Travel WOD’s

Wet and tired after my Birthday WOD… ready for champagne!

Myself and Mitch have just returned from a two week holiday where we went to Zambia to visit my parents. From there, we all road-tripped to Livingston which is where Victoria Falls is located. We stayed there for a couple of nights then crossed over to Zimbabwe and made our way to Botswana where we spent the last two nights of our trip. It was an amazing couple of days spent viewing the falls, going on safari and river cruises and of course, eating and drinking way too much!

Cruise in the Chobe River

My terrible attempt at a pistol squat- yes I suck at them!

I made my parents WOD too…#fitfam

We had a couple of drinks and ate out almost every night and of course there was my Birthday which was celebrated with a bit too much champagne and the most amazing Dark Chocolate Amarula Cheese Cake. But I made up for it with my epic birthday WOD (scroll down for that). For me to be able to enjoy a trip like that I need to continue to exercise and eat relatively healthy. This allows me to let myself indulge a little without the guilt and without returning 5kg heavier! Here are some of the travel WOD’s I did while road tripping around Africa:

P.S. I usually carry my bare essential equipment with me: Skipping rope, roll out, resistance band

1. 5 RFT (rounds for time)

8 Handstand Push ups

16 Over head lunges

24 Bicycle crunches

32 Double unders

2. Annie (benchmark WOD): 50-40-30-20-10 Double unders and sit ups

–> I managed to do it in 7:57 while trying to skip on a dodgy mat

3. 4 RFT (20 min cut off)

10 squats

10 roll outs

10 Handstand push ups

10 wide squats

10 V-ups

10 wide push ups

10 walking lunges

–> I did it in 14:30

4. 2 RFT

50 jumping jacks

20 push ups

20 narrow push ups

20 wide push ups

20 band walks (use a resistance band, walk sideways)

20 clams each side (use resistance band)

20 roll outs

20 reverse crunches

20 bicycle crunches

5. TABATA (20 secs work, 10 secs rest x 8 per exercise)

TRX push ups

TRX Jump squat

TRX Y-row

TRX crunches

6. *BIRTHDAY WOD CHIPPER*

23 v-ups

23 burpees

23 Handstand push ups

23 lunges (each leg)

23 double unders

23 pull ups

23 push ups

23 dumbbell thrusters

23 sit ups

10 laps of the pool

Give them a go!

A Game Changer

By now you should all know that I am a full on Crossfit addict. I have come quite a long way since I started five months ago. I have managed to increase my max deadlift from 80kg to 100kg and just yesterday I got a personal record of 55kg for a clean. That is pretty much my body weight by the way! Pretty damn hardcore hey!But of course, I want to get stronger… MUCH stronger. I have become pretty good with the gymnastics part of Crossfit (obviously have a LOOOOONG way to go with that) and I now want to be able to lift heavier. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) the only way for me to do that is to add a little bit of muscle mass to my little body in order to increase my stability and, obviously, my strength. It is almost impossible for me to keep increasing my weights without actually increasing my weight (body weight that is!). For me, this is a particularly scary thought as I don’t want to get ‘big’ or ‘stocky’. But hey, have you seen those elite Crossfit women???

Julie Foucher

Christmass Abbot

Danielle Sidell

These women have amazing bodies and are probably stronger then most men! So what am I afraid of then? Change I guess. It is scary going into the unknown. I have been training myself for the past 5 years and have kept my body reasonably consistent apart from a slight increase in muscle mass and strength. But now, I need to get my body functioning at a much higher level that requires MUCH bigger muscles. This is both scary and exciting! But… the gains are coming…

After a week and a bit on this diet I have been following, I have noticed a slight decrease in my strength and a loss of tone on my body. I suspect it has to do with the lower carbohydrate intake , so I have taken it upon myself to increase it slightly… and boy oh boy can I feel a difference. I haven’t changed much, just added another bowl of oats to my day and slightly more sweet potato and (much to my excitement) some pancakes!

So what is my conclusion?

