Transformation Tuesday

So today's ‘Transformation Tuesday’ is dedicated to my mummy. She is my inspiration and living proof that getting into shape has no expiration date. She is 54 and has had four kids. After seeing my progress, she decided to join me on my journey and after a year, she has made this amazing transformation.

Most of her weight loss has been from nutrition rather than exercise as she ditched the oily African foods. Thanks to the help of @bigboatstrainingroom‘s nutrition plan, and my guidance, she has dropped from a size 20 to a size 16 on top, and a size 24 to a size 20 on the bottom.

Although my mum is lucky because she has me at her disposal to meal prep for her, and keep her on the straight and narrow, when it comes to her meals, she has worked really hard and has stayed committed to achieving her goals.

Her exercise routine is quite basic because she suffers from joint problems. She goes for brisk walks most mornings, in our local park, and does Shaun T’s ‘Hip Hop Abs’ and the ‘Brazillian Butt Lift’ DVD, three times a week. Although her exercise routine is not intense and does not consist of your typical cardio, she has managed to loose quite a considerable amount of weight, which to me, emphasises the importance of nutrition.

When they say weight loss is 70% your diet and 30% exercise, they are not lying. If she has managed to lose this much weight and keep it off without much exercise, imagine how much weight she could lose if she was to increase her exercise?

In my mums case, the focus has been on her nutrition and adopting a healthy lifestyle for long term results - which has clearly worked. She still treats herself to the occasional African meal but has adapted the way she cooks these meals. For example, she boils; grills and steams rather than frys her food, and these small changes have given her big results.

My mum is my inspiration and has showed me that it doesn't matter how old you are, if you put your mind to it, you can reach your goals.

So ask yourself this, if at my mum’s age she can do it, then what are you waiting for?

G

Marathon vs Sprinter

The way you exercise is important because it determines the shape your body eventually moulds into. Here we have a marathon runner (left) and a sprinter (right). Can you spot the difference in their physiques?

Although both are runners, the difference in their training is important. Cardio is the most effective way to burn fat and calories. However, it can also burn muscle. Whilst doing long periods of cardio, the body has to find its largest resources of calories, which more often tends to be from the muscles. When your cardio is maintained for long periods of time at low/moderate intensity level, a hormone called Cortisol is released which leads to muscle burning.

However, short intense cardio utilises and uses up your bodies stored sugars more (needed for short bursts of high intensity) and has a greater after burn effect. Cortisol is again released by the body but this is also released alongside growth hormones and testosterone, which enhances fat burning and leads to a higher muscle building state.

You tend to burn more fat during high intensity workouts rather than low/moderate intensity workouts because high intensity has an after burn effect. This is basically where your metabolism has been kicked into overdrive and the body continues to burn off calories after your workout. 



Education is key and to be honest as I was reading this I surprised myself with the knowledge that I did know. Sometimes doing your own research and asking fitness experts in the industry is the only way to truly understand how the body responds to different exercises. This way you will always be pointing your body in the right direction as you’ll know exactly what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.

My current goal is to shed body fat without losing too much mass, whilst still maintaining my curves. Although the majority of my training involves high intensity cardio anyway, I will still embark on a few low/moderate intensity workouts to help target my stubborn fat. I will also combat any risk of muscle loss here by ensuring I maintain my weight sessions in the gym.



So next time you decide to do cardio, think about your goals and what you are trying to achieve. If your aim is to achieve lean muscle and get that ‘tight look’ as opposed to just weight loss, think about doing intervals or simply running that much faster so you reduce your time…remember it is NOT about duration, it is about intensity.

G

You're More Beautiful Than You Think

I was inspired to write this blog post by the recent Dove Real Beauty advert. For the few that haven't seen the advert yet (click here) , a FBI forensic artist is behind a curtain and draws the individuals portrait by their own self description. The artist then draws a second portrait of the same individual but this time the drawing is based on a strangers description of them. 

When the two portraits are compared, the portrait based on the individuals own self description was very unflattering and miserable. However, the portrait based on the strangers description of the individual was more softer, more realistic and somewhat - happier.

