BLC photo shoot.

Well, I had yet another exciting trip up to Sydney and back... This time just for the day!! Hehehe...

It was very interesting, very eye opening but a FUN day in Sydney!! The biggest looser club asked me to go do a photo shoot with them so they could use me in part of their advertising on their website come the new year... BAHAHAHAhahaha!!! Me? I used to avoid the camera like the absolute plague... I still am not all that fond of being in front of it - but given reflection in the picture is about 10 sizes smaller I can handle it much better! LOL! I had to give them all my measurements, sizes, hair colour, colouring etc so the stylist could get some clothes together before I got there. And I had to go get my nails done the day before.... It was all very exciting!! WOO! I had never got a plane by myself before so that was a bit scary... but I managed not to get lost...



Given how up close and personal we had been all
day I got a picture with the styalist...
Claire (left), Styalist (middle), Me (right)

The day was fun but I discovered that this photo business is SERIOUSLY hard work!! There are only so many hours I can produce a genuine looking smile and find things to amuse myself and laugh at... I think it is capped at about 5 hours.

Smile... more energy... turn your upper body a little more... can we have someone fix her hair.... angle your leg this way... no keep your foot there... put your right arm here... not so much, a little less... ok - now smile!! ok - now smile with more energy!! Umm... Seriously??

The funniest part would be either being told to jump slower on the trampoline (because we can control how fast the springs bounce us up!!), while doing the Toyota legs up, one arm in the air thing.. But don't put your legs too far up behind you... and bend your elbows a bit more... and while you are in the air remembering all this - smile at the camera... and act natural and have fun... and don't fall off the trampoline!!

Or the weirdest part was dancing to a Madonna song with 5 people just standing there giving you directions on how to dance for the camera... bit more hips... feet closer together... arms over that direction... but look natural and dance like you are having fun.. even though we are all watching you. Whoops! Lost those fake boobies!! Need to fix the boobs... hmm... weird...

And with the hair / make-up lady. She was SO good...
looked after me she did!!

All I can say is: good thing I am not the sensitive type!! My hair is too thin and cut wrong, my boobs are too small, my shoulders are too wide... and of course, that's before we even get to the tan lines and wrinkles... HAHAHAHAHA!!!
Moral of the story - NEVER BE A MODEL!! No wonder they have complex's about their bodies!! LOL! Funny enough - they all told me how beautiful I looked - then they would turn to each other and have a conversation...

"Can someone fix her hair" (producer)

"I tried to give it more body" (hair/make-up lady)

"Yeah, she's got really thin hair" (photo man)

"You can fix that though" (producer to the photo man)

... me standing there... seriously?? HELLO??!!! LOL!!

I did get a look at their photo's though and I seriously had to look twice to recognise myself - they are amazing!!

I took a couple with my camera after it was finished... I've got my clothes on again - but you can see the idea the had with my hair / make-up etc.. Looking forward to seeing what they will do with the ones they took come the new year!!

Added in Feb 2011

I am in their home page video!! Hehehehe

Emazon training.

Well, after seeing Emazon train the contestants on the biggest loser T.V show, I must admit to being a little scared as to what to expect. But I was crazy enough to be looking forward to it and excited about doing something different!! LOL!

The training program I went to was called, "Stand your ground", and it was all about protecting your personal bubble. Your personal bubble can be physical, verbal, or emotional... If you don't invite someone into your bubble, then they have no right to be there, and it's up to you to protect your bubble. We did this drill where the person holding the pads got really close to you and smacked into you with the pads... I was really surprised at how I cowered away! I really didn't think I would have a bubble - I am pretty easy going and open to people being up close and direct... But I HAVE A BUBBLE!! Hahahaha... While the person was smacking into you, the idea was that you punch the pad when they hold it in the air as quick as possible. The idea being that when your bubble is invaded in whatever sense, you keep your eyes open, face it head on and smack it out. After a bit of practise I was able to ignore the person in my face, smacking me and aim for the pad and punch it as soon as it appeared.

We also learnt a bit of street fighting technique... Things like if someone ends up to close to you that you cant punch them - use your elbow and break their nose!! That was cool to practise!

