And so it Begins

Monday 14/1/2013

Ok so it has been over a year since I blogged. I have not reached my body composition goals and yet I am closer than I have ever been.

Recap of 2012: was rehab of my extensive tibial stress fractures and slowly getting back into running and improving my running style to prevent further damage. I still have restrictions on this and that continues to impact my leg training. I still continued to weight train and make some change to my body composition.

Thank you to the following people who helped me in the last 12months (in no particular order):

• My family
• Glenda Prescutti
• Pam Eade
• Karen Pullen
• Fitness friends
• Carley my physiotherapist
• Emma my myotherapist
• Josh Dickinson (trainer)

Ok so today was the start of my 18week challenge and with this challenge I have set myself a huge and scary goal. I have been told that if a goal isn't scary then it isn't big enough and so I went with that idea. On the 19th May 2013 I will look stunning as I am 20% bodyfat. That goal requires me to shed 12.9% bodyfat in 18weeks. In the last 12weeks I shed 7.9% bodyfat. Can I really do this? Absolutely!!!! I have some very supportive friends, fitness buddies and family. I know there will be tough days but those days will happen regardless of whether I work towards this goal or just fluff about. I am strong!

One big thank you goes to Donna who told me when I was training with her and Glenda that there is no " I can't ". So my answer will be I can!

Along on this ride will be my training buddy Glenda Prescutti who is inspirational! She pushes herself and others to deliver their best in each and every workout so how can I not meet this goal!! On top of that she has taught me a lot about food, food prep and to try new and unusual vegetables.

Josh Dickinson is setting up, overseeing, and answering my questions regarding my nutrition and training. With his assistance and the recomp program I am going to reach my goal. He may need earplugs before this is all over, lol

I truly am thankful to my great friends who listen to me and let me vent when needed. You know who you are!

And So It Begins......

From City2Surf and beyond

Ok so City2Surf has come and gone. I went into the run with a leg injury determined to finish the run. Within 2km of the start I felt like someone was stabbing my left ankle with a knife with every step. So I changed my plan to just walk as fast as I could so that I gave myself the best time possible at the end. At no stage did I contemplate giving up and not completing the run. I finished in 1:58:50 in 48,719 position out of 85,000 starters.  I enjoyed the atmosphere, the costumes, the way some larger people can pour themselves into lycra and show off all the excess fat (on a positive note at least they participated).  I was asked by friends if I had to do it all over again would I still do it with the injury and I said yes. It was great and I can't wait to do it next year:D After the finish line there is a photo of me with a big grimace on my face and that is how I felt. The pain in the leg was intense and I didn't have painkillers on me I had left them with my luggage, something I wont do next time. The bus and train journey back to my bags was not pleasant but such is life. The support of my team mates - Clare, Simon, Vicki, Tina and Avinash was amazing and I am grateful to them for helping me back to my bags. To say I was slow would be an understatement! So thank you all very much.

I broke my nutrition plan and ate pies. Yep they tasted good at the time but that voice in the back of my head kept screaming at me - what do you think you are doing? my other voice just said I am in pain go away!. So this proves I am human and make poor choices at times.

So now whilst I heal my leg I am strict with nutrition and doing whatever cardio I can that does not impact on my leg. I have lent a bike and started to use it.

So my journey continues with this injury just a bump in the road. I have signed up for city2sea with my daughter and that is in November. Just love to run!
Leaner
Treena

Another 12weeks in my journey.

Ok so today I started another 12week program under the guidance of Josh.

I have set some new goals and for full accountability I will let you all know:
1. Size 10 pants
2. No back fat rolls
3. Able to do a full sit up
4. Have some ab definition.

Ultimately my focus will be on shredding lots of fat and seeing that scale move into the 60's kg range.

From the past 15weeks I know that I can do the nutrition and training. This time I will keep everything extra tight. Do I have events coming up that give me concern? Absolutely but with planning I know I can survive them. City2surf in Sydney is coming up very soon and so I have to be organised for that. Luckily Clare booked accommodation across from a Coles supermarket. Thank you young lady :-)

So now it begins
Leaner
Treena

Perception

This week I have learnt a big lesson about perception. I took my 12week photos and was devastated with what I saw. The frontal photo did not reflect the way I felt. I felt leaner but that is not what I saw and I was very unhappy. The side and back photos certainly showed changes and I was happy with them but I kept looking at that front photo and wondering what I had done wrong, why had the program not done what I hoped it would do.

Poor Josh has since had to listen to me complain about that photo. He really has put things into perspective for me. The gains I have made in all other areas of my health and fitness are more important than that one photo. I have to agree with him. I took my resting heart rate which was 59-62 a huge change from earlier when it was sitting above 100. I no longer take antihypertensive medication and in fact my blood pressure can be a little low at times. I can feel my hip bones and my ribs, I couldn't before. I have not deviated from the MP nutrition and training plan in 12 weeks. I couldn't run 5kms 12weeks ago and now I am not only running 5km but I can run 5km with hills along the way. I have never run 10km under 70mins until recently.

I have also realised that in the last year that I have no photos of me except those taken for body composition in my underwear. So my goal for this month is to take some photos of how people see me so that I can visualise the changes I have made that people say they can see. I was given one the other day and I looked at it and I could see changes.

Leaner
Treena

The journey continues

The first part of my health and fitness journey has nearly finished.

