THE NANNY

Lordy lord what a day I had! Being a full-time parent is never to be underestimated ever again. Complete and utter focus 100% of the time, but at the same time be sure to make the child feel independent as well... Where to draw the boundaries? Beats me, all I say is that I pretty much had a little angel to baby-sit today, and still, I am mentally drained. I'm sure it gets better once you know what the child is capable of doing and not doing, but heck, I defo had a full-time job today. Any laundry done today? Nope! Dishes? Some of them. Household chores ticked off the list? Are you frickin kidding me?! I was minding the child! Workout done? Heck yeah! :)

I remember being a nanny in my young days... Oh, so vaguely now. Haha!

ODE TO AMINO ENERGY

I can't live without my amino acids! I usually take only a scoop of my Optimum Nutrition Amino Energy just before my morning workout, and what a difference it makes!! It's like turning the light switch on in my body and mind. I thought I could live without it, but yesterday's zombie workout proved me wrong. (I use Fruit Fusion pictured above. Yum!)

Today I bombarded chest and triceps. And I still follow Jamie Eason's Livefit 12-week training plan, which is going to be interesting to see the results of once I'm on day 84. Today was day 17. I usually follow the workouts to the letter, but because of my active training schedule on the side I will have to make slight changes. This morning's weights workout was followed by aThai Kickboxing session tonight.

Here's my workout for today, chest and triceps:

Wide push-ups
BWx10/BWx10/BWx10
Incline DB chest press
10kgx10/10x10/11x10
Flat bench DB chest flyes
7kgx10/7x10/7x10
Standing cable flyes
10kgx10/10x10/15x10
Triceps bench dips, feet up
BWx10/BWx10/BWx10
Lying BB triceps extensions
10kgx10/10x10/10x10
DB triceps kickbacks
4kgx10/4x10/5x10
OH triceps extensions w plate
10kgx10/15x9/15x9
Cable 1-arm triceps extension
5kgx10/10x10/10x10

LIVEFIT DAY 16 (WITHOUT EAA's)

Oooh, woke up so sore! The kickboxing really did its toll on me, but it actually feels great! Amazing to realise, although I work out pretty much every day, when I mix up my training a bit, it switches on completely different muscles. And I have bruises on my shins. Not very pretty, but hey, rather there than my eye. Haha!

As an experiment, I tried not taking my scoop of Optimum Nutrition EAA before working out this morning and I was like a Zombie walking around the gym. Couldn't get my groove on. I still did the workout, but I wasn't as strong or efficient as I am normally. So defo back on the aminos tomorrow morning! And on top of that, because I was a bit brain-foggy, I was doing 12 reps each set instead of 10. Doh! Didn't realise it until halfway into the workout.

Here's my week 3, day 16, of the LiveFit plan - back and biceps:

Hammer strength lat pull
30kgx12/35x12/40x12
Wide-grip lat pulldown
35kgx12/35x12/35x12
Seated narrow-grip cable row
35kgx12/35x12/35x12
Bent-over BB row
10kgx12/20x12/30x12
Back extension
BWx10/BWx10/BWx10
BB biceps curl
10kgx10/14x10/18x9
Incline DB curl
6kgx10/6x10/6x10
Alternating hammer curl
7kgx10/7x10/7x10

KICKBOXING GOALS

What a good kickboxing class I had tonight! Am so happy I joined this club as everyone were really friendly and nobody was up on their high horses although there were some really good fighters there. I hadn't mentioned to anyone there that I had previous Martial Arts history with some Jiujitsu and Kickboxing/Boxing experience behind me. Not many girls there, but this one girl gravitated to me and asked if we could team up. Sure, I thought, as she had told me before class she had been training kickboxing off and on for almost a year. Big mistake! She was so frail and scrawny, and had no technique, so every time I punched or kicked she acted like I had pummeled her with immense force, even when I was only tapping her. If you want something to happen, sometimes you have to make it happen. After all, it's my time and my money. So I arranged for us to be teamed up differently. I was then teamed up with a younger kid and a guy my age. And they were both pretty good. After the switch, I had an awesome time and the teacher gave me some good pointers and complimented me on my technique, asking a bit suspiciously if I had practiced some kind of Martial Arts before. I smiled and confessed.

All in all, I can train 4 times a week if I want. I don't know if I will be able to, but I'm going to try anyway. I'm loving it! And am sooo happy this is the club I chose. It's not very big and there's not that many members, but it suits me just fine.

