033: You Can’t Outperform Your Own Self-Belief with Coach Sam Cleaver

The correlation between physical health and mental wellbeing is well-documented and scientifically proven. The improvement of one is inextricably bound up with the improvement of the other, and if one begins to dip, inevitably, so will the other. We often tend to believe that we are unable to improve our physical wellness as our bodies are simply incapable of the goals we are aspiring towards. However, precision coach Sam Cleaver suggests that most of what is holding you back physically is in fact mental roadblocks. In this episode, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Sam about his ‘wholistic’ approach to health and fitness. In conversation with Coffee, Calm & Connection’s Sarah Myerscough, he elucidates how every aspect of our lives is interconnected in the journey to improving overall wellbeing.

Are you aiming to improve your physical (and by extension, mental) health? Are you trapped in a cycle of maintaining your fitness without seeing any wellbeing benefits from it? Listen now to find out how to optimize your body and in turn, your life.

 

Quote of the Episode

“You cannot outperform your belief of self… Everyone tells me, ‘I want to lose weight’, ‘I want to be optimised’, and all this, but deep down, they don’t believe they can. The thing is, if you genuinely think that you’re never going to rise above that expectation.”

For Sam Cleaver, a fundamental aspect of the journey to improved physical health consists in a reorientation of one’s goals and beliefs. You will never achieve a health goal if, deep down, you don’t truly believe you are capable of it. Ultimately, it’s your internal belief system, rather than any supposed deficiencies you may perceive in your body, which hold you back and prevent you from adhering to and achieving your health goals. The curse of every health journey is self-sabotage. However, it is, of course, not enough simply to believe in yourself more without putting in place physical and mental strategies to facilitate this boosted self-belief. By implementing new behaviours and protocols pertaining to eating, sleeping and training, you will subsequently be able to (re)align your beliefs with the physical, mental, and emotional health goals you are aspiring towards.

 

Key Takeaways

During the episode, Sam notes that the discourse surrounding health and fitness is labyrinthine, difficult to navigate, and often self-contradictory. A key principle which often gets lost as we engage in a journey of physical improvement is that of ‘health’ itself. By focusing solely on a maintenance or improvement of fitness, you may not feel any satisfaction or benefits from this journey.

In order to curtail this, when embarking on a health journey you must consider what your fundamental values and incentives are. Your health journey will be entirely unique, just as your body is, and therefore, comparing yourself to others can only ever be restrictive. As everyone’s journey is different, you should first and foremost identify the priorities in your health that matter the most to you and focus on these rather than a generalised pursuit to ‘fitness’. Working with a fitness coach can be profoundly beneficial in identifying what these values and their correlating goals might be.

Once you have identified these values and goals, for Sam, you must subsequently evaluate your basic human routines – namely, your eating and sleeping patterns. This is the first step in the process he employs with all his clients. The brain is a pattern-creator. As such, he suggests that it is essential to create rigid eating and sleeping routines which you can stick to, thereby granting you a sense of focus and distinction between work and rest. It is only after an optimisation of eating and sleeping, the fundamental facets of our very survival, that you can begin to introduce the complexities of building emotional health and developing your mental state. Indeed, these will naturally be strengthened by a more rigid and scheduled approach to eating and sleep.

 

Best Moments/Key Quotes

“When we look at this journey, what we would initially start on is get very clear on what you are actually after at the end of this, because nobody's looking to lose two dress sizes or drop a stone or two stone because of what the scale says. We’re often looking for something at the end: how do we want to feel?”

“This entire journey includes all the components of health, not just the mental and not just the physical, there's a lot more to it.”

“You do not need to become some little health guru… It's not about that. It's about finding whatever is applicable to you. Some things are non-negotiable because you need them right now… But some things are going to help you, but you may not necessarily fit them into your day easily.”

 

Resources

East Anglian Daily Times – Veteran’s bid to become Essex’s answer to Joe Wicks - https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/sam-cleaver-colchester-launches-health-and-fitness-firm-stoic-performance-2554368

Nuffield Health – What is aerobic vs anaerobic training? - https://www.nuffieldhealth.com/article/what-is-aerobic-vs-anaerobic-training 

Journey to 100: How to Run Your First 100km Ultramarathon - and Love It by Nick Muxlow

Solve For Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy by Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer at GoogleX

 

About the Guest

Sam Cleaver is a Precision Coach who works with thousands of professional women each year through seminars/webinars and workshops. He is an expert on female health and fitness and gives his tips and tricks in his Health First podcast. To contact Sam or find out more, visit his Linktree below.

Sam’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/coachsamcleaver

Sam’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/coachsamcleaver

 

About the Host

Sarah Myerscough is the Sales and Marketing Director of Boston Tullis Group and the M.D and creator of Coffee, Calm and Connection.

 

Connect with Sarah

https://www.instagram.com/coffeecalmconnection/ 

https://www.facebook.com/coffeecalmconnection 

Coffee Calm & Connection | LinkedIn

Sarah Myerscough - Sales & Marketing Director - Boston Tullis | LinkedIn

 

Hosted by Sarah Myerscough

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the host and guest speakers. Please conduct your own due diligence.

Website: Coffee Calm & Connection (coffeecalmconnection.org)