Kylie (SCHF Admin): Would An 8-Week Challenge By Any Other Name Smell As Sweet?

Just about every business in the health and fitness industry offers ‘challenges', be it 6, 8, 12 or more weeks. The businesses often have success stories plastered all over their advertising, like ‘Jesse lost 46 kg in 12 weeks’. The general idea of these programs seems to suggest that you, like Jesse, can achieve complete transformation in a few short months. This got me wondering… Did Jesse have a day job? Kids? Did they devote every waking moment to weight loss and only eat a quarter of a carrot every other day? Or where these results the norm with a bit of encouragement and guidance. As the ‘everyday’ person of the Sunny Coast Health and Fitness team, I made it my mission to find out!

Of course, experience is subjective and everyone will have different outcomes given the millions of variables that effect our lives and ability to reach our goals (or indeed, what the goals were to begin with). To understand my experience and outcome, I guess we need to travel back a few years to where my health and fitness journey began. About 5 years ago, I was ‘morbidly obese’. It makes me cringe to admit that, but if we are being honest that’s exactly what I was. I weighed in at 130kg, infertile and the extreme level of self-loathing drove me to get worse and worse. For me, the much needed catalyst for change I had been searching for came from my tertiary studies in psychology. From this point I learnt to ‘cut the crap’ so to speak, cut the crap food, cut the bad attitude and most importantly cut out the excuses and external blaming. And you know what, it worked. Without stepping foot in a gym or spending a cent on trainers I lost 55kg and unbelievably fell pregnant after 10 years of trying.

At this point I should add, I was dedicating 3-4 hours a day to exercise to achieve these results and was restricting my diet quite heavily (which I only recently learnt tracking calories and macros during this challenge). With my little miss turning one, and turning 30 myself in February, I decided it was time to get back on the bandwagon and try something new.

Having formed SCHF, I have had the amazing opportunity to network and meet a wide array of trainers on the Sunshine Coast. I believe picking a personal trainer is a highly personal choice, and not one to be made lightly. Mitchell Knight of Accelerate Health and Performance was the very first person to join me in my mission to create this community. The combination of experience, education and ability to bond over The Lion King was what sold me in the end. To be honest, I dragged my feet for a while about getting started at the gym, I'd never really used one and the idea made me somewhat uncomfortable. But it was definitely time to push myself out of my comfort zone and give myself a goal.

As luck would have it, not long after I'd made this decision the ‘Jetts 8 Week Challenge’ was due to kick off, and I figured it was kind of two birds, one stone situation. I can try training in a gym environment and give personal training a go all at the same time. So off I marched in with all the enthusiasm in the world for my first ever Rapid Bio-scan. This not only measured weight, but a ton of information about body composition. Suffice to say, after the scan I sat in the car and cried, ready to drive to McDonalds and eat all of the ice-cream I could manage. But after being talked off the ledge by Mitch, I was reminded that this was only my starting point. We only had that scan as a point of context for what was achieved over the next 8 weeks. My post baby body was a setback, but with enough effort a lot could be done about it.




On top of weight loss, I was aiming to get stronger and definitely work on definition. Seems I'd gained a nice little ‘pouch’ where my baby used to live (affectionately coined the ‘Baby Burrow’) that had to go. Of course, I expected to be some kind of lifting pro straight off the bat. Having never done ANY kind of strength training it seemed reasonable at the time... But most of all, I needed to get back on track and start the journey again after pregnancy.

Week 2: Gives you a pretty good view of the post-baby pouch

After a few deep breaths and a couple of days to settle down it was time for my very first session with a personal trainer. Walked in thinking ‘I'm in reasonable shape, I can squat, how hard can it be?’ WRONG. Turns out, despite my great intentions of exercising on my own, I was doing nearly everything wrong. As a complete gym rookie, we had to go back to the start and learn how to do things properly. I was well aware that Mitch was a stickler for technique, but I thought I'd probably not suck quite as hard as I did. My expectations of being an expert on day 1 were in tatters. The first few sessions ended similarly. Although I could feel it was working (every inch of me was aching), I still felt like I sucked at everything I tried despite Mitch’s encouragement, patience and persistence. I was sticking with my macros and eating fairly well at this point but we found out moving house urgently was on the cards. Dammit, there goes my limited spare time.  

In Week 3 I turned 30... Cue cocktails and cake... Whoops...    

