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Shawna – On My Weigh – Week 11
***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***
Coming off the triathlon high this week. I was feeling motivated to start training for my next triathlon, which is in August. Until I saw my physio therapist on Tuesday. I was suffering major back pain for a couple days and her theory is I did something bad to it on Sunday during the race so she has informed me that I am not to run (because of the impact) or bike (because of the hunched over posture) for a couple weeks until it calms down. I can still swim. Phew. So now I’m forced to go hard on cardio to get my weightloss mojo back. I’m not entirely sure what has caused me to slow down, besides the collision. I just kind of lost my motivation since the collision. I wouldn’t say I’m depressed, but I just don’t feel like doing anything. I have to admit, I AM in a lot of pain most days between my neck and my waist. So according to my personal trainer, I am to do the elliptical more. And as it so happens, he joined me this week during one of my elliptical sessions. I hate cardio. I really really do. It’s boring. I’ve tried it all…watching tv, reading, listening to music. Hell, the elliptical machines in my gym have angry birds and even doing that was boring. But I know I have to “suck it up” as much as I absolutely despise that phrase. But doing nothing isn’t going to get me results. So one way or other I need to get it done. You see, due to the fact that I gained a few of the pounds back that I lost, my trainer has challenged me. He’s going to be gone for a week and wants me to get back down to 268 when he comes back. Totally doable! So I can’t just sit and wallow in my pity. So tomorrow (Monday), it’s back to the gym for me. I was doing cardio so often and I know I’ll get it back.
Thanks for keeping up with my weekly shares. I feel like I am not only letting myself down, but I’m letting all my readers down. So I am going to promise all of you that next week’s blog will have a daily workout check in.
Until next week, thank you for your continued support and thanks for reading my journey. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I knew I would have hurdles. And this is just one of those hurdles that I WILL get over.
Keep making healthy choices and maybe I’ll bump into some of you at the gym this week. I’ll be at Peter Hemingway at about 9:15/9:30. Maybe see you there 😉
Fact or Fiction, What To Do?
Each day there’s something out there lurking in your phone, TV, computer or in the newspaper. Waiting to trick you into believing what they want you to believe, but not necessarily the truth.
The fitness industry has a ton of mis information out there, and it’d be impossible to cover them all. So let’s take a look at some things to see if they are fact, or if they are made up.
You have to workout daily to see success…
While we want you to workout daily, for some people, that’s just not possible. The goal is to be active everyday, but sometimes life gets in the way. It is about how many times you workout in a day, but it’s also about the quality of work you put in. An effective workout can be accomplished in as little as 15 or 20 minutes. Grab yourself a trainer, and make the most of your time at the gym.
FICTION
Doing exercise actually gives you more energy…
You end up being so tired after a workout, you can’t possibly get more energy can you? Exercise releases endorphins into body, that help you with your energy levels. Off the bat you may feel more tired after exercising, but you’ll soon adjust.
FACT
I’ll get big muscles from working out…
This is very common among women, the thought that you’re going to have huge muscles when you workout. The truth is, it takes a lot of specific weight training and nutrition work to get those large and defined muscles. You need to workout with weights, to help you function and move properly. A lot can be achieved with proper weight training, don’t be afraid to pick up those weights.
FICTION
It’s not hard to find time in your day for exercise…
It may seem daunting at first, because you’ve read all about how long you have to exercise, and what you must do. Truth is, even a little a day is better than nothing. At the start, if you can incorporate a little into your day you may eventually find yourself doing Kris and more each day.
FACT
You need to do sit-ups to get a flat belly…
This one is super crazy. Doing a ton of sit-ups alone will not get you flat abs. You need the right balance of cardio, weight training and nutrition to get those abs. We can’t spot train (choose where you lose body fat) so you need to create a better overall program to achieve your flat belly.
FICTION
Training in the “Fat Burning” zone is the best way to lose weight…
We’ve all seen the different levels on the cardio machines at the gym. But let’s think logically. Who’s working harder and burning more calories? Someone staying in the Fat Burning zone for 20 minutes, or someone pushing as hard as they can for those 20 minutes? Your total calories burned is what counts.
