Life is weird.

Our thoughts are weird.

Humans are weird.

We are put onto this planet, go to school, get a job, work – a whole heap of shit happens between – then we die.

As a summary this so bizarre.

And in the hindsight it is such a short amount of time.

In this short amount of time how much emphasis do you put on irrelevant things?

Like wether you have the latest fashion, how much you weigh, what people thing of you, stressing about things out of your control or stressing about made up scenarios in your head?

And in this short amount of time how much emphases do you put on ‘I wish’ rather then being grateful for the things you have?

Saying, “I wish I looked like that” rather then being grateful for being alive at all.
Or
“I wish I had more money” when you could be appreciating the roof over your head.

I’m guilty of this, I think we all are – it is so easy to get caught up in it all – the trends, the hype, the highlight reels, the guilt, the “I wish” way of thinking or stressing.

In this short amount of time we have on this big ‘ol Earth shouldn’t we spend it striving to make a real positive impact rather then keeping up with the Jones?

We have the power to follow our passions, be our true self – yet it is so easy to settle for what we think we deserve in life rather then going out and getting what we actually deserve because the fear of failing and the fear of what people may think hold us back.

These two fears are made up scenarios in our mind.

Think of it this way, if you were to die tomorrow would you be completely content with what you have achieved?

And with that in mind remember this is your life. If you answered no to the above you are the only person who can change that, what is holding you back??

Reality? Or your false beliefs?

Now imagine a life where you didn’t stress about what people thought of you, you were just your true self and had absolutely no fear of failing – what would happen?

It’s scary right – you know they would judge you – but the funny thing is they wouldn’t.

We get so anxious all the time about what people will think, how they will react and what they will do that we supress out own feelings and emotions as it just seems easier and we gain acceptance.

We literally change who we to impress others.

Yet I feel like if you have to supress and hide your true self because you are afraid of what people will think you are hanging out with the wrong people.

Think about the way you act in front of your Mum – that’s the real you.

Would it be so bad if that’s what the world saw?

Hell no because we are all the f*cking same, we all struggle, we all experience bad, we all do weird shit, we all cry, we all get hurt and we all go through the rat race.

Life isn’t perfect and we don’t need to make it out to be – act human, be yourself, stop and address the made up thoughts in your head that are holding you back, appreciate what you have and always strive for what you truly deserve because life is short and you don’t want to leave with any regrets.

What can you change right now to impact your life in a positive way?

Stay Strong & Stretch,
Tel X

Bit of a different blog today – more of a content inner circle of RF & #TELSTRIBE post….

I challenged my girls last Wednesday/Thursday – after my tribes strength component of training we always finish with a what I call #hardio finisher – this keeps our fitness in check, works any weaker muscles that need reps in them and burns some serious calories.

I know cardio can be a killah – burpees are not fun and circuits are boring – so by creating little goals for my tribe it takes the focus off ‘cardio’ and on a set target.

I guess it’s like negotiation with your body to do exercises you know will gas you the fuck out but also have in your mind that you want to hit a certain target so you do it anyways.

Resulting in sweat, endorphins and a rig that is ridic. (with the help from strength and pilates to of course.)

The challenge I gave my tribe (and I’m now giving you lovely ladies for your next gym sesh) was a ‘300 Rep Challenge’…

Sounds scary – DW read on.

Their goal (and now your goal) was to complete 300 repetitions in total of the following 5 exercises:

I didn’t care how they made up their reps meaning if they hated running they didn’t have to do any running – if they LOVE pull ups they could just do pull ups the whole time as long as they found the fastest way to reach 300 reps. See 5 exercises below with photo demos.

EXERCISE NO.1: 1 Pull up = 5 reps OR 1 TRX Row = 1 rep

OR//  

EXERCISE NO.2: 60m Sprint = 5 reps (if you are using a treadmill try and hit 60m OR 15 seconds)

EXERCISE NO.3: Bench Hop = 1 rep each time your feet land on the floor 

  

EXERCISE NO.4: High plank to squat = 1 rep each time feet come in

  

EXERCISE NO.5: Front Plank = 5 reps every 30 seconds 

EXAMPLE:

6 sprints = 30 reps
1 minute plank = 10 reps
so you’d be at 40 reps out of 300
Then complete
20 bench hops = 20 reps
5 pull ups = 25 reps
so you’d be at 85 reps out of 300

Using the guide above and the photos to help you distinguish what each exercise is – at your next gym session start your timer on your phone and see how fast you can complete 300 reps.

