Hi and welcome to another week,
Great week of sessions last week. I am writing this on Monday and my body is still feeling the pain from Friday nights ‘No Rules Bodywork’ (thanks, Seany, that was brutal)…the ‘normal’ Body Work was a real challenge last week…No Rules was unbelievable. I really enjoyed the boxing session on Friday as well – it was just a massive cardio blast – as well as all the work on the power ropes early in the week – those arm circles we did on Tuesday were hard!
This week, I am excited about the new ‘multi-jump’ exercise – so excited that I might have gotten a bit carried away to the extent that we are doing it every day. Thursday’s one-minute rounds session also looks to be very challenging – a huge variety of exercises in the class and looks like it will be a real ‘full body’ blast.
As part of doing the Life challenge, I have been reading lately about all sorts of diet and weight-loss strategies which isn’t really the ‘norm’ for me. I would much rather focus on training than diet and generally find most diet topics pretty dry. Regardless, I found a common thread through a lot of studies which focus on how no-one becomes unhealthy ‘overnight’ – what happens is that for every 10 years that passes after you leave school, you put on ‘about’ 10-kilos. I think most of us know this is ‘the truth’ – and it is a truth we might see in ourselves and one we certainly see whenever we run into people we mightn’t have seen for a few years.
Now, 10kg’s in itself isn’t an insurmountable problem. But – and anyone who has tried training in a weighted vest can attest to this – doing a class/going for a run/whatever whilst carrying an extra 10kgs is HARD. You get very tired, very quickly and you can get a bit depressed about this. Which might mean you stop…which restarts the ‘cycle’ of gaining 1kg for every year that passes. And none of this takes into account the fact that the extra weight will stress your joints which might lead to injury which will be a further impediment to getting back on track.
Now, in my reading I stumbled across some comments from Dr. Howard Eisenson, director of the Duke Diet and FitnessCenter, who says “As we age, our metabolic rate naturally slows somewhat and our body composition shifts away from muscle tissue and more toward fatty tissue. But the extent to which this occurs we can influence by the choices we make in our eating and our physical activity.”
So what it comes down to is being prepared to show discipline in terms of what you put in your mouth and long-term commitment to an exercise/activity plan. It is about making positive choices MOST of the time and – every few months or so – being prepared to honestly assess where you are at and either challenging yourself to improve – or – maybe just to put things right. Gaining 1kg per year between age 20 and age 50? Struggling with health issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol – even diabetes – when you are at an age when your body is ill-equipped to do anything about it? No thanks.
Get it done.
Write 100 words (minimum) about what you:
1/.Hope to achieve (by the end of the challenge)
2/.Feel you have achieved (to this point)
OR:
1/.How you are hoping to feel (at the end of the challenge)
2/.How you feel (to this point).
OR:
1/.What your ‘life plan’ is to maintain momentum at the end of the challenge.
The only caveat is – if any of the ‘to this point’ descriptions are NEGATIVE, you must also detail your strategy to overcome the feeling. eg. I am over stretching/eggs must be followed by your plan to get past this. For the ‘life plan’ question, I am expecting a real strategy and not just some platitudes about ‘keeping it going’. By this I mean identify the things you have struggled with so far and clearly detail the go forward plan.
The new fans are in and running – just in time for today’s 30+ degrees. It was certainly nice getting to the speedballs down the back and having two fans squirting air at me this morning. I am sure they will make the upcoming summer just a bit more bearable.
Apologies in advance for the office area chaos over the next couple of weeks as we work to get the new merchandise cabinets up and installed. All of the signage is completed – and they look great…all that is left to do now is the whole ‘assemble, position and fill’ jobs. Oh – and move the old stuff out of the way, sort out the storage area etc etc. Here’s hoping it wont cause too much disruption.
The 2012 Hands on India Ball is on Saturday October 20th at the Hyatt Regency Perth. The ball is a fundraiser to help the Chiropractic students at Murdoch University travel to India to provide free chiropractic and medical care to the Siriguri community – find more details HERE.
Tickets to the ball – which features a three course meal, four hour beer and wine package and entertainment including music, Bollywood dancers and Henna tattooing – are $175 each. If anyone would like to be part of a table and help the students out, please let me know via email and I will look after the admin side of things.
A great week on Facebook which also saw a separate group set up for the ‘Life Challenge’. Some highlights:
Top 5 tips to get ripped: http://www.cutandjacked.com/Pauline-Nordins-Top-5-Tips-To-Get-Ripped
Spartan Race: http://blog.spartanrace.com/proven/
http://paleo.com.au/2012/08/80-paleo-breakfast-ideas/
Live Lighter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFgGmYpnEg4&feature=youtu.be
Kettlebell Swings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_XjJjLc7NE
5 mistakes that killed my progress: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/5_mistakes_that_killed_my_progress
Make sure you join us on the site (click HERE) and get involved with the daily conversations – it really does help keep you focused on your training and diet.
Just because you don’t have much time, doesn’t mean you can’t “GET IT DONE”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UK-ysixydI&feature=g-vrec
See you in the gym!
Michael.
We know this can be a daunting time. You’re probably wondering if we really are the right fit for each other. And it’s OK! Many people before you, have felt the same, and that’s why we want to offer you something special – our $29 Health Check.
Let’s work out together to see if we’re the right fit. Just hit the button below to let me know if you’re ready to see what’s included.