Next time, I'm bringing ALL my gear so I can have my own stuff while training. Big bag full of smelly leather gear. Mmm, love it. Haha!

I have been thinking about a goal to achieve with my training, but haven't figure one out yet. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

HAMSTRING INJURY

Oh, it was going so well! Despite a rough night with a crazy mjauwing male cat, I was feeling so strong starting my leg workout this morning. In retrospect, I now know I should've warmed up a bit more after being out in the cold.

After doing one set of walking lunges I could feel my legs starting to spasm a bit. No worries I thought. Take it easy. Walk it off. But then a hard muscle twinge in one of my buttocks hit me and it hurt! So I thought, fine, I can go to the next exercise and see if it gets better. I just finished last rep in first set of one-legged deadlift and my hamstring just gave in on me. The pain hit me so surprisingly fast, I actually yelped. It's never attractive to yelp in the gym. Haha! I sat down and stretched for a bit, massaged it, but realised I had to call it a day. Bummer!

It's much better now after stretching and massaging it, but it doesn't help it's the same hamstring I pulled really bad during a dance performance when I was 17 and had to jump down into splits in really high heels. No yelping then. Big smiles all around. Show no pain. Thankfully, it happened at the very end of the performance, so I could limp off stage and cry my eyes out. Since then, my left hamstring has never been the same.

But it's the year of no excuses, right??!!! So, no excuses to attend kickboxing tonight. Yee-haw!

Here's what I managed to do today before ending my workout abruptly:

KICKBOXING CLUB SORTED

I have done it! After weeks of researching and checking out different clubs, I have finally picked one I want to join where I will be training kickboxing again. I got a really good deal and I'm very excited! First training is tonight, Monday night. Have no idea how this is going to sync with my 12-week LiveFit plan by Jamie Eason, since I'm really not supposed to do cardio the first 4 weeks. I start week 3 today. Oh well, I suppose it can't be that bad. Hopefully, it will only accelerate me getting ripped! Yeah baby!

Now, gotta get me some sleep so I can get up early and start my productive week by hitting the gym. Leg time!

SUN SUN SUN

Amazing how much sun can affect the mood! Mine anyway.
Rest day today, from the gym that is. Had a wonderful walk with Murphy in the cold but beautiful morning. And when the sun peeked out over the hill top, it was gorgeous and the whole world lit up. Oooh, so want the Spring to arrive now. Somebody mentioned a snowy forecast for this weekend. Nooo!! No more!! Bring on more sun sun sun!

DAY 11 LIVEFIT

Day 11 of Jamie Eason's LiveFit Trainer plan and I did shoulders and abs as you can see from my mobile screen shot. Didn't feel super strong, but I got through it. According to the plan, I am supposed to relax for 3 days now, but because I have 3 group training classes to teach on Saturday, it's just not possible rest. But I'm sure the cardio won't hurt my body either. After all, I'll be resting tomorrow and Sunday, beside all my walks with my doggie.

From what I can see, next week will be a mix-up in the LiveFit workout schedule. Very exciting! Will keep you updated on the progress.

LIFE MAGASINE ARTICLE

Here's the article about yours truly and my IndoorWalking class in the last edition of Life Health & Fitness' magasine. I have finally been able to save it onto the computer and post the whole article for you to read. Enjoy!

(And for you English-speaking peeps, go ahead and learn Swedish... ;) )

And to add a testimonial to this article, after regular IndoorWalking classes for about 6 months now, I must say my cardio physique is much better, legs much stronger, as well as back muscles, and my butt has taken a completely different dimension... It's so much more perky and shapely. It looks happy!!! :D Me likey...

STRONG SEXY LEGS

Felt so strong at the gym today! I could easily have done heavier and more, but then I usually injure myself coz I slap too much weight on too soon. Really missing doing deadlifts though. Hope the LiveFit plan I'm on introduces them into the workout schedule soon, otherwise I'll do it myself.

But it felt good to feel so much stronger today from yesterday. Felt much stronger mentally so it definitely goes hand in hand. Got some superb words of wisdom from my amazing man this morning before my workout and it seems like they just clicked right into place in my brain and completely empowered me. Fantastic how carefully chosen words can change the way you think and therefore also change the way you feel. Love it!

Here's my workout for today, legs and calves:

Bring on those strong, sexy legs and buttocks! And calves to endure my Jump rope classes!

