Important vs Not So Important

I'm sure that I've blogged about this before, but a weakness I possess is a definite lack of organization - luckily for me this week's Bootcamp assignment was all about time management and prioritization - what's the most important thing? Dave spoke about making yourself number one priority (ie if you make yourself number one, then you're freer to give to others, especially the most important people in your life eg life partner, children etc). I've been treating life like an octopus in a string bag (no doubt, any mother would have heard about this in relation to kids) - I think I have something sorted and then, bang, out pops a tentacle!

I've definitely been guilty of spending too much time on the internet, Facebook etc and I've spoken to others about how "reading blogs does one's head in". I'm going to quote Elizabeth Waterstraat, who is a triathlon coach in the US who wrote almost word for word, what I think about reading too many blogs. Must make mention here that it is all to do with the perspective you read them from - if you're feeling vulnerable or fragile, sometimes reading about how fantastic life is for everyone else can be downright depressing. I also wish to mention that if things are going swimmingly for any of you that are reading this, then I am genuinely pleased for you - really I am - but I need to work on time management and prioritization. I enjoyed this in the context of "Important vs Not So Important" very much:

"getting caught up in comparing themselves to everyone else out there who always seems to be having a much better go of things, doing everything faster, better, stronger....

Isn't that always the case?

Reader Beware: You can get caught up in the web of blogs, Facebook and twitting. Everybody is
always nailing their workout, going 2 minutes per mile faster than us and doing it all on nothing but a saltine. Awesome! Sign me up for that training plan. Makes the rest of us feel like complete slugs as we slog away at 12mph in our basement while keeping up with the Kardashian's.

Nothing so awesome about that.

But that's just the way a lot of that stuff reads. Everyone is doing more than us, doing it more often, doing it faster, doing it better, doing it sexier than anyone else. I look at Facebook and even I feel like a slug. 20 x 2 minutes at FTP? Jeez! If you want to scare me fill a paper bag with air and pop it in front of my face. No need to include the letters FTP in that. I'm trashed, I'm killing myself, I'm blah blah...what it all really boils down to in our heads is:

I'm better than you. Even though that's not what they're saying. But I bet that's how it makes some people feel.

" In life we are limited by two things: time and energy. Spend both wisely. And only read, affiliate with or engage in things that keep you moving in a forward direction. Know that you don't have to turn your head. You can keep your eyes forward, look at the road ahead, know where you are going and focus intently on the task of getting there.

I like blogs, I like blogland and keeping a blog has been a positive experience for me. But sometimes it is good to step away and fill your head with something else. Read your own story. Write your own ending. Be that girl. And get obsessed with yourself.

You can read the full post here

Inadvertently, I've found myself swimming sideways. It's not actual content of blog per se, it is the amount of time that I've frittered away reading blogs when I could have been moving forward onto other stuff, which is the scary part.

I've made a start to reorganizing my blog - I've been inspired by Lia and may even try Wordpress. I've deleted all the dead links from my blogs - bloggers who have removed their blogs or haven't posted in over six months and tried to get rid of stuff that is just cluttering everything up.

In the spirit of making it all about me, I've done some good training in these past two days - Upper Body yesterday (and yes, I'm in a world of DOMS today) and Legs today - just three exercises - squats, RDLs and pull throughs were quite enough for me today - didn't lift particularly heavy weights, but am really feeling it tonight. I have three RPM classes to teach tomorrow, so I've factored that into my nutrition for tomorrow - yes, spending more time with myself means focusing more on nutrition. The mechanical part of Bootcamp is going surprisingly well (down to low 58s now and dropping - it's definitely a different body shape that is presenting itself in this phase of action. Someone at the gym told me I looked "rangy". A case to do more resistance training if there was one! I have some old photos from last Bootcamp, so am going to try and put some progress shots side by side and maybe post them, if I'm feeling brave!

Will leave tonight with another cracker of a quote from fellow bodybuilder and LL Coach, Mary Leach:

"The past and future live only in our mind, and we hold no power with those. The immense power that we have to change our lives, to chart our course to success, will always exist only in THIS moment, THIS decision to act in a way that brings us closer to what we desire."

Checking in and Catching Up

Can't believe it's been a week since I posted - I had thought that with a week off I would be blogging everyday - but I decided that I needed a holiday from blogging as well, so I've laid low.

Let's see.. Monday was spent doing the usual, programs, catch up on emails, bills and about five loads of washing that somehow had gone by the wayside (training that day was doing the boogie with the iron).

Tuesday..a lot of the same - got to practice some of the new Bodystep and went out for dinner with Mike Robertson, who is in Australia presenting an excellent seminar on lower back care. I've been fortunate enough to have worked with Mike in 2007 and the early part of 2008 before my surgery and as I am nearly a year post op,will be looking to take my strength training to a higher level again this year. It was fantastic to be able to meet Mike in person and we had an excellent dinner talking about various training philosophies and his training facility etc.

Wednesday - Picked up latest copy of Australian Women's Health and Fitness magazine - this month Lindy and I have an article about resistance band training in there, so check it out.

Thursday: Taught Bodystep class and then raced off to help Mike and Paul set up for Mike's Seminar. I am loving the Thursday morning Bodystep class and having so much fun. Mike's seminar was fantastic - really solidified a lot of the stuff I teach my clients. Organized a workout for him at Fitness First. Then met Carolyn and shared a fabulous upper body workout including some bicep work that made us both want to cry - I had guessed we'd make 8 reps of said protocol - we were both screaming for mercy as we got to rep 4 - I've been telling her that my biceps now hate her and that her Jedi mind tricks won't work on me anymore...sheesh I'm glad she appreciates Star Wars as much as I do. AFter a great Vietnamese dinner I collapsed into bed.
Friday: Day of complete rest and food shopping.
Saturday: Taught RPM Hi Performance - nearly full class and the focus being on "strategy" - 100% effort @ 15seconds is different to 100% at 1:30 - nearly killed myself in the process but all good. Did 2-3 hours of Bootcamp telecasts on time management and prioritization of what matters in the afternoon.
Sunday: Went for a walk and took Miss G to two birthday parties, ate Boervors with hubs and have chilled out for the rest of the day.

I'm looking forward to a good workout tomorrow and getting ready to have another battery of tests done - still numb in fingers and toes but thankfully most of the swelling has gone down and I'm back to being a badass!

Ditch the Diva!

I've written quite a few posts about this in the past - I am talking about the "All or Nothing Continuum" - that is you're either "on" or "off" with no happy medium in between.

When I coach clients, I ask them to fill out a questionnaire and when I ask clients to describe their relationship with their eating, at least 80% of them will respond with, "I'm an ALL or NOTHING person". When somebody writes to me and tells me that they've had a big binge they will say - "I totally overdid x, y or z - BUT I'm an ALL or NOTHING person". In the meantime, I'm thinking, "so that statement gives you permission to act like a complete doofus then, does it? You'll just shift the blame to some other out there side of your personality.. because you're ALL or NOTHING and you CAN'T do anything about it...so there IT IS". It's the same principle when I hear people tell me that they're ALL or NOTHING with carbohydrates (yes, my poor misaligned macronutrient mate) - they're not intolerant to carbs usually, but their belief system is.

Let me be the first to say that all of these people that I deal with are totally worthwhile human beings - some of them may even be reading this and thinking.."geez Louise, she's being pretty harsh today". Let me also say that whilst I can find the "all or nothing continuum" frustrating, I also get to witness first hand the amazing changes when these beliefs are left at the roadside and as Tony Horton would say, "it's a beautiful thang".

What characterizes the "ALL or NOTHING" type - as I wrote in my post about the Beast yesterday, the AONT (abbreviation people!) breeds off absolutes and negativity in their self talk whether they know about it or not. For example - the statement of "I'm such a failure when I eat carbs, they are all bad for me" would be a classic example - Negativity - "failure" and Absolute - "all". The problem with the AONT is that they stop there - they don't question their Beast - eg "are carbs bad", "what evidence do I have to suggest that I not eat carbohydrate?" , "what does failure and carbohydrate have in common". When an AONT can see how nuts their type of thinking is, then there is the opportunity to learn and grow - for example: " I can see that some types of carbohydrates don't react so well with me - like sweets and cakes - but from doing more research I can see that they don't work well for a lot of people - so I'm not alone - I'm not a failure. I'm going to find out what role carbs play in the body and make an educated decision about my beliefs".

A belief is just that - a belief. It doesn't mean that it is FACT.

