Busy days!

I have had a busy couple of days - also featuring a migraine and a head cold. Ugh!

Yesterday I taught RPM Hi Performance which was great, but had problems with the mike. I was going to train today before realizing that I've worked out every day for nearly two weeks in a row, so thought taking a rest day may be prudent.

This week promises to be jam packed:

Monday: teach RPM, Mike's program #4

Tuesday: Cardio, Mike's program #1

Wednesday: Mike's program #2 , RPM

Thursday: Mike's program #3, cardio

Friday: teach RPM, Core

Saturday: possibly teach RPM, if not, Mike's program #4, INBA QLD titles..woot woot!

Sunday: teach RPM

Me and that bike are goin' be like peas and carrots!

An hour of madness

I have a wonderful client who a few weeks ago described a program that I had sent to her as "two pages of madness". That had me in stitches for quite a few days. Then the opportunity came up to teach a freestyle "X Training" class and I wondered how I could create an hour of sheer madness - so I put my thinking cap on and came up with a doozy this morning.

Coming from a freestyle teaching background, I had to make sure everything worked into my 32 count music.

The class went like this:

a) HiLo warm up, including sports drills
b) 3 rounds of various drills with recoveries
c) 3 rounds of high intensity Combat style drills
d) Cardio routine on the BOSU with combat drills
e) Squat track
f) Deadlift/upper body sequence
g) 5 minutes of bust-a-gut cardio madness
h) Pilates style ab training with the BOSU/hamstring training on BOSU
i) Cool down.

I had a lot of fun and we were all very hot and sweaty at the end. The rest of the day was spent on domestic duties. Now I'm all ready to go and watch
THe Chaser

I've been a naughty girl!

I joined Facebook last night. I'm having the same experience as when I joined Ebay - looking at the site often. I'm sure I will get over myself in good time :)

Training - feeling good and working hard. Lots of DOMS!

Sunday Waffles

Today's post is a follow on from yesterday's post - Batty left an interesting comment along the lines of whether I look at a competition like a 12 Week Challenge and if I think long and hard the answer would be "no". A "12 week challenge" is open ended (there is no consequence to the end date) whereas I approach a Figure Competition as an athletic preparation with discrete phases and an end date (ie Comp day). Even though getting lean plays a big part in Figure preparation it is by no means any more important than all of the preparatory work you do in the off season. For me, the most satisfying aspect of competing has been having definite goals during each off season. Between my first and second comps, it was all about adding back and shoulder mass and this training phase for me now is all about gaining mass in my glutes and back. Mike and I have been doing a lot of corrective work - I underuse both my hamstrings and glutes - yet thanks to Mike and a whole bag of different tricks, I am feeling the DOMS love in my glutes.

I haven't decided on a definite comp date for next year - depending on what happens with Mike and where the training goes it may be April, July or October. I have to stress again that I think it's more important what you do in the off season than what you do when you are closer to stage ready.

I also must talk about stopping at a scoop of icecream. I struggle with emotional eating sometimes, I can eat out of spite, I can overeat when I'm overly hungry, tired or lonely. However, if I remain on an even keel emotionally, then having a scoop of icecream is not a trigger for me (meaning one mouthful is too many and a thousand are never enough). Get me overly tired and emotional, then I can become a different animal - just like the rest of the population.

Ramble ahead

"Getting there isn't half the fun - it's all the fun". Robert Townsend

I'm in the mood to write about fitness "challenges" tonight - and to make a small confession about them. I'm not into "challenges" as such, I'm into making fitness a permanent fixture of one's life - meaning that whether you train for two or twelve weeks, the goal is the same - to move and eat in a way that is productive for your physique, your health, your mind and your spirit! Sure you "challenge" yourself along the way with how far you can take your fitness journey, but there is really no cut off point or discrete time where you say, "my journey is finished". Like every other part of life, maintaining and improving fitness is a fluid phenomenon - there will be periods in life where other things take precedence, periods in life where you won't feel like doing it, but will make the time anyway and times in your journey where you are soaring towards peaks and great things.

In other words, enjoy the journey! You may start with one idea in mind and end up with a completely different result or perspective. Be prepared to be open to where a so called "challenge" can really take you - hopefully to the door of my Not-So-Secret Society - lifetime fitness enthusiasts - we're the ones you see running around in our Lorna Janes with sweaty faces, the ones you see at the fruit market, the ones who get up early morning after morning, train and become one with the Universe. We're a society that's always looking for new members so tie up those laces and get busy as Cathe Friedrich says!

