Perception vs reality- can you see the line?

Lately I am seeing and experiencing more and more the concept of perception vs reality within the fitness industry and the fine line between the two. A line so fine that it can often become blurred or non existant for some. Recently I had my own experience with this very fine line and today I wanted to share with you in the hope that it might open your eyes a little wider too.

Since becoming a personal trainer and getting seriously involved in the fitness industry and my own training I have always looked up to several fitness models and other professionals within the industry. You see them in the magazines looking amazingly defined and can't help but think wow that's what I want to be or look like!

After doing my photo shoot recently I really struggled to return to "normal" eating feeling like even the smallest treat was going to make me gain weight or lose the definition I had built and the hard work I had put in beforehand. Sounds crazy I realise but my mind was creating very intense mental arguments with itself and it was actually starting to make me feel a little bit crazy!

It wasn't until I came across a blog post on the page of one of the fitness models I follow that I finally saw what was happening. I was getting that line blurred and had been for some time. This woman is one of the most real and genuine people i have come across in the fitness industry and her words really rang true. She spoke about the pressure of feeling like you have to maintain a lean figure all year round, about feeling the need to have abs so you can post selfies on Facebook and something that I found really interesting is she spoke about the fitness personalities who act like their lives are always perfect and happy.

It made me stop and think twice and I had to admit that I could completely relate to this. Even though I am and try to be a positive person,I am not perfect nor is my life. I too have bad days and days of self-doubt and criticism just like anyone. Nobody can be perfect and happy all the time. Yet some of these fitness models and personalities create that perception by constantly posting selfies trying to make out like they are perfect and happy and that the body they are showing off comes easy.

I can honestly admit first hand that it took a lot of discipline and hard work to prepare for the photo shoot and it takes a lot of discipline and hard work to be able to maintain a lean figure all the time.
What we have to be willing to realise is that what we see isn't always what is really there or not 100% of the time anyway. This is that line of perception vs reality comes in.

I train hard 6 days a week and make sure I keep my eating clean 80-90% of the time but at the end of the day life is about LIVING and finding a BALANCE where you can enjoy a treat here and there and not feel guilty about it. I am still working on this balance but am doing so now with an open mind and I can now clearly SEE that line between perception and reality which helps a lot.

This is a fairly personal post and I hope you guys can see why I have been so honest. I want people to see the reality in me rather than creating a perception and pretending to be something I'm not. What's real is the fact that I love my job and each day I get to train clients and help them towards their goals is a blessing for me. Health and fitness is my passion and I hope to never lose sight of the line between perception and reality again. People like Justine Switalla definitely help by being so honest and keeping it real. I encourage you guys to read her post http://justineswitalla.com/news-events/a-shift-in-focus-and-a-new-lease-on-life

Hope this post can help anyone who has lost sight of the line between perception and reality even if you have done so without realizing it.

Keep eating CLEAN, training MEAN and living LEAN but remember to keep it real, be true to yourself and enjoy the little pleasures in life too :)

Blast FAT with HIIT

I know I have said it before but one of the most common questions I get asked as a trainer is “How do I burn fat” and in particular “How do I get rid of this fat on my stomach”. Please note (ladies in particular) that doing endless crunches, sit-ups or any other abdominal exercise WILL NOT HELP! It will of course build the muscle (yep you could be rocking a 6 pack without even knowing) but it won’t get rid of the fat that covers that muscle (hence why you could be unaware of the above mentioned 6 pack).

In a previous post I have talked about my top tips on burning the unwanted fat you are carrying but today I am going to focus specifically on the method High Intensity Interval Training also known as HIIT.

Many of you may have heard of it and wondered about it so today I am going to tell you what it is and why it is one of the BEST methods when it comes to blasting that unwanted fat (done properly in conjunction with a good diet of course!).

This method of training combines working at a high intensity for a period of time with working at a lower intensity or even stopping completely at rest for an opposing period of time. So for example sprinting for 20 seconds and then resting for 10 seconds.

So why is it so effective in burning fat as opposed to ordinary cardio? HIIT increases your resting metabolism meaning that you will continue to burn calories and FAT anywhere up to 24 hours after you have finished. Sounds pretty good huh? Another bonus to HIIT for the guys and girls who don’t want to lose that hard earned muscle is that studies have shown HIIT ensures a lot of the weight loss comes from fat stores not muscle. WIN!. HIIT can also improve speed, power, endurance and your metabolic rate. Alongside these benefits HIIT is a super time efficient workout that can be done in as little as 20 minutes. But don’t be fooled you WILL be working HARD the entire time to ensure the effectiveness of this wonderful workout J

For those of you who haven’t seen my Facebook page it is now up and running if you follow this link you can check it out and see the pics from my photo shoot last week J

 

Staying focused on your goals

Hi Guys, hope we are all well now that the long weekend is upon us :).

 I’ve had a few people say to me over the past few days that their weakness when it comes to food is chocolate. Knowing that Easter is here in just a few days and there have been eggs and hot cross buns on the shelves for what feels like months now I thought now might be a good time for a little refresher post on self-control and willpower.

