Day 92 - Balls, Bells and Bars...

Variety 

The spice of life and the means to staying focused on my journey from fat to fit. I like to mix things up, and apparently, its good to do so. This week, being the crazy last week of my leadership course is a bit messy and getting into my normal routine is getting harder as the week progresses toward graduation. I decided to mix it up again tonight....but why?

Variety, or, the quality or state of having different forms or types can be important within a strength and conditioning program. Triathletes and cross-fitters tend to need a variety in their program to develop different physical qualities. My variety of strength, endurance, speed, stamina....run, swim ride and sports seems to be the go here!

Athletes must incorporate variety in their regime to become more complete. There is no single exercise or piece of equipment that will create the complete athlete. In order for muscles to increase strength, the workload must be greater than normal. I've noticed that since I started mixing things up, even as early as when I started to train for triathlon (instead of just running) I got stronger sooner. By overloading the muscles, your body adapts by growing stronger. Once the body adapts, a new stimulus is required to continue the reaction. Workload must progressively increase to make gains in strength and endurance.

Variety is a method of adding tools to your toolbox to facilitate your progression.

Tuesday night football..

Almost certainly its harder to play, or more intensive to play indoor football on a full size court with less people. Tonight there was 5 of us! 3 on 2 was the order of play - so lots of running and stop/start sprints, changes to direction was in order. For the first 30 minutes my game was all over the place. Mr Peds reckoned my skills were better when I took a few moments to stop and think, prior to taking shots or passing. This actually seemed to be true...I missed, hit the post and crossbar...I hit the ball wide by the narrowest margins and somehow couldn't find the back of the net. On taking those moments to think, I went from hell to high scoring! I even knocked 3 long-range (from our goal area) shots into their net! I really started to score all over the place, even nut-megged the keeper three times. Such fun.

After 75 minutes I was pooped, needing to change the pace for gym time!

Bells and Bars...

Tonight I opted for the mammoth session - Back and Arms. I reduced the number of exercise variants, but pushed hard to make the ones I was doing count. My dead lift technique has definitely improved, and I feel stronger for it. My rows were all a good show of my developing back strength. I concluded back with 3 sets of 3 unassisted chin ups...and my gosh I was trying hard!

I moved into Biceps and then Triceps. I was feeling the burn by now, 45 minutes in and that was my cue to finish off with a kettle bell circuit. Qinno joined for a bit and we did some basic run throughs. I've been intensifying the kettle bell circuit and 15 minutes is pretty tough....for me!

After all the hard gym work, I think my back deserves a good relax on the foam roller tonight. Looking forwards to that!

Days 73-78: Crazy Busy!

OH MY GOSH!

I have been so crazy busy this past week or so. Last wednesday was my last post, and I'm sorry I dropped off the radar. Moving interstate was a very time consuming endeavour, which meant training was put on hold. I dabbled to stay in the game, but nothing substantial until today!

I also had the opportunity to spend an entire weekend at home, between location changes, with my lovely wifey. So, being the try hard hubby that I am, I made sure that the whole weekend was devoted to all things concerning my better half. This also took its toll on me and my regimen.

Sometimes, life gets in the way, and we can't do jack about it. We just have to acknowledge it, accept our situation and create the next opportunity to get back into the rhythm as soon as we can.

Last night, I moved to my latest destination, for a new training course which will take me to my honeymoon and then my subsequent posting to a sea going ship will follow that. Mr Peds will be my companion as we move forwards, he will join ship sooner. My new location, at least is in the same state (NSW), although technically Jervis Bay falls under the ACT...so we're not...but it is only 2-3 hours drive from home...easy.

So, day 77 was spent packing, driving, unpacking and settling into my new cabin. I managed a quick 500m swim in the pool here at HMAS Creswell. It's a smaller 25m pool, so times will be quicker and it'll take a little more to fatigue me!

