Moving it Monday ...

As a Personal Trainer I most certainly advocate including exercise as part of your regular health and fitness routine.  I'm even going to suggest that maybe you look at employing the services of a Personal Trainer! Well, duh!

So it should really come as no surprise when I tell my clients and my potential clients that I, myself have a personal trainer also.  But it does.  The most common response would be "Oh really? Why would YOU need a PT .. you can do it all yourself. "

Why, yes, yes I can plan my program and train myself.  But there are days when I just don't feel the urge to push myself as hard as I could ... or should.

Like today's training session for example.  Because of the "issue" I have with my arm at the moment I am limited in what I can do, so leg strength has been a focus in our last few sessions.  Today we thought we would shake it up and did a more cardio focused session.  And no, I probably would not have put myself through that session today by myself .. I was sucking in the big ones after the warm up! 
Now, I'm feeling pretty happy that I got out there and worked hard!  Maybe just to make up for some treats over the weekend a little bit ...

Rehydration required!!

The reasons I have a PT are just the same as why anyone else would benefit from having a PT ...

Someone to push me and challenge me ...
Someone I need to be accountable to and make sure I turn up to my appointment
Someone to think for me ... I just do what they tell me to do and I don't have to think about what is next
Someone to make sure my technique is spot on!

What do I love most about having a PT ... I know that I have worked hard, put in a decent effort and have definitely had a quality session!  Oh and I feel pretty darn good after a kick arse session!

Do you have a PT? 

What do you expect from your PT?

What do you love the most about training with a PT?

Today's Training Tips .. plus a giveaway!!

Are you bored with your current training? 

Have you tried interval training?  It's not just for elite athletes or serious gym junkies.  Everyone can benefit from including interval training into their regular training schedule.

Interval training is usually described as short, intense bursts of activity follow by a slow, or slower recovery interval repeated throughout one training session.  It sounds scary, sometimes it is, but mostly it's not too bad depending on how hard you plan on pushing yourself.

You can use interval training for almost all exercise but it is probably most commonly known for it's inclusion in all running programs.  I have certainly included interval training any time I have trained for the half marathons and I definitely notice a difference in my running especially when I do this type of training consistently.  I'm probably a bit of a sucker for punishment but I quite like interval training!  It's hard and fast and it gets results .. put simply, I work hard then I'm finished in half the amount of time!

My favourite types of interval training are hill sprints, sprint repeats or a fast blast in the gym with weights, circuit training.  You can even incorporate interval training into your regular walking routine by including jog intervals or fast ( or faster ) walking.

Why include Interval Training?

* Improves fitness and endurance
* Efficient .. an interval training session does not need to be a long session.  30 - 40 minutes is more than enough if you are working hard enough
* A great way to burn fat!
* You can burn calories for hours after training as you pay back your "oxygen debt".  You know, you were seriously huffing and puffing during your interval training session!
* An excellent way to stop the boredom of your training routine!
* Will help you get faster at running, or even build up to running

You already do interval training?  What can you do to change it up a bit?

* Change the intensity of your intervals .. speed up
* Vary the duration of the interval .. make the intervals longer / shorter
* Vary the duration of your rest interval .. make it shorter
* Change the reps of the exercise that you are doing in the interval

A great way to keep an eye on how your fitness is progressing is with a Heart Rate Monitor.  And no they are not just for the elite athletes.  They can be a really handy little tool to track your progress.


Now for the exciting part ... I have a Heart Rate Monitor to give away!  Thanks to the people at Australian Fitness Network.  Australian Fitness Network is the leading source of information, education and events in the fitness industry. Having trained thousands of Personal Trainers and Instructors since it's inception in 1987, Network is widely regarded as the leader in personal trainer courses in Australia. 

Polar FT4M (in orange) Heart Rate Monitor (RRP $129)

 

 

What it does ..

 

* Shows when you're improving your fitness based on your heart rate

 

* Displays calories burned ( YAY!! )

 

* Comes with comfortable textile transmitter and coded heart rate transmission to avoid cross talk ( you won't get the person's HR on the tready next to you! )

 

 

I know that you can't wait to enter this competition .. So here's what you need to do to enter ..

 

*  Leave a comment on this post letting me know whether or not you use / have used a HRM.  If you are posting anonymously please leave me some details so that I can get in contact with you if you win.
 

Additional entries ..
 

* Head on over to Fit Mum's facebook page to "like" it and share with your friends. Let me know in your comments. 
* Tweet about the giveaway .. "follow @Fit_Mum and RT for your chance to win a Polar HRM valued at $129! @ozfitnetwork  www.fitmumsblog.blogspot.com.au #giveaway"

And the fine print ...
This competition is hosted by fitmumsblog.blogspot.com.au and the prize is one Polar F4 Heart Rate Monitor valued at $129.  The prize has been donated by Australian Fitness Network.  The competition opens 21/09/12 and closes 12am 28/09/12 .  The winner will be drawn 28/09/12 at random with the help of random.org and will be notified by email as soon as possible after the draw.  The prize will be posted to the winner within 21 days.  The competition is open to entrants with an Australian address only.  I was provided with a complimentary HRM.  Should the winner not contact me within 48 hours the prize will be forfeited and re-drawn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Training update .. Recovery week

This week has been marginally better than last week.  I am not curled up in a ball, so that's a start!
After last week's exhaustion, stress, muscle soreness, I've decided that this week should be a recovery week.  I've taken it a bit easy this week .. hence, my weekly challenge ... flexibility and relaxing!

