Cross Fit

hello all, appologies again for the delay between posts life is a bit of a whirlwind at the moment.

However id like to spend a couple of minutes telling you about cross fit a new training system which is booming at the moment.

Crossfit is a great all round work out focusing on functional movements (things you do in real life) and cardio. A PT friend of mine was recently putting up his latest cross fit work out and it got me looking into it.

i found a great free app (crossfit daily) which gives you a new work out every day. Now some of these work outs will be too hard for novices involving pull ups etc however there are plenty we can all do.

i tried my first session out on monday involving 800m run, 50 sit ups and 50 back extensions then repeat 3 times no rest in between.

now with all cross fit the aim is to time how long it takes you to do the rounds with the aim to improve each time you do that work out.

Now when i did this session the first round was fine, the second ok and by the third i was beginning to feel the pinch... but you feel a great achievement after and with most cross fit work outs they wont require you to spend hours in the gym and many you can do at home.

After mine i had a good sweat on but then carried on to do 80 leg press, 36 bench press, 36, chest press and 36 row. I felt great.

yesterday i was teaching spin but tonight i have yet another cross fit work out to do, why not try it yourself at home:

3 rounds timed of:

10 burpees

20 squats (with or without weight)

30 sit ups

i will also be doing a 5 k run :-)

so go on, give it a go and see what you think.

ill keep you updated on my sessions.

Things that make me mad

ok so i know i have been on and off the radar for a while now but im still fighting the good fight.

To Summarise, Ive had a few issues with health which has now finally seemed to have come down to a very deficient me in Vitamin D (levels which are barely detectable). This has meant Ive been battling to maintain my fitness due to some of the side affects of low vit D which include muscle and bone pain and tiredness, not to mention the affect on the immune system which has meant it seems like Ive just had one bug after another over the last year. However all that aside im battling on and despite a weight gain over the year of 1 stone im am not to concerned as theres light at the end of the tunnel....... at least i now know im not going mad and there has been a cause to the various symptoms which i just couldnt conect the dots on.

anyway... now that i have filled you in on whats been happening with me on to my main topic which is Things that make me Mad!!!

Now obviously i blog about fitness and health but always try to remain objective and encourage a healthy balance but sometimes you hear people doing or saying things that just make you want to scream:

1. Fad Diets
2. LOW CARB!!!!!
3. Being a slim healthy size yet still saying you need to loose weight!!
4. as long as I count my calories its fine
5. I want to build tone but loose weight

ok so these are just a few of the things which make me mad but they are all very common themes i hear day in day out being discussed by people in the gym

Fad Diets - as I've said and will always say moderate what you consume but do not cut out/replace or overly restrict. if a diet is telling you to cut out one of the main food groups steer clear. we are omnivores for a reason and need every (Natural) food group to help sustain healthy bodies and minds. the worst in my mind is the NO CARB diet..... Carbs are our most important and basic form of energy resource they are not bad as long as you stick to natural unprocessed forms (remember if its white its more than likely processed... nothing but coconut in nature is naturally white)

OK now im all for being aware of what calorie intake you have had in a day..... its obviously a simple equation energy in - energy used = energy stored. But i am not keen on diets which allow you to eat anything as long as you count it..... for example its ok if i have a mcdonalds today as long as i eat nothing else!!! NOOOOO a mcdonalds as a treat if you really want it (and ask yourself if you really do) is fine but please learn not only to be aware of calories but also which foods are healthy choices, and which should be avoided such as highly processed meals/snacks or treats.

Now on to those you here in the gym discussing the fact they cant understand why they arent loosing weight (you look and see a slim toned normal person and wonder what the heck have they got to loose? a butt cheek?)....... ok now when you are carrying excess weight you can slim and tone up at the same time.... however if you have reached the normal to lower levels of your weight range and you are doing a significant amount of muscle building/toning excercises.... well im sorry you are unlikely to loose much weight its known muscle is heavier than fat and you may even put a few pounds on (good pounds) but you will find your shape changes........ GUYS PLEASE STOP OBSESSING ON WEIGHT AND CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK TO LOOKING AT HOW YOU LOOK OR FEEL....... DO YOUR CLOTHES FEEL LOOSER? YES? THEN GREAT!!!!!! WHO CARES IF THE SCALES SAY YOUVE LOST NOTHING.

