I hurt for days

This last weekend just passed, I was away in Sydney up-skilling myself.

Approximately 3 months ago I decided that I wanted to bring Pilates to Narromine. I had attended a lot of classes while I was in Perth and had always loved it but somehow had never remembered the amount of work I had put into a class. For the course, I had to do a fair bit of work at home. This included completing a Pilates DVD at least 20 times, some theory study on the body and getting to know the Pilates exercises.

With all of my prep work completed I headed to the airport early Friday morning for what I knew was going to be a physically challenging weekend.

What is Pilates? Pilates is an exercise system developed in the 1920's by German-born fitness guru Joseph Pilates. He devised a unique sequence of movements that worked the mind and muscle in harmony. He attracted a large following of dancers who took up Pilates for its ability to create long, lean muscles and a strong, streamlined physique.
Pilates is popular amongst top athletes and Hollywood stars. It has also become popular amongst Physiotherapists as a rehabilitation tool as more and more research concludes just how important core stability and strength is in injury management.

The principles of Pilates center on the participant. Concentration, centering, breathing, control, precision, flowing movement, isolation and routine. It isn't about how many you can do it's about how well you can do them. This type of exercise is low impact there is no running or jumping but the amount of effort that you put into a single repetition of an exercise will surprise you.
So how have I gone for the past 2 months preparing for the course? Teamed with a clean eating lifestyle of course I firstly noticed the pain. For someone who does so much regular exercise and high intensity it really shocked me as to how sore I felt, don't let this turn you away though because you know that you are completely using those muscles and activating them completely. Physically I have noticed that I have leaner legs, a smaller waistline and more definition throughout my whole body. My only exercise over this time was Pilates, Fighting Fit classes and the occasional run.

I would recommend Pilates for anyone but if you have back, neck or shoulder issues I would get them checked out by you GP or physiotherapist. My final note is that my poor body felt those past 3 days. It also felt fantastic and you won't regret it.

Kel xx

*Published in the Narromine News 21.11.12

Summer is coming

Doesn't that view look good?

Here is my annual, get your butt off the couch, get moving post. Summer is coming.

As I sit here and type I can hear a lawn-mower doing it's job, now that's a sign.

It's nearly time when we shed some layers (and winter was so cold this year that I have indeed been wearing a heap of layers), do some social activity (water skiing, golf, lawn bowls, tennis) and enjoy this beautiful weather. Even though I personally think the best time to exercise is in winter because 1. It heats you up, umm win there. 2. Your body is ready to be flaunted in Spring not just Summer, and 3. If you keep exercising you get to buy more joggers, my fave.

Anyway, if we have let ourselves go a bit over winter. Hibernated slightly by cold fires, warm comfort food and layers, layers, layers. Now is the time to do something about it. Get some layers off, get outside and get moving. If you start now, you will be ready by summer.

Increase that exercise and burn those kilojoules, decrease the kilojoules consumed. Think salads and cuts of meat not mashed potato and pasta. And there this your food and exercise plan for Spring.

In my mind, Spring is about enjoying the outdoors, feeling the heat on your skin and sweating up a fest with the increased temperature. So get out there and enjoy it.

If you are struggling for motivation, don't forget there is always The Challenge. This will get you going kicking and screaming if need be, and if you don't turn up well you get harassed by me (text and phone calls). Check out Five on Facey for more details.

Whatever you choose to do be it swinging that golf club (just not drinking in it), bowling that lawn, hitting that tennis ball, overheating on that squash court, or joining me for an adventure, get out there or in the words of Nike 'Just Do It' or in the words of Michelle Bridges (Biggest Loser fame) "Just F'n Do It (not sure what the F is for???). Get moving!!

See you out there this week!!

Kel xx


P.S. The irony of this beautiful shot is that it was taken in Winter. Still pretty though.

Practice Makes Perfect

Do you remember that old saying Practice makes Perfect? Well it got me thinking this week.

I came to the realisation that the difference between 'fit people' and 'unfit people' (I use the terms clients use with me) is how much and how often we practice. Practice being exercise but the more we do it, the closer to perfect it becomes.

I have popped a picture of myself and a push up. The reason for this is as girls in particular we don't like push ups. We avoid them like the plague. Why is that? Generally we are weaker in our upper body than our lower body, just look at our body shapes. Usually there is a lot more mass in the lower body than the upper body so squats and lunges are our friends, but push ups?

