Today we had the opportunity to sit down with Jacob Hellberg, one of the country's leading life coaches and mental trainers. He has a top-ranked podcast called "The Life Coach" which you have probably seen explode to number 1 on iTunes in the health category.
Jacob also educates other coaches in collaboration with a training institute and has founded the app "My Perfect Day" which helps users change their lives through daily habits and routines.
Today we will share Jacob's insights on exercise, physical and mental health, routines, and of course, diet and supplements.
Let's get started!
Hi Jacob, thank you for sitting down with us. It's really great to have you here! For those who don't already know, who are you and what do you do?
Hi! Thank you, this is going to be really fun.
My name is Jacob Hellberg and I have over 20 years of experience in personal training. A career that came about because I was able to overcome my doubt, my excuses, and the false ideas I had built up about what happiness really is.
By working with others' physical health, my thoughts were confirmed that physical form plays no role at all in happiness and well-being if mental strength is not present. Both the physical and the psychological go hand in hand; one does not work without the other.
Therefore, I began my journey to help others improve their routines, habits, and lives by addressing the root of insecurities and building discipline that lasts a lifetime.
In addition to working as a life coach and mental trainer, I am also, as mentioned, a personal trainer for people around the world. This includes many big names such as Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding, Alexander Skarsgård, and Lukas Graham, to name a few.
That's a very interesting journey you've had. So what do training and health mean to you now that you've come so far?
It means and has almost always meant an enormous amount to me. I have always seen myself as an active and healthy person, so it would be impossible for me to just lie on the couch and stuff myself with pizza and ice cream. That's just not "who I am." Training and health, however, are a fundamental part of who I am. And when something has become part of one's self-image, it goes against one's nature to act in a way that is not in line with that.
With that said, I have enormous understanding that it is just as alien for a person who has never exercised or lived healthily to suddenly go to the gym every day and completely change their diet, because it is so far from who he or she is.
So to answer your question; Training and health for me don't just mean going to the gym and lifting weights. I wholeheartedly believe that you have to change your personality to change your reality.
You mentioned that you've trained world-famous celebrities like Katy Perry, Lukas Graham, and Alexander Skarsgård. Why do you think they chose you instead of a local coach?
Good question! I like to think that competence is one of the reasons, but honestly, there are many others who are just as or more competent than I am, so I think it's a combination of many other things as well.
I fundamentally believe it's about the ability to read and adapt to the needs and circumstances of different types of people. Besides that, I always want to be as humble and flexible as I can, and I've also never been "starstruck," which I guess they appreciate from a personal trainer they spend a lot of time with.
Yes, we can imagine that! But whether you're a celebrity or not, this question probably concerns many: How do you succeed with a long-term, sustainable training plan?
It's really just about setting it at the right level and constantly being flexible. Many often make the mistake of shaping their training according to circumstances, but circumstances will rarely be completely optimal. Then it's important to be willing to lower the bar when it gets tougher. The "all or nothing" mentality that many delude themselves with NEVER lasts in the long run. Believe me.
No, one can probably relate to that. So how do you view diet and supplements in conjunction with training? Is it something everyone needs or only if you train at a high level?
I wouldn't claim that the need is solely about "level," but rather about giving the body optimal conditions. In an ideal world, diet would be sufficient to do that, but it requires an incredible amount of knowledge, planning, time, and discipline to eat in a way that we get everything we "need" through food.
Personally, I like to supplement my diet with supplements that I know, or believe, can increase my ability to perform optimally, both physically and cognitively. Some supplements have stronger evidence behind them than others, but we should never underestimate the power of our own beliefs and the effect of placebo.
Speaking of planning and discipline. How do you find inspiration and motivation for regular exercise if you don't have that habit?
As I said, what we do on a daily basis is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves. So to achieve long-term sustainability in training, fundamental changes in both habits and behaviors are required.
Many talk about motivation as the golden rule for performing at the gym, but regarding motivation, I can reveal a secret: It is VERY seldom that I feel motivated when I'm going to the gym. But you know what, I do it anyway. Discipline beats motivation any day of the week.
Motivation is also not something that just "comes to us" without reason; we have to create it ourselves. And we do this by putting "right foot in front of left" and making sure to pick up the pace. Momentum creates motivation!
Could you give our readers four tips for taking the plunge and starting to exercise?
● The only way to GET started with training is to START. It's that simple.
● Lower the threshold. If you set the bar too high, it's easier to find excuses – find a level that suits you.
● Start simple. Exercise for 5 or 10 minutes a day, take a walk around the house every morning, do 10 squats when you brush your teeth, or just go to the gym and have a coffee.
● Increase gradually. Sometimes I put my clients on a 2-minute workout routine just to get them going and get them into the routine. It's important to start at the right level.
Good tips! But we wonder; besides being an online coach, you're also a mental coach, what does that entail?
As a mental coach, I help people gain an understanding and insight into why they think, feel, and act the way they do. Above all, to learn how to change their emotional and physical behavior so that it is more in line with the person they want to be and the results they want to create in life. I also educate other conversational coaches in collaboration with a training institute.
What is the difference between a traditional physical personal trainer and your online workout setup?
Unlike my many years as a PT, this form of training is a more complete tool. It's not just about what you do at the gym, but also how you live in between. In online coaching, I have more or less daily contact with my clients to answer questions, push and motivate, but also to hold them accountable for the goals we have set together. Sometimes a gentle helping hand is needed. But sometimes a good kick in the butt is needed, and I am available to help with both.
What differentiates my online coaching from many others is that I see the holistic view, sustainability, and long-term aspects of the new behavior rather than how many kilos and reps my clients lift in a specific exercise at the gym.
