5 Random Factoids about myself~

I was tagged by Leslie for this one. The key to add five random facts about yourself people may not know about. Here goes....

1) I am a really messy disorganized person - I will stay on top of what needs staying on top but the rest of my life (and the house!) is a disaster zone. I am married to a neat freak and I drive the poor man nuts as I lurch from one disaster to another.

2) I don't have a full set of adult teeth. I still have my baby molars in the bottom jaw - I'll have to get a bridge put in when they fall out. They've been going strong for 38 years so hope I keep them awhile longer.

3) I have dreams where I see a plane crashing. These happen to me quite often and I often find myself looking in the skies for possible imminent plane disasters. I know they're only dreams but they sometimes bother me.

4) Even though I am in the science area, my best subject at school was English and I got the top mark in my Senior year.

5) I am one of five kids - the eldest and get on well with my parents.

I tag Livy, Rene, Kerryn, Michelle S and Michelle M

Tag-a-Rama

I've been tagged TWICE, well three times actually by Rene, Livy and Leslie.

First the FOURS.

FOUR DISHES I LIKE TO COOK:

1) Veal proscuitto wraps cooked in Italian tomato puree served with sweet potato mash and steamed greens.

This is always popular with our guests.

2) Gourmet Pizzas - from scratch, dough and all!

3) Mango Chicken Salad with Asian Flavours -this has become a Christmas institution.

4) Donna Hay's Choc Chunk Cookies, yum!

FOUR QUALITIES I LOVE IN PEOPLE!

Honesty

Integrity

Compassion

Enthuisiasm /joie de vivre

FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN

Vancouver, Canada - lived there for a year and worked as a personal trainer for the very rich and sometimes famous, but mostly rich. My favourite client was a lady named Penny Perfect - we used to laugh about her name, she was pretty much perfect in every way.

Seattle, USA - DH and I went on an unforgettable salmon bender whilst travelling there - bought two salmon steaks EACH for dinner as well as seafood entrees.

Hong Kong, China. Loved the culture, loved the contrasts, loved the pace.

Whitsunday Islands - I went bareboating for 2 weeks and did a lot of snorkelling, fantastic.

FOUR THINGS IN MY BEDROOM

Reading lamp and books - on my table is a copy of "Julia and Julia", the latest Oxygen US magazine and my Precision Nutrition folder.

The ironing board: I never get enough ironing done to put it away completely and it accumulates all sorts of things.

My ear plugs: DH is a snorer.

Workout clothes laid out for an am workout.

FOUR DIRTY WORDS I LIKE TO USE:

Brothel (as in "the place is so filthy it looks like a brothel)

Crap!

eeewwww (though that's not a word)

I can't think of any more.

Have I burst your bubble yet?

Monday - what an original post name

Pretty busy Monday here - taught RPM, had a little run on the treadmill and just about to do my golf ball exercises.

I've eaten well, worked hard and I'm going to bed happy :)

Eating Out

Weekend nearly over and I'm just about to roll into another very busy week ahead. I don't think I have mentioned that DH and I are going to build a house! We bought some land about two years ago which has a view of the city (albeit - it is far away, but still!) and now that we are back in Brisvegas, we've decided the time is right to build.

We have spoken to various designers and the last few weekends have been spent trawling through display villages. We have two homes picked out that may fit the bill, but as our block has a slope, some of these project builders may not be too keen to work with us.

Today we looked at homes from Metricon and Adenbrook and by about house 4, I had already had enough! We decided to go out for lunch and we went to the "Coffee Club". I ordered a Chicken Tandoori Wrap with salad and when my meal came out, I reckon it could have served two for lunch quite easily. As someone who has been brought up to clean my plate, it was initially difficult to immediately request a doggy bag for half of it - but once I had eaten all of the salad and half of the wrap, I was glad I had made the decision.

Which leads me to the issue of how our eyes are bigger than our stomachs and is it part of the human condition that we're lulled into thinking "more is better" and "better get a Value meal" etc. However if we stop for one moment and think - "am I pleasantly satisfied?" half way through a meal, especially like the one I described, the answer will be "yes". I think the "clean plate brigade" have a lot to answer for - I don't know how many times I have cleaned my plate, just because the food was "there", but I'm slowly becoming more discriminating!

Exercise wise, it was double-RPM this weekend, Hi Performance on Saturday morning and my regular Sunday afternoon class. I particularly enjoyed Hi Performance and went in feeling a bit nervous about what expectations members have of a one hour sweatfest - some really want to smash themselves and others are apprehensive - so I really went to town on workload versus recovery - which worked really well.

Today's class was also fun and I got to hang out with a friend who has done her RPM course too. We got a chance to practice our new choreography and I swear that girl is a demon on Track 3~ ouch and double ouch!

Cheered and where to from here?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been having trouble with my left knee and as I was not 100% convinced by Monday's physio explanation, I decided to seek out a second opinion at the University of Queensland Sports Medicine Clinic. I am so glad I did as the physio that I saw was fantastic. I do have popliteal and VMO issues but I'm lucky that I've caught this one early - the root cause of this problem is my wonky pelvis. I can still continue on with my normal training load and I have been given more pelvis homework. I am feeling so much better now about resolving this issue - what a relief.

Sam asked me about what my own plans were for the future. As you know, I have been doing some online work with Mike Robertson (www.robertsontrainingsystems.com )and I have been really happy with the programs I've been given. There are obviously limitations in working with somebody on line - how can they check technique etc, but since I've been doing Mike's program, a lot of my lifting has improved out of sight. My squat and deadlift technique is much improved and I've learnt a lot from Mike's perspective. In the upper body department I've been lifting a few PBs too.