My Tribes fastest 3 times were:
5.12
5.15
5.22
After this they varied right up to 14 minutes…

5 Minutes of cardio – I ain’t going to argue with that – let me know how you go!

Stay Strong & Stretch,
Tel X

Interesting topic isn’t it?

You see so many fitness ‘gurus’ out there now with their amazing bodies, clean eating and awesome lives – they make being ‘fit’ look so easy!!

Do these people actually enjoy the taste of broccoli over the taste of a pizza?

Would they seriously rather be doing cardio then Netflix & chill?

The truth is NO.

Well not in the beginning anyways, when they started their health & fitness journey – it was hard fucking work, breaking the cycle of old habits.

Just like you – having that same old conversation with themselves justifying why they SHOULDN’T go to the gym, or SHOULD eat the dessert someone offered them.

“It’s to cold I’ll just do it tomorrow”

“I’ve eaten good all day one little treat won’t make a difference”

The exact SAME conversations you may be having right now.

And sure they’ve failed – probably heaps.

They’ve snoozed their alarm and eaten a whole bag of chips BUT the only difference between you and that fitness guru is that they refused to give up.

Falling off the wagon isn’t the thing holding you back.

It’s falling off and deciding it’s to bloody hard to get back on so you turn around and start walking back to the start even tho you could of been so close to the finish.

To progress in any way shape or form you need to learn how to fail.

It’s not fun – no one likes failing but my friends it’s a part of life so we might as well embrace it!

Know what it feels like, pick up on where you went wrong so you don’t make that same mistake again and then most importantly…

TRY AGAIN.

What you’ll find is that the more you try & try & try the less often you’ll fail.

I’m not going to say you will never fail because that isn’t true, even the best of the best fail.

The key is to not look at the end destination – that’s way to fucking scary.

You can’t see yourself there – you think it isn’t possible and that you don’t deserve it so you’ll sabotage yourself.

The key is set small daily changes, things so small they almost seem pointless.

Things I’ve added:
-Daily 20minute minimum walk
-Meditate
-Greens drink

These are not ridic expectations of myself – they aren’t x2 5km runs, x1 hike & 2 hour walks everyday, or mediate for one hour or make a smoothie every morning.

They are simple and may seem pointless to some but hitting these small daily targets will..

-Help my muscles recover
-Help get my daily nutrient needs
-Burn calories
-Keep my focused and clear
-Help me sleep

Just to name a few…

Sure sometimes you’ll screw it up – you’re human.

But you NEVER throw in the towel.

I literally get up walk and have my green without even thinking now.

Now write down in your notes section of your phone x3 daily target you wish to hit – remember small targets you can aim to do every day, then each week aim to get 7 tick emojis next to that target.

If you continue to do this you’ll find that you’ll look back and realise how far you’ve come – how natural it is to want good food, how you love the feeling of sweat and your heart racing and the endorphins that fill your body after a workout.

You to will realise that you actually do enjoy being fit & healthy because you now are.

Stay Strong & Stretch,
Tel x

My guess is that you clicked on this blog to read about my failing marriage, you’re intrigued and want hear the inside scoop. (Unless you’re my Mum and probably balling her eyes out after reading the heading)

It’s strange isn’t it, why are we so obsessed with other peoples business?

Why when things go wrong for people we tend to love the juicy gossip and are instantly engaged?

It’s like we enjoy the failure of others.

Does it make us feel better?

Maybe?

Does it helps us forget out own lives for a bit?

Perhaps?

Does it helps us feel less alone, people going through the same fucked up shit as us?

Could be?

Or maybe we are just a bunch of arseholes?

If the title of this blog had of been ‘Happiest I’ve ever been’ I guarantee the click rate would be absolutely shit house –  no-one wants to know when you’re doing well, not that many people really care!

Imagine if we put the energy into being more positive to ourselves rather then absorbing the garbage that is propped up in front of our face all the time?

Having amazing conversations about dreams, hopes and goals with amazing people.

