 1: You have hit a plateau You are doing the same exercise on the same day, at the same intensity over and over and over. 2: You haven't changed your nutrition You are still eating what you know, what you like, and what is easy. Doing what you always did, will get you where you've already been. 3. You are only doing cardio You are slogging it out on the cardio machines, running or walking with no resistance or strength based exercises in your routine. 4. You are trying to loose weight for someone else You are trying to loose weight for a partner, family member or ex! Do you even need to loose weight? 5. You flip flop You eat great one week, then you binge the next. You go running for 2 weeks then do nothing for 3 weeks. 6. You have an underlying medical condition You have an undetected condition, or a condition that isn't being managed as best as it could be. By Sharon Bouwer, Registered Personal Trainer, Boot Camp Instructor, Let'sGetActive.co.nz Fitwear Athlete (use code 'SHARON15' at the checkout for a 15% discount) I only have time for one workout (if that) a week, so what's the point? I'm not going to sign up to a gym, or Personal Trainer or a bootcamp if I can only make it once a week, I would you rather do nothing, I'm fine doing my own thing. What can one workout a week do for me? "think you won't make a difference with just one workout, you won't make any difference doing nothing". Chances are when you join or commit to something, whether that's tennis with a friend, walking with a mate, joining a gym, bootcamp or signing up with a Personal Trainer you'll probably only be able to afford, and commit, to once or twice a week, we are all so busy these days, I hear you! One workout a week can do so much for you, it can adjust your lifestyle and habits without you even realising! Here's how just one workout can affect 3 days of your week; Day 1 -The day before your scheduled workout. You'll feel good through the day because you know you have some exercise booked in the next day, you are taking care of yourself and you feel really great about that, you might even talk about it with those around you which leaves you feeling happy and light. You'll feel that today should be healthy - because you have a workout the next day. You'll go to bed early and have a good nights rest. Day 2 - The day of the workout. You'll wake feeling a bit excited (and nervous) about your exercise activity that day. You'll feel a bit happier and you'll have more energy, you'll eat a bit healthier and generally take care of yourself better. Day 3 - The Day After Your Workout The following day you'll wake feeling refreshed, proud of yourself that you did a workout yesterday, maybe a bit sore and a bit tired but for some reason you feel just a little bit lighter, a little bit stronger, you know that one workout won't have made a difference to your waistline but for some reason you feel slimmer... So what's happened? Without knowing it you've affected your image of yourself, you see yourself in a different light, and so will others. You know you are working out now and taking care of yourself, you feel less sluggish, you feel happier and healthier. You have felt the effects of just ONE WORKOUT a week. There is a ripple afffect in your habits and lifestyle. So just start, if it's one workout a week, one workout every fortnight, it all counts, and yes it's always better than nothing.   Are you too afraid, or too embarrassed to get started? Does joining a group class, a boot camp, or a gym leave you feeling fearful, unfit and unmotivated? Well If you feel like this I'm happy to announce you are not the only one, a lot of people don't exercise with the fear that when the do they'll embarrass themselves, fear of not knowing the moves, or their fitness will let them down, or they'll be on the only one puffing and have to stop, or they'll be wearing the 'wrong' exercise gear. I am a personal trainer and I work out in various places, one of them being a gym. When a new person walks in, sure I can tell they are new, do I think "oh ha ha look at them they are doing it wrong", absolutely not, I am so happy they are here, just being at the gym means I have something in common with that person. At times I would love to walk over to them and say "go you!", but I don't, that would really freak them out. Another thing to realise is when I'm working out, I do so with intent, I'm focused on me, I'm pumped up, I really don't watch other people, I don't judge and I certainly don't feel that anybody is any different from me. I'm sure you'll get the odd judgmental person, they are everywhere right? Stepping out of your comfort zone and joining that gym, or that boot camp, or that tennis club or boxing class will give you so much more confidence. Not just in the workout itself but in walking through that door the first time, in meeting new people, in pushing yourself, in humility. We all had to start, I had to walk through those doors as a first timer too. I still go to classes that I feel are over my head, I love that feeling of exhilaration and nervous energy, I use it to drive me, not hold me back! So join me in not judging, not quitting and pushing out of your fears - you can do it - you really can!  By Sharon Bouwer
