Life's a Beach

...or at least this week it is!

That's right, I'm on a one week holiday, peeps! ...at the beach, no less!

We have had some rainy, windy weather (I mean COME ON, Mother Nature!!!)...but today the sun is showing it's beautiful face a lot more! Happy days. :)

I've been heading out for my morning run every day except for one, plus throwing some strength exercises & Tabata into the mix while in the unit.

I'm chilled out in holiday mode so I simply don't feel like tapping away at this touch screen for too much longer....so I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking!

Roadtrippin

Firstly- this is my first attempt at a blog post using the Blogger app. on my phone. Why am I using my phone?? Well, I don't own a laptop (something that I want to change as soon as I have spare $'s...a blogger without a laptop?? Noooooo.) & I'm currently lying on the bed in a motel room 4hrs from home beside my Ultimate Wingman (sister)...who is currently sleeping. Yes, it's midday & yes we have been 'up' & had breakfast....and now she's sleeping again. Yeah, I don't get it either. ;)

I'm trying to see this as ONE time that I am forced to relax- to 'do nothing'. Yeah, this is as close as I get to 'doing nothing'...at the current moment I've got a Cosmo beside me (the magazine, not the cocktail...quite unfortunate, really), I'm writing a blog entry (but you knew that already, right?), I check-in on what's happening on Twitter & Facebook every other minute, I go & surf the net if something springs to mind & I'm pretty sure my notebook & pen are calling my name to do up some goals (yes, I am THAT person).

I don't think I could EVER be bored. Not ever.

It does feel like holidays though...for these reasons:

- I didn't bring my study books. So I can't stress out that I'm not doing my assessments, because I. Simply. Can't!! :D

- I am in a motel room!

- I am currently living out of my suitcase.

- We get to watch PAY TV (don't have THAT at home!)....in BED!! What is more relaxing than that, eh?? (ok, so a massage would probably do it)

- We were roadtrippin' yesterday. Hitting the open road is always nice...although we did hit some roadworks & delays (cue photo opportunity)...

- I don't get to eat all my usual foods...since we were only going for 2 nights, & were already taking enough baggage (not the 'emotional' type either!), I figured I wasn't about to pre-package a shitload of food on top of that...although I DID stash some healthy snacks & fruit. Word to your mutha.

- And since I'm in 'holiday mode' I even bought a packet of Licorice Allsorts for the weekend. I luurve these! They're up there on top of my list for yummiest lollies of all time. AND they're not even chocolate. Go figure. This little 'splurge' made me realise that I never (NEVER) buy junk food! Even when I have 'cheat'/'free' meals...it's never really anything out of the ordinary. So it's nice to treat myself for a change!

- I'm missing my exercise! As per the above food point, I was bringing enough in clothes & shoes without bringing my workout gear as well. In hindsight I should have brought them, but I've been doing all sorts of core work in the motel room anyway...& it's only 2 days, I will survive! PLUS, I worked up a mean sweat...I mean, i was 'glistening' (much more lady-like, no??)...on the D-floor last night...& another sesh to come tonight!! If THAT doesn't count as a workout I don't know what does! ;)
- I have a Cosmopolitan magazine in my lap. As a rule, I don't buy this mag, but 'holiday mode' means all I wana do is read trashy magazines. I read my fitness ones every day...I'm on vacay, bitches! (long weekend, anyway!)

- I am all 'fake-tanned-up'! Yeah, judge away...haha. I love being tanned (especially for special events)...but I'm not willing to lie out under the harsh Aussie sun to get me one. Hand me the bottle & I'm as good as done!

Ok, I'm just going to finish up now cus I'm seriously getting the shits with 'writing' like I'm sending a big-ass text. (it has taken me hours to finish this...hey, I'm easily distracted, ok??) It is super convenient to have this app though, given my circumstances, but when your mind is thinking up words at an alarming speed, it just ain't the same as having a keyboard to belt it all out on. Haha ;)

Not sure what order the attached photos will appear in either, so if it's all over the shop, try & piece it together!

I'm off to start getting frocked up for the main event! Woot!

Choose Your Own [Sweaty] Adventure!

So this is how I rock 'N' roll when it comes to my self-served Tabata sessions.

Step 1:- I decide what areas (muscles) I want to focus on. Today was legs, booty & core.

Step 2:- I then jot down a list of all the exercises that I 'want' to do (some more-so than others...the 'others' are more 'this-is-gona-get-me-a-tight-tushie-so-suck-it-up-Princess' moves).

