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Shawna – On My Weigh – Mental Struggles
***Shawna is a client of our ours, that’s willing to share her weight loss journey bi weekly. She’s a mother, wife and works a full time job. All of her comments are in her own words, unedited. Please contact us to start your journey, info@ironfit.ca, 7807184805***
Hello my faithful followers. So we decided to just do this blog every two weeks, instead of weekly. We shall see how that goes. Lol
Lots has happened. I think hahahaha. The first thing that happened is I got the green light from my physio therapist to resume running and biking!!! That made me super happy. Especially because my next triathlon is August 12 and I want to start training. My 16 year old is joining me this year so I’m excited about that. It’s the St. Albert triathlon and it’s my favourite one to do. I’m not crazy about the hills, but the rest of it is pretty fun. And I love that I’m doing it with my daughter.
Work outs are going ok. I’m seeing my personal trainer once a week still. I have added the odd second one with him. My daughter has even joined me a couple times. Which has been really fun. I love including her in my workouts. I think she’s enjoying them as well.
Weight watchers is going well. I did have a small gain this week of 1.6 pounds but I’m still below the 270s, which is where I want to be. Well not forever but I mean I don’t want to get back into the 270s ever ever ever again.
So the triathlon I am training for is just a Try-it distance. So I’m swimming 250 metres, biking 10 km and running 2.5 km. So I have done the swimming and biking practice already. I was able to do my 250 metres in about 9 minutes. So that was great! My plan is to beat last year’s times and at this weight as of today I am about 30 pounds lighter than last year. Might be 20…I would have to look in my journal that I have for keeping track of my triathlons but as I write this I am sitting in my sister’s camper at a camping resort. And well, I didn’t bring my triathlon journal with me lol. So ya, if I can be 30-40 pounds lighter this year, then I think I have a good shot at beating my times!! It’s a great goal for me to go for. And my ultimate goal??? To do a full triathlon again. Yes…again. My first two years of triathlons I did the sprint distances. Then I gained weight and caused my body to not work in my favor. 
I have to admit something though. The last few workouts I have been struggling with some negative mental thoughts. Some days I just feel like this isn’t worth it. Why is it that some weeks when I am 100% on plan, and working out a lot, I don’t lose much and some people who barely try, can lose 3 pounds in a week. I know…my hormone issues don’t help. But you know, it IS frustrating. To the point where I feel like crying during my workouts sometimes. I don’t want a magic pill, but I really do wish this was easier than it has been. Alot of my frustrations are also towards myself. I can’t believe I allowed myself to get to this point.
This current challenge I’m doing through Epicure is coming to a close. We have 2 weigh ins left. I know I won’t be winning this one. But that’s ok. I know I’m still lighter than when I started three months ago. The next one starts in September. And I look forward to it!!
Well, that’s all I really have to say for now. Maybe in my blog two weeks from now, I’ll be in the 250s. Realistically that IS possible. So we shall see.
Until then, stay healthy!
Posture Makes Perfect
You’ve probably heard the term, rolled shoulders or they walk hunched over. It’s a very common issue today, as we spend more time sitting, using a computer and driving. Your shoulders roll and you slouch forward, instead of being in line with the rest of your body. You may even notice your head protruding forward more than the rest of your body.
Ideally, you want your ears to line up with the tip of your shoulder. Which then lines up with your hip and your knee. However, everyday activities and improper training is leading to a lot of issues in this area.
You may not think of it when you’re younger, but how your body functions and it’s alignment will be important later in your life. Heck, it’s important now. But too often we are focused on how our muscles look instead of the more important part, how they function.
To help improve your rolled shoulders, there are a few things you can try. Keep in mind that you’ll need patience and be able to stick to your plan to reach your goal. It took a long time to get to the situation you’re in, it’s going to take a bit to balance it all out.
Start to stretch out your pectoral muscles (chest). If your pecs are too tight, it’ll start to pull your shoulders forward. It just makes sense. When something is tight, it pulls it in the direction that it’s tight. As you stretch your pecs, start to strengthen your upper back muscles.
If you strengthen your upper back and rear shoulder muscles, it’ll help pull your shoulders back. This is a key in improving your rolled shoulders. You need to pull those muscles back, as they have been stretched out. When they get stretched that far, they offer no support in helping retract and hold everything in place.
STOP the pushups. Sorry to tell you, but if all you do is pushups and nothing to help strengthen your back, you’re going to get rolled shoulders. If you must do those pushups, make sure you pickup an elastic band and do some rows to balance out the front work you are doing. Remember, every action has a reaction. And you want to make sure you are controlling that reaction, not letting it happen at random.