Work hard in a career you fully enjoy where you can grow and unleash your full potential, not one where you hate it so much you bitch about Karen who left her coffee cup on the bench in the lunch room without washing it.

I feel like by making these small shifts of positives in our daily lives it will allow us to out grow the people that only want drama, you know the people that drain all the energy from you – the only way to make these shifts is to become more aware of it.

Every time you catch yourself being negative towards a person, situation or thing I want you to be aware of it then instantly think of 2 things you are grateful for.

The world is already filled with enough mean people who want to see you fail – don’t be one of these people – recognise your strengths, be grateful for what you have and don’t worry about what anyone else is doing.

Oh & BTW although my husband drives me crazy by leaving his dirty clothes NEXT to the washing basket and continually leaving chewy wrappers in my car and of course dishes on TOP of the sink rather then IN the dishwasher I bloody love him and wouldn’t change him for the world, we are doing amazing things – he is my soul mate and I can’t wait to grow old with him, so sorry to disappoint no failing marriage here ladies! Just a click-bate title to prove a point 😉 

Stay Strong & Stretch,
Tel x

I originally had this blog titled as ‘Dear Future Daughter’ – then I realised I wasn’t writing to her, I was writing to me…

I was writing to you….

I was writing to all the women out there that have ever feel lost, uncertain and unsure.

You were introduced into world to make an impact.

YES YOU!

There is not a single soul on this entire planet that is exactly like you!

How amazing is that?!?

Each year your age ticks over – this represents new opportunities, new challenges and new growth.

Each day seems no different from the last but when you look back nothing will be the same.

You will never get today back, remember that – you will never get to go back in time – so never hold back, love hard and be true to you.

Do not make changes to your life to suit others over yourself, do not try and please others if it changes you, do not surround yourself with negative people…

invest in yourself.

Know your worth and never settle for anything less.

Don’t dull your light to let others shine – speak up for what you believe in and trust your gut because I guarantee it is right.

The way you look is the exact way you were supposed to look – your body is beautiful and it is entirely yours.

Do not compare yourself to someone else’s idea of perfect.

Your body keeps you here on this planet – with every inhale comes an exhale, your body loves you and it is okay to love it back.

Be kind to yourself, know that some days will be so dark where you will question every move you make, you will tell yourself these negative things in your head but know that they are just that… in your head.

It will pass for you cannot experience good if you do not go through the bad.

Negative things in life will happen we cannot avoid it but it is how we react to these situations that ultimately shapes us.

Do not let these situations hold you back, learn from these experiences.

Pursue your dreams because it is completely possible to turn them into reality – you are capable of anything.

I truly mean that.

Doesn’t mean it will be easy to achieve, you’ll have to work hard but anything you put your energy towards will get you to where you need to be.

Don’t leave this world with any regrets – this is YOUR world and it is so goddamn short so believe in yourself.

Be confident, stand up tall and proud for there is no one exactly like you – you are one of a kind.

It is okay to say ‘no’.

It seems so simple – two letters, one word.

But it can sometimes be the hardest thing to say – and it is okay – your life will be better off if you say no more often.

And vice versa say ‘yes’.

Say yes to situations that will challenge you and force you to grow, by putting yourself out into the world you are allowing opportunities to arise.

Know that although there is no one exactly like you, doesn’t mean no-one understands you.

Find your tribe, your tribe is the people you can be 110% yourself around.

They love you for being you, they will be honest with you as you are with them, you trust them, they encourage and support you and will love you no matter what – don’t let go of these people.

If you surround yourself with people you are not 110% yourself with these are not your true tribe, these people are holding you back.

Lastly,

If you are not happy with your life it is completely up to you to change it and you can.

Don’t settle for mediocre when you were destined for greatness.

Stay Strong & Stretch,
Tel X

Growing up we were always told that breakfast was the most important meal of the day….

but is this really true?

We are also told that if we skip breakfast our metabolism will slow down causing weight gain…

but is this really true?

Consider that most of the research showing that breakfast is important has been sponsored by Kellogg’s and other food manufacturers. That fact casts considerable doubt on the validity of breakfast being important.

Although you may be conscious about your health and opting for granola or a similar cereal because it is deemed as ‘healthy’ may actually be doing you more harm then good! Those type of ‘health foods’ are filled with refined sugars and are basically like eating a bowl of fruit loops!

