Days 12-14 aka Surviving in Sydney

Friday

This weekend I headed off to Sydney to see three shows in 24 hours with my dad.

I knew from the start it would be a challenge nutritional because on these weekends we are usually running around doing alot of stuff and trying to get 6 meals in was going to be interesting.

I started Friday off really well, getting up to make an omelette and ensuring I ate at least 3 meals before my flight at 1:40. All was going well. Gt to dad's and the first thing I did was pop across to the supermarket and bought stuff that was going to help me get through. I grabbed some yoghurt, frozen fruit, flaxseed and dad had the protein powder. Got back and made up a shake. Feeling proud of myself, doing VERY well.

We head out for dinner and we decide on tapas so that made it easy , meats and salads. We came to order drinks and....well..... you see..........

Yep I ordered Vodka and Diet coke. The first of many for the night. Interesting how one little thing can derail the day.

So in summary, from a food point of view I did pretty well, from the drink point of view, not so good.

Saturday

Saturday I woke up feeling not too bad....... I quickly worked out that the reason for that was simple, I was still drunk.

I knew I needed to eat something so Dad and I headed down to Cafe Bondi (in Kings Cross) and I ordered a Spinach Omelette. It tasted good however half way through and I quickly realised that my hangover had snuck up on me. I was NOT happy. We went back up to the apartment and I lay down for a second (read: an hour). After I woke up I certainly felt better however it was also on my mind that it was almost lunch time and I had only had one meal.

Dad and I headed off to the opera and my only choices for food were sushi and finger sandwiches. I didn't NOT want to eat so I choose the finger sandwiches with meats (protein).

After the opera, which was quite enjoyable (and 3 hours long) I grabbed a protein bar, strawberry yoghurt and a couple of fish oil tablets. 4pm and I knew I wasn't going to make the 6 meals however was still going to choose wisely.

At dinner I had Black Angus Tenderloin with mushrooms and beans. After Spring Awakening we headed home, I certainly wasn't up for another night of vodka......

When home, as I night cap I had a berry choc protein shake (with flaxseed) and headed off to bed. I knew I hadn't had a day I could "tick off" as following all the rules however I understand the reasons I didn't have the best day and understand further planning in certain situations is needed.

Sunday

I awoke feeling a LOT better than the day before determined that today was going to be better, and I was.

Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs, Mushrooms and Fish Oil tablets

Morning Tea - Berry choc protein shake with flaxseed

Lunch - Tuna salad

After lunch it was time to head off to the airport to head home. Now those that know me know that I always bring back Krispy Kreme donuts..... mmmmmmmmm donuts......... and today was no different (well different only because I only bought a dozen not 3). I'm walking around with them and you know what, I didn't want one.

I got home and handed over the Krispy Kremes so they were no longer in my possession.

The rest of the day I did fairly well from a nutrition point of view and I could tick the day off :D

(I know I have a few days to catch up however I will over the next couple of days I swear)

Day Eleven aka you want me to do what?

Today started out the same as yesterday, with every intention of getting up and making omelette. In reality I had yoghurt, protein powder and flaxseed again. The strawberry and protein smoothie at morning tea was great and the Chilli and lime salad.... Well I just LOVED that.

I was feeling pretty good today, in no small part to the compliments I had been receiving (partly new top, partly shape change :D).

So when I headed into the session with Josh I was feeling fairly confident :).

The deadlifts, oh the deadlifts. In all honesty I don't mind the deadlifts (at the moment) and my self correctors, my knees, certainly help to indicate when my forms not the best (oh and Josh yelling at me to improve my form helps :P)

Then the leg press. Josh must have had a LOT of faith in me because he upped the weight..... A little TOO much. After the weight was readjusted down I was able to end that set and then the weight went up again :S (although not as high)

Next up was the lunges, not my favourite exercise (although certainly not my most feared anymore). I find that I struggle a little with balance on this one which doesn't make it easy at all for me.

Next I was introduced to a new exercise, the calf press. I sit in the leg press machine and Josh tells me to just place my toes on the plates. I sit there thinking he must be taking more of the weight off however he simply says "are you ready?"