I need to bulk! Clean bulk that is. That is a pretty scary word for most women because the first thing that comes to mind is FAT! it does require increasing calorie intake because muscles NEED food in order to grow. This does not mean eating 5 cheese burgers a day… no no, CLEAN bulking is the way forward. It requires a lot of lean protein (chicken breasts, eggs, lean steak and mince), a lot of complex carbohydrates (sweet potato, brown rice, oats, etc) and a good portion of healthy fats (avocado, nuts, nut butter, olive oil, etc). So what I am going to do is keep to the previous plan I made, but increase the volume of food and throw in an extra bowl of oats before a second workout.

Eeek…

Here’s to bigger and stronger muscles

and a whole lot of sexiness!

Hard work and dedication

Benchmarks WODs (workout of the day) are ways to measure performance and improvements in the 10 physiological components of crossfit: strength, flexibility, agility, balance, power, cardiovascular endurance, stamina, speed, accuracy and coordination. When performing the WODs, the idea is to do them as fast as possible while maintaining proper form. At our box, we have recently started doing a benchmark every week. This week we did Karen. It was the most horrendous workout I have done for a while… and that is not an overstatement. Karen is 150 wall balls for time, with a weight of 10kg for men and 7.5kg for women. Yes, that is heavy! especially if you only weigh 56kg!

Karen involved an incredible amount of cardiovascular endurance as well as strength, stamina, speed, accuracy and flexibility. When doing wall balls, there is a specific spot on the wall that men and women have to throw to otherwise it is a no-rep. Obviously it is slightly higher for men and being taller is definitely an advantage. strength comes in when you have to basically do 150 squats (below 90 degrees might I add flexibility!) as well as 150 over-head presses (throwing that ball up). You need to do this at a pretty decent speed as you obviously want to try beat the person next to you and get the best possible time for yourself. All of this ends up being a couple of minutes of complete torture. BUT, the best kind of torture you could ask for because afterwards you feel incredibly proud of yourself for being able to complete 150 wall balls.

Mitch was definitely much better at this than me. He was able to maintain a great rhythm by splitting the reps. Me on the other hand, once I got to 30 I just wanted to stop. I could not comprehend how I was going to finish. But I pushed on and eventually made it to that last wall ball. My problem was my cardiovascular endurance. It definitely hindered my performance, but at least I know what I need to work on.

Our Times:

Mitch: 8:38

Emma: 9:55

If you are keen to try it or have already done it, please post your times and how you felt about dear Karen.

WOD (Karen): 150 wall balls for time

Transformation Time

Ok, so Mitch and I have decided that we want to start a 6 week transformation guide, so we are going to do our own experiment with a proper, strict eating plan, awesome workouts and lots motivation. Our goal is to increase our strength and skills (handstand walks, double unders, MUSCLE UPS (me, specifically… strong man Mitch has no problem with those guys), handstand push ups, butterfly kips, etc), and decrease our body fat percentage and lean out. In order to do this, we are willing to give up alcohol, sugar and high sodium foods… as well as eat clean 6 days a week, with ONE cheat MEAL (not day) every Saturday.

I am generally quite a clean eater, but I like to create masterpieces with my food, so they include quite a few yummy ingredients and probably a couple of things I should try to avoid such as added salt and sugar. So, I need to adjust my little taste buds to enjoy the bland foods. Mitch on the other hand, is pretty lenient with his diet (two minute noodles, hamburgers, pizzas, bar ones, the occasional late night packet of Nik-Naks and a coke) so this might be a little more tricky for him. However, much to my dismay, he is still pretty damn ripped (5.6% body fat) and super strong, so it will be interesting to see what a clean diet does for him.

The point of this challenge is to push your body out of its comfort zone to achieve optimal function and decrease body fat, WITHOUT decreasing energy or muscle strength. It is also going to teach your body to respond to and enjoy food that is generally going to benefit you… basically learn how to eat to live, and not live to eat (which is MY biggest obstacle to overcome… I just LOVE food waaay too much).

