August 8, 2013

stomach

Sorta happy with how my stomach is starting to look. Took this selfie this morning. I don’t have genetically good abs like some girls. I’ve never had a six pack but I am pretty happy with this. It has taken me a very long time to be ok with my body. I spent many years disliking it v much. I like it now that I have the confidence to post pics like this of myself. Life is too short to spend disliking your body. I know as I speak from many years of experience. 


August 8, 2013

everything you do is based on the choices you make, its not your parents or your past relationships

Mmm… Saw this quote and it struck a chord with me… Gotta be honest and say I have a habit of sometimes blaming my actions on my ‘stuff’ or ‘baggage’. 

At the end of the day we are all capable of pausing and thinking in order to make conscious decisions regardless of our socialisation or ‘stuff’.

 It is easier to walk a well trodden path as it is familiar. We can get stuck walking this same path even if we are fully aware it’s not going in the direction we want. 

It is definitely challenging to change direction and head into unknown territories. The world is full of amazing surprises if we just look in places we would not normally tread.

August 8, 2013

exercising while on holiday

Ended up doing a 12 mile (19km) trail run yesterday. The trail is called the ‘Old Railway Path’ absolutely amazing run in the North Yorkshire Moors. Here is me after the run but before enjoying a pint of Yorkshire Lager! 

I love running when I am on holiday as I feel that you really get a different view of the place you are visiting. Exercise doesn’t need to stop when you are on vacation.

August 8, 2013

major jibber jabber about personal trainers and personal training

You know guys, Personal Training is a funny old game to be in sometimes. When I first got into the industry I remember being judgemental (I was very professionally green then……. also if I am brutally honest I used to be particularly judgmental about a lot of things…….. I am embarrassed to say 🙁 … if you are a follower of this page or if you know me personally and have for a long time you will know I have made major life changes and losing the judegment [as much as is humanly possible] was one of the things I focused on changing).

An example of this judgement in a professional sense: I remember looking over at a PT (who is actually one of the best in the business) and his extremely immobile, extremely obese client and I thought, ‘Far out! I cannot believe how unconditioned the client is. I wonder how long the PT has been working with him’. I later found out he had been working with him for years. In those days I assumed in my brain that I would NEVER have a client look and move that way if he was one of mine etc etc etc…….blah blah blah B####X, B####X, B####X!

The reality of the situation was that the client had an extreme form of arthritis and a hell of a lot of other hormonal, health issues going on. The trainer spent 15 to 25 minutes stretching and mobilizing the client so that he could actually function. Without this trainers expertise and coaching this guy would hardly be able to move at all. At that time I was way under educated to be able to work with this type of client let alone make ridiculous assumptions on something I knew nothing about!

OK, so to get to my point (it is my jibber jabber after all……. don’t expect a quick lil post:) sometimes the stuff we do as PT’s is not so easy to quantify. Don’t get me wrong it is great when clients lose lots of KG’s with us, it is amazing when we increase their strength and one rep max, it is fantastic when we see people drop 3 dress sizes etc. We LOVE this and it is totally rewarding and fulfilling.

There is however, another side of PT that does not get as much attention. I guess because it is harder to show, take pictures of or write about and in all honesty, is not literally in our job description.

Generally, people will call me to ask about our services because they have had, what I term, ‘an uninvited guest’. It could come in the form of: not being able to do their jeans up, a heart attack, a cheating partner, constant, debilitating pain, a break up or divorce, being depressed, low and not feeling that they can attract a partner etc etc etc the list goes on and on.

Sometimes a client’s journey with a PT might be simply to listen to their problems, be a sympathetic and empathetic ear. This will obviously be wrapped up with some physical prescription too. The trainer might offer nutritional and supplementation advice, may prescribe workouts to do independently of the PT sessions. But, if the client is not in the right head space to receive and implement this advice all the PT can do is be a constant in that client’s life until the time they are ready (or not).

I know of many clients that have trained with us and have made major life changes by simply having the accountability of showing up at a PT session which in turn drags them out of a depression or dark space if only for 45 minutes x 2 a week. These clients may not have dropped massive amounts of KG’s or lost 5 dress sizes in these sessions but have been helped out of dark spaces by our trainers so that they can move on with their lives, find what they are looking for and feel better about themselves.

