Getting Up Close and Personal!

I'm back! You guys are too kind with your feedback. If my blog has entertained you, got you off the sofa (sofa-it-is is the worst ever), made you try a new class - Im thrilled! If its done none of those things mentioned - I would say quit reading now because its more of the same!
What was orginially a 4 week blog (for that depressing month of January) - is now being extended! I will try and blog monthly and keep you posted on my fitness stories (and mishaps!).

So I kept up the "No (bad) Carbs and No Crap" diet for just over 3 weeks in the lead up to my birthday. At which point I undid all the goodness! But it really did get easier as time went on. It is all about being organised, knowing what is good for you and most importantly - avoiding all things that taste in any way nice as well as alcohol. I've come to the conclusion - if it tastes good - it's probably not good for you! It's not all about working out - you have to be eating healthy too unfortunately!

After the 3 weeks of eating healthy - I am feeling a LOT more energetic. I am drinking far more water. A friend of mine told me - you should drink water until you cannot drink anymore. Im not a big water drinker - but Im making a concious effort to drink 2-3 litres a day. Having a bottle on my desk at work definitely helps. Another thing I have noticed - most of the time when I think Im hungry - I am more often dehydrated. So drink (water) to your hearts content!

As well as eating healthy, I have done everything in my power to cut out the alcohol where possible - so I now avoid a "small glass of wine" on a Monday, or after work wine on a Thurs and crazy nights out at the weekend. Once you get over the inital stigma of not drinking and people going "Oh SJ is definitely preggers if she isnt drinking" - it's fine. I just have sparking water to replace the sparking wine cravings!

Alcohol is absolutely lethal - I had one big night out last weekend (said night that I ate my weekly calore intake in a night also!) - and I wasnt right for 3 days. Dont get me wrong - it was a great night, and we have to enjoy ourselves too. So every now and then its ok to go out and have a few drinks. On the upside - I was a very cheap date and was nicely merry after 2 glasses of prosecco! It was more the not being able to eat healthy for the next 2 days - I just wanted sugary foods and takeaway. Which meant the badness continued. But Im back to normal now a good 72 hours later!

As well as eating healthy- I have also started getting personal training sessions @Functional Training Ireland with Joey Boland - Personal Trainer/Physio to the stars (well GAA All-Stars!) and me. Lucky him Right! Despite the bruises, the torture I endure and the odd broken nail - I really enjoy it. And Im not just saying that. I am doing group training sessions twice a week (usually 2-4 people of similar fitness). Training can be done in the morning or during lunch hour. FTI typically avoid training people late in the evening as people are tired after work. Which is interesting because I usually train in the evening in my gym.

If you are a morning person (which I am categorically not) - then you should train before work. Benefits (according to Google!) - 1. consistent workout i.e. you are unlikely to avoid training because of work or a social commitment. 2. Jump Starts your metabolism and keeps it elevated for hours- which is great for us folk that sit at a desk all day! 3. Gives you energy - releasing endorphins and other hormones first thing in the morning. I am just a pleasure to be around after a morning workout. I wouldn't talk to me on a normal morning! 4. Clears your mind - and you start the day stress free. 5. Your done! - biggest benefit of all - you have  your daily exercise done if you wish!

Back to the personal training - I am into week 3 of 12 - and I am certainly feeling a lot fitter. I am feeling stronger and more confident doing exercises. Although personal training puts a bigger dent in your pocket- I am a total advocate. Getting the personal attention and being told (sometimes over and over again!) that I am doing something wrong and then fixing it is invaluable. "Get off your toes SJ" - thats the most common one. Funny though - my Irish dancing teacher would have said "Get up on your bloody toes SJ!".

Some people have asked what exactly we do in personal training. Typically - I train with one other girl, and we do different circuits - exercising all parts of the body. Examples of circuits include lunges with weights, squats with kettlebells and medicine ball work. My recent favourite is push ups - on my head. Sounds ridiculous - but I managed it! If you are working towards a certain goal, an event or just want to kick start your fitness - see whats available near you. Group personal training is not as expensive as you might think. Now enough selling eh!

If you are to take only two things from this blog it is...1) Avoid Sofa-itis wherever possible and 2) Eat Protein with every meal. Two very different points, but both important!

1. Sofa-itis - that urge you get to sit on the sofa when you get in from work. Don't do it. You will be sorry! Go for a walk, go try a new dance class - some of my friends have started swinging recently (Swing dancing - duh!) - and they just love it, or get out and take up a group sport like tag. No excuses once the weather improves!

2, Protein with every meal. Functional Training Ireland also provided me with lots of good nutrition tips - and this is the main one I have taken on board. I did an assessment - and most days I only ended up having protein with one of my meals. But now - I try and get some form of protein in each meal e.g. eggs or low fat plain yohgurt for brekkie, tuna at lunch, red meat with dinner and turkey as a snack! And if your really really into eating healthy - you should try get veggies in with every meal too - e.g. carrots, tomatoes, spinach and broccoli.

Now - Im off to circuits so I can practice what I preach. I am also going to start taking protein shakes to see what the craze is about -so watch this space!

Hope you enjoyd the read - happy gymming/dancing/getting fit!