Run Swiftly

Today, Day 78, was quite fun. I woke early, at 0500h, and got my lazy bum out of bed. I decided last night that I would use mapmyrun to plan an early run. I planned to knock it over before class. I planned everything except the rain.

I launched into my run. From my accommodation I ran down to the medical centre and past the NEOC accommodation, then down to and around the post office, a loop around the quarter deck passing behind the clock tower, then around the 2.4km route and past the front of the clock tower. From there I ran past the wardroom, then out into the darkness, down past the Captain's house, and the waterfront and back up the hill. At the top I past the NEOC accommodation, turned right and ran up to the gate. I returned and repeated the 5km loop.

At 7km, as I looped the quarter deck, the rain started - gently at first, teasing me. I ran past some New Officer Trainees doing their fitness test 2.4km runs, and thought "at least I'm here by choice, they have to be here..." As I said this to myself the rain tease turned into a heavy drizzle. As I looped behind the Captain's house again, the rain got heavier, and heavier until as I ran up the hill from the waterfront I was starting to feel like a drowning rat...reminiscent of my NEOC 49 days, I power on through. Rain still getting harder, bigger drops, more sideways - right in the face, actually.

By the time I was at the gate I was ignoring the rain, the reduced visibility and enjoying the freedom I was feeling. I was soaked through, and still determined to make it back to complete the 10km. As I reached my destination I realised I was at 9.83km (not quite 10km). I can live with that. 54:29:10, so my pace average was around 6:02 min/km, and average heart rate was 147bpm.

Lesson in Leadership using Volleyball

I had never played volleyball, until today. Our course instructor (I'm on a leadership course) decided he wanted to teach us using the medium of volleyball....awesome! First a game of rally-point and then a game of penalty-volleyball. Basically, the crux of it was teach us that the first game participants were not as committed, or accountable to their teammates that game two. Game two, rules were simple. If you messed up and the team lost a point, you sat out and did push-ups, sit-up or something to that effect. The only way to get back on was for your team to score a point without you. Objective of the game is simple - reduce the opposing team's players to zero. It surprising how much more competitive, and how much more you'll try for your teammates when there are consequences, and that was the lesson. I have to say, this was an awesome way to get us out of the classroom, bond with our new classmates, and teach some valuable skills. Thanks LEUT Johno.

Tuesday Night Football

As if I'd not had enough cardio for one day, I played 60 minutes of indoor football. Players and location have changed a little, but the game was just as hard with some very silky skills. In fact, Nerdy-Norm turned out to be a dark horse. First match, and he scores the first 4 goals, and has some very dazzling skills....another part-dutchie I think...

Time for bed now. Tomorrow I'll be hitting the gym proper. I will need to work out a new schedule to suit earlier class starts. I looks like no morning session, unless I run early, and a bigger evening session.....Sorry for being so lazy... But, I'm back now.

Day 71 - Week 11 in Full Swing

Week 11...

As my last week at HMAS Cerberus starts to close in on me, I have just realised something really interesting. It's been 11 weeks of hard slog in the gym, but thats really helped my focus on my studies too. It was dragging on really slowly, then as I progressed with my training, getting into the blogosphere and seeing small results, the time has literally flown by. Awesome.

So, I thought it would be good to update you all on my progress. So, with week 11 in full swing,  here we go...only 3 sleeps until I go home to Sydney, and my beautiful wifey, Winnie :)

Wake Up Run

I decided, that if my schedule was going to get a little messed up this week, that I would mix up my routine too. As my alarm roused me this morning at 0500h I felt torn - I wanted to get up and go for a short run, but I really really wanted to stay in bed...the justification began and it took around 15 minutes before I pushed past it, and started to sluggishly get dressed. I even checked the weather! So, even though I wanted to run, something was making me resist, but too be honest that was just me being somewhat lazy I'd say.

I had a quick stretch, and set off on my way. As my Garmin 910XT beeped to inform me that I'd ran my 1st kilometre, the rain set in. It was fairly hard going, but a worthy run. I ran at my usual distance pace of 6min/km, and started to enjoy the rain.

