THE NATURAL EDGE

Forging Great Health | Increasing Human Performance | Inspiring Adventures

Forging Great Health

Increasing Human Performance

Inspiring Adventures

Forging Great Health

Increasing Human Performance

Inspiring Adventures

WHAT WE DO

THE NATURAL EDGE ACADEMY

Online courses and coaching providing the tools and support for exceptional health & fitness.

EVENTS & ADVENTURES

Bespoke experiences to learn skills, reset the mind & reboot the body

Get actionable health & performance tips via email. No spam ever.

THE NATURAL EDGE ACADEMY

In-depth courses & training

Access our course library with modules on mindset, sleep, nutrition and training plus access to the weekly Q&A session

Exclusive content & member-only perks

Weekly focus blog, downloads, checklists and more - plus receive special perks & discounts on upcoming adventures

Active, Supportive Community

Feedback, support and motivation from fellow members on the same journey as you to keep you on track and accountable

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EVENTS & ADVENTURES

Health Retreats

Trips at home and abroad allowing people to escape the grind of modern life, meet like-minded people, reset and reboot

Corporate & Group Experience Days

Bespoke high quality training & experience packages to develop teamwork, adaptability, and resilience

Microadventures

Short, simple, local adventures in great locations that are fun, exciting, challenging, refreshing and rewarding

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WE ARE SIMON JEFFRIES &
JOHN SYKES-POPHAM

Our journey started in 2009 whilst serving with UK Special Forces. Working in a job that placed huge demands on the body and mind, and where second place could result in serious injury or death, sparked a deep interest in human performance. Along the way we became sick and tired of the misinformation and half truths that confuse people and confuse an already complex topic.

Now our passion is sharing the lessons we have learned with as many people as possible, to help everyone achieve the best health they can.

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FOLLOW OUR STORY

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Procrastination.
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Whether it is something big like creating a business or something smaller like submitting your work expenses, procrastination can often be a stumbling block. Especially when it comes to taking an icy dip in winter!
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A recent study observed two areas of the brain that control our propensity to put things off. Researchers at Ruhr University, pinned the likelihood of procrastination on two parts of the brain: the amygdala which processes our emotions and controls our motivation, and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (DACC), which is responsible for blocking out competing emotions and distractions i.e. it's the anti-procrastination part of the brain.
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Researchers found that procrastinators tended to have a larger amygdala, and a weaker connection between the amygdala and the DACC, and so may be more anxious about the negative consequences of an action. They tend to hesitate and put off things, and are less able to filter out interfering emotions and distractions.
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BUT that doesn't mean you're doomed by your biology. In short, your brain can change, and so can your unhelpful habits. Procrastination has more to do with emotion than time - we delay action because we feel like we're in the wrong mood to complete a task, and we assume that our mood will change in the near future.
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But we just have to get used to working when we don't feel like doing it. Most of us seem to believe that our emotional state has to match the task at hand, but it is important to recognise this may rarely occur.
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I have personally found the best remedy to over-analysing and watching every video on Youtube is to break tasks into smaller actions, using a timer to schedule short periods of focus, and minimising external interruptions by turning off notifications and removing my phone from sight.
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What's more a major step is to stop beating yourself up. Instead begin to recognise when procrastination is creeping in, and use a timer to allow yourself a set amount of downtime before getting back on track.
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This works big and small tasks because it is all just part of the process and the sooner you start, the sooner you get somewhere.

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3 Tactics For Success.
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Quick summary of an article I read recently by @james_clear: Setting goals is necessary to determine your focus but sometimes we get so obsessed with the outcome that we overlook the process we need to do to get there. We become so fixated on the short-term results that we forget to build the long-term habits that make the real difference.
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James outlines 3 strategies which help to accelerate results without ignoring the importance of building better habits. He calls these ‘behaviour multipliers’ because they multiply and enhance your ability to take the right action on a consistent basis. This is what he has to say:
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1. Rapid Feedback: The best way to change long-term behaviour is with short-term feedback. The more immediate the feedback is that you get, the quicker you can make adjustments to your behaviour. The most foundational aspect of a new habit is awareness. If you're not aware of your habits you can’t expect to change them. This is why feedback is so important. Faster feedback leads to faster results.
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2. Simplicity: If you live a life with fewer distractions, it becomes much easier to take effective action. In many cases, the danger isn't knowing what the most important task is for the day. The danger is doing the 7th-most important thing before you do the most important thing. In line with the 80/20 rule, identify the 20 percent of strategies that are most effective and eliminate the 80 percent of strategies that are wasteful.
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3. Environment: The world around us shapes our behaviour. If you live in an environment that nudges you toward the right decision then you'll find success is easier to achieve. A simple action is to remove all junk food from your house and place better options in plain sight. Every environment promotes some behaviours and prevents others. The key is to be in an environment that supports the results you want to achieve.