As well as self talk, the AONT fears letting go of the dramatic, diva-ish behaviours that come with the territory - is it so AWFUL that the scale goes up 0.5kg overnight, is it so TERRIBLE that Aunty Betty (who you haven't seen in 25 years) invited you for dinner and served you tiramisu, is it a DISASTER that it's raining and you have to change your training plans? The AONT feeds off catastrophe - these issues are minor compared to the disaster in Victoria last week - that really has been tragic.

The AONT may also believe that if they lose the drama, they'll lose the edge. Who said that taking a level headed tack about most things was the same as accepting mediocrity. Being even keeled may seem to good to be true for the AONT, but if it is continually practiced, eventually it becomes second nature - nothing worth fighting for is ever "natural" at first - tennis may be "natural" to Serena Williams but that's after 10 million hours of practice.

Taking a more level headed approach to things can actually bring our goals into razor sharp focus - lose all the drama and what do you have - your goal and a pathway to reach it.

Now it's back to me:
Training today: RPM 42 - learning the new choreo! Meg Chalker, who is an Aussie, is on this DVD - she's a mountain bike expert and a superb rider - look out for Track 7 is all I can say.
Cathe's new STS - Mesocycle One, Disc One - I thought I was really improving on my push ups but Cathe's 16 Bootcamp ones knocked me for six.
Rest: taken
Eating: superb!
Dirty Di: 1 can of Diet Coke

Fighting with the Beast and my plans...

Everyone has a Beast - Shelley and Katie call theirs "Mad Monkey" and I call mine my "Inner Gollum". Why Gollum? Because Tolkien (author of "Lord of the Rings") has done an amazing job of portraying your subconscious in the character of Gollum - any Lord of the Rings fan will know that Gollum spends most of his time fighting with himself in the book and dealing with a nasty addiction to his "Precious" - the Ring, which in the end takes him to his fiery end.

The same analogy can be applied to weight loss and physique transformation. Much has been written about "The Beast" and your subconscious in the weight loss arena. Put simply "The Beast" or "Gollum" is part of your subconscious, the internal chatter that goes on in your head all day - after all we spend more time talking to ourselves than we do any other person. For someone who is losing weight and feels they're addicted to certain foods, the Beast can have an absolute field day convincing you that you should have x, y or z to make you feel better. It's easy to become scared of "The Beast" who can get very peevish and say things to you along the lines of "You'll never get to experience anything nice ever again", "you're always going to miss out", "why shouldn't I indulge and treat myself?" amongst other things - AND the kicker is that "The Beast" can become so insistent that we forget that we're the ones who are in control.

I have just listened to an excellent lesson on self talk by Coach David Greenwalt. This is part of his Bootcamp program and I really got a lot out of it. We all have a tendency towards negative self talk - and it is this negative all or nothing/in absolute terms "eg I suck at eating well" (negative and absolute) that allows "The Beast" to sit in for a nice round of cards. So we need to go back to continually practising our positive self talk eg "I may not have the best record in eating well, but I can take this step "blah" to get me on the right track" (honest and positive). In effect, losing weight (as is the case of prepping for a comp or just getting lean) is not the answer. You can lose 2 or 20kg and if you haven't learnt how to deal with this change psychologically (ie you can say with 100% certainty that the outside matches the inside..ie you're no fly-by night fake living in a hot body) then you are not likely to succeed in the long term.

This week signals TOM week and my Inner Gollum has been having a field day trying to tell me that it is OK to bake some sweet goodies (my trigger). Conversation has gone something like this:
Inner Gollum: "How can it possibly hurt to make one batch of chocolate chip cookies?"
Me: "I don't want the feeling of Monday Morning, ie I wake up with the regret of Sunday in my head and feeling like I have to paddle ferociously just to hold my position in the water."
Inner Gollum: "But you've tidied up the house and you could do with a treat, something you enjoy"
Me: "Whilst I do enjoy baking, I haven't been able to come to a landing yet in terms of it triggering me to eat everything."
Inner Gollum: "The entire family have gone out for the day. You could buy all of the ingredients and spend all afternoon baking and no one would ever know".
Me: " Well I really don't want to pretend I'm hungry for dinner when everyone comes home when I'm stuffed to the gills with fat and sugar".
Inner Gollum: "You are so weak".
Me: "Shut up already, I can't believe I've had you clattering around in my head about this for the last two days. I actually have things to do and I'm done with procrastinating. I know you tell me that I have hopeless time management skills - but that is so negative and absolute. I am improving all the time"

and so on....

Lately I have been wondering about the value of this blog and my contribution to the blogging community. Originally I started this blog to document my journey to compete in two Figure Competitions whilst living in a remote area. These days I wonder what my relevance is to the bodybuilding community in the competitor sense - I'm not sure where I'm headed in that regard - being unwell certainly hasn't helped that - I'm proof positive of the saying - "you make plans and God laughs".

Many coaches keep blogs to help attract business but I don't want my blog to be that - I want a place to write where I can keep it real. Being able to write about what is going on is cathartic for me.

In that spirit, over to me - I mentioned Leanness Lifestyle Bootcamp - I am on the bus for Bootcamp 11 (I did BC-3 last time) and I am now in a strong action phase - my goal to be lean enough to do justice for another photo shoot. Luckily with Lindy and Dallas down the road, hiring an excellent photographer is not a drama.

I have been lucky enough to have the week off work, and am planning on getting plenty of rest and learning the choreography for RPM 42 and BS 75 as well as doing Cathe's STS - Mesocycle 1, as I slowly improve. I taught RPM Hi Performance yesterday and got to meet the delightful Selina. I was nervous that I would be suffering in class but I think the iron is doing its job - all systems go. In between all of that I shall be sleeping and eating really well and practising my positive self talk.

Favourites

I saw this on Katie's blog and decided to play :)
1. Weight training body part?

The pulling axis. I don't tend to train body parts discretely these days, I group exercises together that need to be done so I move better.

2. Cardio exercise?

I'm a cardio fanatic. I love nothing more than to give the old heart rate a good shake. I love RPM, intervals, long slow distance running, cycling, swimming and everything in between. At the moment I'm having a Bodystep Renaiisance - been teaching 2x week and loving it.

3. Intervals or steady state?

Both - they have qualities that I love depending on what I'm doing and where I'm headed with my training.

4. Carbs – friend or foe?
Friend - only become a foe when they get into bed with lots of fat attached to them.

5. Cheat meal?
I don't do cheat meals. I prefer to honour myself daily with choices congruent to my lifestyle and my core values.

6. Treat?

An Indian meal out, good chocolate and pecan pie for dessert :)


7. Protein Powder?

I use Ladybird products but when I want a protein powder treat, it's Biotest Metabolic Drive, hands down!

8. Gym outfit?
Summer: workout skirt + sports bra + Lorna slogan singlet (my favourite - "Never, never, never, give up!"
Winter: Bootleg pants, workout top and Canterbury compression tops.

9. Runners/Shoes?
Brooks Glycerin, Nike Free
Casual/apres gym: Teva

10. Clean or Dirty Diana? (clean healthy food or healthy with naughty extras)
I'm a mainly Dirty Diana chick, but going Clean retunes your taste buds

11. Inspiration?
For my scientific mind: Mike Robertson and Eric Cressey
For a fit body: Sam Stosur....muscle rules! Michelle Bridges... what a career she's had!


12. Fat Loss Philosophy?
If losing fat was just about calories in and calories out we'd all be skinny.

I'm going to add a few more:

13. Favourite Fitness Related Store or Brand:

I am a big fan of Team Estrogen. It's a US based online store which has the best cycle gear, workout shirts, skirts and tops , postage is great and stuff gets here really fast.

14. Last fitness related item you picked up?

April US Oxygen Magazine, from my mail box.

15. Your fitness philosophy?

Enjoy yourself! Play your edge! And be cool...

Laughing in the face of danger

I'm finally back - what a week it has been!

Firstly my test results came back negative for Ross River and Barmah Forest (sounds spooky!) virus but found out that my iron levels are at big fat zero, so I'm now taking iron tablets to treat the resulting anaemia - it's amazing, here I was at zero and still belting out some pretty intense classes - the power of the mind and what you believe are critical to your success. I am about to do a Teleconference on "The Secret" and basic "Law of Attraction"....ie if you think you can, you probably can!

However, I'm not completely out of the woods with this thing. The swelling has gone down but it looks as if I may be off to a specialist next week for further investigations. I've been given two weeks off work, so I am currently negotiating with the powers that be about contract suspension.