I know I only ran 5.12km, and it took me 31:48 to complete, but I feel about a million times better  for actually doing something this morning.

6-A-Side Footie 

90 minutes of indoor football, running around, keeping goal and sweating like a beast. That's the nature of it. Dutchie always organises a game, twice a week without fail. Football fever really is setting in again! I let 2 goals in tonight (as keeper), and scored 1...not bad.

For me, I enjoy playing indoor footie because its a really good team exercise, all working together to try and win. Tackles, rebounds, headers and all the skills (more some that others). I particularly enjoy the level of fitness that it needs, really quickly improves your sprint / explosive power. I can go on.

Just Because...

Training on Fatigue

SO, post footie I headed directly to the gym to get my burn on. I pushed through a 75 minute shoulders and abdominals workout, with the burn and ache of fatigue as I progressed. I made through the workout, knowing that I turned a corner (and hit a wall) with my endurance training. Today I have truly tested my boundaries. You see, I've also increased the number of reps from 8 to 10, and still train 4 sets. I've only reduced the weight a little to allow for the extra work, but I could feel the need for fuel etc kicking in as the fatigue wormed its way into my workout.

I've had a positive day for training, but it hasn't been easy. Today, I struggled to start and as I gained momentum I trained with great energy. I will probably rest tomorrow morning, and train late in the day so I give my body time to get over it.

Days 64-70 - Guilt, Decisions and Fitting It All In..

Guilt Trip?

Why do we feel guilty for missing a workout? Its something that really bugs me. Anyone who regularly trains, watches what they eat and lives an active lifestyle knows that missing one workout isn't going to reverse time, add layers of fat or make us inconceivably unfit.  So why do we beat ourselves up over it? Over the past 10 weeks I've been working really hard to maintain consistency in my training routine, and healthier eating regime. As time has gone by, I've noticed how much easier it has been getting to get myself to the gym, or choose the healthy meal for dinner. I've survived the past 70 days on a balanced diet of guilt, inspiration and reward. But why? Well, I've been reading up on this....

The real fire starter that made me start writing about it was the events of the past week (grad week). As I look back upon a very busy week; a week packed with early starts, long days of presentations  about naval stuff, and late evenings spent social networking; I recall the amount of guilt I felt for skipping a few training sessions, and for the social drinking I've participated in (and there was a lot of that). I woke each day, a little slower, each day hoping to get some exercise, and punishing myself if I didn't get some. I managed two 90 minute football (5-a-side) games, some gym time and a lunch time swim between Tuesday and Friday. Sunday I punished myself at the Flinders Street Fitness First, and today I had a glimpse of a normal day, compressed into the evening session. It was a wicked to give my back and abs the blast they needed, plus a good 15 minute spin, followed by a quick 13 minute 500m swim just about finished me off.

So, after each session, and in particular tonight's, I started to lose all feelings of guilt, once I had punished myself. It's been annoying me as to why I felt guilt in the first place...So, lets talk this one out....

Different Points of View

Is developing a healthy mindset a vital component of a healthy lifestyle? I believe it is. I also believe that making decisions and taking ownership of our choices keeps us on track, without the twang of guilt that makes us feel so bad.

One article I read suggested that a primary reason for people skipping workouts is that the drudgery that can occur when workouts are forced, or in other words, if we want to be successful we need to stop forcing ourselves to do the things we don't like doing. Well, that seems sensible.

My research led me to a US Football Coach, John Gagliardi, who is accredited with being the most successful college football coach in the history of football coaches....wow. He has a philosophy thats so simple its cringe worthy. Intrinsic Motivation.

So, what is Intrinsic Motivation, well it's funny but this was also mentioned during the week at one of the naval presentations by a well regarded Captain. It is the key to longevity in all things; but lets keep it fitness related....It basically this: if you like it or enjoy it or find it fun, you'll keep doing it. FULL STOP.

