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.

Great Ways To Reward Yourself After Exercise!

As much as working out can be it's own reward (feeling strong/awesome/unstoppable) everybody deserves a treat for doing well with their fitness. It doesn't have to be a trip to McDonald's or anything else that will undo all of your hard work. Nor does it have to be spending a tonne of money on new Nike gear. Although that can be pretty fun from time to time!

These are budget-friendly ways to help you feel great after exercise, that you can easily add to your daily routine. They are things that I personally like to reward myself with that help me feel great and stay positive about my fitness. Even on bad days where you're just not feeling it, but you go to the gym or for a run anyway, it's those days especially that you deserve a reward. These journeys are tough and we should all be proud of ourselves for doing our best to achieve our goals.

Create your dream smoothie 

I'm talking berries, mango, coconut yogurt, anything that you love all blended to create an amazing smoothie. What's better than something that helps refuel your body and tastes like something they drink on tropical islands? It will leave you feeling refreshed and can help you cool down too. Also a great way to add more fruits into your diet. 

Zesty Shower Gels 

This one is a personal favorite of mine. Whenever I've gone really hard working out that day and I'm dying to get clean again, a shower gel that smells fresh and zesty is just what I need. Lush always have some amazing scents, as well as the Body Shop (I've been using their pina colada one and it's so good!) You'll feel amazing and ready to take on the day.

Take a selfie and share how great you feel

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know I'm not shy to the occasional mirror selfie. Some days you just feel awesome and may have noticed a few gains. I absolutely love seeing selfies from other fit-girls who are proud of their progress, I find it really inspiring! Get you phone out, find a nice mirror and have fun striking a few poses! Share how great you feel and it might convince others to take up their own journey.

Write down and compare your progress

You body actually improves faster than you think, which is why it's great to write down your workout results. Even though it can seem like you're making slow progress, if you have a notebook that allows you to look back a month, you'll be surprised by how far you've come! Hard work and dedication are rewarding when you hit those goals and make great progress. When you hit a milestone, it may be time to treat yourself to some new workout gear ;)

Meet a friend for brunch 

I don't now about you, but a morning workout followed by smashed avocado and poached eggs, alongside coffee and good company, sounds like a great reward! A lot of brunch menus have healthy options that are full of protein, so you always have the excuse of needing the muscle repair (if in doubt, go for eggs on toast.) This is something me and my Mum do every single Saturday after our hill run. We look forward to it all week and it's something to focus on when I'm half-way through. Food is such a great motivator!

Get all glam just for yourself 

I absolutely love doing this! As much as I can feel like a bad-ass in my gym gear, I always look forward to putting on my favorite skirt and a flattering top. Maybe a little red lipstick if I'm feeling confident. Wear your favorite outfit and feel amazing for the rest of the day. You've worked hard at the gym, so use that confidence to add some glamor into your routine (and show off all those squats you've been doing.)


Treat yourself to an acai bowl 

Not only are these heavenly to look at, but they taste amazing too! It's rewarding yourself with something sweet, while getting the benefits of this amazing super-food. It's rich in antioxidants and can help you maintain a healthy weight. Most places will add some muesli to their acai bowls, so they make for a great mid-morning snack. And my favorite part is the awesome Instagram pic you can share!


There we have it, some easy ways for you to reward yourself after exercise. I would love to know what you guys do to lift yourselves after a workout, let me know in the comments!

Steph x.

Don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin' for more fitness posts!

10 Awesome Reasons You Should Exercise Today

If you need a little help getting motivated to be more active and get fit, then this post is for you! There are so many benefits to exercise and getting going is always the hardest part. You will always love yourself afterwards for doing it, but sometimes we all need a little motivation. Since I'm a bit of a fitness-junkie, I thought I would share some of my favorite reasons to exercise. These are things that I always think about on days where I'm sore and tired, but I know I am capable of putting in some work.

And remember that everyday fitness doesn't have to be lifting weights or running on a treadmill. Take your dog for a walk, dance around with a friend, or even just jumping on a trampoline counts too.

It's a great stress relief 

I can't tell you how many bad days have been made great for me by adding in a little exercise. My mind can switch off from whatever is bothering me and I can just focus on a little self-care. If you're frustrated, go lift some weights and feel like Wonder Woman. If you need to clear your head, go for a walk/run around your local park and just enjoy being in a little nature. Exercise releases endorphins that will instantly boost your mood if you let it. Take time to focus on yourself and let the stress slip away. 

Donuts are more satisfying after you've kicked some butt at the gym 

Having any kind of treat is so much better when you know you deserve it. Hard work should be rewarded and for me it often takes the form of food. Living by the 80/20 rules means you can still have the occasional pizza or doughnut if you've been doing well with your workout routine. Instead of feeling guilty for eating it, now I know I've earned it and it tastes even better!

It will help you escape that lazy mood

I know that some days the thought of doing any exercise feels impossible, but you actually have more energy on days where you leave the couch, than when you don't. By leaving those lazy thoughts behind and pushing yourself to workout, you set yourself a positive and productive mood for the rest of the day. Just 30 minutes will make you feel like super-woman and you can tackle anything. 

