OG influencer Amanda Bisk wants to help you train better

Published Oct 13, 2024, 2:00 PM

Former Australian pole vaulter and exercise physiologist Amanda Bisk is one of the original fitness influencers - she discusses the impact of social media on the evolution of fitness culture and shares tips to help you train more efficiently. 

 

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For more on the XX festival, see here. You can catch Amanda @amandabisk or for more on her Fresh Body, Fit MInd app, see here

 

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Oh hello.

Welcome to Extra Healthy Ish, the big sister podcast too Healthy Ish from Body and Soul. I am the host of Felicity Halle. Former Australian pole vaulter and exercise physiologist Amanda Bisk joins us today. She is one of the original Fitfluences. I met her many years ago and she joins us today. She discusses the impact of social media on the evolution of fitness culture. She shares more about her career and gives some valuable tips on how we can all train more efficiently. Amanda, thank you for joining us on Extra Healthy Ish. How are you?

Thank you for having me.

I'm so excited to talk to you and I am going really well. Actually it's eight o'clock here in the morning, ready to start my day.

Well, you're a bundle of energy at eight o'clock I'm far from that. Thank you for joining us. Now, before we kick off, I need to ask you the question that I do ask everyone who comes on the podcast. How do you stay extra healthy in your life?

I think for me, movement is how I feel healthy and just being able to move my body every day in any capacity.

You know, we have good days, we have bad days.

We have energetic days, we have not so energetic days. But if I can move my body in any way, I just feel like that really helped not only boost my physical health but also my mental health.

So whether it be you.

Know, doing a little bit of yoga in the morning, or walking my dogs, or doing running session at the track, or going to the gym, just mixing it up and yeah, moving my body.

Now many of it listens would follow you on social media. We've known each other for a while now, I did I put you. I think you were the first influencer to go on the cover of Women's Health back when I was editing that. That was years ago. I know, so Milestone, I know something you should be proud of. Tell us a bit about you for those who don't know you. You made it to the Comm Games in poleviting. You wanted to get to London, but you didn't get there. Now, we don't often hear from athletes who don't make it. You know, there's all glory for athletes who make it. But you made it, but you're not not.

Quite Yeah, not the big dreams.

No, tell us a bit about that experience.

Yeah, so I made the common Wealth Games in twenty ten. Wow, that is such a long time ago now.

And after that, I.

Actually got chronic fatigue, and at the time I didn't know, but it was my retirement, so I think I battled with it for about you know, or battled with symptoms for about eight months, and by that point I was just like, I need to stop poll welding and I need to give my body a chance to rest. And then I had a full journey of you know, i'd say at least five years where I was battling chronic fatigue and trying to heal myself. And along that journey, I stumbled upon this thing called Instagram and did my first Instagram post, and little did I know that would end up, you know, being a huge part of my career. I also finished my UNI degree as an exercise physiologist, and I thought it would be a beautiful way to merge social media and health and fitness, and yeah, and ended me up where I am today.

Tell it take us back a bit, Take us back a bit. When you had chronic fatigue. What sort of symptoms did you have and how did you come to well, perhaps a conclusion that you know, you had to put your career on hold to heal yourself.

So the first real symptom was, you know, I obviously had a bit of a break aftercomgames and then came back into training and just something didn't feel right. I just felt so exhausted. No matter how much I would sleep, I would just wake up so exhausted, you know, tired all the time, and just not myself, not excited to go to training, which was so unlike me, Like I was the athlete who was like.

Oh my god, training I can't wait.

So just yeah, feeling really low in energy, low in mood, and then just strange things like I would wake up with puffy eyes, my joints would be sore and swollen, and just feeling like I always needed to rest and was so exhausted after anything like even going to the shops and doing a grocery shop. And then I ended up, you know, going to lots of different specialists because doctors really didn't know what was going on.

I was getting all the blood tests.

All all the specialists were testing everything that you'd think of and couldn't find anything. So the general diagnosis with chronic fatigue is they have these markers, and if you present with all of these and there's no other reason for your symptoms. They diagnosed you with the chronic fatigue, and yeah, I remember this point where a doctor had told me, hey, we're going to put you on antidepressants because this has been shown to help with you know, chronic fatigue. And I remember the point where I had them in my hand and I was like, I feel like this is going to be a slippery slope. And I remember throwing them in the bin and going, hey, I'm going to fight my own way.

Nobody knows my body better than I do.

And that's when I started my healing journey and really learning a lot about the body and healing myself.

How did you want? It was some key things you did to well get better.

Yeah, so a lot of people do ask me this, and especially people who are battling with quantic fatigue, and it is so different for everybody. So one of my biggest things is just honestly trying everything you can.

And I did try everything I could.

