Archive for the 'competition' Category

I have ‘arisen’!

I’ve been prompted by an email from someone saying they miss my blog – so I am finally updating!

Firstly to my trip to the Big Apple in early November…

Saying goodbye to my little darling (and my big darling), was rather sad and there were a few tears. I couldn’t help but go through things like, what sort of a mother leaves her 12 month old daughter to jet off to NYC with a friend, and so on and so forth. I was feeling quite sick about it all, prior to leaving.

We did have a fantastic time though  and Nadia brought home the goods (literally, nearly 10kg of trophy hardware in her luggage!) from the competition. We did a lot of shopping, but unfortunately (maybe fortunately for the bank balance) it was going into winter there so I didn’t really want to be buying much in the way of cool weather wear.

We visited the World’s Largest Chocolate Show – plenty of tastings and worth every minute. Poor Nadia wasn’t able to even sample anything!

We had an awesome picnic in Central Park a couple of days after the comp. Central Park is amazing, so clean, and pristine – much like the city of NY really.

I visited the 9/11 Memorial which was very moving. In fact visited the actual site about 3 times but to get tickets to the memorial we had to line up first thing in the morning as they don’t just let everyone through.

We visited Times Square (a lot), Soho, Greenwich Village, did a hop on hop off bus tour, had dinner with Roman (Final Phase Fat Loss), ate a massive piece of cheesecake, and a full plate of baby back ribs (not at the same meal). Good coffee as usual over there was hard to come by.

Nadia's competition (in middle)

Had a great trip, but after a week I was getting really homesick for my little girl and my boy.

The trip home could be described as nothing short of insane; starting in NYC and ending in Mildura about 30 hours later. With all of 2 hours sleep. Anyway, I don’t want to think about that anymore!

Kyah was rather standoffish when she greeted me at the airport. Like “hmmm, you left me for 12 days and so I don’t think I want to hug you or even smile at you just yet’. By the time we got back to our house she was all over me. She started walking while I was in New York :( Very bad timing on my behalf. Oh well, can’t do anything about that. Now she is a little trooper, walking everywhere! So funny. I’m loving this stage of her development. She’s such a happy, sociable little kid. Last night we took her out for dinner with us, dressed her up in a little white party dress with pink flowers on it. She sat in a booster chair and did not grizzle once – she was so interested in people walking past, the Christmas trees, and everything else going on. We were dining al fresco, so let her go for a walk and she just took off, mingling in with everyone, big grin on her face.

Here she is on her birthday, back in October. I love this photo.

And, just a few days ago she said her first word (other than bub, mum, dad). She said ‘pretty’. I always tell her ‘pretty’ when I brush her hair or when she looks at my jewellery or sparkly things. Then she said it again to my mum while pointing at balloons.

Really looking forward to Christmas this year. We have a beach holiday planned and I can’t wait to sit back and relax!

Training is going well, even though I didn’t train once while in NY I didn’t put on any weight – which I find hard to believe. We walked and walked though. Not enough to walk off a big cheesecake and ribs though!

I haven’t even had time to post any pictures from my photo shoot, so here are a few below. I didn’t diet for these photos – I haven’t been on a ‘diet’ since my 2009 competition. Pregnancy seems to have done something very positive for my metabolism. I’m back to training 4 x week (when things go according to plan A or plan B). To be honest I haven’t been very consistent as there is always something that comes up like sleep deprivation or sickness (be that myself or Kyah, or even the day carer’s son). I went through a 2 month patch of severe night waking and was averaging 4-5 hours a night for that time. Thankfully I am sleeping a lot better now.

So, my training regime is 2 x week with a split of back/chest and legs/shoulders, plus two Crossfit type sessions which I structure depending on how I pull up from the other sessions. I’m getting my strength back finally, for so long I felt like a weakling and quite unsteady in the weights room. Sometimes I will do Back/Shoulders which is what I did yesterday. My lats are so sore today. Here’s what I did – try it out!

Pull Up (I used a band, and had a spotter – you could use an assisted machine if you have one available)

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 reps (with about a minute rest in between, less as the reps get less)

So you do 10 reps and rest. 9 reps and rest. 8 reps and rest, and so on. Total of 55 reps.

Bulldog Row (that’s what I call them) – 3 sets of 10 each arm. One arm rows on a cable (or with a resistance band looped around a pole) while kneeling on all 4s. These are awesome for targeting the lower lats.

TRX Pull – 3 x 10. If you don’t have access to a TRX then you could do reverse pushups on a smith machine, or any other back exercise you like.

DB One Arm Row – 3 x 10

Shoulder stand – basically just standing on my hands against a wall to develop more shoulder strength. I tried to transfer the weight from one shoulder to the other. That’s hard. You might need a spotter for this.

Alternating KB (or DB) Press – 3 x 10

BB Push Press – 3 x 10

BB Upright Row – 3 x 10 

As for Kyah and her sleeping – she sleeps like a dream. She is like clockwork. Up between 6-6.30 (that’s cool with me because I am routinely up at 5am – no alarm needed), back to bed 9-9.30am, up at 11am. Back for a nap at 2pm and up around 4pm. Then ready for bed again at 7-7.30pm and sleeps right through. With her molars coming through she’s had a couple of off nights but it’s only rarely. I so swear by the sleep routines!