There are a ton of other exercises and routines you can do to help your issues. Get started on a program with us, and you’ll see your results properly and safely.
Shawna – On My Weigh – So Many Pounds Lost…
***Shawna is a client of our ours, that’s willing to share her weight loss journey bi weekly. She’s a mother, wife and works a full time job. All of her comments are in her own words, unedited. Please contact us to start your journey, info@ironfit.ca, 7807184805***
What a week!! It was not only crazy hot but I was so damn determined to get myself back in the 260s. I did cardio like crazy and I made sure my food intake was nothing but healthy healthy healthy!!!
The week started off slow. Sunday was of course Father’s Day so I took the hubs out for supper. So dinner that night was a kind of write off. But all was good still. I ended up waking up on Monday morning really ill so I called in sick and stayed in bed all day. Didn’t get much into me other than some scrambled eggs and water. No workout that day.
Tuesday was interesting with my personal trainer. I still wasn’t feeling all that great from the day before but I didn’t call in sick nor did I even want to reschedule my session with my trainer. I had a mini goal to achieve!! We did weight machines this week, instead of dumb bells. It was pretty hard. My shoulders are still pretty weak. They’ve been weak even before my collision. And these machines showed that I clearly have a lot of work still to do. But I’ll get there!!! Then my trainer had me do an exercise where I had to kneel. Ouch!! My knees weren’t happy. But we made some adjustments using some equipment so that I wasn’t kneeling down quite as low. And that seemed to have helped. We’ve made a goal for me…I AM going to go all the way to the floor one day!!!! It WILL happen.
The rest of the week after my session with my trainer was a lot of cardio. I hated it this week. It was sooooo hot and I lacked energy. But it’s amazing what determination tells your mind what to do when there is a goal that is sooooo close you can feel it!
On Thursday I made the decision to rejoin Weight Watchers. My mother in law joined a little while ago so I thought why not. So Friday is when the meetings are. Which worked out perfectly because that’s when I usually weigh myself anyways. Well, I not only got into the 260’s, but I got to 267.4!!! I couldn’t believe it. I was happy happy happy. My hard work paid off.
As you can all see, this journey hasn’t been an easy one. And I’m sure there are going to be many more hurdles to come. But I know that with every mini goal I successfully reach, the hurdles are getting smaller and a lot more bearable to jump over.
My next mini goal is to get into the 250s. I haven’t been in the 250s in about 6 or 7 years. Maybe even more. So this week I am going to do my very best at keeping last week’s momentum going!!! And I have you all to cheer me on 🙂
Until next week…stay healthy, keep active. Every little bit helps!!
Shawna – On My Weigh – Weight Loss Edition
***Shawna is a client of our ours, that’s willing to weekly share her weight loss journey. She’s a mother, wife and works a full time job. All of her comments are in her own words, unedited. Please contact us to start your journey, info@ironfit.ca, 7807184805***
Happy Father’s Day to all my followers who are fathers. I hope your day was great. Mine was spent at my daughter’s dance recital. Thankfully this is the final one until the fall. We get our evenings back! Woot. Lol
So this week was a little bit more successful than last week. I joined a friend at her gym. She lives in a condo that has a small gym and I was able to join her. We’ve been wanting to meet for coffee for a very long time so I suggested the gym, because I really needed to get my ass on an elliptical. We met a couple of times. I know I know. I need to be getting to the gym daily if I can. But I’m still going to physio twice a week too so those appointments kinda get in the way.
And on the topic of physio…she’s not happy with how my body is not recovering. It’s gotten to the point that she gave me a note for work to possibly go on modified work. She thinks my 5 hours driving in the afternoon is putting a hindrance on my recovery so she doesn’t want me to drive more than 3 hours at a time. Blah. I really love my job and I don’t want to cut back.
Personal training is still going well. At least, I feel like it is. I did the stairs this week. I haven’t done them in a few weeks. Let me tell ya, those stairs looked like Mount Everest the very first time I was asked – told – to do them. Now, they aren’t so bad. I’m noticing it at home too. I use to call my daughters and would have to ask them to go downstairs to get something for me because I hated stairs. (I actually had to bribe them with money lolol) I mean, the arthritis in the knees doesn’t help, but the extra weight I was carrying didn’t help either. Put the two of them together and I was a wreck. It was bad enough for me to need a table beside me when I was on the couch just to help me get up. I was seriously ready to go purchase a walker just to help me stand up. But I’m doing a lot better. Amazing what even 30 pounds off your body does for you.
