Monthly Archive for October, 2009

We had a few missed sessions due to a variety of reasons however it went well overall and was nice to ‘connect’ to the public! Now relaxing with a glass of shiraz. Up early for more phone chats tomorrow and Monday next week. We were inundated with interest so maybe something we look at doing from time to time.

Been out on the balcony relaxing, it’s really lovely out tonight. Going to book in a candlelit dinner out there for next week I think.

I trained today and nearly died! Firstly it was hot. Second, I had 5 exercises one after the other with 10 seconds rest between. Try this workout, all 10 reps:

Thruster (squat with shoulder press)
DB Iron Cross (squat with rear delt fly)
DB Swing – 20 reps
Burpees
Prisoner squat jump
3 mins rest then do it all again

This shows how out of form I really am. I couldn’t even do all the burpees 2nd time around. I did 15 mins of cardio prior.

Diet today:

1/4 cup oats (it really goes a long way)
1/2 cup cottage cheese
handful of bran cereal
sugar free maple syrup

1/2 cup cottage cheese
blueberries
natural yoghurt
bran cereal
sugar free maple syrup

Post workout:
Scoop of choc whey protein
raspberries
natural yoghurt
bran cereal

Glass of red wine

My dinner will be:

Chicken
veggies, mixed with 1tsp pesto
mango chutney
sprinkle of feta

Tomorrow I have a 6.45am chat scheduled so will be up and at ‘em early. Training will have to be later in the morning. Actually the power is scheduled to go off from 9am to 1pm which I’m not real excited about. It is going to be hot tomorrow so I will miss the a/c! Training tomorrow will be legs. I am also going to book in a massage for Friday, half price, how can I not.

I THINK we are doing dinner with Nadia and Pete tomorrow night at the Spanish Bar and Grill (which just won best steak restaurant in Oz – not bad for a country town!). I must check with Nadia. We haven’t caught up properly for a long time so I am looking forward to our night out.

We have a few big weeks coming up with some mainstream mag advertising coming out next Monday followed by a special ‘eblast’ email advertising campaign.

Oh yeah and it’s Melbourne Cup Day soon and we still haven’t decided what to do for it. I believe it’s meant to be rotten hot the day prior (39 degrees) so maybe the dusty races may not be such a good idea though I have not been to the races for awhile and do enjoy it.

Wine has gone to my head so time to go and eat.

Well I have been a little slack on the blog front haven’t I? I didn’t get a huge amount of time while in Qld and when I did I wanted to relax and get away from the computer for a while. It was lovely to catch up with Kristin again, and despite what she may say on her blog she is still looking fantastic. Equally as good to meet Sharna finally too! Sharna was very impressive bringing her food along with her, even while on holidays – testimony to her dedication as she focuses on comp prep for next year. We also caught up with Hils and her baby belly – she is looking great – hard to believe she doesn’t have that long to go!

I only trained twice while I was away – one session at Bodizone’s studio, and another in Broadbeach. I did a bit of walking but otherwise I was just busy working and doing stuff.

It is such a lovely part of the world and so relaxing. I had the best apartment, it was big, with ocean views, and a lovely pool area. I did manage a couple of hours by the pool while there – enough to get a bit of sunburn.

It took me awhile to get back into training when I got home too. I have been rather blase about it to be honest – I don’t like it much either! It’s interesting how you can find the time when you have a comp on (because you have to). So, as of Thursday I was back into it and let me say it’s pretty scary how easily you lose strength and fitness. I did a leg session yesterday and decided to start squatting again. I didn’t go too hard but boy my legs are really, really sore today. Today I went outdoors for some stair work and a bit of jogging and walking. Tomorrow is my fave training day, shoulders and back. Tomorrow night we are going for a hit of tennis. The weather has improved finally and today was just beautiful. Meant to be getting quite hot over the next few days.

Our gym has had a bit of a makeover recently and I think it’s awesome now. Carpet throughout, new treadies, and heaps of room.

We had a lovely bbq dinner at a friend’s house last night, along with a few too many wines. Tonight we cooked a lamb roast and had that with some veggies for dinner.

Site updates and new advertising campaigns are takimg up a lot of my work time of late. It’s exciting to have everything coming together though.

Oh, and we have yet another Body Blitz winner! Two in a row and that makes 17 overall Well done to Fiona McConnell who recently completed a Personal Success Mentor program with us. The lovely Karen Lewis was her mentor and who obviously did a great job keeping Fe on the straight and narrow.

I have FINALLY caught up on my inbox. It has been overloaded since I have been away. Even though I work while away, for some reason it always takes days to catch up when I get back. Printing to be done, snail mail to be opened, packages to be sent, bills to be paid, washing to be done, and so on and so forth. Phew, I’m on top of things again.

Anyway so no real exciting news for the moment. Hope everyone has had a great weekend, am looking forward to hearing how the Olympia went.

