Beat The January Gym Rush

It's January and a New Year! I can tell.....You know how I can tell??? There's suddenly NO space in the car park at my gym, nor is there a locker or treadmill free!

Now I'm all for people bettering themselves and changing their lives etc....I mean that is what we are all there for, but I'm sure regular gym goers will agree with me its incredibly frustrating when there isn't a machine free!

So here are my ways to deal with the post Christmas rush:

* Change your schedule!

Yes I know its annoying but lets face it it is only for a few weeks! I've started going at 3:30pm to avoid the after work tea time rush! Now I know i'm lucky as I've finished work by this time, but if you're not as lucky try going early in the morning - there won't be that many people that are dedicated enough to go at that time!

Alternatively go later in the evening. Usually after 7:30pm is a good time as all the after work stragglers have gone home!

* Change Your Routine

A change is as good as a rest or so they tell us? Why not use January as the perfect time to get yourself out of an exercise rut and try use some of the other machines that you wouldn't necessarily use?

As a regular gym user you've got the benefit of your years of knowledge! 

Using a treadmill, cross trainer or bike is the easy option for the newbies. Why not use what you've learnt to do a cardio HIIT workout in a matted corner rather than waiting to get on your usual machine?

* Get Outside

If cardio is your thing, why not get outside? Yes it's colder than being inside, but grab some warm weather gear and hit the streets. You can still get in a good cardio workout at your own pace and avoid the masses.

* Offer to Help

Controversial I know but offer to help any new starters looking a little bit lost! Remember back to when you first set foot in your gym and remember how intimidating it was trying to find your way around all the equipment when the world and its wife already looks like the know what they are doing?

You'll feel good for helping and all being well by showing new starters how to use things properly it'll speed things up and you'll get on the equipment quicker! Win Win!

* Be Patient 

Probably the crappiest piece of advice anyone could ever give but it might actually work! After all this is January just 4 (long) weeks. By the end of the month resolutions will have ended and normal service will be resumed!

Do you have any January gym tips?

P.S Dry January still going strong! Not one drop of alcohol has touched my lips!

FIND ME AT THE CLAIRE DIARY

Catch Up and My new Training Programme

I can not believe how long it has been since I last posted!
I'm fairly sure I've started the last two posts off by saying that. A lot has been going on in my little world and unfortunately not all of it has been good!
It's been a tough month or so but I'm finally coming out of the other side and I am more that ready to get back into blogging again!

So I'm starting off with some exciting (well for me anyway) gym news.....

I have purchased, printed, but not yet started the Kayla Itsines Better Body Guide! I am so so so excited to start this program.
It's been a while since I followed a gym program - I've been preferring to head to classes and hit the gym in between but I need to seriously kick start my routine again and decided the better body guide was an affordable way forward!

You only have to take a look around Instagram to see there is an amazing community already following the program check out #thekaylamovement #bbtg and having amazing results.

I can't wait to give it a proper go and of course I'll be sharing my results with you all!

App LOVE!

Last night I was browsing Instagram and stumbled across some photos of an old school friend. She looked amazing so I decided to do some digging to see what her secret was. I think I found it........The Nike Training Club app! As a big Nike Fan I thought I'd give it a go.

So I downloaded it and was pleasantly surprised with what was on my screen!
I'm not normally a big fan of fitness apps. I have My Fitness Pal which I use fairly regularly but actual exercise apps tend to get on my nerves and don't always work in the way I want them too. They remind me of exercise DVD's with the exception of the Jillian Michaels ones, I always finding myself sitting and watching them - to see how hard they are obviously, only to never take them out of their boxes again!

Anyway back to The Nike Training Club.
Nike have designed the app for FEMALES - Yes that's right not a scary weightlifting man in sight! There are 100+ different workouts all designed by Nike athletes! Pretty credible right?
There are 3 different programmes to choose from GET LEAN, GET TONED, GET STRONG. You can also pick workouts from top athletes, ones you might have actually heard of.

So I booked the kids into kids club at the gym and headed there this morning. I hadn't actually intended on doing the Nike Training Club workout but after 30mins on the treadmill I was losing the will to live, so I figured I would give it a go.
It was great. I had a 30 minute circuit based workout, only using dumb bells and a 5kg medicine ball. I was sweating and actually felt like I'd had a good workout at the end of it. I think next time I need to use heavier weights, but for the first time it was good and made a nice change.

