INBA Fitness Comp #3 Training

I’m 6 weeks into my new training schedule and I’m feeling great! I’m starting to notice my strength increasing and my muscles are becoming more defined – which is exactly what I want!

I’m currently in week two of my second phase of training (my program changes every four weeks, with the first phase being completed already) the goals of my strength training are to develop my glutes (#datass), quads (front of thigh) and shoulders as well as improving my posture and back definition.

At first the thought of my legs growing slightly freaked me – I’ve always been one that loves small lean legs with a boxgap for dayzzz and would do all I could to avoid any heavy lower body exercises in fear of massive legs. After my first couple of weeks of introducing heavy lower body squats and lunges my clients were already commenting on how ‘strong’, ‘athletic’ and ‘defined’ my legs were looking – which I of course heard as ‘thick’ and ‘stocky’ – despite these comments I continued on (only complaining a few times to Matt that I’m getting too big), each week lifting heavier and heavier and WOW! They no longer feel heavy and thick I now look down at them and see definition my bum isn’t necessarily bigger but more perky and lifted and although during the lower strength sessions I’m hating it, I’m actually loving the results it is giving me – so much more tone! This is of course 3 days after I’ve worked legs when I can actually walk again – the struggle is real!!!

In the second phase of squats I’m working with percentages, rather then always going heavy I might work on higher reps or form at only 65% of my 1RM (1 rep max) – again this changes every session and every week with the same goal of improving my strength as well as defining the muscle.

My current training schedule looks like this:

Monday- Upper
Tuesday- Lower
Wednesday- Rest day (Yay!)

Thursday-Hardio… I mean Hard Cardio
Friday- Upper
Saturday- Lower
Sunday- Hard Cardio

Whilst still aiming to get a fast walk in almost everyday. –Struggling with this while Matts been away but fasted working has gotta count for something!

Strength training is suiting me, I’m learning to love it (and also just learning in general) it was a huge reality shock going form hardly any training (stuck in a rut) to smashing it almost daily but like with most things once you start to see results it encourages you and motivates you to continue on and smash it – which is exactly what I’m going to do – no half ass efforts here and when I take the stage on June 28^th I can say I truly gave it a good crack!!

So girls don’t be afraid of heavy weights or even weights in general – when done correctly (like the strength component of Heartcore) you will become stronger and those lean muscles - like mine - will start to develop.

Stay Strong & Stretch,
Tel x

P.S If you have any questions on any of this process please don't be afraid to ask :) 

And after all her hard work she put ON weight….

Royale Fitness has just concluded its’ first 8 week Ninja Transformation Challenge – this challenge was to not only transform the body but also the mind – to learn balance and to improve in areas such as work, life, business, fitness and relationships. 

Long story short one of my kicka** Ninjas worked her absolute butt off (almost literally) she listened to all my advice – trained hard and ate for her goals. You could see her body physically changing and her training also improved dramatically, she became stronger, faster and leaner. 

To compare progress over the 8-week period we did multiple fitness tests, progression shots (before/after photos) and we also took measurements and recorded weight. 

This is where it gets interesting and it proves what I tell my girls ALL THE BLOODY TIME!!

Firstly in the fitness testing she dominated knocking almost 20 seconds off of her run, going from 4 pull ups to 11 and even became more flexible adding 5cm to her already impressive sit and reach. 

Secondly the progression photos and measurements nearly blew me off my feet – dropping almost 50cm – including 10cm from her waist and another 10cm off her hips – her ‘after’ photo showed a leaner, stronger looking athlete, the tone throughout her whole body is just amazing! 

Lastly her weight – she started at 66kg and wait for it….

DRUMMM ROLL!!!!

At the end of he 8 weeks she weighed in at 67kgs!!!

Wait what? She put on weight? After the whole of the 8 weeks she PUT ON WEIGHT?!?! 

YES! I tell girls all the time to throw out the scales because they are absolute rubbish!

This happens all the time – girls track progression based on a number – it becomes a crazy obsessed to get that number down! STOP!!

Imagine – well you don’t really need to imagine because it happens all the time – if my ninja didn’t do fitness testing, progression shots and measurements we only went by weight. She would have worked her butt of (like she did) then at the end of the 8 weeks only saw that the number on the scale went up by one. She would have been so dishearten and disappointed, as many of us are when that scale doesn’t move. Even though her fitness skyrocketed – she dropped almost 50cms (this is bloody huge!!!) and she even went down a jean size!! 

So please, PLEASE do NOT track your progression by stepping on scales or even better please, PLEASE throw away your scales and set yourself free – set goals that are fitness based not number based – do your measurements – eat well – train hard and forget about the number on the scales dropping and focus more on the physical/mental improvements. This is coming from someone who use to care what the scales said and was never happy now I don’t step on the things because I couldn’t give a flying **** what they say I know my body is changing - I know I’m getting stronger from the weights I lift and I know I’m getting leaner from the photos I take and most importantly I’m happy with myself!