The online business has been really busy and I have quite a few people to prepare for competitions next year and ensuring that their preparations are hassle free is my top priority. I could almost now get away with just training athletes, but I like a variety of people to keep me on my toes. That said, I'd like to don the bikini and the heels again in 2008 - however this depends on how I balance my own training, my clients, my hubby and children and life in general. All of these goings on however are no excuse to drop the ball nutrition wise or training wise - I try and live what I believe every day.

I am loving my classes at Fitness First - I have picked up a Bootcamp style class (Xtrain) on Wednesday mornings and now have a weekly RPM HiPerformance class to teach as well. I taught CORE today and really enjoyed it. It is such a change of pace from RPM and Step and I've really improved with the exercises as well.

The Lindor ball experiment unfortunately didn't last for long - it was not of my doing however. Poor Hubby, who is a chocolate fanatic, couldn't help himself and scoffed them in one sitting when I wasn't looking! He owes me a box of Lindor balls :)
Well that's about it from me for today. I have to feed Miss G - she tells me she's hungry :) (not unusual in our household!)

Coming Up for Air

Wow, it feels like forever since I was able to catch up but I've been on the run pretty much since Friday, with the Les Mills Quarterlies, a pharmacy locum on Saturday, Sunday RPM and my current coaching commitments.

In the middle of this, I have done something odd to my knee - something is rubbing against my meniscus as I internally rotate my tibia (this means that when I squat deep my knee is clicking as my tibia is rotating). I visited the physio, who didn't know quite what was going on, but when he palpated my popliteal muscle and hamstring tendon, I nearly went through the roof. I then had the most excruciating trigger point therapy...ouch.

A new program from Mike also landed on my desk today. Progression from my original plan which is nice. My deadlift technique is definitely improving, though I'm finding single RDLs hard going.

Teaching RPM tomorrow and really looking forward to it :)

Gene Elite results

A few months I posted about how I have started offering Genetic Profiling for clients and I recently decided to take up the genetic challenge and find out more about my gene pool - the good and the bad.

The GeneElite test looks at 16 different genes and their positive or negative variations. For athletic and fitness purposes they are divided into four groups - Bodyfat metabolism, Lean Body Mass Development, Recovery and Nutrition (how well your liver processes and removes toxic elements).

I scored poorly for Bodyfat Metabolism and "average" for Lean Body Mass Development - specifically my negative variation have to do with cardiovascular risk rather than muscle development. My recovery is good and my liver works better than most ("excellent" for toxin removal).

The downside of being me - without attention to proper nutrition and training, I am a "heart attack waiting to happen". Coupled with my poor body fat metabolism I have a very high potential to develop Type 2 diabetes if I am not careful. I have to be more careful with keeping my weight down than most of the population. Whilst I felt disappointed in such results, I'm not surprised - I have PCOS, everyone who has passed away in my family has had cardiovascular issues. I need to maintain my cardiovascular fitness to help my heart health, I need to be particular with my nutrition. However, cardio as a tool for fat loss is not effective for me. Greatest fat loss for me comes from heavy lifting, according to my profile.

On the positive side - I recover particularly well from training, which means I can tolerate high exercise load without too much trouble. I also have an excellent liver which removes all sorts of junk. In my own experience I know I respond to good nutrition and healthy eating.

To sum up, I'm going to look into having some bloodwork done and check out what's going on with my heart health. I will supplement with folate and B Vitamins (this is specific to my gene variation). I will continue to maintain a healthy lifestyle - for example - whilst eating food with trans fats is not recommended, in my case eating food high in trans fats eg Nutella, is akin to poisoning myself ) and I will continue to keep working at keeping my weight stable.

This post isn't really intended to sell this product, rather share my experience of how I feel about finding out about my genetic makeup but if anyone wants to know more, they can contact me through my site.

I must say that given my poor fat metabolism, I've done a pretty good job of prepping for competition ;)

If I thought 2007 was a big one, look out 2008!

I cannot believe the amazing year I have had with starting my coaching business, teaching classes and moving back to Brisbane.

My general coaching and Figure Prep books are full and I'm really looking forward to what 2008 will bring. I must say that I am enjoying this aspect of things immensely. There is nothing better than to see people "bloom" as they progress with their training and nutrition. No two trainees are the same which means there is no set formula I use with people. It may sound hokey, but getting fit can be a life changing experience. I see the same thing in my classes - I have met such great people through teaching classes at Fitness First - I can see myself teaching classes for many years to come.

There are some other big plans in the works which I'm not quite ready to talk about (and no that doesn't include having more kids so rest easy).

I taught two classes today - RPM and Bodystep. I am definitely feeling a little cardioed out. I had to have a Lindor ball to bring me back into balance :)

Busy busy and the "off season" look

Here's a great pic of Alicia who is almost at the peak of her "off season" training. I'm particularly proud of Miss Alicia because she has totally turned her whole training and eating regime around in the past few months ... and as you can see from the pic, she is living lean and loving life as well as putting on a good whack of muscle - this is evident by the fact that she can do many many unassisted pull ups! Doesn't she look awesome?

I managed to put in a fairly decent week training wise and was absolutely thrilled to hit a PB on my dumbell press yesterday. I gave the girls a good thrashing in RPM yesterday.

Today, though, the traffic was so bad that I missed half of my class, my fantastic GFC stepped in and taught the first half - though my legs certainly weren't happy about starting at Track 5.