We will be measuring body fat every 2 weeks and taking photos throughout the process. Both Mitch and I will also be writing a weekly reflection on how we feel and the progress we have made.Our diet is going to consist of high protein, moderate carbs and moderate fats.This will be mostly oats, chicken, tuna, steak, brown rice, sweet potato, green vegetables, apples and bananas. Also note that as we both do a lot of high intensity exercise (Crossfit), we will need a higher amount of carbohydrates then the general population.

Project transformation starts on SUNDAY, so until then, food is going to be my best friend. Especially pancakes!

Ready,

Set,

GO!

Crossfitaphobia

The fear is real people! I have heard so many excuses about why people don’t want to join Crossfit, and one of the main reasons is fear. “It’s way too hard!” “I can’t lift heavy weights.” I don’t want to get too big.” “I’m scared I am going to get injured”… the list goes on.

Whats the deal?

Now, I understand why people have these feelings, before I tried it out these plagued my mind a bit too. Most of what we see on the media about Crossfit involves super ripped men and women lifting extremely heavy weights, climbing ropes, walking on their hands and generally just sweating for days. BUT, these people we see, on the Crossfit Games etc. are PROFESSIONALS guys! Crossfit is just like any other sport, you are going to get the top athletes who train 3-5 times a day, live on protein and make this their life, and they are going to be extremely fit, have large muscles and great bodies. But, for the general public, joining Crossfit is just like joining any other gym or sport, you push yourself as far as you want to go, and you certainly wont become ‘huge’ after a couple of sessions. The difference with Crossfit is that you have an entire community on your side and coaches to teach you and correct you on bad form. This prevents injuries and creates the best vibe.

The down low on injuries:

As far as injuries go, I’m pretty sure all sports come with their own risks and it would be silly to say that Crossfit is not the same. BUT, just like those other sports, they are preventable with correct form and pace. I used to train in a gym religiously, bicep curls and all. When I go every now and then, it astounds me how terrible form is and makes me wonder how people can slate Crossfit for injury when we have coaches trying to make sure everyone has the correct form, while in the gym individuals don’t know what they’re doing half the time.

My Take on Crossfit:

As i said, I was very skeptical about Crossfit, but after 5 months of training I have never felt better. My body has improved, I am stronger and I am able to do things I never thought I would do. I am now able to do 30+ double unders, kipping pull-ups, chest to bar pull ups, butterfly pull-ups, toes to bar, handstand walks, handstand push-ups… the list goes on. But my point is, if i had stayed in a regular gym, my primary goal would be aesthetics… I’l be honest, that is still my goal, but now I get excited to work on these skills and just do a WOD for the sake of doing it and not worrying about what muscle group I am going to concentrate on.

WARNING!

The one thing I will warn you about is that Crossfit is extremely addictive. I used to think doing one workout a day was enough (and sometimes too much) but now I mostly do two a day, because they are very short and I just feel like my body is able to do it. Once you start seeing the results and feeling the strength, you will understand what I mean. However, take my advice (even if i don’t take it myself), rest is gold.

So… now that I am done preaching, honestly, as long as you are doing some form of exercise, you are on the road to success. So hop to it!

You wanna know a secret?

Hard work and dedication

“Don’t Just Do It.

Destroy It!”

There is no secret. There is no secret to success. Most people know what it involves to become successful at something which is one of the reasons MOST people don’t attempt to peruse their dreams and goals. They are afraid of failure and the hard work involved in their pursuit. So, they settle for average jobs, average bodies, average health and average lives. Sure, you may get the odd person who stumbles into success or just gets plain lucky, but for the rest of us, success comes from hard work and dedication.

Health and fitness success is no different. If you want to change your body and become a better version of yourself, it takes A LOT of dedication, sacrifices, discipline and self-control. But, don’t let this put you off, all that hard work pays off when you reach a goal and that overwhelming feeling of pride and accomplishment fills your body.

