My new flyer...

Hmmmm

so, my new nickname after our barefoot bowling is 'cazza the cannon' - why use technique when you have brute force at your disposal? Still... i was accurate!
lots of fun!

The start of 'silliness'

Well, tomorrow afternoon marks our afternoon/evening if silliness with our agencies. Barefoot bowls tournament in North Sydney! Ha, should be fun.... with a gourmet barbeque, so at least food will be fairly good! Possibly just the alcoholic extras that will have to be 'watched'.
It promises to be an afternoon of fun and frivolity, which is possibly just what we all need in these times of 'doom and gloom' amidst the financial crisis. With all the talk going on at the moment, it seems we are all just waiting until the new year to see how things are...and if we will start losing jobs. But...no point worrying about it for now. :-) What will be will be!

In the meantime, I'm planning my tomorrow morning workout session for the girls. It's called 'ab-solutely no butts about it'. .... all abs and butts, with some sprints and kettlebells added in for good measure.

A time for presents....

Someone at work asked me if I had finished all of my christmas shopping.
Ha! Have I even started..??? I guess I have in a way... I have some small 'things' stashed away in readiness.
I only just wrote all of my cards on the weekend (including those that need to go to England).

Why am I so slack when it comes to this time of year?? I guess this year, I've just had too much on my plate. I hope everyone else is better than me at getting organised!

__________

The weekend was one of a very bittersweet moment. A couple of weeks ago, a lady posted on our horse trials website offering a retirement home for a horse to be a companion horse.

I offered her my boy - there's been more downs than ups in our relationship in terms of my riding/continuing on with him - he constantly has muscle issues in his back which now we think is caused by the bones inside his foot slowly sinking - referring pain from constant workload back through his back. So I had decided to put him out in a retirement paddock.

This retirement paddock will offer him daily love - which is something I couldn't offer in a normal retirement situation. At least he will be well loved and cuddled on a daily basis, and I can still go and see him whenever I like.

It's been a while....

that I weighed myself - the last time the scales had registered 5kg of loss.... we're in the midst of renovating our bathroom.
All large charcoal grey tiles, white bath & sink etc and sexy deep russet red towels.
However... we're a way off yet. Our friend is doing the tiling...and we're up to 'waterproof' stage... almost ready for the tiles... woohoo.

But I digress.. .I grabbed out the scales - I haven't 'consciously' been thinking too hard about weight loss - basically I've been too busy. BUT I have been pretty darn good about my eating, and watching portions - even on 'cheat' times, and it appears to be paying off. Another 2 kg have dropped away.

I am determined to not let Christmas interrupt my great eating. I know there will be a few days of additional drinking and celebration - starting on next Wednesday when we have a 'lawn bowls' tournament with some of our agencies, then Thursday night is dinner with my sister and her partner, Friday night is our work team dinner, then I think we're fairly safe until 25&26th..
So all in all, I should be pretty good to keep up with a loss.

I suppose backing up with doing two full participatory sessions on Monday & Wednesday has probably helped along the way, amongst other things!

Fitness Gifts...Free!

Just thought I'd let you know about the site at http://www.12daysoffitness.com where over 200 of the world's leading fitness experts are GIVING AWAY diet plans, workouts, videos, audios and reports about practically every aspect of getting and staying in great shape.

As it's all free I thought you might like to check it out at http://www.12daysoffitness.com and get your name on the list!

Check it out and tell me what you think!

The downside to outdoor training...

is rain!
Ooops. My group got fairly saturated during a downpour on the beach on Monday night.
Let's hope tonight is better!
Tonight we'll be on the park, so we do have an undercover area to race to should we need it!
Still - it didn't kill us... therefore it must have made us stronger

A sad death...

Was saddened to hear that Kerryn McCann, our local marathon mum passed away during the night after a battle with breast cancer.
I feel for her family - especially with such young children to lose their Mum so early. 41 is way too young.

Competitor etiquette...or lack thereof...

Hmm, once again my group fell pray to the imposing lack of courtesy shown by my competitors.
This time, they decided to walk straight through the area that I had marked out with cones.
Hopefully they'll learn to actually have some common courtesy and at least show some respect for others property.
However, I doubt it. It appears they are on an intimidation mission.
Perhaps they think they own the entire area?
My group just got more fired up and trained harder.
Somehow I don't think they realise how silly they look, and what impression it leaves in the eyes of their clients or potential clients.

A great workout this morning...

..even if I do say so myself!

Today we concentrated on 'strength' and 'intervals' - so each station was supplied with 5kg dumbbells, and we worked on first set of 8 reps, second set 9 reps, last set 10 reps. The circuit worked in a lower body/ upper body / lower body / upper body fashion, so we did the complete circuit with 8 reps of each exercise, then increased the next time around.
They had to sprint between stations.
After this circuit, we changed exercises, still sticking to the lower/upper routine, but just did one set of 12 reps this time around. Then we had to do a 'run' and 'recover'.
This consisted of:
Run around the outside of the cones, then ab workout -
1st time around was crunches with no weight, then second and third times around we had weights.
Then we switched to jogging 2/3 of the circuit, then sprinting 1/3 and jogging the last 1/3rd.
Planks, side planks, pre exhaust a set of tricep extensions then 20 tricep dips.
Then I decided to push them a little harder.
There's a hill at the end of our furthest soccer field - we jogged across both soccer fields, I let them get their breath, then we headed up the hill, with a slight sprint towards the end. they all managed it, some easier than others... so we walked back down and did it a second time...
I'm very impressed with how much their fitness has improved to be able to do this - with very little complaint.
Then I let them cool down and stretch.

My first customer..

I just have to say one thing about my very first customer... I am so proud of her... she's lost 4 kilos so far (in 5 weeks), but more importantly, she is finally learning how to eat properly and not starve herself in the vain hope of weight loss. She's gone from thinking 1000 calories a day was okay, to 1600 calories a day - which was a huge mind shift for her.
I can see such a difference in the way she looks and she seems so much more confident now.

So rewarding!

The 'competitors'....

Now, in my area, there is one quite large personal training/group training business that operates during summer in my location, but all year around further South closer to Wollongong.
I have made sure that the place where I do my sessions is not used by any other groups or trainers, and have ensured that I am quite away from 'the competitors'.

Lo and behold, this morning, 'the competitors' popped up on 'my patch' LOL I felt like saying 'it's okay, I'm not even targetting the same customers as you'.

Funny. Mind you, I think it geared my group up to work that bit harder & faster through their circuits.

..and another week flies by!

Well, it's been very hectic this week...to recap :
Saturday - 6 hours kettlebell workshop. This was excellent. I'm so glad I went, as many of the pieces of material that I have on kettlebell form highlighted a slightly different form to the one that Steve Cotter uses. I like the form that Steve uses, it's more fluid and natural - and boy, if you want one hell of a posterior chain workout...grab some kettlebells and get going! Now, I have been 'pussying' it in my KB workouts - or so it seems, given that I fall victim to the 10, 12, 20 etc rep mentality - we were doing 10 minute sets.... yowzah. Definitely brings new meaning to the term 'fatigue' - but targets muscular endurance in true style.
Sunday - rest.zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Monday - am / group session pm / group session
Tuesday - am / 1 hr walk with puppy
Wednesday - am/ group session pm/ group session
Thursday - am / half hour one on one with new client, followed by one on one with first client! pm/ group session
Friday - am group session - this was boxing / kickboxing and making use of the facilities ie bars that we could do inverted rows (they growned) and benches for step ups and one legged get ups - a great precursor to one legged squats! - try this at home: get up out of your chair using one leg only! not easy.

Tomorrow will be another 1 hour one on one, followed by a 1 hour massage with my osteo! LOL I need it - Given that I still work my full time job in between those sessions... tiiiiring, but I feel better this week and think it should ease out nicely.
I have to say, I am glad I discovered a jar of L Glutamine caps in the cupboard... nearly ready to expire, but I've been chugging down a couple a day to help with recovery. Given how well I recovered from the KB workshop, I can only say...they work.

Sunday will be a well earned rest day.

Oh... for any of you who have drooled over Kek & Liz's posts about kokoblack and wished you were in Melbourne to sample their wears.. I noticed that they now have an online store!
www.kokoblack.com

Warning: Ecstatic dog photo coming

Jemima on holidays in Narooma.

aaah that's better...

It's amazing what a half hour massage with your osteo can do for your soul...and body!
My back feels...almost normal....
Ready for tomorrow's punishment!!!

Nicer than a gym

Check out where we worked out this morning. Here

*yawn* I'm tiiiiiiiiiiiired

Hopefully my body will get used to this new form of punishment and new routine soon...
so far this week:
Monday: am group session then pm group session
Tuesday: me time, so I did soft sand (fool) and kettlebell circuit at home
Wednesday: am group session; pm group session - which I participated quite readily in
Thursday: am one on one - more soft sand and firm sand, jogs, fast runs, sprints in both as well as stairs. This afternoon is a one on one.. I will be gentle with him :-) (for my body's sake!)
Friday: am - more soft sand with our boxing session on the beach!
Saturday - omigod 6 hours of kettlebell mania - then I have to drive back from Five dock to Wollongong!
Sunday - if I can get off the bed I will be surprised

This will either:
a/ kill me; or
b/ make me stronger, fitter, leaner, happier.

Of course, I'm gunning for the latter.

