This is an archived page. Please click here to return to the current page

I have been "under height" for my weight most of my adult life. The problem is of course, I would have to be 6'2" for it to work. My choice, no-one forced me to eat anything. Everything I ate and drank, I did because I wanted to. I didn't have a medical condition that meant that I couldn't process the stuff properly. I wasn't genetically predisposed to being overweight - I just was.

The start of 2006 I decided enough was enough. I changed gym's - yes I had been an active member of a large multi-national organisation for a couple of years. Well when I say "active" I used to go 3-4 times a week just like "they" say you should. Unfortunately what "they" don't say is - you actually need to raise your heart rate for most (if not all of that time) for it to make any difference.  You need to sweat and you need to work hard and persevere. Unfortunately the gym I chose to frequent didn't monitor your progress - far too many people I suppose. I was a faceless figure in a pair of daggy sweat pants doing just enough to burn off the food I consumed. Which suited them down to the ground. To them I was the perfect gym go-er, pay your money, turn up or not, they didn't care one way or the other. But what really p***** me off was, that after two years they still didn't know my name. So when I went in to cancel my membership they had to ask me who I was so they could find me on their system.

One of the first things I liked when I went to the new gym was the simple fact that the personal trainers, and the owner knew everyone. Which was one of the reasons I paid for the entire year up front. But what really made the decision easy was the fact that the new gym makes you accountable for your actions. They give you a program and they expect you to do it. Don't do the work, they know. Not only are they wandering around the gym all day checking to make sure you're not damaging yourself, but they monitor your progress. Every 24 sessions they chart your commitment to yourself.

But for me, the important part of setting my first goals, were not directly related to my size or my weighty problem. My first goal, and the single driving force behind my decision to change was - I wanted to feel good in my own skin. I wanted the outer part of me, that part of me that is judged by family, friend and passerby to be a true reflection of the person on the inside. The trouble is, after years of putting myself down, and telling myself that I wasn't good enough, finding that person I used to be was going to be hard.

My first assessment came around far too soon - had I done enough? Was I going to fail the test?

Today was more cardio. But rather than head over to the gym to pound the treadmill., I opted for tarmac. Not quite sure how my legs/knee and foot will last - but I will give it a go. (I have a stretched tendon in the arch of my right foot - ouch!!, and an old injury in the left knee - who said keeping fit was easy !!)

I am not yet fit enough to run for 30 minutes in one go, so I walked for a minute and ran for a minute...marking time with a 1 and 2 and 3 and ...roughly the same pace as a second per double step. A couple of things I noticed...I am considerably fitter than I was even a couple of weeks ago. I have noticed that the bit just above my waistline - at the back no longer moves when I run...ok wobbles. So definite progress. I have never carried weight (fat) on my back - so it disgusted me to feel the sub-cuteanous fat rolling under my fingers. But it is now reducing and with it, my ability to run has improved - considerably.

So I ran/walked for 35 minutes, and raced my son the last 200 metres - he cheated he was on a scooter - but it was a close run thing. But then I had to follow it with 3 x 20 reps of 3 different ab crunches and boy do the muscles hurt - which probably means that something is working.

Speak soon - elle xo

Friday night - end of a long week at work, the gym is usually filled with people who really want to be there. Well when I say "filled" there are usually a dozen or so people there, all working very hard. Friday night was different though. There were a couple of people in there who were exercising their jaws more than their bodies. The only thing that made it interesting - was the fact the two people talking - were blokes. I mean what is the point of going to the gym if you are not going to exercise? If you want to socialise then go the pub - and leave the machines / weights free for those people who want to exercise more than their jaws.

Sunday - end of week 3. Normally I wouldn't go to the gym today - Sunday is a day of rest on the programme. But I decided to shock the muscles and go today. I will also run later. Winter has set in here in Australia and running during wet and windy conditions is something I don't enjoy - so today it is - as it is supposed to stay fine until tomorrow morning.

So what has been happening? Well training 6 days per week has seen a reduction on the scale as well as a reduction in physical size. I have taken off an additional half a centimetre off my stats (all those wide bits they insist on measuring). Whilst half a centimetre doesn't sound like a lot - did you know that 1 kilogram of fat can take up to a gallon of space? So if you are relying on the scale as the only measurement of progress - a word of advice - don't. Total weight = everything - hair, skin, bones, muscle and water etc etc. As I am now seeing a reduction of physical weight on the scale I can only assume that the engine room of my body - ie., the muscles are working at a better capacity and I am able to burn off weight in the form of fat as opposed to losing "total weight" ie., weight from everywhere.  How do I know this? Well training with weights 3 times a week ensures that I maintain the muscle mass and energy has to come from the fat stores.

But don' take my word for it - ask any "body builder"  those people who have little or no body fat and ask what they do to remove fat from their bodies before competition, and you will discover for yourself that the low fat, calorie restricted diets touted by the medical profession not to mention the food lobbies aren't solving the obesity crisis that is facing the modern world.

Anyway, week 4 of the challenge has arrived already - boy does time fly when you only have a few short weeks before they fire off the stats again. It makes me wonder if I am doing enough to get the changes that I so desperately want. I hope so.

5 centimetres - doesn't sound a lot does it. Believe it or not 5cm is the difference between one dress size and another, but the "esteem" of one's own body image and shape with the reduction of each 5cm is massive.

For me, the reduction in my body size has been a slow and sometimes painful journey (sore muscles etc).  But the results are definitely worth every minute spent at the gym. Today I decided to try something I have not worn in some time...the last time I tried it, I couldn't zip it up the back - and no amount of breath holding helped...but today, not only can I zip it up I can breath as well!!

So next time you think you can't go on - remember that now is not the time to quit. It doesn't matter what your project is - whether it is you (I am definitely a work in progress) a book you are writing, or anything else for that matter, those small steps you take = big results.

Motivating others is hard, motivating yourself can be impossible....why? well only you can motivate yourself really and truly, sure I can offer you suggestions and try to make you do more, be more etc. But if you don't want to do something, then nothing I nor anyone else can MAKE you. And so it is with me. If I hadn't promised the kids they could go to harbour town shopping complex this morning I would find every excuse not to drive to the gym (they catch the bus from outside the gym to the centre) and consequently wouldn't do any exercise today.

Don't ask me why I don't feel like exercising, I know I need to. I have my goals, my plans and my dream board all set up. I know why I want to lose 10 kilos, and I know that i need to do some work to reach that goal. But can i be bothered - today? nope. All the dreams in the world doesn't change how I feel - can't be "arsed" is the common term. So will I drop the kids off and go and have a sneaky cup of coffee instead. No of course not, that will come after - the kids will be gone for a couple of hours, long enough for me to exercise for an hour, and have several cups of coffee actually. Don't ask me - sometimes I lack motivation just like you do.

Will I exercise - yes
will the intensity be correct - possibly not. Half hearted - when your "heart" isn't into something you will find all the excuses in the book not to do it. So when we get back this afternoon I will re-evaluate - is it just my "mind" that's wrong today, or is my dream related to the fact that I can't "see" myself as a thinner person? Strange because I was that thinner person a couple of years ago....time to go within to see what is wrong with the "outer". OK enough rambling, the kids are almost ready to go.

Speak soon

I spoke to a colleague at work today - he's a kick boxing instructor (apart from anything else), and would dearly love to train with him...but he lives too far away for me to participate in his regime!!

But I know I don't train properly (or to my potential) all of the time.... so hints and tips, damn you'd pay good money for that quick lesson. Why? Well boredom, a lack of motivation, doing a little less than you should or could. Damn it sounds like most things in life...you get out of it what you are willing to out in. But you also have to know what you should be doing. I was obviously not doing certain things properly, and so - it's no good being motivated if you are motivated to do the wrong things, or the things that don't bring the best result. Now I know, I need to make changes to my training regime.....

Sounds like I am  being glib - only giving you a partial answer - well - So for example, push ups. Turns out my hands were in the wrong place. I had them extended out and almost in front of my shoulders thought I needed to extend my back. Turns out - I need to keep my back in that position but bring my hands back under my body so they are under the shoulder blades in line with the boobs. Believe me when I say it looked a damn sight harder his way than the way I was doing them. But it is also true to say that - being shown is better than being told.

But it's gym night tonight, so shall put some of the suggestions into place. As with all things, it is good to take stock of where you are and what you are doing. Turns out I was not doing enough to make the changes that I needed to make....

Make the plan, assess the results, make the changes if you need to. Sounds awfully like goal setting and goal achievement to me.

It's interesting watching other people train, it's also interesting watching other people train other people. You know I mentioned the push up thingummy earlier, well the way I was doing them is exactly the way the fitness instructors were telling their clients to train. Exercising the shoulders and not the arms and chest. The way that Andy told me to train is as I expected a damn sight harder to do, but I suppose if I want the right kind of results, then it should stand to reason that I actually exercise properly.

It was also interesting that there were a lot of new starters in the gym tonight. Obviously the new year's resolutions are still working for some people. But one gym session does not make a fitness plan so it will be interesting to see how many last the distance!

But that's not what's really interesting about tonight. I've been having heart burn all day, so I called at a chemist on the way home to buy some relief. The pharmacist recommended not eating or drinking ANYTHING for 2 hours before going to bed. Simply because it takes that long for the stomach contents to empty and thus stopping the reflux back into the oesophagus. Might explain why I've been getting heart burn then. It might also explain why some nights are better than others....do you sleep better if your body isn't busy processing the late night snacks?

It's interesting - last Friday night I didn't eat anything after 6pm and didn't drink much beyond 9pm and what i did have was a cup of black tea and some soda water...and I slept the best I have slept in a long time (Which as you know is saying something)  Now - the following night - Saturday - late night snacking (cheese and bikkies) and a fair bit of alcohol - and sure enough - awake half the night.

So taking the pharmacists advise tonight - I ate dinner at 7.45 (that's the trouble with going to the gym) and have not had anything to drink since 8.30 which means that it's almost time for bed.

But seriously is this another case of circumventing the body's natural rythmns and cycles? Like artificial light we don't need to go to bed when the sun goes down, and it is constant feast times. Our bodies don't remember fasting or famine - most of us can't remember when we last felt really and truthfully hungry. And the sum total of our hunting and gathering is a quick trip to the supermarket. Yet our bodies and our minds remember, and they happily run around mopping up the excess foods we have consumed, stuffing it into the vast caverns of our fat stores. Just in case we can't get out of our homes to get bread and milk.

I wonder if it is healthy to fast? I also wonder how long it would be before we succumbed to the temptation to eat? Would we still need to diet if we actually followed the bodies natural rhythms?

In a previous life I would have failed to go to the gym until I "felt" well enough to do so. Now with a looming deadline, I don't have the luxury of being able to slack off and do little or nothing towards my goal.

As strange as it may seem, I can walk normally again today. Last night I went to the gym still sore from the 20km walk I did on Monday, convinced that I was going to be bed-ridden this morning. But instead of going easy I pushed the training to a new level, and it didn't hurt then - and even better, it doesn't hurt now.

I shall walk in a minute - it's lunch time. We have a nice big hill behind the office, which leads up to the monument which I will do just to ease the last remaining kinks out of my hip joints.  But when i get back i shall put together today's Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine - I need to talk to you about talking to yourself, and why it's a good thing to do.