Stay Strong & Stretch, 

Tel X

P.S attached is her Ninjas results  - I’m super proud :) Well-done chick!

ARE CARBS THE DEVIL?

Carbs = Energy.

This is a simple solution as to why you feel like crap when you don’t eat them. In this society we can some times be lead to believe that carbs are making us gain weight and we should cut them completely from our diet, yes this is sometimes true but only because the carbs you are eating are cake and chips. Our problem isn’t that fact we eat carbs our problem is the fact we over indulge REGULARLY on the wrong carbs. Ka-peish!

Okay so you wanna loose weight and carbs are the devil and you stop eating them altogether. We all know 4 days in you are a walking junkie carb zombie looking for their next hit. Don’t be stooopid and do this to yourself! Listen to your body! Fuel it! Stop looking for a quick fix by cutting all food groups but still eating chocolate because you’re not really sure which food group it belongs in and it has been four days since you have had any so you deserve it. Stop doing the same dumb sh*t and just eat GOOD foods!

>>>>Sorry – I could rant endlessly about this stuff!<<<<

If you train (at Royale Fitness of course because you are a bada** athlete) you use energy and a lot of it – you need to replenish the body to help muscles recover, to keep your body functioning properly and to continue training like a bada** athlete.

So with this said when should you eat carbs and what carbs should you eat?

Here is my opinion on what I find has worked with clients and myself – please note if you would like proper personal food advice I train a couple of smart chicks who know there shizzz in this area (dietician and nutritionist) as this is more of a general broad over view.

TRAINING DAYS

Pre-training: You want carbs that are not going to leave you feeling too full and sluggish. You also don’t want anything to complex as it will take to long for the body to absorb so low GI carbs with minimal fat and fibre are a great choice – a general guideline is to have a snack 1-2 hours before training – you’ll need to trial what works with you on this one.

A great pre-training snack is fruit – it isn’t too heavy and it is mostly low-medium GI meaning it won’t give you a spike of energy then crash mid-sesh.

BUT I train in the morning and I’m not hungry?

If you can’t get down some fruit in the morning before training and you haven’t eaten since dinner you will be training in a fasted state (8 hours since last meal) which means fat is being used as fuel during exercise. This can be good and bad depending on your goals. If your goal is strength, speed and performance training in a fasted state is not ideal because you will not be able to train as fast and as hard on an empty stomach so try your best to get some food in. If your goal is fat loss this method may work well for you, as you are burning fat directly just make sure your next meal is nutritious!

Which leads me toooooo…..

Post Training: After training we need to think about a couple of things;

-Re-fuelling the muscle and glycogen (carb) stores.

-Replacing the fluid lost in sweat.

-Creating new muscle protein and other cellular components and apart of the repair process.

Sorry in English?!?!

After training your body takes a hiding – you use energy and a lot of it, you sweat like a crazy person and your muscles actually breakdown. The meal after training needs to help the body repair and replenish.

Okay so what should I eat? You’ll need to eat a meal with carbs and protein.

Here is a list of carbs (used to refuel) I use:
Oats
Sweet Spud
Rice (I use basmati)

Multigrain wrap

Here is a list of protein (used for muscle repair and rebuilding):
Chicken breast

Turkey
Lean mince
Kangaroo
Eggs
Fish/Tuna

So please DO NOT deprive your body of what it needs – you’ll feel and look amazing if you just stop listening to every diet advertisement and start listening to YOU! Trial it out record how you feel and train over a weekly period and make adjustments as needed!!

I’ve tried no carbs. It sucked; I looked and felt weak. I now eat the RIGHT carbs at the right times and I have so much more energy, my body is now looking leaner, stronger and works like a gem - so NO - carbs are NOT the devil!

Stay Strong & Stretch,
Tel x


P.S Did you know you can get these post directly to your inbox? Click the link below -

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10 things only girls that train can relate to.

1.  Never look down your top whilst in any ‘plank’ position unless you want to be utterly mortified…. (Does my stomach really look like that?!?)

2.   Sweat happens the most when you STOP moving around and you must be sweating out some mean toxins because that sh*t burns as soon as it touches your eyeball!

3.   You consider installing handrails in the toilet. #bootygains

4.   Oh and forget about tying your hair up!

5.   Stretching is sometimes the hardest part but at least your get to practice your inner porn star moan.

6.   The easier the workout looks on the board the harder it is going to be.

7.   ‘Monday’ and ‘Tomorrow’ live in the same happy land that never comes.

8.   Remember when skipping was a recess activity now you either nearly wet your pants or finish looking like you’ve gone 10 rounds with a whip.