I am really enjoying the work though... if only I didn't have 8 hours of hell in between sessions! ie, the thing that pays the bills.

Workout frenzy!

Wow, with all this 'group session' stuff... I am finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on my real job... I have all these sessions to plan now! hehe.
Friday morning is going to be : Fight Club Friday in the Fand (yeah, okay so sand didn't quite fit) but you get the drift! Boxing circuits on the beach.
There's also a nice set of stairs handy to throw in and then some picnic tables up the top for dips. Yes, they will kill me I am sure.
one cheeky one said the other day.. oh, we should do a 'train the trainer' session like they do on biggest loser... yikes. They would be brutal I am sure!

Week 2...

Well, week 2 of the morning sessions has begun - with 5 minute madness!
You have 5 stations - all 1 minute each - the 5th being a nice 'rest' station. do that 3 times.
I also introduced them to the magic of the kettlebells! fun :-)

Tonight starts my evening sessions - I think I am going to be tired ;p

My first group!

I'm going through a world of firsts now....
this morning I had a nice group of 4 women - so we did a bit of fitness testing, shuttle runs, situps, pushups, then into boxing technique, proper boxing.
fun!
Have another group scheduled for Friday morning, then next week I start M, W & F evenings as well :p
Hopefully I can cope!! Sheesh.
Now that Melbourne Cup is out of the way - which I didn't even see on tv as we were off in 'la la' land down the coast - it's the slippery downward slope of lots of Christmas parties, lunches with magazines etc... I shall have to be on my guard!!!!!
this week I have lunch today (happy birthday to me for Monday :p) - lunch on Friday as our 'post colour launch' thing...then next week another magazine lunch, and one two weeks after.

But... in between times... I have the Steve Cotter kettlebell workshop on 22 November. That should kill me, or at the very least..burn a bit of flubber :-)

I'm baaack!

Well, what a fantastic break that was.
Our puppy is still moping a little about being 'home' - she had so much fun up in the mountains and on the beaches (not that she doesn't have beaches to go to at home...) - she scurried around eating native animal 'delights' :-p
Obviously the possum 'biscuits' at home just don't do it for her anymore..not when there's wombat, kangaroo etc...

I have still been training my client - she's now lost 2.5 kilos in the 2 weeks so we are happy!
I have a group training session starting tomorrow... eeeek ....
It's all slowly coming together :-)

blink and 5 kilos gone

well, thanks to Precision Nutrition - slightly modified pour moi, some good honest workouts, the couch to the 5km program (still haven't finished week 5 - got the first 5min run/3min walk x 3 session in, then training client began!) and kettlebells...
5 kilos have dribbled off of my frame.
Hallelujah.
I feel human again.

Two training sessions down!

Well, I'm really happy. I'm finally doing what I have wanted to do for such a long time.
I can't wait to make the transition from (as my manager says) "corporate whore" to 'self employed business woman'.

:-)

Have had two training sessions (tuesday and today, and then we are up for another tomorrow)
Then I have a whole week away from work - we're heading down the coast to a spot called "Brogo" - it's in the mountains half way roughly between Narooma and Merimbula.
And..it's dog friendly (rule number 1), so we can have a nice family trip away for a few days.

Will be nice to chill out, head to the beach, walk around the countryside... fab.

What a weekend

Well, Saturday dawned bright and beautiful, so I took jemima off to obedience training. She's just getting so good... she just can't quite allow herself to 'stay' when I turn my back on her. But.. she is just the best dog in the world.
Anyhow, got home, had a quick read of the papers, noticed my horoscope said "there's money out there to be made, if you stop spinning your wheels and just do it" hmmmm does that strike a chord ? hell yeah. Went up to see the horse, who appears to be coming down with another foot abcess. Seriously, if it's not one thing, it's another with him. The past two years have been total crap. I am thinking seriously of just getting rid of him.... a notion I never would have entertained in the past... but..when you fork out $120 a week for nothing... you start to get a tad p*d off when you can't even have a nice ride.
Not much to ask really.
So, got home, did a little more on my website, then we went out for dinner to Bistro 345 - which as usual was fantastic.
Sunday dawned just as beautiful, so we met up with friends (and Jemima's best buddy..see photo below) to go for a walk on one of the dog friendly beaches in Austinmer. Our girl behaved impeccably amongst so many people and dogs, it was a pure delight.
The dogs down there were also all so friendly and well mannered - so it made for a really nice morning walk.
Then I headed up to check on the horse - no change - grrrr and we had decided to meet up with our friends again at Stanwell park to attempt to do some kite flying.
We drove our little 'snotmobile' up - perfect weather for an open top! the wind 'toyed' with us a little and we did get some kite flying...but it was nice just to hang out and chat - then we heard someone say there were whales off the beach - so we ended up going and checking those out. We could just see them about 1km off shore - obviously just following fish and having a good feed!

Then... I get a phone call from someone who has seen my website..so I have my first 'real' client on Wednesday morning at 6.15.. cool!!

The way to keep the weight off

Katie wrote a great post Over here: http://thin-enough.blogspot.com/2008/10/diet-or-lifestyle.html it's definitely worthwhile reading for those of us who struggle with the maintenance thing.

nasty virus be gone!

By the afternoon yesterday I was starting to feel decidedly average...by the time I'd cooked dinner ( a nice pork fillet marinated in a tbsp of hoisin, honey & soy seared 1-2 mins in pan and then in oven for 15-20 mins) with mashed cauliflower, & tbsp sweet potato - what a distinct lack of colour! Must get more veges today.
anyhow, I was feeling like something was going on in the throat/back of nose ... I went to bed at 9pm after swallowing an echinacea/zinc & vit c and set the alarm for 6am - I didn't think I'd venture out for my run as I thought I was going to be sick.
Anyhow, woke up at 6am feeling quite chipper.... maybe I've kicked that virus away for now. I opted for a quick walk with the dog, then worked on my VMO..... so I did wall squats with a swiss ball with a towel in between my knees - try it if you are lacking VMO (vastus medialis oblique) that works properly or is weak & non existent - it works.
Then I did some leg extensions & lunges that are only 1/4 lifts from the ground - this really works the VMO.

What things look like food wise for Kristy

Breakfast:
Norganic 9 wholegrain cereal with Metabolic Drive chocolate protein shake/skim milk

Mid Morn:
25g cheese & strawberries or
Precision Nutrition bar (made from peanut butter, protein powder, flaxseed, almond meal, egg, pecan meal)

Lunch:
is usually leftovers from the night before, so could be:
Chicken & vege stirfry with small amount basmati rice
Grilled chicken & salad
Grilled Moroccan lamb & salad
Fish & salad or green beans / broccoli etc

Afternoon:
Always the same
Natural yoghurt with frozen berries & spoonful of muesli on top

Dinner:
Like lunch

Evening:
If i am peckish I'll have a bit of Precision Nutrition bar or something like that.

I eat on plan Monday - Friday lunch. Friday evening will have some wine & we may have some nibbles.
I eat on plan Saturday - may just have wine on Sat night & maybe some Lindt Dark Chocolate Orange
Try and eat as much to plan on Sunday

Freezing and Raining

This weather is just downright bizarre. The last two mornings it's been freezing and pouring rain - certainly not ideal for me to jog on the bike path!!! So yesterday morning I opted for a full on kettlebell workout and this morning I trained upper body - with pushups, full pushups with mountain climbers, some boxing moves, then with DBs - then DB chest presses, reverse situps off the bench.

I'm tired.... I hope I am not coming down with something...

Maybe it's just the weather! I hope. Still I chucked a multivitamin down this morning as well just in case.

My weight & size continue to decrease - I think I've dropped a size! 3.5kg.

Hopefully the weather will be a bit kinder and I'll go for my day 1 of week 5 run session! Going to have to do them back to back and do one again on Saturday morning too - Sunday will be my rest day - we're off out to Bistro 345 again for a friend's birthday dinner.

Jemima and her best buddy

If you can make out the t-shirt..it's a custom design... it says

mmmmm mima licky...

yes, jemima just loves giving little eva lots of kisses ;-)

a long weekend

We had the absolute fortune to have a long weekend this weekend - our work has a 'picnic' day which we had yesterday.

Having a three day weekend makes so much difference - you feel so much more relaxed, not racing around trying to fit everything in over the two days. I actually had time to do a bit of a 'spring' clean around the place too - safe in the knowledge that I still had Monday to just do 'stuff'.
As such, I slept in - well, 7am is a sleep-in compared to 5.30am.
I had breakfast, then took Jemima down the bike path for a walk, then got home..and got changed as yesterday was a scheduled run day - my last week 4 run. I struggled a bit - most possibly because we'd had a barbeque and friends over on Sunday afternoon - which went late - and a few wines were consumed. Have found a nice white - T'Gallant - Pinot Grigio. If you like a Sauvignon Blanc, you'll love the Grigio - but don't do the Brown Bros version - not good. I foolishly purchased 2 bottles, but..don't like.

The T'Gallant version from the Mornington Peninsula is, however, superb. Actually, the first one I'd tried was the Rosemount version also - that was pretty good and what sold me on the type.

Anyhow, enough of alcoholic beverage speak!!!

So.. I went for my run - the last in the run 3/ walk 90 / run 5 / walk 2.5 x 2 - and yes, struggled ... but it was pretty warm and I was doing my best beetroot impersonation by the time I'd finished - plus I'd had breakfast. I suspect, given that I am so used to doing my runs first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, this seems to suit me.