I’d like to share with you the journey I have been on for the past month as an example of building/maintaing mental strength and willpower. About 6weeks ago I decided that I wanted to start up my own page on Facebook to promote my personal training, this blog and in general just sharing motivation and inspiration when it comes to health, fitness and nutrition. I decided that I wanted to get some photos done to put on the page and also to outline one of my biggest rules when it comes to a profession “practise what you preach”. I would hardly want potential clients or anyone for that matter to think that I wasn't capable of transforming my own body if I am expected to help them transform theirs!

So I started a new program where I went completely 100%clean (no treats or cheats even on the weekends) and upped my intensity with my weights and cardio training. Now I am a big creature of habit and those who know me will tell you this. I like routine and once I get into one I follow it pretty religiously lol. Sundays were always my cheat day where I would have a rest from exercise and indulge a little in what I felt like after keeping my 80-90% clean diet all week. Cutting this out changed my routine a little and forced me to create a new one which proved a mental challenge to me. However my little friend called willpower helped me out and together we pushed through that first weekend. By the second weekend a new routine so to speak had been formed and by the third weekend I was no longer struggling mentally with this change.When they say willpower is like a muscle and the more you use it the strongerit gets they are right, unfortunately most people give in too soon before the muscle even has a chance to strengthen.

The following week however I incurred a new change and this was a big one where I found myself very mentally challenged. What was it youask? The dreaded carb depletion/water load.

This is a process in which you cut out almost all carbs (Iwas on 25g a day) from your diet for in order to starve your muscles of glycogen (which is the main energy source we use when exercising). Your diet consists of protein and fats (good ones) and the idea is that your body will start to use your fat stores as energy. Meanwhile you are drinking an excess of water (8-9 litres a day) to flush sodium out of your body. The first few days weren’t too bad, I lacked a little energy but other than that I was ok. Days 3and 4 were a struggle as they were the weekend. I started to have a lot of mental doubts as I wasn’t sure if my body was even changing and started to question the whole process and got a little bit down on everything I had worked for over the past month. I could have given in right then and there but thankfully my friend willpower stuck with me and together we decided that I had given myself a goal and I was going to stick to it and whatever happened be proud of that at the end.

By day 5 I was beginning to see the light and felt better. I was definitely leaning out although I was carrying a hell of a lot of waterweight! Day 6 began the last part of the challenge, reintroduce carbs (to fill the muscle after it had been starved of glycogen), cut water and sodium. Basically my diet was pretty exciting- rice cakes, turkey, asparagus and sweet potato and very little water. Day 7 was a mentally draining day as I think at this point I was just over it! I was also not feeling as though much had changed through the cutting water and eatingcarbs but I know I am often my harshest critic. I began to question it all again and when I woke up at 1:30am on the morning of the photos with a splitting headache (most likely dehydration) I really struggled and although I was so close I even then considered giving up (crazy now that I think about it).But again I forced my mental strength/willpower to help me out and on the day ended up having a great 3 hours getting lots of photos- some good, some terrible lol but ALL WORTH IT!

I can honestly say that coming through this my willpower has definitely strengthened. Yes it was hard and yes I had to make sacrifices along the way but you know what they were worth it because I wanted the end goal more than I wanted anything else.

So this weekend if you are feeling tempted to OVERindulge in all that chocolate or hot cross buns or whatever else STOP and take a second tothink about your own goals and your own level of willpower. Think about whatyou want more- that extra hot cross bun or a nice set of your own buns?! ;) Ofcourse remember it is ok to indulge a little if you are sticking to your exercise and clean eating but just don’t let yourself lose focus of the bigger picture and goals you want for yourself because in the end no-one else can achieve them for you :)

Have a great and safe weekend and stay tuned for my Facebook page :)

Eat CLEAN, live LEAN, train MEAN

Fit FREAK of the week!

We all have or have had that friend/family member/workcolleague who can seem to eat whatever they like and never gain weight. They can go to maccas and order a triple cheeseburger meal with a 6 pack of nuggets and not even bloat slightly while some of us feel like even glancing at a french fry causes our waistline to expand. The fact is though, that very few people can maintain this kind of fast metabolism forever and if it doesn’t catch up with them on the outside it sure will on the inside.

This weeks’ fit FREAK is an example of this. Jenna Renee is a Fitness model with a banging body and a lifestyle dedicated to fitness. But this hasn’t always been the case. Up until she was in the 10^th grade(yes she’s American) she was that girl who could eat whatever she wanted and never gain an ounce of fat. Unfortunately that did not last and Jenna learnt the hard way that what you eat does always catch up with you. She went from being 110 pounds (about 50kgs) to 135 pounds by the end of the year (61kg).Being only 5’5” this was not a comfortable or healthy weight for Jenna and she felt it. However not having ever had to do worry about her weight before she let it continue to spiral down unsure of how to control it.

In 2007 she developed an eating disorder as a result of her growing hatred of her body and insecurity about her size and ended up in hospital weighing less than 100 pounds (45kgs). This was the turning point forJenna as she realised if she didn’t take control of her weight now she would end up destroying her body.