Have you ever had a filling breakfast only to get to work and feel like you are about to fall asleep and you are hanging for that 10:30am morning tea break to get some more food into you because you are already hungry again – if this is you chances are you aren’t eating the right breakfast.

So let’s go through some big breaky questions shall we….

There is no ONE SIZE FITS all approach here when it comes to what to eat and if you have any specific dietary needs please see your Dr before changing up your diet – this is based on what over the 100’s of women (and men) I have helped over the years have found to be pretty darn accurate….

1) SHOULD YOU EAT BREAKFAST?

I wish I was fancy enough to do one of those cool graphs that asks you questions and you end up on yes OR no – but I am not that tech savvy so you gotta read my bad English to get you through it!

This question is very person and day dependant – each individual is different – some people find having break sets them up for the day and some people find it puts them into a slump and makes them super hungry all day.

WHY?

If you have a BIG breakfast high in refined carbohydrates (say bread by itself, cereal or a muffins) it spikes your insulin levels and we all know what happens then – it crashes not long after, this can be the cause of your out of control hunger for the rest of the day – studies have shown that those that eat a breakfast high in refined carbs will eat up to 200 calories a day MORE then those whom have a low/no carb option.

The question should not be ‘should we eat breakfast’ but more so ‘WHAT should you be eating for breakfast’ – so read on 😉

2) WILL SKIPPING BREAKFAST MAKE MY METABOLISM SLOW DOWN?

NO!!! I want to scream this all day everyday – NO,no, no, no, NO!!! You will not ruin your metabolism by skipping breakfast.

Three things usually happen here…

a) If you SKIP breakfast but find you get hungrier later in the day, or you wake up super hungry – skipping breakfast probably isn’t the right thing for you.

b) If you SKIP breakfast and find you eat your first meal at 10:30am (morning tea) or even lunch BUT you are fine the rest of the day skipping breakfast MAY be okay for you.

 c) If you SKIP breakfast and find you are dizzy, have no energy and cannot concentrate – skipping breakfast probably isn’t the right thing for you.

Either way your metabolism WILL NOT SLOW DOWN!

2) IS FASTING SAFE? AND IS IT FOR ME?

When you skip breakfast this is known as ‘fasting’ simply meaning your body hasn’t been given food for a prolonged period of time.

WHEN TO FAST –

If you wake up and are NOT hungry – give it a shot – ensure your first meal of the day is a nutritious one of proteins and greens.

Fasting can be really great for people who start work super early in the morning – one less thing you have to worry about.

Fasting is also great for those who prefer to have bigger meals later on in the day.

Fasting is also great for those who wish to drop fat due to the cut in calories.

Fasting has MANY benefits but DOES NOT suit everyone.

WHEN NOT TO FAST –

Like mentioned above some people try it and it pushes them to over eat later in the day causing them to crave not so great foods, I wouldn’t recommend fasting for this person.

Another reason NOT to fast would be if you workout first thing in the morning – if you train in the AM you should 110% have post training breakfast that contains protein AND carbs (more on this below). You have just exerted all this energy it now needs to be replaced to help you recover from training and to give you energy throughout the day. If you fail to do this you will not get the fitness results you are after and you’ll more then likely feel like shit!

If you are a guy trying to put ON size loosing a whole meals worth of calories may hurt them gains so just ensure you eat enough later in the day.

3) WHAT SHOULD I HAVE FOR BREAKFAST?

The only time I honestly believe you should have carbs for breakfast is if you trained first thing in the morning.

AFTER training your breakfast SHOULD contain carbs

Not the crappy type tho – if you consume refined carbs for breakfast like talked about above that is when you’ll experience that insulin spike and crash!

Here are some great examples of carb breakfast:

-Protein shake with banana and berries blended with ice and water
-Eggs on grainy toast with avo
-English muffins with egg and lean turkey or even a good cut of bacon
-Oats (plain rolled – no fancy brands) with berries

A NO carb breakfast filled with protein, greens and fats will keep you alert, energised and focused. It will not spike your insulin levels which is what a heavy carb meal can do first thing in the morning leaving you in a slump by 10am. This is a great option for every other morning.

NO carb breakfast?!?! I know weird!!

