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Halfway through January - How are your resolutions coming along?

2012-01-15T22:33:00.000-08:00

Can you believe we are already on the other side of halfway through January??!!
There is always such a big build up to the end of the year and then before we know it we are looking down the barrel of Feb.
Is it just me or do the years get shorter?? :)
By now your resolutions are either a thing of the distant past or you are working hard towards achieving them.
Which one are you?
If you are working hard towards your resolutions (or as I prefer to call them Goals) and making good progress then congratulations - you are apparently one of the very few who are still chasing their goals this deep into January!
If your goal is long forgotten WHAT HAPPENED?
Did you fall back into old habits?
Did you not take the time to ensure the goal you set yourself was compelling and inspiring in the first place?
There are two of the most common reasons we fall off the wagon but it isn't too late to turn things around and get this ship back on course.
It is time to get tough with yourself before the year really gets away from you and you end up spending another year wasting valuable time when you could be making this your best year yet.
If you are struggling with motivation then it is time to go find some and pronto.
One of the best ways I know to find inspiration and keep it front and centre is a Vision Board.
If you have read my blog for a while you will know that every year I create a new Vision Board with images and words that reflect what I want my focus to be for that year.
This year it is all about my taekwondo training and its philosophy's and getting my body to stay injury free and improve my flexibility.
As I am nudging 43 now when I look for inspiring images I look to athletes who are my age or older who have bodies that seem to be in great working order allowing them to train and compete injury free into their 40's and beyond.
Dara Torres & Lance Armstrong feature strongly on my vision board not because of their successes in their chosen sport (although I admire that greatly too) but for the fact that they are still going harder than most people half their age and are fit, strong and look amazing.
I also know that the older we get the harder it is on our bodies to train at a higher level as the recovery time is longer despite our minds telling us we are still spring chickens our bodies can protest this!
2012 is also going to be about balance.
Given I will be teaching 20 plus classes (including some PT sessions) each week and have 2 businesses to run including one in its first year and a family and my own training to take care of this is a big ask.

Being able to shut down and relax when I get the opportunity is going to be important - something I find hard to do but is a must this year if I want my family to speak to me and to stay healthy :)

So what is your inspiration going to be?
What is your 2012 going to be about?

Don't let 2012 take off without you.
Grab it with both hands and make this your year.

As always comments are always welcome.
Michelle x

Boy have I been slack!

2012-01-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

Just saw the date of my last post!
To say the end of last year was busy is an understatement and a few things had to take on less of a priority and blogging was one of them unfortunately!
But I'm back :)

In December I had the end of year dinner and awards night and student grading for my full time training centre all on the one day and while it was fantastic it took a bit of organising to get everything to run as well as it did.

A few days later my family and I took a road trip to Byron Bay - LOTS of driving but it was great.
We stayed at Eden (right on the beach) and Forster (right on the edge of a lake) on the way up and had some great evenings with the kids.

Byron was wonderful - it seems like a distant memory already but we had a great time.
We all learned to surf and Chris & the kids went almost every day.

While I was there I had a wonderful Thai Massage that went for 2hrs!! Amazing, I felt so awesome afterwards it is definitely something I will do every month or so.

I've had 4 weeks off teaching classes and this time round have really been able to have a proper holiday which is unheard of!

This past week I have been at my desk all day each day as there is a lot to get organised for when I start back at PUSH plus I have TEAM GLOW Programs beginning next week as well and that has required a bit of work as well.

My training has been a bit hit and miss over the holidays but I intended it to be that way - the consequences of that are some extra kg's to get rid of and my fitness is down a bit but building up fitness is always an interesting exercise for me.
I love to see progress and when you are super fit you don't always see progress but when you aren't fit it is obvious so it is nice to experience that from time to time.
The extra 2kg I'm not so happy about but give it another week or so and that will be dust!

Exciting News!!

2011-11-23T00:23:00.000-08:00

Given that the rest of this year and next year is mostly all about Taekwondo (as far as my own training goes) I have decided to give myself a very special gift.

I'm time poor, I have a million things on my plate but I have contacted 9th degree black belt Grand Master Oh and asked if he would train me one-on-one for an hour every week (add the 2.5hr round trip and it pretty much makes it a day out!).

So we start Monday!!

Since Mr Chang has been gone from my life I have sorely missed being in the regular presence of the Korean Instructors, the culture and their wisdom.

It has actually been a very emotional day for me today after being in contact with Master Oh because I guess it reminds me of what we lost when we lost Mr Chang and it came home to me just how much I have been yearning for this in my life again but have been ignoring it.
I have left it far too long!

Master Oh was one of the Head Instructors that took State Team training way back when, when I was first competing. I have also been to Self Defence seminars that he has taken alongside some of the other Korean Head Instructors which I have always loved.

It is such an honour to be able to work so closely with him.

One funny aside is that since I called and spoke with him we have been texting backwards and forwards :)

My mum can't even text!

I wonder if Mr Chang would have got the hang of it :)

I feel as though this is going to be very good for my soul.

Master Oh will also be able to help me with my language as I start to learn Korean in preparation for my trip next year - or so I hope, I haven't asked him yet!

Anyway class is about to start so I had better get my skates on.

I'll update you after I have my first training session!!

Time to start thinking about your goals for 2012

2011-11-20T16:51:00.000-08:00

It is coming up to my favourite part of the year - GOAL SETTING TIME!

I have already begun a list of potential goals for 2012 and am starting to feel excited about it all before the year has even started!

In a previous post I mentioned that as the year gets closer it is important not to shelve goals and plans for the remainder of the year as there is still plenty of juice in the year we have.
I still stand by that and now you will have a clearer picture of where you will be as you head into 2012 so you can use that information to help you set your new goals or the next phase of your current goals.

I am sure you all know by now the S.M.A.R.T Method of setting goals, it has been done to death so I'm not going to revisit that instead I want to urge you to THINK BIG for next year.

This morning I was reading my journal from the beginning of this year and my Taekwondo School was just an idea.

Now less than a year later it is very much a reality and it has changed my life for the better in every way.

Not sure how I will top that in 2012 but I'm working on it :)

Some of my bigger goals for 2012 revolve around taekwondo and my own development in it.

My 6th dan grading is still 4.5 years away which seems like a long time but there is so much I need to do before then.

1: Head to Korea and do my Kukkiwon International Instructor Certification in June.
2: Get my hip surgery done and recover in 3 days or less (kidding - well sort of!).
3: Begin training regularly with a Korean Master.
4: Get my PUSH students competing regularly at State / National Comps.

These are just one area of life obviously but even this one section of my life will be very much improved by ticking the boxes on these goals.

No running or triathlon goals for 2012 - I have learned my lesson the hard way. My body doesn't like it so instead I will focus my training around Taekwondo and Mastering the Martial Art I love so much.

There is always something to learn, something to improve. This is one of the reasons I love it so much.

If you haven't already then it is time to start thinking about what you plan to work towards in 2012.

I'd love to hear about your own goals if you wish to share :)

Michelle x

I'm running again!!

2011-11-13T14:11:00.000-08:00

Well it has been a long time coming but finally I am running again.
On Friday I got the ok from my physio to get started.
Nothing too exciting with instructions to run 7 x 1 minute intervals every 3 days but hey at this point I will take anything!
Rehab this time round has been painfully slow so I'm not about to go backwards by getting too excited and overdo it.
Life definitely looks better with running in it that's for sure!

Switching pace I want to have a quick chat about the coming months.

When we get closer to the end of the year funny things can happen to peoples thinking.
From November onwards people start talking about what weight loss or fitness plans they have for the New Year when we still have 2 months of this one left!!

Don't let the rest of the year slide.

So much can be achieved in the time remaining in 2011 so set yourself some goals for the rest of the year and get cracking.

There is nothing wrong with thinking ahead to 2012 but be sure you make the most of the year you have in front of you right now.

Struggling through my injury with my brain still in tact!

2011-11-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

Going on 2 months now without any cardio AT ALL (well apart from the odd session where I go for it and pay for it with massive amounts of pain!) and no lower body weights.

Kill me now!!

The only thing good to come from this is:
A: My upper body is finally developing
B: I haven't stacked on the weight I thought I would have by now
C: My diet is EXCELLENT because of the fear for B!
D: I have a lot more time on my hands although that could also be seen as a downside!!
E: I have been able to wear normal clothes a lot more :)

The downside is:
A: My motivation for other stuff is low because I don't have the same juice in life I have when I train hard and often.
B: I really don't enjoy feeling like a hypocrite when I am pushing people to smash themselves for me in class and online when I am not doing it myself - I really really hate that.
I like to walk my talk, lead by example, work harder than I make my clients / students work etc etc and when I don't it makes me question my right to make others do it (they wouldn't know it though :) ).
C: My aweseome fitness level that I worked so so hard to attain is now all but gone (although my mind is still gritty and I know that will get me through).

So what am I doing to cope??

I am eating well and using the time to get some bigger projects out of the way.

I am convincing myself about how fun it will be to build up my fitness from zero and watch the process (I know pathetic the straws I am clinging too).

I am telling myself that the time I am putting in now in recovery will mean I have less chance of another flare up sooner rather than later with the vague hope of staying in good working order till surgery next year.

I'm pretty much doing whatever I can to stay positive and feel in some sort of control of what is going on.

I saw my physio Wednesday and thought I for sure he would say I could start running again but nope - don't see him till next Friday and nothing, not even eliptical or bike (it is the loading not the impact that causes me problems) so I'm pretty well screwed for another week.

The plan then is to sit down with him and write up a progressive plan ( I know!! What the?? My usual approach is party when I feel good and moan and groan the rest of the time - clearly NOT working!) that will have me build up over time without sending me backwards at a screaming rate of knots.

I'd kill for a 20 minute easy jog right now!!!

So I'm off to the gym to lift weights AGAIN and then head for my barely earned massage thanking the stars that there is not an extra kg or 2 for Sam to massage!!

Any sympathy you wish to shower on me is most appreciated :)

Have an awesome weekend (training no doubt!!)

Michelle x

Personal Trainers - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly!!

2011-10-26T01:00:00.000-07:00

I have been a PT for 20 years and I know my stuff.
I know how to read people, how hard to push them and when to ease up (rarely!).
My clients get results and they work hard for me.
They don't just get their time with me in sessions but are taken care of outside of sessions as well.
They get homework (extra training), they get nutrition plans and email access to me whenever they need it and basically any other support I can think to throw in to the mix.
Now this might sound like a sales pitch but hang in there because I am building up to my point - it is just taking a while to get up to the top of my soap box!

It peeves me no end to watch bad PT sessions AND know that the client often doesn't know any better!
AND I know that gyms are charging the same amount for some of these trainers who are churned out of school in 6 weeks as I charge when there is no comparison. Most of these trainers have NO IDEA what they are doing!

3 recent examples are:

1: I watched my friend being trained by a trainer at the gym (free session for joining up) and it was painful for me to watch! She didn't sweat, he had no clue that working on someones push-up technique for 20 minutes in a 40 minute session was a tad too much!! He was bossing her around and didn't know her personality type at all, told her she was making excuses for not training in between her first and second session not listening to her very valid reasons. I could go on but seriously it was woeful and this was his opportunity to sell PT!!

2: A new client who has said numerous times "I have had PT before but it was nothing like this" ie: she never cracked a sweat!!

3: A new client who has a series of injuries and the PT kept giving her inappropriate exercises making the problem worse.

In the gym I go to I watch the trainers and I RARELY see anyone crack a sweat and they seem to not know what cardio is!!

Drives me nuts, it seems they confuse PT with gym instruction.

Another pet hate is overweight PT's.

What the hell??

If you can't be motivated to get yourself in shape what hope do you have for your clients AND the clients still take them on because they feel guilty if they don't!!

So...how do you know if you have a good trainer?

1: They actually care about you and want your goals to be achieved as much as you do.
2: They care OUTSIDE of your sessions not just by the clock.
3: They look like they walk their talk (now I know not everyone is in perfect shape 100% of the time but you need to be within a kg or two and have a good reason not to be!).
4: They listen to your injury / illness problems and work around them.
5: They have had at least 2-3 years in the industry.
5: Your session should go like this:
a: You arrive feeling a little queasy in the tummy because you know it is going to be HARD.
b: You get started thinking "this is ok, I can do this"
c: At some point you want to cry for you mummy but your trainer gets you through it.
d: You finish and grin your head off because you did more than you thought you ever could and you feel proud of yourself and you are thanking god it is finished.
e: Your trainer chats to you about your homework and your nutrition and checks everything is going along ok.
f: You bounce around for the rest of the day feeling bullet proof and no injuries have been exacerbated.
g: Rinse and repeat.

Some highlights of my training career have been watching people burst into tears because they ran their first 5k or got under 70kg or fit back into their pre-baby jeans.

You either care about people or you don't and if you don't and you are a trainer you are in the wrong job.

If your trainer can barely remember your name you have the wrong trainer.

I have to teach my bootcamp in 30 minutes so I'm fired up - look out ladies!!

Ok, I'm done - that is all :)

As always comments much appreciated.

The weight of our own expectations..

2011-10-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

It is my nature to place super high expectations on myself and having worked in this industry for more than 2 decades now I know I am not the only one!
The expectations are not limited to my physical abilities but extend well into everyday life as it does with many of you I'm sure.
Recently I had to step back and take a look at my work load and my training load as my body objected in its usual way by breaking down and leaving me in daily pain - which is no fun at all and even more disappointingly self-inflicted by not listening to the things I know my body & sub-conscious are telling me!

I'm sure I am not the only one in this same, worn out old boat :)

The upside to this round of self-reflection is that I didn't need to have the wheels fall completely off the wagon before I took action - getting older in this case does mean getting wiser :)

A few small changes like taking some time off training and get some serious treatment going on my hip / back, changing up my teaching timetable and re-structuring Glow have all meant things are as they should be. Less stress, less workload (and a more enjoyable way of doing things) and fingers crossed I am on my way to being relatively pain free again.

I was about to take on more, expect more of my body by taking on more training (training that was not going to be good for it) and by taking on more work that I just don't need - I just don't like to say NO to anything in case I miss out on something!! Damn my crazy nature!

This valuable round of self-reflection reminds me of when I first started competing in taekwondo.
At the club I was training at I was considered one of the best.
Everyone expected me to win my first fight including me.
Losing was simply not an option - I mean how mortifying not to live up to everyones expectations!!

Well..the day of the fight came around and I had already worn myself out from the stress and anxiety before I even got there!

Long story short I should have won but got a bit of white line fever!
I lost the fight by a point but lost 3 points punching the girl in the face (sooo not allowed, we can kick the face we just can't punch it).

I was mortified!

My fight was one of the first of the day and we stayed at the venue till late in the afternoon - I just wanted to go home and die.

I had class the next night and I couldn't make myself go, I knew I would go back but I just needed to lick my wounds a bit.

At the time that class finished one of my fellow students called me and told me they all missed me at class and to make sure I got my butt there on Thursday.

It was hard going back, it was hard to face everyone and it was hard to face the fact I didn't win but I put on my big girl pants and went back to class and had a great night.

Not winning (have a hard time with that other word starting with "L") inspired me to be 100% prepared for future fights and to not leave anything on the matts in training but the other thing it did for me was take the pressure off and put things in perspective.

I mean no-one died and I still had all of my teeth!

I decided there and then to learn from the fight and use it as an education.

For a long time despite all of that the expectations I placed on myself took all of the fun out of competing.
When you are trying not to lose you are not trying to win - I won but didn't feel I did it well.

After I had my kids I still competed - Cody was 5 months old when I had my first fight after his birth and everyone was shocked that I could do that.

Things changed then, I had exceeded everyone else's expectations and I no longer felt I had anything to prove.

I didn't lose a fight from then on and I was much, much more relaxed about the whole process.

The weight of my own expectations was holding me back, as it still does from time to time.

As you know I like to shoot for the stars but ambition and striving for success and excellence can be hindered by the weight of our self imposed expectations.

Enormous expectations can be paralysing and stunt your personal growth because you fear failure so much.

SO... take some time to reflect on the expectations you have of yourself and see if you can lighten the load a bit.

Mojo is well and truly back!

2011-10-11T23:15:00.000-07:00

Well as expected after a day with Lisa at the awesome Virgin Active in Bourke St I well and truly have my mojo back.
I don't think I can put it down to that day alone although we did have a blast I think in fact it is more to do with the post before "Losing your fitness mojo" and entertaining the thought of competing in figure.
Tuesday I went to see a figure coach and I have to say I was completely underwhelmed by his personality and enthusiasm!
BUT the more I spoke to him the more it dawned on me that I just don't want to go down that path - right now anyway.
The thought of depleting and that impacting on my other training and teaching has been weighing on my mind.
After that visit I decided that it ain't for me.
I have always been more focused on what my body can do rather than what it looks like - that is just the benefit of doing training I love and eating balanced nutrition.
I'm not willing to give that up. That right there is what got my mojo back!
I can still build up some more muscle without having to compete - my competitiveness can be an issue at times :)

Anyway back to our day at Virgin Active.

We spent 5 and a half hours there (including coffee and lunch) and at one point I did say to Lisa that we could have saved ourselves $30 each and worked out at her gym or mine as we spent most of the time kicking and punching :)

We also did a Powerplate stretch class that was really good. I've not been too interested in the Powerplate, whenever they try to sell anything and everything as a weight loss tool it loses credibility, I'm definitely NOT touting it as a weight loss tool but as a stretch aid it was awesome!!

The staff at Virgin are impeccable, a lot of gyms would do well to follow in their footsteps. Customer service is amazing!

Term 4 has started at my full time training centre too so that has contributed to it
It is always great to see a lot of new faces and I know where they will be in 10 weeks compared to now and that always inspires me.

The footnote to today would be that mojo for your training can come from the most unexpected places.
I've always been motivated by what I am going to do not what I am NOT going to do so perhaps look at what you are doing now that you are not enjoying or are doing because you think you should (me!) and see if that helps you get your spark back.

So right now I am pumped about my training although nothing has really changed!

My back and hip pain is still out of control but I'm pushing through and just waiting it out till it settles again!

Planning time for my hip surgery isn't going to be easy. I said to Lisa I'll probably do it over winter so if I stack on a few kg's I can cover it up :)

As always your thoughts are most welcome.
Mx

Losing your fitness mojo.

2011-10-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

My buddy Lisa and I are heading to Virgin Active today and plan to spend the whole day there.
I think they may have to kick us out as they close because I can't see us leaving till they make us :)
Lisa and I have had this day planned for about 6 weeks now and here we are 2 women in their 40's like kids waiting for Christmas morning!

I've been training since I was 18 and Lisa is the same so we are talking 24 years and roughly 29 years respectively so why the excitement about a day at a gym??

For one have you ever been to a Virgin Active??
There is every toy and every fitness bell and whistle going round plus the place is just sooo coool!

But the main thing is being able to set aside a day to spend with someone who shares the same passions.
Lisa is a few years older than me but loves boxing, not fitness boxing, not cardio boxing - the real deal, she spars every week and is looking to compete sometime this year.
I am so proud of her for having the guts to follow this passion when many have asked WHY at her age, why indeed!!

With my martial arts background we get each other when few others do!
Lisa is also a PT and has her own PT business so we have that in common as well.

She also has the wickedest sense of humour I have ever come across - she is hilarious and we feed off each other and spend the day laughing our butts off.

To be honest I am in a bit of a training rut, my hip / SIJ pain is at an all time high and while I can work weights my running has been badly effected as has my kicking which if I let it would lead to major frustration & anxiety. Timing my hip operation is like trying to schedule a moon landing now I have my full time centre.

Today will be just what the doctor ordered. Lisa is supremely fit right now which will push me because I'm not used to training with anyone fitter than I am! OUCH!
Right now I'm training but without any spark - I hope to have Lisa's passion and supreme fitness rub off on me and give me my spark back.

Pain can be a real dampener on enthusiasm but with the right motivation it is easy to ignore and work through.

In the past Lisa has needed me to motivate her and help her find her training spark and she would probably be very surprised to hear I need some of what she has right now :)

Everyone needs some motivation from time to time, even people you think never lose it. When you lose inspiration for your training it is important to go looking for it; plan a fitness adventure, try something new etc to find it before you spiral into a place you don't want to go to.

You can find inspiration from many places if you start to look for it.

For me all it should take is a day in an awesome gym, hanging out with someone who shares the same thoughts and passions on fitness and martial arts and I'll have my mojo back (physio AND massage on Saturday should also help!) and be ready to run headfirst into my next goal.

That goal just quietly centres around an appointment with a body building coach on Tuesday to get some feedback on my physique (EEK!) most suitable division / training etc.

So while I have had a flat spot for a few weeks now due to pain I am excited to have something new to sink my teeth into for a little while.

So if you have lost your fitness mojo hook up with a like minded buddy and spend the day doing something different - a day of fitness adventure :)

As always your thoughts are welcome.

ANB Comp this past weekend

2011-10-02T20:51:00.000-07:00

At the risk of making myself very unpopular here goes!

Yesterday I went to watch the Victorian ANB (Australasian Natural Bodybuilding) Comp for something different and to see if I want to have a crack in the novice div next year given I have been able to put some nice muscle on over the past 8 months.

OMG what an eye opener!!
Round 1 was the female fitness model category and the ladies looked great, nicely athletic and muscular for the most part.
What freaked me out though is that they have to do a dance routine sort of thing - WEIRD!!
Sooo not for me!
Anyway next was the men's fitness model - do they have to do a little dance?? Na ha!!
What is that about??!!
The men just walked across the stage - that's it!!
Not quite sure why when the category is the same that the women have to put on a show (some really cringe worthy too I might add) and then men just strut their stuff. I'm sensing some blatant sexism!

Anyhoo then the figure categories came on.
The men's novice was awesome, some great talent there that's for sure.
I can't remember which division it was but some guy won the crown over with his posing routine where he did the moon walk and running man - he was a crack up and really what the thing needed - some personality!

The thing I can't get my head around is all the make-up, high heels and fake tan. I understand WHY the need for it but I don't know, it just seems plain weird and overdone.