She started to learn about eating clean and lifting weights.This was a big change for her after coming from having an eating disorder to eating no less than 6 times a day but seeing the changes in her body after just a few weeks helped encourage her to continue on this path to a healthierlifestyle.

Three years later Jenna is a highly successful fitness model and has never looked or felt better. She trains weights 5 days a week and eats clean year round only treating herself on special holidays or her birthday.

Jenna’s story is an inspiring example that skinny definitely does not mean healthy and how important it is that we consider what we put into our bodies regardless of our size as it will always catch up with us in the end one way or another.

Jenna will be at this year’s Australian Health and Fitness Expo (which I am so excited for) along with some other great names in the fitness industry which I will look at in the next few weeks.

Check out her facebook page www.facebook.com/JennaReneeFit  or her website www.jennareneefit.com to seemore of her work :)  

 

Triggers- What's causing your healthy/unhealthy choices?

Hi Guys,

Sorry about the absence last week, time got away from me once again. I had an interesting session with the parents of my Nutrition and Activity program yesterday and thought I would share with you all.

Yesterday’s topic was external triggers that cause unhealthy/healthy eating and that cause physical activity/inactivity. A trigger is basically anything that causes a certain behaviour in a person. We don’t always recognise these triggers until after we have actually acted and are faced with the possible consequence of our actions.

External triggers are things in our environment that may cause us to eat unhealthy or healthy foods. For example if you find yourself in the staff room at work and there is a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on the table chances are you are going to want to eat one. Afterwards you may think to yourself “why did I eat that? I’m not even hungry”. The trigger here is one of the obvious ones, that you saw/smelled these cookies. What if you found yourself in the staff room and there was a bowl of fruit on the table instead- do you think this would trigger you to have a piece of fruit?

While external triggers are things within our environment, internal triggers are things within ourselves e.g. our thoughts, feelings and emotions. Had a bad day? More than likely an internal trigger (feeling down) might lead you straight to the fridge and in the fridge there is a nice big piece of chocolate cake (external trigger) and the two triggers are going to cause you to put that cake straight in your mouth without a second thought. Will you feel better? No most likely not. Will you realise until after you have done it? No most likely not either.

Every day we are faced with both external and internal trigger that set off behaviours in us. Sometimes these behaviours are good for us and other times they are not so good. The important thing is we learn to recognise these triggers that cause unhealthy behaviours and actions and try and eliminate them (if we can) or find ways to curb them. A lot of them time It comes down to willpower and self- control but these are things we need to build upon and if you don’t feel strong enough then it is best to try eliminate the trigger altogether. 

For example removing food triggers from your home is a great way to start. Don’t trust yourself to not eat the chocolate cake in the fridge? Then don’t buy it or anything else you know may cause you to overindulge after a bad day.

We also can create triggers that will promote healthy behaviours in us as well. For example sticking that picture of your favourite fitness model on your wall, fridge, screensaver. This may help trigger you to want to hit the gym and work hard because this person inspires you.  Creating a routine where you meet a friend for a workout is another example because you have made that commitment to go.

 So this week think don’t just eat that cookie or take the lift instead of the stairs. STOP and THINK about the triggers good and bad in your own lives. Try to eliminate or take action to curb some of the unhealthy triggers and promote some healthier triggers J

  As always eat CLEAN, train MEAN and live LEAN J

 

Portion sizes- Are you in control?

Too often these days people struggling to lose weight are faced with the problem of portion control. I have been given the “But I eat really healthy, I don’t know why I’m not losing weight” line many a time before and when I go over their food diary its evident that yes they may eat mostly healthy but they are eating WAY too much food for the rate they are burning it. Ipso facto- fat storage.

Portion control is something that can be difficult for some people to get their head around, many try and they fail and I’m going to explain why.

See, once your stomach is used to a certain amount of food creating that “full” feeling then giving it anything less than that is clearly going to leave it less than full and feeling like it needs more (at first). So when people first begin reducing their portions they will probably feel hungry because their stomach is sending messages to the brain saying “hey buddy I’m not full yet!” Many convince themselves they are STARVING and turn around and increase to bigger portions once again.

This is where your mind needs to do some hard yards and ignore those conflicting messages from your stomach because within a matter of time, it will become used to the new portions and adjust accordingly.

Please note I am in no way referring to starving yourself. I’m talking about matching the food you are consuming to the exercise expenditure you are doing which is how weight loss occurs. Calories in vs calories out. Let us take an example.

Brian is 35 years old and works in real estate so spends a fair bit of time seated at his desk. He attends the gym 4 times a week for 45 mins. Some days he does weights other days he walks on the treadmill or the cross trainer. Here is one sample from Brian’s daily exercise and eating log.

Monday

Breakfast – 2 pieces of wholegrain toast + 2 poached eggs + 1 large cap on skim milk

Snack- Large fruit salad and yoghurt

Lunch- 250 grams Chicken breast with vegetables and large brown rice and small wholegrain roll

Snack- 6 Corn thins with Peanut butter plus an apple

Dinner- 300 gram steak, potato, vegetables, 1 piece of wholegrain bread no butter

Exercise= 45 mins on the cross trainer at lunch (burns 250 calories)

Breaking this down we can see that Brian’s diet is what you would call “typically healthy” He has fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, protein, some good fats. So where has Brian gone wrong you may ask? Portion control- his energy in doesn’t compete with his energy out.