It will be a busy week with 6 classes to teach and 4 strength training sessions to complete. I am now looking for more progression from Mike which will be interesting. But first it is off to prep for Bodystep tomorrow at Toowong.

"befores", on post comp nutrition

I have finally managed to work out how to get Shannon's before pic up so you can see where we started from in April 2007. There is quite a difference there, don't you think?

Shannon and I have been working on post comp nutrition and have been focusing on gradually gaining weight in a healthy way. In our photo shoot, she is a kilo heavier than she was at the comp 10 days prior. Being around to support Shannon post competition is extremely important to me as many athletes, myself included often experience "post competition let down" as the goal you have worked so hard to move towards has been achieved and moved past. Celebrating the achievement, working through the natural lull that occurs afterwards and resetting the focus is another journey in itself!

Despite being saddled with really horrible TOM - I don't know why some months are worse than others but the old Nurofen are being treated like Smarties here - I did Lene's RPM class and then taught "Core". Brutal is the only word I can use to describe Lene's class - Track 6 was 3 x 90second repeats at close to 100% - I was cussing at him under my breath today.

Looking forward to hopefully seeing Anne and training lower body tomorrow morning.

Trying on a different hat!

Yesterday Shannon and I did our own "photo shoot" at Fitness First, Indooroopilly. We had been searching around for a good photographer to take some shots (unfortunately Jadey has been booked solid). Then we came up with the brilliant idea of doing them ourselves - so we got down and dirty to "Fergalicious" (what's a photo shoot without pumping music, right :) ).

I have to say that as a rank amateur, I'm thrilled with these pictures! I tried to remember my own photo shoot with Jadey and tried to work with the different textures and colours in the room/gym. Often Shannon would move into a certain position and the Gestapo in me would take over and yell out "Stop! Hold it right there!"

I'll be posting more pics over the next few days, but just wanted to give you an idea of how we did.

Today I did a cardio only training session - I can't remember the last time I got on the treadmill and I did what I call a "creep" run, steady state elliptical and these evil "row n race" intervals. I then blasted my legs with defensive squats off the step - 3 sets. Those who read my blog and are also clients know that I have a real penchant for giving my workouts different names. I think it's so much more interesting than "ride the bike for thirty minutes", names like "Bike Smasher" workout sound way more intriguing.

I'm off to send a few emails and watch "Bionic Woman".

quick catch up

Busy times as per usual! Let's see, yesterday Miss S was unwell and my dearest hubs came home early so I could go and train - I trained lower body and did some cracking "acceleration" work on the bike. Ouch! Unfortunately I slept weirdly on my shoulder last night and my neck/shoulder area is giving me trouble now. Not good when you do a lot of computer work~ it will be the wheat pack treatment and gentle mobs. tonight and physio if no better in the am.

This morning I taught Bodystep (did 5 Tracks from Bodystep 47!) and did upper body. My shoulder was not bothering me at the time. Then Shannon and I met for our own little photo shoot. Our first choice of course was Jadey, but she has been super busy - so I assumed the role of photographer and took 100 shots of Shannon - now I will have a pic of her for everyday of my blog - but she looked fantastic and well, she's worth it :). We put on some great music (think "Fergalicious"!) and got down and had a bit of a groove.

I'm still on an asparagus bender. I knocked off two bunches today - one with lunch and one as a snack with some of my Thai Chicken Rissoles - who said eating well had to mean eating bland, boring food? I obviously need an intervention!

The other thing I meant to mention is that Cathe's new DVD arrived. I immediately did the kickbox/Bootcamp workout - 53 minutes of sheer heart pumping madness. Woohoo!

Balance, Brilliance and Finding Success

I have been reading an interesting post by Peta today all about the subject of "balance" and what it's concept could possibly mean - might "balance" be a concept invented by the winners to trick the losers into claiming a false sense of dignity?" Peta then dances around the topic of obsession - looking at an article by a sports psychologist named Jeff Bond which basically states that " focus and motivation aka mental attitude is 90% responsible for successful results", and suggests that Bond is saying is, "how do you become obsessive (especially when everyone tells you otherwise)?" I think Peta is trying to point out here that sometimes you need an obsessive streak to achieve your goals, fitness or otherwise - a good point IMHO, and yes, I think you do need to have some "fire in the belly" to get the job done.

I'm leaving out the details of the rest of the post which you can check out by clicking on "Peta's" name on my side bar to check out the rest of it. I like Peta's posts, she is a real thinker and challenges the status quo.

But back to me..

I think the concept of "balance" doesn't have to be banal, neither does it need to be boring. Rather I think in some ways it could be called perspective. I don't believe you have to shackle creativity, passion, achievement or most importantly inspiration to achieve "balance". Balance/perspective is different for everyone. If your passion, calling or goals is blighting you physically, spiritually and mentally, it may be time to have another look. Passion, brilliance and heady madness can coexist with peace.

If your passion makes you thrive and dance the dizzying heights and is energy giving - chances are that you're also balanced. If what you're doing sucks the life and energy out of you and possesses you like the Ring did to Gollum, then you're out of whack. You could call it positively or negatively "obsessed". Wow, I think I may have just gone around in a massive circle. I need to work more on my writing skills I can see.

Today I have had Miss S sick and vomiting. Luckily my parents were able to watch her whilst I taught RPM this morning. I am guessing that tomorrow won't be much better either. Time to break open Cathe's 4 day split - arrived today.

I've been on an asparagus bender!