Emazon was talking about how everyone has 2 different people inside them and both in everyday life but also in training people usually present one of these people to everyone. She showed us an example of how in a boxing class someone will be just going through the motions of the Jab / Jab / Cross etc... Then she showed us the example of someone who brings that other person out and puts everything into their training and the punch looks very different. So much more focus and effort is put in.

There was one stage when we were practising the nose breaking elbow... and I must have not been really paying much attention to what I was doing. Emazon came over and said, "There is something wrong when you don't even have to look at what you are elbowing"... So, she got Jo to put the pads down and just bring them up every so often and I had to elbow it as hard and quick as I could. It was cool - required heaps more concentration and focus.

To prove that everyone had what it takes to protect their bubbles inside them, she made us blind and got us to punch the pads our partners were holding. Amazingly, I punched the pad every single time - even not being able to see!! So did Jo (and pretty much everyone else!!) How does that work!! Cool huh..

Well worth doing!! Apparently she comes to Melbourne to do workshops all the time - be great to go to another when she comes!

The workout with the 12WBT people!

We were split into 3 groups. Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced. I was in the advanced group and I reckon there was about 25 of us. There were 3 sections to the training. One section was with a couple of S.A.S army guys, one section was with Mish, and another with Amelia (think she is a PT friend of Mish's).

AMELIA.

 

Who else fails at aerobics??

 

Yes... we were running with our
hands on our butts...
Concentrating on using our glutes!!



Amelia focused mainly on running drills. Lots and LOTS of sprints!! Interspersed with heels kicking butt, high knees, bounding long strides, side running, side stepping etc... With the side running - it really reminded me of one continuous grapevine... I surprised myself in that I actually could do it - I suck and co-ordination stuff!! I was having a laugh asking for a show of hands as to who else fails the aerobics classes - there were a few in agreement... LOL! Something which I absolutely LOVED about this day was that I could do the sprints and sprint as fast as I could and I was not first!! I find in the classes at the gym with the sprints that I tend to hold back and just come level with whoever is second. I seriously enjoyed having people to chase who were hard to beat!!



The start of the 1km sprint.



The end of the 1km sprint!
Yes, I am aware of the fact
that I look like I am sbout
to keel over... LOL! BUT - 4:27!!!



The 1km time trial sprint which we did at the beginning was awesome - I was definitely in the first half (of our group of 25) to cross the line... My time was 4:27!!! Bahahahaha!! WOO HOO!! That's what happens when Mish and crew stand at the finish line yelling at me... LOL!

MISH.

Mish was definitely the hardest out of the 3. Oh my goodness. In a group situation I have never had an "am I going to make it" moment. Yes, I have had a couple of them in PT when it's one on one - but not in a group!! It was non-stop, no rests, no STOPPING -

Sprints,

Sprints + Burpees,

Sprints + Jump Squats,

Towel Pulls up and back.

Mountain climbers + Plyrometric lunges + Ice skaters + Mountain climbers + Jump squats + Mountain climbers + Tuck jumps + Mountain climbers

Jump squats for about a kilometer (nah - probably only 500 meters) LOL!

She had some terrific reverse psychology happening... Right about when I was having my "am I going to make it" moment she started saying "C'mon advanced group... You want to give up?? GIVE UP!! Go on - I want to break you!!" Well - there was NO WAY that was happening!! Vomit or no vomit...

All the people in that group were so encouraging... I remember during the sprint + burpee exercise turning to someone and saying something to the effect of "C'mon - we can do this!!" (Both sprints and burpees I really like doing). Then during the jump squats across the field and back I was seriously struggling... (All you have to do is say jump squats and I sink into the floor). It was yet another "am I going to make it" moment. Talia came up bouncing up behind me and said something like "I've got you.." and we pretty much finished it bouncing along side by side... was an incredibly encouraging moment - But so typical of the day.... Some amazing people.

