• Hugh Biss

Health and Wellbeing Q & A: Hugh Biss

Hugh Biss is a strength coach and trainer who set up Move Studio in Devonport early last year. Hugh  is currently working with some of New Zealand’s top tennis players, including current Number One Rubin Statham, who had his best ever result recently, beating Hyeon Chung the world Number 25 at the ASB Classic in Auckland last month. Hugh also runs boot camp sessions at Narrow Neck beach. 

Tell us about how what you do helps make people feel better?

If I can get people more active they generally start to feel better about themselves. The more we move, the more the blood and oxygen flows around our bodies. If we do enough, then endorphins start to flood our system and this enhances our mood. Once we’re up and training regularly, our bodies start to adapt and change. We are starting to achieve our goals. This makes us feel better.

What are the essential elements of your daily routine that keep you in good health?

Keeping moving! Our bodies are designed to move, not sit for long periods. My day is generally non-stop and I’m on my feet for most of it. It’s a variable combination of boot camp sessions, individual sessions in the studio and then either coaching the Black Stick hockey goalkeepers or running after my kids. 

Somewhere amongst this I fit in my own strength training at the studio or head out into the hills on my mountain bike. To fuel me for all this I try to eat a good variety of food that hasn’t had a lot of human interference – the less processed the better! Oh, and good coffee!

What is your number one health tip for the summer season?

Challenge yourself to raise your standards. Whether it is the goals you are striving for, the time and focus you put into training, or the type of food you eat, raise the standard. Regardless of whether you’re just starting out, getting back into it or already training really well, strive to do it be better. Each little improvement will keep you moving towards hitting your target.

What is your own health ambition for 2019 and how do you aim to you achieve that?

In July, a group of us will head to Whistler to ride the mountain bike trails. The mountains are steep, the terrain is rugged and the jumps are huge. To survive, we need to be aerobically fit, functionally strong and a little bit bulletproof to survive any crashes. This type of training is reflected in the work I do in the studio with a large component of functional free weight strength work and then hours on the bike to improve my aerobic capacity.