So, that’s a wrap from this end – I so love being a mum, but do still struggle to fit everything in (like all other mums!) but I’m managing fairly well.

I’d love to hear from you guys – either leave me a comment, or email me via sue@ idealbodiesonline.com (remove space). Hope you are all traveling well and thanks for being patient with me!
x

Body Redesign – and my competition diet

Today is the big launch day for the brand new Shape-shifter Body Redesign Program designed by super bodyweight coaches Adam Steer and Ryan Murdock.

For the next 3 days, as my valued subscriber you have the opportunity to grab the Shapeshifter Program at 51% off, but also you can pick up my very own winning competition diet, Figure Ready – the exact diet I used to win!

I’ve never released a competition diet before, and certainly not a personal one but I thought I’d do something extra special for my readers as I know there are multitudes of women out there curious about competition dieting and what we do to get ultra-lean. I’ll give you the tip – my own personal comp diet is not something I find overly difficult – I worked it around my own personal likes and dislikes so I could sustain it for the 12-16 weeks required.

*Figure Ready is a diet only, there is no workout to go with it, but that’s what the Shapeshifter Program will offer you! So, read on – you only have 3 days to pick up this offer. You need to purchase through a link in one of my emails, otherwise you won’t be eligible for the Figure Ready diet.

www.idealbodiesonline.com/bodyredesign <—exclusive 51% off invitation

Let me chat a little bit about the Shapeshfter Body Redesign Program and then I will give you full instructions on how to grab your 2 for 1 programs, and, share a great interview I did with one of the creator’s of Shapeshifter.

With Shapeshifter, we’re talking innovative bodyweight training programs fully integrated with no-nonsense diet and lifestyle lessons. One of their beta testers lost 8.5 inches off her body in only 6 weeks—without setting foot in a gym! And every inch she shed was fat! So, if you think bodyweight training is for pussies, read on.

The program is arranged in a day-by-day format that removes fat on the hurry-up while maintaining or even adding muscle in EXACTLY THE RIGHT PLACES for the most impressive visual impact.

You know I’m all for CHANGING your shape, not just becoming a smaller version of the current you. That’s what Shapeshifter Body ReDesign is all about.

Not only is this the best bodyweight training program I’ve ever seen, it’s also one of the highest quality and most innovative programs going around.

www.idealbodiesonline.com/bodyredesign  <— 51% off (exclusive invite)

3 easy steps to grab your copy of Shapeshifter AND my competition winning diet (free):

1. Purchase the Shapeshifter Body Redesign program at 51% off through one of the links in this email

2. Wait for your Clickbank Receipt

3. Email your Clickbank receipt to sue @ idealbodiesonline.com (remove spaces) with the subject line Figure Ready Please!

THE INTERVIEW AND YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Recently I had the chance to interview the charming Adam Steer, and asked him some questions about the program which I know would be relevant to my readers.

 
SH: Hi Adam, congratulations on your new Shapeshifter program – it looks fantastic and a program I feel would benefit many of my readers. Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions about the program for us. In a nutshell, what is Shapeshifter and why did you create it?

 AS: Shapeshifter was born from our frustration with what we saw as one-dimensional “transformation” programs. There’s no shortage of diet and exercise plans out there that’ll help you lose “weight”. But they all just leave you with a smaller version of the same flabby body! 

After weeks or months of disciplined eating or rigorous workouts, we just don’t think that’s a great payoff! And that’s why we set out to design a program that changes the SHAPE of your body, not just your weight.

Adding or toning muscle in just the right places while you chisel the fat away and improve your posture yields almost unbelievable visual results in as little as 6 weeks. But you can’t get those kinds of results unless you address ALL three factors of body redesign: workouts, diet and lifestyle. 

Most workout programs only pay lip service to nutrition. Diet books might include a token workout. Both the exercise and nutrition programs tend to ignore all-important lifestyle factors. But it’s only when you dial all three of these elements together that you can make big changes to the way you look in a small timeframe. 

Shapeshifter provides you with daily coaching on all three elements. Each day is broken down into your training, nutrition and lifestyle tasks for the day. It’s easy to follow and ensures amazing results! 

SH: Is it true my readers will turn into a sexy superhero type when they buy your program? No, let’s get serious, tell us why my readers need this program – who’s it for and how will they benefit? 

Well, our image of a superhero is someone who is poised, confident, powerful and attractive. So to be honest, Shapeshifter WILL help your readers get a lot closer to that ideal… :-)  

And really, anyone who wants to look and feel better, more confident, leaner and sexier can benefit from this program. It’s really the ultimate “get back in shape” program. Because getting back in shape is all about regaining that “shape” you had in your glory years.

Pretty much everyone will benefit from Shapeshifter, but because of the way the material is presented, I think the biggest winners are going to be busy people who don’t have time to spend on figuring out their diet, workouts and lifestyle approach. 

Shapeshifter lays all that out in a day-by-day and easy to follow format that frees you up from the guesswork involved in most programs. When you’re chasing the kids, swamped at work or busy with travel or commuting, that done-for-you format is real bonus. 

SH: You talk about ‘body redesign’ – can you explain that phrase?