Today's training was Mike's "Day 2" Lower Body Program and I got busy with Plate Front Squats, single leg Romanian deadlifts and "Walking Spiderman" (what I was thinking by the end was "where does "Holy Batman DOMS" come in- still sore from Tuesday). Then I decided to be even more of a lunatic and teach my RPM class straight afterwards. Ouch!

I've enjoyed a relatively clean day of eating, except for a scoop of Cookies and Cream Icecream - unfortunately the protein powder version doesn't come close (the cookie bits are so small my hubby wonders if they are mouse poo...charming man)

Training :)

Oooh, it's an "all about training" post!

I have just done my second day of Mike's program and it has certainly been different, but in a good way - lots of work to help mobilize my stiff thoracic spine and some challenging upper body work today followed by a moderate steady state run at 11km/hr for 20 minutes. The focus is definitely on strength ~ like Kek, I've been walking around with major hamstring DOMS these last two days.

Tomorrow's training will be Spinervals and I am also teaching Core Class tomorrow. We have added in the back/glute track and I have been running through the best ways of teaching it.

It's been good doing all this stuff lately as my first Fitlink assignment is to take a postural analysis and core conditioning workshop next Thursday.

Aarrggh!

What a day!

It started off OK, practiced my Step choreo for this morning's class which went without a hitch but then got booked for speeding on the way to the gym. How does one get booked for speeding in the peak hour rush - try and take a shortcut - well my little short cut cost me 6 demerit points and a whole pile of cash - which will take several Step classes to "recover". Needless to say I was rather edgy all through step and forgot a whole stack of my choreo. Sometimes you need a "stinker" class every now and again to remind you to work harder and raise the bar somewhat.

Most of the day was spent doing jobs at Indro - had Vietnamese prawn rolls for lunch - but nutritionally my day was far from stellar, completed by a visit to the Subcontinent - Indian for dinner tonight as well as two Slim Secret bars to fill the gaps today. I did have 3 pieces of fruit today though - I'm looking forward to loading up on the veggies tomorrow. My tummy is already paying the price for such processed indulgence.

After much thought I called Fitlink and told them that I couldn't take the job - the hours were Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 6-9pm and all day Saturday - which didn't make it an exactly
"family friendly" proposition. They then asked if I would prefer to work more casually (perfect!) and next week I am teaching a Postural Assessment and Core Stability unit to the Cert 4 group.

You may all wonder what the little pic of Cathe and crew is doing above. On Cathe's site ( www.cathe.com ) you can see a six minute clip of the new DVD series. Cathe again proves that you don't need a gym to kick butt at home. I have several clients who work out at home who are proof positive of this! I will be offering the 4 Day Split for $99.95 - and free postage on this and any other DVD purchased. I will also be stocking new Tracey Staehle and Amy Bento workouts being released shortly. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Now that I've got my little advertising spiel off my chest, I had better go and check what Mike has in store for me tomorrow morning. I have the worst hamstring DOMS!

A quick one from my Universe!

Phew - I'm busy over here.

Thanks for all the supportive comments re: inlaws - it's nice to know that I'm not the only one that struggles sometimes.

Yesterday taught RPM at Toowong, tomorrow am teaching Bodystep at Indro as the regular instructor has sustained an injury and today I did Mike's training session. It was different, but very enjoyable - it's so nice to follow someone else's plan for a change. Plus the best part is that Mike's specialties are right up my alley so I'm not only going to make great physique improvements, I'll also improve my knowledge. What could be better?

In other news, I was offered the Fitlink job. I'm still trying to work out how I can fit it in and will thrash this out with DH tonight.

Forced together via marriage

Yup, this is a post about in laws - I've heard the saying that you inherit another family when you get married whether you like it or not. Plus you're forced to spend time with each other regardless of whether you've made friends or not. I did not grow up with Step siblings so I can only imagine the stress of moving in with a ready made family or inheriting a ready made family as such.

I must say that I've found blending with DH's side of the family extremely stressful. They are nice enough but I feel like if I had never met DH, I would never have been part of their Universe due to differences in interests, personality etc. Today, my MIL kindly offered to look after the girls whilst I did my BOSU course today - unfortunately we got our wires crossed - she thought I was coming back an hour and a half earlier than I had thought I had mentioned - however nothing was specifically said, only implied and I was left with a sense that I'd done something terribly wrong, only I wasn't sure. I mentioned this to DH who then phoned his parents who told him the error - then, angry he phoned me - to which then I took the bull by the horns, phoned them and apologized profusely for the error -I thought I had told them that I would be later.... only I just wished they'd mentioned it when I turned up - would have saved me a lot of indigestion. :(

Anyway, there's always a lot of unease around DH's family - I know they think my passion for all things fitness is a little bit weird but I have to tread my own path and realize that not everyone has to like me, just as I don't like everyone either.