I love this time of year when asparagus is in season. I chomped through two bunches today. I just steam it for a minute or so, then dunk it into icy water and it makes an awesome snack. I don't know what my work mates thought today as I did a pharmacy locum for the first time in months but they all commented on how much food I could put away. As well as all of the asparagus I had put together an absolutely gi-normous turkey salad for lunch and I munched on a Slim Secrets bar, smoked salmon and a small banana. Yum :)

However, I am not always perfect when it comes to eating and as Rick Kausmann writes in his fantastic book, "If Not Dieting, Then What?", everyone will overeat at one stage or another due to a multitude of different factors. Last night, it was all about the food. A dear friend of mine from Fitness First (who is Indian) made me a curry - a beautiful lamb biriyani with exquisite saffron rice and vegetables and nuts. DH and I fell on it like we had been deprived of food most of our lives and it was "game on" to see who could scrape out the casserole dish first! It felt good going down, but I definitely felt uncomfortable about 20 minutes later. It was just another thing to chalk up to experience - watch out for the orgasmic rice I say !

I managed to get in a third strength training session for the week - I am extremely proud of myself - upped the weights for all exercises, quite the thrill really and I am sitting here with DOMS from head to toe.

Definitely looking forward to some R and R tomorrow - slopping round the house and reading the paper.

I twang mai fu king glootes!

Had my second training session of the week - I started off with a 20 minute treadmill run - it feels like the longest time since I did this and then it was down and dirty with Mike's program, firstly using a foam roller to mobilize and stretch all my stiff bits (and there are a few of those), glute firing exercises and hip openers - yeah I was the crazy girl doing a "Walking Spiderman" up and down the gym. I got a few stares - I'm sure a few blokes thought I was going to spin a web and fly into the RPM room but it just didn't happen.

Instead I squared up in front of the mirror and did 5 x 5s of conventional deadlifts, finishing strong with my glutes. Then I gave my glutes the treatment with plate front squats - I did these side onto the mirror and as Mike predicted, my squat technique is so much better - here I am getting my butt lower than my knees, my shoulders lifted and the best part - my feet are solidly on the ground. Yeah Mike!

Then it was onto Single Leg RDLs - can I tell you how much I suck at these - had to use no weight in the end and focus, focus, focus on technique and not losing my balance. Jen Hendershott makes these look so easy in Oxygen Magazine....ugh!

Then onto lunges - on the third set, my tired glutes gave up on me and I felt a "twang" in my left glute - so I stopped, stretched, did my Woodchops and called it a day. I'm just about to get a heat pack to sit on. Ouch!

Shannon and I met up yesterday and we had Vietnamese - totally yum. We had a great time reliving our comp moments and having a good laugh and importantly coming up with a post comp nutrition game plan. She gave me a great box of Lindor chocolates and a gift voucher from Pure Indulgence (to treat the tan-hands: ) ) and I gave her the beginnings of where we are heading post comp. It is great to be able to take someone to a competition in great shape but it's even more important to get back on an even keel nutritionally afterwards and regain weight in a healthy way.

That's about it for me today - teaching CORE tomorrow at Toowong - I learnt last week that short shorts and BOSUs don't mix well - you have to watch out for "BOSU bum".

One for Lia!

Here is another photo of Shannon showing off her awesome back. I promise I'll stop soon, but I just can't help myself :) Somebody stop me ;)

Here she is!

Now honestly, who do you think has the best make up here? I certainly know who had the best body, that is for sure. Here is Miss Shannon, looking amazing again at the ANB titles last Saturday. Her upper body is sublime but look at those legs - they came in full, shapely and not an ounce of fat on them! I'm particularly proud of them because we both worked our tail off to bring this area on par with the upper body and I think that together we totally nailed it! Results is equal to commitment, trust and plain hard work! Yay Shannon! As you can see I was wearing my "Competition Brown" T Shirt - you can go out anywhere and nobody notices all of the Dream Tan marks on it!

This week has not gone according to plan so far. My poor Miss G has been ill with vomiting and diarrhoea - which has meant putting my training plans on ice for the week. I am certainly finding Mike's program challenging as it is forcing me to think outside the square more and to get away from what I call "bodybuilding mentality" ie training a muscle just to get bigger - sure you can train all of your muscles to get bigger - but if it's not done in a functional progression you end up bigger with all sorts of imbalances which hinders training in the long term, meaning that you may achieve "results" in the interim but they won't be near as good as the results you get from taking a long term view of the situation.

So here I am plodding along, slowly getting better at what I'm doing!

Tired and tanned!

Phew, another busy weekend with Shannon competing in the ANB Queensland Titles at the Tivoli.

It was another early start with my sister, who is a hair genius, doing Shannon's hair (and giving me a trim at the same time). We then headed off to the Tivoli for the Competitor's meeting which was a rather casual affair - then it was down to the business of applying Shannon's Dream Tan and helping her to "pump up", all the while promising her a jelly snake if she behaved herself!

She actually came in a little tighter and leaner than last weekend and we had the symmetry and muscularity rounds in the morning and the routine for the night show. We were able to get up close and cheer very loudly - it was great fun.

The evening show was a riot - I ended up helping out a few other competitors with their tanning and pumping (that sounds so funny written as is) - just loved the music that a lot of the other competitors were using for the routines and started making a few of my own up out the back. I'm sure Di and Jo are very relieved that I just do the training and conditioning for competitors, NOT the routines.

It was great to see Di and Tara (who looked considerably tighter this week too) at the show - the camraderie between all of us is what makes it all so much fun.

RPM this afternoon. I hope I don't fall asleep on the bike, I really do :)

Busy days!

Whew, it doesn't feel like I've stopped after Saturday, but here's a brief run down of my activities.

