Tool time

Kitchen tools, that is. Since I've been getting ready to move, I've offloaded a whole plethora of pans and pots that have seen better days and I'm cashed up with David Jones' Gift Vouchers to invest in some more pots and pans. I'm after a saute pan like the one above, a skillet and a non stick Dutch Oven. I've been looking into all sorts of brands and had been leaning towards Scanpan (after hearing such good things about it ) and Caphalon, but I was at the doc this morning, taking Miss G as she has an ear infection and was doing a bit of trashy magazine catch up reading when I saw a Choice magazine article on pots and pans. Their recommendation was the hard anodized Circulon brand and Jamie Oliver cookware.

I was surprised as the Circulon and Jamie Oliver Ranges are way less expensive. The top recommendation was Swiss Diamond Cookware, which I've never heard of. Think I'd better check it out. I've already got a few recipes in mind!

Lately I've also been rediscovering the joys of legumes. I put an entire cup of lentils in our spaghetti bolognaise for dinner last night and it was most popular and I've had cannellini beans in my salad today and included them in some tuna patties that I've prepped for the rest of the week.

Andj has also inspired me this week with her 12 Week Challenge Goals. My goals for the week include getting two swims in and walking on the mornings I don't go and teach class. I find a morning walk incredibly therapeutic.

Here Puss Puss!

That was Shelley calling me out on my leg training! We spent the day sorting out our assorted treasures to put onto Ebay, chattering away about the pussy weights I lifted and the heavy shit she smashed. It was all going to plan when she suddenly turned to me and said "are your legs sore?" I told her that I was too scared to tell her that my pussy weights had inflicted nasty DOMS and that I'm walking around like I've got a pole wedged when it 'don't belong' (thanks Nicole).

This morning's training effort went well - more hip flexor work and shoulder rehab which took about 20 minutes to get through and then I did some girly push ups pain free as well as pussy weighted cable rows using the Paramount machine and some medium grip lat pull downs. I also did a 26 (yes I counted!) minute set of undulating X trainer intervals (that sounds pretty techo).

As for the pussy above, it's of my favourite breed, the Burmese. It is an open secret that I would like to again have a couple of kitties in my life but unfortunately hubs hates cats. No win situation there.

I have just read Kerry's post about her hip (sorry to hear about the inflammation ) and it reminded me of just how frustrating injuries can be. I think that my own rehab experiences have taught me that it's a real journey - ie do things, but progress slowly without too much agenda and in an obtuse way given me the confidence that I can conquer whatever comes my way (to a point). Which is why I haven't blogged about specific goals, figuring that it's more prudent (after last year's disaster where I achieved nothing) for me to be vague about things. That way I'm not down on myself for not achieving something I wanted to do yet everything that I can do is an added bonus!

Generally I believe goal setting is a good idea and can give you a template to achieve things in a set order. However, it's not just about the end point, it's the journey in between. Some of my goals have been interrupted by random occurrences where I have veered off on a tangent and it's often been some of the best life experiences I've ever had.

No matter how tightly, factually and precisely we want to do something eg achieve a goal (Left Brain thinking), there will be some point where things will happen in a rather nebulous way that is the Universe's or God's way of telling you "it was meant to happen" - right brain thinking at it's best. I think when this happens, it's not necessarily a poor reflection of your character, there's often more to the story.

I wonder if true success is all about accepting the balance that is right for you?

Stretching My Limits

Just wrapping up a pretty busy weekend up here in Brissy - taught my usual Hi Performance class on Saturday. I still have a long way to go before I can say that I'm really fit, but Saturday's effort was better than the previous attempt, so I am content. I think this is the hardest part to accept when you're coming back from a huge layoff - that you can't compare your "new" self to your old self - I am now choosing to compare myself to the baseline I achieved when I first started back to teaching RPM. The same thing will happen when I return to strength training.