The BOSU course was great though - DOMS is beginning to set into my thighs and my abs and I'm looking forward to waking up tomorrow knowing that I did something worthwhile..

Other workout today: 2 x Spinervals "sets" 30 minutes

Bodystep madness

This is what we do when we have Les Mills launches at Fitness First - this was Luke and I doing our Bodystep launch - the theme was "Angels and Devils" - Luke is very angelic, don't you think? Me, I was having a "devil" of a time trying to keep my wig out of my teeth and my horns from falling off!!

Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes! I really appreciate them! It's a bit weird without DH at home for our "birthday week" - he was on Saturday, I'm today and Miss G is on Sunday! I did scare him a little on Monday when I said something about birthdays and he panicked a bit thinking he'd missed my birthday with the time zone changes etc. I would have really enjoyed letting him know he'd forgotten my birthday for the rest of his existence - meanwhile he is breathing a sigh of relief that he really did remember!

I did end up doing RPM and team teaching with John and Lisa (who is a new recruit). Poor Lisa had to strut her stuff sandwiched between "Team Sweaty" John and myself.

Anyway my next move is the interview tomorrow and somewhere in there I have to my a computer mouse - mine is "cactus" and is driving me crazy :)

Gratitude, accomplishment and having fun

Have you ever had a day where you felt extremely thankful for your life and grateful for the opportunities that you've been given? Today I have felt a real sense of gratitude for what I've been given and the opportunities I've had over this past year.

Tomorrow I turn 38, so I've been reflecting on a tumultuous year, including two Figure Comps (Qlds and Nationals), two moves (one Further into Woop Woop and one to Brisbane), the beginning of a new business, and many lessons learnt. I know there is more to come, more to learn and more to have fun with. I am so lucky that I am now doing what I love and everything is coming together slowly but surely.

I taught Bodystep today, which made me feel rather accomplished as it was my first run through this latest release since launches (for some reason I didn't end up doing a lot of Step this quarter). Mike sent me a whole lot of reading and I've immersed myself in the ins and outs of thoracic mobility and how serratus anterior gets underused and how this contributes to shoulder and hip issues.

My other news is that a week or so ago, I met somebody from one of the Fitness Training Colleges here and had a conversation with them about what I did - anyway I was contacted by them and asked if I was interested in a position as a Lecturer in Exercise Science for both the Cert III and Cert IV students - so to cut a long story short, I have an interview on Thursday with Fitlink, who are opening up a bigger campus in Brisbane. I have no idea how I'll go as I felt my resume looked pi**poor on paper, but the fact that they've still persisted in organizing an interview feels good. Who knows? I'm keeping an open mind about the whole thing.

Probably doing RPM tomorrow!

Trainer gets a trainer!

Ever heard of the quote "sometimes the trainer needs a trainer"?

I have decided, after several years of writing programs for myself (the last time somebody actually wrote me a program was in the prehistoric era...you get the drift) to enlist someone else to design and help me with a training program.

Enter Mike Robertson - he is a Canadian exercise physiologist who majored in Biomechanics. He is also a strength and conditioning coach who does a lot in the powerlifting arena. Mike's speciality is "corrective exercise", that is specific training to improve movement issues - for me, this centres around my glute/hip instability and thoracic stiffness. My goal is to add more muscle, but to do it from a more functional perspective, rather than training as a bodybuilder as such. Sure we can train to add more muscle but I also want to train to be fitter, faster and stronger in every way.

I'm nervous and excited at the same time - I haven't been accountable to someone with my training for so long and I'm looking forward to soaking up all of Mike's expertise in this area. He has released two DVDs - one called Magnificent Mobility and another called Inside Out Training (all about upper body mobility and strengthening).

Training today: teach RPM

PS - Thanks to those who replied on the baking issue. I'll keep you posted!

Bursting the bubble

Gosh so many of you have written and said such nice things about me - it's time to let you in on the truth that I have definitely had some demons over the whole transformation journey. The major demons I have had to face are emotional eating and dealing with trigger foods/situations. The Leanness Lifestyle book sums up a trigger food pretty well ...