I don't think I will be using it as a replacement for my weights programme or the classes I enjoy, but I've downloaded a programme so for the next 4 weeks I'm going to somehow add it in to my already packed gym programme. It can only help right?

LInk Love

Ahhhhhhhhhh......Did you hear that??? Yes that is me breathing a HUGE sigh of relief knowing that we are half way through the week!
It's been a strange and busy old week here and I'm glad the weekend is in sight........So if like me you're in need of a bit of chill out time, then why not grab a bottle (of water) and take a look at some of these health and fitness links:

SHUTTERSTOCK

• Summer is a coming and even the most gorgeous among us need to focus on their fitness.....
• My 5k Run is coming this weekend, I think I'll be taking a look at these race day tips.
• Speaking as someone who regularly trips herself up when getting off the treadmill, these made me smile!

BODY COMBAT

Wow wow wow is all I can say - well not really otherwise this would be a really short blog post!

I went to my first ever Body Combat class last Wednesday and I totally LOVE IT! It was great!! I got to work out some serious pent up frustration/aggression and get a massive calorie burn at the same time.

In all honesty it was a little daunting for me - actually very daunting, but I made sure I was at the back of the class but still with a good view of the instructor. Some of the moves were a bit more complicated that I have been used to and they took me a while to get the hang of, but I did eventually get the hang of them!

I am going back this week! I've booked in for the Tuesday combat class followed directly by Body Pump......If you don't hear from me again for a while you now know the reason why!

cardio vs strength training

This is something that took me a while to get my head around! For a long long long time, I genuinely believed the only way to shed any of my weight was to spend hours and hours pounding the treadmill. So when i first started back at the gym this is what I did. However I very soon go bored and would talk myself out of going! I then found spin, and fell in love and whilst I was really pleased I had found some cardio exercise I liked, again I found myself getting fed up in the gym!

Until I found the confidence to head into the weight room. Now, other than my warm up I maybe only do 1-2 sessions of cardio at the most and 9 times out of 10 those cardio sessions involve HIIT training.

Since I started using weights both in body pump and with my trainer my entire body composition has changed! I have muscles in places I never knew existed!

Honestly when I started I was terrified, it can be really intimidating and complicated looking. There are still certain times of the day when I avoid the weight room - you'll never catch me in there in the evening! 

Even taking all this into account I still believe the benefits of weight training (see below) outweigh the hours of boredom pounding a treadmill:

Weight Training Build Lean Muscle - Increasing muscle mass, increases your metabolism. The long and short of it - you burn calories even while resting (all good in my book)

Boost Stamina - Essentially the less tired you will be! Being able to train for longer helps burn more calories!

Decreased Risk of Osteoporosis

Builds Confidence

Makes you happy - Lets be honest any exercise lifts the happy hormone in you so get moving!

Seriously though, why not give it a try????

Results......Again!

It's that time again! I really need to make myself accountable and showing progress pictures is the only way to do it!
Here is me 2 weeks ago on 8th April 2014 - the first progress photo I had taken:

Here are my progress photos now 2 weeks on.......I think you can see a difference particularly on the side view - I still feel huge and have a long long long way to go but looking at photos of the changes is nice!

Here are some comparrison pics for good measure!

BEFORE AND NOW!

STARTING WEIGHT - 259lb ( was bigger when the before photo was taken but no idea what I weighed)

CURRENT WEIGHT - 213lb

Am I a Selfish Parent???

This is something that I have been wondering about for a while. I now spend a lot of time at the gym or doing some form of exercise. 

Most of the time (90%) I workout when the kids are at school or in bed so it doesn't affect them, but over the Easter holidays I've had to go and put them in the kids club at the gym. One evening a week I go to my body pump class and miss putting my daughter to bed in order to go. It is only one evening but it has left me wondering if making losing weight such a priority is in fact making me a selfish parent??

My daughter started school in September and my husband and myself decided that this would be the year I got to spend on myself and finally lose the weight. So I planned on treating going to the gym like having a job, I'd put in as many hours as I could and see what happened!
Well as any other working mum will tell you working and having kids is hard and you are often left feeling guilty for something. This seems to be the case with going to the gym too. Over the past few months I've been on the recieving end of a few comments from the other people I know asking when I'm going to go back to work - I explain about the choice my husband and I have made and I get looked at like I've gone mad! 

