We have been enjoying the most beautiful sunshine here for the last week or so - endless sunshine every day and so so warm - perfect!
Of course, everyone is a little more cheerful when the sun is shining which is always a great thing! The days are long and I am sure it is sunny from 5am until after 830pm!
I am busy as ever and all is well. I am concentrating on lots of cardio at the moment and have started boxing training which is hard work but so much fun. I mainly skip and do bag work which is incredibly tough but invigorating at the same time - I definitely feel well worked after training! I am also practicing my skipping in the garden to improve my stamina and style! I am a bit of a perfectionist so I want to be skipping like a pro boxer within a few weeks!
Sunday I had a whole day off and took lots of time to relax - something I don't do enough of! It is also amazing to train with no deadlline or schedule to stick to and I had a mean leg workout! I think the guys I trained with were a little bit shocked at the intensity but they seemed to enjoy it all the same. Weight training is very important to me and it is like my skill that i craft! I train best with my ever loyal training partner or simply by myself with my ipod turned up very high! There is so much trust required between those that train together and I will only lift heavy and push myself to maximum when my regular training partner is with me.
Oh dear, oh dear! My efforts at blogging every day have failed miserably again - sorry!
In my defence, I have been super busy, without too many minutes to spare - thank goodness for my Blackberry which keeps me in touch when I am dashing around! In fact, I was looking at the new Blackberry Bold which is absolutely stunning although yet to be released....I am awaiting its launch to head off to Carphone Warehouse for my upgrade lol!
Time marches on and we are well into July - the weather is beautiful right now and long may it continue - there is nothing better than waking up early (5am) and seeing the sunshine out of the window!
My diet is incredibly clean as I am preparing for a figure competition. Supplements are key at this time to ensure I am getting sufficient nutrients to support my hectic schedule and training regime. At the moment, I am loving CNP Pro Ms sachets - I always have at least one in my handbag, one in my gym bag and one in the car so that I am covered! Pro Vital multi vitamins and minerals are great to ensure my immune system functions properly despite the low calorie diet - many of my clients also take these whether they are full time athletes or casual gym goers. My brother who is a triathlete now swears by them and I even have him testing out Pro Slam this morning before his bike ride!
My day consists of cardio, training my clients and weight training - back today. My legs are extremely tight from my leg workout yesterday - thanks to my training partner!
I have been enjoying some boxing training and skipping alot - this is great cardio and really works the whole body. I really love it too - I even got my rope out and did 20 minutes in the garden last night!
It is the weekend AGAIN and time is passing by so quickly it would seem!
My Friday was very busy with a nice combination of personal training clients, a client meeting and my own training - not a moment to sit still until now - I am checking my email and writing my blog lol!
I had an excellent shoulder workout this evening with my most wonderful training partner. I really enjoyed the workout and felt I trained really hard, especially considering the fact I had already tackled some cardio by the time he arrived!
The gym was fairly quiet as it is a friday other than the Smith machine upon which 2 guys appeared to be doing something like 20 sets haha! I'm sure they were on there for the duration of our workout and I am honestly not quite sure exactly what they were doing!
My weekend is busy with clients and my own training - yes, it does sound repetitive but it really isnt - there is never a dull moment and I am doing something that I love! I work my own training around clients and without fail do my first session of cardio on an empty stomach - I get to the gym for when it opens at 630am! It's a nice time of the day when my head is clear and ready to focus and organise my day ahead!
I am amazed and shocked every day at the lack of nutritional knowledge the average person has. We are led by the food industry which basically means we are led by their marketing departments who are selling us what makes them money rather than what is good for us!
So many people buy into the "low fat" "low sugar" "diet food" type mentality when really all we need to do is eat good, clean, simple, wholesome ingredients on a daily basis!
As a general rule for me, the longer the ingredient list, the less likely I am to want to consume that food! For example my diet consists of lots of lean meat, egg whites, brown rice, green vegetables and fruit - all of which are either not packaged or simply have one ingredient!
Be sure to check your food labels for hidden items such as sugar and vegetable oils and remember that low fat often means high sugar or high additive content!
Tesco always has a great wholefoods section nowadays and of course Holland and Barratt and GNC are superb for all kind of health and whole foods and nutritional supplements!
Another day in paradise....what a strange week it seems to me this week, none of the days seem to be the one they are meant to be for some reason!
