Pyramid training

Pyramid style training overloads the muscle and is a very effective way of working out! The idea is that you start of easy and continue to add exercises until you reach your peak (or your legs start to shake uncontrollably like mine did).

Check out the Bodyrock challenge I completed this week. It was a brutal session but the different style of training motivated me to do the best I could! I only reached the half way point the first time I tried it, so I am determined to complete the whole set on my next attempt!

Workout Breakdown

Time: +/-30min.Workout Type: Time Challenge Exercises: 5

• Round 1 = 10 Get Ups
• Round 2 =Round 1 + 20x Backward Lunge & Sandbag Press
• Round 3 =Round 2 + 20x Sandbag Squat
• Round 4 = Round 3 + 10x Burpees
• Round 5 =Round 4 + 40x One Leg Toe Touch

Instructions:

This workout is like a game. You start with just one exercise and each round you are adding a new one so that in the 5th round you end up doing 5 exercises. Then you reverse the order and start with 5 exercises and work your way down to the first one.

Check out Bodyrock.tv for a full explanation of all the exercises.

Good Luck!

Sandbag training!

For my birthday this year, hubby bought me a fantastic new fitness tool.
THE SANDBAG! One could expect that most girls would turn their noses up at such a  gift and the reaction of my friends was commonly " but what else did he get you... you know, that sparkles?".

Shall I remind you that my favourite pass time is keeping fit! What more could one want, than new equipment, which once filled with chosen weight, can assist you in working all those muscles we thought " un workable".

The sandbag is increasingly used in workouts to challenge the body in agility, strength and stability.  It appears to be the only fitness tool that actually has the weight shift and move,which means your body must work much harder to perform the exercises. Because sandbag training emphasises the whole body, you will find that each one of your workouts burns more calories than your typical workout with weights or cardio machines.

The bag is sold empty, which allows you to fill it with your preferred weights, sand or in my case '1.5L of water, a bike lock, 2 sweet potatoes and a 1kg bag of rice'. It is important to start off with a relativly light bag, to get your body used to working with such an awkward, unstable object. As you become more comfortable with the equipment, you can add more weight.

I had a few great suggestions of sandbag exercises such as shoulder/overhead press, squats and chest press. These were great to start with!

I want to share with you the 'Bodyrock' workout I completed which incorporated my new sandbag! I had such fun using it and am looking forward to my next session.

Check it out
http://www.bodyrock.tv/2011/03/10/only-girl-in-the-world-workout/

Triathlon Training...update

27:48  
Time recorded for my Second Biathlon attempt 



Well I didn't quite make my goal time of 27:00 but I did beat my previous score by 1min and 3 seconds.

Training logs

I have been thinking recently about what motivates me to keep fit and continue training...
I have mentioned before that I love trying a variety of workouts and fitness challenges but without a platform to record my achievements, I am effectively going no-where. I have used training and nutrition logs in the past and found it very helpful to put my progress on paper. Not only can you monitor your increase in strength/cardio/(insert your own goal) but you are held accountable for the results or lack of results that occur.


There are a number of online training logs out there and which one you use will depend on both how you train and what your goals are. For beginners, or those who do 'general training' and are not working on a particular aspect of fitness, I find a simple daily calendar log to be effective. It allows you to quickly document your workout for each day to ensure you are sticking to your fitness goal.
Sharing these logs with others is also a great way to keep up your motivation levels. Not only can you learn about what others are doing to keep fit but you can add a little bit of friendly competition. Those of you who are training for a specific event or are serious about improving, it might be more useful to try something like this printable workout log where you can pre-plan your workouts, print them off and fill them in as you go. There is nothing better than flicking through your log each month and noticing with delight that you have made improvements along the way without even realising.


I am also a great fan of the 'Food and Mood' diary. It can be used as a tool when trying to lose/gain weight or to pinpoint how food is influencing your mood. What you eat affects your mood, and this, in turn, affects your next choice of food. They are connected in a continuous cycle. By documenting a daily log of food and liquid intake for 1-2 weeks, you may begin to notice interesting eating habits and begin to take measures to address them.

I am keeping a record of my workouts for this month.... why don't you give it a go!

Get Tuff Bootcamp!

Those words hold a whole new meaning now I have been through 2 seasons of training with Roger...

Two months before my wedding in September 2010, I decided it was time to step it up a notch with my training regime. Roger's boot camp came highly recommended, however it also came with a warning...“it's pretty intense”.

And Pretty intense it is!!

This boot camp is not for the faint hearted! After participating in activities known as 'Mount vomit', log training and 'testing day', it is now difficult to feel satisfied with my measly 4km run on the treadmill.

Roger accommodates all levels of fitness but lets no-one slack off. He is encouraging and motivating while maintaining a superb level of fitness and instruction. His workouts are tailored to the strengths and weaknesses of all group members and no session is the same as the last.

In true Bootcamp style, the sessions begin at 6.15am and include a mix of resistance, speed and cardio training. The workouts are super fun and varied and although training is taken seriously, there are always lots of laughs.

Whether you are training for a specific event, looking to get in quick shape before your 'big day' or needing the encouragement and motivation of a personal trainer...Roger is your man!

Get Tuff Bootcamp runs in 6 week blocks and the groups are held in a variety of Sydney locations. Roger also offers individual Personal Training and Adventure Fitness.

