Hi everyone!

Sorry I’ve been so quiet – I’m still here, promise!  What a crazy week that’s flown by?!?  So as you may know from my previous post, I was in Germany for 2 weeks visiting various members of my family and jumping around like the sweaty, mad, yet determined woman that I am, in many a German garden, balcony, beach and road…  And I have the sportswear tan lines to prove it..  Sadly not very sexy at all, especially the white inch-wide bands I have just below each knee from my jumper’s knee straps..  Mind you, having said that, I don’t think I need to worry too much as the weather back here in England is barely worthy of skimpy summer clothing anyway, so the strange white lines shall remain hidden for now…  hehe!

So, the reason I have not written, emailed and have barely kept a food diary (sorry Ann) – is that I was a very clever little bunny – on returning to the UK with my mother and 2 year old son (with 4 bags in tow) we managed to lose a suitcase somewhere between the 2 trains and the airport…  This wouldn’t be too bad, but this particular case just happened to contain my laptop charger and training clothes..  So I didn’t have internet or indeed a computer at all until a day or two ago when I spent stupid amounts of money replacing it (twice)..

It also meant that I had a three (or four perhaps) day break from high intensity exercise while I replaced trainers, shorts, etc (thank goodness the sales are still on)..  And it was just as well really because my mother wasn’t here for long and I was starting to get shin splints in my legs…  So now, finally, after much ado, bother, sweat and tears I am more or less back on track, but with a slightly less happy looking food budget due to the unexpected expenditure and an oven that doesn’t work anymore…  Pair that up with the loving landlady who doesn’t care at all and it’s all too much going pear-shaped within a short space of time!

I have managed to lose a little weight this week though and some of my friends are saying I’m looking too skinny which is new in my life!  But I am happy, in the healthy weight range (BMI of 24) and I feel more confident than ever.  I think that Bio-synergy’s CLA has really helped me to shift the stubborn fat that I used to have trouble shifting previously when I worked out, but unfortunately I have also lost nearly all of my “female assets” (for want of a better description)…  This makes me feel a little odd, but I’m getting used to it slowly but surely..

Hope everyone else is doing well and staying positive!  I’m quite sad and upset that the end is in sight actually..  Although I will carry this on hopefully for the rest of my life, I’ve really enjoyed being part of a little team and having the support and reading about everyone’s adventures along the way!

Have a great week guys!

Well, the 12-week challenge has definitely shown my ups and downs, particularly with how much life can mess you about.  About halfway through the challenge, I had two health issues to deal with, both of which messed with my training and also my weight, but I was very happy to finally get them both out of the way.  Most notably, my hamstring injury has been worked on with muscle activation therapy, which has seriously impacted my rock climbing as my weak muscles that were activated are now too weak to do some of the movements I usually do (such as rockovers onto one foot).  My knee shakes quite a bit, so I had to tone down some of my training and stick to endurance.  I also took two weeks off from my usual coaching sessions with Rob because my climbing felt so bad.  However, I have been ignoring the pain in my hamstring after climbing sessions for so long, it is time to deal with them.  My other issue is that I have stopped using my birth control pill and my hormones have been a little wild the last 5/6 weeks.  As a result, my weight and water retention has been worse.  Thanks to Pinnothin and Body Perfect, I have managed to maintain my weight loss and still keep on losing the inches.  Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well and still keep on trucking!

Well, currently my weight is set at 77 kilos, which is 4 kilos more than I was when I competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 3-4 years back. However, the differences in my body are significant. I am slimmer in my waist and my legs, and my back muscles are a lot bigger. I also beat my personal bests in the power clean, deadlift and my pull up capability – my forearms look like Popeye’s (lol!). I am still pleased with everything and went for a body fat test with the calipers to check how much I have leaned down and I am pleased to say that my body fat percentage has reached 21.5%, which is a lot better than before. Although the climbing competition scene is a little quiet until the end of July, I have reached a lot of physical and mental goals that I have wanted to meet – most notably, my bouldering grade has gone up, my endurance is a lot better where I am climbing 15 long routes in one climbing session (2.5-3 hours long) and because I feel leaner than before, I am finding my confidence/mental strategies on crazy climbs a lot better.

As for injuries, etc., I recently saw a Muscle Activation Therapist regarding my hamstring, as it still aches quite a bit after a climbing session. I tore it over a year ago.  If you don’t know what muscle activation is: Muscle Activation Techniques are a biomechanical based, neuromuscular assessment and treatment process. The MAT procedure addresses weak links within the muscular system, thereby allowing the body to function most efficiently while eliminating pain. The MAT process seeks to identify and eliminate the causes of muscular system issues that can lead to restricted motion, pain and injury. MAT gets to the root of pain and injury by addressing muscle weakness (the cause) rather than muscle tightness (the symptom). The primary function of muscle is to move and stabilise a joint. If joint stability decreases due to muscle inhibition, the nervous system will respond by increasing the tension on compensating muscles. MAT is designed to jumpstart the inhibited muscles so that the nervous system can utilise these muscles and the extra tension (muscle tightness) is no longer required.