Here are some great example no carb breakfast:

-Low carb protein shake mixed with water (no banana)
-Omelettes (eggs, spinach, spring onion, tomato, avo)
-Lean turkey with eggs, avo and spinach
-Coffffeeeeeeee – black like my soul of course no double shot, mocha, lattes with skinny almond milk, extra hot, half strength, topped with whipped cream and sprinkles (sorry!) 

Basically eggs are your bestie – and can surprisingly be done in many different ways!

4) CONCLUSION

Ditch the refined carbs, sugars, cereals and granola bars.

Opts for real foods and listen to your body – just because you are in routine doesn’t mean it is right! If you are feeling hungry eat, if you aren’t hungry don’t eat, if you just trained, eat, if you know you’ll binge it later in the day, eat – is all about how YOUR body reacts to different foods and how your body uses them.

You can change up days depending on what you have on – make it suit your lifestyle, goals and activity levels – don’t just eat the next superfood because the media tells us its magic!

What are some changes that you can make starting tomorrow to give you more energy, focus and drive?!?!

Stay Strong & Stretch,
Tel X

Motivation.

The word that gets thrown around usually in hysteric because it seems to be something we have lost.

It isn’t under the couch.

I didn’t leave it at work.

It isn’t in the bottle of vodka.

And hell it sure isn’t at the end of the block of chocolate (I’ve personally looked enough times for all of us)

Maybe my dog ate it?

We can search high and low until we are left in a slump, clueless asking,

“Where did my motivation go?”

What if I were to tell you I can help you find it AND help you reach LIMITLESS MOTIVATION?!

Remember when you were at your healthiest and fittest you ever have been?

Remember how god damn good you felt!?

Not the skinniest – almost quite the opposite the most nourished, alive on top of the world version of yourself – with so much internal strength and energy.

So full of life and sunlight!!

I want you to think back to that point – what where you doing that worked so well?

I already know the answer but do you?

Instantly you’re going to reel off a list of things in your mind that seem so far fetched and you think you can NEVER get back there, but that isn’t it.

You were doing ONE thing.

BEING CONSISTENT.

That’s it – at your fittest and healthiest point of your life you were being consistent.

Doesn’t matter who you are, at what age, under what circumstance – the only time anything EVER changes (this can be both good OR bad) is if we are consistent.

BUT how can you use the piece of information to unlock LIMITLESS MOTIVATION?

Realise it must started and will always start within YOU.

No matter how much money you throw at fitness programs, gyms, trainers, food plans or life coaches you will not get the results you want if you don’t rewire YOU.

You cannot buy motivation.

It must start with YOU.

Our bodies are wired a certain way – an extremely powerful way, so powerful that it is actually apart of our subconscious mind.

OKAY TEL YOU ARE LOOSING ME, WTF is the subconscious mind?!?!

Right, you know when you’re eating really well but nek minute you find yourself a packet deep in chips?

Or when you’re looking in the fridge when you are not even fucking hungry, you don’t even know how you got there and don’t even know what your are looking for?

Or when you set your alarm early to get a walk/workout in but you switch it off without even thinking twice?

Or when you have full intent to cook a healthy dinner then find yourself in the drive thru with an extra large fries and an ice cream?

THIS IS YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND.

Imagine an iceberg – the top part visible to the naked eye is the 5% of things that get you the result that you want that you consciously think about – e.g training, prepping, planning… The other 95% of the iceberg that is hidden under the water is what counts most– that 95% is your subconscious mind. Things that you don’t even realise that happen like when you HAVE to have ice-cream.

TO become CONSISTENT and to have LIMITLESS MOTIVATION you need to learn to re-wire your subconscious mind.

At the moment your journey is like a road trip – a long ass road trip. You have your foot on the accelerator the whole time and it seems to get getting you to where you want to be (This may be your training/eating)– then a steep arse hill comes up – you keep your foot down as long as you can but you get exhausted and want to take your foot off only to roll back down having to start again. (this is you reaching for the block of chocolate without even realising) What if you had cruise control on the entire way? What if you were able to just cruise along at 80km per hour to your destination? (This is you taking control of your subconscious mind)

HERE IS THE GOLDEN NUGGET LADIES:

4 steps to re-wire your subconscious mind:

1) UNCONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE – Basically this was you before reading this blog – you don’t know what you don’t know.

2) CONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE – This is you after reading this blog – you begin to be more aware of these things you do that set you back – you may not act on them yet but now when you do them you begin to realise it is happening.

3) CONSCIOUS COMPETENCE – Repetition is the mother of all skills. You weren’t aware of something – e.g when you first learnt how to tie your shoe – you had no idea what you were doing but once you became aware of what you had to do then continued to PRACTICE over and over and over you are now able to do this task without thinking which leads to…

4) UNCONSCIOUS COMPETENCE – Once you master the skill you know longer have to think about it – when you drive home from work and can’t remember how you even got home you went into auto mode – this is unconscious competence – you have preformed that task so many times now that is happens without even thinking. For it this to work you need to ensure you practice it every day.

Let’s use exercise for example:

UNCONSCIOUSLY INCOMPETENCE – You are lacking motivation and believe you are going to the gym regularly and don’t understand why you aren’t getting the results you want.

CONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE –You become aware of how many gym sessions you are actually making (missing every second one) – and realise this may be the cause of the lack of results.

CONSCIOUS COMPETENCE – With the sessions front of mind you make a commitment to attend 5 days a week – this may seem daunting at the start with old habit of automatically driving home after work but after practicing and practicing you make the effort to attend all these sessions.

UNCONSCIOUS COMPETENCE – After work you are now in autopilot and end up at the gym, every single time – it is now apart of your routine – you don’t even need to think about it anymore.

You can apply these 4 steps to any situation that you feel you are being help back in – once you apply it you will have LIMITLESS MOTIVATION as these actions become second nature to you rather then a chore – it is all about picking up on current habits and transforming them into skills.

What can you re-wire in your subconscious mind to unleash LIMITLESS MOTIVATION?

I’m excited for you!

Stay Strong & Stretch,
Tel X

So your all probably wondering what the fuck I was thinking.

No food for 24hours, and only water as liquid – no tea, no coffee.

But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Lets take it back to last Tuesday in the lead up that caused me to fast for 24 hours….

Tuesday night my Bowel Disease (Ulcerative Colitis) – which has been in somewhat of a remission – decided to flare up again.

This left me with intense stomach craps that feel like someone is grabbing my insides so tight and twisting it around – my stomach is so sore to push on, there is also an often need for a toilet, blood, and extreme fatigue.

It is crazy people suffer with this in silence because they are too embarrassed to talk about it. Looking at a person you wouldn’t even know the toll this takes on their body but also their mind. If you were with me you wouldn’t of know that I was going through all of this.

From Tuesday it got progressively worse – resulting in me testing the beautiful service station toilets driving home on Sunday from our weekend away in Portarlington.

It gave me emotional flashbacks about how sick I was, even writing this makes me tear up. I just couldn’t handle being the mentally, emotionally and physically drained version of myself that I was. It really did scare me – “I can’t go through it all again” I thought to myself.

So Saturday night I took action.

I remember reading a few articles about fasting (not eating for prolonged periods of time.) and how it can help improve UC. UC is when your intestines are inflamed and have lots of ulcers. When you continually eat your body is constantly trying to breakdown foods and process them through the intestines – meaning your digestive system doesn’t get a break and the ulcers don’t get a chance to heal. Fasting for a prolonged amount of time gives your digestive system a chance to break and for my case a chance to heal.

And at the point I was willing to try ANYTHING.

I had my last meal 7pm on Saturday night and would not eat until Sunday night 7pm.

I woke up Sunday morning with the instant urge to go to the toilet after already going 3-4 times during the night – thinking to myself in a negative way that this is bullshit I should just eat.

Then thinking logically it is last nights dinner being processed through and to stay strong and push through.

Again toilet stops on the way home in the glamorous petrol station toilets really hit my ego. I’m feeling at rock bottom – I’m back to this uncontrollable point again.

Determined I refused to throw in the towel – I would make it until dinner and then if I didn’t work at least I could say I tried.

12pm – It got to lunch and I realised the intense pain had settled.

This was a small win.

1pm – I was pretty tried from the restless night before hand and had a nap on the couch for an hour – still not hungry.

2pm – It was a beautiful day so I worked up the courage to go outside and go for a walk.

The sun made me feel really bloody good – as did the fact I got through the walk without shitting myself. (whoooo)

That is 18 hours without food.