"Well I could never spend that much time on myself"

"I'm too busy looking after the house/kids/husband"

These are the comments I tend to get. This only seems to be adding to my feelings of guilt. 

Personally I feel like I'm a better parent since I started losing weight. My kids don't care what I look like they love me regardless but I'm now able to do things I couldn't before. 

I know it sounds cliche but playing on the park, pushing them in the swings - these are things that matter to the kids and the things they remember, not that once a week mummy wasn't there at bedtime! I'm looking after myself and ensuring that I'll be around for my kids and grandkids when we are all old. Surely that suggests I'm doing this for us all not just myself????

Round Up

Arghhhh Can't believe I missed a day! I blame it on the Easter school holidays and the kids being off! Anyway I'm back so I thought i would give you a round up of my weekend. Not that it was that exciting, but I feel I should be accountable anyway.

This pretty much sums everything up!

Friday was my weekly PT session. I lost another 2lb this week but all my measurements stayed the same. Guess this is OK I'm still getting smaller.

PT was a bit of a killer. Sarah had devised a new form of torture/programme for me, and this one was hard! 

It consisted of: 

Leg Press - 15 reps 

Weighted Walking Lunges -20 reps

x3

Then came the worst part!

VIPR 

Having never done this before its fairly safe to say I was terrified! I lack coordination at the best of times and in total honesty I'm not very quick at thinking and moving so this was hard, both mentally and physically.

Thread the Needle - 20 reps

x3

Make a Box - 15 reps

x3

(I'm not sure if the names are right but that's what my PT called them)

Then came the HIIT portion.

Spin Bike: 30sec sprint 30sec recovery X5

Rowing Machine: 250m 20sec recovery X5

Treadmill: 30sec sprint 1min recovery X5

Just reading it makes me tired!

Anyway on the Saturday my back was killing me, presumably from the new Vipr exercises. I went to spin anyway, but seriously struggled. Not really sure if it was the best thing to do but never mind.

Sunday - I decided it was time I started training properly for this 5K run I'm doing in June. So i put on my trainers and dragged the boy out with me. I managed 3.2K in 30mins - this was a combination of walking and running, but I am really hoping to drop the walking sometime soon!

New Blog Design

Whoo! I finally have a new blog design! I got it from the amazing MISS LILLY DESIGNS on Etsy.
To be fair I'm a total nightmare when it comes to things like this and in three weeks time I will more than likely change my mind and decide I want something different, but for now I really love this design! I think it totally sums up my journey and personality! What do you all think?

Anyway.........This week......Its the first week of the Easter Holidays here in the UK, So that has meant trying to entertain the kids as well as fitting in my gym schedule! So far it has all worked out well. I'm lucky enough that we go to a gym that has an active kids club program. So while the kids have been in there I've been hitting the gym hard after my week off!

I've mainly been doing my PT programme but this week I've also decided to add an abs routine to the programme. I've still got a lot of fat to lose on my stomach but figured if I start working on my abs now by the time the fat has gone there may be something to show......I'm not 100% sure it works like that but here's to wishful thinking!

Work Out Wear.....

I love nothing more than shopping for new smaller clothes! Seriously I don't think that I will ever get bored of it! Being able to squeeze my once huge (still is huge but is a lot smaller) arse into smaller clothes is amazing!

However it does have its draw backs........

I spend 90% of my day in my gym clothes, and having to repeatedly wash them combined with them getting too big means that buying new gear all the time becomes quite expensive!

Until today.....I recently found out that Primark does sportswear! So off I popped into town and bought some new tops............

CROP TOP - £4.00

I picked up two of these tops! Admittedly there isn't much in the way of support, but I figured they would be both comfy and cute under longer tops for weight training! One day I might be skinny and toned enough to dare to wear one on its own!

TOP - £5.00

Yep you guessed it I also bought two of these! I LOVE these! They are nice and big but flattering too! I wore them to do my weights and cardio today and to be honest it kept me as sweat free as my more expensive branded ones. To say I'm thrilled is an understatement.

JACKET - £12.00

I didn't pick up a running jacket but will certainly be heading back soon - well before winter to get one. I don't think I'm dedicated enough to the running cause to warrant getting one yet! 