Then last night was our netball final... we were fairly slaughtered. Somehow we'd been put up in this comp to division 1 - we were in 3rd place, but after last night finished the comp in 4th place. Not bad for such a pro division! LOL

Tomorrow morning is supposed to be cold and rainy - it's pretty cool today - and marks the start of week 5 - tomorrow will be a run 5 / walk 3 x 3 - must put the iPod on for that.

This morning I did a bit of a kettle bell workout - it's bizarre how quickly one can get one's heart rate up and break a sweat with a little piece of roundness like that!

Awful ad...

As our company tends to advertise a lot in certain publications, we get a few freebies each month across all the Lifestyle/Home maker titles.

This of course can be a nice perk, but... my blood boiled when I came across this advert...

So, basically all it's saying is...

Why bother with exercise and diets - just go visit the 'doc' for a quick fix.

Talk about preying on those people that don't want to put in any hard work.

Hmmm... so Abbott Industries, fitness doesn't come into the equation?? Bloody pharmaceuticals... "here, take this little pill and it will all be better".

Technodunce!!!

Just when I thought it was safe to go back to the bike track for my 2nd running session from Week 4 - complete with iPod strapped safely around my arm, wired up for hearing well - along comes my inner technodunce to foil me. Do you think I could get the damn thing to work? Nah.
My OH had proclaimed the battery dead the other day and was apparently re-charging the battery. So naturally, I assumed that he had failed in that regard. Needless to say, his name was mud for the time being.
I carried on, nonetheless, pretending my iPod was working and having several catchy little tunes going along in my head (after all, to the external world I certainly looked as though my iPod must be working). I managed to get through my 3/90/5/2.5 x 2 jog / walk session without further ado - although I do admit to being frightened on two occasions - one as a magpie was peeking at me evilly from a waist high pole as I passed her - the other when a cyclist cheerily said "good morning" from behind me - I must have leaped about three feet in the air and at least it made my heart rate climb a bit more!
After I stretched and got back in the car for my quick trip home - I still couldn't get the thing to work...but I noticed a little padlock symbol on the display. Always being the quick thinker, I thought.. "a-ha - it's possibly locked" - and I managed to find a little button on the bottom, that when I magically flicked it to one side...all was well in iPod land once more. At least I will know better for next week, when the real fun begins .

More on the couch to 5km and my loathing of jogging...

You know.. I have Day 2 of week 4 coming up at 5.30am tomorrow... so I thought I'd just peek a look to see what next week has in store.

Cool Running - determined to kill Caroline ;-)

they reckon I'll be running for 20 minutes non-stop by the end of week 5 - which I think will be a week on Monday. Hmmm. That could be interesting!!!

Jemima's Birthday...

My beautiful baby Jemima turned 1 yesterday on the 15th. How quickly the time goes and how quickly they grow up.
I'll download some piccies over the weekend and upload (just for you Sue!).

Week 4 - couch to 5km

Well, I am very pleased with myself that I have managed to get this far in the program - which now entails:
Warmup walk 5 mins
Jog 3 mins
Walk 90 sec
Jog 5 mins (FIVE minutes? sheesh that's a mind game)
Walk 2 1/2 mins
Then repeat - jog 3 etc
Then finish with a 5 minute cooldown walk and stretch.
So..total of 16 minutes jogging.
THAT is a MAJOR milestone for me (aside from when I was jogging the full length of my beach in the soft sand... that'll be my next regain goal!)

I do suffer so much from boredom... I will try and remember to get the iPod in it's little case and strap it on my arm to take away the boredom voices in my head.

I've sponsored a mixed touch footy team with shirts - Attitude to Burn. Slackers lost their first game ;-) but they say they looked the best on the field! :-)

I'm in shock

I went up to ride my horse last night. Saddled up, lunged (he needs a lot of pre-work before you get on) all was good. Hopped on him, all was good. The girl from next door was over riding a pony of hers, and then she came up into the arena. The minute she walked into the arena on that pony, a change came over my horse. He suddenly got really tense and got 'antsy'. She commented he looked like he had the shits, I said, only since you arrived (it was true!). Anyhow, she left to go home - and the minute she started to leave - Kado lost it big time. He started leaping around like an idiot then he did something he has never done in the 10 years that i have had him - he reared up completely on his hind legs - which frightened me somewhat.. especially since he had never done that before my first thought was *shit, he's going to flip over if he goes up any more* my second thought was *which is my best escape route before that happens* somehow I managed to half fall, half launch myself off his back and land feet first on the arena sand. On the way down I must have sliced the side of my nail bed deeply on the rein buckle. Noice. Bloody. Noice.
Once I got up and realised I was okay (very surprisingly) aside from the bloody finger, I thought, SHIT that means I have to get back on again.
So I hopped back on and he was just like his normal self (the mare had completely disappeared by this time).
Of course, whenever I go home after a ride, my husband's standard question is, so, how was your ride, did you fall off? BUT every time I do fall off, he never asks!! how bizarre is that. So I had to say, okay, ask me the usual question...and he of course knew then that I had fallen off!

Horses.. they like wounding your pride ;-)


Still, I dragged myself out of bed at 5.30 this morning and managed run 2 of the wk 3 couch to 5k program. I suspect the third run will fall into Monday of next week, so I'm going to be slightly out of whack, but I really want to get stuck into my new 'kettlebell' DVD tomorrow...then Sunday is a day of rest & riding.

Precision Nutrition

This one's for Jadey.

After following the Body for Life way of doing things for quite a while, I felt like I need to change things around a bit. I did get great results with Body for Life, but felt like I just needed something different - change is good, right?
Sometimes, mucking around with things can have disastrous effects. Like when I tried to do 'Afterburn'. Obviously/Maybe? I just wasn't doing it right, motivated enough to put the effort in...and I put on weight. Enter Precision Nutrition. The thing I like about Precision Nutrition is that nothing's really off limits - so long as you time it right. I think it takes the whole 'new way of eating' to another level - for me it works. I'm now into week 2 of getting myself right back into line, and I'll let you know more results in a week or so.
When I was last following this way of eating - I had nice shoulder veins popping out - for the first time in my life. I was so proud. Then we went to Bali, came back and my beloved Suki puppy died, everything went into spiral mode..and now I'm back out the other side focussing back on me. Shoulder veins here I come ;-)
It's worth a dust off!

Week 3 - couch to 5km

Woo! a major milestone. I actually STARTED week 3 of my couch to 5km program. I took myself..no..make that dragged myself out of bed at 5.35am..and then went down to the beach to run along the bike path. I didn't have the energy to avoid magpies or hike back up hills at the end...chicken, plus I thought that the change of scenery would help keep me going. After all.. I had to run for three minutes today..in 2 bursts. Talk about a test of my mind power! How pathetic am I??

So this week's schedule is Wed/Fri/Sun - 5min walk warmup, jog 90sec, walk 90 sec, jog 3 min, walk 3 min..then repeat..and finish with 5min walk to cool down.
Then go home, walk dog for 15-20 minutes, then finish with some ab work.

Thursday will be a nice hard legs day, Saturday I am going to do some kettlebell training, and yesterday was just a bodyweight circuit which involved pushups, burpees, squat jumps, get up situps, mountain climbers, planks and one legged bridge/bum raises - the proper name for which eludes my sleep addled brain ;-)
Whilst the state of play in the mornings is currently killing me - well, not quite, but you know what I mean... it was LOVELY to be able to ride my horse in the evening with NO lights required.
Yay for daylight saving :-)

Hmmm

Looks like blogger has been infiltrated by 'blowjob' blogs... LOL - When I logged in to dashboard, you know when it flicks through the latest updated bloglists - every second one was about blowjobs! Oooooh dear.


Anyhow - on to my morning! Wow - it's going to be a HOT day today - 35degrees... it was already really really warm at 5.30am as I set out to do my last of my week 2 Couch to 5km runs. As I was rounding one street corner, I heard the tell tale...WWOOOSH WWWWWOOOOSH.. of BLOODY magpie wings again! So I had to jog backwards until I turned the next corner so the damn thing wouldn't swoop me again.

The hills killed - but my calves were better this morning. Must be getting used to the hills now. I think I need new shoes. I can't believe it. My right foot I am finding some of the toes are getting pins and needles... grrrrr.
When I got home, I then took Jemima out for a longer walk this morning - which meant back up the hills again for a second time on the way home! We were both pooped when we got back. So warm.
Plus I am feeling really dizzy today... it feels like that 'dizzy' bug that was going around a year or so ago.

Hope everyone has a lovely long weekend - good luck to Kek in her comps this weekend too!

I have Jemima's rhodesian ridgeback specialty show to take her to this weekend - if you've ever seen 'best in show' - that movie was really a documentary ;-) LOL

Aaah weight is going down...

I managed to whack on a fair few kilos over the stressful work period. I failed in my attempt to not let work get the better of me - but now, they are falling back off. Thanks to resuming the Precision Nutrition way of life and getting back some intensity & time in my exercise.
This morning, post puppy walk, was ..Plyometric morning! Burpees, Squat jumps, bounds and cycling sprints.
God. I hate my bike trainer with a passion. Maybe I can sell the damn thing on ebay and get a proper spin bike?!

The things that niggle in the back of your head...