Looking at his daily activity apart from Brian going to the gym for 45 mins in the middle of the day he was seated at his desk for the most part. Therefore the immense amount of energy in calories he has consumed haven’t really had a chance to be expended. He then goes home from work to eat a large meal (containing a decent amount of carbohydrates) that won’t be expended while he is watching tv that night and therefore Brian will go to bed that night with having consumed more energy in calories than he has expended. Calories in greater than calories out = weight gain.

The next day Brian may have a different day and consume less calories than he expends at the gym but because of his lack of consistency he is still going to struggle to lose those extra kilos.

It’s not rocket science but it does take some time to think about your own diet and whether you really need to eat all that food. Of course overeating on healthy items is going to be better than overeating junk but at the end of the day overeating is overeating. It starts with the word OVER because it means TOO MUCH.

I hope this post gives people something to think about if you have been struggling with weight loss and please feel free to comment below if you have questions regarding further info on your own portion sizes and controlling energy in vs energy out J

 No fit FREAK this week unfortunately but not due to lack of time more so lack of time to find inspiration. I have been searching but am yet to find my next fit FREAK who really stands out so stay tuned next week. Until then I recommend you guys check out the channel BroScienceLife on youtube- absolutely hilarious (and pretty accurate) portrayal of some guys in the gym.

Until next time eat CLEAN (and watch your portions), train MEAN and keep on living LEAN J

 

 

What to look for in a Personal Trainer (IMO)

Hi Everyone,

What another busy week! We have just started a couple of new programs at the gym which is always exciting. One is a Mums and Bubs Fitness class for mums who want to exercise and bring their babies along. The other is a Mind, Exercise and Nutrition program for kids who are overweight which i think is great as we have far too many obese or overweight kids in our country and education really is the key.

What I want to talk about today though is a little bit of a rant (I try not to do this too often lol) and also a little bit of advice IMO (in my opinion) for those people out there who may be looking for a trainer to help them but aren't exactly sure what they are looking for.

My number one rule when looking for anyone who considers themselves a professional at their career is make sure they "walk the walk" and don't just "talk the talk". That is, they have to practise what they preach. Would you book an appointment with a hairdresser who had an awful haircut? Would you eat at a restaurant where the chef didn't eat his own food yet told you it was delicious? Probably not.

In the same respect would you hire a personal trainer who told you they could help you lose weight, get fit, gain muscle but were overweight, possessed no muscle tone themselves or had a poor level of fitness? I don't know about you but my answer would definitely be NO.

In my experience as a personal trainer, a lot of people believe the job simply entails spending the hour or however long the session may be telling other people what to do in order to achieve their health and fitness goals. For some trainers this may be the case but for me personal training isn't a job it has slowly but surely become a lifestyle. I think at some point that is only natural.

As I have said in previous posts, i believe to be a great personal trainer you have to have walked in your clients shoes so to speak. This doesn't mean you have to have struggled with weight like I have but it means you have to have been pushed out of your comfort zone, felt the physical pain, struggled with the mental challenges. You have to have had a goal and stuck to it despite all these things, committed to something and not given in till the results have come.

Lets be honest your clients shouldn't really look fitter, stronger and healthier than you do because at the end of the day- how is it that you can push a person towards their goal but can't push yourself anywhere near as hard?

Another annoyance would have to be trainers who post things on Facebook of all places about eating ice cream and chocolate etc. Don't get me wrong yes we are human and I know I indulge occasionally but don't put it all over social media and then turn around and try and tell your clients they can't eat the same thing! You as the trainer are supposed to be an example, a role model, someone to look up to. Don't just preach- PRACTISE WHAT YOU PREACH!

My advice to people looking for a good trainer is not to just go on price, or how many clients they have, or how intense a session may be. While these are all important factors I recommend looking for a trainer who doesn't just talk about the lifestyle, someone who actually lives and breathes it. Look for someone who pushes themselves just as hard if not harder than they push you, someone who doesn't just talk about eating clean and its benefits but actually does it (and trust me you can tell who these people are.) The good news is that most personal trainers are just like this, they live the lifestyle and love it- it's not just a job it's a passion. But just be aware that unfortunately there are some out there who simply should not be in the profession.  

So there is my little rant/opinion on what to look for in a PT. As you guys know I take my job pretty seriously so hate to see people out there paying for trainers who are really not in it. If you are going to spend the money make it worth your while! In relation to this post I will be starting up a Facebook page very soon with pics of my own transformation (to prove I practise what I preach), plus links to this blog, motivational stuff, videos and more so watch this space!

Will try to get a fit FREAK up this week but as mentioned its been very crazy this week so if not this week next week for sure. In the meantime as always eat CLEAN, train MEAN and live LEAN :)
   

Managing an injury or serious illness

Hi Guys

Quick post today but nonetheless an important one. Sometimes unfortunately as much as we may try to look after our bodies, feed them well,train them hard and rest them, they do from time to time let us down with illness or injury.