So if liking exercise is the key to sticking with it, what makes us like it? Apparently, there's three things that we need:

1. Autonomy - the choice to do it is made by YOU, not someone else.
2. Competence - you know what you're doing, or are at least you're improving.
3. Relatedness - the activity connects you in some way with other people.

That's how the US footie coach did it, by creating an environment with all three, nearly 60 years ago.

Points to Remember: 

• Exercise is a choice, not a jail sentence - Knowing that you are in charge of what you do may assist you in getting started.
• Exercise is a commitment you make everyday - Some days you're more committed than others. You need discipline and consistency to keep you getting out of the door.
• Every day is different - Some days you need to work harder to get motivated.

Skipping....?

I often find myself, feeling guilty for asking the following question - How will skipping affect my day? Well, I've discovered recently that a workout isn’t just important for burning calories, it can affect every part of your day, both physically and mentally. I try to remind myself that getting in a workout routine:

Gives you more energy

Improves your confidence and self-satisfaction

Starts your day on the right foot

Helps you concentrate better

Helps you get more things done

Allows you to actively re-commit to your goals

Exercise is one of the few things you can do that seeps into all areas of your life. Just a few minutes and some sweat will pay off in the long run.

I guess, the crux of my research points to mindset. Develop a healthy relationship with your training. Have fun, and enjoy what you're doing. Don't be hard on yourself if you need to skip, but remember why you train and how good you feel and use that as motivation to get yourself back on track. It's not looking like an exact science, so have fun with finding out what works for you... I do.

Day 43 - Totally Tuesday!

Tuesday, Tuesday...

 I "Heart" Tuesdays at the moment. I get to train, participate in organised physical training, play team sports and if I'm really lucky - I get to Zen myself out with a healthy Bikram Yoga sesh!

Well, today I had a great day. An even better one when you know you need to pay back a deficit from the day before - as you know I had to work and my training suffered (Boo!). I always pay my debts.... Or is that the Lannisters? Game of Thrones overload, perhaps!

Important Rest Time

I'm learning the hard way, as I'm a bit of a slow starter with resting, that rest is just as important as the training we are doing. I'm starting to see that for me, rest and zen time are essentially my mind and body having a workout....albeit without the sweat. Its like a recuperation workout and its nearing time to go get into that session.... I'll just write this post, and drink my yummy Casein Protein shake first. The shake can then start to give my muscles nutrients as I rest and set my digestive system to work. I sleep much better knowing that my sleeping body is getting heaps of good amino acids delivered over a slower duration to help improve recovery, L-theanine to help relax me, plus a large injection of calcium to support my bones! Awesome, but the key here is that my sleep is starting to be just as important as the training is - Oh My! That lovely wife of mine will be pleased with this! I'm doing well too - last night I managed nearly 6 hours of sleep time...which is a vast improvement!

There has been a great deal of research into sleep and weight loss. I even read a very interesting article that suggested training in the early evening to improve rest. It suggested this because it is a good trigger for the body to prepare for sleep. In brief, we raise the body's temperature whilst training, and the subsequent temperature drop is what 'triggers' this, so if you ever wondered why it takes ages to fall asleep at night when you're too warm...that is why!

Is this you?

Personally, when I sleep best its usually naked, or on top of the covers (even in winter) and sometimes both combined! :) Sleep is a good idea for people who are training, trying to lose weight, or to just be a bit healthier, since sleep restriction leads to an increase in a hormone called ghrelin, which is attributed to stimulating appetite. This alone may explain why during these past 6 weeks I've been even hungrier than before - Extra training, plus sleep restriction is not a good combo! This has become very apparent to me whilst sitting in class, since the start of this journey. My lack of sleep makes my appetite soar (I try to ignore that and stick to my regime), but I guess this builds as I further exhaust myself during the day. This leads to my excess tiredness causing a serious case of the snack-monster! This could be something to watch out for. If you're not careful, you too, could be reaching for the coffee and donuts at 3pm because you didn't sleep well the night before....think about that the next time you're making your stand-easy brew or popping to get some more munchies to gorge on just to stay awake...I know I will be. 