(MMM1) 

My life list contains things that I say that I want to do at some point before i head off on the last big adventure. Today I was able to cross one of those items off it when the kids and I went indoor rock climbing. I have a vague fear of heights, and a bigger one of not being in complete control in dangerous situations. But the biggest fear I have, is the fear of making a complete arse out of myself. Today I had to confront all three, and all at the same time. 30 feet off the floor, hanging onto tiny hand holds, slipping fingers caused by the sweat of fear on my hands, and a thin rope. Scared?  It does not even begin to explain the intensity of emotions.

But I conquered them all, and I have the blisters (and the photos to prove it).

Now I'm not saying that you have to confront your fears like I did, but unless you are willing to inspect them occassionally - you will never do anything new. And if you're not willing to do anything new - Well you know what tomorrow and next week will bring - and whilst it's good to have a certain amount of certainty in your life, it's hardly worth getting out of bed in a morning is it?

(MMM1)

Specifically the sciatic. Don't ask me how I did it, but I managed to trap a nerve in my butt - which made it very painful to walk, let alone run for any length of time. Which is all very well, but when you are trying to train for a road race, not a good thing to have. On the weekend I decided that I would go for the kill or cure option and headed into Northbridge for a chinese massage. Have you ever had one? Well placed elbows down the spine, into the hips and right on the sciatic - I have never been in so much pain in my life. But the therapist seemed to know how much I could endure at any one time, because he kept the pressure on for a few seconds in each problem area, before moving on to the next. 25 minutes later and I could almost walk normally again. Two days later and the pain has gone almost completely. Can't say the same for the bruises mind you, but nevertheless it was worth every painful minute.

Sometimes obstacles get in the way of the goals that you say you want to achieve. Depending on the amount of desire that you have to succeed will determine whether you will do WHATEVER it takes to get yourself over the line, or whether you could let a minor pain in the butt, stop you. (MMM1)

It doesn't matter what the exercise is, just do it. There are some days that I really don't feel like exercising. TOday was one of those days. The training I am doing for the city to surf is gruelling. I've got about 10 kilos of weight still to shift and it is taking its toll on my ability to run effectively. I'm also running several injuries at the moment. My right knee is sore, my right sartiorus muscle is painful after being over-stretched in some way, and now my right achilles has joined in the fun. But we still went for a walk this morning. In fact a 2 hour walk to the video store. The girls are now esconsed in front of the tv with the promised junk food - and I am having to listen to them crunch through mounds of popcorn.

Sometimes I think it isn't fair that they can eat what they want and not have to worry about putting weight on. But then again I used to be exactly the same at their age. I could blame older age, slower metabolism and a knee op, but none of those things are responsible for the amount of food I used to eat. Even now, whilst I know the theory I can still succumb to over indulgence. But now I know that if I want to lose weight and keep it off, I need to move it to lose it.

Even today, I could have made every excuse not to exercise, not to go for a walk. But I am totally responsible for what I do and what I don't. So sore muscles notwithstanding, everything is a state of mind, and whilst I could have let the soreness slow me down, I chose not to let it. But I'm glad I'm home again.

After 3 weeks of colds and flu, a torn quad and groin strain I am finally heading back to the gym tomorrow night. I know it's going to hurt, re-stretching the muscles, the tendons and finally getting some level of fitness back again. Shame - fitness is not something you can stick in a bottle and save for a rainy day.

I'll let you know how I go.

The exercise discipline, like anything we say we want to achieve comes down to regular "sessions" on our goal. Which means with the case of exercise - going to the gym at least 3 times a week, or whatever you have chosen to do. No slacking off because you "don't feel like it" but going anyway.

With the quad finally healing i've started upping the amount of cardio I do, and yes I've started running again. Tonight as is always the case, the quad feels tight - so I shall have to be careful over the next day or so to ensure the muscle doesn't get too cold or overstretched. I just have to keep reminding myself that i am not 20 something anymore and my body needs a bit more TLC these days. The usual excesses of our teenage years are not so easily gotten rid of when you hit your later years. OK I'm not ancient - but I do think that my history of exercise and competitive sports has taken its toll and so I shall adjust my training schedule accordingly and add as much prevention, stretching as I can. 

I've become lazy with my exercise program. I will make excuses why I can't possibly do that number of sit ups or push ups. I kid myself into thinking that no-one knows what my exercise program is, no-one is training with me, so no-one need know that I am not doing what I should be doing.

Who am I trying to kid?

You only have to catch site of me side on to know that I have become lazy with my food intake and the amount and intensity of the exercise that I do. Quite simply I don't do anywhere near enough exercise for the amount of fuel that I provide my body with. And make no mistake - food is fuel, and if we don't use it, we store it for use later....when there's a famine or the dinosaurs start terrorizing the high streets and we can't slope off down to the shops at lunch time for our daily fix of whatever naughtyness we have decided we need.

I think you get my point - few if any of us don't know where our next meal is coming from. Not only do we know, but we've planned the day around the food and the snacks that we want to eat.

1. Get up, shower, dress, eat breakfast, drink coffee, drive to work
2. Pick up takeaway coffee and a muffin for morning tea
3. Eat muffin as soon as you get to work with the cup of coffee. Make tea - because the last cup of coffee was a bit cold and the muffin is now lodged between your throat and stomach
4. Take antacids and paracetamol to take away the pain of the muffin and the after effects of the alcohol that you inhaled last night
5. Make more tea eat a couple of biscuits during the meeting you were late for and didn't want to attend anyway.
6. 2 hours of sitting in front of the computer and your stomach tells you it's lunch time.....

With schedules like this, is it any wonder we can add a couple of inches and kilos to our frames each and every year?

OK all facetiousness aside. I have become lazy, I might "go to the gym" twice a week, walk around at lunch time, occasionally add a longer walk in on the weekend and sometimes at night, but it's obviously not enough to cope with what i put into my mouth. I consume too much for the exercise that i do. Simple equation at the end of the day.

I happen to work with a gentleman who also teaches thai kick boxing and undertakes personal training - he was the guy who challenged me to run the city to surf. Well Andy managed it, in about 70 odd minutes - because of torn muscles I had to stop training about 5 weeks out, and just didn't have the time to get back to race distance before the day....excuse - no - it still pulls when I run, so now I jog.

So the other day I asked Andy if he would write me out a training plan - something I could do on my own - no-one to kick or spar with....and I said I would pay him in beer - a six pack for a six pack !! or something like that. Today I got a taste of what my new exercise regime will be like....

I've decided enough is enough, it's going to take me 3-6 months to lose the weight that I want to lose, but Andy says I should start to feel a difference within weeks with my clothes. This is a good thing, because at the moment I have to be careful not to wear baggy clothing for fear of being asked when the baby is due.

When are you going to decide enough is enough? When are you going to decide that the instant gratification of having that cake now will add days to your exercise program.

MMM1

I tried out the new programme yesterday morning. I woke up far too late to go for my customary 2 hour walk and be back in time for breakfast with a friend, so I went to the gym instead.

Andy had advised that I start off doing some of the leg work at a skip/jog pace....I would've if i could stop laughing. Oh boy, talk about embarrasing - I've always said I would never and I do mean never get to the stage when bits wobbled when I jumped....err - not a good look I have to say. it's amazing how fast wobble takes over when you simply don't do enough exercise. And the right kinds - or so it seems.

So - what can I say except that my fear that I had become lazy and not doing enough exercise was actually true. I got to use muscles that I had forgotten I had. Today my shoulders, pecs, ribs, upper back, hips, butt and just about everywhere else - is sore. OK, I'd also done 40 minutes worth of gardening yesterday afternoon and helped clean a friends place today, so some of yesterday's soreness can be attributed to other things I suppose. But even so.

But I shall be very interested to see how fast the new exercise regime starts to become easier - Andy has said that it will become easier very quickly if I do what he says. Which is why he has also given me additional work for when it does.

As you know I do quite a bit already. I have a house to maintain, kids to look after, food to cook, a full time job, my part-time job as Webmistress, Trainer, Writer and all round good guy for MotivateMe! And for those of you who have read the MotivateMe to exercise section - trying desperately to tame my eating habits and lose about 3 dress sizes. No particular reason, just sick and tired of being un-toned.

Well today was day 2 of the new training session, and I have to confess it was damned hard. The muscles had barely recovered from the Saturday morning session, plus the gardening, cleaning and general household stuff I had to do on the weekend, to punish them again today. But punish them I did. I know that you know - fat is simply an energy store and if the stats are anything to go by, well I have enough stored energy to get me from here to John O'Groats without having to refuel on the way.

I have noticed though, that unless you have a reason to do as much as you can - deadlines fast approaching, it can be easy to do a little less than you could or should. Well with Andy - my non-personal, personal trainer, my work colleague to keep an eye on what I am doing during the day, and to offer advice and suggestions on how to get the most out of my training programme I am less likely to slack off. For once I am accountable to someone other than myself.

Which is why I decided that it was time I pushed my body as hard as I could in the time I had allocated to the gym work tonight. Which just goes to show me, just how slack I have become with my exercise routine and regime.

My question to you, my fellow readers, are you likely to do more if you are being held accountable?

The new exercise program is in place and I appear to be getting better, in that I now have slightly better flexibility this week than last. And the key? It seems that opposite's are important. As in opposite elbow to knee - works the obliques (sounds like I know what I am talking about doesn't it!!)

Didn't go to the gym yesterday, but did do the program at home, followed by another couple or three hours in the garden. I have more weeds than flowers, and certainly more than can fit into my bin this week. But I have almost re-cleared a garden bed. And with only a few weeks til summer, I need to get it finished and mulch down. Something I've repeatedly failed to do over the years.

What has gardening got to do with exercise? Well fat is merely an energy store. And with about 51lbs of fat on my frame - yes i know - yuk...horrified me when i saw the figures, i decided any kind of movement that makes me use muscles and makes me sweat has to be a good thing. And as an added bonus, i get to drink more water, and because i'm busy I'm not eating as much either. And therein lies another key to losing weight and keeping it off and being healthy at the same time. Set a goal that makes you become better than you currently are. Rise to the challenge and take control of your shape and your destiny. 

Monday evening, my working at work day completed. October is a rather trying time for me with a legal manual to edit. It was created in Word Perfect and has some of the quirks that don't want to be removed for whatever reason, but I will get there. Rough estimate about 80 hours to go before it heads off to production before being shipped to the subscribers. Oh, it's the Australian Record Retention Manual if you want to go check it out....great cure for insomnia if you try and read it cover to cover.

But it has a deadline and one that cannot be easily moved, so I will fill my days with legalese and hope that my work colleagues supply the chocolate.

As I have said many times, unless a goal has a specific deadline, timeline or fixed end point, you will procrastinate til the cows come home. You will find all the excuses in the book and then use all of them to get out of doing what you know you should be. I can't, that's one of the reasons I like my job. Fixed deadlines keeps me on track.

But as for most other things in life, we are not bound by the same kind of rigid boundaries. Does it matter if you don't polish the furniture every week? Does it matter if you don't do the laundry (well I suppose it would if you ran out of undies) or clean the car, wash the dishes or anything else. Not really. We do or we don't. It's up to us. It's almost the same with diet and exercise, if you don't have someone to report to, you might be tempted to slack off a little every now and then. Go on you know I'm right.