This week's training looked like this

Monday          PT Session .. 30 minutes
                        Usual PT strength session .. I'm not giving this one up because it's so important
                        to keep building.  To fit in with my recovery weeks we are going to vary the intensity
                        of my training ... keeping to some garden variety stuff

Tuesday         Walk .. hills .. 45 minutes
                        Instead of our usual run .. recovery dictates that I do something a little less strenuous
                        than running .. we walked .. hills .. so I felt like I actually did some work!

Wednesday   First day of my weekly challenge to incorporate more flexibility, relaxing
                        Yoga .. 15 minutes .. not much I know but this is just the start

Thursday        To be honest I'm not feeling super motivated today .. a bit, well, blah ...

Friday             Yoga .. 20 minutes
                        Again, not feeling super motivated but I promised myself I would do something
                        and you know what, I felt pretty good after I finished!  Blood pumping and all! 

Saturday /       Busy weekend is on the cards in my house .. I think the pace that I'm going to
Sunday            have to do the housework is going to give me a decent workout anyway!
                         Heading down the coast on Sunday, so we might even get a run around on the beach
                         with the kids .. maybe a bit of beach soccer!!

I think this recovery week is just what was needed to keep me going and keep me strong.  I'm going to get into next week with a new training routine knowing that my body is rested and ready to go!

Do you factor in a recovery week on a regular basis?  Sometimes it's hard to practice what you preach but it really is something that we all should do so that we can be the best we can be .. a chance to catch up with ourselves and re-evaluate what's happening.

I hope everyone has had a great week training!

Stay focused, stay strong

Fit Mum x

 

Last week's workout wrap up ...

OK .. I'm a few days late .. again time seems to have buzzed by on the weekend and I'm sure I missed some of it ...

Last week was a bit hit and miss with training, which I am a bit disappointed about, but as I mentioned in my last post, I listen to my body a lot more these days and this last week it was telling me to STOP!!

I still managed a few training sessions, however they may not have all been quality, which is what disappoints me the most.

Monday          PT Session .. these just don't get any easier, that's all I can say except that
                        I felt this session for the next 3 days ...
                        30 mins
                        Again, I'm out there losing my voice in the cold night training the girls at Netball
                        only 2 more games until the end of the season .. and just when they are starting
                        to pull it all together!

Tuesday         I'm in a world of hurt ... and I'm exhausted ... like I can't keep my eyes open
                        Thank goodness there was time for a half hour nanna nap today
                        Still, sense evades me and I join the girls for a 5km run while Miss 9 is at physie
                        I know .. I felt every step of this run don't worry!  Now what time is bed time?

Wednesday   Supposed to run at lunch time, however my partners had to pull the pin for one
                        reason or another ... I'm still that completely exhausted that I'm taking this as a
                        sign and I'm resting my poor battered mind and body

Thursday        Usually a rest day ... I did plan on running with Baxter, however after a minor
                       concerning "emergency" in our street I decided against it ...
                       Did I mention I wasn't entirely devastated about this occurrence .. still haven't
                       caught up with myself ... 

Friday            One of my running partners came over and we ran the bush trail at lunch time.
                       Apart from the fact that my hamstrings and calves seized at every step and I 
                       am still exhausted, it was great to run the track with someone and our time was
                       around the same as my usual time.

Saturday /     The usual run around with the kids and housecleaning ... I spent heaps of time in
Sunday          the kitchen, which I love!  


It's not quite the training routine that I had in mind for the week but I guess my body had different ideas and I just had to listen.  The coming week is going to be different.  I'm not going to change my training too much and hope that last week was just a catch up week.

Just a quick mention about my challenge to myself last week .. writing everything in my food diary ... I've had mixed success ... I have a notebook ... and I did think about writing in it ...
Besides, after the things I cooked over the weekend for dinner and dessert, my notebook would have run away and hidden ... it's Monday tomorrow and there's still a few days left for me to actually succeed and get into a routine with recording my food. 

I hope that everyone else has had a great week and weekend! See you all next week!

Stay focused,  Stay strong

Fit Mum x

Weekly workout 25 July - 31 July ...

And so I have made it to the end of another week!  I followed pretty much the same training routine that I have followed for the last 2 weeks.  I increased the intensity just a little bit in two of the workouts.  I'm really taking it easy and not increasing the intensity or changing the workouts drastically as I am completely focussed on staying healthy and not running myself down too much.  It seems to be working!