"where one bite is too many and a thousand are never enough"

Most people that have issues with food usually have a trigger food/situation and I am no different. For the most part, I keep it under control, but this week poses a particular challenge.

My "trigger" is baking - yep, that's right, baking. I could go hog wild on both my finished product or the batter that turns into my cakes, biscuits - cookies for the Americans and pies :) This week I have to bake three birthday cakes - Miss G's birthday is on Sunday, Hub's birthday was on Saturday, but I'm expecting him home on Miss G's birthday and cupcakes for the kindy. Ugh. I am actually thinking of buying them this year to avoid a trigger episode. I get around this trigger by purposely not baking any more. Surprisingly, chocolate is not a trigger for me. I'm one of those irritating people that can take a week or more to eat a block of chocolate.

It's been a rough day in other ways - Miss G has developed an ear infection and I spend a good couple of hours today at a 24 hour Medical Centre getting her seen to. Then I had RPM in the afternoon which was a welcome respite from the events of the weekend - unwell cranky children are never any fun - really caned it too - average HR 153, max 171 - woohoo! I also trained my shoulders - I'm committing to train at least one body part when I go and teach classes, that way all my training gets fitted in. I have quite a heavy class load this week, so will have to be mindful of pushing those weights in.

Feel like I've just sat an exam!

Yes, that's right - I'm "coming down" from teaching my first "Core" class today - I had the Cluster Group Fitness Coordinator filming me, I taught with the club GFC (that was no problem, we are great mates), the Club PTC (Personal Training Coordinator) came as well as one of the other PTs that has done the course. Not to mention forty seven other participants!

I'm not terribly gifted in the Public Speaking area, though as I get older (like a good wine), I am improving. I had to give a 20 minute talk about the class and what message we were trying to get across...eg BOSU safety, how to activate transversus abdominus, multifudus etc. Luckily my background of having a dinky SIJ (and several thousands of dollars spent on physio) has given me some foolproof ways of teaching people to activate TA, so overall I did well there.

Then it was onto the actual workout and whilst I made a few choreo errors, they weren't noticeable and we came through in the end. I was pretty nervous at the beginning and I felt such a sense of relief when it was over and dizzy with the triumph that I nearly remembered everything :)

Did I mention I have BOSU DOMS? Yikes!

back at it

Back in the saddle again today. I'm still feeling a little weary but that's probably because I did some smokin' intervals on the treadmill after my workout this morning!

Workout today:

Warm up: 20 mins running (5.15min km av HR 130)

Chest/Biceps including BOSU work (I'm teaching Core tomorrow)

Running: HIIT intervals 14.5km/hr 30 seconds, 10 km/hr 30 seconds x 20. Ouch :)

This afternoon, I am going to spend going over my notes and preparing for the Core program which I teach tomorrow. I think I've mentioned it before, but it's deceptively tough.

Thanks to everyone for their well wishes for a speedy recovery - those wishes definitely worked!

Off the pony and into the mud!

Grrrr... I have come down with a heavy cold (hope it doesn't develop into anything more ) and Miss G has had a recurrence of whatever was ailing her last week. I feel like I'm moving through mud right now. I'm wondering how much nose blowing actually constitutes a workout.

Can't do anything except wait for it to pass.

Eating a Small Pony

"Skwigg" referred to the fact that she's been eating so much she could devour a small pony and I feel like I am headed in this direction myself. I have increased my calories faster than what Precision Nutrition suggested for a "metabolic reset" and I have been absolutely ravenous! I hope this means that my metabolism has "woken" up further. I haven't weighed myself, nor measured anything - though I did log my food on a few days - yesterday's effort was in the vicinity of 1900 calories which I'm pretty pleased with. Visually I look no different and a few people have asked me if I've actually lost weight (gotta love that!)

The girls and I met my parents at Indro to have a Father's Day get together and cup of coffee which was very nice. Now I'm going to take the girls to the park for some bike riding and fresh air. It's a bit flat without DH around though. I have spoken to him though, he arrived in Cape Town on Friday evening and restarts his course at University of Stellenbosch on Monday.

Core and More....

I have just spent part of the morning revising our choreography for the new Fitness First Core Program which is launched in Queensland this week. It's been exclusively choreographed by Mike McSweeney (who originally designed Bodypump) and let me tell you, it is not an easy class to teach, nor to participate in. My hamstrings, glutes and abs will be sore for days after the pasting I gave them during our practice session.

I also ran 40 minutes at 75% Max Hr which translates into 5:15 min ks. I'm pretty happy with that. I also did some leg work.