Friday, July 1, 2011
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
Friday, June 24, 2011
The journey continues
The first part of my health and fitness journey has nearly finished.
What I have achieved:
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
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 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
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
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
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
Thursday, June 2, 2011
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
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
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Another week in my journey
Well this past week has been quite a challenge. Training and nutrition has been great but I have gone from being very happy to tears. I keep telling myself the only thing I can control is my nutrition and training and to not let let things get to me that I have no control over.
During the week I got some very upsetting news from my child's school. He was being bullied and was quite depressed about it. My heart just dropped, that a 12year old could be bullied to the point he wanted to hurt himself. Normally I would hit the food big time but not this time. I have moved to a new point where I know that the food will not help me but in fact be a huge setback in my journey, a detour I do not wish to take. Instead I focused on what steps I could take to help my son which was a positive reaction not negative.
I started this week with a painful lower leg and had to go to physiotherapy. After a week of lunges, jump squats, squats, sprints, push ups and skipping I an aching from head to toe. My leg remains painful so much so that next week there will be no skipping or jump squats. It is time to look after it so that it can heal.
Training in the studio was tough. Leg presses with the new change of seat position is just tough and I am making sounds like I never have before. Not very lady like I might add. I am determined to lift 8 clean reps x 2 sets this week. I just need to focus. I will master that incline bench press as well. I just need to focus.
Today my heart is not in it. I am tired, frustrated, fed up and wanting to scream. Scream from pure frustration over many things. Some times I feel like I am living 'Ground Hogs Day' and it can just get to you. There is no fun in my life at this point and that is very sad. I enjoy training, don't get me wrong, but that component of fun is just not there at this time. If I am not training, then I am working or breaking up fights between my boys or running errands or going grocery shopping or trying to catch up on housework.
Does this mean I will not eat properly today, NO! This is my new lifestyle and I wouldn't alter that for anything. After 7 weeks I have no craving for chocolate or any of my old junk food. Will I not turn up to training, NO! I really like Blitz and the boost it gives me for the day and the people at Blitz are so supportive and encouraging!
So here I am 7 weeks down and 5 more to go. I remain focused and can't wait to see the changes my body is undergoing every week. The only thing I need to look into is fun, that will be my next challenge.
Leaner
Treena
During the week I got some very upsetting news from my child's school. He was being bullied and was quite depressed about it. My heart just dropped, that a 12year old could be bullied to the point he wanted to hurt himself. Normally I would hit the food big time but not this time. I have moved to a new point where I know that the food will not help me but in fact be a huge setback in my journey, a detour I do not wish to take. Instead I focused on what steps I could take to help my son which was a positive reaction not negative.
I started this week with a painful lower leg and had to go to physiotherapy. After a week of lunges, jump squats, squats, sprints, push ups and skipping I an aching from head to toe. My leg remains painful so much so that next week there will be no skipping or jump squats. It is time to look after it so that it can heal.
Training in the studio was tough. Leg presses with the new change of seat position is just tough and I am making sounds like I never have before. Not very lady like I might add. I am determined to lift 8 clean reps x 2 sets this week. I just need to focus. I will master that incline bench press as well. I just need to focus.
Today my heart is not in it. I am tired, frustrated, fed up and wanting to scream. Scream from pure frustration over many things. Some times I feel like I am living 'Ground Hogs Day' and it can just get to you. There is no fun in my life at this point and that is very sad. I enjoy training, don't get me wrong, but that component of fun is just not there at this time. If I am not training, then I am working or breaking up fights between my boys or running errands or going grocery shopping or trying to catch up on housework.
Does this mean I will not eat properly today, NO! This is my new lifestyle and I wouldn't alter that for anything. After 7 weeks I have no craving for chocolate or any of my old junk food. Will I not turn up to training, NO! I really like Blitz and the boost it gives me for the day and the people at Blitz are so supportive and encouraging!
So here I am 7 weeks down and 5 more to go. I remain focused and can't wait to see the changes my body is undergoing every week. The only thing I need to look into is fun, that will be my next challenge.
Leaner
Treena
Friday, May 20, 2011
Training and Nutrition
Well another busy week is over.
Nutrition has been spot on. Each meal has contained the essential ingredients. Planning my meals and preparing them every morning for the day is becoming routine. My children think I am mad eating all those vegies but that is ok. I think they will like the results and they certainly like their new fitter mum who can keep up with them when we go to the park.