Monday             Regular PT strength session

                        Nothing spectacular to report other than I’m loving it! Strength

                        training is so empowering!

                        30 minutes

                        Trained the girls at netball again tonight so I don’t stiffen up in

                        the cold night air …

Tuesday           Instead of my usual walk with Baxter, I changed this to a run and

                       Clocked 5.5km on the hill trail near our house

                       Unreal run .. absolutely loved this one .. I had to write it down here ...  

                       40 minutes .. hilly trail

Wednesday      Our usual mid week run / walk intervals

                       The weather was beautiful and the company again was great!

                       6km .. 46 minutes

Thursday         Rest day

Friday             Weight training circuit .. love this one!

                       I increased the intensity of a few of the exercises which certainly

                       had my heart rate up there

                       35 minutes ( includes warm up and warm down )

Saturday /      I’m going to have the weekend off again, which really seems to be

Sunday            working for me at the moment with things so busy with kids

                       sport. 

                       It’s also my mum’s birthday this weekend, so we are heading up the

                       coast for a visit!  Pretty excited about this one!

I think I’m going to keep at this routine for the next few weeks and then I’m going

to revisit my training and change it up.  Constantly challenging the body is the way

to get stronger and make changes and improvements.  I'm still thinking about whether

or not I am going to set some goals with my training .. here's some goal setting info ...

I am proud to say that I have had much more success on the diet front this week.

I have been more focused and have got myself organised and in routine which is

making it much easier for me to keep my diet clean and full of nutritious,

healthy meals .. well except for the white Tim Tam that I’m going to have for

dessert tonight!

Until next week’s update …

Stay focused,  Stay strong

Fit Mum x

This week's workout ...

This week seems to have just flown by!  I’m feeling the effects of having hubby away all week.  If only all the extra balancing and juggling was improving my core strength!!

I’ve made sure though that I’ve kept my training a priority and I’ve stayed on track.  This week looked like this …

Monday         PT session .. Whole body strength training again with some seriously nasty

                    negatives on the bench press.

                    30 minutes

                    Coached the girls at netball training tonight too .. glad I didn’t have to do

                    too much passing!

Tuesday        Baxter needed a walk and I was dog sitting the in laws poodle so we all

                    headed off for a jog / walk through the bush.  Bax was leading the way

                    but we had to slow down a bit as poor Honey couldn’t quite keep up. 

                    She spent most of her time under my feet .. again the balancing act!

                    35 minutes

                      

Wednesday   Cardio .. Jog / Run / Walk .. Nice easy run with a friend who is building up

                    her running outdoors.  We added in a few tempo spurts along the way just

                    to spice it up!

                    45 minutes

Thursday      Rest day

Friday          PT session .. cardio / body weight circuit .. great session!  Excellent way to

                    spend a few calories!  That could negate the mini magnum I had for dessert

                    last night …

                    40 minutes

Saturday /

Sunday         This weekend I plan on catching up on the housework and spending some

                    time with the hubby and kids.  I’m  not planning any extra training, so if I

                    squeeze in a walk or run that’s going to be a bonus this week!

Overall, I’m pretty happy with my training this week.  I mentioned last week I should possibly give my diet a bit more consideration … I didn’t do that this week .. ooops!  I will do that soon .. no, I really mean it!

I hope that everyone’s training this week has been great and you have smashed out some sessions that are going to get you closer to your goals!

Stay focused,  Stay strong

Fit Mum x

The week that was ...

I've been feeling a little lost the last week or so after the Half Marathon so in an effort to work out what my new goal will be I thought I would share the training I've been doing each week. 

This week   11 July - 17 July

Monday       PT Session

                 30 minutes

         Back to full body strength training .. yay!! Really enjoyed,

         however my legs were not so fussed on the increased weights

         and intensity!

Tuesday       Cardio .. Brisk hill walk on the treadmill with a little bit of
                  jogging
                  30 minutes
                  Legs were REALLY feeling yesterday's session so I kept it basic.

Wednesday  Cardio .. Run outdoors. 
                  50 minutes
                  Ran with a friend who is wanting to build up her running
                  outdoors so we took it nice and easy run 3min / walk 2min.  
                  It was so enjoyable not to feel any training pressure!

Thursday      Rest day

Friday          Weights circuit
                  30 minutes
                  My own version of the 300 workout .. it still gets the heart
                  pumping and the muscles working!  Yep, the deadlifts worked
                  this week!

Saturday /
Sunday        I've decided at the moment not to train over the weekend.
                  Things are really busy with the family and I want to take some
                  time to get a little extra rest!  Besides, someone has to clean
                  the house ...
                  I'm sure this will change soon as I am kind of missing my long
                  weekend run!

I'm feeling really good with the training I've done so far this week.  I will definately be building on this over the next few weeks and I know I'll find what I'm looking for from a training perspective. 
Next up, I think I might take another look at my diet .. it appears to have taken a turn for the worse over the last week ...

Stay focused,  Stay strong

Fit Mum x