None the less.....my WEDNESDAY is going great with some lovely clients, some of whom are new and really interesting to work with. I'm so blessed to have some very hard working and dedicated clients, however, they are expected to put in maximum effort in order that they get the rewards they deserve!
Training is going great for myself too and I am currently up to between 1 and a half and 2 hours of cardio per day! To be honest it is more mentally challenging than it is physically but well worth the effort. If I am on the bike or the crosstrainer, I tend to take my favourite Oxygen magazines so that I can read or at least take a look at some of the great pictures and workout techniques!
Obviously the summer is the time when people become even more body aware and want so much to be in shape. There is no other answer to people that want to get in shape than Nutrition and Exercise - that includes clean, healthy food, lots of pure water, effective sports supplements and targeted cardio and resistance training! Hit that combination and you are sure to see some very positive changes! This is not a blog that is about to tell you about the new "magic" pill as I think we are all aware that there isn't one! I do believe whole heartedly in supplementing my healthy diet with proven sports supplements - for example, I probably train for close to 3 hours every day, on top of that I run a business and lead a very busy life - therefore I think it is key that I take a very high quality multi vitamin and mineral supplement - my favourite is Pro Vital by CNP which splits its formula into 2 halves for optimum absorbtion into the body - I simply take 4 capsules and 1 tablet every morning with my first meal, then I take 1 capsule and 1 tablet every evening with my last meal! It would be impossible to get such nutrients just from food alone, unless I was eating practically all day long of course - not practical and not desirable to be gaining all the body fat that those calories would result in!
I think I am truly blessed to be able to do a job (if you can call it that) that I truly love! Every part of my work and my business is related to something that I am very passionate about - be it training, nutrition or sports nutrition products! I do tend to "work" 7 days per week but it never really feels like work and I think my stresses are perhaps different to those in other areas of work or professions.
Sitting in an office for 8 hours a day just couldn't work for me and I am 100% sure I would not be able to sit still for that long! Of course there are admin aspects to my work but it is nice to complete them on my laptop at home and if I choose to do them at 5am then that is just fine!
My Monday was great with wonderful clients as ever. My clients all work hard and dedicate themselves and it shows in the results that they achieve, sometimes in super speedy time!
I was in a little bit of a rush this morning so had oatmeal with protein powder for my first 2 meals! I simply make plain oatmeal with water and then add the correct amount of protein. I use chocolate Pro Peptide which is amazing and mixes in perfectly. Quality wise, it is the only protein to choose for proper digestion and gradual release, it even contains prebiotics...yes those things that you hear about in yoghurts! Be sure to check the yoghurt labels however, they often also contain sugar or even worse corn syrup or other sugar substitutes! If I eat yoghurt it is always the natural variety - Total make a great 0% fat one that tastes amazing and it comes in little single serving tubs which is really handy!
Training today for me was back and lots of cardio - nearly 2 hours phew! Split into 3 sections before you think I am so nuts as to do 2 hours non stop! I think physically I would be fine but mentally that may get kind of challenging!
I'm not sure about everywhere else..... but here in the UK it is Fathers Day! So....Happy Fathers Day to all the Dad's out there!
What a lovely day it has been - not boiling hot but beautiful, bright and warm enough to walk to the gym at least lol!
My day was great with lovely clients all morning and then my own training this afternoon. I hit chest with my ever wonderful training partner, I had the giggles and he had to stop me laughing before I did something silly like dropping the bar on myself during bench press! The gym was soooooooo quiet - perfect for weight training, love it! No waiting for equipment, just total focus on training. We did some flat benching, incline flyes, cable work and pec dec!
I am just blogging and watching MTV Base at the same time! I'm not a big TV person but I do love MTV! Currently the lovely singer Estelle is going through her favourite American Guys lol! I love music so much, especially US hiphop, rap and r&b. There are too many to have favourites but you will usually find a variety in my ipod! Talking of ipods...I am in search of a HUGE pair of headphones at the moment! I saw a girl with an AMAZING pair in the gym the other week...they just somehow shouted "Stay away...I am training" so I am now on a mission to find a wonderful pair for myself when I am training alone and not wanting to be disturbed!
I LOVE the long summer days...whatever the weather, it is light until 10 and seems to be light again at 5am - excellent, I love waking up early and seeing the sun already!
Today I am being fuelled by lots of chicken, brown rice, brocolli, a little bit of pineapple and a couple of helpings of Pro Peptide Protein...Chocolate flavour of course!
It's Friday again - time is FLYING by! This week has dashed by so quickly!
