How to get more out of your PT Sessions

Having trained many people and many different types of people (elite athletes, mothers, working professionals, students) over the past 4.5 years, I have come to realise that the people who get the most out of their personal training sessions share certain qualities. Some of the tips I am about to share with you can be taught where others cannot. May this article inspire you to get the most out of your training so that you can be the Super You!

1. They have desire. Some people would easily call this motivation, however, I see motivation as taking action that will bring a person closer to what they desire. We all desire certain things in life whether that be to own an expensive leather handbag, a nice family car, the latest activewear, however, people who are motivated towards owning that handbag, driving that car and wearing the most in vogue activewear are going to take steps towards making the above reality. This might mean eating less take out so that more money can be set aside to go towards the leather handbag; it might mean researching different types of family cars and dealerships to find out which car best suits the family’s needs; it might mean reading reviews on the latest and greatest activewear to find out which tights would best fit your body shape. Desire cannot be taught. Desire cannot be instilled. Desire is intrinsic and unique to each person. Without desire, there is no action and therefore, no results. The people who have the greatest amount of success with their personal trainers are the people who have desire. The desire to have lost that last 5kg yesterday. The desire to lose flab from their arms, stomach, hips and thighs. The desire to feel confident in the clothes they wear. The desire to feel as though they are being admired for their ‘hot bod’ as they walk into the gym. Without desire, no personal trainer can help you.

2. They are honest. People who get the most out of their training sessions are honest with themselves about the effort they put into their training. They will tell their trainer if a weight is too light or if they could have done another 5 reps because these people want results (they have desire-remember?) If you half arse your training, you get half arse results which should not come as a surprise to anybody. It is this honesty and transparency that leads to greater results and reaching goals much sooner than those who are content with walking away from training feeling as though they have hardly broken a sweat. Now, it is important to bear in mind that people train for different reasons and that not everybody wants or needs to train to the point that they are left standing in a puddle of sweat post workout, however, if one of your goals is to lose weight, decrease body fat and put on muscle (most laypeople would refer to this as ‘toning’ or ‘sculpting’), then you should expect to sweat and even experience DOMS (Delayoed Onset Muscle Soreness) after seeing your PT!

3. They count their reps. This is a big one! When clients count their reps, it tells me quite a few things:

The client is prepared to do the hard yards and is committed to the process. Clients who do not count their reps tend to have the expectation that their trainer can and will reach their health and fitness goals for them and that if they do not reach their health and fitness goals, then the blame is passed onto someone or something else. This is a result of the client not taking responsibility for their current situation whether that be physically, mentally, emotionally or otherwise. Take responsibility, take ownership, take control and count your reps.

Clients who count reps tend to be focused, present and engaged with their surroundings and what is unfolding in the training sessions we do. There are few things more frustrating when a client’s face is blank the entire hour-long session, wait, no, it is much worse when a client cannot peel their eyes off their phone! Of course we all have our days of distractions and ‘busyness’, however, the more engaged a person is with that they are doing, the more they will take away from what we do. Focus and presence also results in improved technique and execution of exercises which will see improvements occur more frequently in those who leave their distractions and phones in their bag!

From experience, the people who count their reps are also more respectful than those who do not. Why is this? As a PT, of course we are expected to count repetitions, that is part of what we do but what is more important is for us to ensure that our clients’ technique is correct and that the appropriate muscles are being engaged. Being female, it might be easier for me to count reps, analyse technique, correct technique and set up equipment for the following exercises than my male counterparts 😛 however, it does become challenging to keep track of four things at one time! Give us a break! Clients who count reps give their trainers more time to ensure their technique is on track which is important because incorrect technique can lead to injury and setbacks.

4. They are questions. This point is a good one and goes hand-in-hand with the previous point. When I get asked questions while training someone, it lets me know that the person cares and is interested in their training. We, as personal trainers want to do more than just tell you what to do and flog you until you cannot move; we really want to educate you so that you walk away from training feeling as though you learned a thing or two. This validates what we do! You should want to know more about your training, the approach to training and why that approach has been taken e.g. mostly weight training vs HIIT vs swimming. There is more than one way to skin a cat and understanding the approach that your PT recommends and takes can make training more enjoyable. Most of my clients will perform the same (or very similar) routine in the gym for up to 6 weeks before making changes. If I do not explain the reasoning behind this approach to my clients, most of them would leave me because they would not understand how this approach links to the trajectory of their goals. For clients, this can lead to feeling as though you are going no where and you are wasting your precious time. If you do not understand something that your trainer does whether that be the type of training they run you through, an exercise or stretches that they have recommended, it is imperative that you ask. Often there is a very good reason behind it.