Josh decided to teach me about a whole new level of intensity and pain. Thursday was lower body weight training. Josh loaded the leg press up with my weight amount (200kgs) and 'encouraged' me to push out 15reps. Those last few reps were hard and I may have groaned with the effort but Josh wasn't finished with me yet. He moved the leg press seat further forward, and made me start again.I could only get out another 5 1/2reps but just moving that seat that inch made a whole lot of difference and hurt like anything. My legs were trashed and there was still lunges (my pet dislike), leg curls and calf raises (one of my favourites) to come. I left feeling fantastic and very pleased with my achievements and a not so gentle hum of throbbing legs. Skiing in the hall at Blitz the next morning was a lot of fun but the burpees and jump squats certainly reminded my legs how sore they were but I managed to push through.
Then this morning's workout in the skate bowl was not only fun but exhausting. Skipping (not good at it), sprints, squats and that heavy rope challenge was an awesome workout. Ok the rope wasn't that heavy until you tried flicking it a few times, then your core and arms really felt it. One of the best things about today's workout was teaming up with another Blitzer and encouraging each other ( thanks Tim) as well as others providing encouragement thanks Simon, Tina and Co. I think that's what makes it so easy to get out of bed at 5am or 6am, just knowing that a great group of people will be up and training with you.
Leaner
Treena
Nutrition has been spot on. Each meal has contained the essential ingredients. Planning my meals and preparing them every morning for the day is becoming routine. My children think I am mad eating all those vegies but that is ok. I think they will like the results and they certainly like their new fitter mum who can keep up with them when we go to the park.
Josh decided to teach me about a whole new level of intensity and pain. Thursday was lower body weight training. Josh loaded the leg press up with my weight amount (200kgs) and 'encouraged' me to push out 15reps. Those last few reps were hard and I may have groaned with the effort but Josh wasn't finished with me yet. He moved the leg press seat further forward, and made me start again.I could only get out another 5 1/2reps but just moving that seat that inch made a whole lot of difference and hurt like anything. My legs were trashed and there was still lunges (my pet dislike), leg curls and calf raises (one of my favourites) to come. I left feeling fantastic and very pleased with my achievements and a not so gentle hum of throbbing legs. Skiing in the hall at Blitz the next morning was a lot of fun but the burpees and jump squats certainly reminded my legs how sore they were but I managed to push through.
Then this morning's workout in the skate bowl was not only fun but exhausting. Skipping (not good at it), sprints, squats and that heavy rope challenge was an awesome workout. Ok the rope wasn't that heavy until you tried flicking it a few times, then your core and arms really felt it. One of the best things about today's workout was teaming up with another Blitzer and encouraging each other ( thanks Tim) as well as others providing encouragement thanks Simon, Tina and Co. I think that's what makes it so easy to get out of bed at 5am or 6am, just knowing that a great group of people will be up and training with you.
Leaner
Treena
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Week 6
I have been waiting for this week to come to see my results. I have noticed my stomach has flattened quite a lot over the past few weeks and my work pants reveal my butt is getting smaller or more toned as they are quite loose at the back. Emma who worked on my sore muscles noticed the change in my leg muscle definition so that was great. Another friend made nice comments about my receding stomach apron fat so that was positive. All the Blitzers were making nice comments and being very supportive so that made each training day a positive experience. Thanks girls and guys! Photos of me at the first week and this week show a reduction in back fat, yes as bad as it sounds I do have back fat, at least there is less now.
Well I turned up for my measurements and as usual Josh did them without me seeing them. He took photos, I was wearing my new size 14 crop top which 6 weeks ago didn't fit due to the size of my breasts and I was also wearing a size 14 athletic t-shirt. Anyway the photos were done with me in the crop top. I haven't seen them but I know I look better. Josh then asked me what I would be happy with in the centimetres department. I had not a clue of what number to choose as I hadn't thought about it, so I randomly chose 20cm, a nice round number. Well I got rid of 13.5cm of fat and I am very happy with that as I have worked hard and was hoping for a good number. Just between you and me I was just so relieved to get it over and done with as I was very nervous about what the numbers would be like.
So I am focused and determined for even greater results in the next 6weeks.
Leaner
Treena
Well I turned up for my measurements and as usual Josh did them without me seeing them. He took photos, I was wearing my new size 14 crop top which 6 weeks ago didn't fit due to the size of my breasts and I was also wearing a size 14 athletic t-shirt. Anyway the photos were done with me in the crop top. I haven't seen them but I know I look better. Josh then asked me what I would be happy with in the centimetres department. I had not a clue of what number to choose as I hadn't thought about it, so I randomly chose 20cm, a nice round number. Well I got rid of 13.5cm of fat and I am very happy with that as I have worked hard and was hoping for a good number. Just between you and me I was just so relieved to get it over and done with as I was very nervous about what the numbers would be like.
So I am focused and determined for even greater results in the next 6weeks.
Leaner
Treena
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