Registered Personal Trainer & Bootcamp Instructor Owner Operator of Let's Get Active  Have you got to the point where working out is hard work, it's not fun, it's a drag to get to, and you just can't wait to get it over and done with? You wouldn't be alone in thinking this, a lot of others feel the same and for many good reasons - injury, general tiredness, money, timetable, boredom, difficulty factor, embarrassment... so what do you do about it? How do all those people get the energy to run or to get to the gym? Surely they must have an un-organised house with unhappy kids right? WRONG - they simply make it work. The secret of a fit energetic person is that they schedule their workouts in as a first priority, and the other stuff goes around it. They have just as much time as you, they also have kids, jobs, injuries, money issues, but fitness is the first priority. By making fitness the first priority other positive things spiral from this. Suddenly you have more energy to get up in the day, the day seems less hard work, going to work becomes less of a chore because you've scheduled in your fitness time, you are not constantly thinking "oh i should have done that run" or "when am I going to get time to do this gym visit". Once it's scheduled out and stuck to, it's out of your head and it's one less thing making you feel miserable. "You can choose to motivate yourself, or choose to be miserable, whatever has to be done it's always your choice - Wayne Dyer" Step 1 - choose to put your fitness first, then work, friends and kids can work around this HOW: get a calendar and write it down, get up 20 minutes earlier and do that walk, walk home from work, walk on your lunch break, walk after work when it's cooler and the kids are down. Step 2 - choose to be happy, make a conscious choice to do a happy fitness activity. Don't choose to do a run if you HATE running. It might take a little bit more effort to drive to the pool for some laps, or put the bike in the boot and ride around the Lake in Takapuna, but if it makes you that much happier, and gives you an awesome talking point to your family and friends the next day then choose to be happy! THE BEST EXERCISE YOU CAN DO, IS THE ONE YOU ACTUALLY DO! Step 3 - commit. Fit people get into a routine, they love it, they stick to it, they'll turn you down for a coffee if it's their gym time, they aren't being rude, they know they must stick to it... So do something you enjoy, work out with a friend, make it your pleasure time, not your pain time. If that gym membership makes you feel yuck, do something else, if not having a gym membership makes you feel yuk then tighten the purse strings elsewhere and get a gym membership. Ask yourself "why you workout?" Find out your because...    Firstly, what is an activity tracker? It is a watch that measures health and physical activity, worn on your wrist, controlled through app's. Each brand has features, but the main features are;
The higher end models include things like the ability to answer your phone wirelessly, tracking calories eaten, joining social networks and much more. They can range from around $79 from up to about $1000. In my opinion, as a fitness consumer, here are the main benefits of using an activity tracker: 1. Tracking how many steps you've done in a day. When you get your watch you then personalise it with things like your step size (ie for people of different heights), what hand you are wearing it on, your weight/age etc. It's pretty accurate (I've tested against a pedometor). By watching how many steps you've done in a day it reminds you to get moving, if you've been too sedentary it's a good reminder to get those steps up. This is a great motivator for someone starting out, or someone who needs motivation in general, or just for those who like to follow what they've done in a day. It's great to be accountable for your activity, or lack there of! 2. Tracking your heart rate. The aim of an intense workout is to workout at around 75-80% of your maximum heart rate. So once you've worked out what this is (you can do this on the app), you can see what your heart rate is while you're working out, and adjust your intensity level accordingly. 3. Telling the time. Just using it as a normal watch that is back lit. 4. Tracking your distance. You have a button on the tracker you push as you head off for your run/activity, then you turn it off upon finishing, your tracker will give you a quick read of your stats after your workout. Usually km's, steps, cals burned etc, then once you are home you sync your activity tracker to your app/computer, and all the data is then downloaded. You can monitor your progress each day, the data is stored for you so you can watch your progress over the months. Negatives:
What do I do? I have one and I wear it occasionally, it depends what I'm doing as to when and how much I use it. I used to wear it everyday but I found it got a bit bulky, and with my my main uses for it to track distance on my runs, and my heart rate on an intense workout, I realised I didn't need to have it on all day. I'm not tracking my steps (simply because I exceed 12,000 steps 6 days a week) so wearing it everyday isn't my thing, but I do see them having their place. In general I think they are great tools, it shows a committment to physical activity, your health and the desire to look after your own health, to monitor your own results and those things should be applauded. In summary: Positives
Negatives