 

At least until we get our sleep habits improving, we should carry some healthy snack options to make sure we don't detract from the good work we are doing the rest of the time! 

Sleep, rest and Zen Time appear to be very important, don't you think? An interesting observation that led to a little research may have uncovered something about why I get so "hungry" when I'm tired...I'll definitely be monitoring my sleep and eating behaviours much more closely in future.

Super Shoulders

My usual start to the day being a big shoulders set, focussing again on primarily using compound exercises to develop a strong core. I worked bloody hard, lots of barbell work today. I pushed some extra sets onto each exercise, keeping the weight hard enough to sustain it. Feel the burn...the yummy burn that tells you you're working hard! I finished with some hefty cable work to really isolate the muscles, whilst keeping the core engaged - really enjoying pushing myself now! I finished with some abdominal work; farmers walks, overhead holds, hanging knees up crunches, leg raises, oblique training and crunches.

Cardio & Abs Circuit

This guy is cray-cray, I hear you say...Ahem... Well, this morning's PT offering is my favourite circuit - Abs and Cardio. Today, I partnered up with Pon-Goh the ex-Army dude who is in my class. He has a strong training ethic and works hard, so I naturally wanted to partner him! The circuit involved cardio such as: skipping, ladder sprints, sprint starts, spinning, toyota jumps, grid sprints, mattress sprints. The abs worked everything...which made me feel the familiar burn of hard work! Love it.

Footie & Yoga 

After a full day of class, Mr Dutchie had organised the weekly footsall (indoor football) game at the gym. Mr Sos and I were to play for 30 minutes, as a warm up then leave so we could get to Mornington to catch some Zen at Bikram Yoga, Meeting our other yogi, Holmie, there.

When I returned from Yoga I received a picture text from Winnie, and it made me laugh... You see, I quite often fart in the yoga room, and its normally due to my straining as I work hard to bend, stretch and...well, normally during "wind removing posture" funnily enough...still I thought I'd end with something light hearted... Goodnight.

Love my wife!

Day 29 - Back to Business!

Another Fresh New Day!

Tuesday Morning Chest

Bish, Bash, Bosh! Up and at 'em folks! That was how I approached today, and its been a pretty positive and invigorating day for me.

I could hear the storm flurry outside my window at 0500h, the rain tickling my window pane and the howling wind rustling the nearby trees - do you think that stopped me? Say What! Heck No! I have grown up with this, dark and stormy is my thing! 

I got to the gym early, after smashing down a warm lemon water and my usual morning thermogenic. My routine is getting more concrete as each week passes, but my training is ever changing and evolving! I decided to try a variation on chest today. I started with my usual warm up sets on the chest press and incline chest press machines, then headed over to the free weights to knock out a few sets of combined chest press and pectoral flyes. This was hard but achievable, so next session I'll chuck a few extra kilos into the mix!

After, I jumped onto the bench press, working in a different order (to fatigue on each) flat bench, inclined then declined. I found finishing with declined bench I fatigued much faster, but luckily Mr Nate was on hand to give me a generous spot!

I moved to the cable cross-overs, to deepen my pectoral work. I adjusted the height today to really tweak it - mid chest height, then low followed by high sets - to work the full range of motion. I used pretty low weights, (5kg on each side) but I was really focussing on slow movements and enhanced technique to feel the squeeze! I finished with a set of isolated, single arm chest press push outs using the cables, working on my standing core, posture and again squeezing the chest as I push out each rep!

A quick lower abdominal burnout and I was done, 60 minutes and my workout felt good!

Indoor Football

Tonight after an hour of good study, I got my butt down to the gym for my second session of the day; this time was indoor football (round ball) with the boys from the EOAC! All up I played for over 90 minutes, scored 5 goals, let a heap of goals in (as keeper) and got a really good cardio workout, and a whopping lump on my left shin to prove we play for keeps! A really good game, and sadly Mr Alexi from Timor will be leaving us, and taking his silky smooth ball skills with him. I shall miss his skilful plays, tricks and general love for the game.