5. They are punctual and self-starters. The best people to train are the people who turn up 10-15 minutes early so that they can get changed into their activewear; fill their water bottle; reply to any unanswered messages on their phone; and get started with their warm-up all by themselves and without being asked. I believe that it is a personal trainer’s responsibility to teach their clients how to warm-up correctly, however, the more a person can take this upon themselves to do prior to the sessions starting, the better. This leaves more time to get through the hard yards and getting through what has been planned for that session. If a person turns up 5 minutes late and then spends 10-15 minutes warming up and the last 10-15 minutes of their session cooling down, then effectively there is as little as 25 minutes left of an hour-long session. Let me just say that much more can be achieved in 40-50 minutes of work and having a person warm themselves up forms a big part of this.

6. They practise what we teach! These people will go home and will look at YouTube videos we on how to execute the perfect deadlift or lat pull down technique; they will spend an extra 15 minutes on their yoga mat at home stretching after their workout and rolling around on a tennis ball to get those knots out; they soak in an Epsom salt bath and take the supplements we recommend to help them recover from training. These people take notes (seriously, they carry notebooks around) and apply what we know will yield the best results. They understand the importance of being educated on their training, their recovery and nourishing the body and they work hard at all three. As trainers, we can only do so much with immobile bodies that are overfed, undernourished and bulging with stress. We can run you through exercises and mobility drills, but the people who do their homework are ahead of the rest.

Bonus Tip!

7. They trust their trainer. You must ask your trainer questions, however, the people who get the most out of their trainer develop a great relationship with them and trust their expertise. The more you trust your trainer, the more willing you will be to take on board their recommendations and the more likely you will be to see the results you have been working so hard towards achieving. Ask important questions but if you are questioning everything, it could be a sign that the trainer you are with is not the one for you; trust is not your forte and/or you have a lot to learn about health and fitness. It can be very challenging to build a rapport and train people who question everything. It is important for trainers to answer any questions and address any concerns their clients have, however, without trust, a strong relationship (of any kind) cannot be built and therefore the training cannot be personal-we are called personal trainers for a reason!!!

If you are ready to get more out of your workouts and get real results b someone who has been there and done that, book your free trial with yours truly at UFIT One-North, Singapore by completing the online form and remember to request Laura as your trainer: http://www.ufit.com.sg/book-free-trial/

Your Supergirl 🙂
Laura xx

How to get more out of your PT Sessions

Having trained many people and many different types of people (elite athletes, mothers, working professionals, students) over the past 4.5 years, I have come to realise that the people who get the most out of their personal training sessions share certain qualities. Some of the tips I am about to share with you can be taught where others cannot. May this article inspire you to get the most out of your training so that you can be the Super You!

1. They have desire. Some people would easily call this motivation, however, I see motivation as taking action that will bring a person closer to what they desire. We all desire certain things in life whether that be to own an expensive leather handbag, a nice family car, the latest activewear, however, people who are motivated towards owning that handbag, driving that car and wearing the most in vogue activewear are going to take steps towards making the above reality. This might mean eating less take out so that more money can be set aside to go towards the leather handbag; it might mean researching different types of family cars and dealerships to find out which car best suits the family’s needs; it might mean reading reviews on the latest and greatest activewear to find out which tights would best fit your body shape. Desire cannot be taught. Desire cannot be instilled. Desire is intrinsic and unique to each person. Without desire, there is no action and therefore, no results. The people who have the greatest amount of success with their personal trainers are the people who have desire. The desire to have lost that last 5kg yesterday. The desire to lose flab from their arms, stomach, hips and thighs. The desire to feel confident in the clothes they wear. The desire to feel as though they are being admired for their ‘hot bod’ as they walk into the gym. Without desire, no personal trainer can help you.

2. They are honest. People who get the most out of their training sessions are honest with themselves about the effort they put into their training. They will tell their trainer if a weight is too light or if they could have done another 5 reps because these people want results (they have desire-remember?) If you half arse your training, you get half arse results which should not come as a surprise to anybody. It is this honesty and transparency that leads to greater results and reaching goals much sooner than those who are content with walking away from training feeling as though they have hardly broken a sweat. Now, it is important to bear in mind that people train for different reasons and that not everybody wants or needs to train to the point that they are left standing in a puddle of sweat post workout, however, if one of your goals is to lose weight, decrease body fat and put on muscle (most laypeople would refer to this as ‘toning’ or ‘sculpting’), then you should expect to sweat and even experience DOMS (Delayoed Onset Muscle Soreness) after seeing your PT!

3. They count their reps. This is a big one! When clients count their reps, it tells me quite a few things:

The client is prepared to do the hard yards and is committed to the process. Clients who do not count their reps tend to have the expectation that their trainer can and will reach their health and fitness goals for them and that if they do not reach their health and fitness goals, then the blame is passed onto someone or something else. This is a result of the client not taking responsibility for their current situation whether that be physically, mentally, emotionally or otherwise. Take responsibility, take ownership, take control and count your reps.