I went to regular doctors, Chinese doctors, acupuncture, I found yoga, I did meditation, went to a psychologist, changed my diet.

And did everything.

Yeah, literally everything.

So for me, I think it was you know, little pieces here and there that eventually joined together. But it was a very long journey and I think, you know, one of the biggest thing was for me was also my mindset. I was, you know, trying to come out of an athlete mindset as well and be a lot more gentle with myself, which I think is a really big thing.

I feel like many people would understand.

You know, we ask a lot of ourselves, so especially emotionally, so I think when you're battling something, whether it be chronic fatigue or anything else, it's so important to be gentle with yourself and know that you're just human. You're just trying to make your way through, and it's okay if you can't achieve all these things that you're dreaming up in your head.

So yeah, did it take long to come to that realization? Because often that is the biggest thing, especially when you're right. You've trained as an athlete, you used to well, your expectations used to being at a certain level, and then everyday life we don't have to well train that hard, our expectations might be a little bit lower. How did you mentally come to that?

To be honest, I think I still battle with it now, and I still think I always will. I will always have this mindset. You know, I'm a type A personality, and I'm always going.

To have that pressure on myself.

But I think I've been really good at learning little points and little check ins with myself. Like every day for me, it's a new day, and I wake up and I try and tell myself, Hey, I'm going to do the best I can today. If I don't get everything done, if I don't achieve xyz, it's okay.

I've woken up. I've woken up.

Trying to be happy and in a good mood and doing my best, and that's all I can do. Tomorrow will be a new day and I'll try again. So I think it's just a constant reminder.

Yeah, I think self compassion is a forever thing we all have to work on, whether you type A or not. I think it's Yeah, it's a daily thing that you daily reminder and sometimes you're good at it and sometimes you're not.

That's right.

Talk to us a bit about when you first got on Instagram and when that started taking off, because you are really one of the original in F influencers. Influencers on Instagram.

Yeah, it was definitely such a different time. There was no algorithm, can you believe it?

What?

And in our feed we actually saw what was posted in real chronological order.

Goodness, I forgot about that, of course we did.

Yeah, there was no video, there was no stories. I think it was just one photo and a filter that you could put on that photo.

So that is just mind blowing to even think about.

It. Definitely was such a different space, and I know, you know, in the fitness and health space it Yeah, it was just completely different. You know, skinny was kind of the thing everyone and everyone wanted to look esthetic cleaning like trim and all this kind of stuff. And I feel like the space now has really evolved to be more inclusive, which is so wonderful and for people to be focusing.

On things like strength and feeling good.

So I think that evolution in the space over the last ten years has been a huge milestone and really really positive.

We'll be back after this shot break with more from Amanda. You've done some pretty cool things, as dare I call you influencer? Is that what I can call it? I mean, is there you can.

Call me that?

To be honest, I don't really like the influence of word. No hard to describe what I do.

Well, you're more in that because you know you've got expertise behind you. But tell me some of your most notable experiences that you've had. I mean, you've traveled the world, You've done some amazing things. Share some of those with us.

So I guess one of my biggest achievements was having a partnership with H and M.

We forgot about that.

Yeah, for three years and it was so amazing.

I worked with them with their sporting line and their fitnessware and it was just so cool.

We traveled the world, I did.

A lot of photo shoots, you know, in random places like Switzerland and New York, and yeah, just amazing.

So that was definitely a huge achievement.

And I remember one of my friends being in London and going into the H and M store and seeing a photo of me and sending me a photo and going.

Oh my gosh, you're in the store.

So that, yeah, very proud of that achievement, and it literally was amazing. And just yeah, working for really big companies like American Express and Free People, all.

Of those things have been so wonderful.

But I think my biggest achievement and the thing that I really do hold on to is.

Creating a community.

Through the app that my partner and I have, Fresh Body, Fit Mind, and doing meetups around the world, so our community, you know, in places like Paris.

And Stockholm and fell Yeah.

And doing workouts with them and just seeing people in real life that are on your app.

It's crazy. So I think that's probably one of my biggest achievements.

Do you think fitness has changed? Like, how has fitness changed, and how has perhaps social media the impact of social media on the fitness community and what we're seeing perhaps you know, your example is it's bringing people together. That's a great example. How have you found it over there? Yeah, decade.

I definitely feel it has its ups and downs, and it still has its pros and cons. Like I mentioned before, I think the fitness space in particular is way more inclusive and we're thinking more about the right things, you know, thinking about being strong, thinking about being mobile, and not just the aesthetics.

And I think that is so.

Important and I really hope that space continues to be like that. I think there's also been a lot of pressure added, things like the algorithm.

You know that everybody talks about it is pressure, and.