Creating a healthier, happier version of yourself should be something everyone strives to do. This is YOUR life after all, why would you not want it to be the best life you could live. If that means eating fast food and carrying around an extra half a person attached to your body then please, don’t let me stop you. If that’s what makes you happy and how you envision your life then go ahead and do that. BUT… if that is not how you see yourself, then CHANGE it. Put down the fast food, pick up a salad. Get off the couch, put on your running shoes. Make your life meaningful, whatever that may be. If working in law is what creates meaning for you, then DO IT! For me, being healthy and fit and motivating others to follow that path brings a whole lot of meaning to my life. And THAT is what makes me want to sacrifice, be disciplined and have self-control in order to achieve the success that I want from life.

Head over Heels

I will admit, I have been extremely slack with blogging and I wont make any excuses. But I will catch you up on what I have been up to, exercise wise. I mentioned before that I started doing Crossfit. Well, let me tell you, I am completely hooked! I think I venture into a real gym 1-2 times a week to train the smaller muscle groups, but damn, I don’t like it. Crossfit has taken me in, swallowed me whole and won’t let me out. I am absolutely loving what it is doing to my body, I am so much stronger, more toned, developing muscles I didn’t even know I had, AND I’m still feminine (not like all those crossfitters you see on the internet).

Casual knees to elbows

My boy doing some great snatch work

This new style of high intensity training paired with Olympic weight lifting and gymnastics has not only strengthened my body, but my mind too. When you walk into that box (Crossfit gym) and check out the WOD (Workout of the day), you immediately have to get your mind around what your body is about to endure. Some days I go in there dreading the workout to follow, but I just have to suck it up and figure out how on earth I am going to complete it. And you know what? Those are the days when I am at my best because right before the workout I tell myself that I CAN do it. This has giving me so much more mental strength that is not only applicable in my workouts, but also in everyday life.

The one thing that I will critique about Crossfit is the RX weight (recommended weight) for the WODs. Often the workouts have high number of reps (e.g. 21-15-9) and those workouts often include Olympic lifting or various weighted squats. The area I think becomes a problem is when the recommended weight is very heavy (cleans: 45kg for women, 60kg for men). These lifts require an extreme amount of precision to avoid injury, and once you start doing high reps, muscles start fatiguing, form goes out the window and you just want to complete the workout as fast as possible. For me, this is not very sustainable. The human body was not designed for strength, but range of motion and speed. I am all for lifting heavy weights, but slowly, controlled and fewer reps. Give me a 25kg barbell and I will dominate those high rep workouts, but once the weight increases, I can feel the strain on my body, especially my back.

Other then that, I absolutely have fallen head over heels in love with Crossfit. It becomes so exciting to begin a WOD. The competition to get the fastest time or the most reps makes it an adrenaline rush like no other.

So, I challenge you to try a crossfit workout. Here is an example of something i have done, and of course loved! But you can also find and create your own WOD according to what you feel like doing at www.woddrive.com

Abs ARE made in the kitchen!

You have heard it time and time again, that no matter how much exercise you do, if you don’t have a clean diet then you will never see that beloved six pack. Unfortunately that statement is true. No matter how many sit ups you do or how far you run, if your diet is not in tip top shape, getting a sculpted torso is going to be more difficult than you think.

These are the 5 Golden rules to getting 6 pack abs according to Men’s Health:

Five golden rules

Rule 1 Eat like a king in the morning, a prince in the afternoon and a pauper in the evening.

Rule 2 Consume six small meals to keep your blood-sugar levels steady, and 3-4 litres of water a day.

Rule 3 Pack in at least 150g of protein each day from lean red meat, fish, chicken, turkey, eggs, milk, tofu or pulses. Your body uses 20% to 30% more energy to digest protein than it needs for carbohydrates.