I also can't get my head around the fact they prime themselves for one date, dehydrating, starving, overtraining and then often go into some sort of depression because they can't look like this all year round.

It just seems such an extreme thing for one date when I know I rather look fit, lean, muscular and athletic all year round with some leaning out before photo's if I need to.

BUT I look at the competition in the novice division and think I could do ok and the challenge of it is tempting.

The next one is in May so my little brain is tick, tick, ticking!

If I did it I would do it my way and avoid the extreme measures.

One to ponder over!

Would love your thoughts!

Top 5 beginners running tips..

2011-09-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

Many of you like the idea of being able to run your first 5k but are often intimidated by the
thought of doing so or get started and then run into trouble.
I truly believe EVERYONE has it in them to run 5k and that it comes down to structure, pace and
progression along with commitment and determination on your part.

Here are my top 5 running tips that will get you to that elusive first 5k ☺

TIP 1: Pace
Pace is by far the most common reason women don’t get to 5k.
Running too fast means you are setting yourself up to fail because your cardiovascular fitness is not there yet to keep up and your heart and lungs are having to work too hard which is why you get puffed out and have to walk.
Run slower than you think you should and then take it down another notch or two.
Running slower will build your aerobic base and give you something to build on – if you can’t run 10 minutes straight it means you are running too fast.
Whenever I run with a client who is struggling it is ALWAYS about pace. It is not unusual for me to have someone who struggles to run 5 or 6 minutes run 20 or more minutes in that session with the only change being the pace and once we get this right there is no stopping them and it will be exactly the same for you.

TIP 2: Confusing the body’s energy systems with being unfit.
When we first start to run (usually for the first 3-5 minutes) our aerobic system does not kick in right away and for the first few minutes of running we are utilising our anaerobic system, which is why we feel uncomfortable and unfit.
To get past this a good way to start is to walk at a fast pace for the first 5 minutes to make sure our aerobic system has kicked in first making it easier to breath.
If you want to run it this is why it is important to start out slowly and not over cook it in the first 5 minutes.

TIP 3: Have tangible stepping-stones to aim for.
This can be in the form of adding another minute or so of running each session to markers on your running route.
If you are running around the streets close to your home you may pick a landmark to run to and then plan the next landmark for your next run so that each time you are running further.

TIP 4: Don’t do too much too soon.
Once you get the bug it is very easy to want to run everyday and further and further all the time.
This almost always leads to injury so when you start to run follow a plan and stick to it.
All good running plans will build in recovery weeks and follow the principle of 10 – 20% progression on long runs.
Following these guidelines will mean you can run without risk of injury because there is nothing worse than just getting into running and to sign up for your first fun run only to fail before you get to the start line due to injury.
Running 3 – 4 times per week is ample.

TIP 5: Running shouldn’t be hard all the time.
Running is a challenge and perhaps why most women take it up in the first place but not every session should be hard.
In the first phase of your training of course all runs will feel challenging until you build your base but once you have done that you need to be sure that most of your runs are easy – if they aren’t you need to adjust your pace.
To improve you will schedule in speed workouts but you would only include 1 or 2 of these each week – not every time you run.
Building a strong running base is all about slow and easy runs and only once you have established a nice strong base do you add speed sessions.
This ensures you don’t get injured but it also makes the whole process much more enjoyable knowing that you don’t need to smash yourself every time you lace up your runners.

Weekly Tips, Hints and Recipe

2011-09-07T17:18:00.000-07:00

Here we go for another week - Enjoy!

Tip Of The Week:
Create a brag file.
We know from experience we are pretty good at finding fault with ourselves and the things we do or do not do.
This week put that same energy into writing down all the things you are good at and all the lovely characteristics that are uniquely yours.

Recipe Of The Week
ROASTED GARLIC, BROWN RICE AND SWEET POTATO SOUP – Serves 4
6 large sweet potatoes peeled and sliced in half lengthways
1 large onion diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
6 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of water
2 cups of cooked brown rice
Rub oil over sweet potato and garlic and bake for 45 minutes till potato is soft.
Sauté onion in pan.
Place all ingredients except for water into a food processor and blend till smooth. Add water as required.
Return to pot; add brown rice and heat through.
Serve with green salad.

Snack Of The Week
8 walnuts and 1 diced green apple

Thinking of yourself as an athlete..

2011-09-04T14:52:00.000-07:00

Until now you may have been thinking of yourself as someone who exercises to lose weight or to stay fit.

Today I want to challenge you to change your mindset.

I want you to see yourself differently; to get you to think about things a little differently.

I want to challenge you to think of yourself as an athlete and not just as someone who exercises to lose weight or stay fit.

If you already are or have been an athlete you will know the difference I am talking about.

When you think of yourself as an athlete things change.

You begin to take your training more seriously, you begin to think more about what you put in your mouth and why, you begin to think seriously about your recovery so you can back up and do another quality session the next day; you begin to take notice of your improvements; you begin to place more importance on your training and you begin to set bigger and better goals.

Think about it....
Say out loud "I am someone who exercises to (insert reason here)"
Now say out loud "I am an athlete"
Which is more inspiring?
Which makes you aspire to do bigger, better things?
I don't even need to ask do I?

Before you begin to tell yourself "I am not an athlete; I am overweight or unfit or I have never been an athlete or any of the usual negative things you tell yourself as yourself push all of that aside and just stay with me for a bit.

What makes an athlete?

Being an athlete does not mean you need to be a National Champion in a high profile sport.

Being an athlete is about taking a professional approach to your health and fitness goals.

For example if you injure yourself as someone who exercises to lose weight or get fit you are likely to let it go, let it linger and hobble along with it for a month or so till it pulls you up short and you have to rest completely. You lose your momentum and lose all progress you have gained in the last month.

As an athlete you would be conscious of the fact this may impact on your training if you don't get it sorted so you make an appointment with the physio - you do the exercises you are given, take it easy for a week or so but still do whatever training you can that does not impact on your injury. You don't lose momentum, you don't end up with an injury that sidelines you for weeks.

As someone who exercises to stay fit and lose weight chances are when you buy your new runners you go for the colour you like best; as an athlete you have your runners correctly fitted (this costs nothing extra) and know that properly fitting runners will have an effect on whether or not you get injured.

Think of your favorite athlete - mine is Lance Armstrong - how would your athlete treat their body and the way they approach training and recovery?

How would your athlete manage a night out with the girls? Would they go completely mad and drink till they could drink no more or do you think they would know how to have a good time out without getting hammered knowing they have to get up and train regardless of how late the night went?

The difference is in the mindset and making that mental shift will have quite significant impact on how seriously you take your training and nutrition.

I know the day I was acknowledged as an elite athlete changed my life. I had never considered myself an elite athlete before then.
I knew I trained hard, won competitions and trained with and competed as part of the state squad but it didn't compute I could now call myself an elite athlete. One of the coaches with the squad was speaking to me about recovery and said "As an elite you really need to make sure your recovery is excellent because the quality of each and every training session is paramount; dragging a tired and sore body to training day after day is just hard work , perpetually tired and sore bodies don't get the improvements that well recovered bodies do".

It was true I was sore and tired every session and it wasn't fun but he lost me after "As an elite athlete"!!
From that day on I took not only my training seriously (always did that) but my nutrition, my recovery, my rest, my hydration etc etc etc

To this day this is still how I operate even though I am no longer a competitor. This approach means I do not fall off the wagon when it comes to exercise and taking care of myself - once and athlete always an athlete.

So...take this week to think about what you will do differently now you are an athlete and drop me an email with some dot points outlining these changes.

Have fun with it.

Michelle x

Weekly Tips, Hints and Recipe

2011-09-02T01:14:00.000-07:00

Better late than never! Have an awesome weekend everyone xx

Tip Of The Week:
Keep things in perspective.
At taekwondo training I had a funny little lesson in perspective.
We started out doing boxing drills; as is usual I worked with one of the men in class. Holding the mitts for him he missed the punch mitt entirely (he punched with the wrong hand) and punched full power into my forearm. He apologized and I shook it off – this is all part of training.
Next I was punching and he was holding the mitts – he somehow managed to think he was punching and punched me in the side of the head – luckily I had my hands up and he only punched my hands which took most of the impact before it radiated to my check.
Next we went on to kick targets – I have a pretty good kick – very strong. He put up the wrong target (I am also very fast) so I kicked his knuckles – a bit of bone on bone action. Again shook it off – these things happen in training.
I also had my foot taped heavily due to an injury I was determined to train through.
All in all a pretty typical training session.
After training when we were stretching I noticed I had cut my knuckle from punching and because I was sweating it really hurt. This was NOT a big cut.
I asked Jodi (my instructor) if she had a bandaid and was chatting away while I was putting on the bandaid and put my finger in the cut by mistake and said “ouch”!
I continued to chat away and I could see Jodi laughing. I’m thinking, “What’s funny, no-one said anything”?
Jodi kept laughing and said to THE WHOLE CLASS “can you believe that – she has just kicked the heck out of the targets with a dodgy foot, has been hit in the head and everything else today and says “ouch” about a paper cut”
The class fell about laughing and I could only join them it was pretty ridiculous!!
Also a great lesson in perspective!
When you have a lousy day keep it in perspective, a lousy day is just a lousy day and the good ones will roll around soon.
When you have a bad run, it is just a bad run and not the end of the world – the next one will be better and if it’s not then the next one will be.
When you are feeling overwhelmed by how much weight you have to lose or how far away you are from your running goal remind yourself you are not fighting cancer or a war you simply need to lose weight and keep on plugging away.

Recipe Of The Week
ZIPLOCK BAG OMELETTE – Serves 1
4 eggwhites per bag
½ cup of either mushrooms, tomato, avocado, asparagus, broccoli, spinach, onion or any vegetable of your choice.
Separate eggwhites into Ziploc bag sprayed with olive oil.
Add vegetables and shake till mixed through.
Squeeze all the air out of the bag and boil till cooked through.

Snack Of The Week
Baked wholemeal pita bread (till crispy) and 2 tbsp humus

How are you using your week?

2011-08-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

If you have goals (I am assuming you do) are you structuring your week so it supports your efforts to achieve the goals you have set for yourself?

As we know setting a goal isn't enough.

We need to consistently work towards that goal in order to get the result we want.

The best way to do that is to set our weeks up to encompass the tasks we need to do that will get us where we want to go.

Ideally we want to be working on our goals on a daily basis and working on no more than 3 major goals at any time to see the best results.

Here is a way you can go about this with just a little bit of effort.

Divide your goals into the main areas ie: Fitness - Financial - Personal Growth - Business (or career) - Home & Family. These of course are just suggested areas and you can go ahead and create your own to fit you better if you prefer.

Select the 3 major goals you plan to work towards and write down 7 things you can do for each of those goals.

Grab your weekly planner and then schedule those tasks in amongst your other weekly commitments but put these on the top of the list so you make them a priority.

Focusing on your goals on a daily basis means you won't get sidetracked along the way making your chances of success much, much higher.

Good luck with it.
Michelle x

Weekly Tips, Hints and Recipe

2011-08-25T22:25:00.000-07:00

Another week, another set of tips etc.
Enjoy!

Tip Of The Week:
Eliminate what you are tolerating.
What are you tolerating right now? Are you going to a gym you hate? Are you cooking with a beat up old frypan and really want a brand new non-stick one? Do you have having to get dressed to go to the gym because you can’t stand you old gym gear?
Make a list of all the things you are tolerating and start crossing those babies off the list day by day and feel the sense of lightness this brings.

Recipe Of The Week
POTATO, ROCKET, CHICKEN AND TOMATO FITTATA – Serves 4
450g baby potatoes – steamed till soft
200g of diced chicken breast – steamed till cooked
1 sliced Spanish onion
1 clove of garlic - crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
50g rocket leaves
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes – cut in halves
12 egg whites beaten
Pepper to taste
Sautee Spanish onion and garlic for 3 minutes.
Place potatoes, chicken, rocket and tomatoes into the pan and pour eggs on top.
Season with pepper and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until almost set.
Place under grill for 3 minutes to cook the top.
Slice into 4 and serve with a green salad.

Snack Of The Week
1 cup of snow peas

Not getting the results you want?? Could it be because of one of the reasons below?

2011-08-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

Everyone wants a revelation when it comes to weight loss or building the perfect physique.

They are waiting for the next quick or easy "fix" but I promise you if it were there I'd have found it by now and be typing this email from the Bahama's!!

Transformation comes down to eating right, training hard and being consistent.
Very simple, very basic but also very true.

There are no shortcuts I'm afraid and the sooner we can acknowledge this the sooner we can get on with the task of doing what needs to be done to build the body and health we want.

I have put together some common weight loss mistakes for you to ponder.
At some point your weight loss (or bodyfat loss for those of you wanting to maintain weight or add muscle and drop fat only) may not be as high or as fast as you would like.

If that is the case check out the common mistakes below to see if any of them could be having in impact on your weight loss.

Leaving out strength training.
Many women still buy into the misconception that by hitting the weights they will turn into the female equivalent of "Arnie" when in fact the women you see who are muscle bound to the extreme work at extreme intensity, consistently for many years to gain that look. It is not and easy look to achieve.
For the average women weight training will in fact give you a lean, toned physique that is a "fat burning machine". Added lean muscle means our bodies burn fat more effectively including whilst we are at rest (cardio does not do this).
The other misconception about weight training is that it doesn't burn fat like cardio does. I mentioned about becoming a fat burning machine. This does not happen from cardio alone. Creating good, lean muscle mass means you are burning more calories at rest than someone who does not lift weights.
So if you have been cheating on your weights program now is the time to bring it back in and do it right.

Same old same old.
Stuck in an exercise rut? Been doing the same program for a while now?
Even though I have written you a perfectly good program are you still just doing what you know instead?
Changing your program regularly will keep your body guessing so you consistently get good results and will also stop you from becoming bored and disinterested in your program.
By doing a new program every 4 - 6 weeks you are forcing your body to change so don't get comfortable doing the same or similar programs you are familiar with.

Exercising well / eating poorly.
To gain the most from any exercise program you need to eat balanced meals containing lean protein and complex carbohydrates.
It always cracks me up when you see the advert for the latest abs machine that will have you "melt" the fat away by spending only 5 minutes a day doing situps with the latest $300 machine so long as you (in fine print) follow a healthy exercise and eating plan. Duh! If you follow a healthy eating and exercise plan you won't need the stupid $300 ab roller!!
Anyway now I am back off my soap box - more common mistakes...

Not eating enough.
It is essential to keep your metabolism humming along with small regular meals. Skipping meals will NOT help you lose weight; in fact it will severely hinder it by stuffing up (technical term)your metabolism with your body holding onto every ounce of food because it is not sure when the next meal is coming.

Eating "unconsciously".
Not paying attention to what is going in your mouth.
Much hard work can be undone through mindless picking and nibbling.

Beginning to see results and become lazy.
Complacency is a killer so be diligent with what you eat and when you eat it. The only way you create new habits is to practice them often. Practice mindful eating so you can replace it with the former.

Inconsistency.
The stop and start and all or nothing approaches reap very little reward.
The ultimate key to success is consistency.
Deciding what you can and will maintain for a sustainable period and sticking to it is the key to success and not explosive spurts of focus that quickly die away.
The stop start approach also inhibits you from creating the new routines that will support you in your endeavors to lose weight and or get in shape and maintain you much desired fitness lifestyle for life.

Not pushing yourself hard enough.
If you want results you need to work hard; you need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Many years ago I remember asking my taekwondo coach "When does it get easier"? He was quick to point out that it never gets easier; if you push yourself to your limits each session you won't ever notice what was once hard is now easy.
100% effort is always hard no matter how fit you are.
Just look at any athlete who has just finished an event - they are always huffing and puffing and struggling for breath and it is not because they are unfit.
It is because they pushed themselves to their limit as the probably do in every training session.
Get used to working hard and pushing your body and if you don't now you will soon come to enjoy the feeling of your body working hard and how great you feel after a quality session.

If you have any other weight loss mistakes I missed let me know so I can tackle that one too :)

Michelle xx

Getting back on the horse (metaphorically speaking!)

2011-08-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

Usually I can sit back at the end of a training week and know I have ticked all of the boxes.
This in large part is due to being organised and being able to juggle things at a moments notice if I need to change plans - my Plan B is second nature.

BUT last week I had the worst training week I have had in a long, long time!
My motivation just wasn't there and in the end I don't think I even hit 50% of my scheduled training - very rare indeed.

Each day I would give myself a kick up the bum to get moving but I just couldn't be bothered!

What it told me was that I needed not only a physical holiday but a mental one as well.

I reasoned with myself that I have not even had a day of this for close to 12 months, that it was not the end of the world and I let the week go.

This is not as easy as it sounds!

I'm following a training plan for melbourne marathon and when I have a plan I like to follow it to a T - I only like to see ticks next to my boxes not crosses - for me this is like a blight on my personality (I know I need to loosen up!) .

Of course it is ok for other people to miss training sessions from time to time but not me, I am far harder on myself than I am on any of my clients that is for sure :)

Anyway I let the logical side of my brain kick in and today, a week later I feel much better for the down week.

This morning I managed to knock out a run, RPM Class and Chest / Shoulder / Ab workout so I am definitely feeling well and truly rested and back in control.

Weird things happen though when I am not training; my energy levels plummet and I am cranky as hell. I walk around feeling lost and out of sorts and my family mostly avoid me!

Falling out of routine with your training is harder to do the longer you have been training but if you are new to it and you let the down time drag on it is very, very difficult to get back on the horse.

It is really important to have some rules around your downtime.

Usually for me it is no more than 2 days in a row without training - last week it went 3 days so I knew I had to start planning and thinking about how to bring it back together.

If you have a trigger that lets you know you are in danger of a downward spiral then it is much easier to pull yourself back into line.

I have been training for most of my life so I knew I was in no danger of letting this go on for more than the week but the emotional ups and downs a week of being out of routine can be awful.

So I guess the take aways are:

1: It can happen to anyone.

2: Set your guidelines about what is acceptable downtime.

3: Know when you are in danger of crossing the line and swing into action. If this means letting the week go and planning for the next then so be it so long as this is not a regular occurrence.

4: Plan your comeback so you are starting the week or the next day with something you really enjoy so you are eagerly anticipating getting back into things.

Don't let your downtime drag on for too long but if you need a break then take a day or two off to re-boot and re-energise and then get back into it.

Weekly Tips, Hints and Recipe

2011-08-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

Here it is for this week :)

Tip Of The Week:
What are the daily habits you want to develop?
When we see our ideal vision of ourselves certain actives come to mind.
For example for as long as I can remember (from about the age of 10 I think) when I looked to the vision of the person I wanted to be the image of me getting up at 6am and running was firmly planted in my head. This habit would contribute to me being that person in my head – fit, energetic, healthy, vibrant, powerful.
For a long time I did run or train (taekwondo) at 6am or even 5am a few days a week. The action of getting up early to train everyday fit the picture of my vision for myself and so long as I did it I felt grounded in that vision. I felt I was honouring who I really was.
These days 6am starts don’t hold the same appeal they once did; in large part due to a body that has had its fair share of injuries and prefers to be moving around for a little while before I kick it up a gear so that particular habit has been modified but still exists today.
What are the habits you want to adopt so you can become grounded (or more grounded) in who you truly are?

Recipe Of The Week
LIME CHICKEN – Serves 4
4 chicken breasts
Juice and rind from 2 limes
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic – crushed
Pepper

Place chicken breasts in ovenproof dish.
Mix lime rind and juice, honey, oil, garlic and pepper together in a bowl then pour over chicken breasts.
Cook for 25-30 minutes.
Serve with cous cous and green salad.

Snack Of The Week
Sliced tomato & cream cheese seasoned with pepper on 3 grain salada’s

The Goal Arrow Tool

2011-08-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

The goal arrow tool below is a really great way to constantly be reminded of and track your current goal.

The Goal Arrow
Take a piece of A4 cardboard or paper and draw a long arrow with area to shade inside the arrow or use the picture attached in the adobe file.
At the end of the arrow pointing backwards paste pictures and words that relate to not achieving your goal ie: your before photo and all of the negative emotions associated with not achieving your goal.
At the other end place images of what achieving your goal means, could be images of a dress you want to wear, a picture of a female bodybuilder, an activity you would do that you wouldn't do now etc
Keep a copy of this arrow in all of the places you are tempted.
The arrow represents whether the choices you make are moving you forward towards your goal or backwards.
Colour in your progress using pencil. When you move forwards and colour to the right you will re-enforce the positive feelings you gain from making forward progress and knowing you have to rub it out and colour in on the left side of the arrow will make you think twice.
Above the arrow write your goal. You might want to do a new one each week or each month . Whatever works for you.

Weekly Tips, Hints and Recipe

2011-08-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

Hi there,
I hope you are enjoying these tips etc at the end of each week.
Let me know if there is anything specific you want in here.
Michelle

Tip Of The Week:
First things first – live your values and your priorities.
Often the first thing to drop off the radar when we are busy is exercise. Then the food planning falls by the wayside and so the downward slide begins.
Make your health, fitness and overall wellbeing a priority not just in your mind but in your actions. You cannot live in a place of peace and calm if your daily actions are no reflective of your values and priorities. Put first things first and let the rest fall into place.

Recipe Of The Week
GRILLED CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND THYME – Serves 4
4 chicken breasts
Grated rind and juice from 2 lemons
4 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic – crushed
2 springs of fresh thyme
Pepper
In a bowl mix lemon juice and rind, oil, garlic, thyme and pepper.
Place chicken breasts in mix and marinate overnight.
Place chicken breasts and lemon mixture in ovenproof dish and cook for 25-30 minutes.
Serve with green beans, sweet potato mash and yellow squash.

Snack Of The Week
½ cup cooked rice mixed with flavoured yoghurt

Workout to challenge you..

2011-07-31T19:21:00.001-07:00

A change of pace today!

Here is a workout that will burn a bunch of calories, get you fit and challenge you.

Enjoy!