I know myself that in times I have come down with a slight cold (very rare now due to my lifestyle) I have been frustrated and stubborn and continued to train in spite of it. However there is a difference between pushing through a slight cold (I’m usually lucky to shake it within a day) and trying to train through a serious injury or illness - A BIG DIFFERENCE.

Injuries or illness are more so than often a sign from our body that it needs a break, that you have pushed it to hard and that it needs time to recover so that it can come back and serve you better than ever.Injuries can also be a sign of poor technique, lack of stretching/adequate recovery time and so on.

WHATEVER the case may be, training through an injury or serious illness is not advisable by myself or im sure any doctor or health professional. If you’re sick or injured take a break, let your body rest and recover and listen to what it is trying to tell you. If you are worried about missing training and putting on weight, don’t be. Just be a little more cautious of what you are eating and when you are eating it and you should have no troubles staying on track with your goals or getting back into them when you recover. If you really want the goal that you are working towards then you will most likely be spurred on to work even harder when you get back in the gym.Setbacks happen, just don’t let your own pride create a longer setback by ignoring the signs of injury or illness.

This is a REALLY important one guys, our bodies are the one place we have to live so listen to them and look after them even if that means a few days off training (it won’t kill you I promise).

Until next time look after yourselves and eat CLEAN, trainMEAN (injury/illness free) and you will live LEAN (and longer!) :)

Fit FREAK of the week!

In the Health and Fitness industry one of the most important qualities to have is a positive attitude and a passion for what you do. I have chosen this week’s fit FREAK as she not only possesses both of these qualities,she lives and breathes fitness has a great body (has overcome a double hip reconstruction), successful business, and one of the things I also admire about her is that she writes which as you all know is an equal passion of mine to fitness!

 

PENNY LOMAS picked up her first dumbbell at just 14 years old using exercise as an escape. She credits the gym for where she taught herself the positive self-talk that she has carried into her adult life.

She first discovered the bodybuilding world in her early 20’s and as she describes it went from “being a girl who ‘worked out’ to a woman who ‘trained’”.

After competing in her first figure comp in 2009 she became hooked and quit her job as a Personal Assistant to pursue a career in Personal Training. Around the same time Penny found the fitness magazine “Oxygen” and loved it. She decided to make it her goal to be on the cover within 5 years. It took her just 6months to first grace the cover of the popular magazine and since then there’s been no looking back.

 

Penny underwent double hip reconstruction in 2011. For most people this would have been a major set-back and a struggle to come back from but not Penny. She was back on the stage within 9 months. Pure determination, focus and commitment (what I was discussing yesterday) was what got her there.

Penny trains on a split program and has done for the past few years training weights 4 days and incorporating HIIT 3-4 days a week aswell. She also loves sledding and will use this as a Sunday morning cardio session.

She describes her eating plan as “eating a lot and eating often” lol. Penny follows a diet similar to Paleo (high protein, high good fats low carb/no dairy). She eats a lot of meat, veg, salads, and good fats such as coconut butter/flaxseed oil. She also follows a gluten free lifestyle. Penny says that her diet has taken many adjustments to find what works for her and like me believes there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to dieting.

Penny now runs her own personal training business located in Melbourne specialising in nutrition, hormone coaching and body transformation.She is also a Biosignature modulation practioner, pilates instructor, fitness model and athlete as well a health and well being writer and a proud ambassador of Oxygen magazine.

You can find out more about her or read some of her great pieces at www.pennylomas.com.au.

 

 

 

You only get OUT what you put IN

One of the things I see frequently being in the gym everyday is what I like to call the self-assuring gym goers. By this I mean those people who may come in and walk on the treadmill slowly for 15-20 mins, get off, do some sets on machine weights (more than often with no sense of what they are doing) then do some core work (because of course this is how you get a flatstomach and killer abs). They then trot along home ASSURING themselves that they are going to reach their goal of a killer body just because “they go to the gym” oh and “they eat pretty healthy too.”

It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest when 6 months down the track they have seen no changes to their physique, I mean have they really put in 100% effort? If they were honest with themselves are they really eating all that healthy? Probably not or they would be seeing some kind of result by now.

Being a trainer it is obviously my job to help people reach their goals no matter what they are. But it drives me mad to no end that some people seem to think I have a magic little wand to wave and give them a dream body (complete with those killer abs).  

I design sessions to challenge a person and in order to meet their goals but I can’t do the work for them. That’s where your will to CHANGE has to kick in and make you work for it. Most of the time people with a trainer(a good trainer that is) will achieve results but if they don’t always get there is it going to be the trainers fault? Yes the trainer designs the session,and is there to motivate their client through it and in my case will often joinin through the hardest parts to help the client through. BUT the trainer isn’t the one doing the work. The trainer isn’t the one who has to watch what theyeat as well in order to meet their goals. The trainer isn’t the one who has to put in extra sessions OUTSIDE of PT or Bootcamp if they really want to get somewhere. Why? Because that’s YOUR JOB.