An awesome quote of the morning was when someone turned and said to me, "Good, at least I am not the only person who looks like they want to vomit!" Bahahaha!! I didn't know what they meant till I saw a photo!! How funny - I seriously DO look like I want to chuck... Hehehe... Apparently there was a prize for the first person to vomit... Not sure if anyone actually got to take that one home though!! LOL!

ARMY GUYS!

The S.A.S army guys were fun in a boot camp'ish sort of way. They did the usual boot camp thing of punishing the group when ever you took slightly too long or mis-counted something. I swear we were on time - but they said we took to long to have a drink (mind you it was something ridiculous like 40 seconds or something)... So down we went into push up position: They would say "Lower / Raise" - in their own time of course, and let me say sometimes they would seem to get a little stuck when it came to 'lower' and we were stuck in that position forever!! When they said 'raise', we would have to shout out the number we were up too... LOL! That was a little problem in that you actually need to breath to shout!!

They did another cool drill where you run around in a circle and they would yell out a body part. That body part had to touch the ground as quickly as possible and then you had to run in the opposite direction. Right ear was interesting, as was the back of your head or your butt cheeks.... Getting down to the ground, aiming for the right body part on the right side of your body, then jumping up and changing directing was challenging for someone as un-coordinated as me! But it was FUN!

There was also the boot camp style: here is a big rope attached to a MASSIVE tyre with people on it... just PULL IT a few hundred meters!!

Weekend with the 12WBT girls!!



(Up) Breaky at the Bayview!
(Right) Walking to the Pain
which was going to be in the
Domain.



Seriously amazing weekend away... Saturday in particular was one of the best days of my life I reckon!! It was SO cool meeting up with people in person; some for the first time and some for the second!! Staying in the same hotel as a dozen of the other girls was the BEST idea. Caching up with them over breaky, lunch and then again at the party was so good for getting to know them and it was FUN!! Especially with the table of home and away stars behind us - pity I didn't recognise the guy when he was speaking to me at the breakfast bar... WHOOPS! (I did think they looked familiar though!!) Bahahaha!! Was great to put names to faces - I really suck at trying to remember names so meeting up with people a few times over the weekend over meals was probably very helpful!!

Not to have to worry about directions and where I was going was wonderful. I was either travelling around with Jo (who is from Sydney), or the girls (who being the little energizer bunnies they are had already been out exploring!!) Happy to be a follower - THANKS GUYS!! Much less stressful. LOL!

The girls that I caught up with, even the ones I was just meeting in person for the first time.... they have been such an important part of my journey to getting fit and healthy. Even though I might have only just met them - I seriously felt like I knew them already!! They have been SO encouraging and motivating over the time and I really look forward to keeping up with them... And the ones who live in Victoria - I look forward to doing some other crazy, different fitness stuff with... Boot camps, fun runs, kayaking, rock climbing... BRING IT ON LADIES!! LOL!

On the other side though - It was a little weird to have people come up, introduce themselves and already know me... Hehehehe... That's what you get for being so into facebook... LOL! Seriously, it was great - loved it!

 

Big thanks to Talia for helping me with my make-up crisis... Nothing like finishing up at the hairdressers at 4:45pm when you have to be in the lobby dressed and ready to go at 5:15pm!! LOL!

 

It was really nice to get all dressed up... Have not done that for a long time - and I especially haven't done it and felt good about the way I looked for an even longer time!! The sunburn/tan lines were a bit of a bummer - but it was ok because SO many people ended up with them after the workout that morning!! I loved the dress - even more so because it was an absolute bargain when I brought it!! LOL! The shoes really were not that uncomfortable - which was GREAT because I have not worn heels for AGES!!

Speaking to Mish was awesome - she is SUCH an amazing lady. Really inspirational - and she really does actually give a crap which is nice... I watched her for a little while and she did such a fantastic job of giving people her full attention and making them feel worthwhile and good about themselves. She is very passionate about what she is doing and really puts herself into it. Amazing lady.

Body has cracked it.

Well, my body has finally cracked it!! I have not been sick all year - until now... LOL! It certainly put up with a lot before it caved... The weekly gym work-outs, followed by a 6 hour boot camp on sat and 10km run on sun has tipped it over the edge!! Hehehehe.... And I am happy to listen to my body, had a rest day today!!