3 MINUTES ROUNDS CIRCUIT

This is a hardcore circuit that I have been doing with my ladies in the mornings and they are pretty much dead when we are finished so be prepared to work hard. You can expect to burn close to 1000 cals in this workout

10 Minute Warm-up:

Spin bike intervals – 20 second sprint alternating with 20 seconds recovery.

Each of the following sets is done for 3 minutes.

Go from one set to the next without rest.

SET ONE:

10 Push-ups / 10 Sit-ups

SET TWO:

10 Bench Step-ups (using weight bench) / 20 Bench Squats (your butt touches the bench each rep)

SET THREE:

Run on the treadmill on an incline of 4%

SET FOUR:

10 Squat Press / 10 Lunges each leg

SET FIVE:

10 Dips / 20 Squat Kicks (squat and do a front kick at the top of the movement changing legs for each kick)

SET SIX:

Run on the treadmill on an incline of 4%

Cool down by spinning or walking for 5 minutes

Weekly Tips & Recipes

2011-07-28T23:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone!

Enjoy your weekend but don't overdo it so you wake up Monday morning feeling proud of your effort.

Tip Of The Week:

Surround yourself with people who support the lifestyle you are trying to live. It is much easier to live a fitness lifestyle if the people around you also value staying in great shape and taking care of themselves.

People with the same mindset are the people you want to be spending most of your time with.

Recipe Of The Week

CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI SOUP – Serves 4

2 cups of broccoli steamed and set aside

1 tbs olive oil

1 onion

25g of basmati rice

225g of chicken breast sliced thinly

25g plain wholemeal flour

300m skim milk

450m chicken stock

1 400g can of corn kernels (drained)

Pepper

Sautee onion in olive oil then add rice and chicken and cook for 5 minutes stirring often.

Remove pan from heat and add wholemeal flour, return to heat and cook for another 2 minutes stirring constantly.

Add milk while stirring then add the stock.

Bring to the boil, stirring constantly then reduce to simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the broccoli and corn and pepper to taste and simmer for 5 minutes till the rice is tender then serve.

Snack Of The Week

2 large flat mushrooms steamed

Time to take stock..

2011-07-24T17:29:00.000-07:00

This blog is a little different from most but I am sure (well hoping at least!) someone somewhere will benefit!

On Friday my 15 year old son lost his friend in a car accident.
Unfortunately for Cody this is not the first time he has lost a friend through a terrible accident.
3 years ago when he was halfway through year 7 he also lost a friend in a freak accident.
This is just too much for a kid his age to have to deal with and as a mother it is heart breaking to see your child going through so much pain knowing there is not a damn thing you can do about it.

My son is amazing and by having been through tragedy before was able to be a rock to his friends who had not (thank god) experienced this sort of loss before.

Cody was able to put his own feelings of grief aside to help his mates get through the darkest hours, unfortunately when he got home after 2 days of supporting his friends he was completely drained.
I asked him if he had had a cry yet and he hadn't - the tears started and the pain was horrendous to witness.

This weekend was a good reminder for me that my training and my businesses are not everything!

This weekend I modified my plans so I could be there for Code if he needed me there and to also spend time with Chloe who was effected by her brothers pain.

My life and my family pretty much revolves around me and my commitments and at times I do feel guilty about the fact that my needs and my routine seem to dominate.

It was a very good feeling to drop any plans I had to make way for my kids needs.

Don't get my wrong my kids always come first but because they are so awesome and very self-sufficient it is very easy to just go about my plans without any complaining from them - this is just the way things are and when they need me to be there I am there without hesitation.

This time for some reason it felt much more significant and made me really take stock of my priorities and the way I structure my life.

I am wondering if I have it arse about.

I generally plan my work & training and then look at what the kids need and then go back and re-work things if I need to.

I guess I am feeling that perhaps this is at odds with my priorities - I say my kids are my priority but when I'm planning I come first.

I think that it is time for change.

On the surface things won't look any different I'm sure but to feel as though I am living in line with my values I need to make this conscious mental shift.

Isn't that the wonderful thing about life and having ability to chose where we lay our focus?

Just when you think you have it all together a spanner gets thrown in the works and you need to re-think.

I really think it is important to take these life lessons on board to continue to grow and develop and become more in harmony with your values.

I know from experience that Cody will need my attention even more than usual for the months ahead and I need to step up and ensure he has all of me when he needs me so that means coming out of my office and seeking him out even when he seems to be ok.

Some of life's lessons suck and this is one of them but I'm trying to find a way to make it count.

A timely reminder for me that while training is important and creating a successful business is important my family are even more so and that if you feel your values and the way you are living your life are at odds they usually are and it is then important to be courageous and be open to change if it needs to take place.

Weekly Tips and Recipes

2011-07-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

I thought I would introduce a new format to my end of week blogs so here goes..

RECIPE FOR THE WEEK
Sweet Potato & Protein Pancakes
2 egg whites
100 grams of steamed and mashed sweet potato.
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
¼ teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
Beat the egg whites with a fork.
Add in protein powder and cinnamon and mix.
Add maple syrup and sweet potato and mix till all ingredients are combined.
Cook in a non-stick pan till cooked through and brown on the outside.

SNACK IDEA FOR THE WEEK
Half a grapefruit and small handful of brazil nuts

TOP TIP FOR THIS WEEK
When embarking on this program ideally you would have cleared out your cupboards and fridge so there is nothing to tempt you to stray but if you live with others; husband, kids, parents etc you can’t always do this without causing chaos.
To help keep you focused on what you want to be eating allocate a shelf in the fridge and a shelf in the pantry for your items and only eat from these shelves.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
If nothing changes – nothing changes.You are doing this program for one reason. You want change.
When you are finding yourself slipping into old habits or thought patterns remind yourself that if you continue to do what you have always done NOTHING will change
Be prepared to be uncomfortable. Be prepared to do things differently. Be prepared to step outside your comfort zone and create the change you want and most likely need.

Healthy Habits for a Bikini Body by Summer!

2011-07-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

When the wind, rain and cold weather are still with us it can be difficult to find a sense of urgency about getting rid of the excess winter kg's but before you know it the warmer weather will be on our doorstep.

Rather than leave it to the last minute and having to resort to quick fixes and extreme measures start or step up your efforts now so that by the time the sun starts shining again you are already looking and feeling the goods.

Sometimes it can take longer than we expect to lose the few (or many!) kg's we are storing as our bodies take time to adapt and adjust to a new or improved exercise and nutrition regime. It is always good to give yourself plenty of time to drop the bodyfat you need to drop to be at your goal weight or bodyfat %.

By starting now you can also avoid extreme dieting or exercising and instead work at integrating small but important changes over time making the whole journey far less painful!

Below are some good habits to start to bringing into your everyday or week.
Aim to create one change per week and keep building on those changes.
If you can stick to each habit consistently for a month you will be home and hosed.

Ok here are the healthy habits I suggest you start to implement if you haven't already.

Eat a healthy breakfast every day.
Eat 7 serves of veggies every day.
Eat 3 pieces of fruit every day.
Drink enough fresh water every day.
Wear sunscreen every day.
Wear a hat and sunglasses each time you exercise outdoors even in winter.
Do 3 - 5 x 45 - 60 minute cardio sessions every week and be sure to include some high intensity sessions.
Do 2 - 4 resistance sessions every week making sure you work your whole body.
Pack healthy food to take with you whenever you are away from home.
Pre-cook healthy meals so when you are tired you don't opt for junk.
Plan your healthy meals for the week every week.
Plan your training schedule for the week every week and always include a back up plan.
Avoid foods that you know make you feel rotten.
Cut back on coffee, sugar, white flour, processes foods and alcohol.
I shouldn't even have to mention - do not smoke or use sun beds!
Check in with your goals every single day.
Make sure you take one step towards your goals every single day.
Spend some time outside each day.
Make an effort with your appearance everyday - it always makes you feel more confident.

I know this is a long list but I have found that the women on my programs who follow these principles reach their goals every single time so it is worth the effort.

You will notice that these healthy habits are not a quick fix or extreme method for losing weight but instead a set of rules that once followed will result in you becoming a healthy weight and feeling energised and more confident, clear headed and focused than before (if of course you are not already practicing these habits!).

Get your Glow VIP Lifestyle Club Membership now to help you achieve your bikini body by summer.

I got it!!

2011-07-10T23:19:00.001-07:00

Well it has been a HUGE month culminating in the achievement of my 5th degree Black Belt, my full time centre opening and my students achieving their first belt levels at my schools grading on Saturday.

Today I feel as though I am on a mental holiday :)

My grading went ok - I am a perfectionist by nature so of course I wasn't happy with it!

So I bow to the opinions of the panel and the people watching the grading who all thought it was incredible and just have to take their word for it!!

I have an exciting 5 years ahead of me now as I embark on the next phase of my taekwondo training.

The big plan for next year is to go to Korea and gain the official Korean instructor certification through spending a week in Korea and learning from the Korean Masters - this is very, very exciting for me.

I also plan to create an organisation where all martial artists can come together to learn from one another in a spirit of sharing where egos and "my style is better than your style" are left at the door.

The plan is to have a massive Martial Arts Super Conference in early 2013 so much, much work to be done but all good work that will no doubt put me in touch with some martial artists that will likely become friends and training partners for life.

In all of my years of training I think this next phase will be the most exciting and rewarding.

Competing is all ego and adrenalin (which I LOVED and still do!!) but this will be something different altogether.

My students grading went so so well, I am so proud of them all.

They exceeded my expectations on the day that is for sure.

One of the best compliments I got on the day was from my Instructor (also female) who commented on how lovely the culture was within the school.

She said it was visible how conscious everyone was of one another and how supportive and encouraging they were of one another.

Once I handed out the belts all of the ladies helped the girls with their belts and tidied up the rubbish!

Only at an all female club would this happen :)

I have had a strong focus on club culture from day one where I have instilled a culture of working hard but being a strong support for one another and it is lovely to see that is paying off and is visible to everyone watching.

This is the stuff that fulfils me.

Sitting in front of my school of all women and girls alongside my female instructor really was surreal - when I look back to how much of an arm wrestle it has been to stake out a career in taekwondo in such a male dominated culture it is hard to believe we are here in what seems like the blink of an eye (although in reality has been 2 decades!). Really quite amazing.

At the training centre we have this week of training left without grading syllabus for me or my students (which is why it feels like a mental holiday!!) and then we have 2 weeks off.

I'll still be working hard for Glow and running fitness classes but Taekwondo will take a break till the new school term begins so this week is all about fun and training hard.

I am proud to say that with all of the pressure I was under I only had one small melt down the Friday night before grading (pmt had something to do with that I'm sure!!) and have not missed any training sessions so I am still on track and gaining some good muscle.

This has been a revelation for me as I figured I would have had to drop the 4 times a week at the gym to fit everything in but I think it is what kept me sane!!

So what's next??

Melbourne Marathon in Oct.

I attempted the Paris Marathon 2 years ago for my 40th birthday and had to pull out at the 33k mark due to injury so I am determined to tick this off the list in 2011 so stay tuned :)

I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement over the past weeks, it has been very heartening to receive such wonderful well wishes from you all.

A lesson in appreciating the life I have..

2011-07-10T23:17:00.001-07:00

As you know the past few months have been C.R.A.Z.Y busy and I have barely had 2 minutes to myself.

Well now that I am no longer doing my early morning training sessions with my ladies and that grading is done and dusted and PUSH is running on the school holiday program and the kids don't have after school stuff and the fact Chloe is at mums for a bit and Cody is completely independent would rather hang out with his mates than his mum means I am at a lose end!

God help me when the kids move out!

You would think that with all of this spare time I would be experiencing feelings of pure bliss but I have to say the exact opposite is true!

I've been able catch up on some much needed sleep and housework but for the most part I am walking around bumping into things!

In business there are always plenty of things to do but without the stress of deadlines and a sense of urgency I'm finding it hard to stay motivated and focused.

It is too easy for me to say "it can wait" and to get sidetracked watching the recording of the tour de france from the night before.

Training is the highlight of my day and my training sessions are stretching into the 3hours now because I don't want to go home knowing I am going to wander around feeling useless!

I had always said I would give myself the first week of the school holidays to sloth around and not do much but tragically I was antsy before we even hit midweek of week one.

I am caught between starting a new major project and getting on with things and forcing myself to take it easy this week.

It is this internal struggle that goes something like this...

"I can't stand having nothing to do I need to get my teeth into something so I feel productive"

and

"I can't stand this but I know when I am flat out again I'll wish I took the time out to recharge so I NEED to do this"

I mean what do you do??

My natural tendency is to work and constantly have a few things on the go to keep me moving forward and even though sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed I am now understanding that this is what I thrive on.

So the question then becomes - do I stick to my guns and do nothing because that is what I said I would do and probably need to do or do I do what makes me feel like I am living life as I should??

I guess I have answered my own question haven't I!?

So as I type a plan is forming :)

I think that what I really need to do is pull out a pen and paper and plan for next term this week so I can at least use this as a mind dump then plan some family activities and things that I want to do now I have some time and be ok with working around that.

Usually it would be the other way round squeezing things in around work and the kids.

I think this is something I can live with :)

The whole process of feeling lost has meant I now appreciate just how exciting, challenging and fulfilling my daily life is.

Every day I get to stretch myself and learn and grow and feel alive and taking that away from myself has allowed me to see just how much this means to me and how I feel about myself.

The next time I am in the thick of things, not able to sleep because I have taken on too much I will be reminding myself how much I need that spice in my life.

Well must be off, need to go to the gym but first I have stage 6 of the tdf to get through :)

Are you moving forwards to backwards because you can be sure you are not standing still..

2011-07-10T23:16:00.000-07:00

You have your goals set along with your deadline for achieving them but are you moving towards your goals or away from them?

One thing is for sure; if you are not consciously moving in the direction of your goals you are most definitely moving away from them.

There is energy attached to your goal so there is no such thing as standing still; you are either making progress or you are not.

So before you tell yourself it is ok to take a mental holiday from going after your goals know there is a cost attached to this; know that you will be slipping backwards however slightly it may be.

This can sound daunting but also know that there are the big steps we take towards our goals and there are also the little steps we take.

On the days you feel drained and challenged it is ok to only take the little steps so long as you take them and continue to move forwards.

Forgotten or neglected goals are never achieved so it is super important to be doing something every - single - day to move you towards your goals.

When you make going after your goals a daily action (like brushing your teeth) your chances of success are so much greater.

Each morning start with writing down your goals and work out what you will do TODAY that will take you another step closer.

I created a powerpoint slideshow of my goals and I watch this a few times a day. This works for me as it is on my desktop and easy to access in an instant when I need a pick me up.

Make it your aim this week to write down your goals every day and do at least one thing each day to take you closer to them.

Quick update

2011-06-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update today.
Tomorrow is my 5th dan grading so getting very excited about it now.
This morning at training we did a heap of self defence and I am feeling pretty good about everything now so all I really need to do is keep up the study (who knows what I will be asked tomorrow night!) and do some visualisation stuff and run through my presentation stuff.
I have to chose a topic relating to TKD and do a demo or talk for 15 minutes - I am going to talk on Making Weight. As sport taekwondo requires us to compete in weight divisions (mine was 43-47kg or fly weight) we are usually always having to lean down to make weight. I have always done it well by staying at or close to fighting weight but too many competitors try to lose 3-5kg in the week or so before a fight and end up wasted on the day so I plan to offer a safer, easier way to make weight and include a training plan and nutrition plan - stuff I do everyday so easy for me and a lot of fun.
Never, ever do I have anyone come watch me grade or fight - I usually just keep it low key, train my butt off and don't make such a big deal about it all but this time round I thought I would ask some people along to watch as 5th dan is a pretty big deal in the scheme of things - well it looks like an army is now coming!
My mum and her partner along with my auntie and uncle are coming, my students, the ladies I train in the mornings and my family so all the more reason to be on my game!
My students have pre-grading (practice grading) again tonight and will be grading on Saturday so lots of TKD to come over the next couple of days!
I told my ladies I wouldn't be training them in the morning as an extra hour or so sleep won't go astray as we don't grade till 7pm and the adrenalin pumping through my body all day will take its toll by then no doubt and lack of sleep won't help :)
So everything is in place, my body feels good, I feel confident and all I need to do now is bring it!
Wish me luck everyone and I'll post some photo's and video after I get the job done.

No action plan..

2011-06-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

Well as I suspected my blogging has taken a bit of a back seat the past 2 weeks - only a few days left before my grading then life can get back to being normal busy and not ridiculous busy!!

At the gym this morning I hung out in the ladies section because I was working shoulders and legs and had everything I needed in the upstairs gym and there were only one or two other ladies in there at any given time.

I like the ladies section some days because it is quieter and I don't need to wait for any equipment like I do downstairs and shoulders day is the one day I can do stay upstairs as I don't need the chin up bar etc, anyway I digress!!

What I noticed again today is the obvious lack of an action plan the ladies in the gym had (I do notice this downstairs too so I am not just picking on these ladies)!

I ALWAYS have a training plan on the go. I like to have a training plan based on my current training phase and current goals. Without it I just don't feel as though I am getting anywhere.

I often see ladies (in particular) walking around the gym wandering from equipment to equipment without any sense of purpose or direction other than "I think I'll do that next"!.

I can't stress strongly enough how important it is to have a plan of action when it comes to working out.

Know what your goals are; what phase of your training you are in (ie: base or build etc) and either create a plan or have someone do it for you so you know exactly what it is you have to achieve in your session on any given day.

Chances are if you have a program written for you by the gym it is not going to last you too long or get you any earth shattering results so do your research and get clear about what plan you need and why.

If you need to lose weight then a combination of cardio and resistance sessions - do not think that cardio equals weight loss - you absolutely must do weights but of course you are not going to do the same sort of weights program as a body builder, instead you will be better off with circuits that keep your HR up and burn a bunch of calories. You will include some interval training in your cardio to again get your HR up high and burn a bunch of calories both while you work out and well afterwards as well (as your resistance circuit will do).

If you wish to build muscle bulk then of course your weight training is best to be a split program with more sets and less reps than a weight loss workout and you would reduce the amount of cardio you do while you are in the muscle building phase.

If your goal is a running goal you still need to do weights but again you would focus on circuits that are made up of exercises that will support your running like single leg exercises and full body exercises that strengthen the posture and stabilising muscles. You would do this alongside the running program you are following for your event.

Without a plan it is easy to get lost and to lose motivation for your training.
Knowing that you have a specific training session to nail and that it is working towards something will keep you focused and on track.

If you don't have a plan be sure to go find one - NOW!!

My VIP club has a bunch of training plans and nutrition plans from only $8.95 per week - all of the workouts and meal plans have been tried and tested and yielded fantastic results so if you can't afford a personal trainer or one of my individualised programs this is a really good place to start.

As always would love your comments or questions :)
Michelle

A few lessons you might just need.

2011-06-09T16:13:00.000-07:00

This morning I answered an email to one of my lovely ladies (who shall remain nameless but she knows who she is!) and her response was "there must be an article in there somewhere".

Before I continue here is part of my response..

"Time to relax a bit about things and try not to overthink - this all needs to become a daily part of your life now without you freaking out about every time you have an extra corn thin :)
You are doing everything right so just relax and have confidence in what you are doing and try to tap into your common sense - you know that cottage cheese and a rice thin isn't you spiralling out of control so try to keep things rational.
It is like everything else in this journey, an unlearning of some lessons that have not served you all that well.
It is good to be diligent but not obsessive.
I want you to get to a place where you are much more at ease with what you are doing and much more confident.
I know we will get there :)"

My client is not alone when it comes to obsessing about every morsel of food that passes her lips and I want to expand on two points.
The first is about the fine line between being diligent and being obsessive and the second is about tapping into your common sense but what they both come down to is really knowing yourself and having confidence in what you know.

There is a definite line between being diligent and obsessing.
If you are making good conscious choices about the things you eat and the way you train and feeling good because of these choices then chances are you are on the right track.

If you beat yourself and feel you are out of control for taking in an extra corn thin, as my client did, then you know it is time to re-evaluate things.
If every waking moment is consumed by not overeating or not missing a training session you know you are in trouble and if you take a step back and look at things from a distance you will know that you are not being rational and it is time to stop and take stock.

The thing with creating a healthy and active lifestyle is that it is a lifetime thing and you simply cannot sustain this way of thinking for a lifetime or you will go crazy or go off the rails completely.
Holding such tight control over everything that passes your lips is never going to last and is a disaster waiting to happen.

My second point is about tapping into your common sense.
It is too easy to get caught up in information overload and the minute detail ie: an extra corn thin.
There was a time when we knew BS when we saw it and chances are in every other part of your life you can discern what is an exaggerated claim or an extreme way of achieving something but it seems that when it comes to weight loss our brains turn off.

Truly you know that fresh food is better for you than packaged, you know that your body needs carbs, you know that there really is no magic pill to have you shred bodyfat, you know that you need to eat well and train regularly to get in shape - this is stuff you know.

Too often we defer to some ridiculous claim in the hope it is the answer we are seeking when if we instead looked at the way we are going about things and made some changes there we would get the result we are after.

I strongly urge you to get in touch with your own knowledge again and set yourself some simple rules to follow based on your own knowledge and common sense and follow these for a while, if things aren't working tap into more of your knowledge to change things around.
Get some solid input from someone you trust if need be but don't be distracted by the latest cutting edge research or product on the market.

Test your knowledge and gain confidence from week to week and just see what unfolds.
As always would love to hear from you.
Michelle x

Doing what it takes..

2011-05-30T15:57:00.001-07:00

Chasing a goal requires commitment, dedication, focus and discipline.

The bigger the goal the bigger the requirement for each.

From time to time I come across a client who wants the body they dream of but are not quite as prepared to do the work as they thought they were.

And so the excuses begin…

I’m busy…

My kids make it hard for me to train…

I don’t get time to eat regularly at work…

Or my all time favourite …I’m not a morning person!

If you dig a little deeper you often find the excuse is not business or work commitments but instead lack of self-discipline.