Gosh, with all this financial doom and gloom going on around us - what does this all really mean to us? Am I going to be stupid by even thinking I can start a personal training business in such times of financial disaster?? Or is that just my procrastination head stuck firmly in place, looking for any excuse?

Oh well.. just suck it and see hey?!

I read a worrying thing in the latest NZ Fitness Life magazine about 'farmed' fish AND 'irradiation' of certain foods - in particular things like tropical fruits such as mangoes. And .. believe it or not... our foods over here are irradiated - I had no idea that our Food Authority had this passed in parliament - albeit quietly.

and there I was, off to buy some nice fish for dinner and mangoes.. ha! organic anywhere in Wollongong??? I shall search.


But... my run this morning went well - it felt a little struggly at times, probably more in my head than anything. Maybe I should stick the iPod on my arm on Friday.

I had to cut through the bush again this morning as I couldn't face the other two hills (the bush cuts it down to one bigger hill - but it saves my calves which are screaming at the moment for some reason) - and yes, I got swooped by the same magpie. I ended up walking backwards around a corner up a hill...no mean feat in the bush - and that stopped it! Then took baby for her walk, god she's lovely, and then did some abs and shoulders after. Phew.

Legs day

Netball... we lost... we played well in the first half, but they played better in the second half. Their defence was awesome. 22-17 Still, it was a fun run around - and always a good workout!

So, this morning, was take the puppy for a walk, then do legs. My workout this morning was really just supersets.
I did weighted step ups supersetted with leg extensions
Back hyper extensions supersetted with hamstring curls
Walking lunges supersetted with deadlifts.
Tired leggies. My jog tomorrow should be ..interesting..!

Week 2: couch to 5km

Dejavu I know I've been here before... I think I got sick just after that...
But... anyhow.. I'm here..again..now..and I will not get sick!
I will venture to week three and beyond!!

So. 90sec jog, 2 min walk.
All good.
The hills at the end are KILLERS though. They are supposed to be in my cooldown zone.. still, I get to cooldown on the 20 min walk with the dog!


Aaah. Jemima made me proud on the weekend. She got her 'graduation' ribbon and has progressed to first class from beginners.
This week she showed me how mature she is becoming. She sat, alongside 8 others, all sitting there in a row. Leashes dropped. Waited while we told them to stay, then came bounding when we called.
Aaaaaah. So cute.

We have netball tonight! I think we are languishing somewhere at the bottom of this league! LOL. They should have just put us up one grade.. not two! Still, at least there is big competition in this grade!

Get Phat with Jen

Hmm... after reading Kek's blog - particularly about Jen coming out of retirement for another hit at the Olympia made me think about Phat Camp... so I hopped on over to Get Phat with Jen and lo and behold they are taking preregistration for April 3-5 for Sydney next year! so of course, I had to pre-register..!

Music...

The one song I am absolutely loving at the moment is
.

Walking on a dream by Empire of the Sun

If you haven't heard it, it's just cruisiest little summer pop song. Fabulous work by the Luke Steel from Sleepy Jackson and Nick Littlemore from Pnau (both great bands that I love!)

Another gorgeous morning

I really love this time of year. It's just the right light at the right time of day..the right temperature - gorgeous during the day and cooling off at night so you still like to get under the covers to sleep.
No mossies..just yet.

AND.. the best of all...the gorgeous fruit coming in to the shops. I bought so many punnets of strawberries - (they were only 79c each) yesterday, blueberries, mangoes... and made a nice big fruit salad which we are munching away on.

A slight bit of DOMS this morning meant my run session wasn't quite as good and free as Wednesday's, but it was still good...and again, no ITB issues or shin issues... gotta be grateful for that!

There's a lot booked in for this weekend, starting with Jemima's obedience training class (9-10), then straight up to the horse as the saddle fitter is meeting me again to see how the new saddle fits with me in the saddle... Kado's so delicate when it comes to new saddles, it's a slow process... a week's worth of long rein work under saddle and hopefully he should be ready to take me on top in it as well!!

The saddle fitter joked that perhaps we needed to line the arena with mattresses just in case Kado did his usual bucking bronco impersonation...

Anyhow, after that I might try and fit in a Total Body/Pilates/Yoga session from my new Tracey Staehle DVD that just came in from Liz.
Then Sunday can be a day off - aside from (hopefully) riding, then off to my little niece's 2nd birthday party!

Legs Legs Legs

Aaah, after our little walk this morning (minus any bush sojourns), I then set about doing 'legs'.
A nice batch of squats, half squats, deadlifts, kneeling hamstring lifts and squat jumps... leggies tired after that.
Looking forward to my run tomorrow!
Dinner last night was really nice too - I went out at lunchtime and bought some blue eyed cod fillets, had those in a dry mango /native mint marinade, panfried in a little lime infused olive oil, zucchini and broccolini - all the inis !

Hubble Bubble toil and trouble

Well, one thing I got in to over the weekend was making more lotions and potions... I love making stuff - it can just get time consuming!!
Anyhow, my latest creations are lovely (even if I do say so myself).
I made:

Detox Spa Scrub - I made the body lotion first, then added in extra goodies like green clay, ground pumice, tea tree powder, lemon scented tea tree essential oil and lavender essential oil. It's gorgeous.

Body Lotions - one is with pink grapefruit essential oil and the other with Ylang Ylang & Patchouli essential oils.

And the icing on the cake was my new fully organic night cream. God it's divine. I will eventually add these into my store as well on my PT site... all part of the overall body package after all!!

Eeeek Magpies!!!

Ha, there I had been, reading about poor Michelle's run-in with magpies, and then..as I was heading back through the bush enroute home after my run.. swwoop...swooooop... bloody thing kept swooping me from behind. Luckily it had been a tad chilly this morning so I had a little fleecey jumper on over top which had been around my waist.. so that was my propellor/deflector..

I didn't walk the dear puppy through the bush after that - we kept to the safety of the streets! LOL

That means I have to re-route my runs for a while.. How long do they do the swoopy thing for?

Felt pretty good on my run this morning. No ITB issue - and over-ran the 60/90 split a few times as I was feeling pretty good and into it.

I am determined to stick to the couch to 5km program though - see it through to fruition and stick verbatim (although obviously this morning saw a slight deviation in terms of the overruns!).

I ordered my tshirts today! So exciting.

Shin pain no more!

We've started to have the most glorious weather... talk about extremes - it's gone from way too cold to summer almost overnight - so bizarre. We've had around 32degrees temps now for a few days...
Anyhow, this has put my lunchtime jogs on hold and so I've moved them to 5.30am instead. Decided, since it's so light I can safely leave at 5.30 to go for my run around the block ( a section goes through some bush..hence my reluctance to do it in the dark)Anyhow so at least I got through the first portion of the couch to 5km program with no shin pain!!! yeeeeehaaa.
Then I got home at 6am, took the dog out for her half hour sojourn around the block - where I live there are loads of hills.. I live on a hill - so we start out going down hill (nice for warming up), then kill ourselves on the way back home by having to go up some killer hills! Makes for a good workout.
So I will do this again on Wed & Fri - and will take the dog at 5.45 on the other mornings so it leaves me with a good 45 minutes to get stuck into my weights.

Well, so much for the lunchtime run...

The other day, as I went to go for my run (I decided I would restart the Couch to 5k program - I HATE jogging with a passion, am totally crap at any sort of 'jogging' and always end up doing great sprint intervals instead) - so start off doing my 5 minute fast walk warmup, then get great muscle spasms in shins...stretch, keep going, start jogging, walk, excruciating pain... I literally was 15 minutes in to my program and had to go down to the beach (oh the hardship), take my shoes & socks off and walk through the icy water to ice my shins!
I am hoping that it's a combination of things like:
a/ walking dog on longer walks now as she is getting close to full size (growth plates closing) and can handle longer walks - but we set a cracking pace
b / the 6 hours of padwork & boxing coming to claim my shins as hostage
c/ um... the shoes I chose to walk the dog in that morning were my Brooks which I bought at FILEX but hated... maybe the change in biomechanics that they presented, then changing back to my Reeboks through my shins into a spin??

Couldn't get out for my planned workout this morning as had to be at work at 7.30am, then had to shoot out at lunch to grab something suitable to wear to a media lunch tomorrow at Aria (where hopefully there will be plenty of healthful options)!

Still I think it's probably a good opportunity to rest the old shins and see how they go on Friday for my lunchtime run...I may stick my old ratty reeboks on just to see...

Punchfit Certified!

Ha, so I had to endure 6 hours of boxing and padwork on the hottest day in
Sydney all year. But still, at least it was worth it and I emerged with an extra certificate.

Then of course it had to rain all day on Sunday - boring. Still I was able to recuperate.... my triceps are a tad tender after all that effort.

Off for a lunchtime run now! Ra.

It is so warm here today!

I can't believe it's going to be 22 lovely warm degrees today. It was already 19 degrees when I got to work, but with a warm breeze - more reminiscent of summer breezes, blowing.
Should be a nice workout at lunchtime down the beach!

Off to Punchfit tomorrow :-) 11-6 will be a biiiiig day!

Dinner...

Well, it was as good as I had hoped!
We did go the whole hog...literally - Entree of Prawns & Salad, Main of Chicken Breast, and I couldn't go past the Creme Brulee.... I'm a sucker for a good creme brulee. It is my absolute favourite dessert.