9.   Floor work never means dead fish.

10. Forget about microwaves and treadmills, a burpee minute is far the longest kind of minute.

Stay Strong & Stretch, 
Tel X

INBA Fitness Competitor Diary #2 FOOD

INBA Fitness Competitor Diary #2

Dear Future Fitness Competitor,
 
I want to go into a little more depth about my food intake – most people think I’m living off chicken and broc and you’ll be surprised to hear I am not!! To give you the insider scoop this post has been in the making since Monday – I’ve recorded all food intake and also taken pics!

Monday 13th

 I worked until 10:30am and then did a quick 10 minute fasted cardio session as well as a fasted 40min walk. 

12:30pm SNACK: x1 celery stick with spinach and feta dip

12:45pm LUNCH: x1 chicken breast, x1 serve of basmati rice, spinach, cos lettuce, corn, ¼ avo and capsicum toped with no fat plain greek yogurt with fresh lime squeezed on top.  

1:30pm SNACK: x4 Strawberries

2:30pm SNACK: Turkey breast – that exact amount in picture

4pm SNACK: x1 banana with natural peanut butter.

WORKED 4:30pm-8:30pm

8:45pm DINNER: Basmati rice (the 90 second microwave packets serve me and matt with matt obviously getting more) Lean beef mince with Bolognese sauce, spinach, corn, cheese.

Water intake 3L x1 coffee x2 t2 white tea with jasmine

TUESDAY 14^th

 

I worked 6am-7am

7:30am Did a fasted walk for roughly 40minutes

9am BREAKFAST: x1 egg x2 egg white omelette with spring onion, spinach,  cheese, turkey breast, ¼ avo, sweet and sour sauce. 

11am SNACK: x3 strawberries

1pm- Strength training (lower body focus)

2pm LUNCH: x1 chicken breast, ½ small sweet spud, spring onion, capsicum, ¼ avo, x1 table spoon greek yogurt, sweet and sour sauce.

3:30pm SNACK: x1 banana mashed with coconut shreds and caoco powder.

WORK 4:30pm-8:30pm

8;45pm DINNER: x2.5 turkey burgers, basmati rice, spinach, feta, teaspoon avo and sweet and sour sauce. 

9:15pm SNACK: x5 strawberries and banana chips.

Water intake 3L x1 coffe x3 t2 jasmine white tea.

WEDNESDAY 15th

7am- 40minutes fasted walk

8:30am BREAKFAST: x1 tub chobani plain greek yogurt, x1 passionfruit, x3 strawberries, ½ cup muesli.

9:15-10:15am WORK

11am Gisborne Year 9 program x2 50minutes sessions

1pm LUNCH: This was difficult – first lunch ‘out’ we went to jolly miller – I got a veggie quiche

3pm HOME SNACK: x1 can of tuna and x1 turkey burger.

4:30pm-8:30pm WORK

8:45pm DINNER: Chicken breast basmati rice and spinach.

9:15pm SNACK: 1/4cup coconut oil (melted) mixed with x1 teaspoon honey and 1/3 teaspoon vanilla bean. Sifted caoco powder in and mixed in x2 starwberries and ½ handful of peanuts – put in freezer and turned into ‘rocky road’ – no picture as phone was off.

x3L water x1 coffee

 THURSDAY 14^th

6am-7am WORK

7:45am PT kickboxing with ashby (fasted cardio)

9am-10am WORK
 

10:30am x2 eggs, x2 turkey burgers, spinach, mushroom, cheese and sweet and sour sauce.

LUNCH 2pm: ½ sweet spud, extra lean beef mince (cooked with taco seasoning) corn, spinach and cheese.

4pm SNACK: peach

4:30pm-8:30pm WORK

8:45pm DINNER: Chicken breast, spinach, bean shoots, cashews with a ‘chicken and cashew nut’ sauce.

3L water x3 coffees x1 white tea.

SO there you have it! My food intake for 4 days – nothing to crazy just simple good foods – I want to start limiting sauces (e.g sweet and sour sauce) and cheese! 

Stay Strong & Stretch,

Tel x

Yoga VS. Pilates: What’s the difference?

This question was brought up mid down-dog yesterday whilst running sessions for the Year 9 kids at Gisborne Secondary College.

Yes  - Royale Fitness also participates in multiple school education programs. I love educating kids – they are so raw and honest – we could learn a lot from them!!

Anywho – it seems this is a very common question and a fair one at that! When I first got into the fitness industry I didn’t know which path I wanted to follow… Yoga or Pilates – like you they seemed very similar!

After becoming a ‘Certified Practitioner of Pilates’ the differences couldn’t be any clearer.