5pm – I started to feel really weird, not hungry just a bit light headed and delusional – to the point where I almost threw up twice – BUT we had just had our floors re-stained so this could have been a combo of not eating and fumes. I also had a massive headache again could be the floors.

But no toilet trips or cramps.

We are 22 hours without food now….

6pm (23 hours without food) I was ready to eat – I admit I actually wasn’t hungry but all signs were telling me to eat – I was very light headed and very indecisive.

To I wanted to break my fast with a simple dinner – I opted for chicken breast with no seasoning or sauces, roasted white spud and steamed broc. A very simple but a very nutritious meal that was more then likely not to mess with my stomach. By the time Matt cooked this for me (yes he is amazing!) it was 7pm…

I had made it 24 hours fasting….

24 hours without food only water.

And man it felt good to eat again – everything tasted so delicious!!

After dinner – I was cramping slightly – nothing too bad and there was not toilet trips….

Being wrecked from the night before and from UC in general I fell asleep on the couch and put myself to bed at I don’t even know what time it was!

Monday I slowly introduced foods back in – I did this by fasting until 12pm (7pm-12pm no food 17 hours) and only having Lunch and Dinner – plus cutting any crap out that I might have been consuming.

It is now Tuesday and although my toilet trips are still there they have dramatically dropped and I have no more stomach cramping – this is a HUGE win for me! My energy is also up – to a point where Monday night I could sleep I was just thinking, brain storming creating and on fire…. Though annoying I still woke up with a lot of energy, which I did not have at all last week.

I’m going to continue fasting for various times on various days depending on when I’m training and what my body is telling me.

It is funny how making a few small tweaks to your diet and/or routine can dramatically affect your life in either a positive or negative way.

So I want to leave you with this – are some tweaks you need to start incorporating to feel more energized, to feel vibrant, to feel like sunlight, to feel refreshed and to feel like your true self rather then the shadow of yourself you may be living without realising?

It may be going for a daily walk to get some sun and recover, or maybe start meditating to de-clutter your crazy brain and to help you focus or perhaps introduce an energizing breakfast to have you fuelled for the day rather then foggy brained and tired all day….

These things may seem difficult to add to your routine now but like with my fasting once you inherit the benefits it is all worth it.

Notice when you are not feeling 100% and change.

Stay Strong & Stretch,
Tel X

‘Balance’ they say – ‘balance’ is shoved in my face every second day.

It is ALL about balance… You gotta create balance..

Mate I can’t even create a decent poo let alone create balance.

But what even is balance?

I see these women who have it all together – they advocate balance – these zen masters who have an amazing husband/partner, a beautiful house, they are always being fit and active and cook impressive healthy meals and treat their body like a goddamn temple, treating themselves with a tiny bit of 90% raw chocolate.

They call this balance.

While I’m over here arguing with Matt about who’s turn it is to feed the dogs, avoiding the pile of washing that is starting to look like Everest (as are my dishes) cooking the same chicken and 90 second microwave rice almost every night and trying my absolute hardest not to eat a whole block of chocolate in one sitting…. Resulting in me eating the whole block, feeling disgusting and having my stomach feel like it is going to implode about 20 minutes later.

And these women (although pretty fucking amazing) make me feel shitty about myself.

I start to think…

‘Why don’t I have ….’

‘Maybe I should start….’

‘I need to create balance’

‘Is that what I am suppose to do?’

Then I catch myself in mid thought and react.

My life is pretty fucking ace AND pretty fucking normal, I mean I can’t be the only one with washing coming out of my ears or perhaps washing lodged in my husbands ears hence why I have to ask him 10 times to take the bins out.

We need to begin to realise we ARE NOT failing because we fed our family 90 second microwave rice for dinner rather then quinoa (I had to google how to spell that.)

In real life balance is a load of crap.

I’m sure people create it – I’m sure it probably feels good for the week they implement it but you know what gets in the way?

Life.

And what I’ve found is the more you focus on what you DON’T have and what you are NOT doing the more pressure you put on yourself, the more stressed you get, the more weight you gain, the more sleep you loose, the more motivation plummets, the more you feel like an absolute failure.

What feels truly good is knowing you are doing your best – some days you will have your shit together and other days you won’t – it IS NOT creating balance.