Glad I've got another beach run session tomorrow lunchtime though :-) - plus a lot of boxing on Saturday. Then at least I get to ride my poor neglected horsey on sunday...well, he thinks he's neglected. And he is, by comparison to years gone by when I spent most days with him...

What a day...

With all this business planning stuff... I can't focus on my real job... HELP!
Now I've just ordered more equipment - Kickshields, Kettlebells, Dumbbells - which should add nicely to my boxing gloves & focus mitts...Gosh, almost enough to get a class started!

Dinner tonight

Well, dinner tonight is a little off plan...no actually.. a lot off plan! However, what's one little digression when it's to celebrate a birthday with friends.
This is where we will be:
Bistro 345
Hmm, the chargrilled lamb or the chicken breast??

Dolphins!!!!!

I had to pop back in and just say..I knew there had to be some good reasons for exercising on the beach at lunchtimes... (other than the obvious, shift that flubber ;-) )
and of course, today I was rewarded with a pod of dolphins chasing some fish.
Cool.

Dog walking

Since I have had young Jemima, the majority of her walking experience has been during cold, dark mornings. You don't think anything of it, until it starts getting lighter, your puppy is getting bigger, then she notices 'people' and 'dogs' - eg potential playmates also out walking in 'her' streets.
Watch how quickly one compliant heeling puppy becomes a lunging, bouncey, woofy lunatic.
So. We opt for different control methods. First, the harmony harness, which worked for a time, then I tried the limited slip collar which we are supposed to use at dog training - no control at all, then I tried the sporn halter - yes, I have more control but she doesn't heel at all in it.
Then I bumped into a friend who had moved office buildings who had a puppy about the same age - we had gone to puppy preschool together. She was having the same trouble with her german shepherd pup, another 33kg bundle of love. Her dog trainer (our puppy preschool trainer) was coming out to see her that afternoon. Anyhow, he brought out a Gentle Leader head halter thing for her - it worked a charm. I had read so many bad things about them and had opted not to use one - when I had tried one on Jemima she reacted so violently the first time I thought she'd do herself more damage than good. So back in the cupboard it went... until this morning. I thought, bugger it. Popped it on - lots of GOOOOD treats. Took her for a walk and she was controllable. She even walked at heel position on a loose leash. The only time she tried to leap around was when two yappy things yapped away as usual - why do people let their dogs do that at that hour, or any hour??
So, I knew there was one more woofy dog to encounter, so I kept the leash a bit more controlled and closer to me - the dog woofed, Jemima wanted to react, but wasn't able to... it was bliss.
I will try again tomorrow, but so far so good. I would never have put this on her before this age though - at least now I know she doesn't hurt herself at the drop of a hat, and she's got a bit more muscle on her to cope.
Happy days.

Food's been great - water intake's been about 3L per day..exercise good - off for a lunch run session on the beach again today.

Roll on daylight saving!

With the days just starting to smidge along a little longer at the moment, the weather starting to warm up a little...makes me long for the (romantic) notion of summer. Of course, the reality is rarely as good as the wistful thoughts - warm sunny days, warm evenings outdoors barbequeing. Reality these days is generally, warm sunny days during the day whilst I am stuck indoors at work, then late afternoon storm when I'm about to saddle up my horse, or head home. Nights tossing and turning as you're buzzed by one of several mosquitoes..Then of course, rain and miserable weather all weekend...until Monday when it dawns fine again :-)
But still, we dream that maybe THIS summer it will be the way it should.

Here's hoping. Okay, so it can rain every second night - just enough to keep the fires away and the dams full. That's it. zip.

Metabolism on fire...

Well, it appears that run at lunchtime did my metabolism the world of good.
My day's food was supposed to be:
1. 1/3c oats / protein shake / tsp nat p butter
2. Blueberry pruffin (thanks to Sara
3. Chicken chilli wrapped in tortilla with Extra Lite (5%) philly cheese
4. Yoghurt, blueberries
5. Grilled lamb backstraps, salad & couscous

Now of course... I have just added in meal 4a - small tin of lime and blackpepper tuna

I was starving!!
..ahem.. I still am... I will be strong. I will wait until my lamb mmmm rubbed with Herbies Super Ras El Hanout... I better stop before I shortcircuit the keyboard with my drool.

Another busy weekend down...

Wow, after this weekend, I feel I need to rest now ;-)
Saturday was just the most miserable weather - which was perfect - ie no guilt attached because I had to go shopping with my dear husband for his birthday present(s). We hoofed it up to DFO in Homebush - and I got myself a new bikini - talk about giving myself a goal ;-) to look nothing short of fantabulous in it!!
But we did get him new jeans, new pants, new shirt, new knitted jacket - all very nice!
Then I spent the rest of the day preparing dinner (his favourite, Laksa) we used to go to Malaysia house in King Street, Sydney for our laksas and it took us a while to almost perfect the recipe to get it as authentic to that flavour as possible. The secret... two laksa mixes - I use the recipe from Herbies with their laksa spices, but then I add some tablespoons of the jar mixes Valcom or something like that - gives it the perfect balance.
Then, I baked a sweet ricotta cake for dessert - and made the blood orange/strawberry sauce to swirl over the top. Extra yum.
So... I've worked out this morning - as usual - 1/2 hour with a walk around the block with the darling Jemima which had some jogging in there too this morning - and then I did a few squat variations and leg extensions.
Then at lunchtime I was able to head to the beach to do some beach sprints - there's a heck of a headwind blowing today (well, Southerly) so I kind of cheated - my glute/ham tie in area is still a little out of whack from netball last week, so I ran with the wind (oooh the shame ;-) ) and walked back to recover.
So a few sprints, a few faster runs and some jogging - not bad for a quickie lunchtime break. I am feeling so unfit though - I need to desperately get that CV fitness back up to par.
I even managed to get some work time in late yesterday afternoon on the website - uploaded it and just checked it today and realised I need to do some serious work on the links - it's the only way you can check it properly! Still it's taking shape.

My Punchfit course is on Saturday too! yay!

27 days to go...

Well, my Certificates FINALLY turned up in the mail last night! How exciting.
So..I have set myself the date to start my training - 1 October is the day my business will launch officially.
Therefore, I have 27 days to get my flyers done, my website finished and uniform/tshirts organised as well as some more equipment to add.
My husband had designed my business cards a while ago - but now i am just updating them and adding some info onto the back of the cards.
The flyers will be a DL size double sided - nice and simple/colourful.
Have I said I am excited?
:-)

Yay...it's Spring!!!

See, I new I could smell Spring in the air ;-) and here it is..in all its glory (at least for now) they say it's due to turn cold again tomorrow :-(
But... for today, it's warm, deep cobalt blue skies, and just pure loveliness outside. Meanwhile, I slog away indoors... there's something wrong there. But at least there is a ray of sunshine on my horizon.
I am still eagerly awaiting receipt of my certificates... but I am sure they are on their way!
I have booked into my Punchfit Trainer course on Sat 13 Sep, and have also booked into an online Pre/Post natal course through Human Kinetics. We covered off Pre and Post Natal in our course, but I think to do it justice and to feel 100% comfortable in this area, I need to delve deeper. I have a preggie group waiting for me to start training!!!
My website is coming along great guns too - I think another 2 weeks and it should be ready to launch in its first 'iteration'.
Gotta love it when things start to take shape!!
Anyhow, I'm off for a lunchtime workout on the beach now :-)

The Waiting Game......

Well, I did receive my First Aid Certificate in the mail, so I madly scanned & emailed that over to fitnation - and now I'm waiting..waiting...waiting...for my Certificates to arrive!!! THEN I can send in my Fitness Australia membership application.

In the meantime, I've now booked into a Punchfit Trainer course for 13 Sep, which should be fun.

..and I am madly building my website...it;s getting bigger..and bigger..and bigger.. then the Mac fell over last night! My OH is a graphic designer and he has been talking about buying a new one ...just waiting for the latest and greatest to be released in November...then BANG! Computer said NO! Luckily all fixed again and working, but it meant a night of no web build! *sigh* Mind you, that is the beauty of the Mac. It breaks..but you can fix it. EASILY. Without being a geek.

I got up this morning to take Jemima for a run on the doggy beach - now that it's getting lighter in the mornings I don't think I can risk taking her on the ordinary beach - there are people around again! It was fine when no other souls were around - but now... it's back to the dog beach. However... this morning I couldn't actually reach the big sandy bit - the tide was still in too much and had cut off the bit where you could actually get down to the beach - so we had to make do with the bike path walk instead. We're off to another show tomorrow. Another day of showing people how not to do it!!

Mmm is that the sweet smell of spring in the air?

In amongst the freezing cold weather we have had... I've noticed during the day - when it's a bit warmer..a nice smell wafting on the air - the smell of flowers..
must be spring on the way!
Yay!!!
Can't come quick enough for me!

Waiting..waiting...waiting....

Now, patience has never been one of my virtues, but especially when I am eagerly awaiting something in the mail! I emailed the course provider for my first aid course today and they say certificates take 2-3 WEEKS to issue and it's only been 6 days..so... I asked them if they could find it in their hearts to get a bloody hurry on! ;-)
So... we wait..and we wait... in the meantime, I am eagerly seeking suitable equipment.. gee do I go with SMAI, Punch, Thump, or Hartsports for my boxing gear? so far Hartsports is looking the best. But I want to touch it..and feel it..and try on the gloves to see how they fit.
Then there's trainer2trainer - now that's a great idea too!
Do I use that as a marketing campaign - sign up for a 12 week course and get your own equipment.
So many decisions
In the meantime I am madly developing my website - watch this space! It's going well so far.
Now I am trying to source a suitable first aid kit - any ideas?