The "laughing" part of this post refers to what the scale is doing. On Wednesday morning I was a tidy 58.5kg. By Saturday I was weighing in at 64kg with no dietary changes (I would call this the mother of all fluid spikes). If I hadn't known any better, I would have been fretting about the scale doing my head in, but when you are logging your food (decided that being accurate was the best defence) and drinking lots of water, you know that you can safely jump on and have a good old cackle at the number that is reflected back at you. By yesterday I was finding the whole fluid retention thing a bit tiresome, but finger swelling dropped right back and I've just nudged under 60kg again. Further proof that whilst the scale is useful, you need to back it up with other tools!

Hopefully, this whole episode has been nothing serious and has given me a bit of a laugh!

OFFLINE (but back soon)

Hi everyone,
Just to let you know that I'm offline until Monday or Tuesday. My hand swelling has become worse and my knees and toes are now joining the party. Have just come back from a round of blood tests and will know more on Tuesday. Dori, you were right -doc is looking at Ross River as the culprit - hopefully if I have it, it's a mild case as I don't have any other symptoms.

Cheers (and as Arnie says - "I'll be back!!!")

Puffer Meister

Don' t know if it is the weather or something going on with me but I woke up with the most swollen hands, fingers and wrists - both sides - it actually started last night in my middle fingers, so here's hoping it settles down shortly as it is painful. I trained a few clients today and actually had trouble holding the weights! Which meant I had to cancel on Carolyn tonight which is a bit of a bummer as I not only get to train her, I get to socialize afterwards - last time we went to the Bali Grill and tonight we were planning Vietnamese. Grrr!!!

Anyway will be back much later when it doesn't hurt so much to write!

Denial Workouts and Weight commentary

After reading Katie's blog today (and nearly peeing my pants, thanks K), I have to report in with my weight seeing as I went out for Thai with hubby last night (very enjoyable too I might add!).

Weight today: Up 0.5kg Notes: must Thai harder!

I wasn't expecting to see any drop - that 0.5kg is salt, carbs and a good dose of leg DOMS on this otherwise hot looking attractive sexy (need I say more?) gal.

Back to regular proceedings now- had a pretty busy day at Fitness First - got an hour of very light cardio in and pumped up my biceps (so I could admire them in the mirror all day..not) - what happened to my idea of interval running?? Hmmph! I managed to hog the squat rack for a lot of the morning with Miss Shannon and then Miss Dori (who I am sure thinks that I truly have earned my title as the "Mistress of Pain") - you see it's Dori's birthday tomorrow so we had to pull out the ol' "denial" workout and she nailed it beautifully. Quite a few of us at Fitness First this year are hitting our 40s and 50s and a mate of mine at the gym (who is also an Exercise Phys) coined the term "denial workout" - that is the workout you do where you're feeling invincible regardless of your age - we have a good giggle whenever we see each other training.

Busy weekend planned - have to teach two RPMs - one Saturday and the other on Sunday - not that I'm complaining. Gives me a chance to improve on last week's classes.

Then hopefully I will have a chance to read the paper and put my feet up (as per pic).

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

The Workout Confessional

For Shelley - weight today - 58.8kg (thank you, spank you as we discussed!) I'm going to send a blog weigh in to the wilderness for awhile so I would like to sit there and bask in my general hotness for today...kidding...but hey it sounded good and I am feeling pretty good about how the old bod is looking. I'm going for a little more weight nudgery in the downward direction but I could see the ol faithful lines in my legs as I was stepping today so all is nice.

I taught Bodystep this morning and even did some weights (more on this in a sec) - I must say that I am in a world of pain and DOMS today - my legs, my glutes, my calves, my abs are on fire but I loved dishing out every minute of the class yesterday right down to all the little dancy bells and whistles that you have the opportunity to add - I am also teaching on Saturday morning - may try for more choreo again..will see.

I labelled this post the workout confessional because lately I haven't trained my lower body at all - between RPM and STep I have been too scared to do any lower body training - yes, this chick hates leg DOMS! Although I am always banging on about the benefits of resistance training, I have been the cardio queen of late. I'm not sure what is on the cards training wise tomorrow - I have my general goals but usually wing it from day to day - see how the old legs are feeling - maybe it's time for an interval run...or maybe not!

Dance, dance, ants in my pants!

Today's post is all about how, despite feeling blue about a few things over the past few days, I decided to reclaim my power through a bit of hard work and discipline.

It is all too easy to decide we are powerless over something and it is all too easy sometimes to wallow in your own misery, ie "this is too hard", "life is unfair", "why me and no one else?" etc etc. Naturally my own emo moments were running along the lines of "life is unfair" when my planned dinner turned out to be off and the fallout from the gym mix up on Saturday left me with a definite, "life is unfair" moment going on.

Anyway, to jump to another topic, I have been asked to fill two Bodystep classes a week for the next few weeks. I don't get much chance to teach Step as I don't have a regular class these days and hence, when the new releases come out I don't always learn the choreo because I figure that I'll get around to it when I have my own class. Rather than use the same choreo I am used to, I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone and learn new stuff to teach this morning. Even though I made a few mistakes I felt like my class well and truly made up for it with the intensity side of things - I really pushed it and felt like I was flying! I was drenched in sweat from head to toe when I was done and felt such a sense of accomplishment for getting a bit uncomfortable and really going for it. I didn't learn an entire release - the goal for next week's classes is to learn the second half and put the whole shebang together. Then hopefully send off my Certification video (only six years late, but..hey)

I'm so glad I pushed myself and believed in myself to get the job done. Consequently I feel on top of the world and not remotely interested in doing any emotional eating - there's the kicker, manage your moods and believe that you can handle anything and the battle with the emotional side will begin to pale. That is not to say that I will never eat for emotional reasons again - however this sort of stuff makes you sit up and take notice before you start heading for the muesli bars again which is why working it all out is so important.

I'm not usually one to log my scale weight but I want to do a Shelley today and write....
59.1kg (down .1kg - that piss-ant weenie amount...liar liar, pants on fire!) Hee, hee, the small things we do to amuse ourselves....

Tuesday Checkin

Back to the coalface more officially as my little ones went off today ready to start the school year. Didn't have early morning clients as I wanted to be at school for the kidlets first day. After the emo moments of yesterday, today has been rather quiet - prepping for Bodystep tomorrow and teaching RPM, a few clients and a quick 30 minute run on the treadmill - though I must admit it didn't feel quick at the time....

Reflections on Emotional Eating

Well here is my mug all Munga'ed up - thanks to Miss Katie for such a brilliant idea ...and the boobs are real..woo hoo!!! Did I ever mention how much I like my additions!

Anyway some thoughts on emotional eating today. I have been working through an amazing book by Roger Gould that Katie mentioned on her blog (ordered from Amazon) which deals with emotional eating.

I believe that most people who have issues with weight or eating also have issues with emotional eating. Although physical illness did play a small role in my weight gain post Miss G, there were more emotional factors in there that really amped up my weight gain and turned it into both a physical and psychological problem. Roger Gould concludes that emotional eating is driven by a sense of powerlessness in the individual - ie the individual harbours a belief that they are powerless to control what, when and how they eat and that the sense of powerlessness over food is really a cover up for a deeper experience of powerlessness, for example - dealing with self doubt, gaining real satisfaction in life, feeling powerless to fill yourself up when you're feeling empty inside..etc etc.

It is in dealing with the deeper issues such as satisfaction in life etc where healing begins. In my own case, I continue to be a work in progress and look at my eating slip ups in a continuum of from when I was when I was at rock bottom and physically overweight through to the experience of being a competitor, then a coach and now juggling full time work with family etc etc. There have been periods of quiet where emotional eating has not been an issue for several months, then all of a sudden a stressor will pop up and I will sometimes find myself eating for the reasons of powerlessness above, rather than confronting what is really going on and dealing with it.

Which is what happened this weekend - instead of acknowledging how tired and exhausted I am from trying to juggle all of my PT clients in the Junior Care times, entertaining two small kids during holidays on a tight budget, working on my RPM, learning Bodystep choreo as I don't teach often enough to retain it, worrying about DH's job, worrying about which way to jump with a Real Estate decision, ensuring there is a meal on the table every night... rather than face up to feeling overwhelmed and dealing it with it in a methodical way, I thought it better to eat 5 homemade muesli bars and have Indian takeaway for dinner as the salad I had purchased to go with our chicken breasts was decidedly "off". On reflection I have been feeling powerless over my own situation..and it triggered off the emotional eating groove.

