Hello everyone, Michael here. I hope you’re all keeping well and are enjoying your summer training at Gravity Fitness. Keep the momentum going! In today’s blog piece, I am going to discuss and evaluate an integrated wellness model which is utilised within psychological practice and has proven to be beneficial in assisting the productivity, performance and quality of life of elite level athletes, corporate employees and the general population more broadly. From my study of this model, I have noticed how it correlates closely with the ethos and principles which we employ at Gravity Fitness – a place where you can become strong, move well, feel good and be yourself.

The model consists of 3 strands of being – Mind, Body, and Spirit. From a coaching standpoint, it is the integration and union of cognitive, emotional, physical, nutritional, mental, and spiritual health which ultimately leads to true feelings of vitality and wellness. In my opinion, Gravity Fitness is the perfect place to nourish each one of these health components. A psychologist who uses integrated wellness coaching techniques will typically prescribe specific activities which nourishes each one of the three strands per day. Are we doing this at Gravity? The answer is most definitely yes! Looking after our health and fitness in the gym is an ideal medium through which we can connect ourselves to our overall state of wellbeing. To nourish the body and mind at Gravity, we engage in functional strength and conditioning training in conjunction with consuming good nutrition to increase our strength and fitness levels and to improve our body composition resulting in a positive trade-off to our brain through the release of endorphins, which are also known as “happy chemicals” (serotonin and dopamine release in the brain) or “the runner’s high”. Integrated wellness coaching also uses a clever acronym called ‘WIN’ (What’s Important Now). At Gravity, what its important now is our training and our nutrition. Training in the gym and following our 12-step habit change plan is the road to achieving your health and fitness goals e.g. building muscle mass, dropping body fat percentages, and improving cardiovascular stamina and endurance.

You might wonder, what about the spirit? While the nature and entity of an individual’s spirt is quite subjective, at Gravity we encourage you to think about your purpose and ambition in the world. Exercising in the gym is a fantastic way of gaining mental clarity over your health as it allows you to unlock your innate physical capabilities and as a result, pinpoint the areas which you need to work on, whether that be a mobility issue or a nutritional habit which needs addressing. If you think deeply about your training at Gravity and the in-session movement patterns which we perform – bend, push, pull, squat, core, and lunge, you will realise that they all have a part to play in lifelong movement awareness, expression and progression. Humans have been performing these patterns for thousands of years. I believe that movement is a necessity in our lives, and this helps me to inform my spiritual health whilst keeping me motivated both in my own sport and my respective gym training. Thinking about movement patterns on an evolutionary level reinforces the worth and purpose of gym training as it begins to feel like an essential part of human life. The more sedentary and comfortable modern life becomes, the more important it is to keep on moving to protect our health and mobility. This is a key principle at Gravity Fitness. We live in a modern age of comfort therefore we must push through comfort to reach our health and fitness goals which we set for ourselves. This means developing discipline with our nutrition and being consistent with our training.

Our 12-step habit change plan outlines simple steps towards a healthier lifestyle. Make sure to check it out when you’re in the gym and take note of the points! By following these steps, you are choosing to nourish the mind, the body, and the spirit, and a result, you will reach your goals with feelings of vitality and wellness.

All the best,
Michael