Rule 4 Do not go without food for more than three hours otherwise the body will suppress its

Here are some of my favourite foods for cutting down belly fat and revealing that wash board:

• Oatmeal
• Lean Protein: chicken breast, fish, ostrich steak
• eggs
• Green tea
• Apples
• Greens: broccoli, spinach, cabbage
• Nuts and Seeds (not too many)
• Low fat cottage cheese
• canned tuna
• grapefruit and oranges
• cayenne pepper
• pineapple

Stay  FAAAAAR away from:

• Carbs at night
• sauces (use olive oil or balsamic)
• Alcohol
• Sweets, chocolate and chips
• Fast food or anything deep fried
• pasta, bread, baked goods

So once you get your diet right, what kind of exercise will torch that extra fat? In my experience high intensity interval training (HIIT) burns fat the fastest. This kind of training involves circuit work with heart pumping exercises mixed with strengthening exercise. Basically moderate exercises in between high intensity exercises.  The great thing about HIIT is that you can do it anywhere and on anything.

Here are some examples of great HIIT workouts:

 

Don’t be fooled, doing millions of crunches is NOT going to give you the definition you’re looking for. In fact, if you do more functional exercises (body weight) you engage your core and this builds muscle

TIP: when performing any standing arm exercises, bend your knees slightly so that your core is more engaged.

Throw out all that junk in your kitchen and get shopping for the essential ingredients in creating abs!

Its the weekend Baby!

After a long hard, and hopefully healthy week, we have finally reached that much anticipated Friday. The weekend is the time to de-stress, relax, spend time with your family and friends and have a little breather. The problem is that people tend to use the weekend as an excuse to veer off their healthy living habits. Of course there is nothing wrong with indulging in your favourite naughty food every now and then and having a rest day, but don’t go overboard.

I live according to the balance principle: everything in moderation. Don’t use the weekend as an excuse to ditch all attempts to stay healthy and eat junk food for the entire two days. Rather give yourself one meal a weekend where you can indulge. This way once Monday hits you don’t feel that pang of guilt.

In my opinion, if you truly are living a healthy lifestyle, you won’t change your habits once the weekend hits. Your schedule may be different and you’re probably treating yourself to a sundowner, but there shouldn’t be any dramatic change in the way you eat and live your life.

When it comes to myself, I still eat the same on the weekends as I do during the week and I still exercise, weather it be recreational or heading to the gym, I like to have an active weekend. I do indulge in some social drinks, but I try to keep my weekends on par with my weekdays.

So, if you are planning on ordering takeaways for the next two nights and resorting to sandwiches and burgers, just stop and think about weather or not it is worth it. If you still feel the need to uplift your progress and lifestyle, then by all means, over indulge 🙂

What it really comes down to is binge eating. Weather you want to admit it or not, stuffing yourself on the weekend IS binge eating, and it is just not healthy.

Love your body and say YES to a healthy, active weekend.

All Pain, No Gain!

Most people, some time or another, get to that point where they make absolutely no progress, no matter what they do. I am all too familiar with that feeling after dedicating hours to the gym and cranking up your self control to just say no to that chocolate and takeaway’s. The truth of the matter is, you are probably doing something wrong. It comes down to basic science; the more exercise you do and the less you eat, the more weight you will lose. The same goes with what you actually put inside your body. If you eat more junk food, you are more likely to have cellulite, love handles, a jiggly bum or unwanted fat. Whereas if you consume a diet of 90% healthy foods you’re body composition will be toned, lean, slender and free of unnecessary fat.

If you aren’t seeing the results you think you should have, then you are probably making one of these mistakes:

