Triple P: Patience Persistence Progression

Let me be honest, unless you appreciate these 3 p's, your fitness journey will be short lived. Like the saying goes "Rome wasn't built in a day" and neither was the perfect body. Put it this way, if it was that simple then I'm pretty sure everyone would have the body they desired and PT's and instructors wouldn't exist.-but it's not that simple.

Patience

I've been on this journey for over a year and it's not only till recently that I'm actually starting to see results. GetbodiedByJ says she’s been training for over 10 years and her body’s improved after having her two children.

@getbodiedbyj

It's all about exercising patience and riding out the storm because the results will be worth it in the end.

Persistence

If at first u don’t succeed dust yourself off and try again #NoAaliyah. The saying goes if it isn't broke don't fix it…If you’re doing something and it's working for u then keep doing it ! However, if you've been doing something for a while and it’s not making the changes you want then you have to switch things up. Try increasing or decreasing your resistance, doing more reps, alternative exercises or work out with different people. Whatever you do, just switch it up!

Progress

If you exercise patience and persistence, this should lead to progression.

My cousin @lucioustv is living proof that squats do work people!!!
Pictures are the best way to track your progress. The good thing about before and after pictures is that they allow you to see the results of your hard work and it's also a good way to keep you motivated. 

Sometimes I do get discouraged but my pictures keep me motivated and show me how far I've come and how hard I've worked.

So guys whenever you feel like giving up just keep calm and remember the 3 p's.

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Traded In My Heart For Muscle

So what's this ‘traded in my heart for muscle’ jazz all about then? Well as you know, I found my love for fitness during a state of depression after breaking up with my ex boyfriend. I've always been a 'guest appearance gymer' and had issues with my weight, so I guess my story’s much deeper than my ex-boyfriend- but that’s another blog post (soon come). Anyway, I got really slim and lost 1.5 stone in one month...I know some of you are thinking that's amazing-but nah, it wasn't cool.



Look at my collar bone -_____-



I started looking ill, my hair fell out, I skipped periods – I was a hot mess. Eventually, I started eating again and with being a food lover; I went a bit overboard lol. As my body had been longing for the food I had been depriving it of, the weight came back on FAST!

One day I was feeling really upset and I needed to get out of my house so I went for a run. I found it so soothing and therapeutic and soon it became a way of channelling any negativity I was feeling. 

Anyone that knows me personally can confirm that I'm a moody cow *makes cow noise*. I used to have serious mood swings, well I still kinda do but I'm working on it lol. But working out has made this a lot better. Whenever I felt upset, annoyed, in a mood - anything negative, I would just go to the gym and work it off.

Soon it became my addiction - an addiction that only I understood. It was from then on I decided to trade in all my emotions in relation to my break up and anything negative for a long term relationship with my health and fitness.

The amazing thing about breakups is they change you. Some let the break up break them but I chose to build myself up and focus on being and becoming a better me. By the way I still think love is amazing *gag* (I'm not bitter).

Just to be clear, traded in my heart for muscle doesn't represent being anti-men or love, even though that's the vibe I sometimes give off-trust me it's all banter. It's about turning negative energy into positive results. 

The aim of the movement is to empower others especially females, yes you had a bad day, yes your boyfriend cheated on you, yes you didn’t get the job, yes your heartbroken, yes you've gained weight and have rolls that seem to have appeared from no where. I know you can't fit into that dress you bought last summer and yes yes yes - I know you want to wear that backless dress but you know things ain't looking how they used to be, but it can change.

Just focus on channelling that negative energy into something positive to build a better you. Get your mind right and your body will follow. So whenever you’ve had one of them days, just focus on YOU. Eat right, go for a run or go to the gym - I don't want to hear excuses just do it #NoNike…work that negativity to the ground!

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Bare With Me ...I'm Just Having A Moment

Have you ever had those moments where you feel down and you don't know why? Well I've been having one of them recently as well as suffering a knee injury.

So I haven't been able to work out as much as I would like because of my knee and it's stressing me out. I've felt de-motivated to even do anything (I’m even struggling to write this post). So what have I turned to for comfort...food! Yes you heard correctly comfort food!