You'll sleep like a baby

Before I worked out regularly, it would take me at least an hour to fall asleep. Nowadays, I'm out like a light in under twenty minutes! If you're someone who struggles with falling asleep at night, being active will really help you to get a better rest. Then you'll be good to go for the next day!

The more you do it, the easier it gets 

Amen. The start of any fitness journey is always the hardest. But just like when we were young and our parents would say "Practice makes perfect!" the same thing goes for any type of exercise. If you keep at it and work hard, you'll run that mile or be able to do a pull-up. Every workout counts and with time you'll become a pro. It gets easier so keep going!

Feel proud of yourself, you little bad-ass 

No matter what exercise you like, love yourself for doing it and being awesome. I would say that a good 80% of my self-love has come from my fitness journey. It makes me feel a super-hero and when I hit the reps I want I feel amazing! Fitness can be a confidence booster if you let it, so work hard and be proud of yourself.

Be a healthier, happier version of yourself 

We all say this to ourselves at New Years, so take it from someone who has fulfilled that goal, and let me tell you that it's worth it. When you become active, you begin to think harder about how you treat your body, and that's when healthy habits start to form. With those habits you feel proud of doing good for yourself and it makes you happy! You should aim to be the best version of yourself each day and fitness is a great place to start.

So you don't have to ask boys for help when lifting heavy things

Never again! I am addicted to the feeling of being strong and it's a bit part of my reason for working out. There have been times at my gym where I'll lift a weight that one of the guys doesn't expect me to and their faces are priceless! I know there's nothing wrong with getting help from a gentleman, but how great does it feel when you don't have to? 

What would the Rock do? 

One sentence that could make me get to the gym at any time of day (well, not before 6am, let's be honest here.) Dwayne Johnson is so inspiring to me and he's the type of person to never make excuses for anything. If he can get to the gym with his busy schedule and family, then so can you.

A 30 minute workout is only 2% of your day

That's really not an awful lot is it? You don't have to spend hours at the gym to live a healthier life and a half-hour workout is such a small part of your day. Get up earlier, go for a run after work, bike to university instead of driving, it all counts and it makes a huge difference in the long run.

There we go, that's ten awesome reasons for you to exercise today! I hope this helps any of you out there that struggle with motivation. Just remember it's always mind over matter.

What motivates you to go and get some exercise?
Steph x.

Daily Blog: New Leg Workout & Coffee Catch Up!

Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a great Halloween.

I did have a daily blog from yesterday to edit this morning, but looking back at the pictures made me think it was going to be super-boring. So, I'm endeavoring to make today's much better!

I got up early for the #TheGirlGang chat, seeing as I can do them now (thank you time change!) but to my disappointment there wasn't one because of the movie night. But it's okay because I got to watch some more Dan and Phil. Today they were playing Outlast 2 and it was terrifying!! There's no way I could play that game by myself.

Got my tunes blasting to get me ready to face leg day today. Anyone else loving the new song from DNCE? It's so catchy and fun.

Gym OOTD:
I'm wearing my comfy Nike tank with these black shorts that hold my quads and glutes nicely. Just simple in black today, but it still makes me feel bad-ass.

Just getting my shakers together before I leave. I truly believe drinking BCAAs has helped me a lot with repairing and maintaining my muscles. If you're taking your training to the next level, I highly recommend looking into trying some kind of amino supplement.

Also got my pre-gym snack! I could be healthier with this, but they just taste too good. Oh well!

After watching a few Heidi Somers videos, I decided to use her technique of mixing up my weights during sets. Higher reps at a lower weight for toning, then add more and focus on strength. It stops me from getting bored too. Let's do this!

Warmup: 5 minute WattBike

Leg Press:
80-90kg 20 reps (3 sets)
120kg 8-10 reps (2 sets)

Squats:
30kg 8-10 reps (3 sets)
40-45kg 5-6 reps (2 sets)

Gym pet peeve: When people don't put the weights back in order (boys, I'm looking at you!)


Sumo squats (with 12kg kettlebell)
 1min, 3 sets

Squat side-kick
60 seconds, 3 sets

Split Squats (with two 8kg kettlebells)
 10-12 reps, 3 sets

Circuit: Jump Squats & Donkey Kicks
20 reps of each, 3 sets

SkillMill:
Hold on to handles and walk backwards
Level 7 resistance
1 min on, 1 min off
3 sets
Seriously, if you guys have one of these machines at your gym, make the most of it on leg day! It's brilliant. 

Abs:
Dumbbell Side Bend (new fav!)
12 reps, 3 sets

Bench Pull-In, Knee Ups
15 reps, 3 sets

Decline Push-Ups
10 reps, 3 sets

Russian Twists (10kg)
30 reps, 3 sets

A hot shower after a workout is always so rewarding! It's nice Spring weather today, so I'm being optimistic and wearing shorts.  A girl can try.

 

Around about 11am I usually start crashing a bit and feel really tired. I suspect it's the pre-workout I take. It just makes a fresh cup of coffee more satisfying!

