This month at Astute Insights we are chatting with Ben O’Connor, director of The Shake Up, an outdoor group training community that encourages fat loss through high intensity functional movement. We discuss with Ben how an intense 25 minutes workout in your day can transform your life.
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Astute Insights Show Notes
Soonah:
Hi, and welcome to the next episode of Astute Insights podcast. Today we are talking to Ben O’Connor. Ben O’Connor is the director of The Shake Up, an outdoor group training community that transforms fat loss through high-intensity functional movement. Welcome Ben.
Ben:
Good day, Soonah.
Soonah:
How are you?
Ben:
I’m going great.
Soonah:
Cool. Did you want to introduce yourself and how The Shake Up started and we’ll go from there?
Ben:
Cool. As you mentioned my name is Ben. I’m the [00:00:30] founder of The Shake Up. We’re an outdoor group fitness program and we transform peoples lives in 25 minutes. How I got started, is that the question?
Soonah:
Yes.
Ben:
Yes, cool.
Soonah:
Your purpose. I guess your why. What made you start the community that you have?
Ben:
Yeah, it’s a good question. I have to think about it, actually. We started… I sort of [inaudible 00:00:56] of fitness and it’s always been a big part of my life. And what [00:01:00] my rule one, and you’ve heard me talk about this before sooner. But my burning passion is, I lost a good friend back in 2010 to suicide. And that was an event that really set me off on a path to work at how it could help people, better serve people in line with the thing that I love doing. And as I mentioned, it’s always been fitness and health. So I’d worked… I set myself on a path to do my [inaudible 00:01:28] certs. Things you can [00:01:30] do as a PT. Work in gyms and worked and CrossFit boxes and all that sort of stuff.
I think coming out of the Crossfit environment was a really good experience for me, because it showed me what community is and it showed me the value of good community. And I think that was a really good point for me to identify how I can help people come… Give them a place to come and train and it’s sort of ego free and nonjudgmental and a place where they can be themselves and train hard.
Soonah:
[00:02:00] Yeah. And I think that’s one of the reasons I wanted to get you on, because there’s PTs out there that are all for fat loss and training, bulking, whatever type they are. But I think for you, it’s that real drive. It’s that real passion to build that community and support network. And in business, you build that yourself anyway.You have your business coaches or you have that tight knit of people within your business that you bounce ideas off. And I think a flip side or a complimentary side to that, is combining regular exercise and good nutrition to get the most [00:02:30] out of yourself as a person. And that’s what your community, I think does here on the Gold Coast. Who makes up the majority of the clients that you have at The Shake Up? What’s the gist of age bracket?
Ben:
I reckon… It’s funny, because I’d like to say it’s parents age 35 to 50. But when I say that, I always forget that I’ve got 25 year old members and I’ve got six year old members. So, they’re our [00:03:00] target market. People who are parents, who are busy, who are professionals who run their own business. They’re our target market.
Soonah:
Yeah. What is the resistance or your top three resistances that people have to joining a fitness program?
Ben:
I reckon… It’s a good question. I think time is most people’s objection and that’s a real thing. Like I mentioned, if you’re a business professional or owning a business [00:03:30] or starting. Whatever you’re doing, you got no time. So, I think time’s most people’s major objection.
Soonah:
Yes.
Ben:
Also fear for a lot of people. Fear of getting started. I think for a lot of people, it’s the fear of letting themselves down and starting and not knowing if they can commit to what they want to do. It’s a big fear for people.
Soonah:
Yeah. And it’s like embarrassment as well. When you’ve let yourself go. It’s hard to get into that active wear and walk into a group of people [00:04:00] that you feel are going to be fit and active and how you’re going to fit into that.
Ben:
Yeah. It’s huge. It’s a major impression.
Soonah:
Yes.
Ben:
And you said three?
Soonah:
Yes. Three, if you can.
Ben:
Probably money. I think for a lot of people there’s so many fitness options around these days. And some [00:04:30] are really over priced. So, I think a lot of people, I’m sure it will be actual cost. I think in that a lot of people think, “I could probably do this myself” and they just don’t have the accountability and they lose their way and go through that issues. So, probably time, fear and money I reckon.
Soonah:Yeah. Let’s break them down, because I think time is a really good one. We have team meetings here every week and we need to say what we need more off as one of those things and what we need to improve on. And I’ve made a blanket rule that you can’t ask for more time. Everybody has the same amount of time in a day. And I think when you’re using time as an excuse, because these resistances [00:05:00] are excuses at the end of the day.