The importance of goals

After the murk of too much work, big projects etc, I had floundered a bit in terms of what was important. I guess, now that I have that tangible goal of developing my business it's given me a new found resolution to get in the best shape ever.

It makes you realise how important setting real and tangible goals is to getting yourself on track and in gear to achieve great things.

Next hurdle down....

Well, yesterday was spent doing my practical first aid - so my certificate is in the mail... I was so disappointed that we weren't receiving them on the day! I can't wait to be able to fax it off then get my Cert III & IV in the mail....then I can register with Fitness Australia and get going!
So exciting.

Now, on to more mundane things like... how damn cold is it??????????? This morning of course was about 5 degrees or less - if you factor in the wind chill factor - and of course, it was Thursday - ie meet training partner down the beach day.
We looked grumpily at each other carefully muttering that we had left warm beds for..THIS?! hehe. Then we managed to find a reasonably sheltered spot - ie whilst we ran up stairs, then we hit the wind side on - sore ear - on the run back down the grassy slope, over on to the soft sand and then back up the stairs.
We then managed to find a sheltered spot with reasonably firm sand to do some sprints to finish off.
At least we did it!
My sensible puppy was still snuggled in her kennel when I got back. I feel so guilty going out without her.

..and on to puppy talk - guess who is on heat?! omigod. I had forgotten about how bad it is - extra sooky (not so bad) extra snuggly (mmmm yes, nice) but... pass me the pads :o

Yay! the weekend.

I do sometimes think it's sad how I wish my life away like this - but I guess that's the price of working in an office!
This weekend is going to be full of finishing off my online first aid training - the 1 day practical is on Wednesday!

More words of wisdom from Craig Ballantyne

5 Best Fat Burning Interval Workouts
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulence Training

Long, slow cardio is not the fastest way to burn fat. Research shows that
short interval training workouts burn belly fat faster.

I was one of the first trainers to question long, slow cardio for fat loss
back in the late 1990's and I believe that traditional cardio is over-rated.

Interval training, or interval "cardio" if you want to call it that, is
much, much better for fat loss. It burns belly fat in half the workout time.

I figured this out just before the year 2000. Back in 1998-99, I was but a
lowly grad student, studying the effects of androstenedione (the supplement
taken by the mighty baseball player, Mark McGwire during his record-breaking
home run quest in '98).

In my study (which was published in the Canadian Journal of Applied
Physiology for any science nerds like myself out there), we had guys use the
supplement and go through a couple of weight training sessions. By February
of '99 I was stuck in the lab, analyzing the blood samples using some fancy
radio-active isotopes.

And when I say stuck in the lab, I mean STUCK. I'd get there at 7am, and
record my last data point at 11pm. Sixteen hours of mad science. And if I
wasn't there, I was downstairs in the medical library, studying papers on
testosterone and training.

Now coming from a very athletic background, this sedentary lifestyle didn't
sit well with me. But there I was, studing for a degree in Exercise
Physiology and left with no time for exercise. Or so I thought.

Fortunately, I actually had a 50 minute window once per day of "down-time"
while the lab's gamma-counter analyzed blood samples.

That left me 50 minutes to get to the gym (5 minutes across campus) and get
a workout in the remaining 40 or so minutes. I knew that if I applied my
studies to the workout, I could get maximum results in minimum time.

As a former athlete, I knew that I had to find a way to stay fit and to
avoid the fat gain that comes with working long hours in a sedentary
environment. And I also had to stay true to the high-school bodybuilder I
once was, so there was no way I was willing to sacrifice my muscle to one of
those long-cardio, low protein fat-loss plans that were popular at the time.

Instead, I had to draw on my academic studies and my experiences working
with athletes as the school's Strength & Conditioning Coach. I knew that
sprint intervals were associated with more fat loss than slow cardio, and I
knew that you could also increase aerobic fitness by doing sprints (but you
can't increase sprint performance by doing aerobic training).

So clearly, intervals were (and ARE!) superior to long slow cardio for fat
loss. I had seen first hand the incredible results of sprint intervals in
the summer and fall, as the athletes made huge fitness improvements and shed
winter fat in a short time using my interval programs. I knew that intervals
had to be the next step in the evolution of cardio.

The biggest benefit of intervals? A lot of results in a short amount of
time. I knew that I only had 40 minutes to train, and therefore I could only
spend 15-20 minutes doing intervals.

I also understand that interval training sounds intimidating to a lot of
people, so I need to clear up how an interval training workout goes.

After all, I believe everyone can do interval training for fat burning. Even
beginners. For beginners who usually exercise for 30 minutes at 3.5 mph on
the treadmill, their interval workout would be to go for 1 minute at 3.8mph
and then recover for 2 minutes at 3.0 mph. That's it. Repeat 6 times. If you
are more advanced, you would use more intense exercise.

Interval training doesn't have to be sprinting for your life. It just needs
to start off harder than normal and progress from there.

Most folks hate cardio, so they are happy to use interval training as an
effective replacement to lose stomach fat. Here is my list of preferred ways
to do your intervals, ranked in order from best to worst, based on my
experiences.

1. Sprinting outdoors (Hill sprinting might be the absolute best method)
2. Kettlebell exercises
3. Bodyweight interval circuits
4. Treadmill running
5. Stationary cycle (upright cycling preferred over recumbant bike)

With those 5 Turbulence Training interval training methods, you'll burn fat
fast and never have to do cardio again!





About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Jemima..for Sue :-)

Here she is Sue, all 33kg of her
Interesting wink in this one!

Yippiyiyoyay!

I had a fantastic surprise by courier this morning - my assessments all approved... they are just waiting on me now to fax my first aid certificate and they will give me my Personal Training Certificate.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaa


What a fabulous start to my week!!!

Emerging from the fog

It's a weird thing, as we get closer to completion of this major project I've been working on, I feel as though I am emerging from a fog... a massive weight is lifting from my shoulders.

It was so good to get another run in down the beach this morning - god I've missed running on the beach. Now I just have a different workout partner - the 33kg furry one. At least she's getting old enough that she can run along - you have to wait until they are pretty much fully grown before you can run with them, to avoid any joint damage. She's such an energetic little bundle too.

Roll on launch next week... I'm feeling good :-)

...and it starts to warm up again!

It's been so cold here the past few days - at 3pm it reached 8.5 degrees here in the Gong the other day... brrrrrrrrrr
Getting outside at 6am has been a bit of a struggle, but still we soldier on (all in the name of fitness and not being told off by Jemima)
Anyhow, this morning signalled the return of slightly warmer weather - still chilly, but nowhere near as bad as it has been thank goodness!
So, we (Jemima the mad puppy) and I headed down to the beach for a run, which I followed up with a nice upper body weights sesh.

Kick up the butt!

Well, I am well and truly feeling as though I have given myself a good hard kick in the backside.
I express posted my video assessment and work placement forms today to FitNation - and I also enrolled in a Senior First Aid course on 13 August - 2 weeks!!!
Just think... I may be qualified within the 2 years that I started...
Now that would be nice :-)

Video Assessment... DONE!

Omigod... Omogid...dogomi.... I am in shock. it's DONE. and it wasn't even that hard... well, I say that now, before I've received my competent marking.. or not...
Now to burn onto DVD and send off and hope that they mark me down as ...competent.

I am currently having a celebratory champaganeee.
The next two weeks at work are going to be pure hell, so hopefully this may put a ray of sunshine in my day...

The Bike Trainer Part 2

So, I did start back on my bike trainer - but thought..the wheel sounds a bit loose and wobbly.. I'm sure it wasn't like that before. Dear husband takes it off and rattles it around a bit and...yup, the thingy's broken. Yup, I can't remember the name of the thingy but, there you go. Another $35 later (after $40 for the new tyre and tube)..and I now have a bike working again.
I think an exercise bike may have been less hassle and $$$!!! Still, I guess I can use one bike for both indoor and outdoor... so it takes up less room I suppose.

I was panicking as I needed to have the bike all fit and ready for Sunday's assessment. Never mind that I'm not fit and ready - ie my neck and shoulder are still cranky. I haven't had time to get back to the physio as I've been working too many damned hours... do you think that could be why my neck and shoulder are still full of knots? Hmmm batman, maybe.

Today was a timely reminder of ensuring you retain a healthy work/life balance - one of our managers (36) had a bit of a dizzy/semi unconscious turn at work - it's his major project that I am helping deliver for launch in 10 days - and he's currently having his heart monitored in hospital.

It's work people...it ain't worth going out in a box for.

Sunday's the day!!!!

Well, I have booked my 'guinea pig' in for my video assessment to be shot on Sunday. I have agonised & procrastinated over this for far too long, so it's time to be brave, bite the bullet and just get it over and done with.
It will consist of roughly 2 hours of non stop video (read: eeeeeek)
commencing with a prescreening questionnaire
girth measurements
blood pressure
posture analysis
flexibility testing
strength testing
taking through a program
then
RELAX... or panic and do it all again :-)

Totally pathetic!!!

I was obviously so completely tense at my dentist appointment ( I think the intense jaw pain was a bit of a giveaway), that my whole neck/shoulder/back - basically think sternocleidomastoid, rhomboid, trapezius, was completely frozen.
Now it's just down to rhomboid on one side.. thanks to 1 hour of manipulative physio yesterday...