Now like the year 9 kids I’m not going to give you fancy pants technical answers to make me sound like a Pilates and Yoga ‘guru’. I’m giving you raw, down to earth, straight to the point comparisons that you’ll actually understand – because I know you don’t give a hoot where it originated you just want to know which one gives you the sexy abs like the celebrities are rocking right?!

In that case will start with Pilates:

Pilates focuses on muscle strength, endurance and full body control.  Although a full body method its main focus is on your mid section or ‘core’.  Its toning benefits are the main reason Pilates is so popular today, even though it was traditionally used for more rehab purposes. In a Pilates class you will feel more of a ‘burn’ in your muscles as you go from one exercises to the next. Like everything the benefits only come if you participate regularly – sorry girls no over night 6 packs here! Think challenging exercises.

Yoga focuses on flexibility and balance – different types of Yoga offer different things. There are some styles that focus more on the spiritual side (chanting and breathing) and others that focus on ‘flows’ or physically movements from one pose to the next. You will not feel a 'burning' muscle endurance pain but more of a muscle lengthening feeling. Think stretching.

Which one do I prefer?

Pilates.

WHY?

Because since starting I’ve noticed my posture has improved, my core is ridiculously strong and I love the lean muscles that it creates – it is both challenging and satisfying and you can ALWAYS progress no matter how good you are there is always a harder version to keep your body guessing!

Now don’t get me wrong I bloody love Yoga to, I wouldn’t be as bendy as I am today without it. I believe flexibility and stretching is extremely important after ANY physically activity and it is for this reason I have incorporated both into my HEARTCORE sessions – Pilates to create a killer mid section (one thing I have noticed is when ANY of my HEARTCORE girls send me progression photos they always have ab definition) and Yoga to become more flexible because touching your toes should be as simple as it sounds!

If you have ANY questions don’t hesitate to shoot them through or if HEARTCORE sounds just like what you need click the link below as I have a couple of openings I’m looking at filling. 

https://royalefitness.wufoo.com/forms/royale-fitness-specialised-female-training/

Stay Strong & Stretch,
Tel X

The Lazy Girls Guide to Healthy Cooking:

I remember when I was living at home…. My dinner was cooked for me pretty much every night and I remember what a pain in the a*s I use to be -

‘I don’t want this’
‘I can’t eat that’
‘Too many carbs’
‘I don’t like this’
‘I’m turning vegetarian’
‘Where’s my meat?’
‘This broccoli is over cooked’
‘White pasta?!?’
‘I’m not eating FROZEN veggies’
‘I’ll cook something else’
‘Spaghetti AGAIN!’

I’d firstly like to apologise to my Mum because holly sh*t, this housewife stuff is hard bloody work – especially when you don’t even like cooking – I mean I’ve only got 2 people to cook for and I’ve only been doing it for 3 years - she had to cook for 5 people and was doing it for 20+ years – anyway sorry for being a b*tch. (BTW I would now eat WHATEVER my Mum would cook, even that sh*t on toast she use to threaten me with…mmm actually….)

Secondly if you are still living at home try not to be as much of a pain in the butt as I was – help your Mum out and get in the kitchen – it’ll help you later in life – trust me this is coming from a person who steered clear of the kitchen and now doesn’t know how to roast, bake or even cook pasta for that matter.

Thirdly if you are like me and don’t enjoy cooking, I mean I’d just rather use my energy on things I’m good at like making people fit, healthy and kickass… then here is ‘lazy girls guide to healthy cooking’ …… not particularly because we are lazy but because cooking just isn’t our thang…..

I stick to what I call the SIMPLE 3:

-Protein

-Carbs

-Greens

These simple three will always make up a healthy, quick, easy meal. 

Here are the types of simple 3 you want to be using:

-Protein

>Chicken (mince, breast)

>Turkey (mince, breast, burgers)

>Eggs
>Lean Beef Mince
>Kangaroo (fillets, mince, burgers)

-Carbs

>Sweet potatoes

>Basmati rice

>Multigrain wraps

-Greens

>Spinach
>Broccoli
>Beans
>Bok choy
>Kale
>Cos lettuce 

Now pick one out of each category and bang you have your main components of dinner.

E.G – Baked potato:

-Lean mince (with taco seasoning)

-Spinach

-Sweet spud

Add your condiments (Sweet chilli sauce, cheese and what every other veggie you want) and dinner is served!)

E.G – Stir Fry

-Chicken breast 

-Bok choy

-Basmati rice

Add your condiments (extra veggies and stirfry sauce) and dinner is served!

E.G Fired Rice

-Eggs

-Basmati rice

-Beans

-Broc

-Spinach

Add your condiments (spring onion, corn extra veggies, soy sauce) and dinner is served!

You're Welcome!

Now go apologies to your Mum!

Stay Strong and Stretch, 

Tel X

P.S Don't forget to get your hands on my cellulite reduction program if you haven't already just click the link below:

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