On Monday I taught 4 classes and did Mike's upper body program - 2 RPM, 2 Bodystep - absolutely caned it. Naturally on Tuesday I didn't feel up to doing too much at all, so I took it easy and today I did RPM with John - it was so nice to sit back and concentrate on my own ride and I paid particular attention to using my hamstrings in my pedal stroke today. I dipped out on my weights though - I simply couldn't face the thought of doing deadlifts after RPM, so I have them on the schedule for tomorrow morning instead.

I think I am definitely improving with all of this glute and hamstring work - I haven't paid too much attention to my physical appearance lately, rather I have been focusing on really putting the effort in with my training and ensuring good nutrition. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror today - I think I may have put on some size in the leg department -but if it means I can thrash my class that little bit harder in RPM then who am I to argue?

In other news, Miss Shannon and I are doing the ANB on Saturday. This is such an awesome fun show to watch and we are going to have a ball (as long as I keep drip feeding her those jelly snakes of course )

Stage pics one

Pics!

Even had some time to flash those triceps~

This photo was taken just before Shannon went on stage - having a bit of fun pumping up and popping out those muscles. We were really well organized with everything and had time to take these photos.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

I have just come home from the INBA titles, exhausted, but happy! I am so proud of my client, Shannon, who won the Novice Figure Division in a tough line up of 14 girls. I am so proud of her for being consistent, training hard and listen to her coach ramble on. That she got a big fat trophy, well that's the icing on the cake really!

We took heaps of photos and as soon as I can get some sent to me, they are going up on the blog!

I also had the pleasure of meeting Tara, whose journey has been nothing short of incredible. That back shot of her on the blog does her no justice....and Tara's routine, put together by my beautiful friend Di Broeren was amazing. Actually all the routines Di put together were awesome and it was great to see all those red "Fabulous Figure" girls running around and having so much fun together.

Bring on 2008 I say :)

I am getting fat..ooops I meant "phat"

I've decided I'm going to go to Phat Camp next year in Melbourne! I'm looking forward to it already!

Have had a great day - DH has joined the gym so I decided to inflict a "Liz Style" workout upon him. I easily outperformed him in doing some push ups on toes. I am going to enjoy this whilst it lasts as I'm sure it's not going to last for very long. Once DH gets going, he'll be unstoppable!

We then had to run a few errands in town and had "Sumo Salad" for lunch - as far as takeaway food goes, this is the bomb - I had Moroccan Lamb Salad and a small capeseed roll - I was laughing to myself as the salad maker asked me if I'd like a bread roll - after a hard training session and feeling a little carb depleted? Come to mama!

personality and the internet

I was reading LIVY's post about loneliness, social contact and the internet. I felt for her as I know only how awful I felt about living in Woop Woop - and Livy's personal "Woop Woop" is a lot more remote than mine was.

Some of you may laugh but underneath it all, I'm a rather introspective introvert (does that make sense). I love to hang out with like minded people, but on many days I liken myself to a crab - love a moment in the sun, but also enjoy scuttling back under my rock for a bit of solitude. I find the Internet a real haven for my INFJ (check out the Kiersey Temperament Sorter!) nature - I can interact with others in all sorts of deep and meaningful ways at my pace, my place.

Some people make the mistake of thinking that introverts don't like hanging out with others. I don't like hanging out with large groups of people I don't know. I am no party starter (OK, except in RPM), but with people who I know well and within small groups, I am passionate and intense!

To sum up, I think the friendships you can make online are really worth it. I've met so many great people in the Figure/bodybuilding area and have been lucky now to have met many in real life. That's why I'm contemplating Jen Hendershott's Phat Camp in Melbourne next year - a chance to get together and be passionate about what we're all interested in :)

Figure/Physique Preparation 2008

Just wanting to let anyone who has any interest in competing in 2008 and wants Figure or Physique preparation coaching that I have two spots available for potential competitors in the first half of the year. I cover all aspects of physical preparation for competition and have access to excellent posing/bikini resources here in Queensland. If you are interested, please contact me via the "Store Contact" form on my website.

In other news, today was all about RPM - poor John is unwell, so I taught RPM and the half hour technique class before it.

Girl got it done...ka ching!

Today, training has gone to plan....today I taught RPM and did Mike's Program. Yay me :)

Not much else to report from my end of things - "figure fever" is going to be building and very strong by the end of the week though!

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.

Figure Fever!

It's officially almost the beginning of the Figure Season with six weeks to go until the INBAs on 6th October. I can almost smell the Contest Colour already! I have a client (she will be laughing at this because it sounds so damn formal) competing in Novice Figure and I am just as excited as she is about bikinis, posing, shoes, music and of course competing in top physical condition. I have no concerns there - we met today and she is in great shape.

I put together a rather impromptu upper body workout today followed by interval running on the treadmill. At one stage I got up to 14km/hr on my sprints and still felt like I had more in the tank when I was done. It's amazing how your mind can be self limiting - I've always had it in my head that I can't run fast and here I am on the slope running towards 40 and running as fast as I could in my 20s. Must be all of John Berardi's fish oil!

I am one blogger who is not participating in Craig Harper's Challenge. I know many of you have been positively affected by what Craig (correctly) writes, but somehow, he doesn't do it for me with his writing style. Is it exercise physiologist envy or what - I don't know - as I agree with most of what Craig writes - maybe it is just down to writing style and nothing more. However to all who are participating, happy Challenging - I won't say "good luck" because luck has nothing to do with good results when it comes to body transformation.