I have had clients who were in fact so busy I would see this as a legitimate excuse but they still create the space they need to get their training done and their meals packed.

They are quite simply doing what it takes to get the job done.

When you are tired, stressed, super busy, relying on other people to help you out with the kids etc it can seem like a massive mountain to climb to get the job done but if you are truly committed you will find a way.

In fact when you are truly committed the way seems to find you!

This year my personal motto is doing what it takes and so far I am doing ok.

Almost halfway through the year and I am going strong as I work towards my 5^th degree black belt this month, open my full time centre, train for a marathon and attempt to put some muscle on this very light frame of mine PLUS the biggest thing of all keep my family running smoothly and have enough time with them as I do all of this.

I am without a doubt having to do what it takes day in day out if I want to achieve everything I have set myself for this year.

Today my body is sore, very sore, I am tired, very tired (home from teaching and late winding down and up at stupid o’clock to train my ladies) and I have a deskload of work a mile high but I am about to get my butt away from my desk on this 3 degree morning and go train in taekwondo for an hour and hit the gym for an hour before I do anything else because if I don’t I will be one step behind where I want to be today.

The days you struggle to push past the fatigue, the stress, the soreness, the business is when you grow – these are the moments that count.

Don’t do yourself the disservice of taking the soft route when you are challenged, step up, do what it takes and go to bed happy knowing you took a giant step today.

The days that you do it easy are to be enjoyed for sure but the days you are so challenged you don’t know how you will get through it are the days that teach you so much about who you are.

As always would love to hear your comments.

Michelle x

Keeping things simple..

2011-05-22T23:30:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post life right now is crazy busy.
With so many irons in the fire it is a constant battle to stay on top of everything but touch wood so far so good.

I put this down to the systems and processes I have in place that I have had to ramp up a whole other level recently.

So if you are crazy busy like I am you know how quickly things can go from good to bad if you don't have a plan of action and actually follow it!

It really comes down to 3 simple things - food - training - everything else!

Here is what helps to me stay on track in times of chaos and I hope it can help you too.

1: Sundays I now cook up meals for the whole week for the family - I still throw on my salmon, chicken or steak and steam up my veggies but the issue for me is not my meals it is the family's so knowing I have cooked and portioned up everyones meals means that even if I am home at meal time I don't have to think about cooking which means I can spend some good time with my kids.

2: Training comes first. If I let that slide my energy dips, my focus crashes and I am plagued by anxiety and guilt - rather than agonise over getting to the gym I just go and get it done then l can forget about it.

3: My list. I have a list divided into sections: GLOW / PUSH / KIDS / HOME / OTHER
Every day I create my list first thing so kids school notices don't get forgotten, any important jobs that need to be done get done. My list is my saviour as I don't need to think about it once it is all written down, I just need to get on with the job of getting it done and ticking things off one by one. Not everything gets done that day and if it doesn't it just gets added to the next day.

I like this simple approach, it keeps things easy to follow and means I don't (for the most part) forget the important things whether they be big or small.

On your journey to a health, fit body life will have times of craziness but if you can follow this simple strategy for staying on top of everything you will remain on track and feel in control despite the chaos.

Would love the hear your thoughts :)
Michelle

Update

2011-05-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

I try to post at least 2 blog posts each week but this week I wasn't so successful (unless you count today!) because I have been so ridiculously busy it isn't funny!

But it is good busy so no complaints from me :)

This week I found out I can grade for my 5th dan (5th degree black belt) in June rather than October / November and I have jumped at the chance as this now means I should be able to do the Melbourne Marathon. The plan was to try and do both but was likely to end up injured with the training load in two such different sports. Now I don't have to worry about that.

Deciding to grade in June has turned my world upside down a bit because there is a lot to do - next Friday night I have my practice grading where I get the go ahead to grade in June (Basically if I'm crap I need to wait till the end of the year).

To give you an idea my last grading went for 3.5hrs so there is a lot to pull together!

So....my fitness needs to come up, I need to develop a million and one self-defence defences against various attacks, develop kicking sequences against different attacks, I need to remember a lot of stuff including doing my pattern and reciting all of the moves in Korean, I need to write 2 essays including one on the The Biomechanics of Roundhouse versus Side Kick and a million and other things.

Here is the pattern for 5th dan. I will be doing my previous patterns as well but this the pattern for this particular grading.

I'm definitely up for the challenge and now this is what my next 5 weeks looks like :)

1: Grading practice, grading practice and more grading practice.

2: Setting up my new full time centre which opens in less than 3 weeks and includes a new timetable that will add another 6 or so classes to my schedule each week.

3: Prep my new students for our first ever club grading which will be held the day after my grading.

4: Interview and train new staff for the new centre.

5: Continue to work on my fitness & strength training.

6: Attend some Lorna Jane VIP Events.

7: My usual Glow workload.

8: Being mum, wife and chief bottle washer.

9: Continue to train my ladies each morning for an hour.

It is going to be a huge 5 weeks but knowing that in 5 weeks I can relax will keep me focused.

If this was a 6 month prospect it would be a different story but I can do 5 weeks of crazy.

I'll be doing my best to get 2 blog posts up a week but if I miss one or two you will know why!

May Newsletter

2011-05-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

Here is my May Newsletter
and the blog that I meant to post last week expect Blogger wasn't working!

Short and sweet this afternoon - I think someone has stolen 2 hours from my days lately!

Breakfast can easily become boring but as we know it is the most important meal of the day.

Here are 4 different options to keep things interesting.

Omelette made with 1 whole egg plus 3 egg whites with a dash of skim milk, 1 cup of spinach, ½ cup of mushrooms and half a tomato on 1 slice of wholemeal toast with thin layer of avocado

150 grams of baked beans on 1 slice of wholemeal toast

1 piece of fruit

1 250ml glass of skim milk or small tub of low fat / low cal yoghurt

Banana protein pancake with 1 tbsp Jalna low fat vanilla pancake.

To make pancakes:

¼ cup of rolled oats, 1 egg and 3 egg whites and 1 scoop vanilla protein powder blended to make batter. Mash banana and fold through and cook like a pancake.

Protein Shake made with 1 scoop of protein powder, 200ml of skim or no fat milk (or milk substitute) and either mixed berries or a banana.

Too busy to plan?

2011-05-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

Often my week has a theme running through it when it comes to my clients and this week is no different.
It seems everyone is super busy right now and the first thing to fail seems to be planning, pre-preparing foods, gym bags etc ahead of time.

I can't stress strongly enough that when you are busy it is even more crucial to take the time to plan ahead, pre-prepare foods, pack your gym bag and whatever else you can do to help you get through the week more easily and come out the other end not having dropped the ball on good nutrition and training.

In a busy week if you don't take the time to do the small things it is very easy to spiral out of control and undo some of the good work you have done so far.

Spending 30 or 40 minutes planning and pre-cooking can mean the difference between and good week and a bad week.

I know it can be hard to get your head around finding the extra time to do this when you are already flat out but the time spent is paid back tenfold.

Another thing that slips into steady decline is eating small regular healthy meals; again when you are busy and need a bunch of energy it is even more important to discipline yourself to make sure you get the nutrition you need when you need it.

Making time to take good care of yourself is never a wasted effort.
Rather than run yourself ragged and getting by on coffee and biscuits to keep you going give yourself the gift of taking care of yourself so you can power on and not fall in a heap at the end of it all.

Discipline is the key really; be tough with yourself and force yourself to do the little things you know will make a big difference to your week.
You will be thanking your lucky stars you did once your week starts to unfold and everything is in place to make it a lot less messy.

Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes

2011-05-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

My clients hear me say this all the time.

Often we say we want to create change in our lives and change our bodies but also want to keep doing what we have been doing because it is easy and because it is what we know.

Unfortunately you can't have both.

If you want change you in your body and your life you need to create new behaviour.

New behaviour creates new habits and new habits (so long as they are good ones!) will get you from where you are now to where you want to be.

Sometimes it takes a while for the penny to drop for my clients and I am guessing it is the same for a lot of other people.
I can write a program based on my clients goals knowing that if they follow the plan they will lose the weight, gain the fitness they want and need.

Then I read progress reports and find that they walked instead of doing intervals or used breakfast bars or protein bars instead of real food or did a pump class instead of my resistance program.

These are old habits they are trying to force into the new program.

They are trying to hang onto the old habits because it is easy.

The problem with this is that things get muddled and before you know it you are doing the same old stuff once again and getting the same result you always got.

To create change you need to shake things up and do things differently no matter how uncomfortable it feels.

You must be willing to make some sacrifices and one of those sacrifices is letting go of the "go to" habits that allow you to easily fall back into old habits.

If you have read my previous post on A Brain Based Approach to Change you know that the brain doesn't like change and we need to work very hard to make it happen.

When we muddy the waters and compromise the changes we are making by reverting back to old habits it strengthens the brains desire to go back to what it knows.

So... what is my point??

If you are trying to create a new body or lifestyle you must act consciously and behave differently to how you do now.

Creating change is a very conscious and deliberate thing, it doesn't and won't happen on it's own so if you are about to or have been trying to create change make it your Big Project - don't half do it, use charts, hang inspiring pictures or articles, blog every day - do whatever it takes to shake things up so your main focus is the change you wish to create.

Create change and change will occur.

Good luck and please send me your thoughts.

Mx

Weekends and Weightloss Progress

2011-04-28T21:43:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest challenges my clients face is managing their weekends while on a fitness program.
Week after week and email after email the story is the same; they are "good" all week, eating to plan and training hard but when it comes to the weekends the wheels fall off.

I know that if many of my clients experience this then the rest of the general population is experiencing it too so here is my little bit of wisdom to help you get through it.

1: Use the weekend for your free meal and ideally use this on a Saturday night - Friday nights we are usually so pooped after a big week our defences are down and after one glass of wine and it is all over.

2: To cope with Friday night make sure you have a pre-prepared meal at home ready to heat up and also be sure to have had your afternoon snack so you don't head home famished. Eat your pre-prepared meal and brush your teeth - end of food for the night.
Remind yourself that you will be waking up Saturday morning still on track and without the guilt - know you can look forward to your free meal because you earned it.

3: Train Saturday morning. Hit the gym or head out for a run as soon as you get up - do not laze about or sleep in and eat a late breakfast because this just sets the day up for failure. Often your eating gets off track on the weekends because you have an extra coffee then you aren't hungry then by the time you do eat you are starving and eat crap food you know isn't good for you and the downward spiral begins.
When you wake up get dressed in your workout gear right away - this will help you get moving out the door.

4: Enjoy your free meal without going nuts. Have a lovely meal (not 3 courses) and a glass or 2 of wine and let that be the end of it. Enjoy the meal without guilt because you know you earned it (assuming you did) and that this is part of the plan and not a blow out.

5: Sunday morning is the same as Saturday, get up and dressed in your workout gear so you get moving and out the door.
I like having my rest day during the week so that I have the routine of training on the weekend unless I have something scheduled that means I don't get to train.
Spend some time on Sunday looking at fitness magazines or sites to be inspired and spend some time planning your week, shopping and pre-cooking as much as you can so you head into the week ahead of the game.

6: The most challenging part is being out of routine so you need to create a different routine for the weekends. A routine that keeps you moving forwards towards your goals.
You don't want to head into every Monday needing to undo the damage you did over the weekend or you will never get anywhere. It will continue to be 2 steps forwards and 1 step back.

7: You cannot out train a bad diet so it is crucial to stick to your nutrition plan over the weekend apart from your free meal.

8: Imagine yourself waking up Monday morning without the guilt of eating and drinking too much. Imagine starting your training week knowing you don't have to undo any damage and that any training you do is moving forwards not getting you back to where you started.

If you can manage your weekends well your results will come so much quicker.
Remember nothing good can ever be achieved without sacrifice and that if nothing changes nothing changes. You need to create change and live it to see a different result.

Be strong and start implementing the changes you need to make this weekend.

Easter Damage Control

2011-04-26T16:26:00.000-07:00

Well thankfully Easter is finally over, the kids are back at school and life returns to normal.

I do pretty well over Easter and am not overly tempted by the googies these days.

We do the traditional Hot Cross Bun thing on Sunday morning and I have one hot cross bun with the kids but I stay away from the eggs. I know if I start I probably won't stop :)

I ran and hit the gym most days and continued as normal apart from the hot cross bun.

Now I am in my 40's the extra calories easter eggs bring with them are much, much harder to shift than they were in my 20's and I just don't want to go there.

I know not everyone can say NO to the eggs and for some of you, you have woken up this morning to tighter clothes and feelings of guilt wishing you hadn't indulged.

Here is the thing, what is done is done and there is no point dwelling on it, instead it is time for ACTION!

Know that after 2 or 3 days of eating well and training hard you will feel back in control and back on your way to where you want to be.

The thing is NOT to let this be the start of a slide that lasts for days or weeks.

The sooner you get back on it the sooner you can start to feel better again.

A weight loss journey is not a smooth one without bumps in the road and this is just another one so ride it out and grit your teeth for the next few days while you bring your healthy habits back into play.

Falling off the wagon is not the problem, how long it takes to get back into your healthy habits is.

For some women you will be thinking "It's Wednesday so the week is half over, I'll start again on Monday".

There is no rule to say you need to start things on a Monday :)

By Monday you can already be feeling lighter, leaner and fitter and back in control so don't waste another day feeling lousy.

Eat clean, train hard & get enough sleep then repeat.

Before you know it you will have undone the damage and will be well on your way to achieving those goals you have set yourself.

Easter Egg Calorie Alert! Read this before you indulge...

2011-04-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

This is a bit lengthy this time around but lots of changes have taken place over the past 2 weeks that I would love to share with you but before we get to that!....

Enjoy your Easter but have a plan to pop out of it in the other side without the guilt.

While we all look forward to taking some well deserved time off over the Easter break to recharge our batteries, this period is a two-edged sword if you are trying to lose or maintain your weight.

What do Easter indulgences really equate to? Each egg is usually accompanied with approximately 3000 kilojoules (kjs).

With that said if you can’t avoid the temptation get ready to undo the damage.

This it what it takes to burn off those Easter egg calories.

Red Tulip size 12 egg (200g) = Run a Half Marathon

Lindt Gold Bunny (100g) = Bunny hops (jumping knees to tummy) for 35 minutes

Cadbury Egg Small (70g) = 30 minutes of climbing stairs

Nestle mini egg (28g) = 30 minutes of squash

Easter is a time that tests all of the good habits we have put in place since the beginning of the year.

For most of us 3000 kjs is around half of what our total calorie intake should be.

3000 kj's also looks like this:

1 apple

2 poached eggs on 1 slice of wholemeal bread

1 banana

1 turkey and lettuce sandwich

1 large garden salad

Minimise Easter damage by looking at alternative treats:

A hot cross bun without butter is between 700 and 1000 kj's depending on the brand you purchases.

A Cadbury light chocolate mouse is 470 kj's

A chocolate paddle pop is only 520 kj's

One row (six pieces) of Cadbury milk chocolate is 550 kj's

Remember the same rules apply at Easter as they do at any other time if you want to lose weight burn more kilojoules than you consume and keep it simple.

Increase your exercise to cater for the increased intake of kilojoules and if you want to treat yourself shave off kilojoules from your regular daily intake to make room for additional treats.

The main thing to remember is that life continues after Easter and if you overdo it you will regret it for weeks.

Also remember that it is important to get back to good eating habits very quickly after you indulge so it doesn't drag out.

Brush your teeth right after your Easter Egg or chew some gum as a way to signify that you are done and while the treat was nice it is time to get back to business.

Read on for some Easter Special Offers so you can hit the ground running next week.

Michelle x

EASTER SPECIAL OFFERS

30% off all Journals & Planning Tools and Instant Downloadable Programs

Simply enter the voucher code: EASTER when you hit the check out.

Available for one week only (Ending Wed 27th April)

VIP CLUB NOW OPEN

I am pleased to announce that the new Glow VIP Club is now officially up and running and the feedback has been wonderful.

With over 20 workouts, meal plans, recipes, worksheets and much, much more on offer and more coming every fortnight this is fantastic value. Get Your Membership HERE

FOR A SHORT TIME ONLY YOUR SUBSCRIPTION INCLUDES ACCESS TO:

What's New

Instalment Plans

With the financial climate being what it is I have been asked quite a lot about instalment plans for my programs and there seems to be some hesitation with using ezypay so I have now set up instalment plans for all of my programs using PAYPAL. Rather than the usual 3 monthly payments there are now 4 payments so prices are even more affordable.

New Program Structure

I have decided to simplify the process of purchasing my programs by offering 2 simple methods.

1: Full Support Programs

2: Programs without Support

Both come with 12 Week & 6 Week Program Options and all are available on Paypal Instalment Plans.

With Easter and School Holidays now out of the way this is the perfect time to dedicate to becoming the best YOU you can be and get in the best shape of your life.

EASTER OFFER: Purchase before APRIL 27th and receive FREE access to the 12 Week Glow Lifestyle Self-Mastery Coaching Program developed and written by me.

This program utilises my 20 years experience in the industry along with my training and experience as a life coach.

I have worked hard to develop this program to give you all of the tools you need to change your life for the better so you can become a leaner, fitter, stronger, happier and healthier YOU!

To Get Started Today CLICK HERE

What I'm up to.

2011-04-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

It has been a little while since I posted anything about my busy little life and what I am up to so here goes...
I just launched my Glow Lifestyle VIP Club which has been a HUGE amount of work and it ain't done yet!!
I have been working 13 hour days which is a little bit crazy but when I get the bit between my teeth I pull out all stops until it is DONE and done.

The VIP Club is now launched and apart from adding a few final touches this week it is now all under control until I need to go in and add more menus, workouts etc in 2 weeks time so that is a big relief and it also means I have my life back :)

I took this week off training my ladies in the mornings so I can catch up on some sleep and just wind back a little bit by not having to get up at stupid o'clock each morning.

My taekwondo school is moving along ok but this week I was able to finally secure my new full time training centre and I move in around June 1st - as you can expect I am sooooo excited about that!! Too excited for words.
After running taekwondo schools from full time venues for most of my taekwondo life it feels as though I am not doing it properly operating out of someone else's space and I welcome once again having my own "home".
This also means I can start running my other fitness classes and bringing in some other trainers and group exercise instructors to come play alongside me.

My training is all about taekwondo, running (not as much as usual) and weight training - my training isn't as full on as it normally is simply due to time restraints and so much work to shift in the past couple of weeks.

Once the kids go back to school and we get Easter out of the way I will be back to full steam ahead in that dept.

I have also decided to give myself a gift :)

For 20 years I have been learning taekwondo and I LOVE, LOVE LOVE it as you may have guessed by now and I will continue to teach and love it and will be grading for my 5th degree black belt this year.

I am now going to give myself the gift of being a beginner again and am going to try my first Hapkido class tomorrow night.

My Korean Head Instructor Mr Chang did teach us some Hapkido and Judo years ago but as I was a full on sparring head I was completely focused on sparring and competition plus I was completely in love with taekwondo and wouldn't dream of adding another art.

Now I am a little older and wanting to grow in my martial arts training it is time to look at a different style and learn something completely new.

I am comfortable with the fact that I don't have to love taekwondo any less to do another art (a biggie for me) and that this is ok for me to do.

Loyalty is huge in martial arts (for me it is anyway!) and there is always a massive struggle to take on another art other than your chosen one but I am ready now.

In taekwondo we meet force with force and it is aggressive - in hapkido you use the other persons force so different movement patterns and philosophy's.

I think it will do me good to learn something well out of my comfort zone.

Wish me luck :)

This week I plan to kick back a bit and take it easy - do no work (or the least amount possible) over Easter then hit it with all of my usual passion and energy once the break is over.

Today I am taking Chloe shopping in Melbourne Central and we will visit the newly refurbished Myer building.

It will be a fun day.

Michelle x

What is wrong with gyms today: Harking back to the good old days.

2011-04-12T19:04:00.000-07:00

I have owned gyms and have always prided myself on creating challenging and fun workouts for my clients - pretty much what I do now but this was part of a gym membership.

I can remember every Friday afternoon sitting down with a bunch of workout cards and being excited about the pain (and fun of course) I was about to inflict on my client with her (or his) next workout :)

I loved the moans and groans that came after a new program was started and the fun and banter that would go back and forth about the workout - whether or not I was intentionally trying to kill them or main them for life with the new workout (again pretty much what I do now!).

I was always inspired to give the client something new and fresh and something that would make them feel awesome when they left the gym - even if they didn't LOVE LOVE LOVE the process while at the gym!

The gyms I have been involved in have all been smaller country gyms but there were still loads of clients through the door every week.

Not everyone wanted programs as a lot knew what they were doing already or were just happy to plod along.

There was ALWAYS someone on the floor so if someone was about to do themselves an injury by using poor technique it was nipped in the but very quickly and proper form was taught.

This was all part of the service and I wouldn't dream of doing it any other way - as a trainer I find it impossible to look the other way while poor form is being executed.

Which is why it pains me no end to see what goes on (or more correctly DOES NOT GO ON) in gyms these days.

I recently joined a larger chain gym (who shall remain nameless in the interests of them suing my ass) and it was a bit of a reality check.

Although this said I had the same experience at a new smaller local gym (who shall also remain nameless due to you know what) but just figured that as they knew I was a trainer they didn't offer to show me any equipment or offer a program. I later found out this is the norm at this gym as well.

I had also had the same experience when I was at my other larder gym but I obviously didn't pay any attention to this at the time.

So why now do I have a bug up my butt??

At the Lorna Jane 100th Store launch I spoke to one of LJ's gorgeous staff and we got chatting about online training.

She naturally asked "How the hell do you do online training" (she may not have said hell).

I asked her if she had a gym membership and she said yes with a big chain gym.

I asked her if they gave her a program to follow.

She looked at me as though I was a crazy person.

I asked her if she had been shown how to use any of the equipment at her gym .

Again that look.

It soon became obvious why an online trainer made sense.

I then got a bug up my butt and started ranting about how gyms are happy that no-one knows how to use their equipment or what to do when they are there because they actually, for the most part DON'T WANT YOU THERE!! There I've said it.