Something I haven’t done in a long, long time! It was actually more a question of whether I would be able to hit the ball more than anything, but I quite impressed myself! And it was a really good workout! Just half an hour, and my forearm, wrist and hand is now rather achy and feels uncomfortable using my mouse! So, we have decided we will make it a weekly event on a Saturday morning. Now must go buy a tennis racket. We had to go buy some balls before we went, and I managed to find a nice Running Bare workout top in the 5 mins I was in the store. Didn’t try it on, just hoping for the best.

I have just printed out a healthy Indian Chicken Curry recipe that hubby and I are going to cook up tomorrow night. Actually, reminds me, we need to go grocery shopping. Will do that before I hit the gym for chest and rear delts.

I got up at 2.30am this morning, Damien was thrashing about in bed (again!) and it woke me. I pushed him off to the downstairs bedroom quick smart but I couldn’t go back to sleep. Got up for an hour or so and was really, really hoping I would get back to sleep because my sleeping this past few days has not been great, and consequently, it’s affecting my energy levels and concentration. Happy to say I did manage to do so and sleep in until 8am. So I am feeling rather normal today, and ready to tackle a good workout – unlike the last 2 days.

Just trying to upload a pic of Kristin at her comp but unfortunately my computer is playing silly buggers.

I must get all my washing done this weekend so I can pack for my trip on Monday. It’s been a bit cold here, so looking forward to some warmth. Let me go check the weather…typical, it’s getting cooler!! Oh well, I will just have to hope they are wrong. Still happy with 23-25 degrees though.

Meeting a client for coffee on Sunday in Broadbeach, I love doing that.

I think Nadia is back today, I heard she had a lovely time and wants to move to Qld. Don’t we all

We have quite a few clients finishing up their 12 weeks this week gone and this one coming, and I’m looking forward to seeing some great comparison photos.

On that note, time for a shower and some grocery shopping I think.

Thanks all for your comments, it certainly seems to have opened up a can of worms! For your info, LizN has dissected my post on her blog. Have a read and feel free to comment as she has asked, but for the record, my point was, it was an uneccessary comment. I mean what was the reason for asking it? It has since been described as ‘thought provoking’ – provoking perhaps, but without the thought!

The response from Shelley on Liz’s blog:

Sue, does it make you a better, stronger, happier person than me because you showed your abs in your “off season”?

I am an open, honest and caring person. If anyone takes my writing as negative than that really is there problem, not mine and perhaps they should dig a bit deeper and find the real reason I pissed them off!

As for showing my (somewhat soft) abs during the offseason, yes, I put that up there to show that I’m better than you. LOL!

The point was quite the opposite, in that usually all the photos we see on blogs and competitors websites show people in their best condition. I wanted to show what I look like in the off season, when I’m ‘normal’ and not dieting, to let others know who have read the negative posts and have become somewhat confused, to have them understand that it doesn’t have to be black and white. You can eat well and still ‘live’. I too have struggled too with the same issues that everyone has, but have over the years managed to learn how to eat well but intuitively off season and not be on a diet year round.

If I have a goal (there is that word again) I diet and train with a structured plan. This only happens when I’m competing, so once in a blue moon.

Nobody said we should be on a diet indefinitely, and of course it’s counterproductive if you are, and yes, intuitive eating is something we should definitely aim for when we don’t have a specific goal in mind.

Bodybuilding and striving to reach a peak actually has saved me from the disordered eating patterns and body image issues that I used to deal with, so for me, thumbs up to it. I used to struggle and struggle to get to where I wanted to be, never getting there, always feeling like a failure, diet after diet.

Bodybuilding taught me commitment, consistency, patience, and gave me a tremendous sense of power and achievement when I completed the challenge – much like Kristin is feeling now. I then understood what it takes to actually get to that stage, the hard work, discipline, sweat and sometimes tears. Was it worth it? Of course. Is it worth it year round? No way.

So, offseason I’m happy to just sit a few kg over. Those last few kg aren’t worth the effort in the offseason. A bit of extra padding is fine with me. So, end result, I’m happy to get to lean and mean once every now and then, but otherwise, I’m happy to sit a few kg over. Before I wasn’t happy, I was always striving to be ‘better’.

Anyway, not sure if it all makes sense but of course, do whatever works, I know for most of my clients having that structured plan (and it’s not a ‘bodybuilding diet’, it’s a liveable plan) is what works. I still think that the more you write and think about it the more obsessed you become. We tend to overthink things and make them more of an issue than they really are.

I recently had a skype chat with a client who was struggling with her social life because she was dieting. We came up with a plan that would allow her to continue being social (ie going out to eat with her friends – and not having to order plain chicken/fish and veg/salad) and not having her feel guilty after doing so, and thus continuing to make progress AND enjoy the process. It can be done!

Self sabotage when it comes to diet is interesting, and here is my take. I really feel that if you are using food as a crutch or an outlet, there is probably something else in your life you are unhappy with – be it work, relationships, lifestyle etc. So maybe that should be a starting point, to have a look and see if those aspects maybe affecting the way you eat.

And Kristin, if you want to keep competing because it makes you feel great, you go for it girl!! Lots of people envy you.