But in Week 4, I dragged myself out of bed for our usual 5am session. I'm not sure what possessed me, but I decided to go and do my hour of cardio before PT. So I rocked up to Jetts Mooloolaba at stupid o’clock and plonked myself on the bike for a ride. When it came time for PT this amazing thing happened. I completed all my sets without falling over or screwing them up. I had actually learnt to do something properly! Yay! Finally, I was starting to relax and find my stride in the gym environment and from there I wasn’t upset when I couldn’t do something, just more determined to get it right. And guess what? I was getting muscles… For the first time in my life I had visible muscles in my arms and my quads were getting somewhat toned. Woohoo!   

Drawing towards the last couple of weeks of the challenge, I was concerned I wasn’t exercising nearly as much as I should. I loved my time in the gym, that little bit of time that was set aside just for me. But between the thousand unexpected curve balls I experienced during the 8 weeks, I was finding it virtually impossible to get away and dedicate myself to training. I contacted Mitch and shared my concerns. I told him I was disappointed in myself, because I knew I was capable of much more. Probably the most profound thing he said to me throughout the entire course of our 8 weeks, was that capability isn’t just about physical ability, but also time and emotional availability too. It was at this point that I knew my faith in Mitch was 110% justified, because he was absolutely right. This put an interesting new spin on my experiment, would 2 sessions a week and a fairly good diet be enough to make a difference? 

Week 8: Feeling stronger than ever...

At the end of the 8 weeks it was time for another Rapid Bio-scan, and to be honest I was more nervous with this one than the first. I knew I hadn’t lost huge numbers on the scales only training twice a week, but was still hopeful all my hard work hadn’t been for nothing. The results were in… I'd lost less than 2kg in scale weight but had lost 14cms, 6 of which were from the ‘Baby Burrow’ region. These may not seem like huge numbers to you, but to a time starved sleep deprived mum like me who had EVERYTHING possible go wrong, this was just the motivation I needed to kick-start the next phase of my health and fitness journey. After all, any progress is good progress.

Even with very little time to exercise... The 14cm difference is definitely visible

So the moral of the story, are these types of challenges worth it? I say heck yes! Each person will have different experiences and different goals. But I really couldn’t recommend challenging yourself to try something new, push yourself out of your comfort zone and aim for change. We may not all kick ass like Jesse in the promotional poster every time, but who cares? Weight management is a very personal journey and can’t always be measured by the physical results alone. The value of support and guidance of a great trainer, along with the mateship of other people in the challenge is immeasurable and can be the difference between sticking with it or giving up before you have even started. The next 8-week challenge kicks off at the end of May. I've got to say, I'm really excited to do this again as a part of the #acceleratefamily, with new goals and a new opportunity to try my best.

Kylie
Instagram: @alifestyleproject

Community Blogger Angelique: Review #2 JaycasFit Activewear

Late last year, the Van Vuuren Bros published a hilarious YouTube clip called ACTIVEWEAR. The video brilliantly portrayed women who are very busy, doing very NON-ACTIVE things in their latest and greatest ACTIVEWEAR. If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to check it out below, I promise it will have you in stitches! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYRENWT8lz8

The reason I find this parody so incredibly entertaining, is because it’s me all over! Whether it’s buying groceries in my ACTIVEWEAR, having coffee with my friends in my ACTIVEWEAR, even going to the movies in my ACTIVEWEAR… you name it, I do it! In my defence I do teach six yoga sessions a week, but is that really a good enough reason to practically live in my ACTIVEWEAR?
I say hell yes, especially when you can support local business owners like Kathryn and Ben from Sunshine Coasts own JAYCAS FIT ACTIVEWEAR. With a keen interest in health, happiness and fitness, the husband and wife duo believe that beauty is not just about the body but about the spark that shines from within each individual.

Angelique selecting her winners prize with Kathryn from JaycasFit Activewear

My favourite pieces from the range are the Caroline Padded Sports Bras and the Elizabeth Tank Tops. While these items look fantastic together, I also love teaming them with other bits and pieces from my ever-expanding personal ACTIVEWEAR wardrobe.  The Sports Bra looks fantastic under a loose-fitting side less singlet top and it provides an AMAZING level of support and shape to the bust. The Elizabeth Tank has truly become my absolute favourite top for just about every yoga session I lead! It’s a razorback style that hugs nicely onto the body, while allowing a little extra length to prevent it from riding up above the pant line while you workout. The JAYCAS range also offers a great selection of tights and jackets, perfect as the cooler months of the year begin to approach.