I got my wakeup call this morning after a mix up about the classes on Saturday when the receptionist didn't open up the gym in time. My class was 45 minutes late, and rather than filling in the time and tacking onto the next class which would have been the better option , I just gritted my teeth and taught the whole thing which apparently was not the thing to do - again another knee jerk reaction rather than thinking things through... so I went into the Steam Room and let the tears fall for a good half hour and worked out what was going on and sorted a rough plan to address the issues and felt better. The worst part was leaving the gym a little red face only to have a George Castanza look alike chat me up - I was trying to look in the other direction whilst this guy was telling me that "he'd seen me in RPM this morning.. that RPM was his warm up because he pushed big weights in the gym and did I do a lot of "toning work". I was desperately trying to get away from this guy and I managed to spit out "our Olympic Coach doesn't allow us to tone" (yes, he was speechless after that and I had a quiet chuckle to myself despite my teariness).

So lesson learned today was that sometimes it's just best to let the emotion out, whether it's hokey or not, rather than stuff it down with food. I'm a real sucker for toughing things out and I need to take my big girl panties off more often and howl at the moon.

Saturday Catch Up

A blog for today as I'm going to head off the computer this weekend to spend time with family and cover the dreaded school books, so if anyone is wondering what my workout of the day is, shall we say it will involve sticky plastic and a deft hand with the scissors, Nikko pens and DYMO labeller!

I've just come back from teaching RPM this morning - bit of a pain as the receptionist who was meant to open the gym did not show up, we managed to get a key from another guy which snapped when we tried to get the door open...anyway we got in and got busy. It wasn't the greatest class I have ever taught and even though it may sound weird, I find myself learning so much from the "stinkers" because I really really want to be a superb instructor and coach. That is the beauty of group fitness, you never stop learning how to become a better instructor. Felt a bit lacklustre as TOM decided to turn up again after 2 weeks' break - I had decided to try the Pill again as a means of keeping my period pain under control but it didn't really do that much, so rather than go for a stronger Pill, I'm happily hormone free again. However I wasn't expecting to be rolling around with period pain again so soon...bugger.

Despite feeling like a bloated cow this morning, a few members asked me if I was competing again. I do have a little goal coming up and that is to become a Les Mills Presenter in RPM. Naturally I want to look really good and a bit leaner. Les Mills are looking for Brisbane presenters so I am putting my portfolio together in the hope of being asked for an audition. For me, this goal is getting over my shyness when it comes to things like auditions and instructor feedback. My steps that I have undertaken so far have been to work on the five elements of coaching as per Les Mills and I've been slowly working on different aspects of my class when I teach. The next big step I have taken is asking Ruthie T to evaluate my class. Any Les Mills instructor would know that Ruthie has played an integral role in developing Les Mills programs and just what an amazing mentor she is. Unfortunately when I've met Ruthie before, I've been so tongue tied ( kinda like meeting someone famous) and nervous that I haven't relaxed and enjoyed myself. So class is booked for a few weeks time and this is my next big test - to overcome my fear of looking silly in front of Ruthie. However, it's time for me to step up to the plate and push myself and let the cards fall where they may from there.

I must say that Shar, if you've been reading lately, I have been thinking about you and how fantastic you are to have been asked to become a presenter...awesome.

Love this one...and the Tennis!

Found this somewhere on the internet and want to dedicate it to Shelley who was feeling a little bit blah this morning and didn't feel like doing her training - so I told her to get with it and she pushed out a cracker of a GBC session for chest/biceps - we actually heavied up on a lot of the weights, the push ups were stronger...success all around. The only low light of the situation was that I had instructed Shelley to drop the dumbbells at one point so I could hand her a lighter pair to finish off a set and I had one dropped on my big toe...ouch!!! I am sure that it is going to look a treat by tomorrow morning!

Just dropped over to Rae's blog, where she has written about Casey Dellacqua and Roger Rasheed's take on her body fat levels. I was just commenting to hubs yesterday about how tennis players need to do more conditioning work in their offseason as I feel the game has changed a lot over the years and it is a sport where you need to be fitter (cardiovascular endurance), faster ( sprint/power training) and stronger (strength/power training) in one package. Tennis is simply not a sport where one can ditch one form of training in favour of another, yet you still need to get "results" in all of these areas of conditioning plus your court work to get better. On that note...go Miss Jelena Dokic tonight - that poor girl's been to Hell and back - I'll be cheering for you!

I think some "weekend warriors" get too involved in the minutiae of things - are overthinking and are not doing enough general conditioning work - my classic example is the person (whose main aim is to look better and live lean) who comes along and tells me their trainer is not "allowing" them to do any cardio because "they're going to lose muscle". These people are usually 25% + body fat and are overthinking, rather than acting. It's due to a lack of education on the trainer's part as well - don't get me started there! I encourage anyone that wants to be fitter faster and stronger (and as a side effect look sh*t hot) to do a wide variety of training - if you are focused on changing your body composition, focus on strength training first and add some cardio around it (preferably my RPM class, but hey, I'm biased!), some recovery and a bit of yoga/pilates here and there. Most of all, focus on getting a little bit better with each session you do and enjoy the journey! Right now I'm enjoying that I'm bench pressing and not getting any pain.

I have been visiting Nicole's blog and saw her post on favourite things - so thought I would add mine...
I have to say mine changes on a regular basis - firstly I'll do five favourite treats (it is Friday)

1) Any dessert from Freestyle Tout
2) Bulla Fruit and Yoghurt Raspberry Splits (more low brow, but works just as well!)
3) Mexican food - lots of it and preferably after running a marathon...if Mexican is not available then smoked salmon, capers and cream cheese on piping hot croissants will just have to do
4) Metabolic Drive Protein Powder - tastes so good, it could be dessert!!
5) My mother's sultana cake - rich, buttery and definitely not good for the carb fat balance :) :)

Protein Sources

1) Salmon
2) barramundi
3) veal
4) lamb
5) chicken

Starchy Carb Sources:
1) oats
2) basmati rice, preferably saffron and cardamom infused :)
3) potatoes - any type will do just nicely
4) Burgen Soy Lin Bread or fruit toast
5) Bakers Delight Capeseed Loaf

Vegetables/Fruit
1) Any stone fruit or berries love them all
2) Fresh pineapple
3) Pumpkin, roasted with sea salt
4) Beans
5) Asian Greens


Now stop drooling over your computer and leave me a comment! Have a great weekend~!

Defining Your Success

I've had an interesting week so far in terms of busyness and training - and despite a very hectic schedule, I've managed to get a good whack of exercise in, not perfect mind you - but again my week has been proof positive that you don't have to be perfect to be successful - just get a bit in here and there, and put yourself on what I call "good nutrition autopilot" - just stick to the basics, don't plan to be perfect and be consistent!

This week I have done 2 RPM classes, 60 minutes of weights and taught Bodystep this morning. Considering this was the week that I'd get nothing done, I'm really pleased. Less volume and more intensity has worked well for me and I am feeling fit and strong. My other highlight of the week has been bench pressing on Monday - with my gammy shoulder I never thought this would ever happen again!

On the body composition front things are looking good too - after a pretty indulgent weekend (and yes, fat and carbs in the same meals featured at least more than once!), I woke up, pleased not to kick the scales and say, "wrong way dickhead!" - I've almost got myself to where I want to be but that ol drop has been a long time coming (for me, I take a good week to see the results of being a little more careful with my nutrition!). I have to use the mirror and my clothes as a guide to keep me tracking when the scale is not reflecting any change. I wore a pair of size 8 trousers out last night - it's been awhile.

Anyway, take home message is - train with joy - love what you do (gosh Step was fun this morning ), eat mindfully and enjoy the different flavours in your food and stay positive!

My Rainbow

Your rainbow is shaded violet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is says about you: You are a creative person. You appreciate beauty and craftsmanship. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you've mastered it.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

Training Update

Can't believe it - had a cancellation this morning and got some training in. Carolyn will be pleased to read that I did the same "flatline run" as she did this morning - 45 minutes of "hang in there, this too shall pass" and some chest/ shoulder work. It's rather nice to be pushing again - I always start off with decline push ups - today I knocked out 3 x 12 and next week will be adding a plate to increase the intensity. I mix up all of the pushing with a little bit of pulling to keep things in balance as I have a tendency to roll the heads of my humeri (I'm sure it's not "humeruses" :) ) forward so this helps me think of activating my lower traps and then I'm good. I even increased my lateral raise weight to 4kg - thrills all around!

Whirlwind Week

This is going to be a whirlwind week with not a lot of time for training or blogging - that said, I'll probably blog everyday now that I've written this - it's the stubborn part of me!