When demonstrating push ups I regularly hear 'you make it look so easy'. And yes it is easier for me, but why? Because I have practiced more. I have been doing push ups for most of my life and the more you do, the easier they become.

The same can be said for most of our training. The more we box, the better we become at boxing. The more we run the better we become at running.

So don't be disheartened if you are training in a group and there are people who are 'so much fitter'. The only difference between them and you is they have been doing more for longer. If you keep practising, you will get there too.

So drop and give me 20!!

Kel xx

Reading, Researching

Good Sunday Afternoon,

I have been reading, reading, reading, reading to add some punishment new moves into your training schedule. I thought I would let you know of some new research hitting the publications.

Before I start, yes I have been reading Fifty Shades but no this is not what I'm talking about... Hehe.

Fish Oil
Have you tried added some fish oil to your diet yet? Here is some research on this supplement.

According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Jan 4 2012, fish oil can enhance the effects of strength training in older women.
Fish oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids and helps strengthen cell membranes and promote muscle cell metabolism. Brazilian scientists found that fish oil supplements enhanced the effects of a 90-day weight training program. Fish oil plus weight training increases strength more than weight training alone. Fish oil is a heart-healthy supplement that might also increase muscle strength.

While we are on the subject,

Fish oil in your diet prevents gains in body fat and decreases inflammation in fat cells.

So are you taking it yet?

Alcohol
A favourite subject of ours but the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Feb 29 2012 found that the amount we consumed is linked to obesity.

Men consuming more than 60 grams of alcohol per day and women drinking more than 30 grams per day increased their risk of obesity by 100 percent - according to a study from the University of Porto in Portugal. The obesity risk jumped four times in people who consume that much alcohol over a lifetime. Lifetime alcohol consumption was highly related to an increased waist circumference greater than 40 inches in men, which reinforces the popular idea of the beer belly.

So the question is, Are those few drinks of a night really worth it? If you want to de-stress how about trying some exercise?

Finally for now,

Dieting
You probably know my thoughts on dieting. Throw it in the bin!! Consistency is the key to success. Eating consistently well and exercising consistently is where you will see the results and not with an All or Nothing lifestyle. I love it when my views are backed up by science.

Frequent dieting increases the risk of obesity and weight gain - according to a study from the University of Helsinki in Finland. Researchers examined the effects of dieting on the risk of obesity and weight gain. The effects were independent of genetics. Dieting promotes weight gain because it encourages preoccupation with food, suppresses the metabolic rate, and places an overemphasis on weight gain rather than weight maintenance. genetic factors are important in the risk of obesity, but frequent dieting makes you fat. (International Journal of Obesity, 36:456-464, 2012)

But I could have told you that.

So how was your weekend?

See you soon
Kel xx

Just Keep Going

These are my favourite 3 words. If you have been to my sessions, you would already know that.

It sounds like such a nice little thing to hear from your trainer. 'That's ok, just keep going.' In reality it means so much more and I'll be honest, it's not all nice.

Just keep going are 3 very powerful words and I am going to let you in and tell you what it actually means.
Just keep going means when you are dying in a session, the only thing I want you to think about is not stopping.
Just keep going means I don't care how much this exercise is hurting don't stop.
Just keep going means build that mental strength, think only these three words and don't stop.
Just keep going means encouragement, you can do this so do it.

I will never make you do anything you can't handle but there will be moments when you will need to push through your mental barrier. We all have them, the only difference is how much you trust yourself to push through and trainer harder. Think of the Olympic athletes. They are thinking Just Keep Going.

I will leave you with this final thought, You can do this.

Kel.

Lucky 100 or 550?

With the fantastic following of you guys, I thought it was time to reward you. And reward you well.

I have a Challenge for you for next week. I love Challenges and I will be doing this one too.

So with the launch of the new blog, I'm excited for the prospect of all of you posting times for me for the 550 rep Challenge.

Here it is.

All of the information is on the link above. There is a video, pics and a breakdown of the workout underneath.

So what I want is for you to post on your new Five fitness fan page or on this blog your time. Complete the full workout and let me know how long it took you. You have all of next week to complete the Challenge and there will be a winner.

Who will take home the title of 550 rep Champion?

In the meantime I thought you might like a little laugh. A model I am not but form? I am.

Enjoy,

Kel xx

What can I say? I'm a lot better behind the camera as opposed to in front of it. Yes this is what I get up to on weekends and daytimes.