As I always say at the end of the day it’s your own goal and nobody can achieve it but YOU. Trainers can motivate you, offer you guidance and advice, put in hard sessions with you, family and friends can support you but at the end of the day YOU have to do the work. YOU have to want it bad enough to be willing to commit, make some sacrifices and basically do whatever it takes to get there.

I will make the point of saying that of course no trainer is perfect and sometimes we need feedback in order to help you. If you don’t find the session challenging or it isn’t working towards your specific goals then speak up, we have a lot of qualifications but I know I for one am still yet to perfect mind reading.

So this week I’m asking everyone to be honest with themselves. If you aren’t where you would like to be then ask yourself why? Is it that your trainer has been slacking off? Is it that your best friend keeps encouraging you to eat cake and drink wine on the weekends? Or is it because you haven’t been as committed to your goal as you would like? Whatever the answer make sure that something changes because without that honesty within yourself you will struggle to reach your goal.

Fit FREAK will be posted tomorrow. In the meantime eat CLEAN, train MEAN, and keep on living LEAN ;)

Fit FREAK's of the week!

So it turns out I was lucky in the fact that due to the topic of this weeks fit FREAK being "aesthetic male bodies" a short bout of research found that simplyshredded.com had done all the work for me!

If you follow the below link http://www.simplyshredded.com/inspirational-physiques-10-of-the-most-shredded-guys-featured-on-simplyshredded-com-part-1.html you can check out what simply shredded have rated as the top 10 most aesthetic physiques to hit their website and guess what?They all train legs! Shocking huh! Lol

It features the likes of Greg Plitt, Obi Obidake, Rob Riches and Julian Greaux just to name a few. All with shredded physiques that show off a lot of hard training and clean eating. For the guys it's a good place to find some training tips reading the interviews and following the web links and for the girls well basically you can just have a good perve at these finely sculptured bodies ;) Enjoy!

Half man half chicken?

Today while I was up in the gym training a client, a guy sat across the room on the Lat pulldown machine. My client was resting between sets so I watched this guy perform a few reps, noticing he had very good technique not to mention impressive definition throughout his back, chest and shoulders.Then he stood up, and I saw that it all went downhill from his waist line. His shorts swam on his barely-there quads which have obviously never done a leg press, his ass was so flat he clearly hasn’t heard of a squat and I could have wrapped my thumb and forefinger around his ankle.

Sounding pretty harsh? Maybe. But one of my biggest pet hates in the gym is the “every day is upper body day bros”. You know the guys-they come to the gym and “wanna get big and ripped” but train arms, chest or back repeatedly and somehow fail to see how the lower half of their body needs to be paid some attention too.

Sorry guys but in my opinion (and I’m quite positive many others would agree) nothing is less attractive than having a beast upper body and looking down to see legs resembling those of a chicken. It looks nothing but unproportional and just plain ridiculous.

I once had a guy tell me (whilst I was training legs) that he didn’t train legs “Cause its hard”. I thought to myself, is it really that much harder than training your upper body? I train on a 5 day split and yep it all gets hard sometimes no matter what muscle group is targeted, but that isn’t going to be my excuse to skip a whole section of my body. It’s hard? I felt like telling him maybe he needed something HARD to HARDen up!

Wanna get big? Wanna get shredded? Wanna be a bodybuilder?Then allow me to let you in on a little secret… YOU HAVE TO TRAIN YOUR LOWER BODY TOO. The term body building refers to your whole body, not just half of it. You can’t be half man, half chicken. Well not unless you wanna look completely stupid. Aesthetics plays a big role in males going to the gym these days but you look at the most aesthetic guys out there and they have reached that stage because they train each part of their body as an equal. They hold complete proportion and to put it plainly they look damn good!

Nobody’s saying you have to get quads the size of Phil Green or big Ronnie Coleman but come on give them some love and attention at least!

Anyway that’s my rant for the week lol. In keeping with this theme Fit FREAK this week will be someone showing off an aesthetically pleasing body just to prove the point here.

In the meantime continue to eat CLEAN, train MEAN and liveLEAN and guys - give the chickens back their legs and grow some real ones!

 

 

  

The importance of eating before you train

Hi Everyone, hope we have all had a good week training hard,eating clean and (after last week) keeping our ego in check whilst in the gym;)

I have recently started a new session of Bootcamp and with this 8 wk program I am also running a nutrition component. Basically I have gotten all the girls involved to keep a food diary and each week we have 45-60minute session addressing problems and giving them better guidance so that they can reach their full potential in their goals :)

We had our first session this week and during the session whilst the girls were posing questions I was again reminded just how much uncertainty there is when it comes to good nutrition and the “right” things to do. One of the issues that came up was eating before they come to Bootcamp(6am) of a morning. It was interesting for me to discover that not one of them ate before they come and trained for that hour on an empty stomach, only to eat when they had breakfast after.

It was there I decided that even though I have discussed fuelling your body to train before that maybe I needed to re-iterate its importance.

I know it can be difficult for some people to stomach food at such an early hour of the morning but no matter what time of day you train your body still needs the right fuel to do so, otherwise you won't be able to perform at your full potential nor will you reap the full benefits of the session. Our bodies work much like a car. Your car isn’t going to run efficiently if you don’t continue to put petrol in it is it? No. Similarly if we don’t put food “fuel” in our bodies we are not going to be able to function efficiently in the gym.