I was talking to the owner of a personal training studio on the weekend, and he made a very interesting comment, he said that you needed to make an appointment 3 times a week with someone - that way you would turn up. I know I have said similar in the past, perhaps not quite as eloquently, but all the same, I do know what he means. You are more likely to go to the gym and work out if you have already paid for the priviledge. And if you still don't go and want to throw your money away, well please by all means, throw it my way I can make good use of it, even if you don't.

But all facetiousness aside, it is easy to say "I'm not going to the gym today because........" (fill in the blanks) so unless illlness knocks you off balance, no more excuses. I say illness, because sometimes an intense workout when you are not feeling 100% can do you as much harm as good. With your body fighting infection, the last thing it probably needs to do is re-build muscle tissue as well. So when you are genuinely ill, please rest, recover and then get straight back into it. But that is genuine illness none of this "I can't be bothered" rubbish. After a hard day at work, it might just be the thing that helps you bleed off the stress of the day allowing you to sleep well. OK, that's me off the exercise soap box for another day.

So what does tomorrow look like bringing? Well more manual I'm afraid. Thank goodness for good music.

Good morning, beautiful start to the working week. I set my alarm clock a half hour early this morning. That extra half hour has allowed me to put on my running shoes and to get out and enjoy the cool of the early morning. Well I know what I am like, with summer around the corner, and the usual heat that comes with it, I have decided to change my exercise routine slightly. I will still go to the gym 3 times a week, but it is time to crank up the other stuff.

Why? For those of you who read the daily dose of motivational medicine e-zine will know I had a bout of tonsillitis that flattened me. I seem to have a nasty habit of going hell for leather then falling flat on my face and having to start over again. Well I thought I would struggle this morning. But after walking for about half a kilometre just to warm the body up I upped to a jogging pace and apart from my glutes complaining slightly, I completed the 2 kilometres easily and barely out of breath. THankfully I am not as unfit as I thought I was. So I will walk again tomorrow (not run) and then start running proper on Wednesday.

Life is good.

Busy day today, got a million things to do, so I shall speak to you later.

It's true, in sporting terms I am in the vets category. But that doesn't stop me from having a go, and a damn good one at that. My problem is - I want to keep up with the younger generation, but yes I will admit it "older" age and the occassional injury kicks in and stops real progress.

My daughter wanted to know when we were going running again? So, after a 37 degree day and humidity that came as the temperatures dropped - we hit the pavement. My daughter is nearly 30 years my junior - but I kept up pretty well. And as I said to her, I was after distance / time not speed. Speed can come later, much later, when the muscles are used to the work again.

Why the hiatus? Well to be honest there hasn't been a big one, just a lack of posting.

After pulling my groin last year, it took a couple of months before I felt able to run - so I didn't - opting for long walks and gym work instead. Then came Christmas and a trip to the UK. Now back into the swing of things, I have ramped up the work again, adding cardio to the floor work that I have been doing. I can now do "boy" push ups, and can manage to do them on my knuckles as well as flat palmed. Not bad for a woman with virtually no upper body strength before being shown the correct techniques. Then it has been pure guts and determination to get to where I can do 10 decent ones before landing flat on my face. My goal is 100....yes you heard that correctly.

Oh yes, and just to mix up the training just a little - I have booked in for 6 beginner pole dancing lessons. If that doesn't improve core stability and upper body strength I don't know what will. I will of course keep you posted on that one.

Yes it is back to the gym tonight....

Someone once asked me what I was training for. To which I answered - participation in this thing called LIFE - the fitter you are the longer you are in the race.

Dusted the bike off this morning...beautiful 21 gear mountain bike that I should ride more often, pumped up the tyres and then it was time to get on it - and hit the road. One thing i did notice on my 20km circuit was - it didn't matter which way I was riding, the wind was in my face.

Gym work is all very well, but you can get off a gym bike at any time and go and do something else. One thing with road work is this - unless you want to catch the bus home, you are going to have to ride home as well as ride there....which is of course why I ride / run circuits,. less chance of getting bored, plug in the MP3 player and away you go.

Which is something to consider if you do get bored - choose a route that takes in different scenery....otherwise you might be tempted to give up half way and go back....and I don't like to admit defeat. Even if my lungs / legs and butt all thought I was trying to torture them this morning. I could have stopped a couple of kilometres from home, and gone - someone come and pick me up....but I didn't...I pushed harder, rather than slow down. The mind soon stopped misbehaving....well when your muscles are screaming, the mind can't focus on anything else can it?

"a low level of daily physical activity not only doesn't help your current health status, it could be the reason you got sick in the first place," says Frank Booth of the University of Missouri. -  http://www.ohsonline.com/articles/60035/.

The wrist and forearm that is...but trying to do to much of anything makes it ache. A lesson there I think. Do enough but not enough so you put back your infjury, but not so much that you hurt for days afterwards.

The forecast for this morning was not good. But when I woke for the second time this morning, the rain was not evident, so I got up and dressed and decided to take a chance. The sky was leaden, a rainbow hovered over South Perth, but I hit the road and headed off on a 12 km sojurn. My night had been broken due to pain in my left shoulder and shoulderblade. Unable to sleep anyway because of the pain, I had a tired start to the morning. But I needed to exercise so I went anyway. Close to the Crystal Swan on the Swan River and just before the turn off to the Kwinana Freeway and Stirling Hwy, the river curves.....and a herd of pelicans were enjoying some kind of feast. As I got closer I was amazed to see a pod of dolphins, and everywhere the dolphins went the pelicans followed - obviously enjoying the dolphins expertise in corraling their food supply.

The rain decided to start falling at that point - but you know what - some things are worth getting wet for.

Unfortunatley due to an accident, my normally go everywhere camera, was at home - i'm waiting for a replacement -  so you only have my word for the phenomena that was this morning. But as I carried on with my walk I was blessed when Mamma and baby decided to swim close to where I was standing. What can I say - dolphins in the wild, doing what they do best...absolutely blessed.

At the end of the walk, there is a children's playground - complete with fireman's pole, so was able to test the back and the right wrist - and did some serious stretching...well I go back to classes on wednesday - so wanted to make sure I was going to get through the class without further injury.

There are some days I feel blessed - and others more so...today I just wanted to share it with you

xo 

I have just downloaded the 100 push ups in 6 weeks program. Believe it or not, being able to do 100 push ups in one go has been on my personal goal list for as long as I can remember. So when the link was sent to me today, I thought - why not. Well you should know me by now, I do things because I can.

One of the main reasons is this - I need to be able to gain upper body and arm / shoulder strength for the pole dance classes that I do. Having gone back last night for the first time in a couple of months I have lost almost all of the strength I had - and there wasn't much I could do about it, torn forearm muscles do not appreciate being put under pressure. 

There are other reasons - including, I feel flabby. If I take a good and honest look and feel to the clothes that I am wearing, they feel tighter than they did - so I do need to up the exercise, intensity and variation. I have been walking and running since the injury - but obviously it isn''t enough to keep the entire body tone and the number of calories consumed vs energy expended on the right side. So - I confirmed it this morning - I have put on about 2-3 kilos in the same time. Which is disappointing, but not unexpected as it is winter here in perth and despite my good intentions to exercise 3-5 times a week - sometimes I don't. I've also been working flat out on a new training program and participants workbook - sounds like an excuse and I suppose it is, because as you know you always do what you want to do.

So, as usual I will keep you posted on the 100 pushup plan - go to 100 pushups if you would like to join in.

BTW - I managed to do 8 on the fitness test...

I have noticed over the years as the waistline expands the reasons not to exercise kick in more frequently.  Yes I know I should exercise 3 -5 times a week at quite a high intensity, but to be honest the thought of going out into the cold and wet sometimes don't appeal to me.

It's currently winter here in Perth, WA. We've had more rain in the past week than we've had all winter, and the wind has been straight off the antarctic - cold, bone chillingly cold. I've also picked up an ear, throat and chest infection that doesn't seem to want to go away inspite of anti-biotics. But I've carried on doing some kind of exercise anyway. Some of you may consider that to be foolhardy - but the reason why is a simple one. Stopping all levels of exercise means it takes you three times longer to get back into it. The excuses come thick and fast - and before you know it, that muscle tone you'd developed has gone and you're back to square one.

You see fitness isn't something you can do once or twice, stick it in a bottle and save it for a rainy day.

Like all forms of motivation, fitness is something you need to put into your weekly plan and do it regardless of how you are feeling. It is one appointment with yourself that you should always keep.

So what exercise do I do?

Well I walk 2-4 times a week - and by walk, I mean getting out of breath kind of walking, not the strolling around the shops kind of saunter that we also do. Distance varies - for example - Two Saturday's ago I did approximately 15km's around the bridges. If you go to the gallery you will see the pictures and the area - beautfiul walk. Monday nights are 8km's and just around the suburbs where I live. Tuesday's and Thursday's I do a shortened 4km walk and Wednesday night I was at Dance class. Last Saturday and Sunday I didn't walk, but spent most of the weekend moving roadbase - as I am remodelling the back yard. Another weekend of weed pulling awaits. My neighbours "cheated" and used a mini digger this morning to remove their garden....me I prefer the personal touch as it also gets me out of the house and into the fresh air and keeps me fit at the same time.

One thing I did notice that my fitness levels are really quite good. I would work hard for about 40 minutes, moving road base, picking, shovelling, carrying, digging, bending over, strength training at its most interesting. Then I would stop when I started to "blow" - have a breather and then get back into it, another 40 minutes - another breather. And over the course of about 5 hours managed to get one third of the garden completed. Once the final part of the path is laid, the workload becomes a bit easier - planting and mulching. But the satisfaction of knowing that I did it, and kept me fit at the same time is definitely a chance to pat myself on the back.

Which is why my weekends are as busy as my working weeks. Exercise opportunities are slotted into my timetable and I try not to break the appointments I've made with myself.

But if you struggle - consider these tricks:

1. Exercise with a friend
2. Exercise at the same time every day / day of the week
3. Pay for classes up front - you will be less likely to waste money if you think about how much it's cost you
4. Do something weird, wonderful and downright scary...for me it is pole dancing. The thought of inverting still gives me the trembles as I'm not sure my upper body and more importantly - my arm (which I hurt in dance class BTW) will hold me yet....but I will get there.
5. Smile and give it all you've got for the alloted time. Think about the payoffs in endorphin rushes and go for it.

As you know I've been suffering with the flu and associated infections - ear, throat and chest. I even had to have a test for whooping cough - but that appears to be negative (the doc said they would call otherwise). I'm now through the anti-biotics and the steroids (to clear up the chesty cough) thankfully - but as you can imagine I've really not had the energy or inclination to do any kind of exercise for several weeks now.

This is all very well but I was relatively fit. Dance classes, cardio, lots of walking and so on ... to nothing. And as a consequence I've lost any kind of fitness I had gained. It's amazing how fast it leaves you, especially given the length of time it takes to get fit in the first place. So I have to start again from scratch (or so it seems). I decided to do some gardening yesterday. The sun was shining, nice breeze to keep things cool but not cold and a garden that seems to grow weeds without impunity.

Today I am sore. My quads especially, that and my lower back. So I know that if I can get sore from doing not very much on the gardening front, I will hurt when I decide to exercise properly. I am not looking forward to the after effects if today is anything to go by. But I also know that if I don't my immune system will suffer as a result and I will be more susceptible to the next round of colds and flu doing the rounds that marks winter. But I also know I should remember that thing about balance. I need to find it.

