So We’ve worked out who Pilko is, who’s Team Pilko?

When ever you do something this big you need to surround yourself with the right people.

So you might ask what are the right people?

Dietician

Put simply energy in and energy out, get it wrong you put on weight. Well that’s only the tip of the ice berg. Do you research be committed and accountable, if you binged on chocolate or went out and had takeaway fess up. Be honest with yourself and those you work with. It’s corney but honesty really is the best policy. How do you expect to get well if you lie about things. You’ll find a good dietician is both you best and worst friend. They will support you in providing education about how to do things, the right things to do, but it is also their job to help you in the bad times. You may find that “owning up” while cathartic can also help you stop from making the same mistake a second time. Learn, it might be hard, but wow it makes a difference with the right advise! (oh and I never said this was easy!)

GP- General Practitioner

Virtually everyone has a GP, if you’ve got a chronic health issue such as Diabetes or in my case obesity you can get five visits to allied health professionals covered by Medicare. Great if the provider bulk bills, helpful to reduce the cash outlay if they don’t. I’ve blown a couple of annual limits already on my private health cover so I’m using the Enhanced Care Plan (this is it’s correct title) to manage these. I’m actually using my ECP for Physio and Podiatry.

Physiotherapist

Your going to do things to your body and it’s going to hate you.

You need to learn how to deal with this and learn how to exercise and stretch correctly.

If your like me and have little flexibility you should seriously look at Pilates, your body will again hate you to start with, but you’ll find as time goes on you’ll cope better and you’ll need to push yourself harder. You’ll quickly get over the initial discomfort and enjoy the new you! This of course comes with the obligatory warning “good pain good” “bad pain bad” essentially you need to listen to your body and push yourself through muscle fatigue but know when to slow down and more importunately stop!

Also good for hands on treatment too, particularly with my ankle injury my Physio does some mobilizations which I can’t do myself. The mobilization really help that’s just awesome. They will also teach you new ways to stretch. Listen to what they tell you, get them to write down what you have to do, get them to  draw how to do it if required. My short term memory is terrible, so getting everything written down is critical.

Chiropractor

Sometimes you need a good crack, I have a scoliosis concave in my back. I spend a large amount of time at a desk in an office. A good Chiro can help you release that pressure and help you get more flexible and move easier.

Masseur

Diploma Certified remedial sports masseur, don’t go for one in the adult pages in the Yellowpages, nor an aromatherapy masseur. Sure on holiday kick back and unwind, but when your muscles hate you, a good massage releases tension both physically and mentally.

Respect your body and the person who works on you. It should be a professional setting not in some shady dingy room.

Check out the credentials of the person you are looking to engage. It’s common to see diplomas on display ask for advise and recommendations from friends.

You’ll also find that many private health insurance’s cover remedial massage. Hicaps in Australia is the main “on the spot claim” EFT system for private health the link there takes you to their provider search. You can find out who’s accredited and local.

Any masseur worth dealing with must have a provider number it means they are certificated and have the necessary insurance to do the work you are paying them for.

There are many registrations board one is AAMT | Australian Association of Massage Therapists.

Once you’ve done your research make an appointment  You may find it best to talk to the receptionist and inform them about what sort of massage you like. On a recent overseas cruise ship holiday I spoke with the on board spa manager. I was concerned that they  only focused on aromatherapy / relaxation massage. I was pleasantry surprised they had an awesome remedial masseur on board which helped me relax from the trip and release some incredibly tight muscles. When you find the right masseur they will get to learn you and your body . You’ll hate this person during the treatment but the end goal is a less tense and stressed you. I have a reputation for tight muscles and liking a really firm message. It’s reported that I come with a warning, interesting how I get warned about certain therapists also!

You’ll love it!

Podiatrist

Your feet are the key to getting around and exercise

As I’m learning right now, if you can’t walk or move around it slows you down and it makes life hard.

Get yourself accessed and get a gait analysis done. Sure they might write on the back of you legs with a pen, but if you have flat feet like me and pronate you’ll want to get that sorted. Either by shoe inserts or orthotics, with modern techniques and CNC devices these are easy things to get made. Private health cover should help out to part cover the cost and after the first year get yourself a second pair. I have one for my sports shoes and one for my work (more formal shoes) your feet will love you for it and you won’t cause yourself an injury to other parts of your body from walking oddly. In my case I can get around much more comfortably plus when I replace my shoes I have the orthotics ajusted (if needed)  I try and buy the exact same model of shoes.

You need to look after your feet, if you don’t you’ll find it hard without them!

Training Partner , Personal Trainer, Exercise Physiologist, Group Fitness Instructor

You’ll find that by yourself you’ll find it hard to commit to exercise unless your really determined plus to get results you really should see a professional.

Also if you are overweight or a beginner you need to be careful you don’t injure yourself.

It’s like those annoying adds on TV “be sure to seek medical advise before starting any diet or exercise program”

If you really want to go hard core, see a Exercise Physiologist again this can be covered by a Enhanced Care Plan and it’s a mix of a personal trainer and physio, best of both worlds.

I’ve only seen an exercise physiologist twice and have found good PTs but EP’s their place to.

Back onto PT’s you’ll find they will vary your exercises which is great, you won’t get bored, you’ll work harder and you’ll discover new things.

It also helps when you get into the gym you have a more varied work out than just cardio or machines. (this is one thing I have not actually done, {own gym work}) Once I recover from injury I will.

There are times you’ll want to be a bit social or do things that would cost to much on your own on a regular bases. Group classes are the way to go.

I’ve done Aqua, Boxing X-Train & Pilates

Depending on what you have access to you, you might go to a class at your Physio’s or at the gym. I’ve worked with a number of skilled group instructors and they have been great.

Cooking and life skills

We all have to eat, if you can’t cook then your going to struggle to eat healthy.

Work out a way to learn, I did, they are called Sprout Cooking (link below)

Here are links to some of the companies I’m working with

Body line health International Remedial Sports massage

Life Personal Trainers ™ dietician & Personal trainer

Next Generation Memorial Drive Adelaide – Gym membership and group exercises classes

SprouT COOKING Cooking classes, if you can’t cook, learn!

Therapia Physiotherapy & Pilates – I see a physio and do Pilates here