Step 3:- Pump some sweet beats.  My CD (I know, old school!) of choice today was LMFAO's 'Sorry for Party Rocking' (yeah, not so old school now, huh?!).  It's my sister's & she doesn't know that I 'borrowed' it for my workout. Between you & me, got it? ;)

Step 4:- Activate your timer.  My weapon of choice is always my GymBoss app. Yes, I realise I bought an actual GymBoss interval timer not so long ago....but this was easier, ok?!  (I hate time-consuming fiddly shit!)

Step 5:- Choose your first exercise, press 'start' & GET GOING!!  *HINT: alternate between lower body & core moves so that you don't burn out after the first couple of rounds!

Step 6:- After completing each round, put a number beside the exercise ...so that a) you know you've done that sucker & b) so that at the end, you can put them into some sort of order & call it a workout!  Let me demonstrate:

My W.W.P. (Whiteboard Workout Plan)

The 'Official' Workout*:

*I usually like to give my workouts a name...so today I might go with....

Tabata Booty-Buster

(I know, I'm so creative...ha)

Squat Thrusters

Dynamic Lunges

Side Kick

Squat Jumps

Mountain Climbers

Sumo Squats with 12kg Kettlebell

Box Jump (onto aerobic step)

Squat & Front Kick

Perform 1 Tabata round (4mins) for each exercise....total of 32mins.

Finish off with 8 solid minutes (I used the Tabata timer, but didn't rest when it told me to- I know, what a REBEL!!) of:

Front Alternating Lunges (bodyweight)

And feel the booty burn!!!

Tabata, baby!!

Yes, that's my Inner Teacher coming out...Use a whiteboard for my workout plan??

Don't mind if I do! ;)

**I should quickly explain the Tabata process.  It's simple, really:  20 seconds of high intensity, butt-busting activity followed by 10 seconds of rest. Repeat 8 times. One tabata round is therefore 4 minutes in length.

But because I'm hard-core (& super modest), today I did a whole 4 minute tabata round for each exercise. But, really, if 4 minutes is all you have, then that's a freakin' awesome workout too...just choose a few different exercises to mix it up in the 4 minutes instead of doing the one!  This pic explains it all:

Try & contain yourself.  I know you just wana jump up & bust out those measily 4 minutes right now. ;)

And THAT is why I end up looking like this:

No, it isn't Summer yet.  No, I don't even live in a humid climate. And no, I wasn't working out in the middle of the day. It is just an awesome workout.

Oh, & here's one I prepared earlier....well, a 'positive body image' photo taken after this morning's run. (2 workouts before Monday morning?? Boom, that just happened.)

That is a 'true' happy smile! You can't fake that shit!



And on that note, I simply must get to bed!  Girl needs her beauty sleep! x

A New Direction!

My inspiration for this post (AND fresh blog design!) is THIS image right here:

No, this isn't my handy-work...props to whoever
did it though!

SO much more!

You know it.

Ok, confession time.

Pretty sure y'all are aware that I have struggled with BODY IMAGE issues for the best part of a decade. If you aren't up with that, you obviously haven't read my 'About' page. Tsk, tsk. Go there NOW & catch up, yo!

YES, I'll wait. *sigh*
.....
.....
.....
.....

Ok, SO I've spent the [best part of the] last 10 years HATING my body.  What a friggin' waste of a LIFE!! Now, don't get me wrong, I have had an amazing - AMAZING - life thus far, but you could say it has been somewhat 'tainted' by my constant obsession with not. [EVER.] being. thin. enough.

I have ALSO been on an OBSCENE number of 'body blitzes'/weight loss programs/'diets' (just like most of the women that are reading- of that, I'm sure!!).  So, this means I've got a mad-ass collection of 'before' photos...& no effin' 'after' shots (cus I was never 'perfect' enough! Arrrgh.)

I was never into the fad diets- you know, 'The Atkins', 'The South Beach Diet', the...the...umm, that's all I got.....no sir, not this chicky!  BUT at any one point in my life, I wasn't 'there' yet.  I wasn't where I should have been, but rather, I was always working towards this elusive place of 'ultimate happiness'.

Well, guess what?  I never got 'there'. And yeah, I was still on my way 'there' with my latest fitness challenge.

Good times.

So, all this time, I haven't been 'allowing' myself to be blissfully happy....cus I'm not at 'xx' weight.