FICTION
Shawna – On My Weigh – 10 Week Triathlon 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***
So here we are. Triathlon day!! I spent all week waiting for this day to come. Well, longer really. But this last week seemed to drag on. I took an extra shift yesterday (Saturday) and couldn’t concentrate lol. Anyway, as per my usual triathlon routine I packed everything the night before and hubby got our bikes onto the car.
Triathlon day started at 4:30 AM when our alarm went off. Transition opens at 5:45. And our triathlon routine is to go to Denny’s for breakfast and fuel up on eggs and toast.
So we got to transition for 6:00. And the butterflies in my stomach started. It doesn’t really matter how many races I do, I always get butterflies and nervous. I get excited too. I just love doing these races.
So anyways, I do the try-it distance for this particular race because the standard distances are still a bit too much for me. My wave didn’t start until 10:50 so it made for a very long morning.
I went into the pool with the expectation to pace myself so that I wouldn’t tire out in the first few laps. But as with every race, the adrenaline took over and I went way too fast way too early. It took me a few laps to get a good pace going. I felt good. I felt like I did really well.
I did the bike really really well. I feel like I went faster than last year. We have a bit of a hill (Groat Road) to climb. I didn’t feel like I went as slow as last year.
Then came the run…last year I walked the whole thing. This year I lightly jogged the whole thing, minus the small climb up Groat Road. I finished strong. Kept going. I felt like I did much better than last year.
So my final results…I BEAT MY OVERALL TIME FROM LAST YEAR!!!! Also, I did NOT come dead last in the try-it category. I did come dead last in my age group but not overall. So my times were:
Overall time was 1:49:55
500 m swim was 19:20
13 k bike was 40:37
4 k run was 45:03
Sadly, I was unable to beat my run time from last year, however I DID beat my swim by 20 seconds and my bike by exactly 4 minutes!!!!!!!! I was in a collision 3 weeks ago, and I’m in a lot of pain most days and I was really worried I would suck big time. I really wanted to increase my run time…next year. I told my physio therapist that I was going to do my triathlon but I had to promise her I would stop at the sign of increased pain in my neck/shoulders/back. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel any extra pain. So that’s a good sign.
My weight this year was 270 and last year it was 290. Was it the 20 pound weight loss that helped? I’d like to think so. I’d also like to think it has something to do with the training that I’ve been doing with Mark Kay from Ironfit Training. No he didn’t tell me to say that! But I need to give him credit too. He’s been extremely patient with me. Some days I struggle with the mental part of exercise. And he puts up with my venting. But he also knows when he needs to push me through the negative thoughts. I have never regretted hiring him and I always look forward to our workouts.
So what are YOU doing to keep yourself active? Now that I’m done this triathlon, I’m giving my body a few days to rest then I’ll be training for my next race! That one is in August.
Until next week…stay active, keep moving, fuel your body with healthy goodness. And thank your personal trainer for being an important part of your life. ❤️
Shawna – On My Weigh – Week 9
***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***
Good day my wonderful followers. First let me apologize for last week’s lack of reading. I really wasn’t feeling myself. I know that I’m the one in power of my own attitude, but I truly was down after my collision. Even this week was difficult, mentally. But I did a bit more this week than last week. My trainer had me do some weights. And it was a bit uncomfortable but I did them. I did feel the weakness of my muscles and if I’m not mistaken, I’m pretty sure he chose lighter weights than what I’ve been doing up to this point. So that was a bit discouraging. But with that said, I know the body needs time to heal.
I also managed to go for a few run/walk intervals. I have the C25K app. If you don’t have that app, what it does is it helps you slowly train to run 5K. It uses run/walk intervals similar to The Running Room’s learn to run clinics. I managed to do 2K without giving up. So that’s a plus. Considering my first of the season triathlon is ONE WEEK AWAY!!!!! Eeeeeeeeek!!!!