If everyone who a gym membership ACTUALLY WENT TO THE GYM you wouldn't fit in there, there would be no room to move.

They are happy for you to pay for the privilege of having a space to work out in if the fancy strikes you but they don't really care and in fact they prefer you didn't.

I cannot stand the trend that now exists where when you join up they try to suck you into personal training sessions or include them as a way to get you to sign you life away and if you don't know what you are doing at the gym you are really committed to working with a trainer. Now it seems you need a trainer to have a gym membership (if you don't know what you are doing).

The trainers of course are all tied in with the gyms and need the income so they are not all that excited about education and creating a level of knowledge for you where you can become self-sufficient and do your own thing.

It is a bad system.

What would I do differently?

I would absolutely have staff on the floor at all times so if you want to ask a question about technique or to be shown how to do a new exercise or to ask for advice it is there.

I would employ a full-time program consultant to ensure everyone (who wants one) has a program to follow that is in line with their goals.

THEN if that person requires someone to push them they hire a trainer.

Having a personal trainer to go with your gym membership should be one option not a "have to".

Call me crazy but having a gym membership and not knowing what to do with it is a complete waste of time and why so many women do not use their gym memberships.

Or they come to me :)

This is my my business continues to grow. Because gyms are doing a great job of not taking care of their clients and they need someone to do that for them.

I'd like to think this will change, there is one large gym who I will name because it was superb and that is Virgin Gym. They are definitely streets ahead with customer service and innovative ways to lead beginners through programs till they have more confidence and then can go into the grown ups gym.

24 hour gyms are the new trend and you can go in whenever you like and do your own thing - they don't promise to hold your hand or keep you motivated so save your bucks and buy the bare basics which is what you get at the larger chain gyms anyway!

If you have a gym membership but are not using it I urge you to START USING IT TODAY.

If you can't afford one of my personalised programs then sign up for my Glow Lifestyle VIP Club Membership where you access workouts, get meal plans, be motivated and more.

It is much cheaper than a personal trainer and you will have the tools you need to feel confident workout out in the gym you are paying good money for.

I should organise a Go To Your Gym Day for fun just to see everyone who has a gym membership turn up to workout!

It would be great to be a fly on the wall on that day :)

I'd love you to share you comments and experiences on this topic so fire away.

What I eat.

2011-04-07T23:55:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I had a request for a blog about what I eat each day to stay in shape so here tis.

6am I have GNC Whey & Oats with rice milk before I head out to train my ladies.

8.30am 2 Slices of grain toast with peanut butter, banana (about $8 each right now!) and honey and a coffee.
This is to fuel up for taekwondo training which happens 4 mornings a week.

11am Box of almonds (kids snack box) and fruit before I hit the gym.

12.30 GNC 100% Whey protein & glutamine mixed with water immediately after my workout along with a pear.

2.30 brown rice, chicken breast and veggies with a dash of olive oil.

4.30 cottage cheese, berries and yoghurt

6.30 Salmon, sweet potato mash and veggies.

Variations for lunch are brown rice salmon sushi or tuna with wholemeal pasta or tuna on vita wheat crackers or chicken and salad wrap or sandwich mixed with mashed boiled egg mixed with 1 tsp hommus and lettuce plus probably too many more to mention!

Some dinners I add pasta or rice if I know my metabolism is cranking and I don’t want to wake up too hungry because I know I need to train hard and need the energy.
Some dinners I just eat whatever I have cooked for the family which is a stir-fry or wraps or something similar.
I also change the protein source around; I have salmon twice a week and sometimes 3 times and the rest is chicken breast or lean steak.

Breakfast can be a protein pancake made with oats and banana and topped with yoghurt if I have time or an egg white omelet again if I have time, these are usually made on the weekends.
I often batch cook the pancakes and use these as snacks as well.

As you can see it is pretty simple, probably more carbs than some of you would expect but carbs are an important part of my nutrition with running and taekwondo making up a large part of my training I need them to fuel my workouts and to keep me energized.

If my training drops back my carbs naturally drop along with it ; not to no carbs but I’d drop them at dinner and maybe lunch if I wasn’t hungry.

You can see there are lots of fruit and veg, good carbs, plenty of protein from different sources along with some good fats.

This is how I eat all year round and it works for me, my weight doesn’t change apart from around “that time of the month” when I mysteriously pick up an extra kg or two (SO unfair!).
Any questions just shoot.

Michelle x

The Monday Merry Go Round

2011-04-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

The most challenging aspect of getting fit or losing weight is establishing those new habits that are going to get you there.
Are you one of those people on the Monday merry-go-round?
You know the one where you start out with all guns blazing on Monday morning only to run out of steam by Wednesday night with the promise to start again next Monday?..when you are ready for...
Ready for what?
For most the answer to that is Ready to do it properly only "properly" doesn't happen next week either and so the cycle continues.
Waiting for the "perfect" time to start or continuing to re-start because the wheels fall of the week is a great way to get nowhere fast.
To create habits we simply need to repeat the action we are trying to establish as habit often enough for it to become just that - habit.
The stop and start approach simply draws the whole process out and makes us feel as though we are never going to get there when if we consistently practice the action often enough over a 3 or 4 week period the hard work is done and we can get on with maintaining our new habit.
To create a habit of exercising regularly and eating well here are a couple of strategies to make it easier and therefore more "doable".
The first thing is to create structure around the habits you are trying to form; for example if you want to exercise 4 times a week it is important to ensure the structure is in place for this to happen and the way to do this is to plan ahead.
If you live a busy life there is no point in setting the goal to exercise 4 times if you don't first look at your diary to see where you can fit it in because the first excuse you will come up with is "I'm too busy". By looking at your diary and scheduling in exercise times that fit in with your week you don't have the "no time" excuse.
Another element of structure is knowing what you will be doing in each session so you don't spend the first 15 minutes standing around scratching your head.
Have a structured and easy to follow exercise plan to follow so when you hit they gym or the pavement or pull the weights out at home you know what you will be doing.
When it comes to healthy eating the thing that challenges most people is not having healthy alternatives on hand and blowing out because the only food near by is junk food.
The best thing you can do is plan ahead and carry healthy snacks with you wherever you go; in your car, in your handbag, on your desk etc so that eating healthy isn't hard work.
The last thing you can do is set mini-goals each week to keep you focused and on track. A good mini goal is performance based such as "Complete 3 cardio and 2 resistance sessions this week and have 4 alcohol free days". Ticking off these mini-goals each week will give you a sense of achievement and distract you from the often overwhelming larger goal of say Loose 20kg. Loose 20kg is a huge goal and can feel too overwhelming and too far into the future.
Taking a week by week approach allows you to focus on establishing solid habits week after week and by completing on these mini goals each week your larger goal is taking care of itself.
If you would like the guesswork taken out of creating the right exercise and eating plan for you then check out my range of programs and let me do the hard work for you.

Coach Yourself to Set Compelling Fitness Goals

2011-03-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

The first step in coaching yourself is to set a compelling goal; a goal that excites you and a bit of a stretch BUT you can see that if you stick at it you will get there.

When we set the goal we need to follow the smart principle of:  

Specific
What is it you want EXACTLY? 

Measurable
How will you know you have achieved it? 

Achievable
Is it a stretch but still something you know you can achieve with effort? 

Realistic
You need to believe you will achieve this goal if you work hard enough. 

Timely
What is the date you need to have achieved this goal by?

If your goal lacks any of these elements you will need to tackle it a little further; you will know when the goal is "right" because it will have you feeling excited and just a little bit anxious.

When you are setting your goal ask yourself the following:

What do I want?

Why do I want it?

What will it give me?

What do I really want / what is my real goal?

The power of the goal comes not from what it is you are trying to achieve it but WHY you want to achieve it.

For example your goal may be to loose 20kg. 

Is the real goal to loose 20kg? 

Or is the real goal to look and feel great in your clothes? 

Or to increase your confidence so you can start to.....? 

Or is it to be able to play with your kids in the park? 

Or is it to complete a 4km fun run and feel like a fit, healthy, athletic person? 

Is it to finally go out dancing with your friends and not feel the odd one out?

Work out what it is that the goal will give you because often this is far more inspiring than the goal itself.

The goal "Buy my first bikini" may be more inspiring than "Lose 20kg" for some people.

Once you work out what your goal is you must write it down and place your written goal along with its achievement date in a number of prominent places so you are constantly reminded of your goal.

Snack Ideas

2011-03-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

It is easy to become bored with snacks so here are a bunch of snack ideas to keep things interesting.

Fruit and small tub of low fat yoghurt

Tub of Fruche

Fruit and skim milk smoothie

Handful of mixed nuts

Rice Crackers and low fat / low cal dip (look for some easy to make recipes)

1⁄2 cup of dried apricots &/or prunes mixed with 1⁄4 cup of brasil nuts and walnuts.

1 apple sliced and spread with 1tbsp peanut butter

1 Orange and small piece of low fat cheese

1 boiled egg with 1 slice of good quality whole grain bread

1⁄2 English muffin with slice of low fat melted cheese

Half a cup of plain / low fat cottage cheese with 1⁄4 cup of berries and half a sliced banana if you are hungry

Half a cup of plain / low fat cottage cheese with 1⁄4 cup of berries and 1tbsp slithered almonds or walnuts

Protein powder mixed with water and an apple

Celery and carrot sticks with 2 tablespoons of low fat hummus

1⁄2 cup cottage cheese with 1 tbsp flaxseed oil and cinnamon Pear

1⁄2 cup yoghurt with 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

1 hardboiled egg 3 cherry tomatoes 3 olives

2 Slices turkey breast 3 walnuts 1 apple

2 slices of sliced chicken breast. 3 almonds 1⁄4 cup blueberries

50 grams of turkey or chicken breast 1⁄4 cup pumpkin seeds 1⁄2 cup cherries

1⁄2 cup cottage cheese 1 tbsp chopped pumpkin seeds

1⁄4 cup hummus 1 stalk celery

1 hardboiled egg 1 apple 3 walnuts

Suitcase Workout for travel

2011-03-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

This program is a great way to keep your fitness and resistance training up when you are away.

March on the spot for 3 or 4 minutes at a slow to moderate pace to warm up and then stretch.

CIRCUIT: Complete repetitions of the circuit below until you have completed 20 – 30 minutes.

Skip for 3 minutes (if you don’t have a rope just mimic the motion)
10 push-ups
20 squats
20 crunches
20 step ups (on coffee table)
10 dips (on edge of chair or table)
50 fresh air punches at face height
3 minutes of *High Jogs and **Fast Feet
10 push-ups
20 squats
20 crunches
20 step ups (on coffee table)
20 step ups (on coffee table)
50 fresh air punches at face height
Skip for 3 minutes
10 push-ups
20 squats
20 crunches
20 step ups (on coffee table)
50 fresh air punches at face height

*High Jogs: Place your hands at belly button height and make sure your knees hit your hands i.e.: get your knees up nice and high, land nice and softly. Do this for 30 seconds.
**Fast Feet: Keep your feet low and really fast; your knees shouldn’t come up far at all. Do this for 30 seconds.

Combine this circuit with your current cardio.
If this is not an option then walk each day for 30 plus minutes twice a day if you can.

Planning to succeed

2011-03-20T23:11:00.000-07:00

The old adage “if you fail to plan you plan to fail” is never truer than in the pursuit of yourhealth and fitness goals.
Failing to plan is often what will bring you unstuck, causing you to veer off course.
Time spent planning your day, your week and even your month will pay dividends as it will help you to avert possible disaster before it strikes!
It will also help you to maneuver around the little challenges life likes to throw at us.
A simple way to plan your month is to take out your calendar and look at all of the things that may effect your diet or exercise commitments in the upcoming month.
You may find you have some social commitments, a busy time at work, possibly travel, a partner away or even school holidays. Having an awareness of these upcoming events will help you to plan for them.
For example if you know your children will be on school holidays in the next few weeks you could use the time to plan for play dates with friends or book in early at the gym crèche or at the very least know you will need to plan your exercise early in the morning while your partner is still home or find ways to exercise around your home.
Another example is knowing you have some travel coming up for work and you don’t want to lose the momentum your have gained with your training schedule, you can use the time to seek out accommodation with a gymnasium or hire some exercise DVD’s from the library or video shop to take with you or know you need to plan a workout you can do with an exercise band that easily fits into your suitcase.
You might even want to seek out a running trail in the area you are traveling to.
When you look at the week ahead on a Sunday you can plan around your commitments duringthe week to ensure you don’t miss out on getting the exercise you need.
It may mean planning to get up super early a couple of mornings or deciding to do an exercise DVD at home because you know you are not going to get out to the gym or to go for your usual walk or run.
It may mean planning a time to make lunches for the week so you can take a healthy lunchwith you.
The key is to take a solutions focused approach to your planning. When something comes up that challenges you ask yourself “How will I work around this”?and remind yourself that if you are committed you will find a way.
When To Plan
Plan the month ahead in the last week of the previous month, plan to do this in a quiet moment.
Plan your week on Sunday, I like to do it Sunday afternoon over a cuppa when my husband is around so he is on hand to quiz on anything that relies on him being available.
Plan your day either the night before or as part of your early morning routine.

Visalisation Tool

2011-03-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

For years sports coaches have successfully used visualisation with their athletes to improve performance, help control pre-event nerves, correct technique and to have injured athletes "train" in their head while they cannot train physically amongst other things.

Numerous studies have been conducted between 2 groups of athletes where one group physically practices a skill or exercise and the other group uses visualisation techniques only - no physical practice. The results show that there is no discernable difference between the athletes who practiced visualisation and the ones who physically practiced. The mind cannot tell the difference between what we visualise and what we physically practice.

I know this to be true because I used the same techniques throughout my taekwondo career. Most evenings before I went to sleep, when I woke up and pre-fight I would close my eyes and visualise the fight how I intended it to go from walking on to the mats and how I would deal with the energy zapping adrenalin that invaded my body just before the ref called start, to feeling how balanced my body was in a spinning kick, to feeling the power of my back kick as it connected, to how I would control my breathing to how I would smile and bow at the judge as he put the gold medal around my neck.

At the end of the visualisation my heart rate was up and my body felt as it if had gone 3 rounds - my reflexes were heightened, I felt energized and calm and in control. It works!

So...what does this mean for you??

Understand the power of visualisation and use it. See yourself living your days in a way that supports you achieving your goals. See yourself in your "after" photo. Give yourself 5 minutes every day to visualise your success and you will reap the benefits.

The exercise below will help you to do just that.

My Perfect Day
1. Relax in a peaceful setting, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.

2. Imagine you have achieved your perfect body. Start from getting up in the morning and imagine everything that you do. Imagine how life is different in this body, what are the things you do now that you didn't before? How are your energy levels? What are you wearing? How did you feel when you went to your wardrobe and knew that anything you chose would be ok?

3. Record what emerges. Write, create a collage, whatever serves you best.

TIP: Suspend your reality and dream about how it could be.

You may also use this template to get you started.

It is o'clock in the....

I am getting ready to.....

Shortly I will.....

And after that I will.....

I'm feeling.......

The thing I am most excited about is.....

And I can't wait to.......

Later I plan to........

I hope you enjoy this exercise and get lots from it.
Michelle X

Why I love my job so much!

2011-03-13T23:56:00.001-07:00

Testimonial for Michelle Hext

If you are looking for a realistic program made for a real woman with real life commitments and real challenges, then look no further. Michelle’s program delivers on all fronts.

I signed up with Michelle in 2009 and was diagnosed with breast cancer just 4 days later. All things came to a halt as I went through multiple surgeries, chemo, radiotherapy and the subsequent loss of arm movement and chest pain as my body tried to heal. To avoid ovarian cancer I had my ovaries out which resulted in instant menopause and the associated symptoms, all before the age of 40. I certainly needed my glow back now!

After my reconstruction, I started walking on the treadmill at 0.8 of a kilometer and I lasted for 2 minutes. I never thought or expected to get back to my previous level of fitness or health. Slowly, I persisted until I was able to walk for longer and at a faster pace. Eventually, I knew that I was ready for something more.

So I called Michelle. When I asked if she was the girl to help me improve my health and fitness she instantly said “You bet, I am here for you”. They are words I will never forget. Michelle was like no other fitness instructor I had come across before. With a genuine care and interest in my health she offered to train me again. Many instructors wouldn’t have touched me with a barge pole considering the current level of my fitness, which demonstrated Michelle’s commitment to helping me regardless of the outcome. Let’s face it, I wasn’t going to be providing Michelle with a gorgeous, tanned, buff pin up for her next advertisement! I was still half bald, had gained considerable weight, was taking a large quantity of medications and was as white as a ghost!

Michelle emailed me her program and threw me in the deep end (carefully, of course!) with her running program. I had jogged before, but not quite like this. I checked out her sensible, guided nutritional advice and cleaned up my diet. I filled in the necessary details and statistics and got started. By the end of my 12 week program I had not only lost weight, I had lost inches, especially around my mid section (that would be the tummy!) and I was able to run for a full hour either on a treadmill or outside without being puffed or getting a stitch. I was not hungry and the exercise was do-able. My insomnia had improved, my mood had improved and I had stopped all my pain medication. The lymphodema (swelling) in my arm was controlled and the pain in my arm and chest were greatly relieved with the regular exercise. I was back at the gym and doing step and combat classes, but mostly, I enjoyed the running. I had exceeded my own expectations having thought I could never run continually for an hour, but I did. I started running with friends and ran next to my kids as they rode their bikes around the local parks. It was wonderful to be out and about again.

The support offered by Michelle is second to none and this, I feel, is one of the key components of her program that sets her apart from other programs. Anyone can tell you what to eat and how long to exercise for. Most of us already know that half the stuff we put into our mouths shouldn’t be going in there and that we need to get off the couch, but who is going to be there to make you accountable and show an interest in whether you do it or not? Michelle provided me with continual encouragement and was always interested in my progress no matter how small and no matter what direction that progress took. She was prompt with responses to my phone calls and emails, and was always able to offer solutions to any problem in a positive light.

I can’t thank Michelle enough for her help. She is an unbelievable woman in every respect and I feel honoured to have encountered her, especially at this time in my life. Michelle feels like a friend, not a PT, and I know that I will remain in contact with her one way or another for years to come (maybe when I pass her on the next 42K marathon? Yes, I am wishing here!). Michelle has helped me to recover from serious illness and to continually seek ways to improve my health and fitness, not just improve my diet and exercise. I will continue to run. I will continue to eat well. I will continue to live my life to the full. Thank you Michelle, for everything, you are beyond AWESOME.

Deb Walton, Bunbury, Western Australia.

Time for a laugh - this kills me every time. Enjoy!

2011-03-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

I have seen this a few times before (don't know where it came from originally) and it always cracks me up and being Friday I thought you might enjoy the laugh.
Does make me wonder if my ladies felt the same way :)
I did get some text's this week complaining of not being able to wash hair or pick up coffee cups so I imagine my ears should have been ringing :)

Diary of a Trainee: My First Week With a Personal Trainer
For my fiftieth birthday this year, my husband (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me. Although I am still in great shape since playing on my high school softball team, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try. I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer I’ll call Bruce, who identified himself as a 26 year old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. My husband seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started. The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.
Monday
Started my day at 6:00am. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Bruce waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god with blond hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo! Bruce gave me a tour and showed me the machines. He took my pulse after five minutes on the treadmill. He was alarmed that my pulse was so fast, but I attribute it to standing next to him in his Lycra aerobic outfit. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring. Bruce was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!
Tuesday
I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Bruce made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air – then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. Bruce’s rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It’s a whole new life for me.
Wednesday
The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying on the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn’t try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot. Bruce was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying. My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Bruce put me on the stair monster. Why would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Bruce told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other stuff too.
Thursday
Bruce was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin,cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn’t help being a half an hour late, it took me that long to tie my shoes. Bruce took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the men’s room. He sent Lars to find me, then, as punishment, put me on the rowing machine – which I sank.
Friday
I hate that creep Bruce more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. There was no part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it. Bruce wanted me to work on my triceps. I don’t have any triceps! And if you don’t want dents in the floor, don’t hand me the &@#$*~ barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich. Which I am sure you learned in the sadist school you attended and graduated magna cum laude from, you jerk!) The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn’t it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?
Saturday
Bruce left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing him made me want to smash the machine with my planner. However, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel.
Sunday
I’m having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun – like a root canal, a mammogram, or a pelvic exam.
.
She’s just lucky she didn’t get lumbered with this trainer:

Coping with Sugar Cravings

2011-03-06T17:19:00.000-08:00

Sugar Cravings are a massive challenge for women but there is no reason you can’t have something sweet if you crave it so long as you can follow the guidelines below.

For some women giving in to sugar opens the floodgates and they can’t stop so if you are that person it is best to go cold turkey and avoid sugar all together and within 2-3 weeks you won’t have those cravings anymore.

In this case when the sugar cravings hit go and brush your teeth to interrupt the craving and thought processes that go with them.

If you know a small sweet treat will hit the spot then the following applies to you.

We now know that dark chocolate is high in antioxidants and therefore something you can add to your diet without guilt so long as you do this in moderation and keep within your calorie allowance for the day (if you are counting calories to lose weight).

Dried dates are also good to combat sugar cravings and are also a good form of fibre.

3 dates and 3 squares of dark chocolate will really hit the spot particularly for a night time craving attack.

Watermelon is great for curbing cravings during the day and is a nice healthy alternative PLUS it goes towards including enough fruit in your diet.

Why there are no shortcuts to getting the body you want.

2011-03-03T17:51:00.001-08:00

Everyone wants a revelation when it comes to weight loss or building the perfect physique.

They are waiting for the next quick or easy fix but I promise you if it were there I'd have found it by now and be typing this email from the Bahama's!!

Transformation comes down to eating right, training hard and being consistent.

Very simple, very basic but also very true.

There are no shortcuts I'm afraid and the sooner we can acknowledge this the sooner we can get on with the task of doing what needs to be done to build the body and health we want.