Ben:
Yeah.
Soonah:
When you’re using time as an excuse, it just means that you don’t value the investment in yourself enough to prioritize that time to yourself. So, how do you tell people or what’s… How do you try and overcome that? Getting people to prioritize themselves?
Ben:
It’s true. I do that. I do that with time. I’ll identify as a business person and a parent, that time is my most valued priority. And it’s why I use those excuses all [00:05:30] the time, saying I don’t have time for these things, but it’s just not okay.
Soonah:
It’s a conscious thing you have to tell yourself, that’s an excuse. If you want to do it, you make the time. It becomes a priority.
Ben:
Yeah. You’re right. One of the things… I tell everyone, I think proximity is really important when it comes to exercise. I think there’s no point signing up for something if it’s not easy or if it’s not close to where you’re living. It’s the biggest deal. So, proximity and then, for us [00:06:00] we target… We’ve got two locations, Pacific Palms and Palm Beach. And we try and just target people living in those immediate areas. We do 25 minute workouts. So, it’s pretty… We’re really punctual with our training, because we know people are time poor and they want to come, they want to try and they want to go. Our target market is parents. Parents are busy.
Soonah:
Yeah.
Ben:
I spent a lot of years at Crossfit, like I said, and I love that environment. They’re hour workouts [00:06:30] and they are… I reckon they are probably more targeted to athletic people who want to learn the mechanics of movement. And which is really fantastic. For parents who want to just get in and out, spending an hour just at the gym or the box or wherever you’re going is a lot.
Soonah:
When you say that proximity, I remember starting with you in, I think it was 2016 after I had my youngest. And I’d come from the group training or the hour group sessions that you’re doing. I think it was like a mums and Bubs. And [00:07:00] I loved the fact that I could drive to the Pacific Palms location, train for my 25, 30 minutes and head back within that 45 minute timeframe. So that was a huge… It eliminated that, “I don’t have the time to go there”, because I was in and out and back home within that 45 minute timeframe, which was the previous workout timeframe.
Ben:
Yeah. It’s way more achievable. And I think a lot of, not to be critical of other things, but a lot of boot camps are a lot of fluff in the middle. [00:07:30] It’s great. There’s a lot of socializing with it. But sometimes the workouts aren’t intense enough and there’s only… Like when you’re getting an hour workout, you’re probably going to be working in the intensity that’s going to get you the results for 10 minutes or 15 minutes. We try to get that down and get that sort of intensity in a shorter timeframe and get people to hit that earlier. And then just get out of there.
Soonah:
Yeah, like even some of the 15 minute ones that you do, you’re spent at the end of that. There’s nothing left to give and that’s 15 minutes. Maximizing results. I think that’s cool. Fear [00:08:00] is another one. So I’m going to talk about this. Actually, one of the first times that I went I was embarrassed to go. I
think that was my fear of being judged for being overweight, unfit, just not comfortable, I guess, exercising after three kids and not really looking after myself. But the community was actually awesome. I think you ran with me a few times. People that I hadn’t met were cheering me on and encouraging me. And I think that’s the group training, I think that people like or that’s a step… [00:08:30] I think it’s an easier step to get into group training than to walk into a gym where you don’t really know how to use the equipment as in being surrounded by a community. So, how do you try and get across to people that everyone had those fears at one point and that everyone is supportive in that environment?
Ben:
The toughest part of that is the initial communication with the person. Most people will jump on your social pages and look for people like themselves and see if they’re going [00:09:00] to fit in. When I’m telling them to the first time, I always say, I try and tell them this. I do my best to try and express that we’re really nonjudgmental place. And it’s good people. I think once they’re there and you’ve seen it, I’ve seen it. It’s really humbling to see people, members of our community who’ve been there for a long time, going out of their way to walk up to people who they know are there for the first time and saying, “Good day”, and just-
Soonah:
Yeah. And you don’t know that person that’s next to you that might look fit. [00:09:30] You don’t know their previous journey. They could have started exactly the same place that you did 12 months, two years ago. So, I think you’ve got to lose that and just start. Otherwise you’re going to be another six months or 12 months down the track and no better off. You talked about money as well. So, what are the prices of The Shake Up? What are the programs that you offer as a variety for people to get involved in?