It highlighted that these women had self distorted images of themselves and did not realise how beautiful they were. Whilst watching the advert I got quite emotional because I know for a fact I can relate and a lot of people I know can relate too. It just goes to show that we are all too consumed with a perception of what we think we should look like, when really we should just embrace the way we are.

Not too long ago my friend who works in a school, asked me to come and workout with some of the year 11s, so I did. When I met them we discussed their goals and why they wanted to start working out. Sadly, their responses were "I want a body like Beyonce and Kim Kardashian".

It made me realise that the majority of us, and when I say us, I'm referring mainly to those in the black community, are obsessed with the image that the perfect body is a slim waist, thick thighs and a big bum. These girls were only 15/16 and already they were worried about getting big hips and a big bum. I had to remind them that they were only young so there bodies had not even fully developed yet.

But lets be honest, a lot of females decide to start working out because they are trying to achieve that same "perfect" body. My opinion is, if that's your only motivation to work out, then your doing it for all the wrong reasons and your motivation to workout probably won't last that long.

Personally, i'm working out to improve my fitness and although looking good does come into it, it isn't my main goal. Some of you are probably rolling your eyes because I'm talking about not being obsessed with having wide hips and a small waist but these are features I possess so I can say this, but through working out my bum and hips have got smaller,  but these are sacrifices I'm willing to make in the hopes of becoming fitter.

But yh... the advert got me thinking and made me realise that what most people see as negative features and flaws - they blow it out of proportion, when really they are actually positive and beautiful qualities. The moment we stop pressurising ourselves to look like others and conform to an idealised beauty and the sooner we start being happy within ourselves,  we will start enjoying life a lot more.

Next time you find yourself having a stand off with your mirror don't focus on the new flaw you've discovered, focus on that flawless beauty that it yet to be re-discovered again!

Stay beautiful.

G

Meal Prep

Im a busy body- I leave my house at 7:30am and don’t usually get back home until 9/10pm everyday. Getting home around them times to now start cooking my meals is even longer than it sounds…so what do I do? I meal prep!

On Sundays, I cook enough Protein, Carbs & Veg to last me for the working week (Mon-Fri), put them into individual containers and keep them in the fridge. There’s no need to put the meals in the freezer because the food will still be fresh by the time Im ready to eat it.

This saves so much time and money as it allows me to avoid eating rubbish, spending money on food or skipping meals when I’m out and about during the week.

I just grab a container and ‘voilà’ …Im good to go.

Try it….meal prep for a week and see how much time and money you save.

G

Nike Flyknit Experience at Somerset House

So from today untill Wednesday, Nike will be hosting a Flyknit experience at Somerset House to launch the new Flyknit Lunar1+. What makes these trainers so special? Well, they are as light as a feather and provide the perfect fit for the perfect run. 

At the event you’ll be able to have a one-to-one footwear consultation, take the shoes for a trial run and learn more about the shoe design. Anyone going should make good use of this foot consultation because it’s important that you wear the correct footwear when working out. Your footwear should be fitted to suit your foot type. 

How do you find your foot type?  There are two options:

1.       Go to your local Sports Direct store and use a machine they have in store, this is usually found near the running trainers; or 

2.      Wet your foot and step on a dark, flat surface. If your foot imprint is wide and fat with practically no arch showing, you have flat feet. If your foot imprint has an arch but it seems to almost be on one side of your foot, you have a high arch. If your foot imprint shows both a bit of flatness and a bit of an arch, then you have a normal foot.

Obviously the first option is the easiest. 

I’m flat footed so I should be wearing trainers that provide extra support, slight motion and cushion because being flat footed causes your feet to hit the ground harder. Wearing the correct footwear not only enhances your performance but also prevents injuries such as blisters, black toenails, back, knee and hip pain, Achilles tendonitis and shin splints (leg pain). 

You’ll also be able to join the Nike Flyknit run clubs for a 5k run. Unfortunately I will not be participating in this because my knees are on their last legs right now, but it should be fun. 

For more information on the event click here.

I’ll most probably go down on Wednesday so hopefully I will see some of you there.

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.


G