As I already mentioned briefly, getting in shape is really all about changing your “shape”. Unfortunately, most programs just focus on losing “weight”, so you end up with a smaller version of the same flabby body.

What we want are physical changes that start turning heads. And we want them as quickly and safely as possible. To get the kinds of results that make friends and family ask you what you’re doing to looks so great, you have to “redesign” your body, not just lose some weight.

The key to body redesign is the ratio of one body part to another. If we can tone or add muscle to all the right places while simultaneously chiseling fat from the body, the visual result will be striking. Added to that, the Shapeshifter Regen exercises help build great posture, which adds to the overall visual effect.

And because body redesign is so targeted, it only takes a matter of weeks to start seeing the changes in your shape. That’s when everyone starts to sit up and take notice… :-)

SH: Talk to me about the “P6 Elements” – the ‘guts’ of the Shapeshifter program.

We already talked about the three spheres of body redesign: workouts, diet and lifestyle. But each of these can also be broken down into 6 essential elements. We call them the P6 factors, because we’re getting results to the “power of six”.

We realized that our frustration with our results in the past, and those of our clients, were often due to the one or two dimensional approach of most diet and exercise philosophies. Most training programs focus on ONLY cardio or weight training or yoga, etc. Most diets have a singular focus on “low carb” or “low fat” or whatever the trend du jour is. 

It’s only when we started taking the BEST elements from each philosophy that we started really getting the accelerated body redesign results we needed. 

SH: And it’s all bodyweight exercises, right – you don’t need to have any equipment whatsoever?

That’s right. You can really do the Shapeshifter workouts anywhere and anytime! Sometimes we suggest the use of very simple props to modify the difficulty of an exercise. But generally they are things you can find around your house or workplace like the bottom step of a set of stairs or a solid coffee table. But it’s all bodyweight exercises. No equipment required. 

SH: So these exercise routines would be excellent for those who travel often, can’t get to a gym or don’t have any equipment? And also for those who do go to the gym but are looking for a change of pace – I mean, some of those exercises look very challenging! 

This program is for ANYONE who wants to quickly and safely change the way their body looks. It definitely provides variety for people who have been doing equipment based workouts at the gym. But the program stands on its own no matter your level of experience. 

But yes, because it’s equipment free, Shapeshifter is also an excellent alternative for people who travel a lot. All you need is a corner of your hotel room floor to be able to do most of the exercises. 

One of our clients spends 3 days at home and 4 days in a hotel room every week as part of his job. He loves the fact that he never has to break the rhythm of his workouts because it doesn’t matter where he is, he can always do them.

SH: Can the program be adapted to an individual’s fitness level? Ie Is it for beginners as well as advanced trainees?

Absolutely! In fact, we ran an extensive “beta test” of the program last year and the participants ranged across the board with regards to background and fitness level. Not only did this prove to us that the program was adaptable to all levels from beginner to advanced, but it allowed us to add even more tips and tricks to adapt the workouts to your own level. 

Also, in the video instructions for each exercise, whenever possible we give several options for modifying the exercise to make it easier or more difficult. 

SH: Now, this is interesting, because I know a lot of people who would consider bodyweight exercise to be not as challenging or beneficial as a program that includes equipment. I know this is not necessarily true, but as the expert, could you explain the benefits of bodyweight training to my readers?

Most people who already work out a lot are totally surprised by the power of bodyweight when used to it’s potential.

First off, because you can move the body quite freely in every plane, you have the potential to recruit a LOT of muscle through full body exercises. And because these movements are more complex than what you can create with the 2 dimensional path of most weighted training tools, you need a lot more coordination to do them. That means more neural activation and again more muscle recruited and more calories burned. Pretty cool…

Another great benefit of bodyweight is how quickly you can move from one movement to another. It allows you to set up powerful fat loss circuits because you can move from one movement pattern to another with rapid transitions and little rest. And you can keep working hard for an extended period of time because you keep switching movement patterns.

And finally, some people think you can’t build strength with bodyweight. But how many people can drum off 10 pistol squats or one-arm push ups? Single limb work, isometric holds, explosive exercises and a host of other training methods are super effective using bodyweight and most people haven’t come anywhere close to their potential when it comes to using them to build impressive new levels of strength.

But I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. My goal isn’t to make people suffer. All the bodyweight progressions I use are scalable. So I can be training a total beginner and a hardened veteran in the same session, and they’ll both be getting exactly what they need. That’s another great thing about bodyweight.

SH: Awesome. What about diet and lifestyle – what sort of things do you cover on these crucial subjects?

Body redesign will never work with training alone. You need to support the training with a complete diet and lifestyle program.

We were very thorough in designing both the diet and lifestyle components. Using P6 Nutrition and P6 Lifestyle allowed us to really hit all the factors necessary to change your shape as quickly and permanently as possible. 

The Shapeshifter Nutrition Manual is packed with over 41 pages of information on the P6 elements: appetite control, hormone optimization, food choice spectrum, strategic supplements, workout nutrition and digestive system health. 

But don’t worry, if you don’t care about the theory, all you have to do is follow the day-by-day diet instructions and you’re good to go. We only included the geeky stuff because a lot of people like to have that background information. 

P6 Lifestyle includes things that are absolutely vital to body redesign like sleep, stress relief, goal setting, personal development, healthy relationships and engaging in active lifestyle activities. 