It is great to help clients create curves and toned muscles but it is also amazing to help them get their head in the right space to be able to create effective change in all other areas of their lives including the physical side. So the next time you are watching a PT session, don’t judge based on pure physicality as there may be a hell of a lot of other type of amazing coaching going on ‘behind the scenes’ to help that client get into a much better space in their life.

August 8, 2013

admission: i was a corner cutter!

So if you are a follower of my Facebook page you will remember my post last week about ‘cutting the corners’. My best mate in the UK made a comment under my lil rant which reminded me that I was actually a ‘corner cutter’ when I was a kid at school! We had a PE teacher called Miss Guest, she would make us run around the school field for Cross Country lessons. This was in the middle of a North English Winter wearing only acrylic burgundy hot pant type shorts and a sky blue aertex polo short (yum….. gotta love the early 80’s). The school field had an extension and we were told, in no uncertain terms, to make sure we did not cut the corner. Most of us always tried and I have to admit, I hated Cross Country (NB I was overweight and hated running of any type) and I cut the corner, whenever I could!!!!! I do remember though that Jan Oven’s was always first and she never cut the corner. So, my original point still stands: don’t cut corners, hard consistent effort will always get you there… but if you are a ‘corner cutter’ now, know there is hope, you can change. I speak from experience 🙂 Check out this vid from Temper Trap which always reminds me of those Cross Country lessons in the North East of England… brrrrrrrrrrrrr. Click here for video

August 8, 2013

how to achieve the best results????? don’t cut corners

I train my client Tom on Monday’s and Thursday’s at Enmore Park. There is a boot camp type outdoor group type session that goes on at the same time that we are training. The trainer sends the group running around the pathway in the park directly opposite where we work. Tom and I are always so interested to watch and observe which boot campers ‘cut the corner’ of the path in order to make the route shorter and easier. FYI IT IS NEVER THE PERSON IN THE LEAD! There are other boot campers that do not cut the corner either but I have to say a large majority does. It is human nature to want to make things easier and quicker for ourselves. However, the best results generally come from consistent hard work. You are only cheating yourself by consciously cutting corners. TURN UP BE PRESENT AND GIVE IT YOUR ALL………If it was my boot camp anyone cutting the corner would do 10 burpees….. in fact the whole group would……just sayin!

August 8, 2013

smoking

What makes you think it is ok to sit next to me (so close that are arms are touching) on the bench and spark up a filthy, stinking, cancerous cigarette? Grrrrrrrr. The Lisa Brown pre daily meditation would have kicked right off. The Lisa Brown post daily meditation got up quickly and moved away so she could rant on FB instead.

August 8, 2013

treat yourself

It’s a cold, wet, stormy night here in Sydney. Felt like indulging in a couple of glasses of my favorite Cab Sav wine and my favourite chocolate, a Boost bar. I loved, loved, loved every sip and yummy chocolate taste bite. It’s important to give yourself treats guys. I believe otherwise, life would be very stagnant and boring.

August 8, 2013

depression

Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday. I had a really tough day, I literally felt physically sick and sore and also I felt really blue too…. I just didn’t want to talk to anyone (if you don’t know me personally, I’m here to tell you this is a rarity, I love to talk!) I listened to my mind and body and I cancelled all my sessions. I knew I just needed to reboot physically and emotionally. The reason I am sharing this with you is to let you know that it is not all about eating right and training effectively. You have to look after yourself emotionally too and yesterday, that for me, was to stay home and be quiet. My body and mind feel better for it today and I woke up feeling energized and ready to train the Coogee a.m. group. I know you have heard it before in many different ways: good/bad times and feelings will come and go. When they are what we perceive as bad, we have just gotta ride the wave, feel the feelings and know that they will pass. When they are good, we can be grateful and enjoy the moment. FYI I did call a good friend late in the afternoon, she reminded me of what I have just written. Sometimes it takes someone else to remind you of what you already know 🙂

August 8, 2013

embarrassing coffee moment

The embarrassing moment when you look in the mirror and realize you have chocolate all over your nose from your morning coffee and your client (in her first ever session with you) did not say a word 😉