A good victory and a well deserved dinner later, I'm getting ready to curl up and get some shut-eye!

Oh but before I do, I wanted you to feel as inspired as I do, so.....

Rain Drops & Motivation

I love the sound of water, the ocean, drips dripping, rainfall and sprinklers! So, this morning I woke to my favourite sound, which set my mood and got me to thinking about all things wet, moist and fresh!

And sing the song in your heart!

So, with that in mind I will see you all on the other side of rejuvenating sleep! Good night, and remember:

"Look Up. Get Up. Don't EVER Give Up!"

Days 13-16 Catch Up!

It feels like ages ago that I last wrote a blog post, but I assure you there's a reason for it! I've been crazy busy getting my training on, and my head clear. I've done so much in the last few days the next post (this one) is gonna be a lengthy one… I hope you enjoy!

Bye Bye Bicycle...

After Fridays triathlon training session, I decided it was time to take my amazing road bike back to the store in Melbourne for its first service, and I even ordered a new toy to go on my bike - a Garmin Cadence sensor and bike mount for the wrist unit of my Garmin 910XT. 

After, I wandered down to the Melbourne Convention Centre and entered the FILEX 2014 Convention - just for laughs and giggles!

FILEX 2014 - My Entire Weekend

Filex 2014 is the Australian Fitness and Health Expo. This event was not your standard body building event with crazy swollen people looking ugly. It was an absolutely refreshing experience, from the interesting talks from fitness professionals, to the mostly natural and glutard friendly supplements.

I was captivated, motivated and totally in awe of the guys and girls at this event. There were some very attractive, healthy looking people! Seriously, when you see people looking fantastic, you start to realise a few things. To truly attain a healthy lifestyle, and achieve your dream physique you really have to commit to making some pretty aggressive changes in your life. You can’t get a six pack eating cake. It’ll come as no surprise to you, that you need to put in the hard yards, blood sweat and tears.

“You don’t get what you wish for, You get what you work for”

Seeing the dedication and commitment to self-development in this way, really made me stop and think.

I've been dabbling for too long, and I've never really gotten going until recently - now there's no stopping me. I'm back into my training, and healthy living in a big way.

So here's a little review of the things I saw, did and listened to…plus some other cool stuff.

Supplements & Some...

Every colour, every taste, every type. The only ones of interest to me were pre, post and recovery; they needed one common thing - gluten free and clean as possible. I asked questions, learnt heaps about how and when to supplement training. I learned what products were good, awesome and completely clean. Very exciting. I took all the free samples of these types of sups and now I'm gonna see which ones work for me.

Filex 2014 Booty!

Altitude Training

I trained in a tent. It was at reduced pressure, in fact, simulating 13% Oxygen at 3800m! It was awesome. The intensified workout was a very cool experience, even if it did take me longer than every other person to feel the effects - my efficient heart and lungs kept me from feeling short of breath, and even slowed down the reduction in my oxygen content in my blood! My classic low heart rate and years spent scuba diving may be the reason… Its awesome and so am I!

Olympic Medal Winning Cyclists

I listened to Olympic Cycling Gold Cycling Medallist Anna Mears, and Shane Perkins, (Bronze Medallist), at London's Olympic games. They were talking about road safety and in particular adjusting the culture of motor vehicle drivers and bicycle riders - very interesting. Peter and Anna both gave me their tips for legs day training, and how to stay strong as a road bike rider. Plus it was pretty cool to see those medals up close.

