Awesomefication - building strength takes guts!

Hands up if this sounds familiar.... "I've worked really hard, I deserve a wee treat. Mmmm there's crisps in the cupboard, or ice cream in the freezer. Oh I've been really good I could have a wee bit of both." Escalates to ... "I've had a really hard day, can't be bothered cooking, i'll just treat myself to a wee takeaway!" Escalates to ... "Life is shit I need a treat. This 1kg jar of Nutella followed by the family size share bag of crisps should do the trick, and if I don't feel better after that there is the slab of chocolate in the cupboard!" It is a slippery slope. I know, I've been there, sat on the sofa surrounded by the crumbs of evidence! One treat can quickly lead to the downfall of not just one week but all of my efforts. For me, what I eat is the biggest mental battle when it comes to trying to lose weight or break years of bad habits. The temptation to slip back to your old ways is easy.  In the pa...

My legs are aching and wobbly, my arms are rebelling each time I lift them. But I am revelling in the comforting ache knowing that I am sore because I worked hard at training last night . I've missed that feeling. 5 years ago I had a great breakthrough in my weight loss and fitness regime. I was moseying along nicely, loving life. I had shifted over 4 stones in weight, I had a new job, I was loving my new found passion for exercise and good food. Everything was going great! Better than great, life was awesome! Then...KABLAM!  Life totally sucker-punched me in the guts. I fell pregnant and unfortunately it resulted in a miscarriage. Needless to say I was distraught and felt completely lost for a long time afterwards. When it happened I was the healthiest and fittest I had ever been. The pregnancy was a surprise, and at the time I felt like it was the most amazing gift that my husband and I had ever been given. When I miscarried I felt like my body had just let me down. I bla...

I love positive,motivational quotes.  If I hear something that inspires me it becomes a mantra.  A friend shared a quote/question with me the other day and it is this: 'What would you do tomorrow if you knew you could not fail?' Source: Unknown Over the last week I have been taking stock of achievements and contemplating future goals and this quote got me thinking.  Is it the fear of failure that stops most people from setting and achieving goals? So often I hear people say “What’s the point? I’m not going to get it”, "I can't do it!", "I'm not being negative, I'm just being realistic", "If I think the worst then anything better will be a bonus".   It is such a negative attitude to have.  If you think you are going to fail before you even start then that fear becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.  Whether it’s a job you are applying for, a new experience you fancy trying, a major life change, anything; if you start off...

It has been just over a week since I finished with fight camp.  After it finished I was totally up for stepping up the exercise regime and attacking every class I could get to.  But of course, the plan never quite went off as I had hoped.  Life got in the way, I had a wedding at the weekend which I was rushing about getting stuff for and work was quite hectic so I only managed to squeeze in two sessions.  I’m having serious withdrawal.  I am missing the structure and routine of the early morning workouts.  Don’t get me wrong, I have been enjoying the extra hour under my duvet, but I just don’t feel as energized through the day and have been relying on my coffee addiction to get me going in the mornings.  It has also been hard to get that same intensity during my workouts.  You take for granted how much the trainers encouragement during the sessions actually kept you going.  It is a totally different game going it alone.  Actually having ...

So I had my final Fight Camp session yesterday morning.... boooo :(  6 weeks of early 5am rises, 24 hours worth of crazy training sessions, 10 million buckets of sweat, 20 bags of spinach, i've lost count of the amount of chickens, and a vat of  protein shakes later and I feel fit and fabulous! Every session was relentless and the setup continually evolved.  Even in the last session, the trainers were chucking new combinations and exercises at us (which included some jump kicks and jump knees which were much fun), continually pushing us until the very end.  The finisher was an absolute killer which involved a pack of cards (a very dodgy pack of cards which seemed to have way too many 10s in it) and a torturous amount of burpees, squat jumps and ab exercises.  My ab's are flinching just thinking about it! I've got mixed feelings with regard to the end of the camp.  I'm sad it is over.  As much as I was starting to struggle with the ea...

Since I started my blog a lot more people have been approaching me and asking and talking about exercise and fitness.  It's mainly curiosity, folk wanting to know what I am doing that has me blasting away the inches.  What I have started noticing is the excuses people come up with to justify not exercising to themselves.  It's funny listening to them, because it is the same ones I used to use myself! So, I thought I would put together my top 5 excuses for not exercising and give you some tips on how to stop making excuses for not doing exercise and actually get exercising. #5 "I don't know what to do!" Not knowing what type of exercise you want to do, whether its with an aim to improve a certain aspect of your fitness, to target a problem area, getting into exercise for the first time, or for weight loss, figuring out where to start can be a stumbling point for anyone, especially if you haven't exercised in a while. The best thing I can suggest is ...

I'm a few days late with the update.  I was away in Fort William this weekend watching some nutters chuck themselves down a monutain on two wheels, also known as the UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup. Which was full of thrills, spills and great fun.  Last week was a tough one.  We had Monday's Thai session as usual but Tuesday was our rest day, then had three days on the trot. Wednesday Thai, Thursday and Friday Strength and Conditioning.  Lots of bodyweight stuff, press-ups a go-go - my biceps are getting solid and were aching most of the weekend. Just completed the first session of the last and 6th week of Fight Camp.  I struggled this morning, but i'm putting it down to the weekend away.  There were no long lie's for Sara on Saturday or Sunday :( and my legs never got a chance to rest between hiking up an down Ben Nevis and standing about.  What I did notice as I was bounding up and down the mountain was that my legs felt much stronger and h...