It has been a great week with a mixture of my ever wonderful clients and my work with CNP oh and of course my own training. Yes, that just about fills my days and nights!
I am not a big TV fan at all but found myself watching some obscure things this week - I caught a bit of Rocky last night - I LOVE IT andd I LOVE Sylvester Stallone - amazing man and in wonderful shape! Rocky is a classic and reminds me of being incredibly young and thinking Rocky Balbao was THE most amazing man in the world, especially for drinking those raw eggs!
I also watched Caribbean Cops - yes, high quality TV - it is real life, following the police on the islands of Jamaica, St Lucia and Trinidad from what I could see. I have lived in the Caribbean and it was quite an intriguing watch! I managed about 20minutes of that which is my limit of sitting still. I now count my time on the stationary bike as sitting still time!
It's June and holiday time is here, lots of people are more body conscious than ever and trying to keep or get in shape. I can't emphasise enough how important protein intake is, especially to ladies who often don't eat too much protein. Ideal sources are chicken, turkey, egg whites and fish. In supplement form, I like to use Pro Ms or more usually Pro Peptide by CNP - it is a brilliant high quality protein powder with prebiotics to help digestion - chocolate flavour is awesome mixed in with my oatmeal.....CHOCOLATE PORRIDGE!
Have a wonderful weekend everyone, train hard, eat well, have fun!
OK, my official bfriend has told me off for not blogging every day so I am on a new mission to at least say hello to you all EVERY DAY. My blogging idol is Reverand Run and he blogs on his Blackberry in the bath every morning or night I think it may be! I don't have the time or love for baths, however, I can take my Blackberry onto the stationary bike or eliptical trainer with me! So....here goes....I am aiming for every day from here on in!
I have to (again) sing the praises of CNP! My favourite company and also the company I proudly work with as their National Account Manager, so yes, I am totally biased but also totally aware that they simple ARE the best quality sports supplements around!
Some of you may have heard of Scott Wright - he is an actor that was in Coronation Street a few years ago (I have to admit that I didn't know this before I met him a few weeks ago - oops - in my defence I hardly watch any TV and I was probably living abroad when he was in the show!) He totally transformed his body through training and diet and the coaching of Kerry who owns CNP and also works with Ricky Hatton amongst many others. Scott used CNP's supplements to ensure that he was getting sufficient nutrients from little food - it is important to remember that when trying to lose body fat, people can "over diet", not supplement and therefore be lacking vital nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Scotts transformation was just incredible and remember, this is not an athlete, he is an actor by professsion!
You can find loads more interesting information about CNP on the website - www.cnpprofessional.co.uk there are even great products for ladies too - Pro Ms Chocolate flavour is my personal favourite and there are always a few sachets lurking in my handbag, gym bag and car!
I did laugh last night, a client at the gym who has become quite addicted to Pro Peptide protein (!) asked if I had a shaker cup that he could have....now I ask you, how impressive was it that I took my beautiful Italian handbag from the cupboard and produced a brand new shaker cup from amongst the lipgloss and bodyfat calipers...hahahaha!!!!
Oops - I am back blogging after a very long break - time does fly for sure!
Thank you to my wonderful friend for pointing out the fact that I have indeed been a TERRIBLE blogger these last two weeks! And to think I was watching Runs House on MTV, seeing the Reverand blog from his bath on his Blackberry!! Ha ha - it does make me laugh as I too seem to be addicted to my Blackberry - all my emails, texts and calls in one place - brilliant!
Well, we are enjoying some nice warm sunny weather which is wonderful - beautiful long days too which I enjoy so much - it was bright and sunny already by 6am today!
Training is going great for me - things are really stepping up now as I have a competition in less than 10 weeks - very exciting! Right now it is lots of cardio and weight training 5 days per week - still lifting hard and heavy with my ever wonderful training partner. We worked shoulders hard today - lots of side and rear deltoid work which I really enjoyed!
My clients are doing great as ever, all of them working hard and achieving amazing things with their hard work and dedication. With the right combination of diet, exercise and supplements, it is amazing to see what people can achieve! I am forever eduating my female clients in the power of both weight training and effective nutrition - I truly believe that weight training can build the foundation of a great body and give ladies the toned and sculpted look they are aiming for. Many of my ladies are now using Pro Ms by CNP - it's my favourite protein powder/meal replacement and even comes in beautiful pink packaging lol! It's full of protein and has added ingredients such as flax and CLA which help women in their quest for the dream body!