Ben:
Cool. Our biggest membership is rolling unlimited memberships. [00:10:00] So we do… All our locations have six, at least six sessions a week. And it’s 32 bucks a week for training as much as you want. Most people do three to four sessions a week for 32 bucks and this just keeps it under that yard. Again, there’s a lot of fitness models around at the moment that are around at 60 to 70 price range for a week and they’re great programs.
You can’t do much more. It’s circuit training. And circuit training is circuit training. So, whether you’re doing it [00:10:30] inside in the ircon and the shiny equipment or outside, it’s the same thing. I think it needs to be relatively affordable. We do some strength programs as well. Also we do a lot of 10 day challenge programs. We do an online program as well, which is 28 bucks a month for access to workouts and structural movements.
Soonah:
Yeah. Cool. So we’ve got a few listeners all over. So the online ones, how does that work? Because that might be a good entry [00:11:00] point for people to start. Is to go online where you can do at home and get comfortable with movements and…
Ben:
Yes, it’s cool. I had a lady call me from Narang. She bought our online package the other day and I called her just to ask her some stuff and she said, “I’m not ready to start group training and I want to do some stuff before I get started”. So she bought the online package-
Soonah:
That’s a very female thing, I think.
Ben:
It is. You want to be… Everyone says I want to be fit before I come and start. It’s nice. But often an excuse.
Soonah:
Yeah, [00:11:30] exactly. Yeah. You’re just putting off the inevitable, really.
Ben:
Yes. Just get in there and get started. Don’t mind stuff. [crosstalk 00:11:48] program. We’ve got one that’s a body weight program, which is eight weeks. We developed it through the COVID period, but it was really tough. It’s eight weeks of daily workout videos that show you how [00:12:00] to do the movements and give you some advice sometimes and things like this. And you just set them up. And you also get access to a closed Facebook group where you share stuff. You can tap into that and get some online motivations as well.
Soonah:
Cool. So to bring it back to business owners and how… I guess, I don’t know, can you give us a case study of someone that’s come into your group, hasn’t overly been looking after themselves. Has a business or a business professional and just what’s [00:12:30] happened within one of those 10 week challenges and the outcome at the end. Because everyone joins to lose weight, I’m imagining. That’s probably their main priority. But what you gain from looking after yourself, I think is exponential to just the fat loss. So, have you got something in mind you can…
Ben:
Yes. Heaps. I actually posted a video this morning, going through testimonials we did and finished about five weeks ago. And he’s a good guy. He’s a guy named Steven. He a 50 year old electrician from the Gold Coast. And one of [00:13:00] the comments that he made really stood out to me. He talked about… He lost seven kilos of weight and he was really happy with that. But for him… And this sounds really cliche, but coming home, we all hit an afternoon slump. Steve mentioned he’d come home from work, hungry, exhausted. Just formed that habits where you just sit around and bring out beer and watch TV.
Steve mentioned that that was [00:13:30] a really big change for his lifestyle, was that he’d come home and go to training. Come home and have something conducive to eat and go to training. And for him it was the vitality. And that’s what you say, most people think it’s weight loss. That’s the reason you get started. But when you start your group, you start to overcome some of those slumps in your day and things like that. Steve owns his own business. So being a business owner like that, where you got to be productive all day, [00:14:00] you can’t just compete for a couple of hours, I think-
Soonah:
Yeah. And that’s focus. When we get busy, our activity statements is just, bit of a crazy time here for us and it’s generally longer hours. But I know if I exercise and my food’s right, I’m just so much more focused. I pumped through the work. I might do less hours in a day, but I get through so much more. So, it’s just finding that time. And everyone’s different. I mean, for me, it’s in the morning. If I get up, exercise in the morning, I just have a ripping day. If I don’t, I feel lethargic. [00:14:30] You just… It’s a rolling pattern of, I don’t know. It just builds up that it wasn’t the best start to the day. And then the food choices go down. It just…
My husband will tell you, he will say to me, “You need to go for a run”. And that’s obviously I’m getting cranky. I need to go and clear my mind and come back and I’m such a better person. So I think, that’s what you get from initially joining and thinking it’s fat loss, but it really turns into so much more.
Ben:
[00:15:00] You’re right. And that’s exercise. You know I said before [inaudible 00:15:02]. You run a business, you’ve got three boys. I train so many people like you who don’t have any time where they can just tap out and they can… If you won’t be able to have a run, just that 30 minute period a day where you don’t even have to think about business and keep your family.Soonah:
Yeah.