As you can see, our coverage of diet and lifestyle is pretty broad. That’s why we brought in a number of experts to contribute to the program. For example, things like sleep, stress relief and digestive system health were covered by specialists in those fields. You’re really getting a high-quality guide to eating and living better when you start working with the Shapeshifter program. 

SH: It’s my experience both as a coach and as a mum to a 6 month old baby with my own company to run, a lot of us don’t have time to put nutrition plans and menus together – do you provide this ‘done for you’ option for time poor clients? 

The second part of the Shapeshifter manual gives you a day-by-day breakdown of what you need to do on each day. So when you turn to day one, you’ll have instructions for that day’s workout, diet, and lifestyle task. Each and every day of the program is laid out like that. 

We also offer an additional level of commitment that provides recipes (designed by professional healthy-cooking chef Nick Lorenz), meal plans for the entire 6 weeks, follow-along workout videos for each and every day, and much more. This option really is about as close as we can get to actually doing the work for you… :-)  

SH: Sounds like people should have no excuses then! Can you explain to my readers what they will get in the basic Shapeshifter program package?

Yeah, sure. Basically, they’ll get everything they need to get full benefit from the program. The basic framework starts with your main manual, which lays the entire program out in a day-by-format that’s easy to follow. And along with the Nutrition Manual and the Exercise manual, it gives you all the background information you want for how and why the program works.

But the coolest thing about the basic package is the library of professionally filmed exercise instructional videos. This is really about as close as you can get to having us coaching you in person. It takes all the guesswork out and makes it easy for you to understand exactly how to do each exercise.

In addition to that you’ll also get a pre-program checklist, printable charts and a timetable for the entire 6 week program, a printable journal to log your progress, a guide to which supplements actually work (and why), and a collection of “extra-curricular” lifestyle activities that you can adopt. 

Shapeshifter is so much more that a workout program. It’s really a complete roadmap to everything you need for a lifelong body redesign. And it’s so easy to follow. We’re really proud of Shapeshifter and can’t wait to welcome your readers into the community!

SH: Thanks Adam for taking the time to talk to us about Shapeshifter! I know you and Ryan are going to be busy boys over the next few weeks!

www.idealbodiesonline.com/bodyredesign <— Check it out!

My 5 best and worst diets – and what I eat

I often have people ask my opinions on various diet and exercise programs that are available so I thought I’d review a few and let you know my five best, and five worst – and the reasons why. Please bear in mind this is my personal opinion, based on my experience and trying different programs and diets over the years. If you disagree with me that’s ok :)

The 5 Worst Diets:

Cohen’s Diet

The portions are so small they wouldn’t satisfy a fly. They also tell you not to exercise ‘because it may make you binge’ (this *may* be because you are starving). I’ve had a number of clients come to me after ruining their metabolisms via this particular diet. Big thumbs down to this program.

Tony Ferguson/Ann Morgan/Celebrity Slim etc

These are all ‘shake diets’. Generally these are based on eating 1 meal a day, and 2 shakes. Yes, you’ll lose weight if you are only drinking liquid as a meal, but it’s not really going to be sustainable. Something that bothers me is that they make out these shake to be healthy – when in fact sugar is one of the main ingredients.

These next 3 aren’t particularly terrible, but they have flaws and the big one is that they do not contain a resistance training portion as a key part of the program. You can diet all you like, but if you don’t train right, you won’t change your body shape or get that lean, firm look most people are after.

Jenny Craig

JC is mostly packet food so it’s portion controlled – which is necessary for weight loss to occur.  Packet food though is processed food. Not that good for you and not that good for fat loss. It’s also a very expensive way to get your food.  A good thing about this program, and Weight Watchers below, is that they provide support and accountability. I don’t really like how they showcase celebrities who have lost a bit of weight, but still have a whole lot more to go. They are still in the obese/very overweight category.

Weight Watchers

As far as I am aware, WW doesn’t instruct on what types of foods to eat – it is based on a points system and you can eat all your points in junk food if you prefer. This won’t get you the body you want. I believe they may have a new program now that is nutritionally better – you can fill me in if you know about it.

Lite ‘N Easy

Great for convenience, but in my opinion this is not a long term option. How long can you go on getting your food delivered? A big part of successful, long term weight loss and maintenance is the ability to make it a lifestyle. You must learn how to plan in advance and be efficient and effective in the kitchen! It’s really not hard. It is another very expensive option. The food is heavy on the carbs, light on the fat and protein – the old fashioned way of dieting that we know doesn’t work!

**As mentioned, with JC, WW and Lite ‘N Easy there is no strategic exercise component – it’s more about just being a little bit active. While this might be ok for overweight people to lose a few kg, it won’t get you in awesome shape if that’s your aim so keep that in mind. These diets are not designed to be used in conjunction with a challenging exercise program (which is the only way you will get an awesome body!)

Ok so what the BEST programs to consider if you want to really get in great shape. Well firstly it MUST contain a challenging resistance training portion.

My 5 Best Fitness/Fat Loss Programs:

Body Blitz Blueprint for Fat Loss by Sue Heintze

Ok so I’m biased. I wrote the programs. Between Kristin and I we spent the better part of 12 months working on this series of body transformation programs. They are awesome. What else can I say!