Clients who count reps tend to be focused, present and engaged with their surroundings and what is unfolding in the training sessions we do. There are few things more frustrating when a client’s face is blank the entire hour-long session, wait, no, it is much worse when a client cannot peel their eyes off their phone! Of course we all have our days of distractions and ‘busyness’, however, the more engaged a person is with that they are doing, the more they will take away from what we do. Focus and presence also results in improved technique and execution of exercises which will see improvements occur more frequently in those who leave their distractions and phones in their bag!

From experience, the people who count their reps are also more respectful than those who do not. Why is this? As a PT, of course we are expected to count repetitions, that is part of what we do but what is more important is for us to ensure that our clients’ technique is correct and that the appropriate muscles are being engaged. Being female, it might be easier for me to count reps, analyse technique, correct technique and set up equipment for the following exercises than my male counterparts 😛 however, it does become challenging to keep track of four things at one time! Give us a break! Clients who count reps give their trainers more time to ensure their technique is on track which is important because incorrect technique can lead to injury and setbacks.

4. They are questions. This point is a good one and goes hand-in-hand with the previous point. When I get asked questions while training someone, it lets me know that the person cares and is interested in their training. We, as personal trainers want to do more than just tell you what to do and flog you until you cannot move; we really want to educate you so that you walk away from training feeling as though you learned a thing or two. This validates what we do! You should want to know more about your training, the approach to training and why that approach has been taken e.g. mostly weight training vs HIIT vs swimming. There is more than one way to skin a cat and understanding the approach that your PT recommends and takes can make training more enjoyable. Most of my clients will perform the same (or very similar) routine in the gym for up to 6 weeks before making changes. If I do not explain the reasoning behind this approach to my clients, most of them would leave me because they would not understand how this approach links to the trajectory of their goals. For clients, this can lead to feeling as though you are going no where and you are wasting your precious time. If you do not understand something that your trainer does whether that be the type of training they run you through, an exercise or stretches that they have recommended, it is imperative that you ask. Often there is a very good reason behind it.

5. They are punctual and self-starters. The best people to train are the people who turn up 10-15 minutes early so that they can get changed into their activewear; fill their water bottle; reply to any unanswered messages on their phone; and get started with their warm-up all by themselves and without being asked. I believe that it is a personal trainer’s responsibility to teach their clients how to warm-up correctly, however, the more a person can take this upon themselves to do prior to the sessions starting, the better. This leaves more time to get through the hard yards and getting through what has been planned for that session. If a person turns up 5 minutes late and then spends 10-15 minutes warming up and the last 10-15 minutes of their session cooling down, then effectively there is as little as 25 minutes left of an hour-long session. Let me just say that much more can be achieved in 40-50 minutes of work and having a person warm themselves up forms a big part of this.

6. They practise what we teach! These people will go home and will look at YouTube videos we on how to execute the perfect deadlift or lat pull down technique; they will spend an extra 15 minutes on their yoga mat at home stretching after their workout and rolling around on a tennis ball to get those knots out; they soak in an Epsom salt bath and take the supplements we recommend to help them recover from training. These people take notes (seriously, they carry notebooks around) and apply what we know will yield the best results. They understand the importance of being educated on their training, their recovery and nourishing the body and they work hard at all three. As trainers, we can only do so much with immobile bodies that are overfed, undernourished and bulging with stress. We can run you through exercises and mobility drills, but the people who do their homework are ahead of the rest.

Bonus Tip!

7. They trust their trainer. You must ask your trainer questions, however, the people who get the most out of their trainer develop a great relationship with them and trust their expertise. The more you trust your trainer, the more willing you will be to take on board their recommendations and the more likely you will be to see the results you have been working so hard towards achieving. Ask important questions but if you are questioning everything, it could be a sign that the trainer you are with is not the one for you; trust is not your forte and/or you have a lot to learn about health and fitness. It can be very challenging to build a rapport and train people who question everything. It is important for trainers to answer any questions and address any concerns their clients have, however, without trust, a strong relationship (of any kind) cannot be built and therefore the training cannot be personal-we are called personal trainers for a reason!!!

If you are ready to get more out of your workouts and get real results b someone who has been there and done that, book your free trial with yours truly at UFIT One-North, Singapore by completing the online form and remember to request Laura as your trainer: http://www.ufit.com.sg/book-free-trial/

Your Supergirl 🙂
Laura xx.

Reach your goals by following these steps

They can seem so darn overwhelming at times can’t they?  Is my goal realistic?  How do I go about it?  Where do I begin?  Will I reach my goal?  What if I don’t achieve it?!  Calm down people.  It’s not necessarily easy, however, I can help take the guess work out of the equation for you.  Let’s being:

1. Goals need to be SMART i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and within a Time-Frame in order to be written well.   I believe this was originally written by George T Doran.  The more detail you can put into the goal, the clearer it becomes.  Make sure that you are setting out to achieve the goal because YOU want to.  If there is no desire, there will be no success.  I would also add that there should be a reward attached to the goal, e.g. if I lose 10kg over the next 5 months (this is realistic for some but NOT all people), then I will purchase 3 new items of gym gear.  The reward helps to keep you motivated too; remembering that there may be days where motivation is, well, hard to find.