I'm glad I'm not the only one having bovine issues

Thanks for the votes of sympathy on my "fat bloated cow syndrome" - it's amazing to think that at any given time, 25% of the female population is probably going through the same conundrum. Even though it is a pain, I'm in awe of the complexity of the female body and all of the hormones that come into play for a shot at potential reproduction.

I had a day off today - it felt like everything was achy and bloated and I managed to knock over all the laundry and ironing, mopped my floors,vacuumed and generally unleashed my inner domestic goddess (yes, she hides in there somewhere!). I'm looking forward to some strength training tomorrow. Back to Week 4 of the Christian Thibandeau program, some BOSU work and some running.

DH leaves at the crack of dawn tomorrow to finish the final phase of his Management Development course in South Africa. He won't be back until late September, so it will just be the girls and myself. I don't mind it initially, but after a few days really begin to miss his company.

Going nuts on a Wednesday

I taught RPM this morning - pushed it hard but not as hard as I would have liked as TOM surprised me this morning. This evening, I'm feeling like a fat bloated cow. Which leads me to ponder...do cows themselves ever feel fat and bloated themselves. Too much green grass? Who knows?

My Precision Nutrition experiment continues - I would guesstimate that I've upped my caloric intake by about 200-300 calories and my energy levels (despite TOM) are very good. I did have a moment when I grabbed a few macadamia nuts to eat with my afternoon snack - that voice from the Nineties shrilling at me: "they're too fattening" - this wasn't a good feeling to match my fat bloated cow style physique right now, but I march onwards and upwards anyway.

I'm looking forward to finally returning to some strength work now that the craziness of the launches is over. Lift, girl, lift!

A Precision Nutrition Day of Eating

Meal One: scrambled eggs, broccoli, beans and snap peas, slice of low fat cheese and good handful of almonds
Meal Two: Slim Secrets bar and apple
Meal Three: oats, protein (whey), milk, berries (raspberries and strawberries in liberal amounts), pumpkin, cauliflower and carrot soup
Meal Four: 150g cottage cheese and 2 cups mixed steamed veggies
Meal Five: pumpkin soup and nuts
Meal Six: salmon and grilled asparagus :)

Energy to Burn!

Gosh, I feel like quite the mad scientist today - woke up to a Precision Nutrition compliant breakfast of eggs, vegetables and nuts and then headed off to teach RPM for Ruthie T. I really felt like I caned it this morning - I was lucky enough to have Alicia come to class today for a bit of a get together and I told her afterwards that I was really begging for mercy after Track 5 (did anyone say "Pain Killer"? LOL! I got to see Alicia's beautiful Style on Stage Bikini. I have to say I fell in love with the colour and adornments and it made me think it will be fun to compete again when the time is right.

I had been pretty much eating in a very similar fashion to what Precision Nutrition recommends - veggies with every meal, lean protein with every meal, but what I wasn't doing was having enough fat. I'm a fat phobic stuck in the 1990s - I'm amazed at how much better I feel with a bit of extra fat in the old system. I'm experimenting with Precision Nutrition to see if I can "set" my metabolism higher - so it's all a big fun experiment right now.

Ok, best be off to dinner soon - salmon with pecan meal and steamed veggies - yum yum!

Aaggrh Monday

Unfortunately for me, Miss G was unwell today, so I had to call in absent from my regular Monday morning RPM class. I am teaching for Ruthie T tomorrow and fingers crossed, little Miss G is feeling much better.

I still managed to get in a workout today, albeit a little interrupted - I did Cathe's Bodymax 2 - Cardio only premix which clocks in at an hour and later in the day when I felt I wanted to stretch my legs, did a 30 minute Spinervals set on the bike. As I posted yesterday, I am amazed at how much I'm sweating these days - it was less than 10 minutes and the bike and the carpet square underneath it were looking like a bit of a cesspool.

The photo above is of Cathe's newest DVD set due out in September - a 4 day heavy training split with four very intense cardio workouts. I will be in heaven on the days I decide not to go to the gym.

Launches done (back to back workouts!)

I thought this picture was really appropriate for today as I have done "back to back" workouts today - taught Bodystep this morning and RPM this afternoon as well as RPM yesterday morning.

Yesterday morning I taught with Emma, the GFC at Toowong, which I really enjoyed, although I muffed up Track 7 a bit. The great part about it was that because noone had done it before, it really didn't matter.

Then I was up for Step this morning with Luke from CBD who is just an amazing step instructor. He was fantastic.

Then it was RPM today with "Macca" - who I had never met until the start of class but after we got used to each other, we settled down and rode together beautifully. It's great to ride with someone where you're not worried about maintaining the same cadence etc - as the Honda ad says "isn't it nice when everything just works?". What I'm really proud of is that little 5'5" me sweated a noticeably bigger pool of sweat than 6'3" Macca :) It's the little things :)

Thank you to everyone that contacted me about Fattitude and PN - I sold Fattitude and was able to get my PN upgraded so everything is good. I'm doing a lot more with Precision Nutrition now and looking forward to sharing my experiences with it as an independent reviewer (the internet seems to love John Berardi ). From what I've done though, he's very much into eating for athletic performance, health and vitality. Which is excellent from where I sit.

For Sale!

I am selling a copy of Craig Harper's "Fattitude" - it's brand new and unread. I already have a copy of the book - it was originally published under the title of "Your Perfect Body" in 2004.

Anyway it is $20.00 Australian + postage. Feel free to contact me at liznelson@bigpond.com if you're interested.

I also have John Berardi's "Precision Nutrition" Vol 1, including 4 DVDs and "Gourmet Nutrition" for $100.00 Australian + postage.