The doctor thought that my shoulder isn't behaving as if I have a labral tear, which is good news. Yet, I'm still booked in for another ultrasound guided cortisone shot and I have a referral to an orthopedic surgeon if Plan A (the cortisone shot) doesn't do the trick. My other shoulder is now starting to grumble so I am back at the physio ASAP.

With all this going on, it's been time to reassess my goals. I'm still keen on becoming a FHMF, but I'm going to have to take a few more steps to get there. Rather my goal is to focus on being consistent with both my nutrition and exercise (ie getting something done!) Last week, I'm pleased to say I achieved both aims, had to give my Inner Sugar Beast a bit of a smackdown yesterday - it's good to realize sometimes that a craving can be just a craving and not actually mean anything, and trained every day before the PT Induction.

I have a pretty busy week lined up and my goal again is to achieve consistency with both eating and exercise.

Facts not Feelings

Today has been one of those days where I've needed to stick to facts and avoid feelings. It may sound a bit peculiar coming from someone like me that really values the power of intuition, however being 100% reliant on your feelings isn't such a brilliant idea.

For example, if I had listened to my feelings and not looked at the facts, I would have:

- blown off my workout because I'm feeling lazy and hey I'm maintaining so it doesn't matter..

- eaten some Anzac biscuits with morning tea today because they were there and looked yummy...

- eaten a big bowlful of icecream because I'm really 'craving' it and hey I'm 'maintaining now' so it shouldn't matter...

The facts are that:

- I've eaten very well today, plenty of veggies, lean protein, water and a decent amount of calories - it's even more important to eat well because you're maintaining.

- I've done my training because it's important to me to feel good as well as look half decent

- there's no physiological reason why I need the extra empty calories today, no PMS or TOM or extra heavy training.

- that maintenance requires effort, as does paddling upstream and losing weight....

-AND most importantly that my long term goals are so much more important than short term gratification.

I do have a little goal that is important to me - I want to be 59.0kg on my second consult date and today I am 59.9kg. In my photos I am 63kg - there was about 3kg of TOM bloat hanging around. If I want to achieve this goal, I must paddle a little harder - not be stupid, but paddle nevertheless.

Training: 1/2 Kenpo X Plus (nowhere near as good as the first one), Spinervals 30 min technique clinic.

Home on the Range

Today I woke up not feeling like going to the gym - was a bit clogged up in the head this morning and thought I was developing a head cold. I decided to take my workout to home base this morning instead and did Spinervals 25 - Aerobase Builder 5, The Compilation. I think I've mentioned this DVD before - it's basically a workout where you work at about 75% of max heart rate and learn to become aerobically more efficient. It's been a fair while since I've done this, so water bottle and IPOD all connected and Coach Troy's music switched off, I got going. According to my own bad self, 75% max for me is in the 139-145 bpm range and I surprised myself by having to whack on a good bit of load to get my heart rate up which was very challenging. I did 5 out of the 6 working sets - I simply had no more to give to set 6 and 1 hour and 40 very sweaty minutes later, I was done!

Coach Troy says all sorts of interesting things about cycling and technique along the way, including his favourite - "sometimes you have to slow down in order to get faster". Oh so true! Since I've been teaching so much Hi Performance and felt I had a good aerobic base, I've let the concept of aerobic base building slide. It was a good wake up call to remind me of its importance.

Which brings me onto other things - the notion that people are sometimes too accommodating of themselves when trying to reach a goal, myself included. It's the, "this little bit won't hurt me" syndrome. Unfortunately, if you're trying to go anywhere with any sort of resolution, the "this little bit won't hurt me" scenario just doesn't work. I'm talking about not just fitness and eating - it applies to most of life. In order to reach that goal, you need to get rid of the excuses. This is where the concept of balance can get temporarily thrown out and rightly so - has anyone prepped for a competition and kept on top of everything else in life - you can't be good at everything when you're seeking out excellence in ONE thing.

On that note, it's time for a bit of relaxation at Chez Liz :)