2. This largely ties into goal 1.  That is, to break down your goal.  Just to make maths easy, if you want to lose 10kg over 10 months, (assume that’s 40 weeks), that means, on average, you need to lose 250g/week = 1kg/month.  Your long term goal .e.g 1 year should be broken down into smaller, medium and short term goals e.g. 3-6 months and weekly to monthly respectively.  Think of your goals as a step ladder with the largest, long term goal at the top and the smaller goals each representing a rung on the ladder.  You don’t lose 10kg overnight and you should plan to either!

3. Talk about it!  Tell everybody.  Post about it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatever takes your fancy.  The more you talk about it, the more people you have to hold you accountable and the more you want to reach your goals because you told all those people that you would.  Your goals and sharing them should scare you!  If they don’t, then they’re not big enough.  You will have to leave your comfort zone in order to achieve them-get used to being uncomfortable.

4. Introduce new, healthy habits every 2.5 months.  Did you know that latest research suggests that it takes 66-not 21 days to develop a healthy habit.  That’s 66 consecutive days of doing the same thing everyday before it become automatic.  So, if you want to lose 10kg and you’re eating fast food for breakfast, let’s start with small steps e.g. for 66 consecutive days, eat a healthier, home-made breakfast instead.  Once you’ve mastered this, reward yourself (not with an unhealthy breakfast-maybe visit an organic restaurant for breakfast) and then add another healthy habit to the list.  In order to keep track of your habits, I suggest keeping a diary so that you can count how many days you’ve been on track and how many left until day 66.

5. Do what you can.  Some people are cold turkey people.  They can flick a switch in their brain and decide to do or not to do something overnight and for them, it works.  Most people are not like this.  Referring back to A in SMART i.e. achievable, work where you’re at.  If you’re eating unhealthy food all the time, it may be a little unrealistic to think that you’re going to start eating organic meat, fruit and vegetables cooked at home for every meal overnight.  Now, don’t get me wrong, anything is possible and if you’re a cold turkey person-knock yourself at, however, majority of people are more likely to succeed if they start small and then have a ‘snowball’ effect on their habits.  Don’t pressure yourself into running for 5km a day if you’ve never run before.  Start with 500m or 1km and build up from there.  You don’t go from walking to marathoning in two days (there’s good reason for it too!)

6. Be kind to yourself!!!  It’s super easy to get disheartened and disappointed if you fall of the wagon but it’s important to know that most people do!  Not many people succeed in quitting smoking the first time that they attempt to quit smoking.  It is in these moments where we can learn a lot about ourselves, the main thing is that you get up, dust yourself off and keep going.

7. Get professional help.  If you want someone to hold you accountable and to reach those goals before your deadline, having a life coach, health coach or (more fitness specific) personal trainer to work with you is a great idea.  They are professionals in their field and can help assess where you’re at, if your goals are realistic, what needs to happen in order to reach them and can help you re-set new goals once you reach your existing goals.  They can also pick up on any behaviour or habits you may have which could be preventing you from getting those goals of yours.  I personally work with people who help to keep me on track with my business and fitness (different people) for similar reasons.  They take the guess work out of what I need to do and tell me exactly what needs to happen in order for xyz to occur.

8. Be patient!  Did you know, on average, it takes 8-12 weeks before YOU notice physical changes of your body?  So while you might be getting impatient with all the hard work you’re putting into reach your goals, remember, that you may be closer than you think!  It’s important that if you’re after physical changes, take photos front, side and back views so that you can monitor how you’re doing.  Girth measurements, as well as calculating body fat % are also crucial in determining whether you’re any closer to what you set out to achieve.  This can greatly help to keep you motivated during times where you may want to deviate from the plan or if you’re lacking motivation.  At the end of the day, a step forwards is still a steps forwards!!!

What are your goals and how do you plan on achieving them?

Your SuperGirl

Laura Phillips 🙂 xx

P.S. If you would like to learn more about reaching those goals of yours, I have written a FREE Guide to achieving your goals.  Click on my ‘FREE guide’ tab across the top of my Facebook page or email me at: lauraatsuperyour@gmail.com

5 Gym Mistakes you’re Probably Making

So you sweat, and you sweat, and you sweat some more, but you’re starting to think that it could be a waste of time because you seem to be getting no where.  How is it that you put so much in and feel like you get so little out of your workouts?  It just isn’t fair!  How is this possible?  With all the sweating you’re doing, you feel like the fat should be falling off-but it isn’t because you’re probably making one (if not all) of these mistakes:

1. CAAAARRRR-DEEEEEE-YYYOOOOOHHH.  Cardio.  You’re doing it all wrong.  You’re doing too much of it or it’s the only thing that you do.  Now, don’t get me wrong, if you’re a sedentary person and you’ve started walking or using a piece of cardio equipment to get yourself moving then pat on the back to you.  That’s great and keep it going!  However, too much cardio is going to increase your cortisol levels which is going to make your body cling onto and store fat like there’s no tomorrow.  If you’re doing cardio as part of your workout, I suggest doing it AFTER weights and doing intervals which I provided examples for in my previous post.  Generally speaking, 15-20min of intervals is a useful amount.