--00--

The highlight of my day yesterday (aside from a good workout in pleasant conditions) was purchasing a slick tyre for my bike trainer.
It's a complete revelation - quiet riding!! wooohoooo :-)
So this morning, post puppy walk - who was a damn angel once more - I was able to ride in the knowledge that dear husband was able to continue to safely slumber

Another perfect morning..

..and a great workout to boot!
I really enjoy my beach workouts - I met up with my training partner this morning down the beach - there was no wind, the tide could have been a little kinder but there was firm(ish) / soft(ish) sort of sand for running on, so we jogged, sprinted, did abs, then over to some real soft sand work... all in all a good tiring workout.

BUT given that I had sneaked out over the verandah so as not to wake the baby (Jemima), boy was I in trouble when I got back... little tyke woofed at me, then when I turned my back on her she raced up and nipped my bum, then darted away and woofed at me again. Talk about cheeky.

Personality Test

I had seen on LizN's blog her little personality test, so I thought it would be interesting to see if it differed to the Myer Brigg test I had done at work a few years ago.
Judging by the results, of INFP - it appears not! That was what I was...so clearly...that is what I am!
I believe they term it... the dreamer...
hmmmmmmm

where was I? ;-)

Sometimes the F word is better than the R word

That is, fillings are better than root canals.... which my tooth is close to! eek.
Back in another month to see how the filling has 'settled'...or if we do need to go the RC..yuck.

There's a moral in there somewhere. Don't delay!

This morning dawned beautiful and clear - and even a tad 'warm' - what perfect weather...shame I have to spend it in the office until tonight when I go and ride the big black pony.

The word for today is ......

DENTIST!!!
That word is enough to strike fear into my heart...and I have to go there today at 2.15pm.
I KNOW there will be a nasty drill involved...
and needles....
and I will be swollen and dribbling...

why oh why did i have to be blessed with cr@p teeth??

Video assessment practice run

Well, today I got in a good practice run for my video assessment. Went through all the exercises for the routine.
I've now booked my guinea pig in for the real thing in two weeks time... it would have been next weekend, but she's away, so is my husband...down at the racetrack!
Broom Brooom!
I had the most wonderful day yesterday too - took Jemima along to Obedience training, it's session no. 3. She was the absolute star of her class (okay, so it's only beginner class, but still!) She was heeling beautifully by my side on a loose leash, looking up at me, waiting for the next command (or treat..)
it was like everything had clicked! Wonderful.
Then I went and had a lovely ride on the big black one. Perfect.

Protein Bars

Last week I ordered some Chocolate Whey protein as I wanted to make a recipe in the latest M&F Hers (or Oxygen) = can't remember which!!!!
So, whilst I was online, I also scanned to see if there were any new yummy protein bars around - whilst I don't like to rely on protein bars, I like to have some on hand because I spend a lot of time in meetings, going to visit our agencies etc, so they are just handy.
Anyhow, I got a couple of chocolate chip protein cookies - verdict: Yum.
Another bar - Labrada Lean Body Granola Bar - eating now: Yum.
The other one, a Detour bar was decidedly ordinary. I remember they used to make a slimmed down version of these, marketed as Slim Whey and they were DIVINE. These are just way too big and unnecessary.... and basically fail my taste test!

Windy season in Wollongong....

July/August is traditionally our 'windy' season in Wollongong. The trouble is, these days, winds seem to be gusts up to 110km/hour - and these are becoming the norm rather than the exception.
Which makes outdoor training extremely hazardous and unpleasant..actually, just about bloody impossible!
Just taking the dog out for her walk prior to my workout is 'interesting' to say the least!
This Sunday I have a session booked in with my 'guinea pig'. I aim to do a complete runthrough of my video assessment, with a view to doing the real thing the following weekend.

Getting back on the bike.....

TRAINER!
God it's so noisy...if anyone has any suggestions of how to make it less noisy and less like an angry bumble bee, feel free to post!!! Can you get 'smooth' tyres I wonder?? Maybe that would work.
This is why I haven't been using it in the mornings - wakes up poor sleepy head husband!

It is freezing this morning.

When $200 turns into around $2000-$3000

Of course, this sort of thing only happens in the bad way, right? Never in your favour! I suppose that is murphy's law!
Anyhow, I had the saddle fitter up, to supposedly restuff and reshape the saddles to fit my horse's changed back - and it appears that my horse now needs a wider gullet in both saddles. That's okay for my jumping saddle as he can easily pull the old gullet out and put a new one in...but for the dressage saddle, no go. I need a new saddle...
So that means around $2-3,000. He thinks he may be able to sell my old saddle for me for around $800-900, so... fingers crossed...and then fingers crossed again he may come across a decent second hand dressage saddle that may be suitable to fit to my boy.
Horses.
The cheapest thing about them is the purchase price!!!

A word about netball.....

Well, after coming second in our grand final last season, we feel as though we have leapt up a couple of grades this season. Our first two games we have felt decidedly bad!!! The other teams play as though they know what they are doing (!) you know, real game plans etc.... The team we played on Monday night, we actually did okay - 42-35 we lost - but we thought we were being thrashed well and truly... and it appears that the members of this team are also basketball players. But not just any basketball players. they play for the local Illawarra Kitty Hawks team. Just the top level team in our area - think Illawarra Hawks for girls...
sheeeeesh!!!!

A day in bed makes all the difference

Well, I feel much better today. Just the typical residual snufflyness to cope with now, which is much easier than those aches and fever yesterday.
So, today has dawned beautiful again - so Jemima and I are off for a quick run on the beach to get out some of her energy - poor babe, because I was sick yesterday and a little preoccupied with shovelling the other day she hasn't had a run since Monday - so she took it out on her bedding (a nice quilt) this morning - it looked like it was snowing when we let her in this morning!

Then I'm off up to the horse - he has the saddle fitter coming today to refit his saddles - both of which are a little tight on one side - the last time I had them restuffed/fitted he had just recovered from his somersault over the fence, so I guess his musculature has returned to normal now.

Hmm, I haven't quite gotten around to booking in my dentist appointment....

Flu!!!

Hmm, let's just recap on that.... a week to do whatever I want... excuse me, that did not include getting sick!!!!

Yesterday I spent 3 hours shifting 2 cubic metres of soil from our front nature strip, up a plank into our front garden... and yes, my throat was a little scratchy, sure, but did it have to turn into the flu complete with aches, fevers etc so that I couldn't even manage more than 3 wheelbarrow loads of mulch today?

Not fair!!

A week off...

total bliss. A week to do whatever I want....
apart from the fact that I need to go to the dentist..uggggggh.
I have had a total fear/loathing/hatred of the dentist for most of my life... But now a molar that chipped some months ago is playing up....

so I have to somehow try and find some brave internal fortitudey stuff and ring...make an appointment..then show up.

I also made the first tentative steps into doing my video assessment on the weekend, did some practice with my guinea pig with bp testing - LOL at first I couldn't hear a thing, then decided perhaps I'd best ensure that the stethoscope is over the brachial artery before claiming her dead.

Yay, finally EI free

Most (normal) people would be forgiven for thinking that Australia was considered EI free a while ago...well, not so. For the last few months in a large part of NSW, it was still necessary to obtain a travelling horse statement from the Department of Primary Industries prior to moving your horse anywhere..
well, from 1 July..no more.. they have said we are EI free. Yay.

Hopefully the canary pox that my horse was injected with has no ill long term effects... if he starts turning yellow and sings a lot..I'll be worried.

Captain Cranky Pants

Boy have I got my cranky pants on today. Agencies just sending through things full of mistakes, colleagues asking your opinion on design and then saying they prefer the other design. WELL DON'T BLOODY ASK ME THEN!!!!! STOP WASTING MY BLOODY TIME!
aaah, that's better.

Maybe it was the wind this morning. It wasn't just any old wind...it was howling a gale, serious high speed winds...and we did attempt to have a beach workout.. it was dark, about 100km/h winds.. then we opted for the relative (or not) safety of the soccer field to finish off - went under cover and used the benches for step ups and dips, and then did some runs across the field, lots of squats, half squats, lunges...
So at least we did it!!

Sex & the city

Well, considering I was a S & T C virgin, it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Absolutely loved it and could even convert....
LOL

But I didn't get home until 11.15...which meant it was about 11.45 before I got to sleep... then I woke at 6.05..but stayed in bed until 6.30, so no baby walk this morning - and boy did I suffer for it.

I did however, do some weights - I did pushups, DB chest press, DB flyes (incline), crunches, and medicine ball pullovers.
In between throwing someone's skanky meaty bone back outside...

Winter solstice

This morning dawned fine - although it's dark until I get home...at least it's the shortest day this weekend..which can only mean one thing - the days will be getting longer again! Thank god.

I am totally and unequivocally 'over' the rain. My horse is a misery guts because we haven't been able to do any riding - I've had to make do with lungeing him in the roundyard..poor bugger. He'd much prefer to be galloping around over a few jumps...but the ground is too slippery and greasy still.

I mentioned about the Smart Foods Centre and their upcoming research which I had put my name down for. I had been called by them and gone through a long questionnaire, then they said they would be in touch if I fit the criteria. I have had a message to call a dietician there, so I've now left a message for them to call me back. It would be really interesting to be involved in this research as it's to do with the importance of dietary fats in weight loss. All interesting stuff!!
One of the questions was, would you be prepared to eat meat for breakfast? Um.. Yes.. I am a carnivore!