It is simply life.

If you aim to live ‘balanced’ on a tight rope chances are you’ll fall – headfirst and feel really down about it.

If you aim to just live life the best possible way for you – not anyone else – for you and accept that there will be ups and downs you can never fall, you can never fail.

It is simply life.

Stay Strong & Stretch,
Tel X

You’ve probably heard mixed responses on wether you should directly train your core or not right?

I mean with all these Insta Gurus it’s bloody hard to know what the actual fuck to do!!

Every second person recommending something different and for someone like yours truly who gets to train 70 badass women each week it makes me cringe some advice I see online from people who probably haven’t trained an actual client everrrrr *insert over dramatic crying face emoji

There are those saying all other lifts target this section so it isn’t needed and there is no point because doing core work won’t actually give you a flat stomach, you can’t build abs blah blah blah….

SO lets clear it up shall we?

YASSSTELLLLL

You should 110% train core.

NOW lets get it straight what your core is before I tell you why because it is a word that gets thrown around a little to loosely… that’s what she said (sorry couldn’t help myself)

Your core refers to your entire midsection – front, back AND sides – NOT just your abs (rectus abdominis) your abs make up only a part of your core.

Right’o Tell I didn’t come here for a anatomy lesson…

Your core muscles act as stabilisers – they keep your body safe during day-to-day movements such as bending over, picking things up and even getting out of bed. They also help increase full potential strength on main lifts (squat, bench, deadlift)

If you have a weak core you’ll experience back pain (a SUPER common issue!), shitty posture (especially while sitting or in that case slouching) AND you wont experience true potential strength on your main lifts not to mention your form on these lifts probably wont be so crash hot either….

BUT TELL CAN’T I WORK ON MY CORE BY LIFTING WEIGHTS?

Sure – if you have fab body awareness you’ll more then likely train a parts of your core by lifting weights no doubt about it BUT how much control do you really have and how much focus are you putting on the correct muscles?

This is why training your core directly is important – body awareness and muscle activation – just like doing a heap of body weight, bad form squats won’t give you an ass – doing a heap of ab exercises whilst not focusing OR not doing it correctly won’t increase core strength.

By adding a small 5-10minute routine 2-3 times a week you will dramatically change the way you move, improve posture (especially with a sitting job) increase strength and WILL define your midsection – I truly believe core work gets giving a bad name because people throw a few sit ups in a set and call it ‘core’ my girls and I very, very rarely do sit ups – so what do we do?

WHAT CORE EXERCISES SHOULD I DO?

PLANKS AND STATIC HOLDS: I great place to start is static hold exercises like planks and hollow holds because you aren’t moving you have a chance to really squeeze (am I mean squeeze) the muscles you are trying to target. They should burn and and shake – get to know what this feels like so you know what to look out for when progressing….

ROLL UPS/TEASERS: Once you nail static hold exercise begin to add moving exercises that create body awareness and core control such as roll ups which will teach you to move your body all whilst keeping activated – you learn to control your body rather then getting momentum from other muscles like your arms and legs.

LEG EXTENSIONS: Now your body control is down pat lets focus on keeping your core tight whilst moving your legs away from the body – think leg raises, flutter kicks and scissors – all exercise commonly done – but commonly done incorrectly – as your legs extend to straight your lower back should NOT lift away from the ground – once this happens you’ve lost control so either a) complete the exercise with knees bent at 90 degrees or b) decrease range of movement – don’t take your legs raise all the way down to the floor it may only be a slight movement as long as you stay in engaged thats all that matters.

WEIGHTED/RESISTANCE: If you are nailing all of the above add a dumbbell, bands, kettle bell or weight plate to the exercise to advance it but be sure you never loose control and remember to focus on what you are doing, feel the muscles working.

VARIETY: Don’t complete the same exercises each week – change reps, angles and weights – there is so many deep muscles throughout your core by doing the same movements you will not target all of them, won’t progress and will get bored very quickly. Adding in a variety will hit the different areas and will teach the body how to keep tension throughout out each one of them.

Soon enough by adding in the above and doing it correctly I guarantee you’ll notice a HUGE difference in strength, definition and injury prevention/rehab.

#ISAIDCOREWAYTOMANYTIMESINTHISBLOG

Stay Strong & Stretch,
Tel X