1. Avoiding the weight section: Many women are afraid to go near the weight area of the gym because a) they think lifting weights will make them ‘bulky’, b) they don’t want to look like fools or c) they believe that spending the entire time at the gym on the treadmill will get them their desired body. Not, don’t get me wrong, cardio is an important aspect in weightless and maintenance, but you DON’T have to spend hours doing it to get results. In fact, if you do it properly, you can get more out of a 30 minute session of cardio then a 60 minute one. But I’ll explain that another time. The thing is, lifting weights to increase muscle mass actually HELPS you burn fat! It increases your metabolism because it requires more energy to maintain, unlike fat which doesn’t require much. Also, cardio only burns fat while you are performing it, studies have shown that weightlifting continues to burn fat for up to 38 hours post exercise! Now, if you are worried about looking silly because you’re not sure how to do the exercises or you don’t have a plan, you can do one of 3 things: 1) hire a personal trainer: they will give you a plan and show you how the exercises are performed. 2) google it: seriously, google is amazing. you will find anything you want. 3)E-mail me: I will design you a personal strength training routine to suit your goals and I will tell you and show you exactly how to perform the exercises.
2. You’re not HITTing it: High Intensity Interval Training (HITT) combines the benefits of cardiovascular training and strength training into one extreme, fat burning, heart pumping, muscle building workout! HITT is a type of workout that involves bursts of high intensity exercise with low intensity exercises in-between in a circuit formation. I mainly do HITT workouts and they are super fast and leave you feeling energized and very sweaty (a good thing). Some benefits of HITT training are: 1) you burn more fat. Just like weight lifting, you burn fat post workout, but because you add in cardiovascular exercise, you burn a lot of fat during the workout too. 2) You don’t need any equipment. There are no excuses for this one, a HITT workout can be done anywhere. See my next post for a versatile workout. 3) you lose weight, not muscle. When it comes to cardio, too much can eat away your muscle mass. HITT avoids this and builds healthy, lean muscle. 4) It is challenging and exciting. HITT is fast paced and quite difficult if you make it so you don’t get bored easily.
3. Your portion sizes are too big: This comes in with the basic science of fat loss… too much food=too much weight. If you keep your portion sizes healthy and avoid going back for seconds… and thirds, then you will be well on your way to a healthy weight.
4. You’re not eating ENOUGH: this sounds contradictory to the science behind fat loss, but here’s the thing, its not about eating more, its about eating more often. you should be eating 5-6 SMALL meals a day to keep your body’s metabolism at optimal performance and to give it the proper nutrition it needs throughout the day. So, instead of having 3 BIG meals a day, break it up into 5-6 small, healthy meals.
5. You’re not drinking enough water: We have heard it time and time again, drink water, and LOADS of it! Well my friends, this advice is true. We are 75% water and being dehydrated leads to a slower metabolism, lethargy, low energy and even the feeling of hunger. Yes, when you’re dehydrated your body mistakes this for hunger. So before you eat, glug down a glass of water and if you are still hungry, then its for real. You need to drink about 2 litres (6-8 glasses) a day to stay hudrated.
6. You’re lacking motivation: Being motivated to stay healthy and exercise is the key to success. If you don’t have a support system, or motivation within yourself, it is nearly impossible to achieve your goals. So, get your family and friends on board with what you want to achieve.
7. You’re avoiding fat: There are good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats) and bad fats (trans and saturated fats). You need to avoid the bad fats because they increase risk of disease and cholesterol. these foods include: baked goods, packaged snacks (chips, popcorn, crackers), stick margarine, fried foods, ice cream, cheese, fatty meat and whole-fat dairy products. Good fats are good for your heart, cholesterol and overall health, AND they help you metabolise stored body fat. These foods include: olive, canola, sesame, peanut and sunflower oils; avocados, nuts, natural peanut butter, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds, flaxseed and fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna, herring and trout).
8. You’re stressed: Stress leads to an increase in the hormone, cortisol which stores fat around the midsection. De-stress by taking a yoga class or doing some meditation. Deep breathing also eases stress. Try to balance out your work and social life in order to relieve stress.
9. Change it up: if you have been doing the same workout for over 6 weeks, it is possible that you have hit a weight loss plateau. Your body adapts to the exercises you do, and eventually if you don’t change it up, it will stop responding. To overcome this you can either increase your weights, increase your reps or sets, or you can get a completely new workout.

There are many other reasons why you could be on a plateau with your weight loss goals, so if you think none of these relate to you, then send me a message and I will help you figure it out.