2.  WEIGHTS.  Very rarely (rather unfortunately) do I ever see a female lifting the correct weight for what she is doing and trying to achieve.  You  need to lift weights.  99% of the population needs to lift weights (that’s another post in itself).  How do you know if you’re lifting the correct weight?  You should only be able to lift that weight for the number of repetitions that you are doing.  Example: 4×10 chest press with 60s rest between sets.  This means that if you are using 12.5kg dumbbells, you should only be able to do 10 reps-not 11, not 15, not 9.  If you can do more than 10 reps with the 12.5kg dumbbells, then you need to increase the weight and obviously the opposite is true if you’re unable to do 10 reps.  Make sense?  Don’t be afraid of those big dumbbells either-they don’t bite and I swear to god, you won’t get ‘bulky’.

3. REST.  You’re not sticking to your rest periods.  If you get 60s rest between sets, then that’s it, you should be starting your next set as soon as your rest period hits 60s-not 70s or 90s.  Sticking to your rest  periods increases is important because it stimulates muscle growth and further challenges them under duress.  It’s easy to perform well when you’ve had oodles of rest, but that’s not the point.  You want your muscles to reach a point of failure in order to get the most out of your workouts.  Your muscles should be sore.

4. Planless.  It’s totally a word.  You go into the gym without a plan of what you’re going to do.  Should you do upper body or lower body or full body, just cardio-who even knows?!  Get a plan so you can stop wasting your time and get the most out of what you do in the gym.  You deserve to get results and you deserve to get them now.  Find a qualified personal trainer who can tailor a gym program to your needs to help you work towards your goals.

5. Just for the record…You’ll find that you can improve on what you do if you record what you lift after each workout.  Some people absolutely dislike writing this down but the effort is well worth it.  How the hell are you going to remember what you squatted last week if you don’t write it down?  You may remember the weight but you may not remember how many sets and reps you did.  How are you going to improve if you do not track it?  This is the number one thing that helps me increase the weight I’m lifting simply because if I see that I can do the same weight for all sets, then I increase the weight and work towards being able to do the same weight for all sets again etc etc.  This is hugely important and not something that should be skipped.

If you would like a FREE guide on how you can achieve your health goals, head overt o my Facebook page: facebook.com/lauraphillipssuperyou and click on the ‘FREE guide’ tab across the top.

Your Supergirl,

Laura Phillips 🙂 xx

5 ways to stop wasting your time in the gym

It is almost that time of year where (at least in the southern hemisphere), people are getting bikini body ready, gym memberships skyrocket as those new years resolutions and a few of us consume too much alcohol at our work Christmas parties.  So, it would seem it’s a busy time of year where some of us feel an urgent need to get fit-and fast; but are you wasting your time in the gym?  How would you know if you were wasting your time?  I’m about to tell you 😉

1.  You spend all day on a treadmill.  Have we learnt nothing?!  There can be benefits-especially to those who are considerably overweight in doing cardio and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), however, spending a prolonged period of time and your whole time at the same speed is not going to get you results quickly.  I would advise you to use interval training when doing cardio and limit it to 20min at most.  Here are some examples of intervals:

2min moderate speed:1min fast pace

20s fast:40s moderate

1min 30s moderate: 30s fast

Also, make sure you incorporate weight (resistance) training.  Building muscle, long term, is key in burning fat and therefore improving your body composition.

2.  You’re doing your boyfriend’s gym program.  Oh.  My.  God.  I see this all day.  This may come as a surprise to you, but you’re not your boyfriend, so why the hell are you doing his program?  Females and males need to train differently in order to get the most out of their workouts.  Find a highly qualified personal trainer and get your own program.

2.5. You workout with your boyfriend.  If I had a dollar…  Unless your boyfriend is highly qualified personal trainer, chances are, he knows didly squat about the correct technique and rep, set, load and rest that you should be using during your workouts.  Just because he’s buff or has been working out for years does not make him an expert.  If anything, it makes him an expert at doing exercises with poor technique.  I see girls in the gym every day of the week copying their boyfriends putting themselves at risk of injuring themselves quite badly.  Again, get some professional advice!