So anyway I had to do a check in for the current session of the weightloss challenge I joined. And while I didn’t get myself back down to 268, I did manage to get myself back down to 271.2. I had gone up to 274. I know that a big chunk of weight loss is about the food choices. But when your body is use to working out a lot and then suddenly you drop that amount, the body reacts. Anyway, I’ve started physio and I’m hoping between sessions with her and continuing with my personal trainer, I’ll heal quickly and get back into hard core workouts. I truly do feel better when I’m working out. And it’s kind of funny because I still don’t actually LIKE going to the gym. But when I’m not going, I’m unhappy. Stupid happy endorphins that exercise creates hahahaha.
So this coming week I’m excited to try some new routines. Flipping tires!!!!! I’ve seen that on The Biggest Loser and always wanted to try it. But something tells me it’s hard as shit. I’ll see in a few days I guess. Lol I’ll include that in next week’s blog. With pictures likely yikes!!!
So I guess I’ll end there for now. I hope you’re all enjoying your long weekend, but still staying healthy and active. Next week’s blog will include the results of my first of the season triathlon. I hope that being 30 pounds lighter than last year will help improve my times. But if not, I’m going to be okay with that because like the quote says “I’ll have lapped everyone sitting on the couch” and whether I improve my times or not…I am 30 pounds lighter this year 🙂
All the best
Shawna
Shawna – On My Weigh – Month 2!
***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***
So this week I’m not entirely sure what to write about. At least it started off good, with my awesome bike ride. I wrote about it last week. However on Monday I was involved in a collision. I won’t go into details but even today, almost a week later, I HURT. I have had a constant headache ever since that day. Anyway, I messaged my trainer right away and thankfully he adjusted our workout the next day. We didn’t work as hard as usual, which sucked. I know my body needs to heal and all that Jazz, but I want to work out dammit. I suppose that’s the good news about this new me…before I would have used this collision as a reason to just stop all the work I’ve done. But I don’t want to go back to square one. I’ve worked way too hard to do that. So I didn’t do a damn thing besides my workout on Tuesday.
I had physio on Friday. My first appointment. That was the first chance they had to get me in between our schedules. I asked her what she thought about me doing my triathlon in 2 weeks. She said she’s not sure at this point if the triathlon will be possible. It hurts to move my head and she’s worried that I will cause more damage by twisting my neck to take a breath. Ugh ugh ugh. So then I asked her about continuing with my personal trainer and her words were “no exercise is out as long as it doesn’t cause pain” so to me that means I can do my triathlon as long as it doesn’t cause pain lol
I did manage to go for a 15 minute bike ride on Friday night. I wanted to see how it would feel. It felt ok. Now granted, 15 minutes isn’t anywhere close to my triathlon distance, but if I didn’t cause extra pain, maybe that’s a good sign.
Also this afternoon after work I managed a 2K walk with my ball python, Luna. She needed the vitamin D, lol.
Anyway my week has been full of depression, and anger and anxiousness and I’m worried I’m not going to heal fast to get back on track.
I wish I could say I have a a great update for weight but I went back up to 272. But I know that once I’m 100% back I’ll get back down again. It just means I have my work cut out for me to stay 100% on plan with my food.
Well sadly that’s all I have to share this week. I’m going to see if I can swim this week and see how I feel.
Are Sit-Ups Bad For You?
No matter what you read these days, there’s always someone that’s bashing the use of crunches or sit-ups in an exercise routine.
Maybe you’re judging your trainer based on if they do or do not do them. Or you’ve gotten into an argument with your friends regarding them. But the truth is, any exercise done or used improperly is bad for you.
There are concerns with the overuse of sit-ups/crunches. Rolled shoulders, weak low back, neck issues, low back pain are some of the many concerns associated with these exercises. But you’ve also got to keep in mind, tons of people are doing these exercises, and seeing a tremendous amount of success with them.
The key is in moderation. There are definitely more effective and functional exercises that a sit-up. Using elastics, stability balls and the TRX can enhance your core workout. Even using your own body weight is a very effective tool, without having to lie on your back.
Always remember that sit-ups/crunches only work the front of the body. When we talk about the core, we are encompassing the front, side and back of your body. So if you’re looking to develop your core, they may not the best or most effective exercise to achieve your goals.
We make sure we put together a balanced program for all of our clients.
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