Workout of the day

I’m going to be sharing some of my workouts with you over the coming weeks and months, feel free to give them a go for yourself, and ask any questions you want!

Tonight I did a 1,000 rep Legs workout:

It consisted of the following – (roughly, I just make it up as I go – as long as I get to 1,000!)

50 box jumps
40 front kicks on step
10 burpees
20 single leg deadlifts
20 lunge jumps
20 mountain climbers
20 jump kicks (karate style)
20 Jump squats
20 Power plate alternating lunges
20 1 legged jumps onto box
60 box jumps
30 wide squat jumps
30 diagonal lunges
30 fast deep squats
10 burpees with calf raise at top
20 lunge into front kicks
40 side kicks from step
40 back kicks
20 power star jumps
20 lateral leaps
20 cross over reverse lunges
30 single leg squats
10 vertical jumps touch floor
10 vertical jumps touch ceiling
20 leg swing circles (don’t know the name for these sorry!)
20 lunge jumps
20 single leg deadlifts
20 mountain climbers
20 jump kicks (karate style)
20 Jump squats
50 box jumps
40 front kicks on step
10 burpees
40 side kicks from step
40 back kicks
20 power star jumps
20 Ice-skaters
50 box jumps

(Some of these are half one leg, half other leg.)

It looks like a lot, but it goes pretty fast. It’s only cos I get bored doing anything more than once or twice so I like the variety of different things. I did it in around 40 minutes, although I’m still figuring out my new Gymboss Interval timer and didn’t get the exact time. But I’ll be trying to beat my 1,000 rep time next time.

My rules for this workout is that every set of 100 reps has to include at least 2 challenging exercises such as plyometrics.

The kicks and lunges are more for recovery and bring my heart rate down without having to stop.  I take minimal rest if I need it, which I do after certain ones like the jumps usually, and have a quick sip of water then back into it. My heart is always pounding! I do anywhere from 10 to 50 reps, and prefer blocks of 20 as they’re easier to count.

But I do like the main ‘rule’ to be – to have no rules!

I find it tough and it kills, but I love these workouts so much, particularly late at night in the big empty space in the gym, with little distractions. I often do these in my lounge room or on the balcony also with some great tunes blaring. The best part is knowing that it will change my legs, increase definition and burn serious calories!

Give it a go!

(I’m soooo energetic and pumped! Can’t believe how much energy I have – it’s brilliant!)

Kat’s competition countdown

Well I’m into week 2 of my new ‘stricter’ diet, and feeling great! I’m excited about it, and always feel highly motivated when I start a new regime (check back in a few months and I may not be so excited about the lack of food!!) But I always know there’s a reward for the discipline, and I very rarely focus on what I’m ‘missing out’ on, and purely on what I’m gaining for it.

I was thinking about it today when someone said to me “It must be so hard” and I thought, you know what? It’s not that hard. It’s actually really easy when you want something badly enough! My food is very clean around 95% of the time, except for my wine consumption (which does tend to let me down at times!) But now that that’s gone for a season, I have much more of a ‘peace of mind’. I know that things are on track and sorted. My meals are planned and goals are set. As soon as I’ve made that firm decision, everything gets easier.

Which got me thinking, how often do we struggle to comply with right behaviours or habits when we -

a. Are not clear of why we’re doing it and what ‘pay off’ we’ll receive
b. Have 2 ‘values’ pulling at each other.

One ‘value’ is saying to me ‘You’re going to be missing out on so much socially by not drinking’ – (because I do love partying!), but then another value (the one that values achieving my goals) is saying ‘You don’t need to drink to enjoy yourself – to enjoy London, summer, time with people’ etc.

Of course, ‘junk’ food and alcohol are fun – and I’m all for us enjoying them in moderation! But there is so much more to life than them.  When you look at the reasons that you truly enjoy these things, often it’s that they are associated with great feelings that are to do with reasons that aren’t actually the taste of some food or the feeling of some drink. It’s usually about the environment, the association with the ‘feel good’ factor. For example, often we really enjoy an ice-cream on a hot day because it links back to a past good memory, for example as a child this was your reward, or ritual with your parents and you have a fond memory of it. We may smell popcorn and are ‘transformed’ back to a favourite movie or experience. We may think of holidays and instantly think of cocktails, or treats or a cold beer, or whatever else we enjoy.

The thing is, we can still enjoy the many aspects of our life, while feeling proud of our decisions. I know I can still have a great summer while sticking to my diet. It’s all in how we choose to look at it. I can dwell on what I’m ‘missing out on’ or dwell on what I’m gaining by achieving my bigger goal.

At present I have no desire to eat anything outside of my food plan. That’s not to say situations won’t come along that will be tough and moments will tempt me. But I feel mentally prepared, because I’m so clear on my goal. There will be times when I’ll question that, and when I’ll have a battle in my mind and find it hard – I know that. But up to this point, I’ve never tasted anything that quite matches the ‘high’ that I get from the feeling of being in control of my decisions – particularly when it comes to what I put in my mouth.

Knowing I have the discipline to sit in front of a table or display or gorgeous looking food and amazing smelling wine – and have no desire to eat or drink it, gives me a bigger buzz than the taste or ‘feeling’ of indulging in these things.