SUKI EXFOLIATE FOAMING CLEANSER

SUKI Skincare is one of the many brands I really like. Their best product, that I have tried, is their Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser. This product works in two ways - as a regular cleanser (foams up in your hands when you rub them together) or as an exfoliant (applied directly on wet skin in gentle circular motion).

The cleanser's key ingredients are gentle alpha hydroxy acid (natural sugar), rice flour (non-gmo rice) & citric acid (organic lemongrass), and they help resurface skin, unclog pores, exfoliate dead skin cells, smoothe away dryness, lines and wrinkles. And my own testimonial is squeeky clean and smooth skin, wherever on the body it is. After using it for almost a year now, I highly recommend it!

SUKI is completely synthetic free, and most of their products are 100% pure, natural and organic. Have a look on their website if you want to find out more about their brand.

NOT MY BEST FORM

Eventhough I got 8 hours of sleep, I wasn't in my best form this morning at the gym. Usually, I feel strong and get a surge of energy. I suspect my mental down swing is probably playing a big part in me feeling physically weak as well. Since my wonderful job assignment is now finished, I'm looking for work. Again. Because of seperate accommodations, I'm back to living in the flat without my man. Again. And as a result my economy will soon be in the gutter. Again. On the positive side though, at least I have a home I love, food on the table and clothes to keep me warm. And I know everything will sort itself out soon. Again.

Here's my workout from today, back and biceps:



Considering I was feeling weak, I think I did pretty good. Next week will be even better. :)

JAMIE EASON 12-WEEK PLAN

Jamie Eason

Last Monday I started a new workout plan in pursuit of pushing my body to the next level. Since I lost all my overweight pounds, I have kept my weight at a steady level for about 2 years and I have slowly been trying to build more and more muscle. But this time I really want to try to get ripped and lose those last vanity pounds. Have no idea if I can, but I want to try.

One of the persons I admire in the fitness industry is Jamie Eason and I look to her for inspiration, recipes and tips. I stumbled over her LiveFit 12-week Trainer Plan on bodybuilding.com and thought I'd give it a go. I already have a healthy diet so it's not so much my food that needs tweeking, besides the fact that I'm now adding more carbs to my meals, but it's more my strength training regime that has been changed. Being a Fitness Instructor on the side doesn't make it easy for me NOT to have cardio the first 4 weeks, so unfortunately that is something I have to deviate from in the plan.

Here's my workout results for today, Chest and Triceps:

It's going to be interesting to see how my strength and body develops over the 12 weeks. Very interesting! Hope you'll enjoy the journey as well.

BLUEBERRY BANANA PANCAKES

WORDPRESS APP

So, I have just exported my blogspot blog to this wordpress blog and downloaded the app. Seems like Wordpress has a more advanced system so it will take a while for me to find and figure everything out, but wanted to give this app a go anyway. Over and out for tonight! :)

GO HEMP

Picked up this protein powder mix at the supermarket yesterday. It's made from Hemp, Acai, Spirulina and Wheat grass. Yummy! Haha!
I mix it in with my regular protein morning smoothie. Doesn't look pretty and has a funky taste (which I mask with pure organic kakao), but it's good for me! :) New year, new challenges.

CHALLENGE

New year. New goals. New challenges. New accomplishments.
Really looking forward to this year. Feels like it will bring lots of happenings in my life. And that makes me feel excited!
One of the things I will do in a few days is to step back into the kickboxing ring. I have been talking about it for a while so on Monday, if my foot and heel is ok, I will have my 1st kickboxing sparring session since 2008. I got all my gear down from the attic: head protection, shin and foot protection, sparring gloves, bag gloves and mouth guard. Sooo psyched! And after watching Kickboxer with Jean-Claude Van Damme last night, I'm ready for some action! :)

YOGA

This morning my whole body screamed NOOO when the alarm rang. And I noticed I was so tired. Not just sleepy tired, but drained physically and mentally. Something I have learnt over the years is to TRY to listen to my body. Yes, I try to push it as hard as I can, the same I do with those I train, but this morning my body said no. So I only went for a 30 min run and then I tried some yoga. Yes. Me. Doing yoga. And it was only 20-something minutes but it was actually a good session. I wasn't feeling as restless as I usually do when I do yoga.