Speak soon xoxo

When it comes to being motivated to exercise, I find it's good to try new things. And for several very good reasons. One it uses different muscles, or the same sets of muscles in a different way and the second reason is that it tests the biggest "muscle" of all - the brain. If you've ever gone to an aerobics class and wondered how everyone else seems to be coordinated and you're not. That's because their brains are in synch with their muscles and yours aren't/

This morning a couple of friends and I did something I've never done before, and believe me I am "suffering" as a result. Suffering in a good way though.

I am fortunate enough to live about 40 minutes from some of the best beaches in the entire world (IMHO) - the west coast of Australia does boast some of the cleanest sand I have ever seen, not to mention some great surf (for the surfie dudes out there) and even better at this time of year, not many people at 8am.

We took two cars, dropped one off at one carpark - drove to another car park several kilometres away - then walked back to the other one...on the sand. I kept my runners on, simply because too many injuries means I struggle with my feet and knees these days. But that's just me. It only took about 40 minutes, but was probably worth several hours of "normal" road work. And I know it worked, because my right sciatic is now playing up !! and my thighs are emitting a nice after burn feeling.

But of course I didn't stop there, after breakfast and some much needed coffee, we parted ways. My weekends are usually hectic and this one is no different. Groceries to fetch, car to clean (inside and out) a house to tidy, weeds to pull (I do a bin full each week - that's the trouble with a big garden, there's always enough gardening to fill a bin each week with weedy stuff)...and now I am ready to start work again. I shall probably pick up some additional exercise this afternoon, just because my body is feeling a little sluggish and is looking a little worse for wear after a winter of doing just enough but not quite enough to make major changes.

But what happens if you don't have a beach to walk on? Well one of the more interesting ways for entire family to get fit is to get yourself a frisbee, find some nice open space and go chuck the disc around. Or how about learning how to juggle. Believe me, the amount of times you have to bend over to pick up the little balls is just not funny and believe me if you use your legs to squat rather than bend over every time, you will probably have the tightest butt in a very short space of time. Or given that we are moving into winter in the norther hemisphere - why not get those exercise videos out and have a go. Forget about the bad hair do's and leotards, and go for the burn. And if nothing else you will have a good laugh at the hair and clothing styles in vogue at the time.

Go on, mix it up a little, and have fun and laughter too - you will feel better for it.

Can personal trainers motivate you to exercise?

The answer may surprise you - some people think that by paying for personal training sessions they will turn up and do the exercise, will still find excuses as to why they couldn't make it at a certain time / date.  The attrition rate for people paying for personal training sessions is almost as high as people who pay for gym memberships for the entire year and then give up around February.

And the reason is simple - If you are not motivated to do something, you will not give "it" the attention it deserves, no matter what it has cost you.

Personal trainers can push you, they can give you new techniques and correct bad ones, but you have to be willing to be pushed and be willing to try new things - even if they do make your muscles scream with indignation afterwards. And you have to be willing to do this on a regular basis - or have the willpower, strength and stamina to learn what you can from them and then go it alone.

Personal trainers are not cheap - but they can be worth their weight in gold if you are willing to challenge yourself and your behaviours.

Some gyms offer personal training one-on-one sessions as part of their gym memberships, whilst others provide personal training classes in group structure. The only way to discover which one works best for you is to try all the variations. But a word of caution - like all exercise - you have to be willing and motivated to:

a) turn up

b) turn up on a regular basis over a significant period of time

Remember - getting fit and staying fit are two entirely different things.

I have come to the conclusion that once you start, the motivation to keep exercising is pretty good. You begin to see changes and results and you want those changes and results to improve. Well I do.

Last week I made a momentous decision - do I carry on attempting to get fit on my own, or do I bite the bullet and get some help? I decided I would go with the latter as I can always find a good enough reason NOT to exercise, even though I know I will feel much better afterwards. Too much housework, too much cleaning, too much stuff to do for Motivate Me etc etc.

As you and I know - we will always find time to do what we know we want to do. It may not be what we need to do - but always, always, always - what we want to do. Well I want to get fit and lose 17 kilos as you know. Well in 2 weeks I've taken off the first 2 kilos. 1 kilo a week is sensible.

The exercise however, is insane. I can't remember the last time I did circuit class. But believe me - when you have a personal trainer who is counting down the seconds before you move on to the next exercise, the motivation to continue to the end of the period is always there.

Now I thought the toning and strength class was crazy - 25 different exercises in 30 minutes....but yesterday's weight loss and stamina class was "worse". Good worse or better worse? Well - believe me when I say - there was absolutely nothing left in the tank after the class and I could hardly keep the fuel topped up enough during the day. Granted I had not slept well the night before, but it's going to be interesting whether the next set of classes affect me in the same way. I shall certainly have to keep an eye on the food vs exercise equation because I do not want to hit the wall again. Believe me when I say - I do go all out and then run smack bang into the wall of I cannot give any more. So hats off to the people who do this for a living. How on earth do they do it?

So - so far so good. I have lots of pics - of the before me - and I cannot wait to see the difference a few more weeks and the next couple of months makes to my shape - maybe I will take some interim shots too....

What motivates you to keep going when you just want to sit in front of the television and veg out? Let me know.

Is exercise the first thing on your to do list or the last - if you get round to it?

I do have a number of set days when I like to get to the gym - Monday & Wednesday evenings - straight after work and Saturday mornings. It's not a bad routine, except it can lead to what I call - falling prey to other people's needs.

The "other people's needs" go something like this:

Someone needs me to fetch something, or go somewhere - and because I have this guilt trip thing running through my mind, I usually cave in and do whatever needs doing - which then means I've lost my exercise time.

Unfortunately, I can also talk myself OUT OF driving to the gym and exercising, telling myself I'm tired, I can walk in the morning.... blah blah blah.

It's all rubbish, and it's got to stop - I need the space that exercise gives me. I sit for so many hours every day that I do NEED the physical exertion. In fact I need to do more exercise - not less.

So one thing I have been experimenting with - is exercising first thing in a morning. Alternating walking days with gym days. Yes it means getting up a little earlier than normal to exercise in a morning. But it does seem to clear the mind and get the brain ready for the day's mental activities.

Exercising first thing in a morning isn't easy though, especially when it's cold, wet and windy (and it won't be long before we hit winter down under) - but if you can switch off the alarm, get dressed and start moving, by the time your brain has woken up to the fact that you are exercising - it's too late.

Now I'm not saying that exercising first thing in a morning is your thing (i'm not even sure it's mine - yet) but I am willing to give it a go so that I can get into the habit of exercising every day.

How about you?

I am re-learning to enjoy exercise. Don't get me wrong, I've done some form of exercise ever since I learned to crawl, but I have had my share of injury, illness and guilt trips that have prevented me from fulfilling my fitness goals.

We can find a million excuses not to do something and exercise is usually the first thing to be cancelled when we are:

• Not in the mood
• Find we are pressed for time
• Have conflicting prirorities
• or when it's too hot, too cold, too....

Really though, exercise and our time to exercise should be one of those things that gets put into the diary like any other appointment which we keep - no matter what.

I used to stop exercising when I was feeling down or upset. In reality though that is the last thing we should do as the benefits are many, not least of which we get a healthy dose of serotonin for our trouble. Serotonin is our body's natural mood enhancer, so really the hardest thing about being down - is fetching our trainers and putting them on and getting started.

People hate it when use the famous phrase of "Just do it" but really we should. Our motivation to exercise should come from knowing that we are keeping our minds and our bodies fit and healthy. And there are added benefits - weight training improves our core and our muscle strength. Cardiovascular exercise is a great fat burner and of course helps us to build up our stamina. If we train with other people we also have the opportunity to make new friends and have people who will encourage us to do just that little bit more. Personal trainers are worth their weight in gold as a means to help you, encourage you, challenge you and move you forwards faster than if you attempt to go it alone. They can correct your posture and technique and they can show you how to target stubborn areas.

But the benefits don't stop there of course, exercise can help us to:

• Lose weight if we need to,
• Gain weight if we need to do that,
• Get our shape back after the birth of our children,
• Keep our skin tight,
• Help us sleep better
• Helps prevent osteoporosis as well as
• Gives our mood a boost

Knowing all that - why do we still need motivation to exercise?

Exercise as a hobby. How come most of us never consider our exercise regimes and routines could be more than just something we do "to keep fit"?

I drove a different way to work yesterday morning, the route takes me past the coast that is the Indian Ocean, and home to the surfers. After a week of storms the surf was running high and a lot of people were out enjoying their early morning hobby err I mean exercise.

Hobbies as exercise.

When I stopped and thought about it some more, the times when I was toned, fit and didn't "need to exercise" was when exercise was part of my normal life and yes I could class it as a hobby. Competitive tennis - certainly at a level I played at it could be classed as a hobby. Cycling was a means to an end as well as something we just did - a hobby? no, but certainly part of my every day life.

I would meet friends over a game of beach volleyball or badminton net.

If you are struggling to find time to exercise, why not try and find time to cultivate an old hobby or start a new one. Your mind and your body will thank you for it.

Hello everyone,

As you know I am always looking for a new way to challenge myself and my fitness, so I have joined the

John Hughes Big Walk 2010 on Oct 31, 2010 at Burswood Park

Where I will be taking part in the 15km walk and hope to raise some money for the kids cancer ward at PMH at the same time. I've been blessed to have 2 healthy kids, I know not everyone else is quite as fortunate as I am - hence why I am asking.

I know it's early days yet and probably not many people are registered, but the current highest individual fundraiser sits at $180 - and I would like to think we could do a little better than that. The highest individual fundraiser receives a prize of a $500 sports fever voucher  and if we get top spot I will donate the voucher to Thornlie Senior High School (my children's school) which is always in need of new equipment.

You can donate here:

http://my.artezpacific.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=236217

For those in Australia any donations over $2 is tax deductible... and you will be emailed a tax receipt.

If you can spare "me" a few dollars and a couple of minutes of your time to fill in the form above, I would be most grateful

Thanks and regards

Elle
Motivate Me!
Providing opportunities to overcome the procrastination habit
http://www.motivateme.info

It's been a while, but I have been filling in the other blogs, especially the Motivate Me to Lose Weight blog.

For me exercise has gone hand in hand with my weight in the last 20 years or so. Gone are the days when I used to play competitive tennis or played netball for fun. When I am fit and healthy I exercise so am also slim, toned and under BMI etc. When I stop exercising for any length of time, through injury, time issues or pure laziness, then the weight creeps back on.

Having reached my biggest point to date around Christmas 2010 despite doing (what I thought was enough) exercise, sure I was losing a bit of size but the weight stayed stubbornly in the late 80's kilo bracket, I decided enough was enough.

Anyway, to go back a bit to when I decided to look at my strength, stamina and fitness levels it was embarrassing. Here was me, someone who could consider themselves to have been an athlete during her early years - to go from that to this ... It's not just Thorpy who needed to make a comback.

So around May of 2010 I rather foolishly decided to get onto a treadmill and see how fast I could run 1km. Well in those days I had the mad idea I could be fit enough to run City to Surf in August. Not a chance, I can walk quicker. After a lot of huffing and puffing and over 9 minutes later I decided I needed to get fit first and then look at running. Believe me it's far too hard on the knees and back to run when you are also overweight.

