Preparation is Key

I find another common issue is preparation especially in regards to meals. Preparation is key whether it be your schedule or what you plan to cook and eat, when you exercise and when you have some 'me' time. Spend that extra hour or two a week planning your meals, go to the markets, get your hands on some fresh produce and get rid of your process food in the pantry. This is such a vital part to living healthy.

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."

Benjamin Franklin

The year goes very quickly, let alone the day; with a blink of an eye, we're already in August. No matter what your goals are in life or work, you must seize the day. Life is too short to be sitting around wondering and wishing. No one ever got any results wishing and wondering so get of your arse and take some responsibility for your own health. 

Get cracking and start planning!

Train Hard, Eat Well, Rest Up

Change

Have you ever wondered how you got the way you are?

Is this something that concerns you?

What have you done in the last day, week, year about it?

A handful of you are struggling to get into a good routine, to start looking after yourself, to put you first and start taking action. 'Exercising on a regular basis is too hard', 'Cooking for one is too hard', 'I don't know what to cook', 'Work is too busy', 'I just can't be bothered'.

These are some reasons or what I call excuses to being proactive about changing your life. YOU are the only person that can change the way you are. No one said change is easy, if you don't like change or don't know how to deal with change, then go grab yourself 'Who moved my Cheese' by Dr Spencer Johnson. Change is what will give you results to some degree (this will depend on what changes are made of course!). If you keep doing exactly the same thing day in day out, how then do you expect anything different? Whether it be food or exercise, you can't expect that one day of change or a week to change what you have done your whole life do you? Isn't that being a little unrealistic to think that 2-4 weeks will undo all the damage you may have caused your health or life? 

Be patient, work hard, introduce new positive habits, one at a time if that's what works for you. No matter what the method is, you must change what you do now to change the outcome for later.

Remember, your body needs change and variety, once your body gets used to what it needs to do, it will choose the most efficient way to do it with minimal energy expenditure. So if you are wondering why your 5 days a week, 20 - 30mins on the cross trainer hasn't changed your body, I can tell you why...

Train Hard, Eat Well, Rest Up

It's June already!

Hi Guys,

Can you believe it's June already and winter has hit us hard this year, with some horrible weather thus far! But don't be despair, this is probably the best time to hit the gym and do a workout. While Summer looks long way away, I'm sure we were all thinking the same thing about Winter during Jan and Feb! So it's the perfect time to get indoors and do some training in your lunch times and keep chipping away for the summer and lifetime body that you want! Get your friends in, do some 2-on-1 training or get them to join the group training. Take charge of your schedule and your life. Each day is important!

Be Proactive, Not Reactive!

I'm also so very proud to welcome on board to the team, Narelle, Agata, Maria, Jess and potentially even other new clients looking for some help to find a balanced healthy routine. Some of these guys have been training on their own or just found themselves in a little bit of a 'hole' and needed a helping hand to re-ignite their training and eating and two of these guys in particular are taking on the '84 Day Challenge' so good luck girls! Hard work will pay off!

I've been doing a bit of studying the last few weeks in particular and have come across quite a few great topics and information that I will be hoping to share with you all in the next few weeks. Most of these will be in regards to looking at a healthy lifestyle in a more holistic view. Getting the body and mind right for the real change.

Remember if you aren't mind ready, your body won't be either. Will power is extremely strong and staying focused and committed will provide results. 

As much as we need routine and habit with our training, if work or something else in your life is stressing you out and if you are one who doesn't like change in those aspects of your life. Then grab 'Who moved my cheese'. a simple book to read but a great way to get you thinking of change as a good thing, rather than to resist it. Everything changes, they change for a reason. You just have to learn how to react to it and deal with it.

'Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it' Dennis P Kimbro

Watch this space for more informative blogs!

Train Hard, Eat Well, Rest Up

Commit. Stay Committed

Hi Team,

Welcome on board, Tammy & Suzanne! Another two bright and eager members ready to work hard and see results. These ladies have already been smashing it out on the gym floor with myself and feeling the effects while having fun. So welcome to the team. Check out the website/blogs and facebook page once in a while to see what's happening and what's new.

Welcome back Stephanie her lovely sunny holiday and have fun and a safe trip/holiday to Belinda! We miss you Gina as you are away on your long break as well!

Group Sessions

These have been up and running again and have been quite hit. Lots of high intensity work in that 30mins in a fun, exciting yet challenging environment.  