Ben:
Most of the people… A lot of the people we help are moms who are just so fed up with having no time for themselves, they need to detach from the family and hubby’s [00:15:30] got take the kids while they come and they connect. And again, for those people it’s fitness, but I’ve watched them and it becomes about connection. They form friendships around training and that’s what becomes important to them rather than just-
Soonah:
Yeah. And you walk back in the door and you’re ready to be embraced by them. It’s just… I know I’m a better person and I’m a better mother when I take care of that, I think. And also food. I want to come back to food. Because I know your Team Week programs. I think with the amount of knowledge that you share around food, [00:16:00] what are some quick tips for people to help use food as a way to feel good or to help your body feel better, I guess?
Ben:
Yeah. I reckon the best thing… Probably two things. I touched on it before. Structure is, I think really important. Particularly if you’re working in an office or anywhere where you’re busy, I think having structure to your eating and having, if you can do it, [00:16:30] enable yourself that frequency of meals. Have things set up when you start your day so that you’re not… You don’t have to leave or go too far to get a meal.
Soonah:
You don’t have to think about that.
Ben:
You don’t have to think about it. That’s really critical. I reckon proximity to food, like training is key. The other one I reckon, is probably the biggest thing that we see. Most people don’t tolerate carbohydrates the way that they think they do. And we know that. We know that most people know that they… We hear [00:17:00] people say I’m cutting out carbs and it’s great. It’s having an understanding of carbohydrates and where they belong in your diet. Because they totally belong in your diet. You just need to make sure you’re enhancing or increasing the volume of the good ones you eat and restructuring the bad ones.
Steve, the guy I mentioned from that video, he made it really simple. He said, “Stop eating the shit and eat the carbs at the right time”. That’s how he lost his weight. So I think if you can really… [00:17:30] Particularly if you are the kind of person who likes carbohydrates like most people, we say to guys, you can have them, but have them post-workout at the time where they’re going to be partitioned moved around and less likely stored as body fat.
That’s a really good time to, if you like toast, pastas and cereals and all these foods that are good for you, just get them after training and then you don’t [inaudible 00:17:52]. It has a massive impact in your body shape.
Soonah:
Yeah. And it’s an Aussie lifestyle. We grew up, our dinners were massive and there was always a carb in there. [00:18:00] It was just always. And so, I have sort of six meals throughout the day and they’re all relatively portioned the same, as opposed to just having that breakfast, having lunch and then a bigger dinner. And you’re just not as slumped. I don’t know. It’s just leaves it out.
But one of the biggest things that I took from your challenge, we’ve always been big on meal prepping, but now it’s just, it’s a full on thing. It’s a Sunday process of getting everything [00:18:30] so organized and so ready. And it’s the same in business. You plan out what you’ve got coming up, so that you can see it. It’s easy. And I don’t know why we don’t do that with food. It’s just something that’s-
Ben:
What do you value? What he prioritize? And you’re right. It’s critical. And I say this to everyone who does these challenges. It’s inevitable, you’ve got to do this. If you can’t be bothered doing it, pay someone to do it for you where they prep the food. But if you want to [00:19:00] change your body shape and feel better, you can’t just keep buying stuff haphazardly-
Soonah:
That’s an awesome point. What I liked about your challenge is, you don’t offer a meal plan as such. You don’t structure it that this is what you’re eating on these days. It’s all about education and looking at your own plate and making the decisions for yourself. And I think that’s one of the things that’s… You can take that away with you. If you do a program where you’ve got a set menu, you finished that program. [00:19:30] What have you learned about that food that you’ve eaten during that period? Whereas I think you… It’s all about education and when to have it and looking at your plate and going, “Well, that can probably go. This can go. Just working out what works for your when you can have those high-carb meals.
Ben:
Yeah. That’s one of my biggest struggles. Anyone who calls me and asks about our challenges says, do you give us a meal plan? That’s a common question everyone asks. Everyone wants a meal plan. And so I’m stuck in this point. I’m actually writing [00:20:00] meal plan templates to go with the challenge at the moment.
Soonah:
Okay. Ignore I said that.
Ben:
I don’t find it useful. But I think what my intention is now, is ram home the education continually and say, if you want a seven day eating plan, here’s one here. But as I’m writing, I’m going, what if this person doesn’t like this meal? What’s the solution? It’s a silly way to approach your food. And if you know-
Soonah:
You want it to last beyond that 10 weeks.