3. Record what you do.  How on earth are you going to know if you have or have not improved unless you record what you do for your workouts?  Apps such as Gym Hero are helpful if you prefer to use technology to track your progress.  If you do not know what weight you lifted yesterday (as well as sets, reps and rest), then it’ll be impossible to know if you’re lifting more today.  Pretty self explanatory.

4. Switch it up!  Your body adapts to the exercises that you do over a period of time.  Everybody is different.  Some people adapt quickly and others take a little longer.  If what you’ve been doing in the gym is the same as what you were doing 3 months ago i.e. exercises, load, rep, set and rest periods are all the same, it is seriously time to re-evaluate what you’re doing.  If nothing changes, nothing changes  It’s also important to change what you do to avoid boredom too.  You’re not going to try hard if you’re not motivated..

5. Push yourself.  Leave your comfort zone.  Your muscles need to hurt and burn after lifting weight.  I see people lifting the same weight for the same exercise far too often.  Aim to increase your weights every time you workout.  Even if you lift a heavier weight for the first two sets and go lighter on the third set, it’s something new and different that your body has not done before.  This will see you make progress really quickly.

Now go and kick some butt!

Your SuperGirl,

Laura Phillips xx 🙂

How the fit and healthy stay fit and healthy

As I’ve said before, health is not a destination, it’s a journey and thus once you ‘get fit,’ however you like to define that, you do not necessarily ‘stay fit’.  It is a constant work in progress and some days, months, years, decades are healthier than others.  It is important to know that your health status is often a summary of choices, habits and how you use information.  So, with that in mind, I’d like to share with you some tips and tricks on how I keep the health ball rolling everyday.  I think it’s important to mention that I personally have always had an interest in health and have always strived for and going to the gym is something that I (for the most part), love doing.  I understand that not everybody is in the same boat and I hope this blog/post/whatchamicallit reflects that.

1. a) BE PREPARED!!!  As a PT, there are many an early morning for me and I personally do not want to be looking for my socks in the dark of an early morning hence why I set aside tomorrow morning’s outfit the night before.  I have a wicker basket in the living room which I store this outfit so that when I wake up, all I have to do is take the basket to the bathroom and hope that I’ve put my clothes on the right-side out.

1.b) In addition to 1.a), I have breakfast already sorted out the night before too.  Every minute of sleep counts for me and if I don’t have to spend an extra 15min in the morning making breakfast, then I won’t.  Breakfast is already in the morning with a spoon in the bowl.  Hey presto.

2. STANDARDS.  I set myself standards in relation to the gym which, unless I’m sick, I will always honour.  Here is an example: I know that for a back squat (with a barbell across your shoulders), I know that I can do 4×10 at 60kg supersetted with another exercise.  This means that anytime that I am doing 4×10 back squats, I must do a minimum of 60kg.  No ifs, buts or maybes unless I’m recovering from injury or illness.  This is the standard that I uphold for myself because I know that I can do it and anything less is not my best and also because I know this decision is conducive to improvements.  When I was swimming, I would do that same thing.  If I were swimming 50m freestyle, I would allow myself to have two breaths because I only needed two breaths and this would allow me to swim faster.  What standards have you or can you set for yourself?

3. PROGRESS: another gym-related tip.  I improve on the weights that I lift every single time that I do a workout even if it’s by 1kg for the first set.  Now, I know that not everybody who reads this is a gym junkie but the same principle can be applied to other scenarios.  How can you make progress (not necessarily huge progress) every time you exercise?  Walk faster or further?  Small improvements everyday make a big difference over a week/month/year!!!

4. MINDSET: a poor mindest can be debilitating and it is the biggest cause of people not achieving their health goals.  This is a separate post in itself.  It all boils down to this: if you have no desire to do something or if you do not believe you can do something or if you do not have anyone behind you supporting you who believes in you then nothing (not a damn thing) will be achieved.  It’s all about perspective and if your perspective does not allow you to achieve what you want to achieve then nothing changes.  If you want to succeed then you need to think successfully and surround yourself with people who do the same.

5. GOALS.  We set goals and not just when the calendar reveals another year, I mean, we set goals daily and then work backwards to figure out what steps need to be taken in order to reach these goals.  I always have a ‘to do’ list on me so that I can stay on track and feel a sense of accomplishment when I cross something off-helps keep me motivated 🙂

6. RESEARCH!  What we knew 20 years ago is not what we know today.  It is so important to research health and fitness if you want to get the most out of it and to also get the most out of what you eat.  What you eat should make you feel energised and full-not hungry and lethargic.  The more yo know, the more you can change too.  If you do not know about the signs and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, then how will you ever pick up on it if you have it?  You should be an expert on your body and this starts with reading articles on health, wellbeing and fitness!!!

7. Last but not least, they connect to their food rather than abuse it and take it for granted.  I believe my last post was about this.  I am teaching people how to improve their relationship with food by connecting with it this Saturday (for those of you in Brisbane) 8-10am.  Please call, message or email me to find out more.  I’d love to have you there.