Lunch time! I'm having my meal prep that I made on Sunday. It's just tofu in honey soy sauce, vitality bean mix, and brown rice with quinoa. So easy and so good. And yes, I'm watching another Dan & Phil video. They put up a new baking one and it's so funny!

I'm meeting one of my good friends for coffee at one of my favorite cafes, Black & White Coffee. It was so good to just chat about boys, what dogs we want most, and plans for my birthday. I need to have more girl-time in my life. The salted caramel cake I had was delicious too! I probably shouldn't have had that second flat white, I was buzzing on caffeine all the way to work!

Check out my ab progress! Probably not the best lighting, but I've only been doing these new exercises for a couple of weeks and it's already paying off! Far from perfect, but I'm getting there slowly.

Another make-shift dinner of a fish cake, pesto potatoes, sauteed greens, & roasted cauliflower. I really wanted to watch Gilmore Girls while I ate, but my old laptop was having trouble loading anything.

I really felt like dessert, but we didn't have much that was healthy (that's my excuse anyway) So I'm having just a scoop of mint chocolate icecream. 

Someone's ready for bed I think : )

Night-time essentials!  I really want to do a giveaway of a couple of these Kiwi brands because I love them so much. Would you guys be interesting in that? Let me know.

I'm all snuggled in bed and watching just one more episode of the Big Bang Theory. I love chilling at the end of the day like this.



Did you get up to anything for Halloween?
Steph x.

Daily Blog: #Flexfriday, Hair Treatment, & An Exciting Package!

Happy Friday! 

Look guys, I'm having something different for breakfast! I didn't feel like porridge this morning, so I opted for these Sultana Bran bites with banana and strawberry. It's nice to change things up a bit. Delicious too!

While doing some blog commenting/Twitter chatting, I had a realization that I didn't having anything special to wear for my 25th birthday coming up. Since the shops in New Zealand never have a great selection, I went straight to ASOS to get browsing. Not gonna lie, the red dress is calling to me. Might be perfect for showing off my gym work! 

I've been a little lost at the gym lately, so I thought it would be a good idea to write down a workout plan for today. I really need to make it a habit, as opposed to me just aimlessly wandering around the weight section. It's so much better when you have something to focus on!

I bought this hair treatment yesterday while we were out. My hair is in the damaged/dry stage so I need to keep conditioning it the best I can. Let's see how it goes!

I'm changing up my routine today and going to the gym after I meet Mum for a run (instead of before.) Since I won't be eating lunch until later, I'm having something now. I'm getting a protein hit of two eggs and soy milk scrambled with a generous sprinkle of chili flakes. I'm having it with an English muffin and avocado. Yum!

The weather was amazing today so we had a really great run. It was good to stretch out my legs after yesterdays workout. Time for a coffee and some healthy treats! I swear I could live off of the peanut butter protein balls they make here! We also tried one of their hemp cookies and it was so good.

Time for an arm session! I've got my workout plan that I wrote out earlier and my Spotify playlist. I'm good to go!

I started with a 500m sprint on the rowing machine to warm up.

Pull ups x10
Ball throws 4kg x10
3 sets of each

Bench Press 10kg x8-10reps
4 sets

Bicep Curls x 20reps 7kg dumbbells
3 sets

Lateral Dumbbell Raises 4kg
x10-12 reps, 3 sets

Frontal Dumbbell Raises 5kg
x12-15 reps, 3 sets

Pushups x20

Over-head Pulls 23kg
x20reps, 4 sets

PowerBag Lifts 20kg
x8-10reps, 3 sets

Deadlifts 35kg
x8-10reps, 5 sets

Russian Twists 10kg Dumbbell
x30reps
Knee to Elbow
x 30reps
3 sets of each

That was such a great arm session, I feel really good now. I made sure to roll out my shoulders and stretch my arms. There were so many people killing it at the gym today. It's such a contagious environment!

Gotta have my aminos & protein shake so I don't lose any gains! 

Happy #FlexFriday! When I first got into fitness it was all about getting fit and losing weight. Overtime that's changed into being addicted to getting stronger and pushing my body's limits. Lifting makes me feel like a superhero and I love it.

Had the quickest shower, chucked on some semi-comfy clothes and put on a natural look before I head off to work. I'm still in love with this bomber jacket!

Was in such a rush to get ready that I had to eat my lunch in the car! Thank goodness for meal prep.

Guess what arrived while I was away at work?! No it's not a box of Pro Bars (although that would be amazing!) It's something super-exciting that I can't share with you yet, but will be turned into a blog post soon. Lucy you are the best!!

Having an easy dinner of an egg muffin with salmon, avocado and sweet chili sauce inside. Mum also grilled up these veges with ginger and other good stuff. I'm also excited because it's Spooky Week on Dan & Phil Games! They're playing the new Five Nights At Freddy's game, which are my favorite to watch. The jump-scares are hilarious!

Dessert time! I was naughty this week and bought some mint chocolate ice cream (my fav.) I also sprinkled a Tim Tam biscuit on top, just because it's Friday.

Its pouring rain outside, but I'm all snuggled up in bed watching The Big Bang Theory. It's the best way to end the week!

I hope everyone had a great week! Who else is excited for the weekend?
Steph x.