I have put together some common weight loss mistakes for you to ponder.

At some point your weight loss (or bodyfat loss for those of you wanting to maintain weight or add muscle and drop fat only) may not be as high or as fast as you would like.

If that is the case check out the common mistakes below to see if any of them could be having in impact on your weight loss.

Leaving out strength training.

Many women still buy into the misconception that by hitting the weights they will turn into the female equivalent of "Arnie" when in fact the women you see who are muscle bound to the extreme work at extreme intensity, consistently for many years to gain that look. It is not and easy look to achieve.

For the average women weight training will in fact give you a lean, toned physique that is a "fat burning machine". Added lean muscle means our bodies burn fat more effectively including whilst we are at rest (cardio does not do this).

The other misconception about weight training is that it doesn't burn fat like cardio does. I mentioned about becoming a fat burning machine. This does not happen from cardio alone. Creating good, lean muscle mass means you are burning more calories at rest than someone who does not lift weights.

So if you have been cheating on your weights program now is the time to bring it back in and do it right.

Same old same old.

Stuck in an exercise rut? Been doing the same program for a while now?

Even though I have written you a perfectly good program are you still just doing what you know instead?

Changing your program regularly will keep your body guessing so you consistently get good results and will also stop you from becoming bored and disinterested in your program.

By doing a new program every 4 - 6 weeks you are forcing your body to change so don't get comfortable doing the same or similar programs you are familiar with.

Exercising well / eating poorly.

To gain the most from any exercise program you need to eat balanced meals containing lean protein and complex carbohydrates.

It always cracks me up when you see the advert for the latest abs machine that will have you "melt" the fat away by spending only 5 minutes a day doing situps with the latest $300 machine so long as you (in fine print) follow a healthy exercise and eating plan. Duh! If you follow a healthy eating and exercise plan you won't need the stupid $300 ab roller!!

Anyway now I am back off my soap box - more common mistakes...

Not eating enough.

It is essential to keep your metabolism humming along with small regular meals. Skipping meals will NOT help you lose weight; in fact it will severely hinder it by stuffing up (technical term)your metabolism with your body holding onto every ounce of food because it is not sure when the next meal is coming.

Eating "unconsciously".

Not paying attention to what is going in your mouth.

Much hard work can be undone through mindless picking and nibbling.

Beginning to see results and become lazy.

Complacency is a killer so be diligent with what you eat and when you eat it. The only way you create new habits is to practice them often. Practice mindful eating so you can replace it with the former.

Inconsistency.

The stop and start and all or nothing approaches reap very little reward.

The ultimate key to success is consistency.

Deciding what you can and will maintain for a sustainable period and sticking to it is the key to success and not explosive spurts of focus that quickly die away.

The stop start approach also inhibits you from creating the new routines that will support you in your endeavors to lose weight and or get in shape and maintain you much desired fitness lifestyle for life.

Not pushing yourself hard enough.

If you want results you need to work hard; you need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Many years ago I remember asking my taekwondo coach "When does it get easier"? He was quick to point out that it never gets easier; if you push yourself to your limits each session you won't ever notice what was once hard is now easy.

100% effort is always hard no matter how fit you are.

Just look at any athlete who has just finished an event - they are always huffing and puffing and struggling for breath and it is not because they are unfit.

It is because they pushed themselves to their limit as the probably do in every training session.

Get used to working hard and pushing your body and if you don't now you will soon come to enjoy the feeling of your body working hard and how great you feel after a quality session.

Fore more articles and a free 2 Week Program please visit my website: www.glowwomensfitnessonline.com.au

A Brain based approach to creating change

2011-03-01T20:21:00.001-08:00

I have posted this before but I think it is worth repeating because it is so powerful.
Feedback welcome.

Ever wondered why it is such hard work to create change?

Do you want to finally get off the treadmill of ‘two steps forward one step back’ when trying to

change your lifestyle habits for the better so you can create the kind of physique and vibrant

health you have always dreamed of?

Before we continue, a quick lesson on the brain; thankfully in plain, easy to understand terms!

Recent studies on how the brain works have discovered that our brains like to “hardwire” any

activity we do repetitively. It stores this information in an area of the brain called the basal

ganglia so our brain can do these things without really thinking about them, freeing our brains up

to learn new things and respond to new situations.

Imagine if everyday we had to relearn how to tie our shoes or brush our teeth, put on makeup,

make a coffee or drive a car. Because we do these things so often they have become second

nature and we can now do them as if on “auto pilot”.

This is relevant to creating change in our lifestyle habits because much of what we do now is

“hardwired”. When we try to change our habits our brains detect change and it feels

uncomfortable.

The good news is that we can use this ability to “hardwire” to our advantage.

We now know inherently we are opposed to change and will experience a struggle when trying to

make change happen. Up until now we have probably put this down to lack of willpower when in

fact this is what we are predisposed to do.

So in theory, all we need to do now is create some new habits and do them enough that they

become “hardwired”. Again, remember back to tying your shoes, only this time think back to the

first time you tried to do it. I remember a lot of frustration throughout this process, thinking I

would never get it right - but I did and you did too.

I remember being so focused on learning how to tie my shoes that I practiced and persevered until

I got it.

Ahhhhh……

And here my friend’s is the key.

There is even a term we can attach to this; it is called Attention Density. Attention Density is

applying consistent and committed focus to whatever it is you are trying to do; to immerse

yourself in what you are trying to achieve until you achieve it.

This is where we can now apply this little lesson about the brain to our health and fitness goals.

Imagine that you want to create a habit of waking up and walking or running each day at 6am. Up

until now you have been waking up at 7.45 and heading straight for the kettle. What discomfort

can you expect to experience when trying to create this new habit or “hardwiring”? Plenty!

However, now you can expect it and plan to work through it, because you know by repeating it

consistently enough your brain will “hardwire” this new habit. Within a month or two you will be

doing it without thinking, which is the desired outcome.

Great in theory but what’s going to keep you at it when the alarm rings and all you want to do is

hit snooze? You need to have an inspired reason to work through the discomfort and create

simple strategies for making this as easy as possible during the transition phrase. This includes

tactics such as having your workout gear right by your bed so you can be dressed and out the door

before you’ve had time to think about it. It is important at this time to set yourself up to win.

I coach women to set themselves up to win by supporting them through this transition phase. By

keeping them accountable and helping them find their own ways to push through this

“hardwiring” phase they can create the change they have been looking for.

In summary, to utilise the brain-based approach to change follow the following three steps.

FIND YOUR INSPIRED REASON FOR CHANGE

This is always in the form of a goal that inspires and excites you.

TRANSITION PHASE (NEW HARDWIRING TAKING PLACE)

Know that this is the “hard work” phase of creating change and that soon enough your brain will

“hardwire” this new habit making it a new part of your makeup.

CHANGE

Live the change. The longer this change is in process the more difficult it is to undo.

Why you DONT need motivation.

It is a common misconception that we need to be motivated if we are to achieve our health fitness or weight loss goals

But as you are probably aware by now motivation is a fickle friend that can not always be relied upon when you need it

My Glow girls will be the first to tell you lack of motivation is not an excuse that holds too much weight for me and my response is pretty much the same each time

You dont need to be motivated to get the job done you just need to get it done.

The reality is that there will be times you are not motivated but you do have other options as a driving force to get your butt out the door when you really dont feel like it.

Discipline

Discipline is by far a more reliable friend than motivation.

Like most skills self discipline takes time to develop but once acquired it is hard to shake it is a much more loyal friend than motivation

Start small and continue to build for example discipline yourself to pack your lunch box every evening for 1 month to ensure you have a healthy and nutritious lunch that will keep you on track

One month of packing your lunch everyday will create the habit but will still require small amounts of discipline to keep it up

Structure

Structure is equally as important as discipline because without it things can easily go awry.

In the lunchbox example the structure could involve a list like the one below to get you started

Airtight Containers small medium and large

Cooler Bag with reusable ice packs

Weekly Lunch Meal Plan

Shopping for Plan baby spinach lean protein greek yoghurt

Obviously after you have purchased your containers and cooler they can come off the list and then each week you only need to create your meal plan and then shop for it so you have everything on hand in the evenings when it is time to prepare you lunches

If you have everything on hand it becomes EASY to throw everything together

When things are easy THEY GET DONE

Do the work in the beginning and the rest falls into place

Accountability

Most women need some form of accountability to get over those hump moments when a bad decision could easily be made

If you have to tell someone or write down that you didnt pack your lunch and instead ate rubbish for lunch it will make you think twice about not spending the 5 minutes it will take you to put your lunch together

Goals

The more visible and compelling your goals are the more dedicated you will be to them

Goal setting is a whole other newsletter but just know that if you can see your goals regularly and they excite you the chances of you doing what it takes are greatly increased

So there you have it your guide to getting the job done sans motivation

Don’t get me wrong motivation is nice it makes the job easier but it is not crucial

For the odd dose of motivation to keep things fun here is a list of things you can use to give you that extra kick

New Workout Clothes

New Music for your ipod

Read Quality Fitness Magazines for inspiration

Create a vision board I do one every single December

Do a fun workout or class for a week for something different

Train with a friend

Pull out your old favorite jeans and hang them where you can see them

Watch you tube footage of Ironman Hawaii and try not to head out the door for a run

Search google images for fit bodies or similar

While you dont need motivation a bit of fun never hurt anyone

Create discipline structure accountability and goals and have that in place knowing this will get the job done and draw on things like the list above when …

How do you see yourself?

2011-02-27T17:40:00.000-08:00

I ask this question for a very important reason.
How you see yourself now is going to affect the way you conduct yourself throughout your journey to change your body and the results you will achieve.

Many women come to my programs with a truckload of baggage from past failures accompanied by the excuses they have been fond of using to keep them in that place.

They enter my program’s not really believing “they” can achieve the results they yearn for.
They think they might get some ok results but knowing themselves and how they can’t stick at anything they won’t get “those” results.

They just know they will ruin it like they always have done.

With these thoughts in the background it is easy to see why true success is not even a remote possibility.
Whatever baggage you have lingering from the past now is the time to get rid of it, to wipe the slate clean and give yourself a fresh start. You would allow this for anyone else so do it for yourself.

Your new history starts now and I promise you, you are capable of doing and achieving things you never dreamed possible.

But you must find the belief in yourself and trust yourself to follow through.

No doubt you have plenty of information to back up your belief that you will fail this time too. There is the history of all the things you did to fail last time and the time before that and the time before that.

There is more than enough information to back up your “I will fail” theory if this is what you want to focus on.

Instead, I want you to focus on all the information you have that supports the theory you can do this, in fact you can do anything you put your mind to.

If these memories and images don’t come immediately to mind it is because you buried them, so start digging – they are in there somewhere.

What successes have you had in the past? They do not need to be related to your fitness or your weight. Write down your successes; list every one of them no matter how trivial you think they are. Keep writing till you have filled the page then turn that sucker over and keep going. This is the information you need, not the other stuff.

This is the information that will remind you that you are a winner and now you can enter this new phase of your life with a winner’s mindset.

Stand up (yes really) and stand tall and think about your past failures and how you know you will fail this time too. Really think about it.

How is your breathing? How do you feel? What is your posture like?

I can see it and I am not even in the room!

Do you feel you can, without a doubt, achieve your desired results 100% and get some great results in this mindset? I very much doubt it.

Stand up tall (you should still be standing actually!!) and now think about your success list. Now GRIN – smile big and wide and show all of your teeth – it does not matter if you are scaring the neighbors do it anyway.

Now think of all of those goals you managed to achieve, think of all those things you managed to do, think of how proud you are of your list and what you have been able to achieve in your life so far.

How is your body looking now? How is your breathing? How is your heart rate? How do you feel? What is your posture like?
Can you see yourself kicking fitness & fat loss butt?? I hope so, if not then you better do it again. Maybe you need to add more to your success list.

Now I want you to think about how you see yourself, how you REALLY see yourself.

How do you think others perceive you?

Are these images of how you and others see you positive or do you see yourself as not quite good enough or a failure because you haven’t been able to lose weight or build a strong & muscular physique?

Do you see yourself as almost good enough?

None of these thoughts are acceptable. You are a person capable of anything you put your mind to, you may have just forgotten how.

How do you want to see yourself and how do you want others to perceive you?

Write it down and get clear on just who you want to be over the coming months and years and more immediately who you want to be while you undertake the challenge of getting in the best shape of your life.

How would you behave differently to now?

What qualities do you want or need to have to do this thing right?

What new routines do you need to have?

What clothes do you need to be wearing?

How do you walk and sit and converse with people?

Create a clear picture in your mind of who you will be now and begin to behave your way into this new or forgotten person. You can do it.

See yourself as winner, succeeding, looking at your image in the mirror and feeling extremely proud of what you have achieved, feeling proud of inspiring others and changing the lives of people around you.

Do not underestimate just how important it is to see yourself as a winner on this journey.
Take the time, do the exercises and believe.

Top Tips for Managing Social Events

2011-02-24T13:27:00.000-08:00

When you are trying to lose weight and change lifestyle habits the thing that can be most difficult to manage are those ill timed social events.

Here are my top tips to help you through the minefield!

Stick to the rule eat What You NEED before you eat what you WANT: Often the act of eating what you need first stops you from eating what you think you want and if you still want the treat food as you have already eaten what you need first you will want less of it.

Plan your indulgences: If your treat is part of your healthy eating plan for the week you will feel more in control and you won’t feel as if you have blown your nutrition for the week. If you don’t plan for treats it is easy to revert to the “what the hell I’ve blown it anyway” mentality.

Keep things in perspective so you don’t blow it completely: This leads on from the comment above where you don’t plan and have a bit of a blow out. Rather than throw in the towel completely and go hell for leather keep things in perspective and know that one small blowout can be undone.

How to stop mid blow out: Have pre-determined trigger on hand to put a stop to your blow out for example if you are at home you could brush your teeth, if you are out you can have a piece of gum or a piece of fruit to signal you are back on track.

Be selective about what events you say yes to: The more events you attend the more temptations will be an issue. Rather than go to every event going around select the ones you really want to go to and enjoy them without guilt.

Don’t skip meals in order to “save yourself” for later: This is just a recipe for disaster because a: if you drink it will hit you right away and your food choices are less likely to be good in this state and b: it is likely to cause you to overeat because you are starving.

Identify your triggers and set boundaries around them: If you know alcohol is your weakness you will need to decide if you have one does that mean the wheels will fall off and there is no stopping you? If so offering to drive and staying away from alcohol might be the best option. If you know you can have one or two drinks and stop then set this as your limit and stick to your guns. The same applies to any food weaknesses you have also.

Be clear about the true indulgence days i.e.: Christmas Day etc Mark them in your calendar and eat super clean on the days that are not indulgence days. Don’t nibble on leftovers for days after the event; keep indulgence days and clean days very clear.

Don’t ignore overeating signals: Listen to your body and stop when you are content rather than think “this is my free meal and I am gonna make the most of it!”

Think ahead about the impact your choices will make: Before you head out and in the moment think ahead to when you wake up the following day. Will you kick yourself for indulging or are you ok with it because it is part of the plan?

Don’t let your training slide: Two things are going to put weight on you, eating too much and not moving enough. During this time of the year we do tend to eat treat foods more regularly and increase our overall calorie intake so the worst thing you can do is stop training. More training is required not less.

Wear something fitted or tight: Don’t wear anything that will hide the bloat that comes with overdoing it to keep you honest.

At social gatherings hang out with people who have similar goals to you: Gravitate to the people who are fit and healthy and can enjoy an evening out in moderation, it is much easier to stay strong when you are with people who are also keen to be sensible because they know blowing out is just not worth the price you pay.

If you do decided to drink alternate 1 alcoholic drink with 2 mineral waters.

Drink Mineral Water in a champagne glass: This way you still feel like you are socializing like everyone else and it saves you from people making comments about not drinking which unfortunately happens a lot in our culture!

An amusing lesson in perspective.

2011-02-22T13:19:00.000-08:00

Taekwondo training has a great knack for putting things into perspective.

A while back in class I had an incident that reminded me of that very clearly.

We started out doing boxing drills; as is usual I worked with one of the men in class.

Holding the mitts for him he missed the punch mitt entirely (he punched with the wrong hand) and punched full power into my forearm.

He apologized and I shook it off – this is all part of training.

Next I was punching and he was holding the mitts – he somehow managed to think he was punching and punched me in the side of the head – luckily I had my hands up and he only punched my hands which took most of the impact before it radiated to my check.

Next we went on to kick targets – I have a pretty good kick – very strong. He put up the wrong target (I am also very fast) so I kicked his knuckles – a bit of bone on bone action. Again shook it off – these things happen in training.

I also had my foot taped heavily due to an injury I was determined to train through.

All in all a pretty typical training session.

After training when we were stretching I noticed I had cut my knuckle from punching and because I was sweating it really hurt. This was NOT a big cut.

I asked Jodi (my instructor) if she had a bandaid and was chatting away while I was putting on the bandaid and put my finger in the cut by mistake and said “ouch”!

I continued to chat away and I could see Jodi laughing. I’m thinking, “What’s funny, no-one said anything”?

Jodi kept laughing and said to THE WHOLE CLASS “can you believe that – she has just kicked the heck out of the targets with a dodgy foot, has been hit in the head and everything else today and says “ouch” about a paper cut”

The class fell about laughing and I could only join them it was pretty ridiculous!!

Also a great lesson in perspective!

When you have a lousy day keep it in perspective, a lousy day is just a lousy day and the good ones will roll around soon.

When you have a bad run, it is just a bad run and not the end of the world – the next one will be better and if it’s not then the next one will be.

When you are feeling overwhelmed by how much weight you have to lose or how far away you are from your running goal remind yourself you are not fighting cancer or a war you simply need to lose weight and keep on plugging away.

Tips for weight loss you may not have heard before.

2011-02-20T19:39:00.000-08:00

Train like you mean it!

If you are short on time your workouts need to be efficient so you get the best bang for your buck.

Walking on the treadmill gasbagging with the person next to you isn’t going to cut it and neither is half-heartedly pushing a few weights around every now and then.

Whenever you workout you can keep it short and sweet but you want to sweat buckets and push your body harder than the last time. Have a structured training plan and work the plan.

This will not only get you amazing results but will make you feel alive and on top of the world.

Create the mental space for exercise.

We all know we need to create the physical space for our exercise by scheduling our exercise time if we are going to fit this into our busy weeks; however we often overlook creating the mental space. This is really important if we are going to make the time to exercise consistently.

Creating the mental space means that you put on hold all the pressing things you need to deal with till you finish your workout. During your workout focus completely on working out, no magazines, no chatting to the person next to you but instead getting into the zone to be able to push yourself to gain the most from each and every workout.

Say no to one size fits all.

If you have a gym membership and the gym has given you a program chances are you are doing the same workout 200 other people are also doing and not tailored to your specific goals.

Look in magazines and online for workouts for fast and efficient workouts that fit your particular goals or pay a personal trainer outside of the gym to write you a program that has your specific goals in mind so you can be sure you are doing the best program for your fitness or weight loss goals.

Practice perseverance and focus on progress, not perfection.

The all or nothing approach is the number one results killer when it comes to achieving health and fitness goals and is often a trap for busy women. This is the same as the “I’ll start again on Monday” approach.

Every week you set yourself the goal to “do this week” perfectly and by Tuesday the wheels have fallen off and you decide to ditch this week and start again Monday - when you can do it perfectly. The only problem is the perfect week is as rare as a needle in a haystack. Life is messy and “stuff” continually conspires to throw us off track. Once you can acknowledge that there is never going to be a “perfect” week you can get on with the business of doing it anyway. Some weeks will be great, others not so great and some downright awful but so long as you keep moving in the right direction, keep picking yourself up and moving forwards you are making progress; far more progress than the all or nothing approach yields.

Make it a rule to eat what you need before you eat what you want.

Eating clean and healthily is often the most challenging aspect of transforming your body. Cravings grab hold or you get caught out without healthy food on hand and once you give in it is usually a downward spiral from there.

Make your new rule to eat what you need before you eat what you want. For example it is getting close to lunch and you have a tuna and lettuce sandwich and some grapes on the menu but you REALLY want some cake even though you have a goal to fit back into those size 8 jeans – in that moment the goal is meaningless and all you can think about is the cake!

Follow your new rule and eat your tuna and lettuce sandwich and then your grapes and chances are you won’t want the cake and you will also have had time to re-engage with your goal as you munch away on your healthy lunch.

Plan B

As mentioned earlier life is messy and no matter how well you have planned your week life has a nice way of messing things up for you. For example you had planned to go to the gym in your lunch break but you got caught in a meeting and only had long enough to eat a sandwich at your desk so what do you do now? With no plan B you would probably head home after work and moan about missing out on your session because in your head you only had one opportunity to workout today – at lunch time – because at night you are just too tired.

However if you have already planned to go after work if you get caught at lunch time your mind is already open to the option of working out on your way home.

Being flexible and having the ability to adjust your plan as you go greatly increases your chances of ticking all the boxes on your exercise come the end of the week.

Ditch the scales, eat well and exercise and the weight will take care of itself.

When your idea of success or failure hinges on what the scales say you are going to be in for a bumpy ride because the scales are mean and don’t accurately reflect what is really going on for us.

You can be having an awesome month, eating well, exercising hard, your clothes feel looser, your energy levels are high and you think “ I bet I’ve lost loads of kg’s” so you jump on the scales only to see they haven’t budged. You know intellectually that things have changed, your clothes are looser for goodness sake but still the fact the scales haven’t moved sends you into a tail spin because we have been conditioned to believe results equals weight loss on the scales when in fact this is often far from the truth.

When you begin an exercise program, especially one that includes weight training (as it should) the early stages of your program is when you are laying down the most amount of muscle so an increase in muscle is going to play havoc with the scales. If your clothes are looser and your scales say the same thing this is actually a good thing because it means you are dropping bodyfat whilst you are gaining muscle which will increase your metabolism as well as give your body lovely tone and shape.

The truth of it is if you just focus on eating as you should and exercising hard things can only go one way; you will not get more unfit or more overweight by training hard and eating well.