What I have achieved:

• A new and greater level of fitness than ever before. I have pushed hard each Blitz session and studio training session. I took 9mins off my Nail Can Hill time and for the first time in my life ran 10km under 70mins.
• I have more arm definition than ever before. 
• I can fit into size 12 pants without a muffin top. Yes I have not achieved my size 10 pants just yet but I will reach that goal soon.
• MP has become a way of life for me. I do not crave any junk food, I can tolerate the children and hubby having hot chips in the house without wanting to eat them. They eat ice-cream and chocolate and it no longer bothers me.
• Getting out and going for a run by myself does not seem pointless or stupid.
• I ran 6.5km without walking for the first time ever.

I have to say I have had wonderful support and encouragement from the Blitz gang especially Clare, Tina, Vicki, Simon, and Tim. I am so grateful to you all for your support and giving me that push when I needed it. Thanks for being there through the good times and the bad.

I also want to say a big thank you to my trainer Josh Dickinson for working with me, encouraging me, setting me straight and for giving me a push when I needed it. Your guidance is what got me to this point and I think you would have to agree that I look pretty damn good compared to almost 12 weeks ago. Yes MP does work on so many levels!

Thanks also go to my family and friend Pam for putting up with me over the past almost 12 weeks. I know it has been hard that I have needed to eat at different times and train at certain times but you had better get used to it because I love what it does for me mentally and physically. This is the new me and I don't plan on changing back to the old Treena who didn't push herself or commit herself 100%.

Well my journey continues and I will continue to blog. leaner
Treena

Fun Run and Bench Press

What a week! I have had some fantastic results. I am doing things at 42yrs that I have never done in my life. I  have run a 10km fun run in under 70mins and I have bench pressed 38kgs. 

I always considered my upper body as being weak. During my time training with Josh I have gone from the light bar with weights to the heavy bar and now the heavy bar with weights.  In my dreams I never imagined I would also be lifting dumbbells. Today I used the 17.5kg dumbbells, I have never ever lifted them before and today I was able to do a few reps. To then lift 70kgs on the lat pulldown machine just topped my workout. I am just so happy with my results.


On Sunday there were a group of Blitzers all lined up to do the 10km Rutherglen Muscat Run. When asking people's goals I was asked mine. I flippantly said 75mins, not really thinking I would achieve that goal. Then all of a sudden the gun fired and we were off, no warning, just the gun. Initially Lauren(daughter) and I were the back of the pack with the SES van right behind us. Gradually we worked ourselves up to fifth last. Hills, long slow hills, not my favourite running terrain. Well with each hill I really thought my time was shot and with no water stations in sight I was feeling not the best. Anyway we plodded on and then thought we had become delirious when we spotted a water station at the 6.5km mark. No it wasn't a mirage, it was real! We both enjoyed a drink before continuing on to the next lot of hills.  The funniest moment was the 3 old guys at the top of the last hill who said 'only 600metres to go' and 'those last hills are real killers aren't they'. We were too breathless to reply. Seeing Vicki, Glenda, Donna near the finish spurred Lauren and I on the last bit. I was surprised when everyone said our time was in the low 70mins range. Today I was blown away to see that we had run just under 70mins at 69min 21secs. I knew my fitness level had been improving but this was just an acknowledgment of how far I have come in the past 10weeks. I thank all the Blitz gang whom I consider friends for their support and encouragement over the last 10 weeks.

leaner
Treena

A bit further along in my journey to health and fitness

I have to admit that this week I did not dread the change room at Big W as much as I did last time. I took a few deep breaths and tried on a pair of size 12 cargo pants. The fitted with no muffin top! I showed my mum who was with me and lifted my top to prove no muffin top. For the first time my mum actually commented on how good I was looking and that all the training is paying off. This is a first as up until that point she could never see why I finished work at 10pm and got up at 5am to go training. Maybe this might be a turning point in family support or lack there of as the case has been.

I have a very good week nutritionally. Sticking to the plan is actually quite easy once you get yourself prepared. In training I had legs that did not want to lunge or leg press but were very eager to leg curl and calf raise. Being up with my son who had croup in the middle of the night may have had something to do with it. Any way next week is a new week and I will push on.

Metabolic Blitz training in the mornings is a fantastic start to the day. Everywhere you look you can see the changes in other people's physique and that just spurs you on knowing that this works! I still have a painful lower leg so I am not jump squatting or skipping as I want it to heal. This time last year if you had told me I would be jumping out of bed on many mornings to go to early fitness training I would have thought you were crazy and needed a mental health review. Yet now if I can't make it I really miss it. Those first few weeks of my new program where I had to cut back on my cardio training were hard as I was just so used to getting up and working out hard.

The past couple of weeks have been quite hard emotionally for me due to family stresses and due to this I started to have doubts about lots of things including about my current program. Usually under these circumstances I have been well known to go and find my favourite comfort food and sit at home and eat. Not this time as I had this feeling that whilst other things were going bad my training and nutrition was still on track. I didn't want those poor quality foods to hinder my progress. I could not say that I was hungry and needed food. Eating every 2-3hours really curbs your hunger and cuts out cravings. So up until this point I can honestly say I have not deviated from the plan organised for me by Josh.

Today I start holidays and I see this as a way to reduce my stresses, focus on my training and nutrition and finish some compulsory stuff that I have been procrastinating on. It will be great to be able to collect the children from school and spend a bit more time with them and my darling hubby.

Leaner
Treena