So he pulls the weight up and I just have to push with my toes..... And you know what? It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Could be the answer to my aching calves while walking up slopes :D

We were running out of time so I figured we wouldn't have much time for abs....may not have had much time however still worked them hard with 10 crunches and 10 legs raises as warm ups and then 20 (I swear he originally said 10!) crunches where my elbows had to touch my knees. This was followed by 20 leg raises. I'll tell ya, it hurts to sneeze.

So anyway I'll sign off now. Return to see how I handle the Sydney trip and nutrition ....

Day Ten aka I can do this!

Woke up this morning feeling fairly rested, and running late. After a quick shower and grabbing everything I needed for training this afternoon I was out the door.... with no breakfast :S.

I had already decided to take some protein powder and flaxseed meal into work so I quickly thought what else I had and breakfast became yoghurt, strawberries, protein powder and flaxseed meal, all components covered :). I was still feeling a little less than energised however figured that today's session would help, was determined that today was going to be better.

I kept it together with nutrition throughout the day and was feeling pretty good about that. During a slight downtime at work I came across two articles Josh had written, one on excuses and the second on mindset. These articles ready helped me put things in perspective and I was determined to go into today's session with a different attitude..... and it worked.

Pre supplementation taken care of I was ready for today's session (even though I knew the dreaded dips were included).

We started on the bench press and I will admit I felt stronger. The last couple of reps on last weeks weight were a little shaky however we finished them. Josh of course decided I still had more in me so on went on the weight. I would love to say it was like 10kgs or something however I think it was 500g.....

Still felt strong at the start but then it started to get hard, and I mean really hard. The last rep got to the stage that I hate and love. The point where it feels like that bar isn't going anywhere. You want to keep it from falling on your head however no matter how hard you push it ain't going anywhere. Josh is constantly there to make sure it doesn't fall on your head however it won't help you until that point where you just can't do it......... and somehow you still manage to finish it. On the final push, with Josh's support and encouragement (and perhaps a little help) and a lot of weird twisting and maneuvering from me that barbell got up there. Yay, no flattened head for me today.

It is always great encouragement when your trainer smiles at you and says "that's the hardest you have ever pushed", my afternoon was definitely improving. :)

Next is the inclined barbell press. The first set felt pretty good, although fairly light hehehe
The second set jumped in weight however felt ok.... at the beginning. Towards the end my right started twisting as I was pushing up. What did it think it was a baton for twirling?? The twisting hurt a little although it wasn't the pain making it twist.

So down we went in weight and the bling came back on (that was my plan all along muahahahaha. no really it wasn't, I swear Josh!) This time it was better and I was able to complete the sets not quite as wonkily.

Then onto the dips. Now I will tell you that all day my back, more specifically my lats, were hurting all day. Kept twinging and really bugging me so I wasn't sure how that would effect the dips however I climbed aboard. The warm up set was relatively easy and I didn't feel the niggle that I thought I would. Josh commented that the dips were deeper than last week so that helped the focus :).

The next set was a little more difficult requiring some help from Josh who helped while correcting my form, he can multitask after all. :P I have a habit of crunching down when it gets difficult so have to concentrate on keeping my chest up. That set done and next...... another set of course!

Once the next set was shakily completed I jumped off ready for the next challenge and challenge it is.

When I started going to see Josh I realised that my abs are not exactly the strongest and the carious series of crunches and leg raises hurt and hurt hard. (I've learnt that when he says "Pick a number between 10 and 15... go for the lower number!! It is the difference between the 100 ab reps I could have done and the 225 I did do!!)

However slowly core strength has been improving however today he introduced me to the Wheel of Death (which he belatedly tried to rename the Wheel of Serenity). The Wheel of Death is a little innocent looking wheel with handles either side. The purpose is to smash your abs!

You start in a kneeling position and grasp the handles. You then place the wheel in front of you and find your centre of balance. The next thing is to slowly roll the wheel out in front, and your body follows, then to get back you crunch your abs muscles. Could really feel it.

Well I can tell you that after this session, that ended with a bit of laughter, I certainly felt brighter than on other days. So I'm signing off for the night and will return tomorrow with ... Legs!

Good night all.