In the past people have talked to me about over training etc.... I did not think I was excessive. But, I still had a think and asked a few people's advice. I sent Mish an email and asked her opinion, to which she replied and said she thought what I was doing was fine. I spoke to my doctor and she was not too concerned. I was fit and healthy and still improving in numbers etc... (one of the signs of over-training is that you start going backwards in what you can do fitness wise). And I met with a PT at the gym and cut a few things out and changed some stuff around...

However, last week was a huge (not normal) week and not surprisingly my body has packed it in... LOL!!  I am impressed with how much it puts up with before cracking it!! Thankfully, it's not too bad.. just an eye infection.. I usually get these when I am run down though. So, a good warning and I am happy it's nothing more serious!!

I am trying to rest a little and get it well enough for the final blast of the 12WBT which involves training with Mish on sat and Emazon on sun in Sydney... And then I will be having a good few days off!!! YAY!! I am going away for a few days on holidays with the family - and planning on having a good rest from exercise... When I come back I can get stuck back into a NORMAL amount of training... as opposed to INSANE!! Hahahaha!!!

C'mon body - Just a few more days - you can do it!!

10km Sussan fun run.

Sorry there is no photos yet!!  I will add them when they come out and I get them... LOL!

10km in 60min 29sec!! Oh my goodness... Especially after boot camp the day before.

I finished the boot camp extremely worried about how I was going to pull the run off... The boot camp was SERIOUSLY hard work and I was so tired and I actually hurt!! When you already hurt in the evening you know it's not going to be good for the next day... LOL! I didn't sleep well because I had fallen asleep for 2 hours that afternoon/evening and I kept waking up with sore legs and butt... and the cuts on my arms from the commando crawling hurt me!! On top of the fact that I had to get up at 5am and I was worried I would not wake up!! LOL!

Anyway... I did not think I was going to be able to run very well at all!! But - as per usual I smashed my own expectations of myself!! I had hoped to run the 10km in 65min but I would have been happy under 70min.

I ran it in 60min 29sec!!! BAHAHAHAHAHA!! WOO HOO!! I was SO relieved for it to be done and to have a good time!

And to top it off the pace was a PB!! 6min03sec per kilometre!! Bahahaha!! That is SO funny!! Perhaps I should do a boot camp before the runs in the future!! LOL!

My thought for the day was: I just have to suck it up for 1 hour... That is NOTHING compared to yesterdays 6 HOURS!! I can do one more hour!! Even when I was running - when I got to the 5km mark, I was saying to myself..."Only half and hour more - you can do half an hour... EASY!!" And then at the 8km mark, "Only 12-15min to go - you can do that... that's only 3-4 more songs!!" Hahahaha!!

WOO HOO!! I was SO excited to finish - especially with that time!

Boot Camp.

There were drills with the kettleballs... between our legs, above our heads, push ups on it, sit ups with it... Phew...I had never used a kettleball before - and let me say when you have been working out for a few hours already they become slippery little suckers!! I was a little worried I was going to hurl it at the trainer (accidently of course!! LOL).

We were commando crawling through slime and stinky mud... on our fronts and on our backs... When we were finished our crawl we had to go back and drag someone else over the line... I got a heap of cuts on my arms and back from the grass - they stung every time I got sweat in them - which was the ENTIRE time!!



Am I actually moving
forward here??



We carried a couple of stretchers piled high with tyres and a slab of water up massive hills and stairs. And every so often we had to set it down and do some hill sprints (just in case our heart rate was not up enough, LOL). One of the hills in particular I was running up I turned to the person next to me and asked if I was moving forward!! It seriously felt like I was not going anywhere!! But I made it to the top - so I must have been moving forwards!! Hahahaha!!

I did the one before this one...
All the way UP the staircase!!



And up the hills



Pull the tyre around the grass athletics track running forwards, running backwards, sprinting then walking with it....

Squat and press sandbags: 5 times (touch the sandbag to the ground and push it above your head) / Run to the other side

6 times / Run  

all the way to 10....