For more information check out the website 
http://www.gettufftraining.com/

Vegan Lamingtons

My second most favourite thing after fitness training, is food!

Check out the recipe for yummy vegan lamingtons below. I modified 

the recipe from Shmooed Food, to make a slightly healthier version. After consultation with fellow food lovers, it was decided that regular 'aussie lamingtons', although delicious, are a little too big. The traditional square shape has been converted into a bite size cupcake version.

* I aim to use little or no refined white sugar in my baking. To sweeten up my treats i use a variety of products such as date syrup, bananas, agave nectar or in this case maple syrup. Usually 2 or 3 tablespoons will do the trick but continue to add depending on how sweet you like it.

Ingredients for fluffy cupcakes:

1 TB apple cider vinegar
1 ½ cups plain soymilk
2 1/8 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 1/8 cups sugar (replace with your choice of sweet ingredient)
½ cup oil
1 ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. coconut extract

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180º. Spray muffin tray with nonstick spray or line with paper cupcake liners.
Place the apple cider vinegar in the bottom of a liquid measuring cup and fill the cup with soymilk to equal 1 ½ cups. Stir well and set aside (the mixture will curdle).

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, * sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another mixing bowl whisk together the soymilk mixture, canola oil, vanilla, and coconut extract. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and beat until smooth using a hand-held mixer

(or bright red, very fun Kitchenaid if you own one)

Fill each muffin cup with ¼ cup of batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.

Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes from the pan and place on a wire rack. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting. 

Ingredients for Chocolate Icing:

4 cups icing sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup non dairy milk
2 tablespoons non hydrogenated margarine
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

Sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder together in a medium bowl; set aside. 

In a small saucepan, heat the non dairy milk and margarine to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the powdered sugar/cocoa and the vanilla. Whisk until completely smooth.

Dip each cake into the icing, using two forks to help turn and coat all sides. Hold the dripping cake aloft and let the excess icing drip off. Now use two more forks to roll the cake in coconut. Transfer to a wire rack and repeat with the remaining cakes.

Let the icing set for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a covered container and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. 

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did

5 reasons to go vegan....5 fun ways to do it

1. Health

In a world where we are presented with hundreds of different messages in regards to health, weight loss and dieting, it is helpful to stick to an eating plan that focuses on 1 simple rule EAT WHOLE FOODS.
There is a large amount of evidence to suggest that a vegan or strict vegetarian diet can assist in controlling weight and in the prevention of illness and disease.  The American  Heart association suggests that “vegetarians seem to have a lower risk of obesity, coronary heart disease (which causes heart attack), high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and some forms of cancer”.

My primary reason for switching to a vegetarian and subsequently a vegan diet was originally to improve my general health. With the risk of sounding cliché, cutting out meat and dairy drastically increased my energy levels and I noticed that my often sensitive digestive system was beginning to settle down. It is extremely common these days to hear people complain of food intolerance and allergic reactions. By no means do I claim to be an expert on the body or its complex workings. However, I can be an honest judge of my own health and recognise that making small changes such as switching to Soy Milk, cutting out cheese and excluding red meat from my diet, has done wonders for my overall health and wellbeing.

A vegan diet is made up of only foods from plants: fruits, vegetables, legumes (dried beans and peas), grains, seeds and nuts. It can be varied and exciting, inventive and nutritionally rich!
Protein and iron sources can all be sufficiently accessed through a plant based diet, and the AHA states that vegetarians absorb and retain more calcium from foods than non vegetarians through such foods as spinach, broccoli and legumes. Who would have thought!!

2. Ethics/cruelty free

It is a pretty great feeling to know that no animals were harmed or killed in the making of my meal.
Factory farming and unlawful meat production is a very real issue which is often masked or downplayed by the mainstream media. It is worth taking the time to do some research and inform yourself about how your meat came to be on your table at dinner time. Highly recommended books such as the Omnivores dilemma or Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals’ are great reads to get us thinking about what we are putting in our mouths and who is suffering for our pleasure. 

3. Environment

I’m sure all of us are at least somewhat concerned with the very real impacts of global warming! UN’s top climate scientist Rajendra Pachauri states that “People should consider eating less meat as a way of combating global warming. UN figures suggest that meat production puts more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than transport.”

By eating a diet of plant based foods, we are reducing the demand for mass produced animals and subsequently decreasing the devastating effect that factory farming is having on our planet.
Check out the short video ’Making the connection’ which addresses these issues. 

4. Self Sustainability

Now I recognise that some of us do not have the luxury of a fully fledged veggie garden in our backyards, but think small steps!! It is amazing the satisfaction you can get from watching your little seedlings grow into juicy red tomatoes, colourful chillies and fresh herbs! Using your home grown veggies or spices  to produce a nutritious, organic meal is rewarding beyond belief(kind of like producing your own artwork as a child from simply mud and water). A friend has kindly donated the picture below of her home veggie patch.

5. Oprah did it!!! (if you aren't convinced by the first 4 reasons...) 
Take-a-Vegan-Challenge

1.
is an achievable goal for all of us! Stay tuned for some great vegetarian recipes!!

2. Grow your own 

  Check out the following link on how to create your very own veggie patch/ potted herbs @ www.VeganOrganic.net

3.Attend the Sydney  cruelty free festival

4.Bake a batch of cupcakes from ‘vegan cupcakes take over the world’

5.Go out for a vegan meal.
Check out Happy Cow for a list of vegan and vegetarian friendly restaurants