I feel like sometimes we feel like we need to conform to a certain way of doing things or saying specific things or talking about specific topics because that's what we think the algorithm wants. So I think that's probably like a downside, and I'm sure a lot of people would agree with me, especially if you're in the space and that is your business, that is the way that you work, you know, make money.

Yeah, yeah, why am I at the mercy of social media companies? I want to do? What I think is, you know, he's going to speak to my audience and he's going to resonate. But it's the conundrum, isn't it.

It is? It is, And I think along with that screen time, Like I mentioned, back in the day, when Instagram first started, it was a photo and that's it. Now we've got you know, stories and reels and photos and videos and carousels, and then we've got other platforms, you know, like TikTok and YouTube and everybody's across everything now and you're just constantly being stimulated. So I think that's a thing that we really, I think need to start focusing.

On how do you switch off from all that?

Oh to be honest, I think I'm that overwhelmed with it sometimes.

That I'm just like, you know what, I'm putting my phone down and I'm going for a walk without my phone.

It's actually a thing my partner and.

I have also incorporated into our life is sometimes we'll go to dinner out to a restaurant somewhere and we're like, hey, we're going to go phone free, so neither of us take a phone, and it is so nice.

It's so empowering. You know, if I take the kids down the park or often I'll go for a walk and i won't take a phone, and I'm like, oh, my goodness, Like this is wonderful.

Yeah, and I feel like you just feel like you have so much more time, which is so it's really a beautiful thing. And I think if more of us did that more often, we'd really appreciate being in the moment and being present.

What about you and your own fitness, how is that evolved? Often? Perhaps some learnings that well, that being on social media has taught you that you've realizations that you've come to over the last over the past decade.

Yeah, I think the biggest thing is I've really been opened up all my eyes have been opened up to so many different training styles and focus points of training. For me now, prehab and rehab is such a big thing. So you know, all those little nitty gritty exercises that nobody really likes doing. I've really started to incorporate that into my training routine and I've noticed the biggest difference, you know, having better hip stability and mobility, working on shoulder mobility and strength and call mobility, things like that.

That that is something that you know, it's like the wholy.

Kind of grail for me now, especially as I get older as well.

You know, I want to keep my body bullet book bulletproof.

So yeah, i'd definitely say more prehab rehab has been kind of like a key part of my training now rather than all the intensity all the time.

On your Instagram bio it says, I help you train better, So how do you do this for people?

So for me, it's about what I've learned over not only the last ten years, you know, probably over the last fifteen plus years I've been coaching.

I really try.

And take aspects from all different areas, whether it be different sports, different training styles, and finding ways where our body can move in a better way, with less pain, with more efficiency. So, like I mentioned, you know, adding things like rehab exercises, the little nitty gritty muscles in our body that don't get strengthened but should so you know, pilates for anyone who's done pilates out there, how we're trying to contract these little muscles and it's so hard to do that. Just really getting to know the body and knowing it's so much more.

Than just squats and push ups.

Yeah, there's so much more that our body should be doing and really helping improve the way our body moves and the way our body feels. So that's kind of what I mean by I want I want you to feel better moving pretty much?

Yeah, yeah, I think we all want that, don't we. Let's give a shout out for a festival your headlighting in WA called xpro. What's this all about?

I'm so excited.

So x Pro is on the eighth and ninth of November here in Perth, Western Australia, and it's actually in my hometown, Scarra Beach, which I'm so pumped about. It is a festival and summit, So on the eighth we have the summit. We have a whole bunch of fitness experts speaking, and then on the ninth we have the actual festival day.

It's going to be so great.

So if you think about any music festival that you've been to, you know there's all different stages and things going on.

It's exactly that.

But fitness style, and there's a whole variety of things. So you know, workouts, yoga, pilates, We've got you jump on the trampolines.

I've got mobility class that I'll be running, which I'm really excited about.

And I'm also doing hit workout on the main stage. So it's really just going to be an amazing weekend and an opportunity for people to be immersed in fitness.

I feel like music festivals are on the decline, but fitness festivals are on the incline. Fitness festivals are the place to be.

Yeah, it's actually crazy, isn't it. A few years ago I did one in Dublin in Ireland, and I went and I swear it was twenty thousand people there.

It was crazy. I was like, what is going on?

No, No, it's true. Well, Amanda, it was lovely to chat to you, and yeah, hopefully we catch up in another what ten years, I'll put it in my diary. Thanks for coming on Extra rel Fish.

Thank you so much.

So do you do your prehab and rehab? Some great advice and tips from Amanda. Make sure you follow her on socials if you don't, and also I will leave a link to the festival coming up in Wa in our show notes. If you did enjoy this chat, rate and reviewed, or of course, you can subscribe to this podcast. Anything else, head to body andsoul dot com dot you follow us on socials or of our print edition which is Ournu local Sunday paper. And until tomorrow, stay extra healthy