 Sharon Bouwer - Registered Personal Trainer Let's Get Active - Group Outdoor Sessions (Boot camp without the boot!)  We are excited to bring you our new program - Fitness Boost for Mums. Make use of the summer days, get active, get social and join us for 6 weeks of group outdoor workouts, it’s boot camp without the boot. Help to increase your fitness, get you active and meet other mums. We’ll use a variety of equipment like kettle bells, dumb bells, boxing gear and slam balls, we’ll also do some bodyweight and cardio work. We’ll play games, we’ll learn, and we’ll work out! Each workout will leave you feeling energised and sweaty! You will work at your own pace in a relaxed no pressure environment. Our workouts will be suitable and flexiable for Mums, we won’t be bear crawling, we won’t be skipping or doing sit-ups. We will be smiling, sweating and spending time on ourselves, just what every busy Mum needs. All fitness abilities welcome. Bring your baby/toddler/child along to watch, or come along without them for some "you" time. Your trainer is a Mum of two girls under 5, and can relate to you. You'll also get weekly newsletters with tips, nutrition advice, personal contact with the trainer and facebook updates and photos. Don't delay as spots in our last and current programs booked out fast...don't wait to get active, life goes faster than you think. For pricing and more details on our workouts see our website, or view our facebook page. Details
After having twins Tina decided it was time to set herself a fitness and health goal, it was time to put herself back in the driving seat of her own life, and so the adventure of "mummy to marathon" began! With already having a child only a year before she fell pregnant with the twins, Tina felt she hadn't fully lost the weight from her first pregnancy. Tina struggled with her weight gain after the twins were born and didn't feel like herself, a challenge was needed... Training officially began in June, but she was already active earlier in the year by joining a gym and completing a couple of fun runs - the Colour Run and the Albany lakes, these are 5km's - a far cry from the 42km's of a marathon! Training for the Auckland Marathon involved a lot of babysitting from helpful friends and family, some major changes in a busy mummy diet, and a look at how she was going to manage three kids under 2, a home, a business run with her husband, and the doom and gloom of winter bugs and colds. After what seemed like a long time, the day arrived, Tina was nervous, excited, and a bit emotional about this major achievement. Tina completed the marathon with an awesome time, and didn't stop to walk once. Because her training was so well planned there were no injuries and only mild sore muscles afterwards. Congratulations Tina, you are now a marathon runner! I'm sure your three tots are proud! Let's hope your story will inspire others to be amazing, to go outside of your comfort zone, and to call on those around you for support.   1. Don't worry about what you ate or didn't do yesterday, today is a new day, get focused today.
We all suffer set backs, whether that's having 5 Christmas meals in a row with family or a binge night out, maybe a sickness that prevents you from moving, or medication that see's you putting on weight for no reason... the common thing here is you, this is happening to you, you can get up tomorrow and get back on the wagon. Are you going to make it happen? 2. Get rid of the leftovers, make better choices. Chrismtas and New Years are over, you do not need to hang on to that half a bag of snacks or half a bottle of wine in the fridge, throw it out and restock with healthy and yummy options. Nourish yourself and replace all those nutrients you've lost. 3. Set an exercise schedule and stick to it. You might not have time for a 60minute walk, or a 45 minute gym session, but you can make time for a 20 minute walk or jog. Do some press ups and sit ups at home. There 's no excuse, get moving.  1. You slip up and give up. It's all too easy to have a bad day, or two bad days in a row of bad eating and drinking and then feel like, "oh well, I've blown it now" and give up. We all have bad days, or lazy days, or unhealthy days, it's what you choose to do next that counts. Just wake up the next day, reset and start again. Be stronger than your oldself! 2. You are spending time with the wrong people. Are your co-workers, friends or family members constantly putting pressure on you to eat, or do something else when that was your exercise time? You need to be around people who have the same goals as you. Or, simply tell your friends that you have goal "xyz" right now and be honest about what you are doing, it's likely most of them will be saying "oh that's so great, I need to do that too!" Find like minded people. Don't be afraid to say no, or to be honest. 3. You don't have a plan. Have you talked to an energetic/fit person lately? You'll find that they have specific days and times they workout, they stick to this, or they plan around it. Don't 'wing' your exercise. Sit down and write a weekly routine, then stick to it. Fit people make it happen. 4. You haven't considered your priorities. If your number one goal is to get healthy, then this is your priority, this will take thought and time and planning, you'll have to say no to things, you'll have to change your routine. Have you prioritised your health goals?   TIP!
Put your exercise clothes on, just go and put them on.. Then decide if you wan't to work out or not Don't decide until you are dressed. Often that's the hardest part! |
AuthorSharon Bouwer: Archives
August 2016
Categories |
RSS Feed