On a serious note go take a look at the Primark sportswear range, for the price point I'm really pleased with the quality, and is affordable enough to be replaced when I lose more weight! (fingers crossed).

Me in my new kit....Not the best pic but its a pic!

So Far......

Ok I've been putting off this post for a long long time, but i think i really need to just get it out of the way and deal with it!

So here goes......This was me before i began my weightloss journey........

This is me now after 6 months of mainly cardio training and a few recent weight sessions.......(please excuse all the crap in the background)

STARTING WEIGHT - 259lb

CURRENT WEIGHT - 220lb

Shhhhhhhhh!

I think that title pretty much sums this last week(end) up! I have no idea what has been wrong with me but towards the start of the week I was beyond shattered and lost all motivation! Not good.....certainly not a place I want to be heading to either!

So I decided to make the choice to take the week off, and that is exactly what I did! 

I was totally drained and worn out also my knee was suffering for a bit. I thought taking a week off would help......I couldn't have been more wrong! Towards the end of the week I was even more worn out from doing nothing and craving weights! 

I will be back this week and more determined than ever.........For the first time ever I think I've really missed the gym!

Fitspo

I've been reading a few articles about whether the Fitspo Hash tag is causing a problem and adding fuel to the pro eating disorder fire.....So I thought I would weigh in (no pun intended)

Essentially #Fitspo is a whole bunch of images and "inspirational" quotes that can be found on Instagram and Pinterest amongst other things. It purports to inspire mainly women - although there are a few posts aimed at men, to achieve a certain body image inspired by a healthy active lifestyle.

People argue that #Fitspo is like #Thinspo and promotes an unhealthy body image and eating disorders.

Personally.......I'm not so sure......Like everything there are good an bad #Fitspo images and if you manage to ignore the bad ones - which admittedly can be difficult, the hash tag can be very inspiring!

I regularly look at #Fitspo images on Instagram. Usually when I've finished at the gym. Yes i compare my arms, abs, back, bum, everything to the images but for me they make me realise just how much work those girls put in. I admire their dedication and in an ideal world I'd love to have the time to work on my body to that extent. Not because I particularly want to look like them, but mainly because I love the way that weight training and cardio makes me feel. However, i have a job, family, and life and realistically I know it's not going to happen......and that's fine! 

I do believe that certain #Fitspo quotes and images can motivate and inspire - I'm not a fan of the over sexualised images but as i said before i ignore those.

I truly believe that eating disorders are more deep rooted admittedly I have 0 experience with eating disorders (again this depends on whether you believe that being overweight is an eating disorder - I happen to believe this but that's another post)

If looking at good respectful inspirational, motivational photos and quotes helps to motivate you then surely that is a good thing?

Some of the GOOD inspirational Fitness blogs i read can be found at POPSUGAR

Shredding......

In keeping with ramping things up for April, I've decided to also do the 30 day shred.....I've never done this before but have see some amazing results from it.

I'm planning on doing this in conjunction with my current personal training plan, classes and running training! Surely one of those will work?

Anyway.....I PROMISE I will take some before photos although I think I might post them at the end of the shred.....Yes I know I'm rubbish but think before photos are turning into quite a big thing for me!

This week so far has not really started. I've been avoiding weight training due to hurting my knee last week, but decided last night to go for a 2K run with the boy. It wasn't a fast run and I was being seriously careful due to my knee, but it turned out to be OK and the boy is a fairly good trainer....he's only ten but I think I've found his future career!

April Clean Eating Challenge

I realise this is a day late but I did start this yesterday I promise.

Anyway.....THE CHALLENGE......

Due to the fact that I possibly have an event to attend at the end of April I decided that it's time to step things up with regards to exercise and clean eating. To be fair I usually eat clean 80% of the time with usually one or two cheat meals per week.....My cheat meals tend to be greasy fried non nutritious rubbish!

So for April I'm planning on ditching the greasy stuff for the entire month and only eating clean foods!

In order to give myself the best possible start I spent the whole of Monday doing food prep! This isn't something I've ever done before but it certainly something I'm planning on doing again. Its quite satisfying to know that my breakfast and lunches and a few snacks are made and ready for the week!

Anyway, I will be keeping you up to date with my progress. I look forward to hearing from any of you that have decided to join in............

HIIT for Fat Burn

My workouts have changed a lot recently. What started out as hours and hours on the treadmill has now become mega streamlined, but is having HUGE effects!