At the end of the day people we all make mistakes we all have bits of us we dont like, but please start to be happy with who you are, dont follow trends or new celeb diets or take those models in the magazines to be ideal examples.... just learn to make healthy choices, live energised lives and treat yourself every now and again....... after all we are all meant to be different... imagine how boring life would be if we all looked the same.

Rant over

loving autumn running

ok so maybe its not most peoples idea of fun, and ive gotta admit often I have a full on argument in my head with myself to get that motivation to go out in the cold and run, but once I'm there its really quite peacefull and it feels great to be reclaiming my own time and along with it my own body.

You will all be pleased to know i kept to my word and despite only taking the tiniest 4.5 kilo rucksack with me on holiday to portugal i managed to get in there my trainers and running gear........ oh yeah now your impressed lol... well thats the dedication im putting into myself im determined to shift this bit of weight ive put on this year and get back on track.

Im beginning to slowly but surely get my feel for running back, ive recently downloaded a personal running trainer ap which has a 16 week marathon program on it. so i started it this week (i know winter .... hummm maybe not the best timing.... looks like ill be running in the snow) and although i think 16 weeks may be a bit optamistic im going to follow the program and if one week feels a little tough i will just repeat it then move on ....... but you never know i may surprise myself and do it in the 16 weeks.

So roll on a winter of running, of wooly hats and foggy mornings, of crispen air and frosty footprints.... whatever the season may bring im ready.

ooops.................

Ok so as you all know i have battled for many years with my weight but finally triumphed in loosing over 8 stone and becoming a Personal trainer and fitness instructor.

Well now to the oops................

 early this year i was working in my full time job as a venue manager fo nottingham Trent as well as working between 10-20 hrs as a PT and fitness instructor this meant a total average working week of 60-70 hours. This was fine but training myself was getting tough to fit in but i was just about managing..... but then.............

I fell in love i met my current partner in early january and suddenly i needed to fit someone else in to my life.
As with all relationships early on came the dating.... the eating out, the drinking.... the lets have a takeaway night in etc etc................

initially work stayed the same, so what lost out you may ask? well my training schedule did and as a result so did i.

Everyone says with love comes a belly........ :-) initially mine didnt the high work load and running about kept the weight off, but soon i became run down i did not have enough time for everything. not only this but my already hard hit training schedule was dealt more blows and i was just too run down to train as i always have.

what happened you may ask? well i was happy and initially my muscle mass kept my metabolism high so i didnt see too many adverse effects, however with the low training i soon lost muscle mass and with that came the belly....

i am ashamed to say i have put on just over a stone ooooops

so what do i do? well i soon decided my health and happiness were more important than my work or bank balance and even my clients (what kind of role model am i if i put on weight) so This has meant i have now come to the decision to stop Personal training (for the moment) and just teach my tri club and spin classes with effect from the end of this month.

this means i have now regained some me time, yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

i am happy as larry, very much in love but also very ready to banish this belly back to where it came from!!!!

so i appologise everyone for falling of the blogging wagon, but i hope you can see why, and i also hope this shows all of us fall a little now and again but as long as it is recognised and a plan put in motion to stop it in its tracks then we will win

Fat mairi will not get her claws back into me!!!!

watch this space for updates on my progress...

P.S im even taking my running shoes on holiday with me next week :-)

Pole Dancing Mahem

ok so there are many fitness crazes out there, some are worth more than others, i have in my time tried a fair few.....

Zumba this is a great fun work out and good cardio altrernative to aerobics...; however for me who is never the most graceful it wasnt one i chose to continue

Body Bar, i love body bar its brilliant for building strength and tone but some find it a little scary and think they will all come out looking like arny (not the case unless you want to) but i understand for some just as Zumba was for me its not their choice.