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Master Thyself.
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In last weeks Monday Article I wrote about the power of the group, and it is true that regardless of your strength as an individual, the people you associate with will have an undeniable influence on the direction your life takes. However, ultimately you are still the one in the driving seat.
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How much of your success would you say is up to you—your choices, your actions, your behaviors—versus outside conditions? I am a strong believer that taking absolute accountability for all that happens to you, good AND bad, is the most powerful attitude you can adopt in life.This can be viewed as a 3 step process:
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Responsibility: Responsibility is a way of thinking and being. When you’re truly responsible, you believe that success or failure is up to you, even if you work within a team or are blind-sided by unforeseen circumstances.
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Self-empowerment: By empowering yourself, you take the actions—and the risks—to achieve a result and get what you want. Rather than waiting for someone to declare you empowered or give you that one lucky break, you make things happen, and answer for the outcomes.
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Personal accountability: When you’re personally accountable, you stop assigning blame on people and making excuses. Instead, you take the responsibility when your actions cause issues and you learn from your mistakes and adjust your process. When things go well you celebrate, knowing your hard work has made it possible.
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Being fully responsible for your own actions and consequences is a choice, a mindset and an expression of integrity. If you want to master yourself then the first step is to stop focusing on what’s happening ‘to’ you and focus on what you can do within your current circumstances to succeed.
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That lesson is probably one of the defining factors that make Special Forces teams so successful. Each member knows that inevitably anything that can go wrong on an operation will go wrong. But they also understand this is not an excuse for the job to fail. Instead you use what you do have control over and make it work no matter what it takes.
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To read the full article follow the link in the bio.

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Self-distancing - What would Mikko do?
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Making difficult decisions, or pushing yourself to do something that you know is going to test your physical and mental fortitude is tough. What makes it even harder is the impact our emotions have on the process.
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If you could set your emotions aside 9 times out of 10 you would make the choice with the best outcome. Unfortunately 9 times out of 10 your emotions will always heavily impact the decision making process.
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Something you can use to help with this is a technique called self-distancing techniques. Self-distancing is the act of increasing the distance from your own egocentric perspective when assessing events and emotions that you experience. For example, when you ask yourself “why did you just do that?”.
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Essentially it is a self-talk mechanism (i.e. your inner monologue). And research shows that when you refer to yourself in the second-person or using your own name, you are able to improve your ability to detach emotionally from a situation. This is a good thing because it allows you to handle difficult emotions in a positive manner.
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You can also can also try to visualise the perspective of an exemplar, someone you admire, and then ask yourself what would they do in that situation. Just like when you were a kid and asked yourself “what would Batman do?”.
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When it comes to hard workouts if I’m looking for a boost in motivation I will use this technique. And someone who I find inspiring is Mikko Salo (@mikkosalo63). Mikko claimed the title of “Fittest Man on Earth” by winning the 2009 CrossFit Games (working as a firefighter by day and training by night).
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Mikko also embodies sisu, a form of stoic courage and unwavering perseverance in the face of long odds and hard challenges. It’s the kind of thing that allows a person to quietly set his will to complete just one more rep before setting down the barbell. It’s the intangible quality that helps you climb a hill when your body wants to refuse.
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Find your own exemplar and give it a go to force out those last few reps or wake up for that morning run.

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Your Microbiome's Best Friend.
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Turns out that dogs aren’t just good for your mood and stress levels, they also make a significant contribution to your microbial diversity. And why is this important? Because research suggests that the gut microbiome might potentially be as complex and influential as our genes when it comes to our health and happiness.
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For years we’ve been sold on the message that our homes should be sparkling clean. So for a culture that has bathed itself in hand sanitiser, this embrace of bacteria is a profound shift. The irony is that our obsession with cleanliness has helped us get into a bit of a mess with our guts, with studies already indicating that microbial imbalance is a major factor in skyrocketing rates of allergies, autoimmune disorders and obesity.
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The health of your gut is extremely important to your overall well-being. Largely responsible for the critical functions of the body’s digestive and immune systems, beneficial bacteria in your digestive system have the capability of affecting your body’s vitamin and mineral absorbency, hormone regulation, digestion, vitamin production, immune response, and ability to eliminate toxins, not to mention your overall mental health.
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Apart from what you eat, which is a topic in itself, the bacteria in your home environment contribute to your own microbial diversity, which is a key factor in keeping your immune system in optimal shape….and this is where pets come in.
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Pets have their own distinctive microbiomes, which they cultivate by playing around outside, then spread to their surroundings (and yours) once they come indoors. It sounds messy but it's actually incredibly beneficial to your health, because those friendly bacteria your pet provides "train" the immune system to react appropriately to things like dust, pollen, and even certain types of food.
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Dogs have been with humans for 40,000 years and it seems living with them gives us a physiological as well as psychological boost.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT US

“Since following TNE my health and lifestyle has improved a great deal. In the beginning my diet wasn’t great, so I decided to start off small. I can honestly say I feel so much better for it, my performance in the gym has improved, as well as my body shape and how much energy I have.”

SOPHIE TYAS

“After struggling with my weight for years I really think I have found a place where I can not only improve my weight but also myself as a person. I feel part of a growing community of like minded people who want to not only improve themselves but help you improve yourself.”

STUART MARSH

“The changes around my nutrition have led to me being generally being happier, my training has come on amazingly and I have again learnt to listen and respect my body. The team are so supportive, informative and above all passionate. I am so grateful to have found this!”

PETRINA GLASS

THE NATURAL EDGE

WHAT WE DO

THE NATURAL EDGE ACADEMY

EVENTS & ADVENTURES

Get actionable health & performance tips via email. No spam ever.

THE NATURAL EDGE ACADEMY

In-depth courses & training

Exclusive content & member-only perks

Active, Supportive Community

EVENTS & ADVENTURES

Health Retreats

Corporate & Group Experience Days

Microadventures

WE ARE SIMON JEFFRIES &JOHN SYKES-POPHAM

FOLLOW OUR STORY

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT US

WE ARE SIMON JEFFRIES &
JOHN SYKES-POPHAM