That’s my list of tips and tricks on how to get fit and healthy.  I hope you enjoyed reading it 🙂

Your Supergirl,

Laura Phillips 🙂 xx.

Your Relationship with Food (or lack thereof)

Have you been told (or do you already know) that you have a ‘food issue’?  Have you heard the words “It’s your relationship with food” before?  Well, just like with most things in this world, I have an opinion on that which I will share with you.

I would say that before we put overeating, poor food choices, obesity, etc, etc down to your relationship with food, I would challenge that by also saying that perhaps, more importantly, it might just be your relationship with yourself that is part of the vicious food cycle that so many people struggle with but that’s for another day.  What is a common denominator in people who have ‘food issues’?  In my not-so-humble opinion (IMNSHO if you want an abbreviation), is that people simply do not (and probably do not know) how to connect with food.

How many times have you eaten something only to be hungry within the next hour?  How many times have you eaten something without even noticing?  I have.  Can you remember the last thing that you ate and how well can you describe it?  How did it smell?  What were the textures?  What the flavour long or short?  What were the levels of flavour like?  Can you differentiate between the taste of something grown locally vs internationally; organic vs non-organic?

Think about how many things you notice when you meet a new person.  You don’t just walk past them without saying hello and shaking their hand do you?  That’s not very nice so why would you do the same to your food-you know, the stuff that is supposed to nourish you?  If you asked a police sketch artist (is that what they’re called) to draw the food you’ve eaten without saying the name of your food, you should have enough ways to describe it that the sketch artist draws exactly what you’ve eaten.  What a fun game this would make for children!!

So how do you connect with your food?  There’s more than one way but some include:

1. SLOW DOWN!  What’s the rush?  Try and take at least 15min to eat a main meal.
2. Chew your damn food!  It makes it easier to digest and you also notice more about it when you chew properly.
3. Notice the energy about the food before you taste it.  Which ingredients are warming and which ingredients are cooling?  There’s no right and wrong here-it’s about your sense and perception of energy
4. What do you notice first when you take a bite?  Is the the temperature, texture, flavour etc?
5. Share the experience with others and ask them for their opinion-sharing is caring 🙂
6. Keep a food diary and record how you feel before, during and after the food.  This is a helpful way to also notice any food allergies or sensitivities that you may have.
7. Experiment with different cutlery e.g. wood vs stainless steel and different coloured bowls and plates-this will greatly affect the energy

How do you connect with food?

Laura Phillips a.k.a. Supergirl xx 🙂

Fat Girl Skinny Part III (of III)

So, you’re wondering how I lost the weight.  It was easier than you might think.

It started when I got a job at a gym and pool complex working as a swimming coach.  One of the perks of the job was that I also had complimentary gym and pool membership which is awesome-especially when you know you have weight to lose.

The first day that I visited the gym, I stepped on the scales and to my absolute shock and horror (goes to show how much denial I was in), I was by far the heaviest that I had ever been, by about 10kg.  I couldn’t have run over to the treadmills any faster!  Since when did I weigh that much?!  Good golly miss molly.  It was hard to see that number but I knew it’d be the last time that I did.

At the time, I was working as a swimming coach 3 times a week and though I had a number in my head of how much I wanted to weigh, my main focus was on the PROCESS.  HOW was I going to lose the weight?  It started with my first goal which was to attend the gym before work (3 times a week) for an hour.  That was it.  No magic pills, hocus pocus, short cuts, diets etc.  I spent three hours a week in the gym total to begin with and started looking at where I could change what I was eating.

After a while, training in the gym 3 times a week became an easy commitment and so the next goal was 4 times a week.  When that became easy and maintainable, 4 became 5 and now five is 6.  My food intake went from something like:

Breakfast: big bowl of muesli with yoghurt and fruit

Lunch: toasted ham, cheese, onion, tomato sandwich x 2  or fried ham and eggs on toast x 2

Dinner: anything from pasta, meat and veg to a stir fry

To

Breakfast: meat or eggs with coconut oil

Lunch: chicken or egg salad

Dinner: stir fry

Do you know how long it took me to:

• lose 15kg
• lose 12cm off my waist
• more than halve my body fat %
• put on 7kg of muscle

…?  It has been an ongoing process.  It’s taken about 3 years and my body composition is still changing.  Between February and September last year, I lost 7cm off my chest and if I hadn’t seen the measurements, I’d never have known.  Was I ever concerned about how long it’d take to lost the weight?  No.  After being injured for so long, I was really grateful to be moving again and I have a love for gym work since starting gymnastics when I was 5.