So keep an eye out on these and join in the fun!

Active Feet Sale

If you have had your shoes for over 6 months, tend to use them quite a bit on a daily basis, I would suggest you look into getting a new pair. Remember, they are what supports your feet and thus your body, if you do quite of bit of high intensity work on them and often, then it's definitely time to change after 6 months to a year. You will feel amazing in newly fitted shoes. Active feet are great as they will fit you properly (better than Athletic Foot) as they are generally podiatrist and not just a sales person reeling off the basic stuff they've learned from a handout.

So make use of the 20% off and go in store to see what you find. 

Amazing transformations

Congrats to some of the guys on again doing some great training with me and on their own. We are seeing maintainable results and lifestyle changes in many of you, Trudi, Andrew M, Renee, Aleana, Marg, Agata, Tamie. Amazing transformations but there is still work to do. No stopping until we reach our goals! But it is great to see some of you in training on your own and really taking on board the suggestions. Keep up the fantastic work, I'm extremely proud of you all.

For those who are still finding it the changes are just not there - ask yourself, have you really done everything you can to make get the changes and results you want? Or are you still catching yourself out making up excuses, ending the week wishing you had done better and starting the week promising the world? Commit. Stay Committed.

Speak to me when you are serious about making those changes; talk to some of the guys currently getting results, they know it all pays off when you put the hard yard.

That's all folks, have a wonderful weekend! Keep up the great work.

Train Hard, Eat Well, Rest Up

Winter and Stress

Hi Team,

Welcome on board, Jake, Carmel, Aleana and Marg! Not all of you are joining the crew at the city club instead, utilising my skills outside of that Corporate space which has been fun and exciting! Results are already appearing so keep up the great work!

Hope everyone had a great Easter Break!!

Group Sessions

We've had a bit of a break from these but these will soon start again in the next few weeks. So keep your eyes out for the session times!

 

84 Day Challenge

Are you really ready too change? Changing needs to be both a mental and physical event. You can't have one without the other. There are a few of you making that slow transition, changing your lifestyle to a better one, learning new things about the food you eat. Winter is closing in, weather is starting to get cold. Less outdoor sunshine and drinking. Let's make the most of the next few months to get you into a new routine ready for summer. Don't start when Summer hits! By then it's too late. 

If you are mentally ready for the change and want to see more physical change, let me know. We can get you started on the 84 Day challenge. It's not for the faint hearted. You must be in that right head space to get the most out of it. R U Ready?

Stress makes you FAT!

Have you been stretching, have you been looking after yourself? Are you feeling stressed?

Stress Makes you Fat!!!

When we are frightened, angry or worried our bodies become flooded with adrenaline and a stress hormone called cortisol. The adrenaline keeps us alert and focused while the cortisol prepares us for the 'fight or flight' mode. Cortisol helps the body release sugar into the bloodstream for instant energy, for us to prepare for a fight or to flee a certain situation. This is quite affective back in the old days when we were cavemen/women. But modern times, we don't need necessarily need to fight or flight, we generally get stressed, angry etc. and still have to sit at our desk and keep working. The stress we place ourselves in can cause you to get fat, wears out your immune system thus increase your risk to illness. As you don't need to physically move, thus not using these fat storing hormones. So these hormones and the sugar released into your bloodstream just floats around and eventually end up as fat on your stomach and waist. The bad thing is, they make you crave even more sugar!


That's why when you go on a relaxing holiday, a real relaxing holiday not one where you attempt to see everything tourist attraction and wear yourself out. You may not have changed much in your diet but by being away from the stress, you may actually find yourself losing a few kilos!


You should also try and stay away from food such as sweets, processed and junk food, coffee and alcohol as these are also stress inducing foods. Food you should try and have more off are berries, green vegetables, turkey, sweet potatoes, avocados, nuts and supplements such as barley grass, spirulina and vital greens.


Try and ensure you get some time to yourself on a daily basis, whether it be 5mins at the start or/and of the day.
Try and have a day on the weekends where you're not rushing around trying to attend all events.
If work is becoming not so enjoyable, look for new challenges or new roles. Ask for help. We spend 40 - 60hours at work each week, you'd hope you at least enjoy some aspect of your work!

Change in weather

Please look after yourselves as the weather changes, take Zinc and Vitamin C, water and lots of rest to help you fight off the germs. Remember healthy eating to help build a healthy and strong body. This will mean less sickness and time off doing what you love. So look after yourself and make the good choices now that Easter is over!