I haven't run in a while. I've done a lot of exercise in the meantime and if you hop over to the last post in the Motivate Me to lose weight blog will see the stats of size loss.

Time to re-do the time trial.

Today, after a full personal training session, a trapped nerve in my back I thought what the heck lets do it.

I did start slowly, pacing the first couple of hundred metres but at around 60 seconds per hundred metres knew I wasn't going to be breaking any records. So once warmed back up again and into running mode, I cranked up the speed from a slow jog to a not so slow jog..

Finishing the 1 kilometre in 7.25 minutes. That's a good couple of minutes faster and I wasn't "running fast"... recovery rate was brilliant and I may be tempted with my very first 5km fun run at the end of March 2011. I'll see how 2 k's goes before I make that decision though.

Are you ready to make a comeback too?

It's getting darker each morning, well we are into autumn now so that was always going to happen. So getting out of bed each morning at 5.45 is getting harder when it feels like it is the middle of the night. But you are probably going to hate me for saying this, I did it anyway.

Exercise for me is now part of my daily habit. Up every week day morning at 5.45 either gym or a walk. Once a week I double the walk distance, change the direction i walk in and enjoy the feeling of doing just a little bit more.

Sometimes it is good to mix things up a little, work different muscle groups, try a little harder, workout for just a little longer. Challenge mind and body. Hmm remind me though to pack my mp3 player sometimes it gets a little boring just having myself for company and there is only so much mental filing you can do.

Calves have finally stopped hurting after sunday's Kokoda track / Jacobs Ladder climb. Haven't done that for a while because of the heat - but will now look to put that back into the exercise plan once a fortnight.

Do you exercise even when you don't want to?

What motivates you? My motivation is size. I am losing fat, gaining muscle and definition and there are some amazing things waiting for me in my wardrobe when I have dropped a couple of extra inches.

Speak soon

Elle

2.5 hours of training on Saturday ...

300 calories burned on the static bike in 23 mins

1km run in 6.41 minutes ... last time I attempted that it was 7.23 so coming down but still won't break any records

60 double ab crunches with a 4kg medicine ball and 100 bicycle crunch twists

7km walk

RIBS HURTING really badly on Sunday ... ouch

Gneiting, a three-time U.S. sumo champion, tipped the scales at 400 pounds when he began Sunday's Los Angeles Marathon. Nine hours, 48 minutes, 52 seconds later he crossed the finish line and set the Guinness World Record for being the heaviest person to ever complete the 26.2-mile race.

The 400-pound American jogged the first eight miles of the race and walked the last 18, often stopping at intersections and stoplights because he was well behind the 13-minute-per-mile pace set by race organizers. He says he became delirious after mile 10 and only realized he hit the 15-mile mark when a friend gave him a clean pair of socks.

"I was really struggling in the last five miles," he told the Los Angeles Times, "but I said to myself, 'If I have to crawl, I will.'"

It took me a while to get it, but I love exercising first thing in the morning. Knowing that I have kept one promise to myself, means I am more likely to keep the rest... it's like having an early "win" on the board, or being able to cross a very big to do item off the day's list.

Exercise - check

My exercise routine is now set in concrete. That said, it had always been set in concrete, it had to be if I wanted to get into the habit of exercising on a regular basis. Now, not only do I have a "normal" set of days when I exercise I also try and fit other sessions around the rest of my week when I am able to.

What do i mean?

Well, the night before my morning group gym session I make sure the clothes, shoes and sweat towel are there, ready to be put on when the alarm goes off at 5.45 am. Every Wednesday and Friday morning you will find me there (illness notwithstanding). Sunday night I pack my gym gear and dump it into the car boot (trunk) so I don't forget to take it with me when I go to the office. Monday night is different because I go to a personal training session on the way home. Unless traffic gets in the way of my time slot, I am there every Monday evening working out with my trainer Hilary Reid of Efit121. Through her I have learned to trust the strength in my body, to try new things and to finally gain some muscle definition.

And then there is the weekend. Saturday starts with a walk followed by the gym, and every alternate sunday you will see me either in Kings Park (Jacobs Ladder or the Kokoda Track) or walking the bridges.

And you can almost always guarantee there will be a bag containing an extra set of gym gear in the car - including a spare pair of trainers - just in case I do get a spare 40 minutes I can use to improve my health and fitness.

Today - being a holiday, I was able to incorporate my morning walk before the gym session. It was simply glorious to wake up knowing I could  spend some time down by the water of Claisebrook Cove and round onto Riverside Drive before heading up the big hill back into East Perth. It's a beautiful place to walk. And knowing the temperature it's going to reach today you would think more people would have taken advantage - but hey that's their loss.

Sometimes you do need to make an appointment with yourself, write it in your diary, set the alarms and roll out of bed - regardless of how you may be feeling in the beginning, but you know what, over time you will come to enjoy it. The trick I find is to find out what it is you do enjoy doing, because that does make life a whole lot easier when you need motivation to exercise in the beginning.

It was cooler this morning, so a 7am start and away from the house by 7.30 and up into Kings Park - along with everyone else it seems.

I know I go on and on about the training - well proof today that I do it ... pic at the bottom at 3.5 returns, 1.5 to go and the other pic is a well deserved rest overlooking Perth city with a cup of coffee ...

One day a handfull of people were on a small boat with Richard Branson heading out to his private island, Necker Island, for a few days (OK, maybe the boat wasn’t that small…). One of the guys on the boat asked something along the lines of “Richard, how can I be more productive?” Keep in mind, Richard is the founder and operator of a 400-company conglomerate. He also has dyslexia and a pretty piss poor academic track record.

Yet somehow, from space travel to deep sea exploration, to music and cell phones, this guy has literally been able to accomplish a bazillion times more than the average Joe. And he’s still only 61.

Hence, the crowd of boat passengers hung on the edge of their seat cushions in anticipation of what turned out to be an unbelievably simple answer…

Richard responded: “Work out.”

That was it.

And that has turned out to be the answer to so many seemingly ‘hard’ to solve problems:

How do I get more energy? Work out.
How do I get more confidence? Work out.
How do I keep from getting sick? Work out.
How do I find more time? Work out.
How do I stay focused? Work out.

And of course the obvious…

How do I look and feel better?

I’ll let you answer that one.

We got back from LA on the 6th April 2012. During our holiday we walked every day and sometimes for hours at a time. It was fantastic. Now back in the office, it is obvious to me, I need to move every day to maintain my size and shape. Sitting down all day is not conducive to losing weight / size.

A week or so after I got back I signed up for some extra personal training sessions. 2 a week for 10 weeks with my gym. I trained with a P/t who also plays Rugby - and I told him to push me.

The first weekend after starting the extra P/t sessions I was asked by a girlfriend if I wanted to join their team for the tough mudder challenge which is coming to Perth in October 2013. 20 kilometres of some of the toughest obstacles as designed by the British SAS. Of course I said YES. I will go through 2 birthdays before the event, making me 49 and probably the oldest on the team. I knew then that I needed to step up the training - a LOT.

I told David my trainer and he worked with me to improve my upper body strength and in particular my arms as there will be walls to climb and ropes to scale, not to mention monkey bars. All of which I have not trained on for years. In the case of monkey bars, it's about 35 years.

I had to use the P/T sessions within 5 weeks - so that is now the process. 5 weeks of intense weights. I am now going to go back to group training sessions 3 x per week, 1 personal training session per week and add running into the mix twice a week for the next 5 weeks.

Today was the first run. It was pathetic I have to say.

We have a football oval (AFL) about 500 metres from home. The plan was to run 1 circuit without stopping. I don't know whether it was the humidity or my general lack of cardio fitness, but gosh it was hard going. I stopped and walked about half way round the first circuit. At the 50 metre line I started jogging again, and finally made the complete circuit. Trouble is I have no idea of the distance. I checked online and there are no set sizes for an oval (how very australian), but average around 460m. Believe me it seemed a lot longer. So at some point I will have to get on a treadmill and check distances. But for today, I made my first complete circuit - as mental toughness is one of the first requirements for a tough mudder, this is a big breakthrough for me.

Now all I need to do is find my charger for my walkman and I can at least listen to something other than my heavy breathing on the next training session, which will be Wednesday evening after work.

Training schedule:

Completed in 5 week blocks

1st block:

personal training: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday.

Walk every lunch time - including hills if possible

Saturday morning after training (2 weekends) 4 circuits of Hyde Park - fast walk pace

2nd block

personal training: monday

group circuit training: wednesday, Friday, Saturday

run: Wednesday evening, Sunday afternoon

3rd block

exchange the running for swimming, keep the P/T and group training

4th block

exchange the swimming for cycling - note to self - get the road bike fixed

5th block

back to running

Milestones:

I have always wanted to run the City to Surf which is a 12km road race between perth city and the coast at City Beach. This happens every august - and this year and most likely next I will be running the event. I walked it a couple of years ago, now I want to get it off the bucket list and finally complete it...

Do you struggle to find the motivation to exercise? If so you are not alone. There are some days when I don't feel like going (because I don't), and some days I don't feel like going because I hurt (DOMS) from the previous session I did. So what do I do? Well 9 times out of 10 I go. The pain usually lasts for half the session, by which time the extra stretching has eased out the kinks in the muscles. And those times I don't have the inclination or energy, I go because I know the endorphin kick afterwards will be worth going.

But what of shows like the biggest loser? Well researchers at the University of Alabama, divided college students into 2 groups. One group watched a 7 minute clip of the biggest loser, while the second group watched a clip of America idol. A questionnaire was completed and those who watched the clip of the biggest loser reported more negative attitudes towards working out. I must admit, I have stopped watching the show as I really don't get inspired by seeing people being yelled at, puking up or storming off - but about you?

The Biggest Loser Workout Motivation - How to Be Motivated to Work Out - Cosmopolitan

Even though The Biggest Loser features contestants who make major changes to their bodies through diet and exercise, researcher Tanya Berry says the workouts are so grueling that it turns people off instead of inspiring them.

Sure, it's good to challenge yourself a little, but it's more important to find a workout routine that works for you

There is a challenge on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=505237526175071&set=a.362974933734665.93611.361272343904924&type=1&theater that I have taken on... if you complete it you will have completed 1912 squats. And me being me have added the same amount of push ups per day as well.

Day 2 here in Oz and squats / pushups completed...

Join in why don't you

Elle

I used to have a stepper and a stationery bike, one of those ab roller thingummy's and an assortment of skipping ropes and hula hoops.

• The bike I wore out and never replaced.
• The stepper eventually got put on the verge for a roadside collection a couple of years ago.
• The ab thing was dismantled and put in the bin, and goodness only knows where the skipping ropes and hula hoops are these days.

The bike worked for me because I could sit on it and peddle as well as read. The stepper didn't work quite as well in that regard so it didn't get used as much.

What did work for me came down to a few simple things:

• Having a schedule and sticking to it
• Always having some work out gear in the car.

And that was it really.

• I ditched the home based stuff where life and kids always came first - and bought a gym membership. I knew the kids were being taken care of, and now as young adults can take care of themselves.
• I made sure the gym was en route. Either to or from home / work or work and my partners home.
• I made sure I had several sets of gym gear in the car which I switched out after it had been used of course.
• I also had my swim gear in the car just in case I felt like swimming instead of gymming.

