Fit Feb – Why Is It Different Than January?

Happy February and happy training week! Hope you are all fit, focused and feeling fantastic, ready to take on the world. By now you should be back on track after the Australia Day long weekend and ready to rock out your training – New month, new goals, new you. We all know that January can be a bit hit and miss, so take the opportunity to centre yourself and dedicate a solid 29 days to a Fit Feb.

So “Fit Feb” – what does that mean for you and why is February going to be different than January?  February is the perfect month to up your training intensity, hone in on your diet and take your fitness to the next level. The party season is officially dwindling down so make a commitment to bettering yourself this month.

Take a moment and ask yourself some honest questions – are you living your life the way you want to? Are you friends, family and life choices supporting you with your health and well-being goals? If not, then why not? What you surround yourself with will become your reality – if you continually eat badly, drink in excess, and walk only about 1000 steps per day chained to your desk – then your body, physical and mental health will reflect this. One cannot simply drink litres of beer and eat doughnuts and expect to remain lean. One cannot count their daily activity as walking to the car then walking to their desk as adequate. After months of festive season excess, it’s time we started focusing on “living lean” – Living lean is about remembering how you feel when you are healthy, actually wanting to be fit and committing to a lifestyle that supports this. Choices and sacrifices will sometimes need to be made; event invites turned down, but remember why you’re doing this and remain focused on the end goal.

challenge-limits

What simple change can you make this Feb to engage yourself more into a “Live Lean” mindset and way of life?  Maybe register for Feb Fast and go alcohol free for the entire month. Maybe enroll yourself in an event or activity such as the ROC race or a fun run – helps to keep things active across the weekend. Maybe this is your month to go sugar free? Maybe it’s a simple as completing a walk every evening. Whatever your goal, whatever your commitment, give yourself a challenge this February.

RECIPE: Coconut Almond Grain Free Porridge

This porridge recipe is easy and delicious! No wonder I’ve had it so many mornings recently. If you’re intolerant to oats or just wanting to try a new version of porridge, this is the recipe for you!

Coconut Almond Grain Free Porridge

• ¾ cup (180 ml) unsweetened almond milk3-Minute-Coconut-Almond-Porridge-3
• 6 tablespoons (39 grams) unsweetened shredded coconut
• 3 tablespoons (21 grams) blanched almond meal/flour
• 1½ tablespoons (about 10 grams) golden flaxseed meal
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea salt

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and gently heat while stirring. You can add your choice of flavourings and natural sweeteners eg cinnamon, coconut sugar, maple syrup.

The porridge is ready once it starts to thicken which usually only takes a couple of minutes.

Top with your preferred choice of fruit, nuts and seeds. Drizzle some more maple syrup or honey if needed and enjoy!

Winter Training Tips

Hope you are all having a great week, despite the absolutely artic conditions. It cannot be denied that Winter is well and truly upon us and in between the torrential rain, icy wind, freezing mornings and dark evenings; we’re here to brighten your week with some fitness motivation. This week’s column is about Winter and it’s challenges, how best to manage them to ensure that you continue your fitness regimes and remain balanced and healthy with your eating.

Winter Exercise Tips:

1. Always have a backup plan so you training routine isn’t dependent on the weather – can’t run outside? Then do a mini session in your lounge room such as:

20 push ups
20 sit ups
20 squat jumps
20 dips (off coffee table)
50 mountain climbs
20 burpeees
REPEAT x4 and time yourself to do as quickly as possible

2. If you are going to train outdoors, make sure you have appropriate training gear – i.e. weatherproof running jacket, compression tights, gloves etc. Keep rugged up and remain warm as best you can during all parts of your workout
3. Think about your pre-session preparation – can you warm up and somewhere inside first? Focus on big dynamic movements to get joint and muscles engaged, try and get the heart rate up to get blood pumping. Try 30sec of knees up, 30sec of mountain climbs, 30sec of star jumps and 30sec of arm windmills – REPEAT X3 – this is a 6min warm up and after this you should be ready and raring to go!
4. Don’t neglect the post-session recovery – if you’ve been out somewhere cold, get in to a warm shower immediately. Stretch in the shower and utilise the heat to keep your muscles supple
5. Always start the day with a hearty warm breakfast – a popular option at the moment in the Results in Motion team is the oats recipe below – SO GOOD, try it!
6. Most importantly remember that the rain won’t hurt you and if you’re training at a decent intensity you shouldn’t feel the cold – believe in yourself and your ability to push past these conditions. You CAN go for a run in the rain, you CAN still train in 5 degree weather, you’ve just got to be smart about it and utilise some of the tips above. Nothing beats a crisp Winter morning so get out there and get some fresh air!

Hearty (and delicious) Winter Breakfast:

30-40g rolled oats (depends how hungry you are!)
2/3 cup almond milk (any milk will do though)
½ banana
½ serve vanilla protein powder (optional)
Sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg

Microwave for 3min, making sure to stir every minute
Then the best bit: top with a tablespoon of peanut butter and let it ooze through your porridge – trust us, it tastes like a nutty banana cake!

So face Winter head on this week – amp up your training utilising these tips and really challenge yourself to get out there and give it a go. Remember the healthier you can stay across these cold months, the better condition you’ll be in come Summer, and the less chance you’ll have of picking up every cold and flu floating around. Have an amazing week and keep warm!

Final Autumn Boot Camp Results

Sign Out FINAL RESULTS TABLE – some absolutely brilliant results here guys:
Most Improved Push Ups – Athba A – 62% improvement
Most Improved Squat Jump – Jules Brealey – 63% improvement
Most Improved Sit Ups – Lily Vaughan – 88% improvement
Most Improved Bound Jump travel – Mimi Dymond King – 100% quicker
Most Improved Push Up hold – Kayla Roberta Wilson – 100% longer
Most Improved Beep Test – Annie Vu – 100% improvement – please note a special mention to Travis White who ran the highest score at level 15.1
Runner Up for most Improved Fitness % – Maxine Skipper – 51%
Runner Up for most CM lost – Lily Vaughan – 26cm
WINNER most improved fitness % – Annie Vu – 54%
WINNER most cm lost – Mimi Dymond King – 27.5cm
Amazing work team smile emoticon

Healthy Winter lunch

See all these pretty colours? This is my healthy winter weather lunch! Noms corn for carbs, veggies for nutrients and Kangaroo sausages for a lean protein source. So good on a crap day like today! On a getting lean mission again!

Back on the bandwagon

oday’s face of pain is brought to you by the following:
1⃣ a 5am start first day back from holidays
2⃣ a super hard HIIT and cardio session
3⃣ the realisation that I’ve done nothing but eat and drink for 10 days
4⃣ the feeling of just completing over 700 reps!
Back on the bandwagon people!!