 

That's all folks, have a wonderful weekend! Keep up the great work.

Train Hard, Eat Well, Rest Up

Food for thought

Plan ahead, whether it be your food for the week or training for the week. Look at the bigger picture. If you only decide on the day, you will most likely go for the easy options. If you can sit down for 30mins over the weekend and plan your meals and training, you will find it easier, if it means you plan for 2-4 weeks ahead and even it's only a week's meal plan with days swapped for the different weeks and increasing the weight/intensity for training then at least you have that planned and can stick to it.

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail"

Remember that one fast food meal can make a huge difference to your diet, it can throw your taste buds off and your mind set. Be prepared. You're health is as important as your work if not more. You only get one body, so look after it. Don't wait until you realise you're not happy with it or that you are unwell before you doing exercise and eating well. Just because you're feeling ok now doesn't mean there are no long term effects further down the track.

"Be Proactive, not reactive"

Set good examples for your family, lead by example. Education is the key.


Goal setting
Set yourself a goal or a few. Some long term goals and break it down to smaller milestones to help you get there. Work towards these goals. Make these goals attainable and achievable yet challenging. Be realistic and allow yourself to adjust when needed if life throws something your way you weren't expecting. Something measurable is always good, as you can track it. If you want a nice body, what does that mean? What exactly does a nice body mean to you? How can we measure this?


Once you hit those goals, start thinking of new goals. You are more motivated when you are working towards something. When you can see the finish line. Very much like other aspects of life and work.


Making every workout count
A 10min workout in reality isn't going to really burn as much calories or have that 'afterburn' effect then a longer session. In saying that, depending on your goals, most people don't need to train more than an hour per session (unless you plan to run a marathon!).


The best way is to ensure that every session you have, you are making the most of it. For short sessions, make sure the intensity is high for most of the session but listen to your body for those who maybe injured or pregnant.


I've had many clients realise what they thought was a hard session on their own was no where as hard as it could have been. Some have really seen the benefits of training with a trainer in comparison to training on their own. For some of you, it may be better training either with a trainer or a training partner. So get onto it!


Food for thought:
If you keep doing the same thing, how can you expect change to occur.


Remember to...
Be honest
Work hard
Don't give up


Train Hard, Eat Well, Rest Up

My Poor Devils....

Hi all,

My Devils (Women's footy team) are trying to find a home ground....

Please comment and post your views and support us!

Train Hard, Eat Well, Rest Up

Festive Challenge Winner

And the winner is.... Liz Y

Congratulations to everyone that participated. All made some change to your body, mostly in a positive way. It was a close call but based on the changes and photos, Liz made the most positive changes in that period even illness didn't get in her way!

I'll be in contact with you in regards to your sessions!

Stay tuned for more competitions!

A short but great read: Toot your own horn once in a while

Train Hard, Eat Well, Rest Up

Stretches and New Members

Hi Team,

Welcome on board, Jeff, Frances, Agata, Michelle and Melissa! Hope you enjoy the training and utilize the service as much as the rest of the crew! We also have some new members to welcome to the Hopscotch Team, Renee, who currently plays basketball with me and also Melissa who I play AFL football with. Welcome ladies to the team, hope you are enjoying the training and getting the results you're after!

Group Sessions

These are going well, there are currently a session on Thursdays 7:30 - 8am and a session on Friday 7:30-8am. Would love to see more of you trying these out. The girls that have been training are loving these. The sessions will run depending on numbers so please let me know if you are attending. I will confirm if the sessions go ahead or are cancelled.

Festive Challenge

Winner/s will be announced early next week. The results have been pretty good. Keep up the great work!

Hope you all got something out of the Portion Size Blog last time and trying to apply that to your current eating habits! Remember, if you need help with these, don't be afraid to ask for help! That's what I'm here for.

Stretches

Whether you're training more or just working heaps, many of you come to me with issues around the shoulders, neck and 'arms' (tightness in the chest) mainly due to stress and the way you sit all day. There's also that issue with tight ITB as well as weak glutes!

So from the request of many, I have found to pretty decent Stretch sites which I think you should all check out. Print them out and stick them to your desk so if you ever need a stretch for any reason at any time, you can do them!

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/rehabilitation-exercises/stretching-exercises

or

http://www.mydr.com.au/sports-fitness/stretching-an-illustrated-guide

If you have any issues understanding them, please let me know and I'll help you out. Keep watching this space as I'll be getting stretches and foam rolling techniques up on the site.

