“To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don’t worry about the darkness for that is when stars shine the brightest.”

Usually I wake up on a Monday morning pumped to start my week, I can’t wait to train, I can’t wait to train my clients, I can’t wait for the week to begin. This past Monday though I woke with a very different feeling, almost a feeling of sadness, the first thought that came into my head this past Monday morning was that this week is Hava’s last week training with me.

Meet my client Hava Nind.

Hava and I had met each other years ago through mutual friends. In August of last year, after almost  four years of not having seen or spoken to each other, I received a friendship request from Hava on Facebook (oh the joys of Facebook!). We began talking, asking each other about how our lives had changed since we had last seen each other. Hava started telling me how she had just started exercising and eating healthy. She  wanted to get fit and toned, in her words “fitter and more toned than what most girls would want.” Within a week Hava came into Shredded and started training with me, and so her fitness journey at Shredded began!!

For one tiny little pocket rocket of a woman, Hava has the heart of a lion. She came to me at over 25% body fat and last week was measured at a healthy and beautiful 18%. More impressive than the changes that she has made aesthetically, Hava’s strength has more than doubled. When Hava started with me she could barely walking lunge holding 3kg dumbbells, last week she was lunging with 9kg dumbbells !! Hava can split squat with 12.5kgs dumbbells, climb to the top of the rope, do unassisted neutral grip pull ups and chin ups, this little woman and her determination has absolutely blown me out of the water.  

Saturday Leg session with Hava Nind

B1. Unilateral Leg Press 10 - 12 reps

B2. Romanian Deadlift 10 - 12 reps

B3. Prowler - FAST !!

In terms of her commitment to training, Hava is an absolute dream to train. Any single exercise that I have asked her to do she would give a shot, in all of our time training together there were never any “I can’t’s”. Perhaps if there was one thing in particular that we could improve on it would be perfecting her nutrition . . . Am I right Hava? :-)

Sadly for me this week was Hava’s last week training at Shredded, Hava is moving east to Sydney to start her new life.

I want to say a big THANK YOU to Hava for being such an incredible client, your sessions really have been one of the favourite parts of my week. I am going to miss you woman - I am going to miss how hard you work, and I am going to miss how much you make me laugh! I am going to miss your big smile, the fluorescent singlets that you train in and your pigtails!! You can’t help but look at Hava and smile, she is an absolute star, a joy to be around, her light shines so SO brightly.

I know that Hava can achieve ANYTHING that she puts her mind to, I can’t wait to see her go out into the world and strive every day to achieve her goals. Hava I am so excited for you !!

Goodluck Hav! I will miss you! Every time that you are back in Perth you better come back and visit me at Shredded so I can kick your little butt !! Keep training hard because I will be checking up on you !!

Your Coach,

Bek

"Work, Earn and Deserve."

If you love me you won't buy me chocolate for Easter!

I love chocolate!! Like most girls I know, if there was just one food in this world that we could eat unlimited quantities of forever and ever, and never get fat, chocolate would be it! Unfortunately though this magic zero calorie, unlimited quantity food just does not exist. Boo! That is unless you have a deep passion and love for celery, then you  are in luck and can gorge away!!

With my own fitness plans for 2012 and some pretty serious goals laid down to be achieved, I do not see any room in my nutritional plan this year for chocolate - EVER !!

I have put a ZERO TOLERANCE ban on any and all chocolate eating.

 I would love to be able to plan once every week to look forward to eating a small chocolate treat with my boyfriend, a little reward for a week of being disciplined and sticking to my nutritional plan. Something to look forward to, and then to reset and start going again from the meal following. This being chocolate though is just not conducive to my personality. I have always been a very all or nothing person, my best friends and my family like to call me extreme (but I'd rather like to think of me as extremely passionate!!). So if I have one square of chocolate, I'll undoubtedly want the whole block! Blocks of chocolate sadly will not build me the strong, fit, muscular and beautiful body that I am working towards achieving.

Last week  while I was spending the morning with my Mum she decided to start doing her Easter egg shopping. She asked me what I would like for Easter. Saying nothing to my Mum somehow did not get the message across, as she spent the next five minutes holding up about twenty different Easter eggs to see if I would change my mind. "How about just a small one?" - No. "A dark chocolate one?" - No. "Well what about some chocolate from the health food store??" . . . "Mum! NO !! IF YOU LOVE ME YOU WON'T BUY ME CHOCOLATE FOR EASTER !!!!" She looked at me, stormed off, muttered something under her breathe about me being ungrateful, then went and bought me a lipgloss as my Easter gift instead and we were back to being best friends about five minutes later!

So I'm pretty sure I got the message across, and this Easter my family knows that any chocolate given to me as a gift is not going to be received well!!

My point of all of this is that if you have a goal to be achieved, do not let this long weekend set you back. Keep the ball rolling, keep taking forward steps. If chocolate is your weakness then don't eat it! Pick something else to be your one meal of the week where you can divert from your nutritional plan. Every Sunday after the Shredded group class my boyfriend and I go to the Wild Fig in Scarborough. That is my treat meal for the week. I still pick a healthy meal, but I look forward to it, and I enjoy it. I also don't feel guilty after eating it!!  Its low carb, gluten free, sugar free and its keeping me on track. I am still moving forward towards my goal.

Make sure you have your own nutritional plans already set in place for this long weekend - before its started!! Remembering that a goal without a plan is just a dream. We can fail to plan, but a good plan never fails .

Happy Easter, eat well and enjoy your long weekend!

Your Coach,

Bek

"Work, Earn and Deserve."