Since making these changes, I have also found a PT and set myself specific goals performance and body composition-wise.  But, my point is:

a) It’s a journey-not a race!  Three years do ya hear me?!  That may seem like a long time but guess what?  It’s been maintainable and I’ve kept it off.

b) Start with steps rather than the big goal.  It’s important to have a bigger picture and something to aim for in 6 months or 1 year, however, I was focused on how to lose the weight which was to start with spending 1 hour in the gym 3 times a week and that was an honest and easy commitment from me.  I couldn’t have started training 6 times a week-I would have lost my motivation before I got to see any real results.  Start small with something you can honestly do a good job of.  If you feel like you have success, you’re more likely to keep going!

c)  The right advice makes a big difference.  I got PTs from the gym to write me fitness programs and do health assessments on me so that I could monitor my progress.  It’s so important to have a starting point to compare where you are to where you were.  This is a great source of motivation when you see results and it can also provide feedback if you are not getting the results you want.  It can be a simple ‘tweak’ that can make a big difference.

So there you go.  That’s how I did it (in a nutshell).  When you focus on the process, your goals seem much more attainable and easier to reach-mind you, there was a butload (technical term) of sweat and hard work that also went in to get me to where I am today.

Laura Phillips 🙂

a.k.a. Supergirl xx.

Fat Girl Skinny Part II

Okay, so where was I?  Oh, tearing up about life.

It’s hard to explain the loss of swimming in my life.  I really went through a ‘grieving’ phase for the life I knew for about 10 years.  No one ever tells you about this feeling of loss and emptiness.  Perhaps this is why so many swimmers return to the sport-they can’t or don’t know how to fill that gap in their life.

Getting better was a very long process for me-at least two years I was on that damn mattress in front of the TV day in and day out without much purpose.  Did I mention I was injured?  I had costochondritis-that is inflammation in cartilage which joins the rib cage to the sternum which made it incredibly difficult and painful to breath which is just a tad necessary in the sport of swimming.  This meant that all of my muscles from my neck to my hips were tight-SO TIGHT!  This is why my back hurt and could I could barely walk to the bus stop-my rib cage couldn’t expand; the muscles wouldn’t allow for it.

During those two years I saw every specialist under the sun.  Thoracic specialists with 13 (I counted) degrees on their wall who did little more than run several tests on my lung capacity, histamine sensitivity and heart function; not to mention the numerous drugs they put me on.  Some were narcotic based and made me violently ill. There were musculoskeletal specialists who informed me that I was hypermobile (I’m bendy) – still not very helpful information.  Then there was this amazing (NOT) pain specialist who took 4 months to see.  Looked at me and thought I had psychological issues and that I had psychologically manifested the pain.  Then there was this amazing (seriously amazing) physio who was recommended to me by a swimmer who I used to coach.  The physio has worked with the Australian Swim Team and had dealt with costochondritis before.  What was there to lose?  I’d seen them all.  Can you believe he did the trick?  He gave me hope and gave me a functioning body back.  I’ll never forget my first appointment.  My muscles were like rocky road-so lumpy and bumpy.  It was as though I had a left rib and a right rib.  This is how I got better-the key ingredient being hope and belief even during tough times.  It’s easy to have hope and belief where everything’s hunky dory, but so much harder to have under duress.

Want to find out how I lost the weight?  That’ll be the next post 🙂

Love from the SuperGirl xx.

Fat girl skinny

This is the story of my weight loss Part 1:

 

Some of you who know me will know a deep dark little secret of mine, but to most of you, what I’m about to tell you might just come as a surprise.

So what’s the big shocking secret I hear you ask?  I used to be the fat girl in the room; and to add to that, I was miserable.  Yep.  Me.  The fitness fan that I am used to be really unfit and really unhappy.

I wasn’t always fat, so how did it happen?  Let me give you a bit of my background.

 

I’d always been an active, happy and healthy child and got into sport at an early age with ballet, gymnastics, weights, soccer and ,what used to be the love of my life: swimming. Swimming had such an impact on me that I became possessed by it.  I loved it so much that I gave everything else up for it including piano and violin, friendships-no doubt by grades suffered because of it too.

I swam for about 12 years and loved the impact it had on my life though unfortunately, I had to stop due to injury-enter weight gain.

Swimmers will know that aside from swimming, all we do is eat, sleep and try and get studies done. That’s the routine.  Though I ate less after I had to quit swimming, it was still too much for my inactive body and it was the wrong types of food.  Due to my injury, I was barely able to walk to the bus which was hardly a 10min walk without getting a stitch.  It was devastating.  Life had gone from revolving around exercise; at one stage I was doing:

• 9, 2hr swimming sessions a week
• 2, 1hr gym sessions a week
• A 7km run each week
• Swimming club every fortnight
• Competitions almost every weekend during warmer months

Now, I was doing:

• Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.

 

My life had become days spent lying on a mattress on the living room floor (my back was so sore I couldn’t stay upright for very long) watching day time TV and although Dr Phil and Oprah can be very insightful, I’m pretty sure I’d seen every episode 3-4 times within two years. For over two years, I barely went a day feeling fulfilled.  Here come the tears.