We cover nutrition, training, commitment and motivation. This is your blueprint to a new body in just 12 short weeks.

*Here’s a whisper…there is special email about to go out on the Body Blitz Blueprint for Fat Loss system. Next week. Stay tuned.

Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto

http://www.idealbodiesonline.com/burnthefat

An oldie but a goodie! BTFFTM is a very comprehensive e-book about proper nutrition and weight training for fat loss and muscle gain. One of the first books I learned from. This one is a must for every fitness enthusiast’s library. Covers EVERYTHING!

Shapeshifter by Adam Steer and Ryan Murdock

Yet to come! Watch out for this “Body Redesign” program in the next few weeks. I’ve reviewed it. My goodness the guys have gone out of their way to impress with this one. This program incorporates training (all bodyweight exercises, so you don’t even need a gym), nutrition, and lifestyle advice. If you like bells and whistles, awesome graphics, this is a program you’ll love – and get great results with.

WATCH THIS SPACE – I’ll be back with more on this one in a couple of weeks.

Xtreme Fat Loss Diet by Joel Marion

www.idealbodiesonline.com/xtremefatlossdiet

The current rage on the internet. This is a short, 25 day rapid fat loss diet. Being a figure competitor who has used a lot of different strategies when dieting to low body fat levels, I am super impressed with the fat loss strategies Joel uses in this program. The diet cycles in 5 day blocks, each day using a different strategy for a specific result. No doubt, this is the smartest, rapid fat loss diet (and training is included) you will ever see. No wonder it is a bestseller.

Currently $30 off and some great added bonuses with this program until Friday www.idealbodiesonline.com/xtremefatlossdiet

 

Final Phase Fat Loss by John Romaniello

http://www.idealbodiesonline.com/final-pha

Roman (as he’s known) is awesome. Just ask him – he’ll tell you J The thing is, he’s pretty spot on. Not only is he hot to look at, he’s pretty darn smart too. FFFL is a training program based on hormone manipulation and is specially designed to target stubborn fat deposits – be that belly fat or bum and thigh fat.  Hormones such as cortisol, testosterone and estrogen, have a direct effect on where we store fat and how much and how easily we store it. By utilizing different training methods that Roman uses in this program, we can target the particular area that is most troublesome.

There are actually quite a few more really great programs around such as:

The Get Lean Program www.idealbodiesonline.com/getleanprogram

The Diet Solution Program http://www.idealbodiesonline.com/dietsolutionprogram

but thought I would limit it to 5 for today.

“So, Sue, what do YOU eat on a regular day?”

People are always intrigued about what I eat. I often trial new diets and ways of eating so my diet varies at times but I also have my usual staples that I probably will always eat.

At the moment I don’t need to lose any weight – I’m sitting only about 2-3kg off my stage weight and around 13% body fat.  I’ve been experimenting as I am designing a new diet program – it’s based on cleansing and detoxing and includes plenty of antioxidants to fight cellulite, uneven fat deposits, and fights aging.

So I had a ‘lemon/maple smoothie’ which contains lemon juice, pure maple syrup, some Udo’s Oil for essential fatty acids as well as a few fat burning and cleansing spices. So refreshing!

My usual breakfast every day is oats made into porridge, sweetened with some stevia, with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter mixed in, topped with cottage cheese, a drizzle of pure maple syrup and some bran cereal (lots of fibre!).

Later today I had a green smoothie! This was a first for me. I generally can’t stomach green drinks. But this was yummy! It contained spinach, kiwi, banana, apple, whey and a few other things. Thanks to my lovely friend Di for this recipe.

For lunch I had some taco mince with broccoli, sweet potato, pumpkin, avocado and a sprinkle of cheese.

Dinner, well, Damien was in charge and he cooked up schnitzels, mash and veggies. Not my usual fare, but if I were dieting I would have something like a leafy chicken salad with avocado, or a salmon fillet with veggies.

Something you may be interested in – I am actually in the process of writing up my 2009 competition diet. This was my last competition, and I prepared my own diet and training. This is what I looked like (could have been a little leaner).  

*If you are interested in finding out what my exact diet was for this comp, keep an ear out as I will be giving you the opportunity to get hold of this info in the next few weeks.

I hope you enjoyed my (not completely unbiased – however, honest!) reviews!

Sue x

The year in quick review

It’s Christmas morning and I’ve finally got a chance to sit down and blog :) I really should go for a run and try to build up an appetite for the food I’m about to eat. I seem to have lost my appetite lately, which is not such a bad thing. We have the turkey in the oven (had to wake at 6am to get it going!) and will start setting up tables soon. We have pork and chicken too – no ham this year. I bought a Tiramisu cake from the Cheesecake Shop for dessert, and we will have mum’s steamed pudding too. She’s aslo made some gourmet rocky road. I think there is sufficient food there to warrant a week of damage control (lots of cardio, lots of training next week).

I have decided to begin another comp prep. Yes, that’s right folks. Call me mad, but I have itchy feet to get stuck into something challenging again. My body has had a good 9 months break from the last one, and I’m starting a couple of kilo’s (translates to about 6-8 weeks of training!) leaner. Nothing’s happened on the pregnancy front yet so I’m sick of waiting :) I have however started fertility treatment so maybe this will work for us. If not, I’m competing. My ob/gyn has no qualms about me training for a comp. So, my diet is sussed, my training schedule sorted and I’m starting tomorrow and I can’t wait.