Before doing any kind of strength or high intensity cardio(bootcamp contains both) you need to be consuming some form of carbohydrate and protein. Why? The carbohydrate gives your body the energy it needs to perform as carbohydrates are the easiest of the 3 nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) to break down into energy form. The protein will help to build and repair the muscle which is essential when strength training.

Some people think that if they don’t eat then it will be better as the body will use their excess fat as energy and they will lose weight. THIS IS NOT TRUE! Yes your body will use some of your fat stores but fat is harder to break down then carbohydrates and once the body uses what it can it will start to try and break down protein stores in the body which results in the loss of lean muscle. Not something we want! The best idea for fat burn is light to moderate cardioon an empty stomach when your first wake up and this is something that I have incorporated into my daily routine.

Now depending how long before you train you are eating will also depend on what is best to eat. As I have mentioned before I am someone who usually trains fairly early and therefore I need something that is prettyeasily digested before I train so that I don’t have to get up even earlier.Bananas are a great source of energy for early morning sessions as they are easily broken down (a simple carbohydrate). I usually have just half a banana,a few strawberries (while in season) and some yoghurt for a source of protein.  This is something simple, not too filling, yet enough to give me energy within 20-30 mins to carry out a hard session.

I will admit that in the past I used to be a culprit of training on an empty stomach. Now that I have started eating before a weights session and have noticed the difference it makes in my performance and results there is no way I would go back. For someone who also once found it hard to eat so early my body has now adjusted (in the amazing way our bodies do) to accommodate this new routine.

So even if it means getting up 10 mins earlier and justeating half a banana and a few spoons of yoghurt or even just half a banana,don’t miss out on reaching your full potential. Give your body the fuel it needs to perform and watch the changes unravel.

Eat CLEAN, train MEAN, live LEAN :)

 

Fit FREAK of the week!

Well it has been awhile since I have shared a fit FREAK with you all. This week’s was suggested to me by my friend Kate and after doing some research it’s easy to see why this chick should be regarded as a fit FREAK and an inspiration to female weight trainers.

 

TAMIKA WEBBER is a successful Fitness model as well a trained emergency paramedic and emergency trauma nurse and has been involved in sport since a young age. Being in the job she is, Tamika sees a lot of trauma and for her the gym began as a way to relieve stress and as many of us can relate to she became addicted to the results.

In 2007 Tamika was diagnosed with several digestive issues including a twisted and ruptured bowel and polycystic ovaries also known as PCOS syndrome. This syndrome affects the body’s insulin and blood glucose levels which usually results in excess fat stores. Most people with PCOS suffer obesity.

Tamika experienced extreme levels of bloating as you can see in the pictures below.

 

But Tamika was determined to compete and after finding a pill that helped control her hormonal imbalance she worked hard training and following a strict diet to first compete in 2011 and since then has placed in several sports modelling and ANB competitions.

Because of her job being shift work Tamika is often limited for time in her training and therefore she follows the analogy “work smarter not harder.” She trains weights on a four day split and combines this with a mixture of HIIT and low intensity cardio.

Her diet is very clean combining plenty of lean protein, healthy fats, and a good mixture of fibrous and starchy carbs. An example of a typical day is outlined below.

·       Meal1: Untoasted Cinnamon Muesli (approx half a cup) added Bran for Fibre and Coconut for healthy Fats mixed with one scoop of Chocolate Proto Whey Protein

·       Meal2: Cottage Cheese, together with Salmon on Rye Crisp Bread with Cracked Pepper

·       Meal3: Grilled Chicken and Fruit Salad including; Skinless Chicken, Diced Apple,Walnuts and Feta combined with mixed Lettuce and Apple Cider Vinaigrette

·       Meal4: Celery cupped with Sour Cream and Cherry Tomatoes

·       Meal5: Grilled Barramundi and Vegetables combined with Sweet Potato, Peas and Corn

·       Meal6: Proto Whey Protein shake mixed with Blueberries

Tamika's body part she takes most pride in is her abs and why wouldn’t she after the hard work she has clearly put in to get them!

 

 

 

For more on Tamika you can check her out on Facebook or I recommend watching her interview below.  

 

 

 

Checking your EGO before you enter the Gym

Well another week has passed and hopefully you have all set some SMART goals and have started working towards them :)

Today’s post has been brought about by a series of things all in which have related to people accumulating an OVERINFLATED ego when it comes to the gym and training. Everyone has an ego, it is described by Cambridge dictionary as “one’s opinion of themselves, how they rate their self-importance.”

In my personal opinion it is good to have self-confidence and if there is one thing that I have built (more than muscle, strength and fitness) in the gym I would have to say it’s my own personal confidence levels. But there is a BIG difference between being confident and being over confident just like there is a big difference between having an ego an having an OVERINFLATED ego.

One of the most common pieces of advice I have heard when it comes to the gym is “Check your ego at the door” however every gym has at least one person who comes in every day, thinking they are the next Ronnie Coleman,lifting super heavy weights for a couple of reps every 5-10 mins with poor form and then spending an hour or so flexing in the mirror.