I've found myself comfort eating and doing things so out of character and its doing nothing but making me gain pounds ...ecccckkkkkk! Whatever ab ‘definition’ was forming on my stomach is now non existent :-(

...But not to worry...I know what I need to do :-)

For the next couple of weeks I'm going to shock my body and play with it, (laughs hysterically) that sounded so wrong but Im basically going to put my body through trial and error. I'm looking to eat clean and I mean squeaky clean. For example, no salt, saturated fats, refined sugars etc.

My meals are going to be pretty boring and bland, no dressing or nothing. The only thing I’ll be using to season my food is lemon. This is to try and reduce my body fat and to try and get them abs to come through.

I've been trying to get abs for agggessss now and it's not easy! But I'm not going to give up until I've tried everything there is to try. I’ve figured that it's all about trial and error and finding out what works for your body and to be honest I still have a lot more to learn about my own.

I already know that what works for one person might not work for another and I may not necessarily see any results, but at least I’ll be able to tick this method off my list if it doesn't work and ill continue to try others. 

I decided to post this really just to show that I am human lol. Yes that's right I bleed red not blue just like the rest of you. I know a lot of people think I live, eat, breathe & sleep fitness which is true to an extent, but I do have my moments as well lol.

Anyway...I shall upload progress pictures in four weeks about my trial and error period.

Until then…happy fitness

G

MidWeek Motivation

So this week several people have asked me for advice on how I stay motivated on this journey. Firstly you need to ask yourself how bad you want it because being fit and healthy is something you have to commit to long term. All these quick fixes are temporary and so are the results.

Personally, for me short term motivation comes from team work and pushing boundaries. By short term motivation I'm talking about a day when I can't be bothered to train but I know I have to.

Team work

I've found working out with someone or in a group is more productive than working out by myself. I find I work a lot harder and push myself out of my comfort zone. I particularly like working out with males or females who are just as crazy as I am and stronger than me because we will never take it easy in the gym.

When I've trained with males I usually find that my body is able to reach targets I never knew it was capable of.  As much as I hate to admit it, let's be honest, guys are stronger than girls, so being able to keep up with a guy in the gym gives me a buzz and should keep him on his toes because I shouldn't be able to do what he's doing.

Pushing boundaries

As you've probably already noticed I like to do random things like squatting humans on my shoulders or upside down sit ups on the train. This is because I actually find them things quite fun!

People who say working out and the gym are boring don’t know how to create their own fun!!!

Obviously doing the same gym routine all the time can become boring and tedious so why not switch it up a bit. I find these random things make my training sessions a lot more exciting and challenging, plus it allows me to put my fitness to the test.

I mean what's the point in being fit and strong if you can’t test how fit and strong you are.

Staying motivated in the long run I guess comes from wanting to encourage people to look after their physical and mental well being.

It's so true that when you look good you feel good. My confidence has increased so much since the beginning of my journey.

Fitness has taught me that there are no boundaries as I've been able to do things I never knew I was physically capable of, especially as I wasn't active as a child or teen.

My journey has allowed me to turn negative thoughts into positive actions and I just hope I can inspire you guys to do the same.

So people why not stay motivated by trying random things like chin ups or pull ups on a tree, handstands on a parked car or squatting your boyfriend or girlfriend !!!

Whatever you do just make sure you have fun whilst doing it.

G

Stretch Sundays

So today was supposed to be 'leg day' but when I got to the gym I had a change of heart. I actually couldn't be bothered so I decided to work on my flexibility and stretch out my body instead.

Flexibility is important because it:

• Improves your performance
• Decreases the risk of injury
• Reduces muscle soreness
• Improves your posture 
• Improves muscle coordination
• Improves balance and coordination

I decided to practice some Yoga stretches and although I've never been to a yoga class I would like to thank Instagram- my yoga teacher.

I seem to be quite flexible so I think yoga is something i'm going to take up.

By increasing your flexibility through stretching, your balance and coordination improves during a workout. Whereas the lack of flexibility can cause your movements to become slower and increases the chances of muscle strain and injuries after a workout.

So make sure you include stretching as part of your exercise regime.


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