Shane, Me, Anna

Michelle Bridges

OMG! What an inspiration. She's totally real, love her brutal-ness! She's awesome. I managed to be lucky enough to watch and listen to Michelle Bridges giving a motivational, talk about plans, getting started and how to be successful. She is really powerful. I even had the pleasure of being used by her! She called me up on stage to work through some methods she uses on her clients and for Biggest Loser. This involved me spending the next 5-10 minutes boxing with her behind the focus pads. She even commented about my speed and power! We discussed things like time, plans, actioning plans and success tips to keep you on track. She's very charismatic in person, and I believe she was delivering a very important message, which coincidentally is her training motto:

JFDI : "Just Frickin' Do It!" 

After her presentation, I had a chat with her and it seemed to turn a key inside my head, she unlocked a side to me that is now constantly driven and motivated, almost a perpetual motivation and thats pretty cool.

Michelle, Mish to her friends, gave me a set of boxing gloves and focus pads, which was awesome. I wanted a new set to train in - Yay! I don't need to buy any!

Mish & Me!

Training

So, all in a day, how much cardio and training can I achieve…. Well. I got involved in the newest Les Mills Body Combat class - which was awesome, really well designed class! I then did a spot of reaction training, essentially a frame with flashing push buttons.. I had a video of that, but its on Instagram now.

After a few more crazy pre / post workout drinks I was ready to train some more! I got asked to do a short session on a new type of spin bike, which was known as the Watt Bike Pro. It was just like riding a real roadie, but indoors! It also offered inbuilt dynamic simulation of what your legs are doing in terms of how you're pedalling etc. It was very comfortable and easy to use. Shame the RAN doesn't have these yet!!

Fitness Model Heaven

The pictures speak for themselves. But I do have to say that these women are very fit, very dedicated to be professional fitness models and they look great, but they train hard with many sacrifices. What could you sacrifice to make way for realising your dreams?

Juliana Daniell, with message for Winnie!

Michelle Lewin, adorable and tiny…but totally fit!

Monday: Consistency, Consistency, Consistency!

Chest Smash with Mr P - well I got up nice and early, but it felt so easy to Just Frickin' Do It! and yes I just stole Mish's motto…  I trained my butt off - well, my chest actually - chest day is always hard, but training with Mr P always pushes me a touch further. Since the clocks went back I've not been able to photograph the sunrises, and I believe its harder emotionally to get out of bed in the dark. I bounced outta bed and on monday and I felt good all day, and a whole lot less tired. I'm pushing much harder than normal, I've realised a new gear and I'm really cranking it!

Kickbox Circuit Videos

So here's a sample of Monday's kickboxing circuit, I didn't video the med-ball work out, but here's a snippet of my level of intensity.

Quick Round of Shadow Boxing:

Skipping and some...

A Sample Bag Workout.

JFDI - that's her motto: "Just Frickin' Do It!" 

After a good solid hour on the bags, skipping, push-ups, med-ball catches, bounces and those combined with squats. I also, as you can see, did some shadow boxing and by the end of it…. I was smashed, fully blown out…

….So, I decided to go for a 1km swim. The purpose was to get a good cardio burnout and practice my tumble turns at both ends! I did that and it only took 25 minutes, so I'm definitely getting better!

Tuesday, Big Arms & Abs, Big Cardio…

So almost up to date! Tuesday, my biggest day of the week (in terms of training). I go to the gym first thing, then stay there for mandatory physical training with the RAN PTIs, then I usually go again later in the day to play some indoor footie with a few of the peeps from my engineering classes. I then top my day off with a spot of Bikram Yoga.

Gym this morning was my biggest Arms and Abdominals session yet. I really pushed myself and it felt really good! I'm not noticing too much physical change at the moment, but I'm seeing, feeling and hearing (in my own voice and from others) that my emotional/psychological side has been gone! I think  big change is here to stay!

Indoor Football & Bikram Yoga

So after class before yoga, I head to play indoor football (football) with the gang! Normally just after half time, I sub out and head to Yoga. Today Soz was driving and when we got there it was pretty busy, and humid! I have to say, my legs weren't happy. I pulled out of a few postures, but kept trying at least, Warrior Spirit.

My Breakfast Today - Chia Pudding with fresh berries