Week Four Weigh In

I’m a little late with this weeks update, but better late than never.

This week was not only a weigh-in week but it was also the checkpoint where we re-do our measurements and our fitness test.  I was hoping for good things this week after last weeks gain and I was not disappointed.  Jumping on the scales I discovered that I had lost 1.3kg – so the weight I had gained was now gone again!  My friend and I then met up and recorded our measurements.  I was stoked to see that in total over the past 4 weeks I have lost 11.5cm.  And then we did our fitness test and I saw more positive results – EVERYTHING had improved.  My cardio fitness, my upper body strength, my core strength, my lower body strength and my flexibility.

It’s always a boost when you see improvements; and the thing I love about this particular challenge is that it’s not just your weight and measurements that are monitored.  The fitness test is a great indicator of where you’re at and what you need to focus on.

I guess the most important thing for me this week was in the planning.  I was more strict with it and it paid off.  I have however been struggling a bit mentally…and will post about that early next week.  I’ll trying a technique I read about in a magazine to see if it helps and will give a bit of a review about that.  So stay tuned.

Hope all is well!

Love love xox

M.O.T.I.V.A.T.I.O.N

Can you relate to any of these?

Impatience – you analyse a plan according to how it’s “supposed” to work, and often conclude too soon that it’s not working for you.

Analysis Paralysis – you keep adding additional workouts and customizations to your program, and you end up exhausted, discouraged and perhaps injured.

Extremism – you throw yourself into unsustainable nutritional or supplement schemes that are beyond your budget or just not a good fit with your lifestyle and/or abilities.

Perfectionism – you’re prone to skipping workouts when everything isn’t “just right”.  Maybe you forgot your pre-workout, your music or a piece of gear for instance.  Same for nutrition – if everything isn’t perfect you take it as an excuse to eat junk.

Ambition – you’re unrealistic in your aspirations. You set goals that are too lofty or extreme for your abilities, age or the amount of time you have. Then you beat yourself up when you can’t achieve them.

If you can, then you’re not alone!  These are hurdles which the personality type “the thinker” has to overcome.  [Check out my previous post here]  And these hurdles are often the reason behind our loss of motivation…..

Earlier this week I posed a question on my Facebook page – Was there anything in particular my followers/readers would like to hear about?  It was suggested I write a post about motivation when getting back into fitness after a break.  What a perfect suggestion!  I’m hoping by giving others advise that it will in turn motivate me too 🙂

What’s Your Fitness Personality?

Hey everyone!  Sorry for my lack of posts lately!  Hopefully you have been following my updates on Facebook as I have tried to post a few quick updates on there when I haven’t had the time to actually get on to WordPress!  Things have been busy with the recent Easter and ANZAC Day holidays and also with the 30 things.  I do plan on writing up a bit of an update on my recent 12 Week Transformation Challenge which ended soon, so watch this space.

On another note; I just did an interesting quiz on Bodybuilding.com which resulted me in being categorised as “the thinker”.  I then watched a video which described some of the traits of “the thinker” and could definitely relate!  The traits are listed below:

Self Belief.

Today I achieved something I thought I’d never do.

I completed my first Fun Run!

And even more importantly I did it without walking.

Stoked doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel; and I’m even thinking it won’t be my last…

Who’d have thunk it?!  At school I was never a runner.  In fact I HATED running.  And as an adult if I ever had to run; I could hardly run 100m without gasping for breath and feeling as if I would die.

My bib 🙂

Sunday Shout Out – 9

photo credit: http://www.happybellystudios.com

Back in 2005 my workplace offered free Pilates classes for a period of time. It ensured that for 1 hr at least twice a week we could get away from our desk; recharge; relax and do something towards our health/fitness. When that stopped I tried one or two classes outside of the work environment but just didn’t feel it was the same. Needless to say I didn’t do it again.

Until 2 weeks ago.

I decided to give the class at our gym ago – and realised all over again how awesome it is. Due to the timing of the class coinciding with my PT sessions I can only do it once a fortnight but I intend to do it every second week with the possibility of switching my PT to another day/time down the track.

So far I’ve had two classes and OMG! The instructor is great; and I remember now how good it is for both your body and your mind. After the class I have felt, revived and more at peace and I feel like my body is a bit more “re-set”. Both classes have already got me focussing on the correct way to move my pelvis/abs/hips/lower back which affects the way I lift too. It also helps me to learn to isolate certain muscles. I’ve realised too how all of this affects your every day life – improving posture and alignment etc and I’m really excited about having added this to my routine.

If you’ve never tried Pilates I highly recommend it. Young or old. Male or female (we had 3 men in our class on Thursday) at least give it a go.

March Madness

March…Autumn…we’re already closing in on April!  Where the hell has 2014 gone already?  I know we say this every year, but surely – this year is disappearing quicker than any year before!!!

Maybe it’s because we are constantly looking towards our next goal..our next project…our next meal even?  But it’s this preparation which can often help us achieve big things.

Just under 2 weeks ago I created a calendar scheduling in my work outs and decided to get back into the habit of taking my food with me to work etc.  So far it’s been working a treat!  And I’m loving the routine!  But I feel, as I’m constantly looking towards the next day or the next few days, that the weeks are slipping by!  How do you stay prepared whilst living in the moment?  Is there a way to stop time from moving so quickly?  I don’t know if this is possible to answer and with my 30 Project I find I’m constantly doing one thing or another.

I recently double booked myself not once but twice with the same friend and I felt horrible.  Luckily I was able to get out of work but the other double booking was a wedding so I can’t really not go!  Luckily my friend is extremely awesome and understanding and so she didn’t make it into a huge deal (although she did admit it didn’t make her feel good); but it still got me thinking with SO much going on I need to ensure I am keeping track of everything.  I was really good at writing everything into my diary at one point, but have been a bit slack lately – so I’m going to make sure I get this habit back on track!

This isn’t the only thing though, and I’m sure I’ve touched on this many times before; but with so much going on in life; I think it’s more important than ever to spend some time simply relaxing / letting ourselves unwind.  Even for just ten minutes a night.  So I’m going to spend 10 minutes before bed doing some deep breathing exercises on my foam roller.  Trying to empty my mind of the day so that I am relaxed, ready to sleep and begin the next day.

Looks like that’s another thing to add to the calendar 😉