GABRIEL JONES PERFORMANCE
31 DEC 2023
Happy new year everybody! Glad to have made it to the end of 2023 healthy and happy, and would like to take this opportunity to reflect and shed some light on another year of ups, downs and ever-blowing winds of change before as always - we go again.
Wins of the year
Reached 50 AoM Subscribers
My goal for 2023 was to increase my readership by sharing the newsletter more widely and regularly. I’m obviously working with some rookie numbers compared to some of the elite writers you can find here on substack, but I’m doing my best and happy to have boosted those numbers a bit, and I don’t see why I can’t achieve more of the same next year! My objective for 2024 is to surpass 100 subscribers to AoM, and get at least 10% of my audience subscribed to the premium newsletter (the jewel in the crown).
Getting back into writing 2 years ago was one of the best decisions I have made, and I’m really enjoying the process of putting thoughts down on ‘paper’, exploring ideas, and learning from the feedback returned from what I put out into the world. Long may it continue!
Set Up Shop in Central London
My new adventures at the UNTIL studios in central London will bring some exciting challenges alongside my work at the Hogarth Club, and those closer to the city than Chiswick can now work with me over there and experience some world class facilities and services.
You can read more about this below, or check out my website for all info - www.gabrieljonesperformance.com/gjp-elite
Became a Regular Investor
It’s one thing to know the importance and ridiculous potential of investing, it’s another to actually set your mind to it, put your money aside, automate the investment and then switch your brain off. For years I had dabbled in putting some money into ISA’s and crypto (small amounts, and never more than I am willing to never see again), and had opened a stocks and shares ISA, familiarising myself with how it works and making sporadic investments.
But as some people know about compound interest (which also many people don’t), it just doesn’t have the same effect if it is a) irregular, and b) not kept to for a very long time. This year I finally sucked it up and committed to putting a sensible amount of money aside, every single month (along with a matching contribution from my wife), to go into a Vanguard account where the cash is invested into the S&P 500. This is whatever happens to be the 500 top companies on the US stock market, and your money is distributed proportionally depending on the % wealth of the company - eg. If Google’s proportion is 2.5%, that percentage of your investment goes there.
Our goal is to continue investing the same amount into this for the remainder of our working lives (perhaps more in future if our disposable income increases), and the hope is that with those 2 non-negotiable factors of consistency x time working in our favour, we should have a tidy sum of money to play with further down the line.
Tracked Everything
In 2023 I wanted to get a better understanding of my body and my habits. Not that I wasn’t happy with my training habits, but I wanted to know exactly how often I train, what I train, how I train (whether it’s a strength session, upper body, lower, going for a run, playing sport etc.) and how my physiological behaviour changes depending on training volume, intensity, sleep quality, alcohol consumption, and so on.
So I went about creating a spreadsheet (as I am one to do), which could help me track all of that information throughout the year and automatically update one giant table at the bottom which would give me a month by month breakdown of all of these activities and physiological behaviours. The fruits of my labour were so insightful I have now created a blank template of the spreadsheet for me to use again next year (so I don’t have to create all of those bloody equations again) - as I’ve got plans to change some of my behaviours and activities, I’m looking forward to seeing what effect that has on my resting heart rates, stress levels etc. in 2024.
GJP Elite & New Direction
Next year I am looking to join-up the various elements of what I do, and create some form of connection for my valued members to help bridge the gap between services and provide a clearer picture of the options available to anyone looking to up their game.
Often I’ll be speaking with a client and tell them I’ve got a newsletter to write, and their response will be ‘oh! I didn’t realise you had a newsletter’. Or my newsletter readership don’t realise the depth of services available to them (or potentially the company that they work for) because they weren’t aware of my wellness mentoring or fitness consultancy services. Here below you can learn more about what each ‘arm’ of my business consists of, and learn for yourself whether there may be another lever you can pull to boost your productivity and efficiency in achieving your health and fitness objectives.
In-Person 1:1 Private Personal Training
The Hogarth Health Club, Chiswick (members only)
Revival PT Studio, Hammersmith (no membership required)
UNTIL Soho (no membership required)
UNTIL Liverpool Street (no membership required)
UNTIL Marylebone (no membership required)
Home & Park Sessions (at discretion)
Corporate Fitness Consultancy
I’m personally really excited about this venture next year, which is going to form a new branch of services for my GJP Elite business from 2024. The corporate fitness consultancy service is a new way for businesses to properly benefit from an enhanced wellness strategy and programme for its employees. Whether that is discounted fitness sessions with myself and associated trainers on-site at the gym facility of the company, or visiting us at the range of exclusive UNTIL studios across central London - the package is there to help companies fit the missing piece of the puzzle once all they have done all they can with equipment provisions and employee subsidies. This service acts as a minimal fuss option for businesses looking to show their team they are invested in their wellness, performance and productivity at work. We bring in the expertise and take care of everything to ensure all resources are maximised.
Interested for your company to come on board and reap the benefits? Book a call here - www.gabrieljonesperformance.com/consultancy
Weekly Session Plans & Mentoring
A few weeks ago I wrote about the single biggest consistency flaw for the majority of people who set foot in the gym - they fail to plan. Even the ones who do have a plan will rarely track their progress correctly, forgetting to inch the goalposts closer towards the long-term goal. But finding the free time, energy, and know-how to create these planning and monitoring habits is not easy - which is where we come in.
GJP conducts a needs analysis and together we will discuss your goals, schedule and other considerations. For the cost of a monthly gym membership, you’re getting a blueprint to your entire training life, tweaks to small details that will keep you injury free and relentlessly upping your game, and round the clock access to expert guidance. You can check-in at any time, update the coach on your progress, and solidify your plans for the coming weeks.
This plan removes all the important decision making from your training process, and provides you with a fast and effective method of reaching your goals.
Online 1:1 Private Personal Training
This is the anytime, anywhere, cost effective and consistency confirming service I have been offering since 2020, which has allowed dozens of my clients to benefit from over recent years.
You can read more here about what a game changer this service really is: www.gabrieljonesperformance.com/onlinept
The Art of Movement Newsletter
Well… You’re reading it. You might as well sign up for the good stuff! The premium newsletter is released once per month in addition to the regular posts and updates, and it provides a more nuanced, intriguing and in-depth insight into the world of health and fitness, for curious minds and keen readers.
Weekly Park Circuits
Weekly outdoor class on Turnham Green, Chiswick, 6:30pm every Tuesday
Attending outdoor classes on a 'pay-as-you-go' basis is £12 per class (contactless available), but if you plan on coming down to circuits more than once per month, this is the plan for you! Not only this, you will also gain access to the entire video episode library, and receive the weekly newsletter and patron updates.
Get involved here! - www.patreon.com/gabrieljones