I'm back :-)
I do A LOT of writing and A LOT of social media for my business , and I love it, it definitely fills me up, but from time to time I feel drawn to this little blog..the blog were it all started for me.
Usually this coincides with my desire for taking my training to another level or, in this case, getting my ass back in shape, makes sense really given this blog began after I'd been running Glow Women's Fitness Online for a while, as a way to connect further with my audience, it was after-all well before Facebook gained traction...back then we were still using forums :-)
Anyhoo I digress, I'm back and for now I just want to write about my training, to use this as a way to record my progress and keep my ass accountable between now and the end of the year when I hope to be able to grade for my 6th degree black belt.
Right now that seems a million miles away, I haven't trained properly since my last hip surgery a little over a year ago, the lead up to surgery wasn't great either because my training was hindered in a major way.
Since I had the bright idea of running the Paris Marathon for my 40th (7 years ago) and experienced injury after injury and leading me to my first hip surgery I haven't been able to miss a trick.
Ruined hip surgery creating the need for a second, grade 3 calf tears (yup, more than one) , torn rotator cuff and it seems like a million other injuries that showed up along the way have meant that the minute I start to hit my stride I've been sidelined.
I'm not a patient woman at the best of times but 7 years of shitty, injury interrupted training had taken it's toll on my mojo.
Prior to that nothing could stop me, I trained (taekwondo) the days I gave birth to my kids and was running stairs the minute I got my 6 week medical clearance and had my ass in the gym lifting weights and pushing the pram on long walks while I waited.
My body was always sore from impact injuries, small tears and strains and the usual fun and games that comes with full contact sparring and I was bringing up 2 little kids alone. I had separated from my ex and then discovered I was pregnant with Clo so I really did have my hands full with my mum being 2 hours away.
It's funny the way things work out, last week I went to my kinesiologist with the sole focus of getting my training mojo back, I'm fed up with myself for skipping training and finding a million excuses not to commit to getting my ass in shape.
She asked me about what happened when I was 29.
29 was the year I had a baby on my own, got my ass back in shape and competed at the Vic Championships 5 months after Chloe was born.
THAT was a woman on a mission, a woman with fire in her belly, a woman who refused to make excuses, a woman who did what she said she was going to do, a woman of her word.
That 29 year old woman up against it and doing it tough found the strength to do what needed to be done despite the exhaustion and fear and the heavy, heavy responsibilities of raising 2 kids alone while running the taekwondo school that would support the 3 of us.
I'm choosing to channel that 29 year old woman who was so focused on her end goal that nothing got in the way.
Fuck! Life is 1,000,000,000 times easier now!
My kids are grown up and have moved out of home, on a day to day basis I'm responsible only for myself.
I have as much time as I need to train.
And these days I can afford to train wherever I want and buy whatever I need, back then I barely had 2 cents left over at the end of the week.
I had everything at my disposal EXCEPT for the fire in my belly and a strong mind.
Remember, we're only talking about training here....the goals I've been kicking in my business and personal life are epic...I'm fulfilled and I'm happy...except I'm not happy that I checked out on something as important to me as breathing.
My training.
I've thought of myself as an athlete for as long as I can remember.
I haven't "exercised" in almost 3 decades, I've "trained".
I haven't "dieted" for the same time, I've "made weight".
I identify with myself as an athlete.
The problem is I don't look like an athlete.
I'm not training like an athlete.
I'm not thinking like an athlete.
So I don't feel like me, the better me, the woman I respect for having the discipline to train until she vomits, to make the sacrifices she needs to make to get the result.
There is also the tricky issue of WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS MY END GOAL???
There is no sparring tournament on the horizon, no Vic Championships and no Nationals.
No fun run or triathlon (those days are over).
And def no heels, fake tan or bikini on stage (not my thang).
Being a certain weight or having a 6 pack has never driven me, it's always about performance or a result (win!).
I tell myself it's 6th dan but to be honest I don't think I deserve the opportunity....I mean where the hell has my commitment to my art been?