Sure it might feel great saying you hit a new PB (personalbest) of 150kg on the bench or 500kg on the leg press, but if your form is poor, you can't actually complete a set or if your spotter is having to do half the lifting for you than what have you REALLY achieved? Other than giving your ego another (FALSE) boost.

A problem I see a lot of the time with ego’s in the gym is with the people who are competing against the other people in the gym. “Oh that guy over there just did 20’s in shoulders but he looks smaller than me so surely I can do 25’s”. Fact is that other guy may be smaller but he’s probably going to end up twice the size of "Mr Ego Lifter" because he is doing the smart thing, focusing on form and gradually increasing his weight. He’s also not worrying about what everyone else is doing which is the second reason he will more than likely succeed. Why?Because he’s competing against HIMSELF, which is another great piece of advice I have heard been given in the gym “stop competing against others and start competing against YOU.” 

 At the end of the day your goals are your own and only you can achieve them and only you are going to be disappointed if you don’t. You are your biggest competition because you should be striving each day to be better than the person you were yesterday.

The people who are going to succeed and progress the most in the gym are those who “check their ego at the door”, who don’t worry about what anyone else is doing, or how much they are lifting etc. They aren’t worried about the ridiculous face they might pull pushing out that final rep, just pushing out that rep is their onlyconcern. They focus on their form and progress their weight in a realistic manner. They don’t worry about the ego lifters because they know that in 6months they will be 6 months ahead of them in their progress. These are the people who will succeed because they have the right amount of confidence, the right amount of knowledge and most of all the right attitude.

So next time you head to the gym make sure to check that ego at the door and enter the gym for you and no one else.

Fit FREAK of the week will be coming tomorrow, in the meantime as always eat CLEAN, train MEAN (without too much ego) and live LEAN :)

 

 

Be SMART with your goals this year

Ok so I promise my slackness from the holiday season is overnow and I’m back to bring you mostly weekly posts so we can all keep on trackwith our health and fitness goals in 2013 :)

Hopefully by now being halfway through January everyone has thought about what they want to achieve in 2013. I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions but I am a big believer in New YOU goals. Goals that you can commit to and that aren’t going to fade out by February or March!

This week, at a course, I was reminded of the best way to set goals in order for success and I thought I would share them with you all just in case some of you are struggling trying to come up with the best way to achieve them or have set goals in the past and failed and aren’t sure why.

The best achieved goals are more so than often set under the SMART principle. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic/Relevant andTimely. Let’s look at each one more closely.

Specific- The goal you are setting needs to be specific otherwise it becomes harder to achieve. If you just say “I want to lose weight”are you really giving yourself something specific to get to? How much weight is going to make you happier within yourself? Is it really the kilograms you want to lose or is it body fat? Or if your goal is wanting to build muscle you need to then get more specific. Where you want to build muscle? Are you looking to build strength as well or do you just want more definition e.g. the “toned” look?

Measurable- The next step is making that goal measurable.  So if gaining muscle in say your arms and chest is your goal then you need to take measurements of these areas before you begin so you have a baseline to refer back to when you reach the time period you have given yourself to achieve that goal.

Achievable- One of the biggest factors that stop people from achieving goals in my opinion is when people set unachievable or unrealistic goals. So for example, Katy has set out to make her goal of losing weight specific. She wants to lose 10kg and 15% body fat. She has taken her measurements and done a weigh in. She gives herself a month to achieve this goal. Do you think she will succeed? I can guarantee you if for some reason she manages to then it will not be through sustainable methods and she will gain that weight back within the following month. In this case Katy should set herself specific mini goals in achieving her overall goal of 10kg loss. The healthy amount of sustainable weight loss is 0.5-1kg per week.

Realistic/ Relevant- If Katy’s goal is to lose 10kg she needs to be setting smaller,realistic and relevant goals that will help her achieve this. So for example her saying “I will exercise twice a day 6 days a week” when she hasn’t previously been exercising probably isn’t that realistic. If she says she will start with 3 sessions a week this is going to be more realistic and relevant to her goal and she is less likely to quit after a week when she is exhausted.

Timely- You need to make sure that you are giving yourself a time limit on achieving the goal so that it can be measured and you can be held accountable.

If we are to put all of these things together into a SMARTgoal it would look something like this. Katy wants to lose 10kg and 15 % body fat. Her current weight is 70kg and 30% body fat. Katy is going to aim to lose a kilo a week by beginning with 3 sessions of cardio/weights and modifying her diet by cutting out added sugars and fats. Katy would like to have lost the weight and body fat by 3-4 months. 

It’s specific, measurable, definitely achievable if she stays focused, realistic and timely. It’s SMART.

If you are struggling or have struggled at achieving yourgoals in the past why not give this method a try. As I always say if you need some extra help get a trainer, or if you can’t afford that then why not try a bootcamp or group exercise session to get you started. No goal is impossible if you are SMART about it.

Make 2013 the year for a new and better you :) If you have any questions about the SMART principle leave me a comment otherwise until next post keep eating CLEAN, training MEAN and living LEAN :)