From other physiotherapists and doctors, I have been told to stretch a lot and to do lots of squats and pilates to remedy this. However, this hasn’t worked and I still get lower back pain, hamstring pain and a bad ache just under my glutes. After my MAT session, he worked on activating this area and my whole left leg felt exhausted, like I’ve been doing exercise on it or a good weights session. The next day, I felt like I’d worked all of my glutes for the first time. I have another session next week, so I will let you know how I get on, but I have a feeling, this will help me with my training. I always feel preventative and rehabilitation are the best things to keep on going with my training.

Sorry for the late update – off to visit family this week til the end of the month, so I’ve had to do a lot of organising, adapting and other such crazy things, but I’ve tried to keep it all together as much as possible.  Quite a bit of bread has found it’s way into my diet this week (although it’s relatively healthy baker’s freshly baked bread), but so it goes in Germany where it is unheard of (in my little village at least) to breakfast without a brötchen or two!

I’ve managed to keep up with my exercise, although it took me a couple of days to fall comfortably into a new routine at my nan’s/uncle’s houses respectively!

Other than that there’s not too much to report on..  Although I’d be interested to know whether anyone else’s family members or friends think they are “going to far” with being healthy and eating a balanced diet?  Seems to be trending in my reality recently…

Have a great week guys.

Well, after my coaching has increased over the past month for rock climbing, so has my training, which has resulted in me stuffing my face with bad carbs after heavy sessions.  Prior to the challenge, my nutrition plan was looking at 5 days per week with 1 – 2 hours per session.  I am actually doing 6 days per week for a total of 15 hours of rock climbing, 3 1/2 hours of yoga, 3-4 hours of gym work.  Usually my workout is about 3 – 3 1/2 hours of rock climbing endurance, followed by an hour at the gym.  Thus, you can see my dilemma.

I had a bit of loss of inches, but not weight, though my weights have increased where I am doing 90 kg. deadlifts and 60 kg. cleans, so that’s pretty good.  I’m also now back up to being able to do 15 pull ups in a row (dead hang), so even better.  I just don’t know anymore whether I have a bit of fat or just a lot of muscle.  So I am a bit confused now…

Hi Everyone. I really can’t believe we are now in week 9 of the 12 week challenge! It’s flown by – which I credit to the fact that I don’t feel like I’m on a slavish miserable diet! Instead I just feel like I’ve been eating really healthily and doing lots of sensible exercise. That said, I didn’t follow my diet plan very well during week 8 as it was my birthday and I went out for lots of meals with family and friends. I did, however, still manage to lose another pound and 2 inches overall which I think is down to the exercise. Although my diet slipped a bit, my exercise didn’t!

I’m really enjoying my exercise plan and hate it if I end up missing a session so I plan out each week what exercise I will do on each day (around my working schedule, etc) and this helps me to avoid unexpected missed exercise sessions!

I’m going away this weekend and this will involve eating out for 3 days and I won’t get chance to work out. I’ll try and eat as healthily as possible while I’m away and I’ll take some healthy snacks with me like fruit, nuts and protein bars. I’m going to throw myself back into exercise and be very strict with my diet when I get back to compensate!

So this week was really busy (hence the late post), but also a very lucky one!  After saying goodbye to my mother on Monday, I worked out as much as I could each day to make up for the imminent Friday rest day (I was chosen to be a contestant on a Mall Mania quiz show in Wimbledon).  I thought it would be great fun, so off I went with my son, his father & babysitter in tow to try and have some fun & maybe win some prizes at the same time!

Little did I expect to end up winning all my rounds and being asked to come back the next day for the final!  So it ended up being 2 rest days on the Friday and Saturday – I made sure I stuck to my diet (with the help of M&S Simply Food’s amazing mini-salads)…  However, I ended up winning the quiz show, so I am a very happy little bunny indeed as I now have a new camera, suitcase, phone and some vouchers for new shoes..  Did NOT expect that to happen in a million years!  The sun is definitely shining down on me lately (probably why it’s not making it through to the rest of the country..lol)!

Then on Monday (yesterday) I had a pamper day with YSL and their top European make-up artist – the incredible Fred Letailleur!  What a week!  Furthermore, I am just about to jam on the exercise for the day (double whammy today and Sunday due to the extra rest days) and I have lost a little more size & weight!  The thing that makes me smile most right now though is waking up each morning to stumble out of the bedroom into the hallway and meeting my image in the mirror each time to see those six pack abs…     Never thought I’d get them back like this after giving birth to my son..  Thanks to John @ Bio-Synergy and Ann @ Famously Fit & to all my co-challengers – none of this would have happened without you!

Fingers crossed for a little bit of sunshine to come our way and make things even brighter!

Have an amazing week guys!  x

Well, I’ve been back on track for over a week now and feeling so much better! I was feeling really low for a few weeks and had no energy, but now I’m raring to go again.

I’ve started eating clean again and getting regular exercise and my body’s already looking and feeling so much better than it was.
I tried posting a picture of me dripping in sweat after a particularly intense workout in the comfort of my own home, but the unfortunately this programme doesn’t seem to let me. It feels great to be able to workout hard again and I think the supplements are really helping to give me that boost I need to keep going.
Tomorrow I’m going back to my powerlifting class and hoping to start working towards lifting a new personal best. I’m hoping to get my deadlift up to 100kg, so wish me luck!
Hope everyone is doing well. And if you fall off track, just remind yourself how good you felt when you were exercising and eating right. I lost my way for a bit but now I’m back with a vengeance!