Maybe the end goal is to feel worthy of grading for my 6th dan?
That certainly feels better.
But it's not quite it.
The goal is the key to sticking it out when your body aches and your mind is screaming "stay on the couch" that you still get your ass out the door to training.
So I'll continue to excavate my goal (it's close I'm sure) but in the meantime I'm on my way, the goal has been eluding me for ages, half the problem, if I sit on my hands and wait for the goal to reveal itself much time could pass.
So this morning I made the commitment to stop making excuses, to channel that kickass chick who was me at 29 years of age and to get my mind and my body strong again.
This morning I did my first class HERE and I loved it.
It also highlighted for me how out of shape I am, OMG I was huffing and puffing like an amateur!
But the fire's back, I'm ready.
So todays' training and nutrition looks like this...
TRAINING
1 hour boxing training.
1 hour walk.
Get Commando Fit - Day 1 - Get Fit Intermediate (second highest level).
The last time I felt anywhere near fit was when they filmed this a couple of months before my last surgery.
NUTRITION
My nutrition is pretty good 80% of the time, I'm not planning on changing this up too much but instead focusing on changing my body through training.
Pre-training coffee
Post-training protein in water / small banana
1 rice cup / 1/4 cup frozen veggies / tin of chilli tuna in oil.
1 chicken thigh coated with polenta, chilli and cajun spice cooked in rice bran oil / green veg.
1/4 cup full fat greek yoghurt / 1 serve protein powder (mixed together).
Green shake.
Lean steak and salad.
OTHER
10 minutes of physio exercise.
10 minutes on the foam roller.
Sauna.
PROGRESS
This morning my scales said 55.4kg...not great, not great at all.
I look and feel best at bang on 52kg with some good muscle on my frame so that's where I'm aiming to get to (I was around 53kg in the video).
There is no rush.
Right now it's all about consistency and mindset.
I'm going to check in later to tick off my outstanding training sessions.
I'd love for you to keep me accountable by simply letting me know you're following in the comments below.
As always thanks for listening xx
PM UPDATE
All training completed and sauna to finish off - feeling like I'm back in business :-)
A few pics from today below.
Usually this coincides with my desire for taking my training to another level or, in this case, getting my ass back in shape, makes sense really given this blog began after I'd been running Glow Women's Fitness Online for a while, as a way to connect further with my audience, it was after-all well before Facebook gained traction...back then we were still using forums :-)
Anyhoo I digress, I'm back and for now I just want to write about my training, to use this as a way to record my progress and keep my ass accountable between now and the end of the year when I hope to be able to grade for my 6th degree black belt.
Right now that seems a million miles away, I haven't trained properly since my last hip surgery a little over a year ago, the lead up to surgery wasn't great either because my training was hindered in a major way.
Since I had the bright idea of running the Paris Marathon for my 40th (7 years ago) and experienced injury after injury and leading me to my first hip surgery I haven't been able to miss a trick.
Ruined hip surgery creating the need for a second, grade 3 calf tears (yup, more than one) , torn rotator cuff and it seems like a million other injuries that showed up along the way have meant that the minute I start to hit my stride I've been sidelined.
I'm not a patient woman at the best of times but 7 years of shitty, injury interrupted training had taken it's toll on my mojo.
Prior to that nothing could stop me, I trained (taekwondo) the days I gave birth to my kids and was running stairs the minute I got my 6 week medical clearance and had my ass in the gym lifting weights and pushing the pram on long walks while I waited.
My body was always sore from impact injuries, small tears and strains and the usual fun and games that comes with full contact sparring and I was bringing up 2 little kids alone. I had separated from my ex and then discovered I was pregnant with Clo so I really did have my hands full with my mum being 2 hours away.
It's funny the way things work out, last week I went to my kinesiologist with the sole focus of getting my training mojo back, I'm fed up with myself for skipping training and finding a million excuses not to commit to getting my ass in shape.
She asked me about what happened when I was 29.
29 was the year I had a baby on my own, got my ass back in shape and competed at the Vic Championships 5 months after Chloe was born.