Amazing body changes

I have to say, there have been some extraordinary lifestyle changes in particular with a two of my clients, Andrew M and Renee. They have really tried to overhaul their lifestyles to get themselves to a healthier them. And well done as your hard work hasn't gone unnoticed!

That's all folks, have a wonderful weekend! Keep up the great work.

Train Hard, Eat Well, Rest Up 

Febfast & Portion Size

Hi Team,

Welcome on board, Beth & Rob! Two-on-one training is a great way to reduce cost but to still get that extra push you don't get from yourselves and to have that guidance.

FebFast is here.... so far a handful of people have decided on what they will be giving up for the month. Remember, try and give up something you know that isn't that great for your body, whether it is alcohol, chocolate, sugar etc. Have a look at www.febfast.org.au to get information on the background and why we are doing it. It would be good if we can raise just a little bit of money towards the great cause! 

Festive Challenge - We are nearly there, the challengers are now weighing in to see how they went over the festive season and to see if they have made those changes they wished. Remember, there's no point looking back and wishing you had done more. 

Carpe Diem - Seize the day

Portion Size

 I had an interesting conversation with a client yesterday, she mentioned how changing her portion size made such a change to her diet and her body. She spent a few days measuring/weighing her food to get an understanding on what is meant but a serving and by doing so she was able to make a real change to her food/diet.

Things to think about:

1. Learn to read food/packaging Labels

2. Spend some time to measuring/weighing your meat/food. As much as I don't want you to be anal about the exact food size, by doing that for a few days, you'll be able to look at a piece of meat and realise how big it is and whether it's the right size for you. Most of you will be surprised that you're eating more than one serving at one sitting which is another reason the weight is so much harder to loose. Remember even if it is a salad, you still need to think about the portion size!

3. Use smaller plates

4. Don't pile the food up like a mountain

Remember, if you need help with your eating, don't hesitate to ask for help!

Group Sessions

Been a few weeks since we first started these sessions and so far they have been well received and all those that have been dedicated to these have really enjoyed the sessions. It's a great way to save some money but still work hard if you can't afford one-on-one or two-on-one training. % awesome ladies smashed it out for an hour today, well done team! Keep an eye out on this growing space!

That's all folks, have a wonderful weekend!

Train Hard, Eat Well, Rest Up 

Boosting your immune system

Feeling like you're getting sick... a cold or cough about to come on... try and look after yourself by getting lots of sleep/rest, lots of water and try ensuring you're having the following!

Foods to eat to help boost your immune system:

1. Vitamin C

2. Vitamin E

3. Zinc

4. Garlic

5. Selenium

6. Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Check out this website: 8 Foods that Boost Immunity

Other great foods:

1. Green leafy vegetables (especially the dark green ones like spinach, broccoli)

2. dark colored berries

Avoid the following:

1. Processed foods as much as possible

2. Fast foods 

3. High fat in diet 

4. Sugar and your immune system – High sugar intake feeds Candida Albicans, and that in turn has an effect on your immune systems

5. Coffee, Frequent alcohol, and soft drinks.  

6. AND STRESS!!

Train Hard, Eat Well, Rest Up

New Year, New Goals, New Achievements!

Hi team,

Happy New Year! Hope you have all had a good break and refreshed for a new 2012 start!
 

Welcome on board, Trudi! Hopefully the team will grow in the new year!

So at the end of 2011, I set you guys a challenge - Festive Season, a handful of brave souls (6 ladies to be exact) decided to take on this challenge and fight their way to win themselves free PT sessions. Good luck to these ladies, as there is about 3 more weeks to go before we find our winner!

With a new year, we want to set new goals, it would be great if all of you have a think about these and return a list with time frames before end of Jan2012. We will then review and ensure they are realistic based on your situation then work hard towards them!

Just a few quick reminders, an older blog (last blog in 2011) has information about the Refer a Friend promotion. so check that out.

I am starting with one client, helping them clean their pantry. This will be a service available if you are in need of some advice and help. Again, send me an email if you are interested. Remember food is such an important part of the overall picture, we get that right and we are 70% there!

 

Keep up the great work team! Don't forget to to like the Hopscotch Fitness Facebook Page! we're on a measly 21, let's try and get that number up to 50 before the end of the year!


Very excited about the new year! Look forward to training hard and achieving more goals!




Train Hard, Eat Well, Rest Up