You have GOT to be shitting me.  What, did I not deserve happiness, because I was a few kilos (in my eyes) over my 'ideal' weight??

Bitch, please.

What the hell gives ANYONE in this world the right to decide who is deserving of happiness & who is at an 'acceptable' weight??

 That's right society, I'm talkin' to YOU

What is weight anyway?! A friggin' NUMBER, that's all it is! A number?? I'm letting a number dictate what I do in life??  Whoa, hold up there Princess.  Something ain't right about this picture.

[This is where I went looking for some 'advice'...and stumbled upon this gem.  So, SO true!]

You know what made me realise somethin' had to give?

I had stopped blogging regularly.

And I LOVE this shit!!

You know WHY I went M.I.A.??

Cus this was no longer a happy & motivating place for me.  I wasn't inspired when I checked into MY blog.  I was ashamed.  I was constantly taunted by half-naked photos of my body at its 'fattest'....which, might I add, is not even that 'fat' compared to a good percentage of the population!!  JUST sayin'. (positive body image in da house!)

And here it was, in plain view of the whole world- the reason why I didn't deserve happiness...YET.

How long was I going to wait to be happy??

When I hit the big 3-0 & then suddenly realised that I had wasted my 20's- a time when I should be at my 'prime'- by never being happy in my own skin??

Like, dude, WTF??

So, I decided to take a stand.

This blog is now going to be my 'happy place'. :D  Which brings me to the biggest change of all...

The 'before' shots saga:
So sue me, I went back & withdrew my 'before' pictures.  Newsflash peeps- this is MY blog & I'll say what goes. ;)  They'll come out again....down the track....when I'm good & ready.  Turns out I'm not one of those people who are motivated by seeing fat photos of themselves day after day....but I knew that already. Somehow I thought that it might be '95th time lucky'....haha.  Eerrr, nope. Still f**ks me up. And, let me tell you, I don't need any more f***ing up. When it comes to body image, that is!  I really am a catch otherwise, fellas! haha....

I should also mention that of COURSE I still want to improve my body & hell YES I want to get to my original goal 'weight' - or should I say body shape...cus I am no longer focusing on that 'number'. ;)

BUT, after YEARS of doing the SAME thing to try & get to where I am going- by hating on my 'fat' self (that's the LAST time I will be referring to myself as 'fat'....& you can tell I am saying it in jest because of these ones: ' ' ), THIS time I am going to do different.

[This dude is where I first heard about 'doing different'- many moons ago....Craig touched on it again this week here (coincidence, much?). 
PS - I am providing these links with the following disclosure: you will get stuck on his site for hours reading amazingly insightful articles; he says it how it is (i.e. if you're feeling precious, make sure you have a spoon of cement on hand) & is friggin' hilarious to boot. You've been warned.]

Not even joking.
See? I have in my possession some of Mr Harper's hard copy editions...
3 thumbs up! (cus 2 just doesn't cut it...ha)

So many women out there are nowhere near as fit & healthy as moi, & they are 'living the dream'....they're not putting shit on hold until the scales tell them they qualify for a happy life!!

Well- NOW- neither am I!

Stay tuned for a new-look blog focusing on FUN, FITNESS, POSITIVE BODY IMAGE & GOOD HEALTH!

Oh, & some laughs...if you 'get' my sense of humour! ;)  If you don't 'get' it...you'll just be sitting there staring at your computer screen thinking, this girl is a nut-job. :P



And just randomly...
...I've noticed that I have come to have my own 'signature move'...I present (drum roll please), the two-finger-salute:

Fire drill time:
Get down low & Go, Go, Go!!

Please note: the salute can & will be done both ways....
without any intended offence. Haha....

Yeah, get used to it peeps, I ain't changing my posin' for no-one!!  (& holla to the Grammar Police!)

Adios, amigos! x

Thursday Motivation!

What do YOU choose today??


I will be back soon to update the absolute SHIT out of this baby!!  ;)

Kettlebell-UP!

JUST needed to drop by & say.....I AM still kickin' on!  This post is going to be a little less conversation, a little more action!

I know I kinda hinted that a 'real' blog post would be waiting here for you tonight....but I ended up doing a kick-ass kettlebell complex instead! (proof of this is shown above- me posing awkwardly with my 2 best workout buddies - Mr 10kg & Mr 12kg...hot, aren't they?!).

