Training

Every Tuesday I have boxing lessons. A friend of hubby’s from work used to be a boxer so he’s given up his time to teach me how to defend myself as well as using it as conditioning training.

I already had some boxing gloves, so that was good. But I did need to buy a couple of extra things for my gym bag. I needed my own skipping rope for my pre-boxing warm-up. Then I needed a pair of hand wraps to prevent any hand injuries. My first lesson I suffered from bleeding and bruising under the skin around the knuckles so these were as must.

My very first lesson was a real eye opener. I new it was going to be hard, but really, that hard. By the time we were finished my entire body was shaking from muscle fatigue not to mention I was covered from head to toe in sweat. It was intense, really really intense. It definitely takes fitness to a whole other level.

The thing I love most about boxing is that it’s a high intensity full-body workout and perfect for my conditioning training. I mean, who doesn’t want to get aerobically and anaerobically fitter right. My focus is all about high intensity, minimum time and maximum fat burning. I want to be fit and strong so all my training now is geared for that.

At the same time I’m eating all the right nutrition and supplementing to support and maximise on muscle recovery. Everything about my approach is new to me compared to what I’ve done previously and for the first time in a long time I’m excited and enthusiastic about all my training. I can’t wait to get into the gym of a morning for resistance training and again after work for my conditioning training. It’s just one big new adventure and I’m having the time of my life.

Epsom Salt Baths are becoming a popular occurrence in my house. It’s something that is scheduled in weekly for health benefits.

Last week I strained a calf muscle doing some shuttle runs, nothing serious. It’s just a little restrictive and annoying at times when I’m conditioning training. It was healing well with some self-help until I had a boxing lesson this week that was. Now it’s back to square one.

So instead of stopping all training and giving up on my goal I did a little research and have come up with a plan. Firstly I straight away iced it when I got home and then jumped in and had a second Epsom salt bath for the week. The health benefits of this cheap yet effective treatment is incredible.

“Researchers and physicians suggest these health benefits from proper magnesium and sulphate levels, as listed on the web site of the Epsom Salt Industry Council:

· Improved heart and circulatory health, reducing irregular heartbeats, preventing hardening of the arteries, reducing blood clots and lowering blood pressure.

· Improved ability for the body to use insulin, reducing the incidence or severity of diabetes.

· Flushed toxins and heavy metals from the cells, easing muscle pain and helping the body to eliminate harmful substances.

· Improved nerve function by electrolyte regulation. Also, calcium is the main conductor for electrical current in the body, and magnesium is necessary to maintain proper calcium levels in the blood.

· Relieved stress. Excess adrenaline and stress are believed to drain magnesium, a natural stress reliever, from the body. Magnesium is necessary for the body to bind adequate amounts of serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical within the brain that creates a feeling of well being and relaxation.

· Reduced inflammation to relieve pain and muscle cramps.

· Improved oxygen use.

· Improved absorption of nutrients.

· Improved formation of joint proteins, brain tissue and mucin proteins.

· Prevention or easing of migraine headaches.

All this from a bath? Hurray! While there are many different brands of Epsom salt, they are all the same product chemically, and can be found at most drug stores. Add two cups of Epsom salt and soak for at least 12 minutes. Do this three times weekly.” ~ www.care2.com

I’m also going out to buy myself a pair of SKINS A400 Women’s Compression Calf Tights with Stirrup for compression, support and recovery. These little gems will definitely help giddy up the process of healing for me and get me back training in full force sooner rather than later. I’ve been a big fan of SKINS for a few years now and already have some other pieces from their women’s collection.

Only time will tell I guess whether or not what I’m doing is helping or hindering. Here’s hoping it helps.

Now that hubby’s home from overseas I finally have my training partner back again. We’ve trained together on and off for years now but it’s always been dependant on our work schedules. The best part of training together again has been our new gym and all the great equipment and facilities that we have. It’s awesome!

So this week we’re working out our morning schedule timings before we start back at work after taking annual holidays. It’s been six glorious weeks off but all good things must come to an end so back to work we go next week.

My training this year will be very intense. My hubby’s going to be helping me achieve my goal of being ready for my overseas trip and all that that entails. First up each morning we’ll be walking our dogs before hitting the gym for our resistance training. Michelle Nazaroff, my coach, has already designed this for me. Then as soon as we finish work it’s back to the gym for a short intense conditioning session. This will be our five day a week training schedule. Full on I know, but necessary. As long as my water, supplements and nutrition support my activity level all will
be good.

I’m also test driving my new pair of training shoes (Nike Free Run+) that I picked up last week. I already love them and they compliment my existing training shoes, Vibram FiveFingers. Slowly but surely though, I’m learning that I need different shoes for
different activities.

Health and fitness means different things to different people. For me, it means maintaining a figure shape as well as increasing my strength and cardiovascular fitness ready to go overseas. It’ll be a lot of hard work and effort but will pay off in the end. Until then, it’s one step after the other
and one day at a time.

One last thing before I go. I picked up my copy of Oxygen’s Women’s Workout Annual on the weekend and will be sitting down to read it tonight. From what I’ve seen so far it has lots of great workouts in it not to mention some familiar faces. Congrats girls!

It’s time!

Yep, it’s time for me to get back on stage. 2011 ANB Asia Pacific is the comp I’m aiming for next year. I decided, seeing as I’ve moved interstate that I’d start fresh with a new federation and this particular comp came highly recommended to me by people I respect and trust. This decision wasn’t something I’d planned, not for quite a while actually. But it has and to be sure I was making the right decision for the right reasons I consulted my loved and trusted support network. Hubby, Lindy, Clare & Michelle all agreed I was doing this for the right reasons under the right circumstances so they fully supported my decision. Having the right people helping and supporting you is important to any figure competitor and thankfully I already have that in place.

Michelle was already my coach so we’ve just tightened things up a little and obviously changed game plans. Given the time that we have we’ve split it into two phases, twelve weeks to focus on growth and then twenty weeks for the tapering down. Dallas will be taking my monthly symmetry and compulsory photos and Lindy will be doing my measurements for me. With hubby still being overseas with work I needed their help and helping me they are. I’m heading up there next weekend to kick this off. Clare is a very dear friend of mine, who having competed herself, will understand where I’m coming from and be there to support me when it’s most needed. We met quite regularly for coffee when I was living in Melbourne. It’s not the same over the phone but we do continue to work at our friendship. And last but certainly not least is my wonderful hubby who when he gets home will once again be my gourmet chef and love and support me unconditionally through this whole entire process. He’s the love of my life and I don’t know what I’d do without him and his continued support. Then there’s my posing costume, posing practice and my posing routine. Jo’s the only person I trust with this and who I’ve used before in the past so nothing has changed there either. It’s going to be great having most of my support network within driving distance, it’s going to make the world of difference. I also have many health and fitness girlfriends living around me so I don’t really want or need for anything more than than. As for my trusty comp trolley, that’s ready to go. Has been for a while now. So that’s about it.

All that’s left to do now it sleep, eat, drink, train, work, relax then repeat. I’ll be back weekly to update on Mondays.

And so it begins….