My physiotherapist still hasn’t okayed me to run or bike yet. I’m hoping this week she will. I NEED to start training for my August triathlon. And the triathlon I’m doing in August is on hilly roads so I need to get out there and get my body accustomed to the hills. My 16 year old is going to do the triathlon with me this year so I hope that having her train with me will keep me motivated. Not just to get exercise for myself but even to keep HER motivated.
Well I do believe that’s all I have to report this week. Weight went down a small bit. Almost back into the 260s. I’m at 270 now. Next week I WILL be in the 260s come hell or high water.
Oh one last thing…I finally saw the endocrinologist. That’s a hormone specialist. And while I won’t bore you with all the details of my appointment, I’m finally getting some help with the crap I’ve been dealing with for the past 10 some years.
Thanks for reading my weekly blogs. I feel like I have you guys to thank to stay motivated. It would be pretty embarrassing to blog about being lazy. Although, even the best athletes get into a rut. I’m slowly working my way back out.
Ciao for now and have an awesome week.
Shawna
Who Motivates You?
Changing a habit that you’ve done forever is hard, very hard. If anyone tells you something different, they aren’t telling you the truth.
It takes determination, focus and a certain will power to get up the courage to make a change. Along your road, there will be a lot of ups and downs. You’ll have days where you’re feeling great, and days when you’re down in the dumps. But one thing can change that, YOU.
You can hire a trainer, nutrition coach, life coach, naturopath, chiropractor, massage therapist or someone to just yell at you for 24 hours in a day (that’d be kind of fun, for a while). But in the long run, it all comes down to how much YOU want it.
Are YOU willing to put down that extra piece of pizza to achieve your goals? When YOU are tired, will you still get up the gumption to go and do your workout? Those days that YOU just don’t feel like doing anything, will YOU go and do it anyways? The answer needs to be a resounding yes!!!
See, it’s easy to fall into a rut. You literally don’t have to do anything to get into it. But it’s hard to climb out of it. Think of all the positives that will come out of getting out of that rut:
• you’ll feel better
• your medical exams will be better and less frequent
• your body will love you more
• everything will function better
• your confidence will shoot up
Overall, it’s up to YOU to get up and do it. If you constantly rely on external motivators, what happens when they are gone? Teach yourself to believe and trust in YOU, and you will find your goals will be achieved at a much faster rate. 
Hire a trainer that will help you change & recognize your habits. If they are just there to give you exercises, they may not have your long term lifestyle in mind.
Hire an Iron Fit trainer to become a part of your healthy lifestyle.
Mark Kay, NAIT – PFT, CSEP – CPT., MES, EIMC
Personal Fitness Trainer / Owner
Iron Fit Personal Training
Shawna – On My Weigh – 3 Months
***Shawna is a client of our ours, that’s willing to weekly share her weight loss journey. She’s a mother, wife and works a full time job. All of her comments are in her own words, unedited. Please contact us to start your journey, info@ironfit.ca, 7807184805***
Hello my faithful followers. I wish this week was going to be an exciting week for my blog, but unfortunately life got in the way big time.
My first battle is work. I work split shifts. My morning shift I work 7:01 to 9:01 then
my afternoon I work 1:40 to 6:57. I drive bus so that’s why the times are really weird. Lol. So on my splits is when I usually like to work out. Because when I’m done work at night I go home, scarf down supper, spend a little time with the family, then bed by 8:30/9:00.
Well this week I had to deal with physio on two of my days, so I ended up doing some walking at home on the treadmill. Then I got the phone call from the insurance company telling me my car was finally done at the shop (it was being repaired from the collision). So I ended up spending one of my other mornings at the insurance company and the rental place to return the rental I had. The other days were spent at home with heat on my shoulders and back. I’ve been in some pretty bad pain the last few weeks and some days are horrible. And while I know exercising is good for the body, when the body hurts, it just doesn’t want to do anything. And I know some people are going to say I’m making excuses. But I’m not. I AM exercising. Just not as hardcore as I was when I started this blog. But I certainly never anticipated being in a collision.
On Thursday my physio therapist even said that my muscles/joints are NOT happy right now. So while I wish I was able to tell you all that I got back into the 260s, I did not. However, I haven’t been gaining anything back. I started this current weightloss challenge at 273.6 My last weigh in was 273.8. So a teeny gain, but nothing too damaging. And I know that once my body is back to the way it was, I’m going to rock the weightloss journey I’m on. I just need to have patience, which my physio therapist keeps telling me to have. And if I have ANY chance at doing my August triathlon, I guess I better listen to her.
Well my wonderful readers I shall close there before I start rambling on about how pissed off and upset I am about all of this.
Until next week…I shall remain healthy and I ask you to do the same.
Shawna
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