What a month it's been! A lot of changes have been made to my routine and how I'm training this November. It hasn't just been about challenging myself, or even the Spartan Race. I've had to make changes this month purely on my own happiness and finding the best environment to thrive in. It's taught me that your fitness journey needs to change and grow as you do. The moment you become bored or unhappy, things need to change. Do what's right for you and find the path that makes you the happiest on your journey to getting fit.

Leaving my gym 

This was a pretty hard decision to make, but I know that it was for the best. I had been going there for a year and a half, and it was the perfect gym for my start in fitness. But over the past few months I had grown unhappy with the lack of guidance, boredom with being in a small area, and over old men staring at me while I work out. It wasn't my happy place anymore and I knew something had to change. I took some time off to see if distance helped, but I still didn't want to go back. Sometimes you simply outgrow your gym, but I'm thankful for everything they taught me and getting me in such great shape.

Joining Crossfit

Carrying on from my last point, I booked in for a free trial class at Crossfit gym early in the month and never looked back. I was still at my gym by this point, and trying these classes was a big factor in my decision to leave. I'll be going into more details in another post, but this has been the challenge and inspiring environment that I have craved for so long. I have been pushing myself through some pretty tough workouts and learning all new skills. The best part is the friendly and truly bad-ass people I have met. Crossfit has such a great community and they keep you going when you want to give up. Can't recommend it enough for anyone looking to take their training to the next level. I had been wanting to try it for a while and I'm so glad I did!


Spartan Race Training 

Entries for the 2017 race on Oahu are officially open now (I'm officially registered, woohoo!) and it's getting real! I've decided to do the SUPER course, which is the middle of race difficulty (16km, 24-29 obstacles.) This month I have increased my running to five times a week doing 8-10kms, and on the weekends we have started running uphill courses. Crossfit is the most recommended way to train for the race because of the endurance and strength combo, so that's all go now and I'm really happy with it. I'm learning to push through that mental barrier that holds you back, which I'm going to need to do a lot on the course.


Setting Up A Home Gym 

After leaving mine, I had toyed with the idea of finding a new gym in my city. To be honest, most of them seem pretty generic and boring. It would also be nice to save money on a gym membership with Christmas and birthdays coming up. Recently my brother has been getting back into his fitness and set up a mini gym in the garage. We have a treadmill, bench press, a few weights, and some bands that I occasionally use. At times I would usually go to the gym, I've been going outside and practicing my jump rope, then heading in to work on my lifts with the barbell. It doesn't sound like much but it covers everything I need at the moment and I love working out on my own.


Running 10km In An Hour!

After we surprised ourselves with a great time for 11km last month, my Mum and me set a goal to complete 10km in an hour. We entered the Summer Starter Fun Run and trained just that bit harder every day. On the day of the run, we faced a little challenge with the wind, my sore foot, and pain in my Mum's hip, but we did it! Our time was 01.13min and we are pretty proud of ourselves. We have a couple of 15km runs next year, so I'm sure we will be setting goals for them too.



Overall, November was quite a big month for my fitness and I'm really confident going into December. Crossfit is helping me progress at such a great rate and I can't wait to see where it takes me. Here's to finishing off 2016 fitter and stronger than ever!

How do you change up your fitness routine?
Steph x.

Health and Fitness Update - March

I realized recently that I haven't updated you all on where I am with my health and fitness journey. I've been working really hard these past months on sticking with a healthy lifestyle and I absolutely love it! The results are showing as well, slowly mind you, but it's progress. I also had a nutritionist appointment recently and I've lost 9cm off my waist in the past year! Plus my cells are all healthy and I'm putting on muscle. 2016 is definitely going to be the year I turn into Supergirl.

My Fitness Pal App
So I've been trying to lose those last 5-10kgs to help with my toning work and to just feel better about my body. I read about the My Fitness Pal app by Under Armor (one of my favorite brands) and decided to give it a go. I basically set it to losing 0.5kgs a week and got given 7000 KJ to work with everyday. With my eating habits and exercise routine it hasn't been that difficult to stick to and I've only had to cut out a few things in my diet to make a difference. Don't worry, I still eat pizza and have dessert, but I've been using it for a month now and have dropped about 4kgs so far! This app is great and has really opened my eyes to how easy it is to eat more than I need to each day.

Fitness Journal 
I thought it would be a good idea to start keeping track of my fitness throughout the month. I write down my goals/ focus areas for the month, tips from my PT, and what weights I'm using. I'm looking forward to reading it back at the end of the year and seeing how much I've progressed. If I want to plan out my meals for the day, this journal is great for writing it all down so that I stick to it.

Meal Prep
Considering how much I love to be prepared, this should come naturally to me. I want to be clear and say that I don't make up all my meals at the start of each week. I'd get too bored with having the same thing everyday and I like my veges fresh. But I have started a habit of prepping lunch ingredients every Sunday. I usually cook about a cup of quinoa and I roast some kumera (sweet potato) so that I can have them in the fridge and quickly put together a salad bowl for lunch. It really is effective in getting me to have the proper nutrients in my diet everyday.

Gluten Free? 
 I found that once I got used to a healthy eating routine, I ended up cutting out a lot of bread and pasta from my diet and replaced it with things like quinoa and brown rice. My Mum also buys a million different kinds of flour for baking too, which makes life interesting. The problem is that since I don't eat gluten much anymore, now when I eat a piece of cake or some naan bread my stomach goes crazy and I spend an hour in pain. I'm not sure if I actually am gluten-intolerant, but I definitely can't handle the portions I used to.

Boxing  
You may have seen on Twitter that this is my new fitness obsession. It's quite popular at my gym and I was itching to try it myself. I even went out to buy my own gloves (because sharing is pretty gross...) I don't think I will ever get into it professionally, but knowing how to punch might come in handy some day. It's also killing my abs like nothing before! Fun fact: My great-grandfather was a boxer and actually died of a heart attack in the ring. A bit morbid, but how badass is that!? Seriously love my family.

Fitness Schedule

I'm basically active every single day and alternate different areas of my body. Sunday is always my lighter day where I still get outside, but I don't push my body as much. I find I get really tired and don't feel motivated on days where I do nothing. On days where I run, I meet my Mum at our local park, which is great because we always motivate each other and do running events together. Running was the start of my fitness and I've worked too hard to give it up now. It's a constant battle to balance my need to run for my obsession with the gym.

Here's what a typical week looks like: 

Monday - Arm/leg  60min

Tuesday - Arm/Leg  60min

Wednesday - Chest and back 40 min, 8km run (60min)

Thursday - Boxing/Leg 60min

Friday - Arms 40 min, 8km run (60min)

Saturday - Hill walk/run 10km (1 hr 20min)

Sunday - Hill walk/run (60min)

Fitness Goals

I'm really happy with how things are progressing at the moment and I just want to keep building on what I've already achieved. I've become obsessed with lifting, so I'm determined to keep going heavier and building my strength. My boxing lessons are really testing my fitness levels and I'm loving learning how to push through that. My PT knows how to be tough on me and that's exactly what I want. 

Excuse the bad quality, my hands are always shaking after a work out

I seriously cannot wait to see how the rest of the year turns out. I'll be ready for another bikini filled holiday in Hawaii. Although I will miss the gym while I'm away for three weeks. 

What are some of your fitness goals for the year?

Steph x.