Keep it simple.

When we are flat out juggling a million things the last thing we need is a complicated process for losing weight and getting in shape. Simple is good.

Many companies would like you to believe that losing weight and getting fit and healthy is a mysterious and confusing phenomenon that only they have the answer for when in fact being fit and healthy and at your ideal weight is simple and easy and does not need to cost anything at all.

You do not need shakes or to exercise in any magical heart rate zone to get fit and lose weight, you do not need to take fat burning tablets or buy pre-packaged food.

For your diet Google the food pyramid and it is all right there; this is what you need to base your diet on. You will see that sugars and sweets and fats should make up the smallest portion of your diet NOT the largest – not rocket science but good old fashioned sense.

Make sure you take note of portion sizes but create your weekly meal plans around the food pyramid and know you are getting all the nutrients your body needs to thrive.

You need to exercise 5-6 times a week and you need to train hard so find something you enjoy, enlist a friend, sign up for taekwondo classes, join a running group, do a boot camp, sign up for a fun run and raise money for charity – whatever activity excites you and makes you feel alive and fully commit to it.

Good Diet – Train Hard – Rest & Recovery 3 simple things that will get you where you need to go without a degree in rocket science.

Managing your healthy lifestyle over the weekends.

2011-02-17T19:02:00.001-08:00

Without a doubt the most challenging time of the week to stay on track with healthy eating and training is the weekends.

The temptations that are not around during the week raise their ugly little heads and it is easy to succumb to a sleep in if you don't need to be at and at it first thing.

If you can't manage your weekends properly then you are no doubt taking 2 steps forward and 1 step backwards towards your health / fitness / weight loss goals.

Not managing your weekends is holding you back and means never quite getting where you want to be.

So how do we tackle weekends to ensure we remain on track?

Here are my Top 10 Tips for Staying Focused over the Weekend.

Get up at the same time (or close to it) on the weekends as you do during the week.
Schedule your rest day during the week and plan to train both days on the weekends - when you have trained you are more likely to pay attention to eating well.
Saturday morning make up a big bowl of salad that will last the weekend so that it is easy to throw on some Salmon or Chicken or lean Steak for lunch and dinner.
Put healthy snacks out on the bench top to keep them front of mind.
Get your training done first thing in the morning before anything else gets in the way.
Plan your free meal for the weekend so you can relax and enjoy a lovely meal with your family or your partner and remind yourself that despite living a healthy lifestyle you can still relax and enjoy a treat meal without guilt if you have earned it.
If you are heading out to a social event offer to be the designated driver so you don't overindulge in the drinkies.
Read fitness magazines or websites for inspiration.
Spend some time looking for healthy recipes to cook over the weekend when you have a bit more time to cook.
Remind yourself that instant gratification often ends in tears. Be conscious of what you eat and drink and be fully aware of the consequences.

Aim to wake up Monday morning feeling proud of yourself and not like you need to "start again".

String a few Mondays together of feeling proud of yourself and before you know it you will be moving rapidly towards your goals.

Have a happy & healthy weekend.

Michelle x

The 90% Rule

2011-02-15T13:09:00.000-08:00

When it comes to transforming our bodies the thing most women struggle with is nutrition.

Most women are happy to train all day long but just can’t seem to nail eating lean and clean.

The number 1 reason for this is because they expect perfection, anything less than following the plan 100% is not acceptable.

They then feel that every time they stuff up (technical term) they have to start again, the starting again is usually preceded by going off the rails for the rest of the week with the plan to do it all again on Monday only this time they will be perfect.

Sound familiar? J

Very few women in this world can eat clean 100% of the time and the reason for that is because we are simply not geared to live this way.

Constant depravation will always lead to failure somewhere down the track whether it be in a days time, a weeks time or 1 years time; you just have to look at most former Biggest Loser contestants to see what depravation and overtraining does for them in the long term!

So! For all of you perfectionists out there (takes one to know one – I spent my 20’s & half my 30’s there!) I have a simple rule that you can apply to your nutrition and also to your training.

This rule will allow you to train and eat to your full potential in a sustainable way.

It is called the 90% Rule.

It is simply that you aim to stick to the plan 90% of the time.

What you do most of the time counts not the odd slip up.

What does this mean in terms of numbers?

If you are eating 6 meals a day x 7 days a week you are consuming 36 meals over the course of a week.

This means you can relax on 3.6 of those meals, to err on the side of perfection lets call it 3 meals.

This means that 3 times over the course of the week you can indulge in a meal or snack that isn’t clean or you can have a glass of wine 3 times and keep your diet clean if that is what floats your boat.

It means that if you plan your free meal but then later in the week go for coffee with a friend and have an almond biscotti with your coffee you are still on track.

In the progress reports that come across my desk every week women are beating themselves up because they “failed” with their nutrition that week.

The reality is that most of the time they are well within the 90% rule but because the 10% isn’t planned they feel out of control.

So it is important to plan for at least 2 of your free meals / snacks and perhaps leave one up your sleeve in case you get caught out over the course of the week.

Doing things right 90% of the time is more than acceptable.

The same can be said for your training.

If you train 5 days a week you can afford to miss 2 training session every 2 month without too much of an issue.

Missed training sessions should be avoided if you can help it but sometimes circumstances catch us out and when that happens so long as it falls within the 90% rule you won’t be doing a lot of damage to your end results.

So there you have it a structured and planned way to bring some treats into your life without the added guilt.

Enjoy!

My Top 5 Convenience Foods

2011-02-13T21:08:00.001-08:00

These are the things I always have on hand so I don't get caught out.
The peanut butter balls replace biscuits and other sweet foods.
The protein pancakes are filling and I can train on them plus they are super clean.
The tuna and bean mix is always in the pantry and a quick fix if I am home late or need to squeeze in a meal in between running around.
The cottage cheese, berries and yoghurt is again filling and a good way to end the day as it stops the grazing and has lots of muscle repairing protein right before bed.
The cheese and apple hits the spot as a snack and who doesn't like cheese!!

Peanut Butter Balls
(1 cup peanut butter, 1/2 Cup honey, 1 Cup Oats, 4 Scoops Protein Powder, 1 Cup seed mix - roll into 20 balls and keep in the fridge)

Protein Pancake
(3 egg whites, 1/4 cup oats, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 small banana & cinnamon - blend till smooth and cook like a pancake). These can be eating hot or cold.

Tuna & 4 bean mix

Cottage Cheese, Jalna Yoghurt & berries

Mini Baybel Cheese & an apple

The Biggest Loser: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

2011-02-10T14:06:00.000-08:00

Ok let's start with the good:
It motivates people to get busy losing weight.
It highlights just how dangerous it is to our health to carry excess weight.
Its good television.
I get to see Workout Worlds latest and greatest training gadgets :)
Shannon and Commando - the poor man looks like he is in hell training 4 girls who keep crying :)
Michelle is growing on me :)
The bad:
The injuries! The participants are injured A LOT due to the ridiculous and often unsafe demands being placed on their sedentary bodies. The fact the trainers have the safety net of a whole team of paramedics on hand does not make it ok to do this to those poor bodies!
The acting!! Why Oh Why do they think it needs to be scripted?! It is supposed to be reality television people!
We see very little of the training and way too much of the drama.
We don't see the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
The Ugly:
The fact that the general population now feels a 1kg per week weight loss is a failure. All I am going to say on this is look at how many Biggest Loser contestants actually maintain their results over time. So many of them put the weight back on and go on to plug weight loss shakes or other products and tell of how they fell apart because they couldn't maintain the intensity they were forced to endure in the house or the ridiculously low cal intake.
Losing 1 kg a week is never going to go out of style because it works; it works because you don't have to kill yourself to do it, you don't have to be injured or starved to within an inch of your life. You can lose 1kg a week and enjoy the process which means you will KEEP DOING IT which is key to maintaining.
If you lose 1kg a week give yourself a big pat on the back because you are doing it right :)
I debated whether or not to put this in The Bad because I know my bias is colouring my view but here it is: Tiffany!! I am horrified with the way my beloved Taekwondo is being portrayed here and hoping like hell that people don't think that all taekwondo people look like barbie and carry on like she does.
Typically we do not switch from being mild mannered people in normal clothes and turn into a banshee when we put on our doboks (uniforms) - it is so contrived it makes me want to vomit (too harsh??).
As a rule we are a dignified lot who don't feel the need to scream and carry on at our students!
One thing in her favour though is she is getting awesome results for her clients by adding taekwondo training to their program and I like the fact we actually get to see her train along with her clients and she is fit - running at 17kph on the treadie she was still talking and her recovery was good - if this is what really happened and things weren't cut then she is super fit so another tick there.

Stay tuned as the weeks go on I'll be sharing my views on the show - if this offends you please don't read any posts with the Biggest Loser in the title.

Back to school, Latest & Greatest on my hip!

2011-02-07T15:10:00.000-08:00

These holidays seemed to go on forever!
I love having the kids around and they are no trouble at all now they are older but there is nothing like having that space in your day to work without guilt!
Chloe started high school this year and today is really the first day I have been able to fully comprehend just how much this changes things for me.
I didn't have to drive her to school! Cody & Chloe headed out the door for the bus at around 8:25 and then the house was in silence.
I wandered around for a bit feeling a little lost because it is so different from our regular routine.
I am out and about early as I head in to town to train my ladies anyway but usually this is followed by coming home and racing around to get ready (and eat) to drop Chloe to school.
It is definitely a much calmer start to the day and one I can definitely get used to.

Yesterday I was in the the CBD for a workshop that took up then I headed to a sports doctor who is a hip specialist so we could look at where we go next with this dodgy hip of mine.

Surgery is the next major step (not news to me) but I will wait a year and in the meantime have another corisone shot to get me through. Now is not the time to have hip surgery when I am about to launch my taekwondo school!
Cortisone will hopefully help deal with the pain side of things so I can continue to be active until surgery day rolls around.

The next step with surgery is to find out if it is major (awful operation where they need to break my pelvis and re-set it to deal with my dysplasia) or relatively minor surgery where they trim and clean up my labral tear, clean out the bone fragments and do some resurfacing of the joint - I am hoping for that one obviously!!

Still I have a year to get my head around whatever it turns out to be and I am now coming to terms with the fact there is no getting around this in the long term if I want to be active.

Hell I have been through childbirth I can cope with hip surgery :)

A day off training today as my hip is pretty beat up after the testing at the doctors yesterday but I have plenty to do - no rest for the wicked :)
Newsletter day today so if you are on the mailing list keep an eye on your inbox.
If you wish to sign up for my newsletter click here

Below are some images of my hip issues if you are interested.
Also I'd love to hear from anyone else who has had similar issues.

Why being perfect with your training & nutrition isn't a disaster..

2011-01-11T20:01:00.001-08:00

I hope you have had a cracking start to 2011.

If you have set yourself some health, fitness or weight loss goals for this year I hope you are well on your way to achieving them.

If you have had a few slip-ups don’t be discouraged and try to remember that this is all part of the process.

In all of the time I have been doing this I don’t think I have ever come across anyone who followed the plan perfectly 100% of the time and yet time after time the results have been amazing.

Simply put I don’t expect 100% adherence and neither should you, whatever plan you are following.

A good rule of thumb is to aim for 90% and give yourself permission to slack off 10% of the time for your sanity and the sanity of the people around you J

Everyone has their own challenges when it comes to following a healthy lifestyle; for some it is the training required, for others it is the nutrition.

Allowing yourself some down time goes a long way towards extending the longevity of your focus.

It helps do away with our arch-enemy, the all or nothing attitude.

If we look at the 90% rule for a healthy lifestyle what does this mean?

It means that we can miss one in every 10 workouts without doing a lot of damage to our end result.

If we are eating 6 meals a day, 7 days a week this means we are sitting on around 40 meals per week – the 10% rule means we can eat treat foods (in moderation) 4 times a week and still get where we want to go as far as our goals go.

Expecting perfection is a recipe for disaster because it is rarely attainable.

Building some downtime into your healthy lifestyle means no more starting again on Monday, no more all or nothing.

It means missing the odd workout or having the odd treat food doesn’t mean you failed miserably, it simply means you are human J

What you do the majority of the time is what counts rather than the odd slip up.

EXERCISE

Hopefully you have kept a food and exercise log since the beginning of the year so you have a record of what you ate along with your training sessions.

Count the meals you ate over the course of each week and then circle the meals that don’t align with your goals.

If you are sitting on 10% or above you are doing well. If you aren’t then you know what you need to do from here.

Do the same thing with your training – on average we should be looking at doing 3 cardio & 3 resistance workouts each week.

How many sessions did you plan and how many did you miss?

Again; if you are at 10% or above well done and if not you know what you need to do.

Whatever the outcome this is just information; you can’t go back and undo the past so use the information to help you plan the following weeks and months.

Use the 10% rule (5% if you are super disciplined) and enjoy that 10% when the time comes because you earned it!

Boosting your metabolism without resorting to nasty fat burners

2010-12-27T16:14:00.001-08:00

5 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism

I now naturally have a fast metabolism; which means that my body burns calories at a higher rate than average.

It also means I can eat a lot more than the average person without putting on weight.

When I am in full training mode it is hard to keep enough food going in to keep up with the amount of calories I am burning.

I can see a significant change in my metabolism with increased training; it is almost like someone has turned up the dial and I can feel my metabolism racing.

This has not always been the case.

When I was in my very early 20’s I went on a bit of a go slow. I was at tafe full time plus working a part time job at the same time and while I was busy I was not as active as I had been and my diet left a lot to be desired. I was living on my own and always rushing from home to school (90 minutes away), from school to work, from home to flying lessons then to school – it was absolute craziness.

Needless to say my metabolism was NOT fast then. Too much time sitting on my butt in class and studying and too many meals and pinched chips from the kitchen at the pub I was working at along with the beers at knock off time.

I remember how flat I felt, how foggy my brain was and how my classmates would elbow me awake as I nodded off in class.

I felt slow and looked a fright I’m sure.

I know what it is like to have a fast metabolism and a slow one and a fast one wins hands down.

Your energy levels are higher, you are more alert, you feel bright and on top of things and the added bonus is the effect it has one weight.

Many people feel they need to be born with a high metabolism to have one and you are definitely at an advantage if your genetic’s hand you a fast metabolism on a platter BUT you can definitely manipulate your metabolism to speed it up.

AND you can do this without buying over the counter fat burners with hideous side effects.

Here are my Top 5 when it comes to increasing your metabolism.

1: High intensity / Interval based cardio: 4 plus times a week.

2: Hot foods: Add chilli and hot spices to your meals to increase your core temp which helps raise your metabolism.

3: Hit the Weights: At least 3 times a week, circuits are best.

4: Green Tea: Is one of the main ingredients in the more naturally derived fat burner tablets. Drink 2-3 glasses a day.

5: Cinnamon: Ditto – cinnamon is also common in naturally based fat burners. Add cinnamon to your morning porridge, to your smoothies, on yoghurt, on your banana on toast in the morning or as a snack.

So save your money; you don’t need store bought fat burners to increase your metabolism. Use natural foods and exercise at high intensity to get the same results and along the way you will gain the added benefits of increased cardio fitness and strength and a greater sense of wellbeing than a tablet will give you.

On that it is also worth reading the fine print on those tablets telling you that if you combine the tablets with a healthy diet and exercise you will get better results – hmmm…

Christmas Day Damage Control - Tips for a healthier Christmas Day

2010-12-21T16:20:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.
I also want to take the time to say thank-you for being a loyal Glow follower and that I very much appreciate the wonderful feedback I get month after month.

It has been a big year for Glow with an even bigger 2011 on the way with our first GlowFit Camp coming up in March, a new membership site being launched in March (details to come when I am closer to launching) and another new venture starting in Feb that I am super excited about where I open the first ever Women's Only Martial Art's school IN THE WORLD!! How exciting is that!

But enough about me! I have some Christmas Day tips to help you stay on track so you can head into the New Year looking and feeling great without having done too much damage Christmas Day!

Read on to find out more...

Michelle xx

CHRISTMAS DAY SURVIVAL TIPS

Eat super clean for the next couple of days so you are ahead of the game before Christmas Day lands.
Exercise Christmas morning - do 20 minutes of high intensity intervals and 20 minutes of a high intensity resistance circuit. This will burn a massive amount of calories and you will be feeling firm and toned from the circuit - anyone can find 40 minutes even if you have to get up early to squeeze it in (for mums who are already woken at 4am by your kids you don't count but duck out which the kids are occupied).
Have a proper breakfast and DO NOT save yourself for lunch and be sure to have a good balance of carbs and protein.
Have a snack before lunch that again is a good mix of carbs and protein.
Drink plenty of water and before you head to lunch have a protein shake make with skim milk.
By the time you have lunch you will not be starving and are less likely to overindulge especially in the chips and dips usually on offer.
Eat Christmas Lunch as a free meal and without guilt but keep in mind that you can have whatever you want just not a ton of it - who wants to be moaning and groaning and wanting to fall asleep for the rest of the day with your top button undone?!
If you can head out for a walk after lunch do it - try to encourage others to come with you to head out for a 20 minute walk around the block to clear out the cobwebs and burn off some of those extra calories.
If you are drinking nothing new here, 1 wine to 1-2 glasses of water or sparkling water - this is a must if you don't want to crash and burn by 4pm.
If you have to head out for a Christmas dinner as well make it a smaller version of lunch and again head out for a walk afterwards.
If you don't eat out until dinner eat a clean lunch and add another snack as before but hold off on the protein shake until just before you head to dinner.

Christmas Day is only 1 day but if you overindulge too much it can spillover into the next day as lethargy continues and you find it hard to get moving again.

Quite often this is when we can throw in the towel and resolve to be good from New Years Day so take the few easy steps above to make sure Christmas Day damage is limited to 1 day only.

Enjoy your day!

GLOW WOMEN'S FITNESS CHRISTMAS OFFER:
Until the 31st of December I am offering 40% off my Ready To Go Nutrition & Exercise Programs.
To redeem the offer use the code RTG1210
To check it out CLICK HERE

Another exciting project for 2011

2010-12-09T20:06:00.000-08:00

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to be teaching again next year.

On the left is the flyer I have spent the day putting together along with the facebook page .

To say I can't wait until Feb is the understatement of the year - this is something I have been trying NOT to do for a few years now!

I haven't wanted to take on too much outside of glow and training my ladies in the morning but the time is now right with my tri training taking a bit of a back seat.

Training women is my passion and training women in taekwondo to reach their black belt and realise this is the beginning of an even bigger journey is the pinnacle for me.

Getting the advertising done and the facebook page done really brings home the fact it is happening - what a great Christmas Present!I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to be teaching again next year.

Above is the flyer I have spent the day putting together along with the facebook page.

To say I can't wait until Feb is the understatement of the year - this is something I have been trying NOT to do for a few years now!

I haven't wanted to take on too much outside of glow and training my ladies in the morning but the time is now right with my tri training taking a bit of a back seat.

Training women is my passion and training women in taekwondo to reach their black belt and realise this is the beginning of an even bigger journey is the pinnacle for me.

Getting the advertising done and the facebook page done really brings home the fact it is happening - what a great Christmas Present!

The impossible pursuit of perfection.

2010-11-29T17:32:00.000-08:00

This is one of the emails my ladies receive as part of a program and this particular email get's a lot of comments. In fact I just had one now and so decided to post it here to share to all of you women out there beating yourselves up for not being perfect!

Today I thought I would talk to you about the ridiculous pursuit of perfection we often find ourselves on and the unrealistic pressures we place upon ourselves.

As women I believe we are the worst offenders when it comes to being hard on ourselves for not being perfect and ironically we are often the soft place to fall for those we care about.

We are nurturing and encouraging and supportive and forgiving of those around us but often can't do the same for ourselves.
I think it is high time we began to treat ourselves like we would our best friends.
I mean seriously would you tell your best friend she was pathetic because she hadn't lost any weight that week or if she missed a training session because she was dog tired after caring for a sick child all night??!!
I'm guessing you would not so I would like to encourage you to be kind to yourself and stop striving for perfection because we all know by now the perfection we strive for is impossible.
A quick story.
A while back whilst at Taekwondo training I was reminded of something that is quite significant in Taekwondo (and most martial arts) training but is just as relevant outside of it.
One of the philosophies of Taekwondo is the pursuit of perfection whilst acknowledging perfection doesn't exist.
It is knowing that regardless of how hard you train and how committed you are you will never achieve perfection.
And (here is the kicker) be ok with that AND pursue it anyway...

Letting go of the pressures of perfection and pursuing it anyway is very liberating and this philosophy has served me well.
I am not a perfectionist any more, I found it didn't work for me.
Perfectionism paralyses you from taking action and moving forward and ironically inhibits you from reaching your fullest potential because hand in hand with perfectionism comes "all or nothing" and we know from plenty of experience that this doesn't work either.

Don't get me wrong; there is absolutely nothing wrong with striving for a worthwhile goal and doing your best to achieve it. However rather than focus on perfect how about focusing on doing the best you can given your current circumstances and feeling good about what you did do and not what you didn't do?

I know you all place such huge expectations on yourselves and beat yourselves up when you don't cut it and it often pains me to see how little credit you give yourselves when you are doing the best you can given your current circumstances.
By current circumstances I mean, for example, you have had a flat out week at work, one of the kids is sick and has been throwing up all week and you had planned to do 3 cardio sessions and 2 weight sessions but only got to do your 3 cardio sessions.
Given what you were dealing with that week 3 cardio sessions is still pretty darn good and it means you didn't drop your bundle completely when things got hard. You then focus on the week ahead and again strive to do your best.

You cannot ask any more of yourself than that if it really is your best.

The great thing about the "doing your best" approach is that there is an innate honour system built in.

You know if you tried your best or if you let yourself off the hook.

The other great thing is that there is also an innate high level of expectation from yourself - you, and only you know what your best is and you get to decide that for yourself based on your what you know you are capable of.

Do the best you can, most of the time and cut yourself some slack for being human, take the pressure off yourself to do everything 100% right 100% of the time and you may just be surprised at what a difference it makes to your peace of mind and also to the results you get.