Unfortunately, at the beginning of this year my gym decided not to renew its lease on the premises it had rented for more than 8 years. I was also due to go on holiday for 3 weeks just after the closure. Now I am back and while we did use some of the hotel equipment, along with lots of walking I am desperate to get back to the schedule of weight training 3 - 5 a week, along with as much cardio as I can fit into a working week.

But the same principle applies - it needs to fit into my schedule and it needs to be en route. Having been back a whole 2 days I am now into research mode for a new gym. It's my time, it is part of what I am and what I do. But i may have to slot in some body weight work (squats / pushups / tricep dips etc) that I can do at home until such time as I can find a new one that works for me.

What works for you?

Apart from schedules, discipline and of course the desire to look great, feel great and ... you thought I was going to say motivation - well for me the motivation is always there, it's one of my better habits. What I am struggling with is not having a gym to go to at the moment.

I've reconnected with my personal trainer after 6 weeks off.

Let me tell you something, after last week I hurt in places I had forgotten I had. I could barely walk, let alone sit down, stand up or put my socks on. And please don't ask me to climb stairs.

It took me 4 days before I started feeling "normal".

This week we focussed on the upper body. I can already feel my back / neck / chest and biceps beginning to hurt and the DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness) doesn't kick in until at least 24 hours after training.

Why would I consider doing something as painful as not being able to sit down, including going to the loo, and the going back for some more?

Because it's important to me that's why I push myself, and allow my trainer to push me even harder.

That is why we have trainers and coaches isn't it?

They make us do things we wouldn't dream of doing on our own.

If we want to grow, if we want to become better than we already are, then we do need to go through a variety of pain barriers otherwise we will just end up being the same.

If you don't hear from me for a couple of days, assume I can't raise my hands / arms to the keyboard to type :-)

Best

Elle

One of the items on my bucket list is to run 5k, then 10k, 12km city to surf, half marathon and marathon.

Except I am no longer sporting the runners physique and my body seems to have it's share of injuries from other training and exercise so even the 5k seemed impossible.

And then I ran the 100 day challenge. One challenger said one of his goals was to run 500km during the 100 day challenge. Another challenger had downloaded a couch to 5k program.

I downloaded one of the programs for myself, but it was towards the end and I was running out of time to complete the writing and editing of the challenge: life change program - so I put it on hold.

Until this morning.

My current 100 day challenge is to read 100 books and complete the couch to 5k program. I'll set the other challenges later on today.

i prefer to exercise first thing in the morning. That way my mind is still half asleep as I hit the gym (or wherever I am exercising that day). Because the program works on seconds or distance, I needed a way to measure what I was doing. So I opted for time and the treadmill.

And it was OK. I know I am not that unfit, but the thought of running 5k straight off was daunting. This was so easy 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking, starting with a 5 min warm up. Total time 25 mins. Repeat twice more to complete week 1.

So I am starting on a Thursday. That's Ok, next week I'll be into the routine of Monday, Wednesday and Saturday with other training in the mix.

Oh and did I mention I want to lose 2 dress sizes and hopefully relocate at least 10 kilos by the end of the 100 day challenge?

If you want to join me - you can. The program I am using is http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

And my 100 day challenge program is http://www.motivateme.info/challenge

I'll let you know how I go

Elle

There are some things you have to do yourself and exercise and food / calorie intake being two of them. But you can find people to assist you. There are personal trainers of cocurse, then there are cooks to prepare meals, and if needs be people to clean houses, drive cars and do the laundry if that's what is needed to get the rest of it done. But you still have to organise and coordinate, and then you do still have to sweat the gym stuff.

"The longer and more regularly you exercise through your life, the lower your chances are of suffering from cognitive decline and dementia as you age."

Which is just another reason we need to ensure exercise is part of our everyday life and not something we do when we think about it.

I've been guilty of that recently. It's hot, I tore my rotator cuff in my right shoulder and I am still in rehab mode. It's frustrating.

But I love to walk so I am now walking to the office at least twice a week, with the intention to up that to 4 times every week. I'm being careful not to overdo the all or nothing mode I am known for. I'm feeling the benefits almost immediately - I "feel better" than I've done for a while. Which just goes to prove the point.

Read the original article

Amy alaways wanted to represent her country in the Olympic Marathon team ... she failed

She went to the Olympics for another distance, but still she felt cheated

And then chance came to train with one of the 3 people who had made the 2012 Olympic Marathon team ...

It was the time trial - February 12 and the training partners were in the lead - but

The pace severely slowed. Shalane was now holding Amy back. Now was Amy’s time to leave her behind and win the damn thing.

But Amy unexpectedly stuck with Shalane. Mile after mile, Amy talked Shalane through the pain. It was only at mile 25, with Desi dangerously close behind, that Amy made a move.

Did she win?

For the first time in my working career I can walk to and from the office. The only times I don't are when:

• It's too hot (38 C and above is too hot for me)
• It's too wet (we are coming up to Autumn and Winter - so we'll see how many days that equates to) and
• If I need to be somewhere I cannot get to by public transport. (The company I work for does work across the whole of Western Australia and I know I have 2 meetings planned. One 75k's north of home and another one that is 150k's in the opposite direction). For the rest I am walking.

There are a couple of very good reasons why I've decided to go back to "shank's pony". I've put on a couple of kilos during summer and the heat and not wanting to stress my body too greatly at this stage - next summer and several kilos lighter that may change. At the moment I want to get rid of that excess. But the other very good and main reason I want to walk is one to do with my mental health rather than my physical health.

Because I can walk to work, it means I am less than 10 minutes away from home by car to the office - it's fantastic. BUT - it does not give me enough time to process the day before I get home and have to go into mum / home business owner mode (ie., motivate me). Nor does it give me enough time to process the morning and switch into work gear.

Walking gives me the chance to process the day. I call it doing the mental filing. Once I've done the mental filing, I can get on and think about the steps I need to take in other areas of my life. So I swap fuel for shoe leather (well runners/trainers) and when I head to my partners in Perth, I use as much money in public transport costs as I do in fuel.

But the swap is worth it. For instance I can't read when I'm in the car and I'm not into audio books, so I get a chance to catch up on my reading and / or watch the whole spectrum of humanity as they go about their morning / evening rituals.

• I can find 30 - well more like 50 minutes each day
• I can think
• I can plan
• I can read if I am on public transport

And I get the added advantage of lowering weight which in turn will give me a whole host of other health and mental health benefits.

It took Singh more than eight hours to cross the finish line - more than six hours after Kenya's Kenneth Mungara - and he was the last competitor to complete the course.

It's not hard to find 30 minutes every day to exercise. Finding 30 is the easy part:

• Walk to the bus stop
• Walk from bus stop to work
• Reverse process after work
• Walk for half your lunch break
• Play a game of tennis with your neighbour
• Walk the dog / cat / hamster
• Walk the neighbours dog / cat / hamster
• Take your toddler / grand toddler out for a walk to the park
• Play frisbee
• Scrub kitchen and bathroom floors
• Do some weeding or mow the lawn
• Vacuum

And there is always the gym and personal trainers if we get bored :-)

No, the problem isn't finding 30 minutes a day to exercise. I feel our problem lies in what we choose to do for the remaining 23 hours and 30 minutes.

How do you incorporate additional exercise into your day?

My cat is staring at me, willing me to get up from my chair and open the fly screen door so she can come in. "Go round the back" I tell her, as if the cat can understand and then comply with what I am saying. She is after all a cat. But no, I'm not going to get up, not today. Today I am succumbing to the colds and chills that have been following me around for a couple of weeks.

Defeatist? Me?

My problem, if I can call it that is that I usually keep going, no matter what. Pushing myself beyond physical limits to prove a point. After all if I can't motivate me, then how on earth can I hope to motivate you. Yesterday I was told by a good friend that I am getting older, that I'm not in my twenties or even thirties anymore, but to accept that we can and do slow down as we age. SLOW DOWN - me? Never! OK, well occassionally yes I have to. And today is one of those days.

There's been a lot of colds and germs going round. Everyone I seem to come into contact with is chewing razor blades, or knows someone who has. My daughter succumbed last week, and I feel that today and for the next couple of days I am going to succumb myself. Gah, so much to do.

It was interesting though. Friday and what I know now was the onset of the cold proper, I went to  my usual 6am gym class, there was only 2 of us and the trainer, so he pushed us hard. Now I don't mind being pushed beyond limits as I do like a challenge. But when my heart felt like it had gone out of rythm I knew I had a problem.

Sure enough, onset of cold proper and I am now sitting in bed (2 days after starting this post) coughing up furballs... and gosh is it painful. Needless to say I won't be training this week :-( at the moment it feels like 1 step forward and 3 steps backwards with my health and fitness goals. But it has (and will) give me time to think.

So - what has crossed my mind so far?

• Well I need to clean up my diet. If it was a heart attack I would have to seriously look at what I am eating. Not that it's bad, just not as good as it could be.
• My personal records are a mess. Due in part to the recent re-decorating. But I feel the need to ensure my kids and my partner will be able to find the right documents and of course the legal stuff that says who gets what :-(
• That when I look back at my life and what I have managed to achieve - my legacy isn't brilliant yet. I have a large body of work, but I do feel that my job here isn't done and I have more people to influence and motivate, so I can't go just yet.
• That I do need to stop occassionally and allow my body to recover before pushing ahead again.
• but not to waste a moment either. Which is why I am sitting, propped up in bed with my laptop catching up on a few personal jobs while I cough.

I'l speak soon

Elle

I wanted to challenge myself this morning. I wanted to be able to get to the top of the Kokoda Track steps without stopping.

Sounds easy - well if you saw the video from the last time I did it, you might realise it's not as easy as it looks as it's virtually straight up the Mt Eliza escarpment.

But training is all about beating your personal bests, and I have always considered that the Kokoda Track steps have beaten me - what I didn't know 2 weeks ago though was I actually had a glandular infection and sinusitis. I sorta figured the sinus infection, but the glandular bit - no. But it probably explains why I've not felt particularly well for a while. Anyway, antibiotics or no, I was going to push myself a little harder today.

First time down the steps was a warm up, at the bottom I shook off the stiffness in my knees and started the climb back up - 155 steps, plus long stretches of uphill walking to get to the top. I stopped once. Catching my breath at the top I realised a major mistake in my plan... no water, and no fountains...darn. 2nd time down and back up I took the first part of the climb slower and didn't stop until I got to the top - yee ha. But now I made a second challenge for myself - 5 times up and down - at around 300 steps per return trip that would make a good 1500 steps - and I did it in about 40 minutes - but time wasn't important. Fitness was.

There were a lot of people there this morning, most of them wearing hiking boots and backpacks, and me being me, chatted as we passed.

3 were training for a climb to the Base Camp at Everest, another gentleman was training for a 190km walk around the foothills of Mt Blanc and was planning on doing Kokoda up and down 10 times. Then there was a 60 something lady who had trained on Kokoda for a walk across Spain a couple of years ago,. When she got back she carried on her twice weekly regime - saying she didn't want to lose her level of fitness. Well, talk about fit - she beat me up the steps, she was also going to do the 242 steps of Jacbobs Ladder (1 way) therefore 484 return - 5 times and climb Mt Street on the outskirts of Kings Park also 5 times - and she would do that before going home.