Rolling along!

Today's training: prefatigue quads workout (10 minutes of ouch!), teach Bodystep - that wasn't part of the "plan" but Shelley called me this morning, sick as a dog and I was happy to help her out. It was a good class - the Wednesday crew are a really nice bunch and as well as working up a terrific sweat, it was good fun.

After class, I grabbed a quick bite - my "On the Go" standby of a Slim Secrets bar and piece of fruit and then headed back into the gym to learn my choreography. After an hour of playing around, I was ready for a shower and lunch (which was prepacked in my cooler/Esky and just waiting to be eaten!).

This afternoon was spent with the girls at Jazz Ballet - they are just too much fun to watch - then home for dinner and catch ups with clients.

Another Rainy Day!

I'm delighted to see another rainy day. It's just one of those days I feel like curling up under the doona with a good book - but not before I meet my training and fitness obligations of course!

This morning's workout was a good one - 4 x 1 km repeats on the treadmill at sub 5 minute k pace with 2 minute recoveries , shoulders and tricep training and then 25 minutes hard at it on the Spin bike going through the new RPM release. I've pretty much stitched up RPM except for troublesome Track 7 and this afternoon I will probably get started on the new Bodystep release.

I'm still in total hunger mode, so I am going to make myself a pot of vegetable soup. Today I am blaming it on the rain! Gotta blame it on something - I do know that I'm not preggers, so I can rule that one out :)

Does anyone know anything about dreams? I had a dream that I owned a cheetah as a pet and despite my misgivings about its fangs, it behaved more like a giant pussy cat. It was very vivid!

Starving!

Ever have one of those days where you are just really ravenous for no apparent reason? I'm chalking it up to RPM today - felt like I absolutely thrashed it this morning.

I'm looking forward to some strength training tomorrow and more work on my choreography.

Rain!

It is raining in Brisbane today - it is so nice hearing the sound of rain on the roof! It's real "get under the doona" weather but for me I had to teach RPM which was quite good once I got going. I also spent nearly an hour going through the new choreography for our launches next week. I just have to knock over Bodystep now and I will be cooking with gas.

Plans for next week include:

Monday: teach RPM + RPM practice
Tuesday: Bodystep DVD + run + weights #1
Wednesday: Bodystep Tracks 1, 7, 8,9, 10 + RPM + weights #2, BOSU work
Thursday: Bodystep Tracks 1, 2,3,4 + run + weights #3, teach Bodystep fill in CBD.
Friday: Bodystep run through, RPM run through, weights #4, BOSU work
Saturday: Launches
Sunday: Launches

IF I can actually nail all this, particularly the choreo for Bodystep without too much drama, I shall be a happy, happy camper.

BOSU madness!

Today's workout involved a mixture of traditional strength training and BOSU work, as per the course work we have for the "Core" program.

My workout went like this:

Warm up: rower

Prefatigue quad workout: leg extensions, then squats as a superset...ouch!

Prefatigue chest workout: flyes then incline bench press as a superset, double ouch! Teamed with BOSU plank pushups, triple ouch!

Bicep workout: Barbell curls followed up by hammer curls.

Then 5 minutes on the bike - Tabata intervals (puke worthy ouch!)

BOSU hamstring/glute work (feel the burn)

5 minutes Tabata intervals (double puke worthy ouch)

BOSU hamstring/glute work (variations)

10 mins escalating intensity on elliptical

BOSU abdominal work

10 minute steady state elliptical (I was running out of gas by this stage and it was all I could muster)

BOSU back extension work.

Thoracic BOSU stretch (aaaahhhhh!)

It was higgeldy piggeldy, but it was quite a workout!

I had energy to burn I guess as we went out for tapas last night and I indulged in some lemon tart for dessert. I haven't had this for yonks and enjoyed every mouthful.

We are now off to take the girls bowling. Should be fun!

Spoiled by DH

It's our 11th Wedding Anniversary today and DH has spoiled me rotten with a Tag Heuer watch. I really wasn't expecting anything as we have been hit and miss over the years with our Anniversary and gifts - someone's been sick or at work etc and things just have never gone to plan. My parents in law visited us in Woop Woop last year to babysit so we could go out ...only the problem was, there was nowhere for us to go, unless you count the vegetable free pub in Banana, yuck.

Anyway I was just blown away by this gift. I have to get the wrist strap adjusted, but I'm going to look great with my watch on one arm and my heart rate monitor on the other.

Speaking of heart rate monitors, I wore mine for training this morning which consisted of:

4 x 1 km repeats - 2 at 5 min k's and 2 at sub 5 min k's which I was rather chuffed with.
Then it was onto the Prefatigue workout - 5 exercises in total which doesn't look like much, but sure packed a punch. Plus I have the most amazing hamstring DOMS from Mike McSweeney's Core course, which was really interesting. I have plenty of practice to do on the BOSU but I'm confident of eventually nailing all of the moves, some which require a lot of balance and core strength/stability, which unfortunately is not my strongest suit. However I find doing things I don't "like" initially turns me into a convert once I'm done!

Never quite the way you plan!

I was looking at how I organized my week and it definitely won't end up to plan - for example
it's been:
Monday: teach 3 RPM
Tuesday: run - sustained endurance + Prefatigue Workout A
Wednesday: RPM @ home
Thursday: Core Course at Mount Gravatt

After that, who knows? I think planning is wonderful but I'm trying not to get too disappointed with myself when things aren't exactly so.