This morning was back and shoulders after the pooch walk.

We're off to see Sex & the City movie tonight - now, I must confess, that I have never seen the show - it started when I was commuting 1.5 hours to and from work, and starting at 8am - so in order to get my workouts in at that time I was getting up at 4.45am. Needless to say, late night (after 9pm) TV was out of the question!!!

So it will be an eye opener.

DOMS

Well, I have to admit, it's been a while since I've had DOMS. Today my legs are killing - going downstairs is particularly difficult!!!

Yesterday morning, after I took Jemima for her quick round the block outing, I then proceeded to do some proper deadlifts, walking lunges, plie squats. This is what has caused the damned soreness today! yay... gotta love that :-)

This morning we did a couple of laps of the block, then I did a quick step workout, then finished with crunches & medicine ball / swiss ball ab rollups (you hold the medicine ball out behind your head with straight arms and bring it up to your knees).
With added degree of difficulty of one rhodesian ridgeback standing across my knees...

A good week

This week has been a pretty good week with diet and exercise - had to have a cheat night on Wednesday as we had a dinner with our agencies at . Fantastic!!! then had to stay at Star City as we had a meeting first thing next day...but get this - they said they had upgraded me to a harbour front room..blah blah, and I thought I heard her say smoking, but one of the other girls with me said, no way, it was non....
Anyhow, we had 20 minutes to get up to our rooms and get changed before heading out again for dinner (no time for nice relaxing showers!) - and yup, it was a smoking floor. What the??? how is that an upgrade?????????????

Had a good leg workout this morning after my doggy walk.
Miss Jemima was literally bouncing on her walk this morning - I think she was quite pleased to have me back home!

Got to love a long weekend!

How nice is a long weekend? That one extra day really seems to make such a difference. You can actually get things done, and not feel as though you are just rushing the whole time.
Bliss.

However... some dry weather would have been more than appreciated. My poor horse is just a little bored - and this will mean he'll be a little naughty next time he gets worked..think bucking bronco !

Still, Miss Jemima got thoroughly spoiled with lots of runs around up at the property over the weekend. I'm trying to discourage her from leaping up to Kado's mouth to kiss him though - she thinks he must be a big dog - just one that smells a bit strange. It's cute, but... she thinks all horses are just as cool as the Kado..

Had a great workout yesterday afternoon, managed to kick and punch the bejesus out of my bag in the back room - this I alternated with star jumps, then I finished with a variety of ab exercises. Then this morning I took Jemima for a walk around the block and then worked chest and shoulders - they are pretty tired from yesterday, so feeling nice and sore now.

Food's been great too - all meals are planned, and written on the fridge. We didn't want to buy a new fridge, but the door was looking a little less than pretty - a few bubbles of rust etc were coming through... solution: blackboard paint!!!
It's the best - you can write your shopping list, notes to the other half, important dates and meals for the week on your fridge! Very handy.

Dare I say... finally back on track?!

Smart foods

Our local University has a 'smart foods centre' of research and they are always undertaking interesting trials. The latest one they are recruiting for is to determine the value of dietary fats as part of a weight loss program.
I've put my name down - how interesting!!

Blink and it's Friday again

It appears that time is just going way too fast these days. I feel as though I am just rushing from one thing to another, without time to stop and smell the roses along the way.

Yeah yeah. Whatever!

All totally self inflicted of course.

I am sure I'll slow down soon enough.

On another note, I subscribe to a lot of fitness emails, and one thing that keeps creeping in to the subject lines is 'the great cardio debate'. It's an interesting topic, and obviously one that requires constant regurgitation, because the masses will probably go to their graves believing that more constant steady state cardio is the only way to lose weight.

If I think back to the first time i did Body for Life, I lost around 12-14 kilos, and I do recall the first 4 weeks was just getting out and walking because I'd become a bit of a lazy slug. The last 12 weeks was definitely into the sprint intervals!
..and they were only 20 minutes three times a week. Not much really. I think that was the thing I loved so much about the Body for Life concept. Not only was it fairly easy to fit in - 40 minutes of weights x 3 a week, and 20 minutes of cardio x 3 a week, but... it worked.
I think right now, I could do with a B4L revisit - just to regain some control and structure and make myself set more goals and go all out to achieve them. I've just been spinning my wheels for too long this year allowing other things to take priority.


This weekend I'm off to another dog show with Miss Jemima!

How gorgeous is this?

Several years ago a woman found a malnourished lion cub in the Jungle. She took the cub home and fed him and brought him up until he was too big to keep anymore. She made arrangements with a zoo in Colombia to take the lion. This is the video of what happened when she went to visit him in the zoo for the first time.

Click on the link to the website below.

Netball Grand final

Well, last night we made it to the Grand Final, and then proceeded to have the hardest 32 minute workout of our lives!
Sadly, we lost by 5 goald - 26-21, but given they had a couple of apparently new 'pro' ring-ins we thought we did pretty well.
I kept that miniature (think low centre of gravity - therefore easy to zip around) WA in good defence, and we did score some goals off of some of my intercepts, so I was pleased...especially when they are all so much younger than me! The WA I was defending was about 20 and still at Uni...

So where did the last two weeks go???

*blink* and they're gone.
there's been a Jemima injury - which I was scared was a cruciate ligament, but luckily she's been given the all clear... although we had to keep her quiet for a whole week. This required sedation. BUT Jemima refused to be sedated...well, she just fought it every step of the way. Poor thing, I think she had a bad acid trip! She wobbled up to the bench and woofed at my handbag... god only knows that the damn handbag was saying to her.

I had to go to a work conference - which finished with a team building exercise - based on the Amazing Race concept. Except we just had to identify 5 key behaviours that we felt were necessary for all of us to function effectively within the team.
Picture this - one of the behaviours was 'good listening skills'. One of the girls and I were pulling together the images to put into the presentation, and others were writing the words for each of the behaviours. We got to the 'listening' part of the preso - and kept asking, then shouting to be heard for 'who was writing the listening words'... Do I need to say anymore? Talk about a bloody disfunctional unit. Clearly needs a $hitload of work to make that an effective team unit.

So glad to be home!!

I did run a 'bootcamp' session for a few of the girls one morning though in the Domain, so that was good!

What a perfect morning

Such a perfect morning this morning. Jemima and I headed down to the beach...
WOOF EVERYONE, WE'RE HERE :-)
Not a soul on the beach, we had it to ourselves for the first 20 minutes - just perfect to allow a rambunctious puppy some much needed energy burning activity (with no poor unsuspecting victims around). She raced across what she thought was wet sand to head to the water, and SPLASH! straight in a hole.
Laughter is the best way to start the day.
We're so lucky to live here...

Kado

Gosh, since I've been doing so much with young Jemima, poor Kado is obviously feeling a tad neglected.
I should start thinking about competing again....
Have only just started jumping again for the first time in over a year.... takes a while to get that confidence back when you haven't done it for a while!
Maybe I should go here:
http://www2b.abc.net.au/abcdiary/event.asp?id=95522&display=fromtoday&gatewayid=2&presdir=local%2Fillawarra&category=illawarra&PageRec=10

that time of year...

It's fast approaching that time of year when my Mum died. She died 3 years ago on the 19th.
This is where I scattered 1/2 of her ashes (Sandon Point)

Who framed Dirk the fluffy dog?

Jemima & the cushion fetish...

What?

A brief update

Well, things have been rolling along here in attitude land. I haven't been for a run for 2 weeks now - the awful tickling cough has prevailed, and now I've got funky eyes happening. I have a full day of meetings in Sydney tomorrow so I will be leaving home at 6am. Yes. That's leaving home at 6am. I don't feel I'll be up at 4am for a workout somehow, so I'll have to try and fit one in when I get home about 7pm. Geez. Just the thought of it, if only for one day, makes me shudder with dread. Oh well, such is life.

So, Wednesday shall mark the return of the cardio session, with Thursday being another 'buddy' workout.

Dear husband's ankle is finally returning to normal - still a bit sore though - and I am damn sure it was not gout. I reckon he's just strained the darn thing, but at least it's making him want me to put together a workout program for him, and make him drink more water.
Small steps. At least now he can get into a workout, we can do the much awaited video session.... then I can finally complete my Cert III/IV.

We went to an all day family barbeque on Saturday in the Blue Mountains, and left puppy safely ensconced in the backyard... or so we thought. When we returned home, and I put the key to the lock... I heard the old familiar sound of.. a dog inside..home..alone.... I opened the door with dread..and saw a sea of foam.

Sitting in the middle of this sea of foam was a stuffed dog - that we named "Dirk" - our friends gave him to us as the house was so empty and bereft of canine companions for a while. Either Dirk was a very naughty boy while we were out, or ..he was framed by one Miss Jemima.
I'll let you be the judge of who you think chewed the cushion. Oh, and it was only a cushion, not the lounge as we had feared!!!

But every door in our home was open so she had been able to go everywhere, and she'd gotten Dirk off of a chair in our bedroom, so she could really have had a field day. Instead she just grabbed everything together, sat Dirk in the middle of it all, grabbed her bone inside and chewed on the bone once she'd finished with the cushion.
Thank heaven for small mercies!!!!!!