THAT was a woman on a mission, a woman with fire in her belly, a woman who refused to make excuses, a woman who did what she said she was going to do, a woman of her word.
That 29 year old woman up against it and doing it tough found the strength to do what needed to be done despite the exhaustion and fear and the heavy, heavy responsibilities of raising 2 kids alone while running the taekwondo school that would support the 3 of us.
I'm choosing to channel that 29 year old woman who was so focused on her end goal that nothing got in the way.
Fuck! Life is 1,000,000,000 times easier now!
My kids are grown up and have moved out of home, on a day to day basis I'm responsible only for myself.
I have as much time as I need to train.
And these days I can afford to train wherever I want and buy whatever I need, back then I barely had 2 cents left over at the end of the week.
I had everything at my disposal EXCEPT for the fire in my belly and a strong mind.
Remember, we're only talking about training here....the goals I've been kicking in my business and personal life are epic...I'm fulfilled and I'm happy...except I'm not happy that I checked out on something as important to me as breathing.
My training.
I've thought of myself as an athlete for as long as I can remember.
I haven't "exercised" in almost 3 decades, I've "trained".
I haven't "dieted" for the same time, I've "made weight".
I identify with myself as an athlete.
The problem is I don't look like an athlete.
I'm not training like an athlete.
I'm not thinking like an athlete.
So I don't feel like me, the better me, the woman I respect for having the discipline to train until she vomits, to make the sacrifices she needs to make to get the result.
There is also the tricky issue of WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS MY END GOAL???
There is no sparring tournament on the horizon, no Vic Championships and no Nationals.
No fun run or triathlon (those days are over).
And def no heels, fake tan or bikini on stage (not my thang).
Being a certain weight or having a 6 pack has never driven me, it's always about performance or a result (win!).
I tell myself it's 6th dan but to be honest I don't think I deserve the opportunity....I mean where the hell has my commitment to my art been?
Maybe the end goal is to feel worthy of grading for my 6th dan?
That certainly feels better.
But it's not quite it.
The goal is the key to sticking it out when your body aches and your mind is screaming "stay on the couch" that you still get your ass out the door to training.
So I'll continue to excavate my goal (it's close I'm sure) but in the meantime I'm on my way, the goal has been eluding me for ages, half the problem, if I sit on my hands and wait for the goal to reveal itself much time could pass.
So this morning I made the commitment to stop making excuses, to channel that kickass chick who was me at 29 years of age and to get my mind and my body strong again.
This morning I did my first class HERE and I loved it.
It also highlighted for me how out of shape I am, OMG I was huffing and puffing like an amateur!
But the fire's back, I'm ready.
So todays' training and nutrition looks like this...
TRAINING
1 hour boxing training.
1 hour walk.
Get Commando Fit - Day 1 - Get Fit Intermediate (second highest level).
The last time I felt anywhere near fit was when they filmed this a couple of months before my last surgery.
NUTRITION
My nutrition is pretty good 80% of the time, I'm not planning on changing this up too much but instead focusing on changing my body through training.
Pre-training coffee
Post-training protein in water / small banana
1 rice cup / 1/4 cup frozen veggies / tin of chilli tuna in oil.
1 chicken thigh coated with polenta, chilli and cajun spice cooked in rice bran oil / green veg.
1/4 cup full fat greek yoghurt / 1 serve protein powder (mixed together).
Green shake.
Lean steak and salad.
OTHER
10 minutes of physio exercise.
10 minutes on the foam roller.
Sauna.
PROGRESS
This morning my scales said 55.4kg...not great, not great at all.
I look and feel best at bang on 52kg with some good muscle on my frame so that's where I'm aiming to get to (I was around 53kg in the video).
There is no rush.
Right now it's all about consistency and mindset.
I'm going to check in later to tick off my outstanding training sessions.
I'd love for you to keep me accountable by simply letting me know you're following in the comments below.
As always thanks for listening xx
PM UPDATE
All training completed and sauna to finish off - feeling like I'm back in business :-)
A few pics from today below.
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