Days Nine aka Blitzing the Dark

Today was the Blitz session for the week and believe me when that alarm went off I considered going straight back to sleep. However I got up, got dressed and grabbed my pre training shake (protein and glucose) and headed out the door to pick up my Blitz partner and best friend, Simon. Neither of us seemed too perky on this dark and thankfully cooler morning.

When we go to the park it was still pitch black and the light wasn't coming out even as more people arrived. When Josh arrived we headed over to the skate park as it was the only lit portion of the park. One of Josh's great abilities is to adapt to the situation. The area where we could do blitz was narrowed however that certainly didn't diminish the intensity of the session.

Today's session consisted of a lot of squats, step ups, jump squats, push ups, inverted push ups for the brave (which I wasn't), a few laps around the skate park and the ever favourite... burpees.

I was still feeling quite lack lustre and it was evident. I put in what I could however I knew I should have been able to do more.

Finished off with the post training supplement and headed home for a shower and then work (yay). Due to still feeling disappointed in my performance I still felt a little flat for the day (only lifted with an outing with the Girls' Movie Club to see the extremely girly Valentine's Day)

Day Eight aka the start of week two

I walk into the gym Monday afternoon actually feeling a little flat, as I had been all day. I was tired and a little meh however knew that the session would make me feel a little better.... or so I thought.

We start the session with.... a test! Yep, a nutrition test (told you I was back studying :P). Well apparently I know a little more about nutrition than I thought, however still room for improvement. We went through the chapter for the week and Josh pointed out a few things I hadn't noticed and corrected things I didn't get quite get right (in a nice and patient way of course).

After a quick warm up set on the pull downs we moved towards the machine that is NOT my friend, the dreaded chin up machine. As I said I felt fairly flat, even though I'd kept my nutrition spot on, and the thought of the chin ups terrified me. And boy did it show..... I started off ok however then I started struggling far earlier than I should have. We struggled through the last few agonising reps with a LOT of help from Josh (he is definitely there for you every step of the way.

We then moved to the pull downs and once again the soreness in my forearms restricted me and I didn't pull the weight that I know I'm capable of.

Onto the dumbbell rows and I will admit I felt stronger with those, although I shrugged a lot more than I should have in the rows.

Last and definitely not least was the barbell curl. Now by this time my will is shot, not an excuse however definitely did not go into the curl with the best frame of mind. Started ok again however once again that bar got to a point where it just would not move.... there went the knees and bending of the back again. I almost gave up completely on the last one however Josh wouldn't let me give up and it was completed (although pretty wonkily)

Finished with crunches and leg raises and then I was out of there.

This was probably one time the session didn't lift my mood. No fault of Josh or the exercises, just disappointment in myself.

However I guessed that everyone has days like that and "well, tomorrow's another day...."

And we begin.......Week One

The MP training for me consists for resistence training with Josh 3 days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday) and one Blitz session a week (Tuesday) for the first 4 weeks. (the other 3 days involve less intense activities)

Note: Yes I managed to get myself a three day weekend... hehehe... don't tell Josh.

In addition to the exercise component there is a larger focus on nutrition and how it will aid in making permanent changes. So this part involves reading a chapter and then having a weekly talk about the principles of the program. (and yes I do feel like I'm back at uni :P)

Day One
So day one I turn up thinking "ok we generally do bench press, pull downs, leg press and lunges (ugh). I can handle this".

Now I should point out that just 2 days beforehand Josh opened his new premises and I will just say it is a little larger than the double garage we were training in before..........

So Josh informs me that as we now have 3 training sessions each session will concentrate on a different muscle group (Back, chest and legs - with a couple of extra muscles thrown in for good measure). Day one is back and with a wide smile he simply says, "We are doing chin ups today".

Well I did a chin up straight away, lifting my chin up off the floor "The computer says No!" was my head's first response.

He looked at me and my look of horror and said "have faith"

One of the main problems with Josh's new place is that he has many more instruments of torture..... I mean ways of punishing .... I mean apparatus to assist in increasing strength, fitness and health (is that better Josh?)