My goals for the week are to complete all tasks with a smile, eat well, enjoy my enforced "rest" and give RPM a good smack on Wednesday and Saturday. Look out world!

I had the pleasure of meeting Magda on Saturday - who came to get her butt whipped in RPM and then further whipped in a personal training session afterwards. It is always so much fun to meet other bloggers, especially when they live so far away from you. We did meet at the All Females last year, but didn't really get much chance to chat. Now I can really visualize the Adelaide Figure girls catching up for their brunch! The lovely Lindy got up at 4.30am just to visit me in RPM - what a gorgeous girl - go check out her website and you'll see us hamming it up on the home page. We filmed another workout for UltraFit magazine at the end of December - this one called "Deconstructing the Deadlift" which is a partner to my "Deconstructing the Squat" article which is featured in this month's Ultrafit magazine (yes, do yourselves a favour and go to your local newsagent NOW :) and pick up a copy!)

OK, I'm done pimping myself for now - go and see what a goose I really am when I've got a video camera in my face (not good).

Happy week to everyone!

Lightness and Being 10 years on

I had an interesting conversation with Lisa yesterday alluding to the fact that when you feel strong, you walk differently. I can attest for this phenomena being true - when I know that I have made improvements in whatever training I am doing, I walk taller, prouder and I feel strong. I believe this sensation comes out of a love for what we are doing...

I have always been a big believer in loving what you do - recently I have been combing through my old bookcase and came across a training log I had made and written in, circa 1998. I used to make my own training logs out of spiral notebooks and cover them with inspirational sayings and pictures. This particular training log had quotes all over it pertaining to love and particularly, love of exercise.

"Love isn't a sin, it's a necessity, for with love as our guide, we imagine our bodies moving the way our bodies were meant to move: we can do marathons with our feet, lift pounds with our arms, have stars in our eyes and do a nifty tango".

and:

"You feel funny inside. You feel funny outside. You feel you could do anything and noone would dare laugh at you."

These little quotes and bits and pieces continue to inspire me today. Here is my log from March 2000, six months after having Miss S and slowly losing weight from first pregnancy:

"Yahoo! What joy! The run I did on the treadmill this morning was awesome! I felt so strong, centred and almost invincible! What a great feeling! I have climbed one mountain and about to start on the next one!"

It was really interesting reading my journal - yes - I was trying to lose weight after childbirth, I was struggling with my eating, but page after page is littered with the joy of exercise and the feelings of accomplishment it gave me and still continues to give me 10 years on. It was once I started solving the nutrition puzzle that things really fell into place.

Even though I eat well, like most of us who live in first world countries, I have the innate tendency to want to eat well past fulfilling hunger, because the food is there and secondly it tastes fantastic. Pretty normal scenario there I would say. Over the past few months I have getting out of maintenance and into action. I've become very practised and accomplished at maintenance and all of a sudden going back into action felt really difficult. I was hungry (and baulked at the "discomfort" of it), I had to think more, I just had to do it.

After a good kick in the tush by someone in my circle of influence and upon seeing photographs of myself (yes, the camera never lies) - I have got on with the job. At the same time, I ditched the diet drinks, noticing that my consumption of these increases dramatically when I'm stressed and pretending not to be hungry. Water and tea is now rocking my world. There has been payoff, not immediate mind you (which is always hard for the "I want it now" part of my psyche) but I am looking and feeling leaner, fitter and faster and it feels good.

Cooking..

Today I've been cooking up all sorts of vegetable laden concoctions in preparation for the working week ahead - I'm sure that Rae cooks something similar to this. I got chicken breast, a couple of cans of diced tomatoes, herbs, onions, garlic and about a kilo of assorted vegetables (ie whatever was there) plus some leftover champagne (for flavour!) and simmered it into a big casserole for a few hours. Needless to say you all know what I will be eating for the next few days. It tastes pretty bland right now, but like any good casserole, it just needs a day to fester and the flavours to meld together.

Back to work tomorrow - as the hours I can work are determined by the gym creche at the moment, I'm up for a date with Coach Troy of Spinervals fame tomorrow - will be 3 x blocks of my favourite Aerobase Builder (No 25). Then I will squeeze in some weights between clients.

Thoughts

I borrowed this:




Thought for the day-- Handle every stressful situation like a Dog-- If you can't eat it or hump it, piss on it and walk away.

I'm on sale.....

The Fitness Solution has never had a sale before but I've decided to take 20% off all DVDs and Slim Secrets bars - this brings a box of 12 Slim Secrets down to $25.60 - which is pretty unheard of , even the big supplement warehouses cannot match that. So go and have a visit and pick up a bargain! You will need a discount coupon however - it is NY2009 .

I love a bargain!

rest and recovery

All has been quiet over here lately - well, to be truthful, I haven't been exactly quiet but I've been juggling quite a few balls with doing quite a lot of writing (more shall be forthcoming on that), looking after kids and generally trying to recover from what has been a pretty hectic 2008. I had plans of going to the gym and training today and yesterday, but my body has been telling me that it doesn't want to train. I've got the beginnings of a sore throat and it is not like me at all not to want to do any exercise. Plus, I've been getting cold - another sign that I've been overtraining and not getting enough recovery.

Sometimes the word "recovery" sends chills down the spines of us fitness fanatics - many get concerned that they're going to "get fat because they're not training" - however, if you are truly overtrained and requiring recovery, this is the least of your worries. In fact, in this situation, taking a recovery break is exactly what you need. After two days off and lots of sleep and good food, I am starting to feel a lot warmer and my weight is dropping again. I will teach class tomorrow, have a steam and take Sunday off as well. I may be quiet for the next few days but you know where I'll be - sleeping or slopping around watching the tennis.

Streamlining ..and daily ramble

Bodyfat readings when done by skinfold calipers can be inaccurate due to factors such as measurement technique, start bodyfat, hydration levels etc. Not a good tool as a stand alone measurement.

Inaccuracies in measurement skew "results" ie how much muscle you can TRULY gain in a certain amount of time. I feel this has led to all sorts of misconceptions about expectations of muscle growth.

Take home message is that using a combination of different measurement methods yields the best picture of whether you are making changes or not. Don't forget the best piece of equipment - your camera - photographs never lie.

Got up early and went for a walk this morning - every time I go for a walk I'm reminded of my time in Woop Woop where I'd get up in the freezing cold and dark and go for a walk every single morning - there were never any people around and only lots of miners finishing off the night shift whizzing by. I found going for a walk rather therapeutic as it allowed me to just think or listen to music and basically just retreat into my own world for an hour. Every location that I walk in is different and holds different memories for me.

Time to get ready for the day ahead - I'm meeting Shelley and we're doing a little bit of training together - should be fun!

Gym Whoppers

My blog today focuses on big fat fitness lies - so settle in and watch what I'm going to pick on today.

Firstly a tool of measurement that is commonly used to chart a transformationist's progress - the body fat calipers. Body fat measurement is in vogue, it seems. Mention scales or weight and you'll clear the room full of frightened people worried about what a number will mean to them, but mention measuring percent bodyfat as a more accurate guide and you'll pique everyone's interest. "Finally, a way of charting my progress that doesn't use the scale!" they'll rejoice and "look, my measurements dropped even though my weight is up, it must mean I've gained muscle and lost fat!", followed by the even bigger whopper "I've gained 2kg muscle in a month (from a female perspective )" or, "I've gained 5kg muscle in a month" (from the male point of view). I must mention I am talking about trainees that don't use their local internet pharmacy but are "natural" athletes - more on that later.

I want to first highlight that body fat measurements taken with calipers from a highly experienced and skilled individual, with well calibrated equipement can be quite accurate for certain populations. I know several people who use skinfolds during their comp preps who do have highly experienced coaches so this doesn't really apply to them. However the point of difference is that they are athletes and athletes usually maintain a lower body fat % than the general population.

As a rule of thumb body fat measurements, using calipers become more accurate as your leanness increases - you'll get the best readings close to a competition for example. If your body fat % is wandering up in the 20% or more range, accuracy decreases as % fat increases - try taking poor Oprah's tricep skinfold as an example. So when I hear "average" women (bodyfat 25% or more) complaining that weights have "bulked" them up and that they just want to reduce their bodyfat, and looked toned, it's hard for me not to laugh.