I now workout on the treadmill for roughly 20 mins three times a week. This combined with weight training is giving me some amazing results.....so until it stops working i plan on continuing in the same way.

Basically my workouts now consist of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). In essence i totally kill myself and burn as many calories as i can, then it's done!

HIIT training on the treadmill is ideal for me as i can change the intensity and speed depending on how my legs are feeling. Generally i sprint on the treadmill for 30 seconds and then do active recovery - either walking or a light jog depending how I'm feeling for 1 minute. 

With HIIT training its important to keep changing things up and surprising your body so I often vary the speed rather than the length of the sprint or i do the same workout but on the spin bikes!

Seriously give it a try and see if it works for you.......It took a while but I'm really starting to love it now!

Over The Weekend!

Wow that weekend sure went fast! It might have something to do with losing an hours sleep.....I'm still catching up on that hour!

So what did i get up to this weekend.....well it was a bit of an unsuccessful one. 

Saturday - I woke up and headed to my double spin class...this was fab. I gave it everything - actually too much and ended up injuring the back of my knee. I'm fairly sure this was due to having the seat in the wrong position.  

The rest of the day was a total flop.....My knee was sore and I ended up spending the day eating crap which resulted in me feeling like crap! Just great.

I also decided to have a glass of wine! Now before I embarked on this lifestyle i used to be able to drink most weekends......seemingly not any more. I could barely finish the glass and it tasted revolting! It really wasn't worth the calories!

Sunday - Sunday was mothers day and i spent the day at the park with my two little darlings. To be fair this wasn't a complete disaster, i found that i can now fit on the swings again - much to the embarrassment of my 10 year old son, I decided this was a small non scale victory so it cheered me up a bit!

All in all not the best weekend, although certainly not the worst....kind of a non event really. Either way this past weekend seems to have renewed my commitment to clean eating, I made up my mind to hit the supermarket early Monday morning and embark on some meal prep! I'm planning on April being a 100% clean month......Wish me luck!

I Love To Cheat......

So yesterday I had my personal training session! It was really good and Sarah worked me hard! I even managed to increase the speed of my sprint in my treadmill HIIT session.....to say I was over the moon is a slight understatement! I can't believe how much stronger and faster i'm getting, a few months ago i was shattered just walking on the treadmill and now i'm making some serious improvements!

So to reward myself i thought i would make today my "Cheat Meal". Im really trying to get out of the habit of rewarding myself with food (i am not a dog.......or something like that). Either way.......

So i had Fish and Chips from the chip shop and half a glass of wine! Both of these were a really big mistake and I wont be having either of them again in a hurry! To say i almost virtually lived on fried greasy food, my stomach can no longer handle it and i spent the entire evening with a stomach ache feeling fat and bloated! So not worth it!
As for the wine.....Pre becoming exercise obsessed i could easily polish off a couple of glasses of wine on a Friday night! Seemingly not anymore, i struggled to drink that one glass and then woke up this morning with the worlds worst headache! Looks like i'm becoming quitting alcohol properly too.........Good job I really really love the turn my life has taken!

As for future "cheat meals" I need to remember these golden rules and maybe chose something non greasy and fried......

ProjectNext

Results, Results, Results

Today i've got my 8th Personal Training session - honestly i can't wait.....i really do love it especially my new found love for lifting weights.......i mean that s*** really does work!

Anways, i thought i would share with you my results from the start of my personal training sessions to now.....it might also keep me on the straight and narrow. 

Starting Weight (at the start of PT - Beginning of February) 103.7kg

Weight Now (after 7 PT sessions) March 21st) 99kg

4kg LOST - YEY!!!!!!

Waist - Beginning of Feb - 102cm

            March 21st - 95cm

7cm LOST

Hips - Beginning of Feb - 130.5cm

          March 21st - 124cm

6.5cm LOST

Chest - Beginning of Feb - 111cm

            March 21st - 104.5cm

6.5cm LOST - Not entirely sure i'm happy about this!

Legs - Beginning of Feb - Forgot to take this Measurement

          March 21st - 59cm

Arm - Beginning of Feb - 37cm

          March 21st - 33cm

4cm LOST

Anyway so there we have it! I promise not all my posts will be this boring but i needed to get it written down and then i can really see just how far i've come..........I've still got a long, long way to go but i'm actually pretty proud!