As always at this time of year I look back and think about what has been accomplished. Often you think nothing much has, but when you really think about it, you are often amazed at everything you have achieved!

2009 hasn’t been one of the best for a number of reasons but when I look back I see that there certainly have been some great accomplishments.

Business:
Ideal Bodies Online continues to go from strength to strength. I was shortlisted for the Telstra Business Women’s Awards this year, and recently received my Cert 4 in Frontline Management. I didn’t pursue the qual and didn’t have to do anything except show them my website – it was a foregone conclusion. I will also submit RPL for the Diploma in Business Management early next year. There is a reason I’m doing this which I will share at a later date.

We have teamed up with the Australian Almond Board who have appointed Liz Bickerton and I as their “Weight Loss Ambassadors”. This involves some cross promo and you will see Liz and IBO appear in Almond Board advertorials (magazine and health stores) early next year.

I have been offered a spot as part of a new fitness magazine’s “Panel of Experts” which I am pleased about and looking forward to. It will be a fantastic new magazine. First edition out in February. I am still also writing for Oxygen – so it seems I’m branching out into writing a lot these days!

I had a total revamp of my site this year – this was a bit of a painstaking task but it had to be done and now it is, I’m really happy with it. It gives us a lot more scope to work with now our database is growing rapidly. I have some great marketing gurus, both in Australia and in Portugal, working with me.

We had 2 Body Blitz winners this year, Anna Madden and Fiona McConnell.

Personal:
I turned 40 this year. It was my plan to have photos taken on my 40th birthday, which I did indeed do and I also prepared myself for a competition in April. It was my plan to compete when I was 40 – I won my class which made it even better!

I helped Nadia and Kristin to compete in their first figure comps this year too.

We decided to try and conceive this year, and were over the moon when we discovered I was pregnant on our first month of trying (and immediately after my comp prep). However, it wasn’t to be. It certainly wasn’t a pleasant experience and I will not be so naieve in that regard any more!

Relationships:
All good on this front! Don’t like getting into these sorts of things on a public forum.

Next year:
Who knows what 2010 will bring but I have a few personal things I plan to – and will – achieve!

Summing up…
As always, this year I’ve made some lovely friends via my work and I just love this aspect of it. My job is not work for me – hence me sitting here on Christmas morning and finalizing some emails and work that I didn’t manage to get done yesterday. I love jumping (not literally) out of bed each morning to read my email and see what the day has in store for me. I am forever grateful of this, as to enjoy what you do makes such a different to the quality of ones life.

I wish you a wonderful Christmas, eat, drink and be merry, and if you have things you want to achieve for 2010 (and you should), be sure to think them through, write them down and have a plan of attack!

I’d better get busy with Christmas stuff…

Sue
xoxo

Why the blog negativity?

Doing the rounds of blog land recently and have noticed that there seems to be a lot of negativity going on in the Figure comp/training/dieting world. It seems certain people are scouring blogs to try and take down anyone who enjoys improving their health and physique through structured training and nutrition.

Having goals is actually perceived as a negative by these people. Maybe this negativity has come about because these particular people were not successful at their own goals, and are envious of those who are, and those that enjoy the process of achieving them? Why shouldn’t you have a goal, something to drive you to improve and achieve? How someone can see this as a bad thing is beyond me.

It was also mentioned there is no such thing as a ‘bad food’ just the way you think and perceive the food.

Sorry, but tell me what’s good about a double whopper cheeseburger deluxe or whatever you want to call a bunch of fat, sugar and preservatives piled on top of each other? There is nothing good about this type of food, end of story. If you eat it, you are eating it for emotional reasons, so accept that, but don’t try and justify it by telling yourself it’s not bad for you.

Here’s a picture of me in the off season, taken this week. I manage to stay within a 2-3 kg of my week before comp weight. So I’m fatter, I’m softer, and feel a bit chunkier than I’d like but I’m very happy with where I sit off season. Maybe I’m lucky – but I don’t think so. I make an effort (and it’s really not hard) to eat well consistently – because I want to – it makes me feel good, physically and mentally. I’m not obsessed if I eat something that’s not particularly healthy. I just don’t need that kind of food on a regular basis. Nobody does.
Off season

Kristin recently mentioned on her blog that she was excited to be setting new goals toward another competition, having just completed her first (2) and having thoroughly enjoyed the experience. She was asked this question by a fellow blogger:

“Why do you have to have a goal, competing or other, to wake up each day with excitement and a purpose? Isn’t living a happy, fulfilled, contented life purpose enough?”

I’m a little confused. I mean, what do you think it is that makes a ‘happy, fulfilled, contented life’? Sitting on the couch watching tv and munching on Macca’s, simply existing? I don’t feel its right to bag those who enjoy the challenge of competing and the process that goes along with it. If that makes them feel great, that’s awesome. If it’s not for you, that’s fine too, but don’t go suggesting to those that do enjoy it, that they should be happy just ‘existing’ without the challenge of improvement and competition.

I always wonder why, if these people aren’t obsessed themselves, why are they continually talking about food and dieting within their blogs? They aren’t fooling anyone!