Other things that throw caliper readings out is - time of day measured - typically bodyfat readings are more accurate at night, hydration, supplementation status (for example some creatines can cause water retention), water retention or hormonal status - body fat is calculated using skinfold sites, weight, height - if you've gained 2kg of water, you'll return a false body fat reading as well by virtue of simple mathematics. The other thing to look out for is making sure the same person does the measurements - pinch your body- first thing you'll notice is that when you apply more pressure your skin compresses - apply brute force and you too could have lower skin fold readings (which mean diddly squat when you're up on stage in front of 500 people in a skimpy bikini).

With all of these confounding variables I don't usually do skinfolds unless specifically requested. The main thing (as with scale weight) is that you're 'trending' downwards.

Now onto the fantastical claims of muscle accumulation that abound on the Internet. Dave Greenwalt says it beautifully in his book, "The Leanness Lifestyle": "claims of higher muscle accumulation abound in popular muscle building comic books and Internet discussion forums. To say that I question their veracity would be an understatement. If you're not sure, then ask any person who claims you can add more muscle that what I suggest (for women 0.25-0.75lb - 0.1kg to 0.3kg per month)to provide a published, peer-reviewed study supporting their claim. Just make sure you don't hold your breath waiting".

These same people who claim superior muscle growth can also be those who tell women that by adding muscle that they "won't bulk up" - if the claim was true, I'd be pole position for the IFBB Olympia (yeah, I've been training awhile). By the magic 2kg calc I would have gained 360kg of muscle by now.

Time for me to sign off for tonight...I need to go find something I've lost...

On setting and reaching goals (or why "winging it" doesn't always work)

Many of my blog readers are Figure Competitors or would be competitors or would be physique transformationists. There are many competitors that get tripped up by assigning false meaning to different scenarios, rather than getting the job done.

Of course my favourite one is "If I weigh myself every day, the scales will do my head in!" . Already one is giving a certain meaning to what the scale is saying - in this scenario it means, "if that ol' scale doesn't show me the number I want to see, I'm going to... sulk, get upset, pout, wallow in self misery ... then it's going to morph into a total disaster and catastrophe and a harsh self assessment that yes, I really am the fat cow I always knew I was ....you get the drift ... this comment smacks of listening to one's inner child a little bit too much. Enough already! You may choose not to weigh yourself daily for other good reasons which is perfectly fine, but when you're headed towards a goal, you need to stay on track and you need to remain accountable - to yourself. Now I will add here that as a coach and regularly hormonal female who is known to indulge every now and again, stepping on the scales after an eating "event" isn't easy - but life isn't always about taking the easy out. Take a deep breath, and get on...what is the worst that could happen - you'll see a number you don't like...and guess what, you'll handle it!

Another thing I hear is "If I keep a food log it means I'm anal and obsessive". There's a time and place for everything and if you're truly serious about reaching a physique goal then these qualities are awesome to have - it has been demonstrated time and time again that writing things down (or logging them) achieves a goal so much faster and better than just "winging it". For example, you could measure your oats in a measuring cup or you could weigh them on a food scale. Say you log 50g of oats (half a cup) Depending on the cup and how you fill it, you could be eating way more than that. The same goes for protein portions, vegetables and pasta - who ever eats a serve of pasta which is half a cup. How do you measure that? It is too easy to inadvertently eat more and blame your plan on a "slow metabolism" when in fact you're not measuring correctly or in the case of completely "winging it", doing anything. To me it is the same as a doctor making a diagnosis without examining the patient first.

A food log can demonstrate just how much you can eat - most would be surprised to learn that it is usually more than you think! If you are logging your food correctly and your training as well you can build up quite a good database of information about yourself for practical application. For example, I know that loading an extra 20-30g carbs pre RPM Hi Performance has , well, made all the difference to my performance. I know what calorie range I need to be to lose fat, I know that eating oats in the afternoon benefits my recovery. I know what I need to do to eat Paleo and be successful at it. I know that I'm in potential binge territory if my carb intake drops below 30%. I would never have known any of these things unless I had kept a log.

The other place Figure Competitors trip up is by telling everyone they're "dieting down" - we all know what meaning has been placed on the word "diet", so why not just focus on the competition part, get the job done and be impartial about the process. It is what it is. Add too much meaning and enjoy the emotional fall out on the other side.

You're the best experiment you've ever worked on and by charting all of these variables and understanding them for what they are, rather than assigning false meaning to them is what will ensure your success.

End of Year and New Beginnings

This is a rare pic of Hubs and I facing off and playing Pictionary against each other last night. I went to bed close to my normal getting up time and slept in until 11am. Hubs and I are pretty different but when the s*it hits the fan, he is my greatest supporter, not to mention the best hugger ever. Today has been a topsy turvy day, stomach has been in knots and I've been feeling emotionally out of kilter. It really is true that family issues do become magnified during the Silly Season and whilst the stuff I face is no biggie compared with other's family dramas, it hasn't been much fun. I'm now looking forward to getting back into a normal routine! I managed to do RPM yesterday with John which was a great help and stress release - sometimes it is just great to participate and let the music and instructor take you on a journey.

I do have a few plans for 2009, training wise which I listed a few blog posts ago. On a more personal level, I've set a few financial targets to hit as well as some personal growth goals. I do feel like I'm pivoting on a cornerstone and about to embark on a new quest though I don't know exactly what that is as yet. On reading this, it makes little sense but I'm just going to go with the flow.. and trust that it will all make sense in the fullness of time.

I keep thinking of the quote below and keep hitting on.. "all we have to decide..." so with that in mind, I'm going to make it a good one.

'I wish the ring had never come to me...I wish none of this had happened.''So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.'

Feats of Awesomeness (training update)

Little weenie training update:
Boxing Day: Run and pulling work, swim 1500m - shoulder a bit cranky - may have to leave swimming a few months.
27th - teach a fabulous RPM Hi Performance class ..yeah me
28th - Cathe Hardcore Extreme - High/Low Extreme - Yowsas, I had forgotten how hard Imax 3 was - Interval 7...say no more! Cathe Cardio Fusion - love, love love LIC - though anything is special after IMAX3.
29th - walk 60min, teach RPM @ Toowong (a little crappy as mic was not working).

Nutrition Update:
Nutrition has been all over the shop, quite a few splurge meals in there, but hey, it's Christmas! I am slowly and steadily getting back to normal. I'm still carrying my extra 2kg of bloat.. hopefully shall be on it's way out by tomorrow!

Tomorrow I plan to smash the weights and visit some friends - should be fun :)

Grrrr to mediocrity!

I have had a fantastic 2008 but I'm ready for an even better 2009! Whilst it is impossible to completely map out and plan your life my one big goal for the year is to perform every task I set my mind to without exception. I don't want to live "average", I want to be exceptional. I want to challenge my boundaries and become a better person for it. I want to push the edge and see where it takes me. I don't want to "settle" for a state of being because that's what "everyone else does".

Why all the hoopla? I witnessed an amazing conversation on Christmas Day - between my brothers-in-law and their brothers - you see all of them used to be amazing waterskiiers and avid sportsmen. Yet, here they were sitting, all pretty overweight and out of shape, discussing how one of them tried waterskiing on holidays and was so exhausted that he couldn't actually take all of the runs he had purchased. Then they started talking about age and how they'd let themselves go over the years and I felt sad as I feel this theme running through general society. I didn't think it was the time to say that I was feeling as fit as ever nearing 40 as I was when I was younger. In certain cases, I'd actually bet that I'm fitter.

The good news is that over the years I have read so many great stories about people who came to love fitness in their 40s and beyond and the amazing things they have achieved. The bodybuilding and figure world is full of them. So is the multi-sports world - in the last triathlon I did, I shared the run with a 76 year old tri veteran and she was awesome.

So if anyone is reading this blog feeling like things can't change, take heart - THEY CAN ....YOU CAN....if you're prepared to put in some work and apply some discipline. THe process can be painful (I'm thinking of the few weeks of Paleo I have done) but you feel so awesome for nailing it (on the paleo front, I've reintroduced dairy products back in but ditched the diet drinks altogether).

Who wants to be normal when you can be awesome?

Spike-a-roo!

Had a very enjoyable Christmas Day and ate, drank and was very Merry! The peeps at Precision Nutrition would call it a "refeed day", I simply call it Christmas cheer - and yes, the cheesecake was delicious! Got on the scales this morning and had a 2.5kg increase - yipes - luckily I know it's just carbs and water!

Santa and the family were very kind to me - I got some great loot - an IPod from Hubs, earrings from Miss S and a teapot from Miss G as well as money from both my parents and inlaws. This morning, I hit the road on my new road bike (thanks Amanda) and discovered that there is hardly any transference from RPM to the road and as everywhere around our place is hilly, it was quite a challenge! Then I went to the gym (yes, open on Boxing Day) and did a run and some back training (50 mins total). Came home and watched the beginning of the Sydney to Hobart with Hubs and now think it may be time for a little kip.

Hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and all are enjoying a bit of R and R.

Spinning Those Wheels!

I am sitting here thanking the good Lord for my excellent ability to be able to recover from repeated sessions of torture - that is teaching THREE RPM classes in the last 24 hours. I had a lovely hot shower afterwards and enjoyed the chocolate bar that Shelley gave me as part of her Christmas present to me yesterday - tasted just as good on the inside as it looked on the outside. I also shouted myself Phuc Viet before tackling the crowds at Woollies doing final preparations for Christmas. I am lucky in that Christmas lunch this year is at my sister-in-law's place - so all I have to contribute is a salad, bread rolls and some chocolate - hardly any cooking required at all.

Now going to wrap presents with the girls - Miss G buying her Dad some "Toffee Caramel Biscuits" from Woolies because "Dad likes caramel" - so sweet - I, meanwhile, had been trying to convince her of how much Dad would like Lindor balls but she wasn't buying - so in went the $1.99 bikkies instead!

We're going up to Mass and Carols at our local church tonight - we're wondering what this year's one will be like as last year they did this role play about this Russian girl who got killed on Christmas Day during the First World War -that one went down like the proverbial lead balloon...shocker.

I'm not usually one to mention religion on my blog but I'm interested in how and why everyone believes what they do, I find that often the kindest and most giving people aren't of any fixed religious beliefs as one example. I have also found that the basic message (or Greatest Commandment - Love One Another As I Have Loved You) has been muddied by humanity - just within our local Catholic Church, I feel that it is run by power hungry opportunists and that there is absolutely no hint of anyone loving anyone else. To me, religion expresses how you "think, move and have your being" - how you live your life on a day to day basis, it's the small things, the small gestures which are so important in creating that momentum that makes the world a better place.

Wow, that was deep! Better return to our regularly scheduled training and nutrition updates. I'm really looking forward to two days of rest before coming back and teaching Hi Performance on Saturday - what we all tend to forget is that rest and recovery is just as important as the kick butt training.

Hope everyone has a peaceful and joyous Christmas and that Santa brings you lots of presents.

Just love showing off my clients!

Here is the gorgeous Selina looking gorgeous and fit with a great pair of RPM legs going on - check out that right quad! We've been working together for quite a few months and transforming from endurance runner (which I may add, she's pretty darn good at) to bringing back the strength training and watching those muscles pop out everywhere....wahoo! I love photos, especially when they're of everyday people doing extraordinary things.

Ripped out a good running session this morning - did the "Tredder Shredder" run that many clients would have received this week. That is one sick little puppy by the 10th interval! I also got in a really good back and shoulder workout, the highlight of the day being that I used 4kg for lateral raises - it was only a few weeks ago that I was lamenting to Shelley that I could barely lift the piss-ant 1kg dumbbells. I also did some decline push ups off the step with a plate on my back - 3 sets of 10. I am strong, hear me roar!!! This may not be the case tomorrow after I do my final 6-12-25 leg workout - I've been following Lisa in her 6-12-25 journey and as I mentioned previously we're staking out a piece of floor at Fitness First to call our own near the squat rack! The thought of actually doing this workout makes me feel sick, but in order to change anything, you do actually need to have some "fear" inside you before you start your training session. If you're feeling completely comfortable, time to up the ante somewhat!

Reflection, Balance, Harmony!

Recently somebody asked me what my goals were for 2009 and I remembered thinking, "how did I go in 2008?" and went back in my blog to see what my goals were - to cook from the Precision Nutrition Cookbook (tick! My favourites are the PN Mixed Nut bars and the Tuna Flax Burgers) , to maintaining (and improving ) my fitness (pretty good), having the abdominal surgery (done and very glad I made the decision) and also to become a published author. I had mentioned something about writing a book - I didn't quite get there on the book but I collaborated with Lindy and have an article coming out in January Ultrafit Magazine called "Deconstructing the Squat". The model in it is none other than the lovely Tara.

In Women's Health and Fitness magazine this month we have two workout articles, "Boost Your Bust" and "Cane Those Calves" - so have a looky out for us next time you are at the newsagent.

I continued to do my coaching and turned out some lovely, not to mention well conditioned Figure Athletes this year and look forward to what next year is going to bring in this area.

Interestingly my weight is about the same though I did jump into the 50s today. A few people in RPM commented about how lean I was. That surprised me a bit because my definition of being lean is around the 57kg mark. A girl can dream that she's gained muscle (yes, I want MRs butt!) - in reality though , I doubt it - after not picking up any serious iron until about 5 weeks ago and being pretty lax about PWO meals, creatine and the like. I must admit developing a fondness for salmon - anything to avoid taking those fish oil pills.

2009 heralds my 40th birthday and not withstanding injury/illness, I plan to have a big year. I'm hoping that some of my fellow FHMFs will oblige me and join me in a team.

This is my tentative plan:
Jan/Feb: Aerobase workouts - swim/transition work /bike drill work etc. Get shoulders evened up.
February: Leanness Lifestyle Bootcamp 11
March: Sydney open water harbour swim with the FHMF girls
March: One Night In Vegas adventure race (any Brisbane girls want to put up with a big bad boss?)
April: Mooloolaba Triathlon
May: Brisbane Marathon or other event in Qld
July: Gold Coast Half Marathon
October: Brisbane to GC 100k bike ride
October: Noosa Triathlon.

It's looking a bit light in November, December and August so am hunting around for some mad event to enter. Anyway should be enough to keep me going there for awhile.

Surgical Reflections and Leg DOMS

Firstly, I just have to shout this out - "I have the worst glute DOMS ever and can hardly move!" - aah that's better. I'm sure the RPM and Bodystep classes didn't help today either but there you go.

I've been meaning to write this post for a little while and give a post surgical update. It seems like a million years ago since I had my abdominoplasty and breast augmentation but in reality tomorrow is my 8 month anniversary and whilst recovery hasn't always been easy I'm thrilled to report that I'm back into almost everything (some abdominal exercises feel plain weird and pull, so I'm careful with that) with a vengeance - that I squatted 40kg with good technique and minor stability issues, well that is a breakthrough that I'm extremely proud of.

Looks wise, the abdo has given me a bit of a weird looking belly button - as the surgeon cuts around the original, pulls the skin down and cuts a new hole for your bb and stitches it back into place and I've still got patches of residual swelling on my belly and a few patches of hardness along the scar which I am sure will resolve over time - but I couldn't be happier to get rid of that excess skin and have my diastasis repaired. The one thing I noticed that when I did gain a little weight it went straight to my butt. Not pretty! However now that I'm leaning out again nicely I'm starting to see a bit of definition in my abs when I'm not having a swollen day - I don't swell up much any more (this is a side effect of the surgery) but with this hot weather we are having I do feel a bit fluidy sometimes.

The new boobs have opened up a whole new world - firstly I had never been able to wear those really nice T Shirt Bras that are around, even in an A cup and stuffing them with tissues or any other padding just looked ridiculous. Today I am a perfect 12C and they just look and feel amazing. I didn't have any idea at the time just how pleased I would be to have done this as I'd never really been into the idea of "boob jobs" as such but I am a converted woman that is for sure.

Would I have the surgery done again?
In a heartbeat!

Mooooo!

Boy oh boy - have a big case of the big ol' fat bovines today, undoubtedly not helped by a rather nasty dose of TOM. Occasionally my post surgery tummy will swell, tummy tuck veterans call it "swell hell" and I have been visibly puffy today.

In the middle of it all remembered that it was legs day - I gotta admit, they're my least favourite body part to work - except if I'm teaching RPM - the music, company and atmosphere always gets me through. As I helped Lisa cane her legs yesterday using the 6-12-25 method, I thought that I should do the same. Whilst I did not get near her squat or deadlift weight (I squatted and deadlifted 40/50kg respectively), I managed to match the other weights that she had used -hurt like hell too! I finished the session absolutely shattered - we're both developing a really nice relationship with the floor around the squat rack at the moment and as I sit here typing I've got some serious DOMs going on in the glute/hamstring region. I did a nice slow walk to finish off (no cardio today, this workout was my cardio!)

I'm looking forward to seeing two x Amandas tomorrow for RPM in the morning - and testing out Amanda's road bike - I am really hoping that we match up well size wise. Am also teaching Bodystep, so if I thought I was lacking in the cardio department, I shall more than make up for it tomorrow! Think I'm going to wear one of those cute little workout skirts tomorrow...step princess here I come!