He led me to a machine that I had been eyeing off during the open day wondering what the hell it was (apart from a device to tighten weight belts - another story for another time...) and he informed me to "hop on". This nifty little device is an assisted chin up machine (also an assisted dip machine but we'll get to that)

For this blog I'm not going to going through each set . Suffice it to say.... it bloody hurt!!!
From here we went to the pulldown machine and I was relieved simply because I knew what to expect from this beast.... or so I thought. After the chin ups my forearms hurt and I just couldn't do what I normally did. From here we went to the dumbbell row, which I don't mind too much and then he sprung it on me........ barbell curls (I think that look of horror came back)

I lifted the bar just fine and then the weight went on. The first couple no problem, and I'm happily thinking this is ok then it happened......... that bar was not moving how it should. It just wouldn't lift past a certain point. Oh wait, if I bend my knees and curve my back it will move up.... oops not supposed to do that.

Well anyway that was the first official day of MP and I was shattered.

Day Two

The next day I was up at 5am for the weekly Blitz session and I will admit I felt fairly energised and felt like I put in a good session

Day Three

Day three we returned to the gym (and I'm sure he rearranged things again....)
Today was the day to smash my chest, well um you know what I mean. I felt pretty good about this session because my performance on the bench press had been improving and I was feeling pretty good about the dumbbell press.

Bench Press - I did ok. Pushed as hard as I could and I think I did pretty well.

Dumbbell Press - Well of course he had to switch it up, I'm now doing an inclined dumbbell press. Straightaway this felt odd and I knew that I wasn't going to be able to do the sort of weight I was doing on the flat dumbbell press. However did pretty well.... and I got to wear the bling (wrist weights) :D

Then, well, you remember that assisted torture machine? Yep, it re-entered my life. My triceps were still shot from the session on Monday and as I climbed the steps of this machine to do assisted dips I swear I heard them scream in terror.........
My triceps and I got through it however probably not as strongly as we should have.

Following a quick abs session of crunches and leg raises day three was done.

Day Four

By Day Four I figured I should just move into the gym (although that it's fair, I'm there a maximum of 3.5 hours a week and Josh is there a minimum of 14 hours a day!)

Today was the legs session and I was strangely looking forward to it. Josh brought out this strange looking bar set it down and promptly said "10 reps". I looked at him, looked at the bar (actually a trap bar) and asked "Um, what do I do?". I'm pretty sure I think he thought he had introduced me to this before. Well what I had to do was deadlifts, essentially squats with weight, and boy could I feel it!

Next up was the ever wonderful Leg Press. I'm had an issue with knees for a while now however they have been slowly getting stronger and I've been able to slowly progress on this beast of a thing (affectionately known as The Hulk)

Now the next activity was lunges....... not going to dwell on this because I may commence swearing and I'm a lady....... ok ok I'm no lady however the thought of lunges does indeed bring certain words to mind.

After the abs session we were done for the week.

I will post the next week in daily lots (after I have a protein shake - meal 6 for the day :D)

Day One (well really Day Ten.......) aka Introduction

This is a blog I should have started 10 days ago however for those of you that know me, I'm a great procrastinator.

This blog is going to track my progress as I progress through the Metabolic Precision program with my fantastic personal trainer, Josh Dickinson of Physique Essentials .

I first went to see Josh at the beginning of October last year when I finally decided that enough was enough. It was time to lose the weight and make a permanent change. Since then I have been doing resistence training and about 6 weeks ago starting the Metabolic Blitz group cardio sessions The Metabolic Blitz sessions are intense, and I mean intense, 20 minute cardio sessions three times a week. They take minimum about of time each session however you definitely work hard in those 20 minutes!

Since training with Josh I have felt more energised, stronger and fitter. Not only has he my strength and fitness, he's also got me on track to eating better without feeling like I'm dieting, and certainly not eating rabbit food! He is a great motivator and I regardless of how my day is going I look forward to every training session.

Last Monday (Febraury 8, 2010) I started on the next stage of my transformation. I started the Metabolic Precision (MP) program. A holistic approach to fitness, strength, nutrition and wellbeing.

What my intent will be is to blog every day or so to chart my progress which will include not only what training I'm doing but also how I'm feeling generally and how the nutrition is progress (I will even be honest about any not so good choices I may make :P)

So that is what this will all be about. Stay tuned for the next edition which is coming right up....