Tuesday 29 January 2013

Let's Crack ON!!

Hey There :)

Wow, that was a long blogging hiatus! So much has been going on since Xmas I’ve not known whether I’m coming or going, and to be honest the past few weeks I was in a major funk.
 
I try and stay positive all the time but sometimes we all need a bit of a break…I’ve had that break and will now be back blogging on a more regular basis to document my journey through 2013.
Since I’ve not updated on here for ages there is so much that’s been going on I’m not sure where to start. There’s so much I want to communicate so I think I’ll have to break it down over a few posts, but I’ll see how much I ramble one here.
 
So…after completing the USN challenge I continued to lean out until Xmas time. At that stage I was going to enjoy Xmas and get back to building lean mass and strength from January. That didn’t really go as planned and I ended up in a whirlwind of extremely excessive training and a low carb and (for me) a low calorie diet. This for me was still around 2300 but with the amount of circuit and HIIT training I was doing it ruined me.

A few weeks ago I started a strength program to try and put a stop to the leaning out and start on the path I initially aimed for, then got hit with a virus and was seriously suffering from fatigue and was expressing all the signs of over training. (no motivation, lack of confidence, weak, emotional) Just everything I am usually not.
 
After taking a complete rest for a week, nourishing myself well whilst resting and getting away to spend some quality time with my friends I am back on track. Fighting fit and ready to smash my goals!! I am excited to see where I can get this year.
 
My current training is going to be based on a strength program to work on Power and Oly lifts, supplementing that with hypertrophy to help build the size I want. I have a program designed by USN athlete Emma Storey-Gordon for the strength aspect and will be following a 6 week cycle. The really fun stuff starts after this!! I will be joining a CrossFit box in Teesside (quite a journey from where I live but I’m committed to reaching my goals)
 
When I first started out on my fitness journey, probably around 6 months ago, my main focus was fitness modelling and bodybuilding. This got me to a great place and really helped me battle my demons but, it really isn’t me and I believe it now actually hinders my progress, as I was always so focused on training for aesthetics which was driving and fuelling the disordered side of my mentality. This is what I want to break away from, and this is where the sport of CrossFit comes in.

When I was younger I was always the sporty, outdoors type who thrived when training for athletic purposes. I was strong and lean, well fuelled and represented the North of England in Hockey, and competed at various levels at Horse Riding, Athletics and much more.
I am eager for that drive again…Training for life, athleticism, power, speed, endurance. That is what excites me. So my main goal this year is to get to a place where I can compete in CrossFit. I am under no illusion that this is going to take a lot of hard work, but I am ready for it. I have fought like hell to beat an illness that takes many people’s lives and I am now ready to fight like hell to achieve my goals, inspire others to take action and to live my dreams. That is the ultimate goal!
 
Along the way I will be undertaking events such as, Tough Mudder, Spartan Sprint and a ½ Marathon, to help raise money for charities such as York Mind and BEAT Eating Disorders, then I will take on the biggest challenge of all next year…The 8hr CrossFit Endurance Challenge!
 
I want to encourage others to feel empowered and train for something more than just how you look on the outside. CrossFit is all about community and physical preparedness, allowing people to feel strong and be ready to take on whatever life throws at them. To me this is what it’s all about, continuing to develop, get better, fitter, stronger and happier, having a balance and enjoying life. And do you know what? If you train for athleticism, fuel yourself well and relax occasionally, you will look god damn awesome in the process and have energy and confidence. Have you seen Andrea Ager, Christmas Abbott, Rich Froning (Pizza and Peanut Butter man)?
 
A lot is changing around here and it’s changing for the better for ME. I am no longer going to be a sheep, conforming to what I feel like I ‘should’ be doing. There will be experiments along the way, some may work, some may not, but it’s a learning process and one day I will find what works for me. We are all individual and if you trust yourself, you know what your body wants, needs or requires. Have the confidence to listen to it and you will be rewarded.
 
Right I’ve gone on quite a bit as usual haha.
 
That’s essentially where I’m at currently. You will be seeing some surprising little additions to my post w/o meals, which I will discuss more in the next blog post.
 
Hope you all had a great Xmas and slightly better start to 2013 than I did, and congrats if you managed to read the whole post!!

Adios!! :)

Remember “Never a failure, always a lesson”

Tuesday 8 January 2013

Sorry about the absence!

Happy New Year!!!

Sorry it's late. I have been meaning to write a post for ages now but have been sooo busy.

There's a lot going on at the moment for me in terms of work, starting new projects at KDFitPro and I suppose life in general. It's certainly a rocky time at the moment and I have some decisions to make about which way to take my training. Don't worry, it's not stopping and never will - in fact I want to take it up a notch.

I'm loving being busy and making loads of new connections in the world of fitness - I'm thriving on it and it's made my motivation to succeed soar! Once I have got a solid schedule sorted again I will return to more frequent blogging and document my next stages.

Until then, just catch up with me on twitter - I try my best to get back to everyone.

Hope your all off to a great start in 2013!

Train like Spartans, eat well and rest when you need to. More importantly, ENJOY IT!!