Power plate.... ok not my favourite and often used wrong (guys if you just sit or stand on it the fat is not going to magically melt away!!!) but can be good for incorporating into core strength excercises and also helps to relax muscles after a workout

and many many more ...boxercise (LOVE IT), pilates (good for core strength), belly dancing (not personally tried but good for core im told), etc etc etc

However my new found fun and great strength and core work out is.............................................

POLE DANCING..... yes i did say it pole dancing

I love it.. im not yet very good but its a great mix of fun, overall strength building, toning and core... its the whole package... and when your good at it you can make a work out look not only impressive but sexy too!

i have currently had 3 lessons, now ladies i warn you there will be some bruising involved but i am told this eases with time, and you will be initially shocked at how hard it actually is... but it is also a lot of fun once you get over the intimitation of swinging around a pole (somewhat ungracefully at first)

i can now do a fire man swing, a back swing, a chair swing and almost a carosel to chair swing, as well as climb the pole (ISH), hold my own body weight in some slightly graceful positions and im now starting to try some pole sits (sitting half way up the pole only using legs to hang on :-)

its amazing to watch our instructor Kat from Pole kat Fitness nottingham ... there are things she can do that even those so called strong guys in the gym wouldnt have a hope in hell of...... one day i hope to do the same, but meanwhile im crying out to have my own pole so i can train at home and not just have one lesson a week as for me upper body strength has always been my weakness and this will help as well as giving me great tone and killer abs woop woop

so if you have a class near you get out there and give it a whirl...... and if someone is taking photos for you be prepared for pain when they ask you to hang on just as you were about to get off!!!!!

Nottingham triathlon .....so whats next?

So nottingham triathlon came and went..... considering my lack of time to train this year i did pretty well.... Well that is as long as you forget the fact i got a little lost in the swim!!! yes i know how can you get lost in the swim...

 Well its suprisingly easy in murky lake water when your goggles steam up and amazing how much extra distance you can add im pretty sure i swam an extra 400 meters... so my swim was slow but in total i only came in 2 minutes slower than last year... so had i not decided to swim away with the duckies i would actually have pulled off a faster time than last year which just goes to show that even if you dont feel trained enough its worth giving things a shot!!

so what next?

well i have 2 weeks left of term before things get quieter... than its time for some serious running training!
im hoping to run the london marathon with my partner next year in 2012... so this year running will take presidence over anything else...

Now my partner who had never run a step in her life before is  now trying to embrace the thought of running the marathon ... in fact she was the one who actually suggested running the london marathon ( rather stupidly she chose a family gathering to do this so now the whole family are waiting and expecting her to run so its a done deal!!!!)

After 3 weeks of training she is now running 4k by running for 7 minutes and walking for 3 and repeating this interval.... Now this is not to say we have done this without shedding a few tears, weve had a few dramas over some GIANT blisters (really they were huge!!! lol) and some tantrums running round the lake, but i am so proud of how far she has come in just 3 weeks..... the london marathon proffessonals better watch out we will be right on their heels.....
we will also be raising for cancer research so keep an eye out for a link in the next few months to a just for giving link.
so me the slow runner and my partner the never runner.... will be spending this next year running we will beat the 26 miles and we are going to enjoy every blistering step it takes us to get there..... some come on guys if you have ever thought about doing a marathon..... well just do it there is no time like the present....

watch this space for news on how we get on.

When the going gets tough!!!

OK Appologies to fellow followers out there i have been a little lax with my blogging but i am trying to pull my socks up.... but in fairness the past few weeks have been a little trialing to say the least....
not only is work still manic but i was hit by a stomach bug which lasted 3 weeks....

but hey ho i have a trialthlon in 6 days and i am determined to get over the hiccups and get on with the ride :-)

I have a hectic week of training planned including a 5 k run tonight, 1hr spin and 1hr swim tomorrow, another 5k run on wednesday, followed by a spin session and run on thursday.... friday may have another swim but this will be gentle as this will be my rest day.

so hopefully on saturday not only will i complete the triathlon but im hoping to have at least a similar time to last year if not a smidgin better....

so wish me luck people... and if any of you out there are also having hiccups in your training for whatever reason... dont chastise yourselves just pick yourself up and start again

xx