But as you and I know, you have to start somewhere - but it does make my 12km City to Surf walk look a little weedy in comparison.

As my 60 something walking companion said though - it was good to find out what others were doing - as they would inspire you to achieve your own personal goals.

And it is true.

So - what are you training for?

I am always trying to find new ways to motivate myself to exercise, and the best way I have come across so far is this:

Find something you enjoy doing - then it doesn't seem like it's something extra you have to do, it's just part of your normal life.

However, I am a great believer in mixing it up. Different kinds of exercise works different muscle groups, or the same muscles in different ways. Walking is a great example, add in some steps or a hill or two and you increase the intensity and sometimes the difficulty - as you will see.

This weekend I took my camera with me and took a series of photographs and some video.

You can view the pictures - Jacobs Ladder and the Kokoda Track Steps (Kings Park) here

Or you can watch the video - be warned though, there is quite a lot of heavy breathing involved.

I was looking through my timeline on Twitter - yes I am there, if you want to connect with me - http://www.twitter.com/ellegb and noticed someone had posted their training and exercise program online. Intrigued I followed the link and came across what looks like an online training log called the Daily Mile - similar in feel to Twitter, you can also link to facebook, you can keep track of what exercise you are doing and how long it took you.

Quite an interesting social networking experience for those people into exercise, training, health, fitness and weight management through exercise.

I noticed, there is also a tab for "motivation" so if you need more help with motivation and exercise, maybe this is just the thing you have been looking for.

I find I think better, more clearly AFTER I've exercised.But I have to exercise for quite some time for the effect I need to take place. So I walk.

Long walks allow my mind to slow down. My mind is a real chatter box when we start. Going over and over problems and issues and things that I need to do. Slowly as the miles and the time evolves my mind forgets it was in a hurry and begins to enjoy what we're doing and where we are going.

I'd forgotten just how important long walks were for me. Once, twice a week. A way of getting out of my head and into my body. Some of you may call it grounding or centering. I just call it sensible.

I know I could go to the gym and exercise quickly and at a higher intensity (and burn off probably more calories as a result). But my mind doesn't get the rest it needs when it's being shouted at in circuit class. And my mind needed a rest after last week's intense work load, it didn't need to be told, one more, 10 seconds to go, come on you can do it, reverse direction, Elle you're on the .... next. It needed to slow down and give itself a chance to process what it had been given.

Which is why exercise is not only essential for the body but the mind as well.

As a kid, what did you do exercise wise?

I've been thinking about that question since my long distance walking revelation and I have discovered a couple of things.

I used to cycle long distances. As we didn't have a car to get around the options open were cycling, walking or catching the bus. And for "fun" I played tennis, badminton and volleyball. I didn't NEED to exercise or go to the gym as I was toned, fit and healthy from living my life.

As I've gotten older, landed a job where I spend a lot of my time sitting on my rear end I've become lazy and as a result my mind NEVER stops.

So, my aim as I incorporate more activity into my daily life is this. To be active to the extent that I don't NEED to exercise any more, gain better tone and definition and lose the weight I have gained over a number of years.

This was sent to me today. I don't know the source, but whoever it was thank you. It is very funny - but in it lies a seed of a lesson to be learned (or two):

Do not buy a gym membership for someone else. It's like saying to someone - you're fat and flabby - go do something about it.

You cannot motivate someone to do something they do not want to do. They have to WANT to exercise and those who do will have the motivation to work out and perhaps buy their own membership.

Do not exercise the same set of muscles every day - they're going to hurt if you've never used them in that way before....

------------------------------------------------------------

A WOMAN'S WEEK AT THE GYM

This is dedicated to everyone who ever attempted to get into a regular workout routine.

Dear Diary,
For my birthday this year, my Husband (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me.

Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.

My husband seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

________________________________
MONDAY:
Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me. He is something of a Greek God - with blond hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!

Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!

Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week-!!

________________________________
TUESDAY:
I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT-!! It's a whole new life for me.

_______________________________
WEDNESDAY:
The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.

Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.

My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other shit too.

_ ______________________________
THURSDAY:
Asshole was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late - it took me that long to tie my shoes.

He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny bitch to find me.

Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine -- which I sank.
_________________________________
FRIDAY:
I hate that bastard Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it.

Christo wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the damn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.

The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

________________________________
SATURDAY:
Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel.

________________________________
SUNDAY:
I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun -- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

As with all things related to motivation. Motivation and exercise, the little things we do can make a huge difference. I was back at the gym again this morning, and again a new set of exercises to test the mind and the body during circuit class. 30 minutes of intense workout - and probably worth about an hour for most people who go to the gym normally.

But it takes motivation to roll out of bed on a weekend, get in the car and drive to the gym. I know that - but I have made the decision and I will stick to it. So much so, I paid for the next 3 months - a real kick start to get my fitness back on track.

Does it take paying over monies to ensure you go to the gym when you need to? Absolutely not - gym's rely on people who pay and then don't go. Easy money if you think about it. And like I have said in the past - if you pay for a gym membership and don't go - then cut out the middle man and send it my way - I can put it to better use !!

So - whatever your reason, whatever motivates you - then do it. I know it's different for everyone and depending on the day - will vary for each person too. But that's normal. Believe me.

Keep well, keep fit and KEEP GOING

It rained heavily today..but that didn't stop me from changing into my work out gear and walking out of the door into the evening rain. 8 kilometres later soaked, cold and laughing at the looks on the faces of the drivers safe and sound in their metal boxes it was time to stretch it out before hitting the shower.

Just because it's raining doesn't mean you can't exercise. Make a commitment to yourself and your health and have fun whilst you are doing it.

This week has been full on

Monday - gym

Tuesday - Boxing for fitness class.

Wednesday - Pole dancing

Today - sore as. My right arm has given up it seems, after tearing something in the forearm at class last night. And as much as I hate to say this - may have to stop pole dancing for a while to recover. But I will see what happens over the next couple of days.

With all the extra exercise I'm doing at the moment - it was to be expected, I just didn't realise by how much. 4 weeks ago I took some basic measurements. Today I took them again....and I've dropped 2cm from the chest/back, waist and hips....which explains why my clothes feel roomy....then I remembered 5cm = an entire dress size......I'm going to crank up the exercise some more, and see just how fast I can reduce the next 3cm's....

You start with little things...gain success, gain momentum, move onwards and forwards faster.... exciting. 

In my continuing bid to "get fit" I am in the process of challenging my mind and body - again. As you know I am learning how to pole dance, which is challenging enough one might say, but on Saturday I went to a flexibility class at the studio. Why? Well my personal philosophy is "because I can".

I have to say my body complained at the intensity of the stretching - but a hot bath later that same day did ease out the pain in my lower back....and I have already booked a spot for next saturday's class. The intermediates class starts this Wednesday - so shall be ready to stretch out the muscles again by then.

Anyway, I was watching the final of the program "so you think you can dance" last night. Not only do these people have awesome talent, but the dedication to their "sport" their art and their craft was evident. In learning the routines, the hours they must spend practicing and honing their skills....and of course performing. Which of course made me think about motivateme and my readers of the daily dose of motivational medicine....and of course my own personal journey. When you know what you want, and you want it so badly you will do whatever you need to do. You will spend half the night working out the answer to a problem. You will get up early to start again. You will put in the hours and days to practice, practice, practice, so that when you come to "perform" you know what you are doing and you are going to do it well.

Dedication, persistence and a clear objective...once you have those three aspects worked out, you will achieve your personal goals.....guaranteed.

There is one thing you can almost guarantee when you begin to exercise on a regular basis. Injury. Despite all the warm ups and stretching, sometimes we get injured when we are training - either through our own fault or someone else's. Sometimes it is compounded if we decide to work out when we know we should rest. But there is another aspect to exercise. Would you still be tempted to exercise if you couldn't do it in the "normal" way anymore?

Summer days bring immense heat and pressure to Perth living. We are still officially in spring, but the temperatures bely that fact, which probably explains why the lycra brigade, the runners, the bikers, and anything that move n shoot was out and about early this morning.

One group of cyclists caught my attention though. Males, females, families, youths, every size, shape and persuasion had joined the mass movement around the Swan river this morning. But the person who really captured my attention was the gentleman at the back of the pack. It was obvious from the set of his face, his jerky movements that he had suffered some kind of seizure - a stroke, paralysis - or similar. But rather than hang up his wheels he had his bike converted - to a trike. A light weight racing frame - on three wheels. Would you still be willing to go the distance if you had been dealt the same kind of fate? Or would you hang up your wheels?

I could barely walk yesterday. Every time I sat down for any length of time I ceased up. If this is what it is like being 42 and reasonably fit I hate to think what I would be like if I didn't go to the gym and exercise regularly.

If you struggle with the exercise discipline, and given the worldwide obesity statistics, it would appear that a lot of people do struggle with their weight. The question is why? We are all aware of the benefits that exercise gives us, and we know of the problems caused by over eating, yet we constantly feed our bodies with more energy that it needs and can use in a single day, which the body stores inside capacious fat stores waiting for the next famine.

Our bodies are walking fat stores and the only way to get rid of them is to eat less and exercise more.

Sounds simple doesn’t it? And it is. The key to losing weight is eating less fuel than your body can use in a single day. If you want to continue to eat at the same rate that you do, then you are going to have to do a significant amount of exercise to start shifting the excess baggage that you carry around each day. By the way one kilogram of fat is equivalent to 7,700 calories, how many extra calories does that equate to? In real terms not very much.

• A bottle of wine (not the sweet version) is approximately 560 calories. For those of you without a calculator handy that equates to just under 14 bottles of wine.
• Pizza – 2 slices of the “meateater” ranges from 530 to 750 calories – and how many times have you been unable to stick to just 2 pieces? (Note: all stats come from the Allan Boruschek’s pocket calorie and fat counter booklet if you really want to scare yourself silly).

Some of these statistics should be enough to get people to the gym every single day of the week, but not even these seem to make a dent in our appetites. So let me give you some more.

In 1988-1989 in the United States the cost of treating obesity problems and health related disease was $672 million. In 1996 that figure had grown to $45.8 billion. Americans were also spending $18 billion on low-fat food products and 32 billion on weight loss products in general. (Donna Aston, Fat or Fiction: Are you living a fairy tale? Hybrid Publishers, Melbourne, Australia, 1999 p11).

By the way a person is classed as obese when their body weight is 20% higher than his/her ideal weight.

So are you ready to get off the couch yet and get exercising yet?

Whilst we all know that over eating is bad for us, we continue to do it. We all know that exercise is good for us, yet we don’t do enough. But if you are ready to get motivated to get exercising then here are some suggestions that may help you create the new disciplines that you will need to add to your life.

By the way am I saying that you shouldn’t eat pizza or drink wine? Absolutely not, just be aware that in order to get rid of those calories you’ve just consumed you are going to have to do more than just go for a brief stroll round the park.

So lets get moving:

1. Get up when the alarm goes off, get dressed and go for a walk. By the time your brain has woken up to the fact that you’re exercising you’ll be half way round.

2. Have a set time of day and a set day to do your exercise. And make sure it is a day that you can stick to. I go to the gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday or Saturday. And not very much gets in the way of doing it. Once your partner and your kids realise you are not willing to compromise on these sessions then they’ll stop nagging you to be elsewhere.