Distraction is a powerful thing, and in social settings, I will be more focused on the conversation than the food or drink!
I like to take photos, to get to know people, to network. And I always have a pepper, a bag of beans, or something similar in my hand bag if I get hungry and desperate! There have been many occasions where I’ve sneaked away to eat something I’ve brought with me in my bag!

You gotta do whatever it takes to get through!

Whenever we give up something – anything, I believe we have to fix our mind and our senses firmly focused on the reward we will get for temporarily ‘restricting’ ourselves. There is always a reward and a pay off. I liken it to saving money – delaying the gratification of a ‘temporary’ fix, in favour of something bigger and better in the long term.

So, to keep your motivation high – know your pay offs, keep your ‘rewards’ strong in your head, and focus on the values that are most important to you.

Til next time!

Stay strong,
Kat

New goals for Kat

I’m going to attempt to journal a lot more regularly, particularly now as I start my 12 week diet down to stage!

I’ve decided on my new goals – and I think I’m keeping them pretty simple (simple is different to easy) for a change! Here goes!

*Compete in September – aim for musclemania, possibly other events (there are a few happening and will decide a bit closer to the time)
*Burn 2,500 calories per week – 3x morning runs, 2 sprint sessions, 2x 1,000 rep workouts, plus X-training and fast walks – either incline treadmill or outdoors – I have bought lots of new audio books to listen to – can’t wait!
*6x weight training sessions per week – 3 day split, each muscle group being hit 2x per week
*Increase flexibility – particularly hip flexors and lower back. Be able to do the splits! Stretch/foam roll – 10 mins per day, have a massage every week (that’s my indulgence for 12 weeks instead of wine!)

Half of me hasn’t even decided whether I’m really ready to commit to doing this or not, but the other half wants to do it so badly, it is willing to share the idea on the Internet (?!), so maybe this is my way of cementing my new goal – so that I actually do it!

To be honest, I’m a little bit freaked out by the whole thing! I know that I have a lot of hard times ahead, but nothing worthwhile is easy, and I’m really, really craving having that discipline and hard-core goal focus again!

When I compete, I totally throw myself into my training like never before – and my head-space is so different. I feel like nothing could or would ever stop me doing it. I love that feeling!!! I get very addicted!

I remember feeling so strongly about sticking to my plan that I wouldn’t even let a tiny iota of carrot get past my lips in my coleslaw (if it wasn’t in my eating plan) or insy bit of egg yolk get into my egg white omelette. I want that type of gutsy determination back again. Sounds obsessive, but I love having a strict plan with all the calories laid out, so I have peace of mind that I will get results. No ifs, buts or maybes.

So, I want to do this in a healthier way than I have in the past (where it just about killed me), now that I’m armed with more knowledge and experience.

That’s not to say I will be having a boring diet. I’ve learned so much over the last few years about nutrition and how the body needs variety. I never want to eat the same thing day in and day out – and I don’t believe it’s good for our bodies to do this.

This decision has been an interesting one, because I’ve been questioning why I want to do this again.
To be totally honest – mainly with myself, I can truly say that it’s not to qualify for anything, to prove anything, or to place in the top 3. I want to do this to get my laser beam focus back, a certain type that has escaped me a bit since I’ve hauled myself half way across the world and set up a new life in a new country. I’m not annoyed at myself for losing certain habits that I had in NZ. On the contrary, it’s all been part of the process of getting me to this point. I have no regrets, and I’ve learned a load about myself.

I feel like I’ve come full circle. I went totally strict for my last comps, then lived it up a bit too much (I do love to party), then started slowly changing things, in a healthy manner. I don’t like the sudden shocks to the body, I don’t believe it’s good. The quality of my diet has improved and improved every year, along with my mindset.

One of the best things at the moment, is that I’m the strongest I’ve ever been. My body fat is higher than I like it, but I love feeling strong, and have really enjoyed putting on muscle through eating clean – and eating lots of clean food! Although I’ve partied a lot since I moved to London, I have stayed around the 60kg mark, no higher, for the past year and a half.

So I’m not beating myself up for not staying in ‘competition’ shape. I just know that there is a lot of dieting to come – lots of saying no, lots of temptations to overcome, lots of having to really dig deep to find some internal and mental strength to make the right decisions. Plus a lot lot lot more cardio. I’ve been hitting weights almost daily for the last year, but cardio only 3-4x per week and the volume/hours/calorie burn will need to more than double that.

And of course, no drinking. I find that to be the hardest aspect of this whole thing. I’m very focused with training, and diet – once I’m in the swing of it. But alcohol is my downfall. I think it will be a bit harder this time ‘cos I haven’t had summer for a year and a half, and it’s so nice to finally have light, warm nights! (Since I did 2 winters in a row – one in NZ, one in London, I’ve missed it!).

Summer and me (like so many people) = drinking in the sun! The thought of total restraint kinda bothers me, but it also very much excites me when I focus on the result I will get from it. If I can go through the whole 12 weeks of summer without drinking and without eating those yummy summer things we all like (including on my birthday), well let’s just say, it’ll make me feel like a stronger person!

I don’t have to get into a bikini and get on stage to achieve this, but it certainly helps. Having a bigger goal really keeps me focused. I love training for the event almost more than the event itself. I love seeing what my mind and my body is capable of.

So, bring on the chicken breast, fish, egg whites and veges!

I can honestly say, I’m SUPER excited!!