So, here’s my question to readers out there – what >makes your life happy, fulfilled and contented? Love to hear your responses!

Still on competition, here’s an article that was recently in the Adelaide Advertiser, that I just uploaded to my site. Written by the lovely Kathy Marusic, my excellent ‘backstage b*tch” on the day!!

Iron Maidens

Introducing Maxine…

Maxine Greenwood 2Time to introduce Maxine, another of our wonderful feedback coaches.  Maxine shares some words of wisdom, and one of her favourite vegetarian recipes.

Hi, I’m Maxine, and I am a feedback coach here at IBO.  I really enjoy my work and love being part of a very special team of people who are here to help you succeed whatever your goals, big or small.

 

 

How Long is 12 Weeks?

Silly question Maxine, the answer is 12 weeks, you are quite correct!!  I could be really silly and work out how many minutes or seconds that is but I would have to use a calculator and I hate Maths!!!  If you think about it 12 weeks is like dipping the end of your big toe in the ocean of life, it isn’t a long time at all.  In that short space of time you can make some huge changes to your fitness and health. 

Anyone can make changes in 12 weeks it is just what you choose to do with that 12 weeks and also if you choose to make the most of it.  We, here at IBO ask that you do some structured exercise as well as eating lovely, healthy food 5 times a day – no, that isn’t a misprint, 5 times a day - and let’s face it most of us enjoy eating!!!    You also get to include a free choice meal at various times in your program, so you can definitely still enjoy social occasions and the like.

So never think that 12 weeks is a huge amount of time - in the grander scheme of things it isn’t, and who wouldn’t want to invest in their health for the future and be fitter and stronger than they ever have been?  

A famous Canadian athletic coach, Ace Percival says that most people are ‘holdouts’ that is to say they always keep something in reserve.  Because of that they never achieve what they are really capable of.  So don’t be a holdout, give your all to your program and as Norman Vincent Peale says “Go all out. Do this, and life will not hold out on you”.

Here is a recipe that I enjoy very much and hope you will too, it is for the vegetarians out there (like me) or meat eaters wanting to try something different.

Tofu Stir Fry

150g Firm Tofu chopped into cubes

1 cup Red Capsicum sliced

½ cup Mushrooms sliced

½ Onion sliced

1/2 Zucchini sliced thinly (I chop them Julienne style)

5 raw cashews chopped

¼-½ cup cooked brown rice

1tbsp Minced Garlic

1 tbsp Minced Ginger

½ tsp mustard

2tbsp Soy Sauce

1tbsp sugar free maple syrup (can use stevia instead)

Spray fry pan or wok with olive oil spray.  Toss all ingredients except rice into the pan.  Stir and cook briskly on medium heat until veggies are cooked to your taste (I like mine still crunchy).  Serve mixture over brown rice and enjoy!

Thanks Maxine!

Here is an Article by Tom Venuto about The Biggest Loser pros and cons.  It’s a really interesting article, thought you may enjoy it.

We’ve had some ripper transformations coming through of late, and, this coming month we have a Body Blitz winner!  I knew we couldn’t go a whole year without at least one winner :)   Congratulations to Anna.  You can see her in next month’s edition.

Just a short note about Kristin’s comp, I want to let her write about it herself but life is just a little too full on for her at the moment.  I have seen a few photos and she looked absolutely gorgeous, and towered above everyone else.  I heard she posed beautifully and looked extremely graceful and elegant and that she did herself very proud.  You will get to see photos when Kristin posts them :)

Go Kristin!

As many of you may know, Kristin, Ideal Bodies Online’s Program Co-ordinator is competing in her first figure competition today.  In fact she is probably on stage right at this very moment!  I spoke to Kristin earlier and she sounded very excited and happy, a little nervous, but I think that’s more excitement than anything.

Kristin, thank you for your kind words on your blog – it has been a pleasure to help and guide you and offer my experience when able.  You have been a wonderful ‘student’ and I am so impressed with your desire and committment.  You have come a long, long way and I applaud you for everything you have accomplished.  I know you aren’t finished, by a long shot.  Enjoy today, no matter what happens now, you MADE IT!!

My sister called me from Adelaide last night to say my nephew won his state title in boxing and will be representing Australia in Canberra in December.  They were all pretty happy.

Just helped cook up a big chow mein dish – portioned it all out for Damien to take to work with him for lunches.  Not enough left for me, bugger.  Maybe I will steal one for dinner tonight, though I still have pre cooked salmon and chicken I need to eat.

I did a PB yesterday!  Been some time since I’ve trained hard enough for that!  My current fave exercise being DB Snatches, thought I would try the 20kg dumbbell, not expecting to actually be able to lift it.  But, I did, and quite well, for 5 reps!   When you consider 12.5kg is about my max for reps without a spot (for db presses), lifting an extra 7.25kg with one shoulder is not bad.  Surely my shoulders will have to grow some more with that :)   Lifting that sort of weight with a db press would be impossible, which is why I love this exercise.  Plus it gets my heart rate soaring, and I feel buggered after just 3 sets.

Something I’ve realised lately is that I cannot bring myself to have a post workout shake.  I used to LOVE my PWO shake, but I can’t stomach it of late so have been having MRM Low Carb protein mixed to a smooth paste, some raspberries, topped with natural yoghurt and a handful of bran cereal.