The Wolf

In a native American folk tale, a grandfather explains to his grandson that he has two wolves inside him. One wolf fills him with hope and reminds him how wonderful his life is and the other fills him with doubt and convinces him that nothing is worth the effort. The grandson asks, concerned for his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The grandfather replies, "Whichever one I feed."

Which wolf are you going to feed today?

PT skit for Nicole P

http://www.leannesslifestyle.com/postcard/?pcid=madtvpt

The Power Within

Tonight I am planning on watching one of my favourite TV shows, "Heroes" - the gist of the show being about ordinary individuals who possess extraordinary "abilities" eg being able to fly, withstand fire etc etc. I must admit, I'm a real junkie for this type of concept and just love the goofiness of the whole thing - but I find myself getting little nuggets out off all sorts of things on various TV shows which aren't related to social commentary at all.

On last week's episode, one of the characters, Hiro Nakamura, said "a hero follows his true purpose" and like the "dirtbag" quote I mentioned a week or so ago, this really hit home with me. Within ourselves, we can CHOOSE to be extraordinary, we can RISE above the mediocre and we can FLY. It is all in how we choose to live - with intent, purpose and thankfulness for all the good things we already DO have.

This resonated with me because right now I am beginning to FLY on all accounts with my training and nutrition right now- I am progressing nicely on both fronts - shoulder pain is diminishing with every session and I've nearly finished a two week Paleo eating protocol which has seen me lose a bit of bloat and sit me just above my happy weight. I don't usually eat in a Paleo fashion, but intuition was telling me that I'd been a little too dirty of late and that I needed to work on this aspect of my eating. I'm gradually reintroducing a few of the foods I love and have missed, starting with the fantastic Vietnamese dinner I am going to have with Shelley, Katie, Nicole, Shannon and Steph (and anyone else I may have missed). So, I'm planning on wandering down under the 60kg mark in the next week or two and focusing on getting my training sessions in.

Today I did no training except for 5 minutes of bicep work with Miss M (I was training her and trying not to grimace!), but I did have a nice cup of tea, Mrs Nesbitt style :)

Look ear!

Look at my early Christmas present from Shelley! She's turning me from a geek into a rebel! Wahoo! The idea of a piercing first came up on the FHMF weekend in Melbourne when Katie decided that she was going to get a tattoo and I mentioned getting a piercing. Well Katie eventually got the tattoo and I haven't thought about the piercing since...except for this morning.

Trained Shelley as usual and then she tells me that she wants to "borrow my body" for half an hour. Thinking that we were taking a leisurely trip to the P.O, I was literally floored when I was informed that I was about to have a piercing. It did hurt but I'm OK now because Shelley bought me a Freddo Frog afterwards.

Thank you Shelley, I'm feeling like the coolest "almost 40 something" around.

OFFLINE

Just to let everyone know I will be offline until tomorrow as I am changing ISP providers. If you are waiting for a program, this this the cause of the delay. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Congratulations to Caryn!

I haven't had any pictures of Caryn to put up winning the INBA Figure Novice Vic Titles, but here she is at last! Caryn and I worked together from 9 weeks out from this show - we stopped the deprivation and got on the better road to leanness. Not to say that you won't get hungry and that occasionally you won't want to put your head in a bucket of hot chips but incorporating a comp prep as part of your lifestyle rather than going on a special "diet" is way easier.

Speaking of food, I've been on a bit of a salmon bender. I've eaten salmon four times over the past three days (with my favourite, asparagus of course) and I love it, especially making the skin go all crispy. Yummo!

I'm enjoying a well deserved day off from the gym. It was funny to see a few members weighing themselves after the Bikram class to see how much fluid they had lost! I was hoping that today that I would nudge under the 61kg mark and closer to my happy weight of 58-59kg but it wasn't to be - 61.0kg exactly! However I must stress that I'm perfectly happy to be where I am right now - my training is improving in leaps and bounds, I'm eating copious quantities of salmon :) and Vietnamese food...yeah, yeah happy as a pig in .....

Bikram RPM tales

From L-R Bottom Row: Ferny, Me, Lisa S
Left to Right Middle Row: Nicole P, Shelley S
Back Row: Steph D, Dori W, Carolyn G

Wow - had an awesome RPM session this morning with these guys from Blogland. Had decided to get to RPM early to warm up, but upon entering the gym found that the whole concept of warming up was completely unnecessary as the gym's airconditioning system was being replaced. I felt really bad that it was so stinking hot, but then remembered that I was teaching a tough-as-nails powerlifter(Lisa) , a chick that can deadlift 90kg for 4 x8 reps without batting an eyelid (Dori), a Tank(the Fernster), an ex-RPM instructor and Figure Competitor who is "told to have a go" (Shelley) two Figure Competitors (Steph of the great arms and shoulders and Carolyn who owns a beautiful back) and two retired competitors (Nicole and myself, who reminisce about the good old days but don't plan on going back there anytime soon).

"Ha!" I thought, "I'll make these guys toughen up instead!". Well, it turned out to be an awesome ride and everyone's enthusiasm was contagious. I must admit feeling a bit green during Track Nine and checking the countdown timer but there was no way I was giving in, especially with Dori's last blog post about wanting me to train until I puked :) It was so hot, I even broke out of my standard Canterbury RPM clobber and stripped off to my crop top. As you can plainly see, my belly doesn't see the sun..ever!

The plan afterwards was to train Carolyn and then join the others for a Vietnamese Feast at 10.30am. I had issued Carolyn with all these directives and stretches she needed to improve her squats and today I couldn't believe that I was watching the same Carolyn squatting. It felt really awesome to be making a difference and I can't wait to see Carolyn's butt next year (wait, did I just say that?) When Carolyn and I got out of the gym, everyone else was already eating - that's my kind of girlfriends - ladies that like a good feed! I was feeling so depleted by that stage I went bananas and bought a few of those yellow banana lollies we used to have in our childhood. Man, they tasted good!

Then we finally got to have our Vietnamese and some great conversation and then Carolyn and I went downstairs to buy her a pair of Nike Free Shoes for her weight training - I managed to negotiate 10% off and somehow the girl at the counter managed to give us 20% off, so I would say that it was a very positive shopping experience.

Back home now and I'm sitting here taking tea like Mrs Nesbitt - I watch far too many kids movies...as you can tell.

Crazy Sh$t!

I had quite a memorable training session this morning - after doing 30 minutes of pretty hard elliptical work ( I feel I need to get good and warm before I do anything to my legs), I decided that I needed to bite the bullet and train my legs (which I find the hardest bodypart for me to train).

Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching Lisa suffer through her 6-12-25 protocol for legs and thought "it's been awhile since the ol' posterior chain has had a proper hammering" and decided to do the posterior chain part of the exercise. Well, I grunted and yelled my way through 3 sets of 6-12-25 torture and then because I had a grin from ear to ear when I had finished did 12 x cluster style reps of full deadlifts to finish it off (don't know if I got to 95% of what I could lift but I did 55kg which is pretty tidy for me). Then I grabbed a 15kg and did 2 x 12 1and 1/4 squats to complete the session in just under 25 minutes. It was hilarious talking to one of the other trainers - who said "you guys are doing crazy sh*t" :):)

I must say that for the hours afterwards, I felt like a good lie down and taking tea like Mrs Nesbitt BUT finishing a workout like that makes you feel very accomplished and I only did half - I can only imagine how Lisa felt after ripping both sides of the sucker! I wonder how the DOMS ometer will treat me in the morning.

Eating Frogs and Getting the Job done

As part of my own coaching, I've been giving the task of reading the above mentioned book by Brian Tracy. So far, it's been an excellent read and reminded me of two important issues:
1) the power of planning ahead
2) making the connection by putting pen to paper - this is an interesting one - people who have the greatest success in achieving their goals put their pen to paper. They don't blog about it, they don't use digital media - they put pen to paper. I wonder if this action actually sets up neural pathways in our brain tissue (Liz theory 102...I don't know but sounds good)

In the spirit of eating my frog (and the recommendation is to eat the ugliest one first) I knocked over a few tasks such as completing high school enrolment forms for the girls and sending them off, to banking my tax refund. I also planned out my day's nutrition and training. Today I wrote "bench press" in my diary and today was the first day in many months that I have performed a bench press without pain. I also did a cracking run - Reverse Pyramids - I'm sure my clients will know this one by the end of their training week!