SJ x

I did it!

Well I promised I would do a 4 week blog - and here is the last installment! I have enjoyed blogging on my gymming experiences and new eating habits! If it wasnt for this blog Im 100% sure I would not have seen the inside of my gym as much as I did in January.

This week saw me return to two classes I did in Weeks 1 and 2..with a little more fitness behind me which made life easier. I also have a couple of diet tips for snacking - something Im struggling with big time. I miss my 3pm chocolate!!!

1st workout - Total Body Tone - Take 2 (45 mins)
You may remember from week 2 - I nearly died in a session in the gym. Well this time round, 2 weeks later with no alcohol in my system and eating a lot healthier - it was a LOT easier. It was still very very tough, but I was able to complete more exercises e.g. plank for longer, more full push ups and more burpees. So I'll take the small victories! In another 2 weeks or 2 months - I imagine I will be much fitter and not need to take as many breaks/complete more reps. So when things feel a little easier - push yourself to do more reps and push yourself out of your comfort zone.

2nd workout - Treadmill and weights (45 mins)
For my 2nd workout last week - I did the usual sprint as fast as I could for 1 minute (to about level 14.5) and then rested for 30 seconds. This "level 14.5" is about 2 levels faster than I was at the end of January. Again Im feeling Im getting my fitness back - because I am giving it my all and have a goal in mind. I did this "1 minute on" and "30 seconds off" 10 times. This is not easy at all - but again, knowing that I only need to complete the sprinting for 1 minute makes it a small bit more do-able! So give it a go. But as I said before - be VERY careful stepping on and off a treadmill if its moving and sprinting speed! Sounds silly, but its v tricky when your exhausted after sprints!

After this I moved to the weights section in the gym. This is the section filled with testosterone and usually no girls. Dont fear - they have light weights and heavy weights! For beginners I would suggest start with light dumbells - maybe try 2 x 2kg or 2 x 3 kg to complete a circuit. Once you are finding that easy you can move to heavier dumbells or a kettlebell. As usual - I have a routine of exercises I do - mainly because I try to get in and out of the gym in 45 mins! Get yourself a mat and go mad... Ask the gym instructor to show you some exercises for your arms/shoulders/abs. Below is the circuit I usually do:

8 x Dumbell curls (biceps)
8 x Bench Presses
8 x Upright Rows
8 x Front Raises
8 x Bicep Curls (alternating)
8 x Kneeling One Arm Row

Once that circuit is done...bad news. Two more to go. I recommend super cheesy music for this workout.

On Friday night I went to Dodgeball in Jumpzone in Sandyford with some colleagues from work. Im actually rather chuffed one of the girls in work thought - "oh SJ will definitely be up for this" - Im going to go with her reasoning for this is that I am trying to find new fun ways to get fit... and not the reasoning that she thought it would be great to flake the ball at the consultant at work! Either way - it was absolutely brilliant. Would highly recommend to groups of friends or teams in work for team building.

Two teams (we rented out the court for one hour) - on a number of trampolines, you have to run into middle and grab the soft balls - then throw them at each other. They dont hurt at all -but all of the "dodging" and bouncing on a trampoline for an hour was a serious workout! So not all workouts have to be in the gym/in a class. Something like dodgeball was a nice change! Check it out at www.jumpzone.ie

Finally - I also went back to POWOW (Power Workout of the Week).
This class was not hugely challenging first time round- but as the name suggests - it changes every week. So the 2nd time round was tougher. I came out with Jelly Arms and Jelly Legs! The main workout was working individually - complete 3 squat thrusts with dumbells and then 3 burpees, followed by 6 and 6 then 9 and 9...up to 21. After 21, I was ready to collapse..but I got there. There were about 20 people in the class. Once three people finished finished we all got to finish. Guess who was in the top 3 (well I am quite competitive!). Again - I will take the small victories!

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*(This is not a selfie - I bloody well wish it was!)

Finally some snacking tips...Im struggling to find healthy snacks between meals. So I have been asking my usual suspects for snacking tips! 2 that I have really liked are Kale Crisps and Baked Almonds

1. Kale Crisps - I bought Kale in Aldi (a whole euro!), to make the Kale Crisps, cut off the stem (I learned this after the occasion), pour a little olive oil and some sea salt and pop in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Once the kale goes a little black and crispy its done! It tastes like very healthy crisps

2. Baked Almonds - similar to the above, I bought flaked almonds in the baking section of the supermarket. Pop a bit of olive oil over them on a baking tray and put in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Yummy snack.

Nearly there...this week I crossed paths with a coach from Functional Training Ireland (based in Dublin 2) and I was raving about my insightful blog (I may have exaggerated just how useful this is!).  I think these guys know a lot more than I do so feel free to check out their Facebook page - it has some really good tips on nutrition and exercises.
Functional Training Ireland Facebook Page

So thats it from me - I really do hope you enjoyed the read...it has been a lot of fun for me to do this. It has certinaly inspired me to get off the sofa, try new classes and eat healthy! So if I have converted you to kettlebells, green tea or 85% cocoa chocolate my job here is done!

Thanks for reading!
SJ x