Also, it was such an awesome workout that I feel the need to share evidence of the sweatfest that went down.  I kinda figure I've done just about the worst I can already by posting half-naked pics of me at my 'fattest' on here, so I guess now anything goes! ;)

Sweatfest Take 1

Sweatfest Take 2

The Workout:

Kettlebell Complex:

Double-hand Swing   x 10 reps   (12kg)

Clean   x 10 reps RIGHT   (12kg)

Press   x 10 reps RIGHT   (12kg)

Clean   x 10 reps LEFT   (12kg)

Press   x 10 reps LEFT   (12kg)

Deadlift   x 10 reps   (12kg)

Snatch   x 10 reps RIGHT   (10kg)

Snatch   x 10 reps LEFT   (10kg)

Single-Arm Swing   x 10 reps RIGHT   (12kg)

Single-Arm Swing   x 10 reps LEFT   (12kg)

Single-Arm Swing   x 10 reps ALTERNATING EACH REP   (12kg)

Complete 4 Rounds!

I should've timed the darn thing, but alas, I forgot...so I can't even give you that! :)

I can give you my workout music of 'choice'...which was actually whatever was sitting in my CD player (ol' skool!) at the time....Pussycat Dolls.  Dontcha!

Ok, time for bed! Adios amigos! ;)

Dropping the 'G' Bomb

Ok, before I dive into the whole 'GOALS' thang (that's the only 'G' Bomb I know...), I just need to say- in relation to these...

'I don't usually look like this!!'

My pride made me do it. :D 

I have really GOT to stop going to that page...it scares me every time...although- that might actually be a good thing?!

I'm just sayin'....watch this space, & you will see the REAL Jogaholic.  Exciting times ahead, yo.  (Gangsta or WHAT??)

Moving on!


Thanks to Mellie for reminding me that I kinda haven't mentioned anything about having any goals!

*Gasp!*

I am, like, the goal-setter-of-the-year/month/week/day (don't make me say hour...yes, I am serious).  Life without goals would be like life without music.  It just wouldn't be the same. ;)

After all, how will you know when you get somewhere, if you don't know where you're going in the first place??  Common sense really.  The GPS of getting what you want out of life= knowing what you want!!

Alrighty then. Let's get down to bid-ness.

(And I'm seriously hanging out for Fit Mum's goals to go up!)


Body Composition Goals:

Goal # 1 ~ Get back down to 62kg (lose 6kg).

December 2010 @ 62kg
I was feeling pretty darn fit...& loving life!
Yes, it's 'another' bathroom shot...get used to it...
it's what I do, baby! ;)

Goal # 2 ~ Back in the '50s' ....Once I have achieved the 62kg status, I then want to continue to improve my fitness & see if I can get under 60kg. 

This goal is only a MAYBE, because it will depend on my body composition- I haven't been under the big 6-0 for many years but even when I was, I wasn't really hitting the fitness thing like I do now (i.e. I never had much muscle tone)....PLUS weight isn't everything, so I don't want to be looking all 'skin & bones' just  to have my weight starting with a lucrative (hey, to me it is!) number 5.  Curves are kickin'....mine are just not the healthy type of curves at the moment...


Fitness Goals:

Goal #1 ~ Run 6km in under 30mins  (I don't even know if I am capable of doing this, it just sounds like a good, round number...haha) 

Goal #2 ~ Run 10km....have never run that distance before! (& I call myself a 'Jogaholic'...oh, the SHAME!) ...& do it in under...1hr?? Again, no idea how long it'd take me!


Personal Training Goals:

Goal #1 ~ Level 1 Kettlebell Instructor - DONE!!  :) :) :)

Goal #2 ~ Certified Personal Trainer  (just have to make Miss-Short-Attention-Span sit down & complete the damn written assessments...all practical has been passed!)

Goal #3 ~ Level 1 & Advanced THUMP Instructor (go to BrisVegas to do)

~~~~~

And if you think that's it....think again!

That's JUST the tip of the iceberg....but for the moment, let's just K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid....just so you don't go getting the wrong idea!)

For example, in the fitness category, I realise it's all cardio-based....don't sweat it (I will be!)....I love my kettlebells & other strength training too much to JUST do running.  Rest assured I will be striking a balance between the two.

I think I'll start a 'Goals' tab/page....less a lot of this chatter.  But for tonight, that's all folks!  If I want to be able to drag myself out of bed in the morning to hit up the Tabata, this chicky has to hit the hay.

Until next time....

You know it! :)