3. Arrange to exercise with a friend, but choose someone you know will push you. When you doing any kind of personal development and growth you will usually find it is because you are associating with people who push you to do more, be more. They can see your potential even if you can’t. Associating with people who sit in front of the television are not going to be the ones that will readily go for a walk with you.

4. Book some time with a personal trainer. You are paying for time and expertise, so it doesn’t come cheap. Pay for their services up front and unless you have more money than you know what to do with (in which case can you send some my way) you will keep the appointments. Every sports person has a trainer or a coach. They know that in order to improve their game, they need someone to push them to achieve more. It is so easy to slack off when you go to the gym, easy to walk a little slower than you should. But if you have someone at your back shouting at you. Guess what, you will do that extra push up, lift that extra weight, run just that little bit further.

5. Put your gym gear into the car and go there before you go home. If you go home first, I can almost guarantee that you will find all sorts of excuses not to get back in the car and go.

6. Pack your gym bag the night before, so that when you conveniently sleep late, you don’t have to rush to put the clothes etc together.

7. Put your gym bag next to all the other bags you take with you to work, so that you don’t conveniently forget to take it when you’re leaving the house.

8. Incorporate exercise into something else. For example, walk/cycle to work. Walk during your lunch break. Take the stairs instead of the lift. Did you know that exercise can also be classed as housework, gardening, painting and decorating? Add some upbeat music to your day and dance your way to better health and fitness.

8a. Exercise and depression. I have noticed that it is virtually impossible to be "depressed" after you've done exercise. The body releases a chemical called serotonin - the runner's high, the feel good factor - or whatever else you want to call it. Guess what depression has - yep, a lack of serotonin in the body. The problem is of course, those people who need the buzz of natural serotonin are the ones most likely to make excuses as to why they can't go to the gym today - because they really don't feel up to it.

Over the last 10 years or so I have suffered recurring bouts of depression. Nothing so bad I needed to go to the doctors, but I have tried the natural suipplements to no avail. Now I don't take them at all. I still suffer from depressive tendencies now and again, but rather than wallow in the why - I just accept that sometimes it happens and go and clean out a cupboard or two, go to the gym or go for a long walk. The physical aspect of moving can be enough to drag you through the black period. And believe me when I say they can sometimes be very black. However, with exercising on a very regular basis ie., 3-4 times a week at the gym I rarely (if ever) get down and depressed. Obviously the long-term effects of the release of the serotonin plays a huge part in this, which is just one of the reasons why I go.

9. Try something new – just to shock the mind and the muscles. There are numerous studies that tell us that the more you use your mind, ie., use your mind in a variety of different ways, the less likely you are to suffer from Alzheimer’s. Well the first time you try anything new you have to think differently. You don’t know the short cuts, you don’t know all the answers, your muscles will have to work differently with yoga to playing tennis to climbing an indoor rock wall. So vary the exercise that you do. Learn how to pole dance, learn how to do the rock and roll, learn how to climb a rope. Go to circus school or kayak down a river. Get a group of friend’s together, pack a picnic and head for the hills, or the beach. An hour of stomping up and down hills and sand is a fantastic way of exercising more than just the jaw when you get together with your friends.

10. Decide why you want a better body – and believe me when I say, if you do enough exercise you will get a much better body. It’s not a quick fix, but then again, if you are overweight and unfit it didn’t take a few minutes to get you to that stage did it? It takes months if not years of doing a little less every day than you should to get you to the stage you find yourself in, so don’t believe the hype of the dieting industry. The main thing you need to remember is that fat is an energy store. If you want to lose the fat, then you need to use it.

11. And after all that if you still can’t be bothered to get off your butt and do the exercise, then the first thing you need to do is change your stinking attitude. Because if you have your list of reasons why you should be exercising and you’re not. Then you need to consider that your reasons aren’t good enough. If having a sexier, healthier body doesn’t get you off the couch, then what will?

Two exercise sessions in two days, but it's good to shock the muscles occassionally. Not that I exercised the same set of muscle groups, so it's not like I am going to be stiff and sore tomorrow. So why 2 in two days? Well like most things in life, why not? Besides i'd crashed at a friends place last night so it meant I could get there quite easily. Of course I could just of easily stayed in bed, or gone out for a quiet cup of coffee. But no - the gym beckoned and I went.

Motivating yourself to exercise can be difficult if you really don't enjoy exercising. Thankfully I do. I can see the changes being made to my body, which makes it easier to go the next time. But that only comes from weight training (in my opinion) - cardio fitness you can't tell you have - until you get stuffed climbing up a flight of stairs or running for the bus. And fitness to coin my friends term is "not something you can stick in a bottle for another day" you have to go and you have to do the requisite number of reps, and then a bit more. Which is probably why most people when given the choice would sooner have the coffee than the sweating. Me I would sooner have both. The glorious endorphin rush after the exercise, the feel good factor that says - hey I did it. I went to the gym. My body is getting better. And I got the cup of coffee afterwards too!!

The challenge moves into its third week, and yes I am still going.  The problem I have found is that everyone and I do mean everyone is doing exactly the same programme on exactly the same day that I am trying to do...which isn't a problem if you go to they gym at 9.00am. Unfortunately everyone appears to go at the same time - straight after work Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The major problem I have found is that if everyone is doing the same part of the challenge - then everyone needs the same pieces of equipment that I do - which is very frustrating when they sit on the equipment and rest between sets. I prefer to do a single set of exercises on each piece of machinery 3 times - as in a circuit. That way you don't rest between sets and you can keep your heart rate up which also helps with the cardio component of the challenge. It will be interesting to see which "version" works best at the end of the 12 weeks.

So I can "moan" or I can alternate the exercise routine. Wednesday I will do the opposite to everyone else and again on Friday. Why stress when there are easy and simple solutions to the problem.

But it was gratifying - Saturday evening I wore a slightly shorter skirt than normal along with a pair of knee high boots and received whistled approval!! for which I thanked the appreciative person...damn it makes you feel good when others notice the results!!!!

And on that note it is time for me to hit the shower and bed, have to have a blood test in the morning - annual service check up. I don't have a cholesterol problem, I've never had it checked!!!!

Hope all continues to be well with you xoxo

Lots to take in...do this, don't do this, first support session tonight - so I headed over. Some of it was / is as clear as mud. Is the food component - cooked weight or raw weight - and yes it makes a huge difference.  Forgot to ask that one. But I did say that if I ate all that food I would end up putting weight on, rather than losing it....

The support session was nothing like I expected...there was not a group session like I expected, hi these are the people who are on the challenge, say hi and don't be afraid to encourage one another...nope - still don't know who else is on the challenge. I will make a few suggestions to the owners - if I'm confused then something tells me that there will be other confused people out there...

So I did a minor workout - 300 calorie challenge using a piece of cardio equipment. I chose a recumbant bike - haven't used one in quite a while, consequently my muscles were screaming by the end...next week I get to beat my time!!! plus some abdominal work. Tomorrow I will go back and do a proper workout. Legs and Shoulders tomorrow....

I decided to take a friend up on the offer of a cup of tea before heading home, so walked down the hill towards Claisbrook Cove. For those of you who know East Perth, Western Australia you will know the cove - and for those of you who don't, well I am due to get some pics back this week - so will load one or two for you...anyway I digress...

Tonight it is full moon. Icy cold wind ran off the antartic up the cove. I thrust my hands into my jacket pockets and stared unbeliving, a sharp fin cut through the inky water...oh my god - shark. Australia has quite a number of sharks that call this place home. But the undulation belied a different kind of water creature. A dolphin - in the cove. The creature obviously oblivious to the cold winter water of the Swan River was cruising for supper. I ran towards the water hoping to see this beautiful mermaid again - and was rewarded with another brief glimpse, I stood for a while - but despite the full moon - she was hard to see. The last time I saw dolphins in the wild was some years ago, and I spend a fair bit of time close to the water's edge...so it is a very special and altogether rare opportunity.

What to make of the sighting? I'm not sure, but when I work it out I will let you know.

Am I excited at the thought of not knowing what diet and exercise plan I am going to be on after tomorrow?

Not really, but then again neither am I worried about the thought of giving up after a couple of days. Having come this far I need to take it to the next stage and what better way than with people who have been there and done that already.

So if you lack the motivation to go it alone, why not get an exercise "buddy" or someone who will keep you on the straight and narrow whilst allowing time off for good behaviour.

As someone said to me last night - too big an expectation can lead to disappointment somewhere along the track - but it is interesting I have personally not set myself any "goals" about specified weight loss during the challenge. My ideal weight is some 12 kilos from where I am currently sitting at the moment, 12 kilos in 12 weeks? It is possible I suppose - but I would be just as happy with a loss on the tape measure of 12 cm's - especially on the hips and butt. But I am not going to stress if the scales or tape measure do not show much change, I know the difference will eventuate - but at the same time I am challenging myself to be better than I was today, and better still than yesterday. Everything is a choice, from the food we put into our mouths to the words that come out of our mouths. We can be a joy to be around, or we can be miserable and grumpy as all hell.

By the way - the world does not owe you a living! It is up to you to design the life that you want, just as it is up to me whether I succeed or fail. I hope you will succeed, I intend to. 

The Cove gym is running a 12 week challenge - starting on the 10th July. They've created the diet and exercise plan - all we have to do is sign up, get some embarrassing photos taken and then stick to it.

The question is - why am I procrastinating about joining the challenge?

I have come a long way on my own since Christmas. My personal trainer - Brian, with whom I have had 3 whole sessions with has helped, but I am the one who has to front up to the gym and do the work.  Why am I afraid to take it to the next level?

What do I fear?

Is it because I feel that I won't have any clothes that will fit me when I get to the other end?
Is it because I fear not being able to afford new stuff?
Am I afraid that I won't be able to stick to the plan for 12 weeks?
Am I afraid that my willpower will wane?
Am I afraid of ridicule?

One or two things occur to me:

The Cove is totally supportive. The owner is a body building champion, he trains sports people and athletes - and knows how to strip body fat. I have a large fatty deposit that sits just above my pubic line and extends outwards towards my hips and up above my belly button. It appeared when I was pregnant for the first time and now it just looks like I am constantly pregnant...not a good look!!

The owner and his wife did the challenge the first time around - so they know it works. They don't expect people to do something they are not prepared to do themselves.

Most of my clothes need replacing anyway. Some of them I have had for 10 years. It's time they went. There are a lot of second-hand clothing stores and recycling boutiques I can utilise until I can replace the "old" clothes with some new ones. I have a unique opportunity to re-build my wardrobe. And what part of that doesn't appeal to a woman? I also have clothes in my wardrobe that I've kept just-in-case I could fit into them again. Looks like I will be needing them after all.

And the final point to consider:

I will regret not joining in. In 12 weeks I would say, well I could have done that if I'd wanted to... excuses, excuses, excuses. In 12 weeks I could be the size and shape I say I want to be. There are no good reasons for not joining in the challenge. After all the only person I am challenging is myself. And if I am not willing to do that - then I might as well go and sit in a corner and wait to die. Because life without challenge is merely existence.

I will of course keep you posted on the progress. I took some photos this morning - if they come out - i'll post them on the web for you to see!!