Ben:
Exactly. [00:20:30] You can’t follow a seven-day plan forever or a 28 day or whatever it is. You need-
Soonah:
It’s a good guide, I guess, as you say. But you do have a guide in there. You’ve got to have your carbs, fats, proteins and all that stuff.
Ben:
We’ve got shopping lists. We’ve got guides. I think, fundamentally you need to know what’s the difference between this carb and this carb. That’s why I think a lot of people get trapped in the calorie counting world. Because, they just don’t understand that calories are not always calories and some bring way more vitality than others. And if you need to just understand that at a basic level and you’ll go a long way.
Soonah:
[00:21:00] Yeah. It’s so true. And that’s why I say, you don’t have to be a great, strong physical athlete to exercise. And I know yourself. You’re not always about promoting your services. It’s just about getting active and doing something that you can do. Like you said, proximity to where you are. Doing something within your budget. And I think people just need to make that start and that investment into themselves and watch the flow on effect. It’ isn’t about being the most ripped person in that group. It’s [00:21:30] not about being the fastest runner in that group. It’s just about doing what makes you feel good. And that has a flow on effect for your family life, your business life. Everything that comes with looking after yourself.Ben:
On that, Soonah, I think it’s a really good point you made. I think there’s a real power that comes with being true to yourself. I think like in anything in life, in business or relationships or fitness. When you start to do what you know should do and that you’ve been telling yourself you’re going to do. When you start to do it, [00:22:00] you just behave in line with your values. And I think when you do that, you just feel better. Naturally you feel better. So I think that’s a big take from this.
Soonah:
Yeah. I’m a big Instagram fan, right. I used to follow all these people that do workouts and post this stuff. I’ve had to stop, cancel, unfollow them. Because I’d be watching them as if that was… That was taking my time of actually doing it. Getting all those programs and ideas on different things to do, but not actually doing it. [00:22:30] And I think, I don’t know whether, because I was watching it all the time that I thought that I was actually physically doing it. I don’t know. But just, knowing that I just had to start get rid of all that shit. Just walk into that and start. Skip, run burpees, whatever. Just make a start. Don’t over complicate it.
Ben:
Yeah. Any movement is going to stimulate a response in your body that’s going to help you look better and feel better. So don’t… You find too many people use that as a limitation. The need to be doing [00:23:00] complicated programs.
Soonah:
Yeah. And you don’t… And it doesn’t have to be an hour. Like you said, 25 minutes. Awesome to chat. I do like to try and keep them under 20 minutes. So, any final words or anything that you wanted to suggest to people to get it started?
Ben:
Just get started. I think if you’ve been thinking about it, I think if it’s something that you know you should do and we all do it, We all procrastinate new stuff. I think just… A really good point, and this is what I say to guys in our 10 week challenge is, think about the thing [00:23:30] that you value most in life. If it’s spending time with your family or friends, or either going to the beach or going on a holiday. Something that really brings you a lot of happiness and dial in on that. And then use that as a motivation to go and put yourself in an exercise program or whatever it is you going to do.
Soonah:
Yeah. 28 bucks a month to do an online course. Awesome.
Ben:
Pretty easy.
Soonah:
Perfect way to start. I’m going to wrap up with some quickfire questions. The positive outcome for you either personally or in business that COVID [00:24:00] had on you?
Ben:
It got me into way more on video production or video since COVID started. And that was a really-
Soonah:
Awesome. First CD you ever purchased?
Ben:
INXS. Listen Like Thieves.
Soonah:
Yes, nice. Worst habit?
Ben:
Procrastinating.
Soonah:
And current book that you’re reading?
Ben:
I’m actually reading… What am I reading? I’m reading a book on OCD, believe it or not. A [00:24:30] behavioral kind of CBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy stuff. All that kind of stuff. It’s weird, but good.
Soonah:
Yeah. Awesome. Thanks for chatting with us today. And if people want to reach out, how can they get in contact with you? Ben from The Shake Up.
Ben:
Just call me or jump on our website. Theshakeup.com.au. Grab 783 trials. It’s a good place to start. And come and check it out and see if it’s what you’re looking for.
Soonah:
Awesome. [inaudible 00:24:57] Thanks Ben.
Ben:
Thank you, Soonah.