So whether you’re just looking for some great new pieces to wear while you workout or you’re ready to join the growing number of women are choosing to sport their ACTIVEWEAR while they busily go about their NON-ACTIVE day, be sure to check out JAYCAS FIT ACTIVEWEAR either online or at a pop up store near you!

Angelique

Anna G Lifestyle: Why ‘Buddies’ Are BETTER!

It’s 5am. The alarm goes off, so you hit snooze and roll over hoping to grab another 10-20 minutes of shut-eye… As you are lying there slowly drifting off into dreamland something sparks your mind into its conscious state and you sit bolt upright in bed. Now you have to get up. Not just because you had planned to exercise, but because your buddy will be waiting for you! In fact, they are probably at the gym already so you really need to get moving.

Now, this may not ring true for everyone, I know there are people happy to workout alone, but for the vast majority of us, a workout buddy is not just better - it’s a necessity! Motivation can be hard to find from within all the time, but when you know your friend is waiting you pull yourself out of bed, put your runners on and get your butt moving…

Workout buddies don’t just provide motivation and companionship, they can also help to give you a sense of accomplishment. When you hit a personal best with your fitness, like running an extra kilometer or push yourself to do 10kg more on the press or even climb a mountain and reach the top when you normally would stop halfway, your buddy is always there to cheer you on and celebrate your success with you. Someone to push you when the word ‘can’t’ comes into your mind and also someone to laugh with you when you have a moment of near miss or embarrassment as we all know these are bound to happen at some point when we are working out!

When I get the chance to workout with my buddy - I always push myself harder and laugh a lot more. It’s so good to have an inspirational partner working by your side. Workout buddies are the best! When you can also feed off each other’s passion and drive for life and success - it makes it even more worthwhile. So when you are struggling to get moving, surround yourself with people who lift you up and make you want to jump higher!

For more wellbeing tips, motivation and even some inspiration follow me:
Instagram: @annag_lifestyle
Facebook: AnnaG Lifestyle.

JaycasFit Activewear (Ben): Where Do You Sit In The Pack?

A few years ago I was riding in a group of bike riders (Yes, love or hate em) I noticed where I started to ride in the group and where I seemed to always end up, towards the back of the bunch or at least in the last 4 – 6 riders. It got me thinking at the time why did I always end up here, was it because I was polite and allowed other riders to go in front of me, was I avoiding riding at the front because of my fitness level or was the real reason that I was hiding.

Well after looking at the group over a few weeks and months I started to notice it was similar people at the back of the bunch and when I started to look at them from a business / life / social point of view, we where all very similar. At the time I was not doing something I loved, could see no real future in it for me and was just wanting to hang on long enough to survive. This is similar to the feeling at the back of a bunch as you are usually just hanging on to survive the ride, so I was hiding in the ride group and in essence hiding from the world.

Over time I forgot about these observations and continued on with life, made some changes personally and with work. Began working on something (Jaycasfit) that I Love and could see myself doing for the rest of my life. Then I noticed where I was riding in the groups I rode with at the time, I had started to ride at the front, I was prepared to do the work at the front to set the pace and also to go back for people who had dropped off the back of the bunch and bring them back up to finish the ride with us all. I was seeing myself as someone who is prepared to work when needed, assist people who where not as fit as me yet and graviting to the front 4-6 riders, I had become someone "I" was proud of.

When I picked up on this I started to look at myself to see what had changed. Yes I had moved job or work and I was happy with what I was working on but most of all I had started to believe in myself and my possible future. I had started to believe in my power, my strength, my potential and not over someone else but in myself. I still go to the back of the bunch to rest after working at the front although I do not stay there for very long or like in the past all the time.

So my question to you is "Where do you sit in your pack", this does not have to be a riding, running, swimming or gym group, maybe your group of friends, a mothers group or anything similar. Are you the one who just goes along with what everyone else is doing or are you the one who is organising, are you the one at the front of the class or the one at the back hiding.

Start to look at the way you are in groups, in class or at the gym. If you see that you are not in the pack where you want to be, make a change. Move forward, take one step forward at a time or take the plunge and go to the front.

Supplied from pin interest

You know you can see more at the front, you can see more of what life is going to throw at you and then decide if you what to catch it or let it go through. As the rule of going on the roller coaster is, it is always more exciting at the front than in the middle to the back.

　

Remember it is your Fun Active Life.
Ben & Kathryn

Jaycasfit Activewear

www.JaycasFit.com.au