people think of recovery from exercise, they immediately think of things such as ice baths, massages, compression pants, saunas and supplements. Yes – these do have their place, but unless you get the big three sorted, you are just throwing your m

In a world where stress seems constant — work deadlines, family pressures, and the endless to-do list — anxiety can quietly creep in. For many Kiwis, that mental noise feels like the new normal. The good news? Moving your body is a powerful tool for calming your mind, and one which I have used in my tool kit to overcome my own PTSD and anxiety. Research shows that regular exercise significantly reduces anxiety symptoms, with consistent improvements seen across all ages and fi

Getting back into exercise after a break can feel daunting. You walk into a new gym, everyone looks like they pretty much know what they’re doing, and you’re thinking crap… what does that machine do? Here’s the truth: you don’t need to know what you are doing to start; you just need to start. Many of my clients come to me after years away from training. Life, work, kids — it all happens to all of us, and we can easily get stuck in a rut. But the biggest win is showing up agai

If the word “cardio” makes you picture gasping on a treadmill or reliving your high school beep test trauma... you're not alone. Many...

🧘‍♀️ When people return to exercise after a break—or when they feel their current training just isn’t quite doing the job—most tend to...

Probably not. Forget what you see on Instagram 📱, or what you see in the gym 🏋️‍♂️, or what your buddy tells you. Most people in the...

🏋Gym Towels🏋 ❓ Should you have one? Most definitely yes. 👉Why? Unless you like lying in other people's sweat, it is highly...

Have you ever felt like you're putting in the effort at the gym, but the results just aren’t coming? Maybe your strength gains have...

💪 Rest between sets is crucial for performance… but let’s be honest—are you actually recovering properly, or just deep in the scroll...

Ah, the age-old battle of cardio versus weight training. On one side, we have the runners, cyclists, and group class attendees, armed...

If you’ve been hitting the gym regularly, you may start asking yourself, when and how should I switch up my resistance training?  How...

When most people hear "core strength," they immediately think of six-pack abs or endless crunches. But here’s the truth: your core is way...