I have started learning the new RPM release - so far, I'm enjoying all of it - I haven't got a favourite track picked, though I'm leaning towards Track 6 - I like cadence work.

Last night I ate fruitsalad for dinner (not the one above, but pretty darn good) - sometimes you go through these phases where you are not one bit hungry. Yesterday and today have been one of them.

Tuesday

What a super inspiring name for the above post! I pulled up much better than I had anticipated from the knockout punch of the three RPMs and did a treadmill run -sustained endurance intervals for 30 minutes which really got up there intensity wise by the end and started Week 4 of the Christian Thibandeau program - the reps are now in the 12-15 range and there is a lot of prefatigue work going on. I trained shoulders and triceps and I can feel the DOMS in the top of my shoulder caps.

It's Miss S's 8th birthday today and she has had a lovely day. It is exciting to see how excited your children get on their birthdays and she's had a wonderful day. I took 27 cupcakes to class today for her to share with her class mates and teachers and this afternoon we had various family members wandering in and out to wish her a Happy Birthday.

Tomorrow is a Public Holiday here in honour of the local Show and I am going to try and get stuck into some training at home.

crap, I'm tired!

I've just taught 3 RPM classes today and the last two were back to back. According to my HR monitor, I burned over 1000 calories. Now if that doesn't deserve a Koko Black hot chocolate after dinner, I don't know what does.

Stepping it up!

I've been inspired by Lia to get myself organized. I'm moving into a very busy week with learning the new Les Mills choreography and attending Mike McSweeney's Core Course for Fitness First - I'm also moving into the next phase of Christian Thibaudeau's program which is all about pre fatigue type work which should be interesting (and DOMS inducing to say the least!).

My exercise week is looking like:

Sunday: Horizontal Dominance Training Upper Body, 30 min cardio

Monday: teach RPM

Tuesday: Prefatigue workout A

Wednesday: RPM at home, learning choreo

Thursday: RPM revision with Em, Bodybalance

Friday: Prefatigue Workout B, cardio

Saturday: Prefatigue Workout C, cardio

Sunday: teach RPM

My personal week is looking like:

Monday: work (programs etc), make birthday cake, cupcakes for school

Tuesday: Miss S's birthday

Wednesday: Public Holiday - activity with family

Thursday: Core Course

Friday: lunch with Steve (it's our 11th wedding anniversary!)

Saturday: 10 pin bowling and Sizzler party for Miss S

Sunday: off

Unfortunately with launches coming up, a day off doesn't look likely until the last week of August. This is when I'm going to schedule another day of indulgence! I'll have certainly earned it.

My other good news is that my physio, Dan, thinks my glute control has improved and he has given me the go ahead to keep squatting, deadlifting etc. I still have a long way to go with it and it will never be perfect, but it's really heartening. I am throwing in the Bodybalance to help open my hips - I did Balance last week and compared to Tony's yoga, it's a piece of cake. Well, not quite - but not as hard as I had remembered it to be.

'flu who?

Seems like there is an epidemic of influenza in Brisbane right now with offices almost being shut down due to illness. My poor hubby started getting symptoms last night and came home from work today feeling dreadful. I've bundled him up into bed and lamented the fact we sold our spare bed before we moved back. I feel like sleeping in our bed with a brew full of flu virus in the air would not be a good idea. I had severe flu which hospitalized me about 7 years ago - I'd love to carry over some immunity from that but I feel too much time has now lapsed. I've set up another mattress in Miss S's room and hopefully that will stop me from getting the flu as well as the usual handwashing etc. measures.

I finally got to do some strength training today - I did Vertical Upper Body Dominance for the last time and was thrilled to note big improvements in my chin ups (nearly back to unassisted). I also got in an interval run and Bodybalance class.

Reflection..

Sometimes you have to do what you don't want to do and sometimes you have to say what you don't want to say.

I was subbing a Bodystep class over at Toowong on Tuesday morning when shall we say, I had some difficulty with a participant. I have rarely had any altercations with anyone during my long group fitness teaching career but this lady decided that she was going to stand right up the front, change all the choreography and not lower her step height when asked. I dropped a hint or two and then I finally decided to stop the class and tell her that it was my duty of care to advise her to drop her step height and that I would not restart the class again until she had done so. She asked me if she could see me after class, which was perfectly fine with me - however her definition of "seeing me after class" involved a whole swag of abuse rather than a constructive conversation. I, meanwhile was harbouring a degree of regret that I'd been such a pussy and not just kicked her out in the first place!

I guess I'm one to just try and give "peace a chance" first!

And on doing something you don't want to do, especially if you are trying to change your physique or your body for the better it is often something you MUST do in order to move forward. Does it feel natural? Hell no, but work at it long enough and it truly becomes part of your lifestyle. Getting plenty of exercise and eating well are now as natural as brushing my teeth but it wasn't always this way! I had to break through the discomfort barrier first - small steps, but it is worth it.

I have been participating in a Veggie Challenge with some other Leanness Lifestylers - at least 4 cups a day all of different colours and at least 10 different varieties. I could have counted the different variety of lettuce I had in my mesclun salad leaves but thought I'd go for more Chinese veggies and baby corn to bring up my numbers. The challenge has only run for a week, but it has reminded me again of how much better I feel when I put clean fuel in the tank. The TOM symptoms are easing and I'm beginning to feel almost normal!

PMS

Ack, PMS/TOM time - and this month I am suffering. I'm usually quite fine during this time, but for some reason a menstrual curve ball has been thrown at me this month which has had me craving sugary junky food and a hot water bottle. Said junky food is out of the house and I'm enjoying a nice cup of tea .....