Partnered sit ups, push ups and squats slapping hands in between each rep...

One person lies down on their back holding onto the other persons ankles. The other person makes a basket ball hoop with their hands. The person on their back has to bring their legs up and through the hoop and then back down almost to the ground 30 times. OUCH!

2 teams.

First person runs a short distance away and curls up in a ball on the round.

Second person jumps over them and runs a short distance and does a bit of a down dog and makes a bridge.

Third person runs, jumps the rock goes through the bridge, runs a short distance and makes another rock... etc..

When all the people have gone the first person jumps up and goes over rocks and under bridges to the end and makes another rock etc..

Many, many different combinations of boxing stuff all for 2 min each a couple of times over (20 sec break in between). Below is just an example of the kind of stuff... the numbers may be off - I was a little delirious while doing these drills. This was hour number 5 out of 6 I think.

20 punches

4 jump squats

20 punches

4 push ups

10 punches

1 drop (bit like a burpee, your tummy goes to the ground and then you jump to your feet)

10 punches

1 drop

20 punches

20 hammer punches (on your knees, punch the bag with both fists above your head as high as you can)

20 punches while running on the spot

20 single hammer punches (same but one hand at a time - fast as possable)

10 punches

2 push ups

10 mountain climbers

4 star jumps

Another drill using the big boxing pad thingies we had 4 exercises and we had to do some of each (think it was 20) for a couple of minutes a few times over.. The exercises were:

1. Stand with your feet either side of the pad, lean over and punch into it.

2. Put your hands on the pad and knee into it - looked a little like mountain climbers.

3. Kneel on the pad and hammer into it. Raise your fists above your head and smack it down into the pad.

4. Crunches.

We did partnered ones too:

One person kicks 10 times one leg and 10 times the other. (The other holds the big pad).

Swap.

The other person does the same.

One person kicks 9 times one leg and 9 times the other.

Swap.

etc all the way to 1.

One person does 50 high knees into the pad the other is holding.

Swap.

The other person does the same.

One person does 40 high knees into the pad the other is holding.

Swap.

The other person does the same.

And with the small pads:

4 C & J / 4 Upper cuts (over and over and over)

J / C / J / C / Knee / Knee (over and over)

Jab / Cross / Jab / Cross / Duck / Duck / Jab / Cross / Elbow (over and over)

Yep - that last one did my head in!! I was that out of it by this stage I was having serious problems figuring out what my left and right was!! So was the lady I was with... LOL. Not a good combination! Hahaha... At one stage the guy comes over and says to her "Left!! Left!! Do you know where your fr#$ing left hand is!!!"  He turns to me and says "can't you tell her where left is??" I said, "nope!! I can't figure it out!!" Hahahaha!!!

Black and Yellow spots were
flying around me!!

I thought it was great fun and enjoyed it... for the first 4 hours!! LOL! The last 2 were such hard work!! I was absolutely STUFFED and I was starting to see little black and yellow dots flying past me every so often... Hahahaha!! 2500 calories burnt for the day which was VERY cool!!

I was SOoooo tired when I got home though. I laid down just rest and ended up falling asleep for 2 hours! Oops! I must admit - the day was certainly good for the ego... certainly put me back in my place!! LOL... I left the day with the realisation that I really am NOT that fit!! Hahahaha!! There are some seriously fit girls out there!!

But still, thinking about where I have come from I am pretty amazed that my body puts up with what I make it do!! LOL!

Group PT

Well I am a little sad as the group PT sessions I have been doing are coming to an end for the year. They have been heaps of fun and I would love to do them again next year if we can organise it!! It's been so good for motivation to train, and for the FUN factor... and great to make some cool friends!! Thanks guys - it was awesome!! 

We took a few photo's and a couple of video's for some cool memories...

The video's were of a couple of the cool idea's to make the plank exercise fun!!




The start of the water fountain

  





The end of the water fountain



Step ups and side lunges





The crab walk






one leg tricep dips



Duck walk















Tyre shoulder press/walk



Awesome trainer.



Awesome Group!!