We all like to set our own rules and this is the perfect way to do that without letting yourself off the hook.

You will find greater pride in doing the best you can than in trying to be perfect and always falling short.

Go to bed every night feeling as though you did your best and I guarantee you will sleep well.
Michelle xx

Time to get tough with the naysayers..

2010-11-28T17:58:00.000-08:00

There is a theme within the progress reports I am responding to this morning.
Everyone is scared of the amount of social events they have to attend and the effect this will have on their weight / gained results.

It just shows what an emotional issue this is because really food is just food and alcohol is just alcohol - these are "things" that don't have any control over anything other than the control you give them.

If it were as simple as making a rational decision based on the impact overeating or overdrinking will have on your health and waistline it would be job done, decision made, move on.

But it isn't that simple because of the emotions and meanings we have tied up in food and alcohol.

Rather than it being as easy as "If I drink 5 drinks I am putting myself at risk and putting my weight loss back a mile so this is a no-brainer. If I have one drink I know this will lead to 5 drinks so I won't drink, problem solved".

Instead we also have to consider the thoughts that counter this such as:

"My friends will give me a hard time if I don't drink"
"I won't have as much fun if I don't drink"
"Everyone will be drinking and I don't see why I can't just relax and have a few drinks like everyone else"
"I'm not as much fun when I don't drink"
"I won't feel part of the group if I am the only one drinking"
"I need a drink to feel comfortable in a group of people I don't know"
"I'll make others feel uncomfortable if I don't drink"

I have probably only touched the surface but as you can see not a lot of this stuff is about the effects the alcohol will have on your health or weight but everything but!

The same applies when we head out to eat.

So I am going to tackle one of the (surprisingly!) most common pitfalls - other peoples negative opinions!

I don't eat desert or cake, not for any particular reason (I believe that treat foods are ok in moderation) than I don't really like it or how it makes me feel afterwards but say "NO" to a piece of birthday cake and you would think I just declared myself anorexic!

I don't struggle with this, in fact I would say I don't pay it any attention at all probably because I am used to it but when I hear my ladies relay a similar story I think back and then see what I didn't see at the time.

I'm lucky, I have a very thick skin when it comes to this but many women really struggle with the careless or snide remarks from others when they make a healthy choice.

It blows my mind that people want to be negative about someone making a healthy choice and I'm even more bewildered that they feel free to share that negativity.

In our culture it can really make others uncomfortable when we don't do what they are doing ie: eating a fatty meal followed by desert and half a bottle of wine and unfortunately this can have an impact on the poor soul trying to do their best in the eye of temptation!

And so we need to get tough....with ourselves and with our naysayers.

How do we do this and still stay friends?

I guess first by making the decision about this person; this is someone who is uncomfortable with your success - how much do you really need them in your life??
And if you do need them in your life where do they fit and what conversation do you need to have to make it clear that undermining your efforts is a no go area?

The second thing is to be very clear on what your boundaries are for social outings.

You know exactly what you should and should not be doing to live your life in a healthy way and if having 1 drink at social outings or a free meal every week fits within this then embrace it, know your limits and stick to them.

If you know 1 drink will bring you undone and you know you will wake up disappointed in yourself don't even go there - know what you need to do and stay focused on how you will feel when you wake up feeling fresh instead of hungover.

The third thing is to expect comments if you are not doing what everyone else is doing and know how you will handle this.

I have a friend who lost a lot of weight over time and she is now a whole new woman, confident, energetic, more successful in her career and just loving herself sick.
Anytime she goes out with the girls she looks a million bucks and doesn't seem to think too much about covering up (not saying she gets around half naked!) and is happy with how she looks.
I know that when her family is around she makes sure her collarbones are covered up so no-one can see her now normal looking collarbones and she doesn't eat all day before the family get there so she can eat a lot because if she doesn't comments are made!

On the flip side I often get - You are looking thin! (Despite being the same weight for years and 6kg heavier than my fighting weight!) and my reply is always - "Well I'm training hard but I eat like a horse and I weigh the same as I did the last time you saw me" - end of story - no more conversation or correspondence will be entered into!
I even have one auntie now who jumps in before I do if she has the chance with "She's just fit leave her alone" :)

I don't let it in, I know where I am at and I know where I am headed and I am comfortable with both.

Having conviction behind your stance is easy if you truly believe you are leading the best life for you and making decisions based on that and people will respect this.

If you are wishy washy with your response you invite argument so get tough; know the decisions you need to make and why you are making them don't take any crap.

My all time favorite question when someone presses the point is "Why does it make you so uncomfortable that I don't want cake?" Then silence till they are forced to answer. If you feel you are being rude by asking this remind yourself they were rude in the first place!

Take these opportunities to lead by example and get them talking about their own health; you never know you may just inspire someone to change their life in a positive and healthy way.

As always comments are welcome xx

Keeping Your Weekends Healthy

2010-11-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

Many of the women on my program do well with their nutrition and training during the week but really struggle to keep it together on the weekends and I am sure there are many more of you out there in the same boat so here are 3 tips to help you keep your resolve over the weekends.

Create a set of rules you can live with.
If you want to relax a little on the weekends but don't want to overdo it be clear about what you will be ok with come Monday morning.

For example if wine is your downfall set yourself a limit and stick to it. If you are the sort of person who has one drink then all bets are off then either don't consume alcohol at all or purchase only enough for 1 or 2 standard drinks and once it's gone it's gone.

If you tend to slack off on your training over the weekend you may be happy to aim to stay active doing some fun stuff like rock climbing or touch football with your family or instead you may set the rule that you need to get one cardio session done over the weekend and just get it done.

Have what you need before you have what you want.
Another common problem is sleeping late and then eating a stodgy breakfast because you are starving and this then throws your eating out for the rest of the day because you usually don't want to eat again for hours after bacon and eggs!

Rather than hook into the bacon and eggs start with a fruit & protein smoothie because this is what you need far more than bacon and eggs.
Often just making that one choice sets you up well for the day - it works as a stop sign in front of craving foods so you are making a conscious choice about what to eat rather than mindlessly eating rubbish.
Once you make a good decision you will definitely feel good about it and be happy you dodged the bullet.

Create a new routine.
The reason the week flows more easily is because of the routine you are in. This is just what you do right?
This is how the weekends need to become.
Create routines that support your goal of living a healthy lifestyle.
If you know sleeping in throws everything out of whack don't sleep in; get up and grab a fitness magazine and enjoy your cuppa and be inspired at the same time.
The bad habits we often fall into on the weekends are just that, habits, and as with any other bad habit we simply need to exchange it for a healthier one.

REMEMBER that you can work your butt off during the week but if you aren't active and eat and drink too much you just undid all of your hard work.
Before you eat fatty foods or have that extra glass of champers remember how hard you worked during the week to get ahead; know that every bad choice has an impact on what you are trying to achieve.

I'm not suggesting that you be a saint all weekend long but just be aware of the consequences and make decisions based on what you can and can't live with Monday morning when you have to get ready to hit the gym again.

Have a great weekend; enjoy and exercise moderation xx

A new year just around the corner..

2010-11-21T20:59:00.000-08:00

I love the last couple of weeks of November because this is when I do 3 things I get excited about every year:

Reflect on all of the things I achieved over the year and pat myself on the back (I don't do this during the year because I am too busy moving from one challenge to the next).
Set my goals for the following year.
Create my new vision board for the following year.

Because I start all of this in November it gives me plenty of time to think about what I really, really, really want the following year to be about so by the time I set it in stone I am certain of where I am headed.

On a professional level I already know 2011 is going to be about teaching and educating much more in person with the addition of Glow Fit Camps along with the decision to begin teaching taekwondo again - sooo excited about this I can hardly stand it!!

I'll be starting a women's only taekwondo class that will run 3 times a week and I just know I will love every second of it.

I'll be training for my 5th degree black belt and am very pumped about that - I had such a great time at my last grading and as I am already overdue for my 5th dan I'm keen to get it done.

These goals are just the tip of the iceberg - I usually challenge myself in a big way from year to year and it works well for me, if my goals aren't a little bit (or mostly a lot!) scary I'm not compelled to chase them too much - the scary ones I need to work hard for and these are the ones I appreciate the most when I can finally tick them off the list.

What are your goals for 2011??

If you haven't already started thinking about them I urge you to do so this month; get out a pen and paper and start brainstorming.

One of my favorite tools is a 100 Goals for (insert year) Worksheet. These are always a mix of big and little goals that I like to tick off as the year goes on and I almost always tick at least 90 of them and I challenge you to do something similar if not the same thing.

Include some scary goals and some smaller ones that are still meaningful and will make a difference but don't necessarily require a huge effort - this can be as simple as getting the shed cleaned and sorted or painting the lounge room.

A vision board is also a lot of fun and a visual reminder of what you are working towards throughout the year. My vision board is right next to my bed so it is the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night.

If you google vision boards you will see lots of examples to give you a place to start.

Also spend some time thinking about all the things you achieved this year and make a list.

I usually do this first so it puts me in the frame of mind to aim big on top of all of the successes of the current year.

Have fun with it and don't forget to dream big.

Finding your Fitness Passion

2010-11-17T19:08:00.000-08:00

Recently I spent some time with a large bunch of other fitness professionals.

I am always keen to hear what other trainers are passionate about for their own fitness ( for me as you know it is taekwondo - taekwondo is my "thing") and so I asked them...

What's your thing? You know the thing that you do to keep fit because you love it more than anything else?

LOT'S of blank looks!!

I think I must have been hiding in a cave for too long because not even a decade ago this would have been the beginning of an hour long conversation with lots of butting in from both sides :)

I'm not sure if it is the way the industry is now pumping out Personal Trainers by the thousands after 6 weeks of education or what but it shocked me.

Answers varied from "not sure what you mean" to "oh I do some weights and cardio most days" - WHAT THE???

I also asked "What is your fitness background; where did you come from"? ie: I became a PT after a few years of doing TKD because I wanted to learn more and incorporate some different training methods (safely) into the school both in the classes and as homework for the students while not at class.

Not a lot going on there either I'm afraid.

So this got me thinking; if PT's and Gym Instructors aren't so passionate about their own fitness they can barely stand it how does that fare for their clients??

(I don't include group exercise instructors here because these guys and gals are almost always super, dooper passionate about their classes and participants - they are an awesome breed as a whole).

I see a lot of trainers out there who don't look like trainers; they look like the average man or woman trying to lose a few kg's!

This is not acceptable - a trainer is someone who should be an absolute inspiration to you in every way and not just someone who runs you through your moves a couple of times a week who has the knowledge (but isn't necessarily practicing it).

Soo... after that longwinded rant here is the point of this post :)

Find your fitness passion; if you don't already have it keep looking till you find it.

Recently a client of mine found Crossfit and everytime she speaks about it you can see very clearly she has found her "thing". She has been training for a long time but has only now stumbled upon it.

I get goosebumps when I hear how excited she is because I know this is the thing that will see her through for many years now and over those years she will create habits that are just too hard to break - she will not have any significant fitness struggles again - I just know it.

I know it because I have seen it again and again and experienced it myself with taekwondo - 20 years later and I love it as much as the day I started.

Another client of mine did a 12 week running program and went from barely being able to run 10min to running 10k - she did her first ever Fun Run and is now hooked forever and has her sights on a Half Marathon next year.

Once you find your thing being consistent is no longer difficult because you wouldn't dream of missing a session.

The thing I love most about my job is passing on the passion I have for pretty much anything that makes me sweat to my clients and friends and family so they get excited about health & fitness and eventually find their own "thing".

If you have a thing I would love to hear what it is and why you just love it so darn much x

Going back home

2010-11-12T18:36:00.000-08:00

After a years break from taekwondo I can't stay away anymore and this week began kicking again and attempting to run through my patterns.

For months I have been pushing down this need to immerse myself back in taekwondo but wanted to finish what I started with triathlon only to ask myself recently - why??

Why keep doing what I like instead of doing what I love and am best at??

So the decision has been made to take on a trainer (ex-fighter) a couple of times a week to get me sparring fit and tough again and I will be doing my own stuff in between.

Triathlon training will still go on as it is a great addition to my martial arts training but it will take back seat to the other training I want to do.

I'll enter the women's only tri events for fun but really focus on getting my tkd skills sharp over the next 2 months along with building my upper body - something that has also taken a back seat due to tri training simply because it has impacted on my swimming.

I did some bag work yesterday and while my kicking fitness is terrible (I can run or swim or bike all day but 2 minutes of kicking nearly killed me!) my speed and power are still there - this surprised me a lot - usually my power drops off.

This is obviously because of the cycling and physio exercises I have been doing and the exciting part is that if I can kick with this power now I will be dynamite when I have some conditioning under my belt.
Very exciting!!

I've been on the bag a couple of times this week and haven't pulled up too sore at all, I expected to be walking like a duck for a few days but not too bad at all.

Just making the decision has energised me and already I feel more like "me".

Having done Taekwondo for almost 20 years it is very much a part of who I am and many of the lasting lessons I learned in life have come from within the walls of a dojang and I can't wait to see what is in store for me next.

I have been reading Monica Wright & Matt Thom's book after visiting their Fitness Kick gym last month and have once again been reminded of what I have been missing in my life.
I have had this book for probably 18 months now and hadn't even looked past the cover!
Being in their gym and seeing all the bags hanging up and the matting on the floor and hearing Matt speak reminded me so much of what I am meant to be doing - they wouldn't even realise it but being in their company for just a short while has pulled me back into the world I love. Thanks guys!!

The break has been good for my body - my hip has had time to heal and become much stronger and it hasn't hurt me to miss it to realise just how important it is to me.

This is the longest ever break I have had from taekwondo training. I trained the day I had both of my babies and was back training & teaching within 3 weeks of their births and was at my clubs before that catching up with my students.

I used to close the clubs for the Christmas Holidays and while I ran and did weights and other fitness training used to take those 5-6 weeks off taekwondo training and they would be the longest breaks I'd have from training so as you can imagine a year feels like a lifetime.

I know I will suffer over the coming weeks as I gain my sparring fitness and the mental toughness required for contact sparring but you won't get the grin off my face :)

Vo2Max Testing

2010-08-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

As most of you would know by now I am training for my first Half Ironman later this year.

Previously I have been plagued by injury but I am happy to say I have had close to 10 weeks of solid base training with no time off due to injury, which is far better than I could have hoped.

The reason for taking on the Half Ironman was to make myself train smarter and more conservatively to ensure I made constant progress without any flare-ups. It is fantastic to see that my instinct was right and my body is responding.

To see how I was travelling I decided to have my Vo2 Max testing done (a measure of cardiovascular fitness).

I hadn’t done this before and from what I had heard I knew it would be grueling. This is the test done on a treadmill (or bike) with a facemask and tube attached to another machine.

For my age group the highest Category is Supreme and to reach this category you need a score of 36.9 or above (for my age) and I am rapt to say I scored 48.2. Again confirmation I am doing all the right things.

I will test again in 10 weeks after my training really steps up and I will be very interested to see how this improves.

Lance Armstrong’s Vo2Max is around 85, which is massive and shows just how me managed to be at the top of his game for so long.

This weekend I am doing my Level 1 Triathlon Coach training course and am looking forward to spending the weekend learning a lot more about my new sport.

Lucky for me this week is recovery week so I should head into the course nice and fresh and ready to work hard.

That’s about it for now.

I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter and I will be in touch again in September with the next edition.

Michelle x

Cardio Calorie Blaster Treadmill Workout

2010-08-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for something different this workout is a nice change of pace. Because it changes so much you don't take much notice of how hard you are working or how long it takes :)

0-5 warm-up 0% incline 5k

5-6 walking lunges

6-8 0% incline run at 11k or higher

8-13 10% incline 7k

13-14 side shuffles R

15-16 side shuffles L

16-20 run 9k or faster

20-22 sprint run

Repeat for 45 minutes

Getting ahead of the game for 2011

2010-08-15T20:54:00.001-07:00

Despite the continued rain and wind and cold (in Victoria anyway) the calendar tells us Spring is just around the corner.

I can’t even tell you how happy I will be to see some sunshine after months of training in ridiculous conditions!

The start of Spring heralds the fact we don’t have much time left on our hands to get in shape for the warmer weather.

Whether you need to tone up or lose weight or get fitter now is the time to do it.

I’d like to challenge you not to make another New Years Resolution to get in shape or lose weight.

I challenge you to get the shape you want be in before New Years so that 2011 can be about taking your health and fitness to the next level rather than setting yourself the same goal as last year and perhaps the year before that.

For those of you already in great shape what is it you could be doing to take your health and fitness to the next level?

That is the great thing about this area of your life; it is the gift that keeps giving because there is always room for improvement regardless of how fit or thin you are.

Get yourself ahead of the game by using the final 4 months of this year to achieve some great things in the area of health and fitness and head into 2011 with the confidence, vitality and body image you need to make 2011 a year to remember.

Going Strong

2010-08-05T23:45:00.000-07:00

Well I have been on my Half Ironman Training Plan for almost 9 weeks now and I am rapt to say so far so good - no flare ups bad enough to stop me from training in 9 weeks - unheard of for me!

It just goes to show that my intuition was correct about taking on the Half. My reasoning for the Half Ironman so early on was to ensure I disciplined myself to take a super conservative approach to my training so I don't end up injured. I knew that if I wanted to even get to the start line I had to be cautious.

So often early on I wanted to add speed work to my running or add weights to my program but just listened to my body (and my physio's) and waited and waited until I was recovering well from the training load and my body adapted.

The downside is my speed is nothing to write home about just yet but the upsides outweigh this. I rarely pull up sore, I have not missed training sessions through injury or illness and my body is absorbing the increase in training load from week to week really well.

The training really picks up the pace next week and I feel more than ready to tackle it which is very promising.

Add the fact I am training my ladies early every morning of the week in the middle of winter (this morning we ran in the near dark and rain) which is definitely heaps of fun but by the end of the week when I am getting tired means I am dragging my butt out of bed when I would really like an extra hours sleep :)

At the moment my week consists of 3 x run (longest run is 75minutes at the mo) 3 x bike (longest bike is 2 hours at this point) 3 x swim (longest swim is around 3k) and 3 x weight sessions of about 45 minutes including my physio program.
If I am beat I drop a swim session from time to time simply because this is the least of my problems - I am swimming quite strongly now and am not at all worried about the 1.9k distance. That gives me a bit of a mental holiday from time to time when I need it.

Tomorrow I have my long run and speed swim session and Sunday I have my long bike and a run session as well and I am looking forward to both days - always much more fun when you enjoy the sessions!

I am eating like a woman possessed to keep up with the calories I'm burning and while for the most part it is all good stuff from time to time just from sheer exhaustion I'll go for something easy like toast which is not ideal and typically I always pay for it next session so I need to be a bit more disciplined about that from here on in as things step up once again.

It is a busy few weekends coming up with Chloe's dancing. She is in a production of Honk the musical so has dress rehearsal tomorrow for 4 hours (time enough for me to run and swim!) and next weekend rehearsal Friday night and shows on Saturday and Sunday.
In between this Chris or I will be dragging Cody and his drumkit around to countryside for his band practice :)
The following weekend I am doing my Level 1 Triathlon Coaching course all weekend.
And after that it will be SPRING!!!

Winter has really kicked my butt this year, it has just been rotten and my skin and hair is really looking a bit worse for wear so I am really looking forward to some nicer weather that's for sure.

Anyhoo I think that is about it for now, time to log off and grab a cuppa.

Training, Training and more training..

2010-07-25T17:56:00.000-07:00

My training for Shep Half Ironman is moving along better than anticipated in terms of how my body is holding up.
It seems the conservative approach I have opted for is definitely what my body needs. I still have a long way to go but the fact my body is absorbing the training well is an excellent sign.
Last week I finally managed to bring some weight training back into my program after way too long without it.
I spent some time in the gym with my physio last week and he created a rehab program for me to do under strict instructions not to do anything silly (who me!) and to take it slowly.
The physio program is perfect and the best news is I was able to do it without bringing on a major flare up so this is big for me, this has not happened in a very long time.

So now this is what my week looks like:
Monday: Swim (speed day) & weights/physio program
Tuesday: Bike (hills) & swim (endurance set) & weights
Wednesday: Swim (long day) & Run & physio program
Thursday: Bike (recovery session) & Long run
Friday: Long bike & weights/ physio program
Saturday: Day off
Sunday: Run

The highlight from last week was finally getting myself a decent windtrainer and spending 2 hour's on it!
2 hours of riding and not going anywhere can be a bit trying to say the least and the bit I enjoyed the most was getting off the darn bike!
I had no idea I would be spending so much time on the windtrainer when I bought my first one (a Half Ironman wasn't even a remote possibility back then).
My new one is so much better and I only hate it half as much :) I had been having knee problems - something that hadn't happened since my early taekwondo comp days and knew it wasn't the bike fit because Andrew had spent a long time getting it right then adjusting it and it turns out it was my old trainer.
Not a sign of it since I got my new one. Much relief about that because I certainly didn't want to be dealing with knee problems on top of everything else!

Yesterday Chris & the kids and I drove to my mums at McCrae and spent a lovely day catching up with her & Jim and hearing all about their adventures traveling around Oz.
My auntie Karen was at mums as well and it is always so nice to see her. When I was little I spent a lot of time with my auntie Karen and uncle Dez and now I don't get to see them near enough. My auntie Karen is an absolute scream and her and mum spent hours reliving their antics as kids. My kids loved it and didn't want to go home.
I remember my sister and I doing the same thing as kids, always wanting to hear more and more.
My mum is one of 5 sisters so there are always plenty of stories to have us rolling on the ground laughing.

I am counting down the days left of winter and barely hanging on for Spring and some warmer weather. Training outside this time of the year really has tested my commitment at times but I am proud to say that I hung in there.
Thankfully winter has actually gone pretty quickly because I have been so busy so I just hope then next month flies too! Time to get back to this weeks progress reports. I hope everyone is staying healthy, fit and active xx