Key to happiness? The five pillars of health Stretching is just as important as high intensity workouts. Personal Trainer Blake Worrall-Thompson. Embody these five pillars of health for a happier life Eat less sugar, let bad friends go Exercise smarter, not longer, and stretch Get your stress levels down to sleep better It's a word that's thrown around all too often in health and fitness circles, but the concept of "whole person" health is nothing to be sneezed at - or so says Blake Worrall-Thompson, personal trainer for 11 years. "The transition from a personal trainer being just about sets and reps, to being about weight and health and mindset and well-being as a whole, is only just starting to happen, but it's so important," he told news.com.au. I spend so much time trying to make sense of people and how they work, where we can go with their health, to really make a lasting impact. You have to address a number of different things in a person's life to really make a difference to their overall health. So, Worrall-Thompson devised the five pillars of health; a "holistic" approach to achieving long-term, long-lasting well-being. "It is a term that is unfortunately overused, but a holistic approach where a person is not only fit and healthy on the outside, but balanced and happy and in control of their lives as well, is so important" Worrall-Thompson, who is an ambassador for the upcoming Health and Wellbeing Weekend, says. People who can achieve this are the people that you want to be around. And it's not about being super fit - I know a lot of fit people I don't want to be around because they're just way too intense, they just need to take a seat. There's a massive difference between looking healthy on the outside and being healthy on the inside, too. There's a glow about someone who has the five pillars of health sorted - there's a balance and an energy about them. They're not too stressed, they're motivated and energised and happy. The people who have mastered the five pillars of health are people you'll want to be around," he said. Intruiged? Here's what you need to know about the five pillars: Exercise "We need to be more anti-social when we exercise," says Worrall-Thompson. If you're exercising at the right intensity you can't really hold a conversation that well. It really is about getting in there, getting the job done and getting out again. I've got a number of people I train for only half an hour - it isn't about time, it's about intensity. The other part of exercise is knowing your body. If your body is too stressed, then you need gentle exercise. You have to balance that stress out and get more in tune with where your body's at, because things like stretching are a really important part of exercise. Pair things like yoga, Pilates and meditation with more high intensity workouts. Stock up on healthy foods and avoid sugar. Nutrition "The whole fat-free low-fat "diet" approach has really led people down the wrong path for the last 20 years," says Worrall-Thompson. Fat plays such a big role in our genetic make-up and we really do need fats in our diet - it's the sugar that people consume that's the bigger issue. People really aren't aware of how much sugar they're consuming and it's doing a lot of damage. I do give my clients customised eating plans, but the most important thing to do even before you change your diet is to keep a food diary. That way, you become much more conscious of what you're eating - it's not until you write down everything you've eaten in a week that you realise that you're not as healthy or as clean as you first thought. It's all about conscious eating - being aggressive with your approach, choosing a plan that doesn't leave you hungry or stressed, making sure what you're eating is sustainable. Lifestyle According to Worrall-Thompson, just as important as your health is your happiness. "I'm massive on my clients setting themselves up in a happy environment" he says. Your surroundings play a massive role in your general well-being - your friends, your parents, your family, your colleagues. You have to clear out people who really aren't adding value to your life - you need to be surrounded by people who are in the right frame of mind themselves, are fit and healthy, and are supportive of you. I'm constantly reassessing my life and my friends. It's harsh but it's necessary for your state of mind - your environment really does play a big role in energising your life. Goal setting Goal setting is more than about weight loss, although many of Worrall-Thompson's clients do come to him with that goal in mind. "Weight is obviously a big goal for people, but it's not so much about kilograms lost, it's about body fat percentage," he says. It's an education process about how your body works, how weight loss works, so we can breaking down the unrealistic expectations. It's not about the scales. I try to shift clients from a number to a body fat percentage. And while weight loss is obviously one of the main reasons people go to a trainer, I also try to get clients to set up "side goals" on a monthly basis. It's usually a lifestyle goal - for example one of the girls I have at the moment is very wired and highly strung and she has problems with her sleep, so I'm teaching her how to control her energy and getting her a little more grounded and a little more settled. Goal setting plays a big role because people so often start something without a focus or an end point. One of the things trainers and health professionals do wrong is set the goals for the client, rather than letting the client set the goals for themselves. If it doesn't come from the client, it's not really going to be ingrained in them and they're not going to want to achieve it. Sleep and Stress "There's a reason we were born to sleep a third of the day," says Worrall-Thompson "Our bodies need that recovery. For a lot of us when we were younger, our parents would always say "teeth toilet bed" - there was always that preparation phase before you went to sleep, and a lot of us just don't have that routine now. We have to recreate that. So many of my clients say that for the 45 minutes before they go to bed they're checking emails and on their computers, and then they can't roll over and go to sleep. It's just not realistic, your mind's still ticking. We need a preparation phase - dim the lights, minimise stimulants in your surroundings, don't do anything that's going to get your brain working. If you're really bad, have a magnesium bar or something like that to settle you. Don't have too much sugar or caffeine in your system. Stress and not sleeping tie in together - not sleeping well and taking forever to get to sleep is often linked with stress. Stress so often comes as a result of us putting pressure on ourselves to be the best person we can be at every point of our lives, but it's ironic because when we're worrying about that, we're not productive. There's just too much going on in our minds. If you can wind yourself down and get to a relaxed state of mind and you'll fall asleep more easily. For more information about the Health and Wellbeing Weekend on October 5 and 6, head to the website: www.healthandwb.com.au