Have been asked by Good Health magazine to contribute an article on Sand Training for their January edition, so have been working on that today, as well as chatting to Marcella (a client) on Skype.

It’s hair week this week, which always manages to make me feel better (after the 3.5 painstaking hours it actually takes).  Time I booked in to see my chiro too, I am starting to have more trouble with my hamstring again.

My email inbox is chockas again, I just have to go through and file stuff.  Filing is rather time consuming.

Oh something I wanted to ask previous clients who had some great results that are not yet featured on our Success Story page, if you would like to submit your photos and story, I have a little giveaway for you.  Please email me to enquire re the format and what is needed. 

I have noticed a lot of procrastination going on lately.  Getting lots of enquiries, everyone keen to start yesterday, and then I never hear from them again!  People, you need to bite the bullet and make a start!  Don’t wait for things to be perfect, the planets to align, and all that stuff.  Make a committment and go after it with everything you have!

On that note, am packing up and enjoying the rest of my Sunday.  Hope you all had a good one.

Pics from comp

Doing my routineDoing my routineGroggin’ it up backstage

A few final pics :)

Things are moving quickly…

triceps.jpgback-db-bi-3.jpgMe, Nadia, Kathy

I’m home – survived the wild weather Qld threw at us.  It was rather unbelievable.  (Selina, I would love to go to Wet ‘n Wild, unfortunately it wasn’t possible :)   To do ANYTHING!!).  We were not even sure when we left to drive to Maroochy airport, if we would get there.  However, when we left the Gold Coast, the clouds parted, the sun came out, the wind died down and it was a lovely day!  Our flight ended up being 2 hours late anyway.  Just what you want, a 3 and a bit hour wait at the airport.  So, we left the Gold Coast at 8am, and arrived home here about 8.30pm.  Big day of travelling.  Could not believe that Nadia was on the flight home with us, sitting in the seat across! 

Today I am up at 3am can you believe it.  What is up with that.  I feel great considering.  But I’m sure I will be back to bed around 7ish.  Had my coffee and breaky already.

So yesterday was the first training session in 9 days!  I did a moderate upper body session, 3 sets of 8-10.   Today I will do some cardio and a lower body session.

I received a disc in the mail from Kathy so thought I would post a few more comp pics.  Speaking of pics, I still have not gone to view my professional photo shoot pics yet!!  Received the ‘professional’ dvd from the show a few days ago, only watched it last night.  The quality was really bad, and the last few classes so bad it was virtually unwatchable.  Not really impressed!

Oh and I have some big news from Jodie – she gave birth 2 days ago to Logan Benjamin, 7lb 7oz.  I will go and visit the new mumma tomorrow.

Back to it!

breen-back-double-biceps-line-up.jpgbreen-symmetry-side-3.jpgbreen-triceps.jpgbreen-triceps-6.jpg

Well as most competitors would know, it takes some time for the old bod to settle back down into somewhat ‘normal’ mode.  I’m there now, in fact, I only had 3 days that were a bit out of control – ok well I ate a family block of chocolate, almost a jar of pb, and one of marshmellow spread, and 2 x half chooks as well as some healthy stuff mixed in.  Your body is primed to take up everything you put in, so you have to be very careful you don’t let it go on for too long.  I’ve lived and learnt that one the hard way as most of us do.  As long as you learn though!   It took a pretty big effort to rein in on the sugar, and just the overload of food in general, but I felt so terrible I couldn’t wait to get back to normal!   And so, as I said I am now back to that normality.  Even after a night of indulgence at Nadia’s last night!  She is a super cook!  Lamb shanks, potatoes and beans, followed by a divine honey, macadamia baked cheesecake.  Yum.  Thanks Nadia and Pete!

I trained legs yesterday.  I’m doing a 3 day program at the moment, with a circuit/high intensity session in addition (ie jump lunging and squatting, burpees, trusters, etc).  The sessions incorporate a few giant sets and supersets so all up they only take 20-30 mins to complete, but you work hard.  I wanted to give myself a break from the usual type of program so will do this for 4 weeks, including while on hols, and then go back to a more traditional 4 day bodybuilding split.  Yesterday was like so:

3 point lunges 3 x 9 each leg (you lunge forward, then out to the side, then a lateral lunge – then do on the other leg – for as many reps as program states, in this case, 9 each leg so a total of 24 lunges each leg x 3 sets).  So quite a bit of volume there.

Single Leg DB Deadlifts 3 x 12

Pistol Squats 2 x 10 (never done these before)

Ab Wheel Rollout 3 x 10

Plank with arms on ball and feet on bench 3 x 30-40 seconds

That was it. 

Still having neck/shoulder/back issues on the right side and so must try and get into my chiro asap.   I have been sleeping really badly for weeks and I think this has something to do with it.  I find that I can’t totally relax my upper body.  Last night was the best sleep, I feel like I have nearly caught up.  The valium (which my doc prescribed for when I get these muscle issues) would have helped no doubt.

We got a mention in Body & Soul today, that was a nice surprise to see us listed in amongst the ‘big name’ companies like Weight Watchers and Body Trim.

Ok I got my professional pics back so here I go posting more.  I will save some for later so you aren’t bombarded.