Have no idea how I got the video on my computer, but from the looks of the clothes, I think it must be about 20 years old. Hahaha! Oh well, maybe it's much better than all the new, trendy yoga videos. I liked it anyway! :)

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

This woman got me to where I'm at today. OK, ok, she didn't personally get me there because after all I did all the work, but she inspired me, educated me and kept motivating me when times were tough. I have a lot to thank Jillian Michaels for and I'm proud to say it. Now I just want to get ripped. According to my standards that is. Let's see if I can do it.

Someday I know I will reach my goal, but as a previous fat girl I am struggling each and every day. Today I had such a craving for sugar that I almost guzzled some pure, concentrated blackcurrant juice. But I didn't. And that's what makes me stronger. When the alarm rings at 5am and I don't want to get out of bed to go train and go for a run, but I still do it. The feeling of accomplishment is amazing afterward! Or when everyone at work at chomping on cakes and sweets, and I'm chomping on my 10 almonds instead. Bazanga wouldn't I want to throw myself over that cookie jar and just have one. Maybe two. Heck why not five. Nope! Not today, coz today I want to take several steps forward toward my goal instead of backwards. And that makes me stronger.

I am proud of my accomplishments! And I acknowledge it.
Only about 3 years ago I was still obese and struggling with my weight loss. I've come such a long way. Puts a smile on my face. And it's easy to forget sometimes.

So when you're struggling those hard days of cravings and tiredness, remember it is so worth it in the end.

REVISED CARROT CAKE PROTEIN BARS

BLOGLOVIN'

Follow'>http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/3152751/jumping-jax-fitness?claim=xgnraj8grcj">Follow my blog with Bloglovin

CARROT CAKE PROTEIN BARS

Hey guys! Here's the carrot cake protein bars recipe. It tastes more like cake than protein bars and it's yum. I already have a few ideas on how to make this recipe more accustomed to my taste buds, but it's always nice to try making it close to the original recipe the first time around.

If you have any questions on how to find the ingredients in Sweden, or how to substitute, let me know.

Find the recipe on bodybuilding.com and made by Jamie Eason.

MORNING GLORY

This is what I look forward to every morning, my porridge with almond butter and coffee with vanilla and milk. Yum! Beforehand I have a protein shake/smoothie made with water, berries, all natural whey protein, ground ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, cacao and pure lemon juice. Need I say most of my breakfast ingredients are organic?! ;) Delish!

YOU EARN YOUR BODY

As all the contestants of Luciapokalen count down their days to when they'll stand on that stage in BodyFitness or Bodybuilding, I made the decision a few weeks back that I would try to get tighter as well. Hasn't really gone as planned due to a new job and traveling, etc. But the saying goes "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail" which is very true in my case.

I have now regained my motivation and not only booked tickets for the Saturday 3 December 2011 Luciapokalen competitions but also started my diet again. The food scale is out once again, mackerel, chicken, eggs, protein powder and veg stocked again and motivation is on top. Back to feeling the best but I will try not to go too hard at the gym so I don't pull anything. Difficult for me not to go hard as my motto is "Go hard or go home!". I can't help it, but I get so irritated when I see people at the gym going there and not making the most out of it, i.e. strolling around, not putting all their energy into their workout or in my classes. Makes me furious! But on the other hand it's not my life. When I choose to go to the gym, I rip it out. My weak point is my diet. Since I have done a long journey of weight loss, I am SICK of counting calories. I know roughly how much I eat and I know my choices are sometimes worse than others, but I just want to enjoy life AND have a tight body. In my case it doesn't work that way. I have to make sacrifices in order to be tight and toned. So, I'm back on my calorie counting, scale weighing, food diary keeping diet again until X-mas. And for motivation, in order to keep on track, I will first of all write down my WHY's of wanting to be more toned and ripped, but also think of all those fab, motivated, hardcore ladies out there competing in BodyFitness in 6 weeks time. That will shut my mind up when I'm contemplating a greasy cheeseburger and a beer. Defo my vices!!

So, I'm now sitting down and planning my week of food and workouts and I'm really looking forward to it. Nothing like being organised and having control over it. And what's my reward at the end of this? Many! But most importantly, a healthier and stronger body. Who can say no to that?!! After all, you do earn your body.

Wanna join me?! :)

FINDUS RED SNAPPER

Have become a test pilot for Smartson as well as Buzzador and the other day I got home a voucher for Findus' fish fillets. So I got them and cooked a delish dinner of the fish, some haricourt verts and made cauliflower mash. Loved it! It was really nice cooked in the oven. Would recommend it although fish is always a little pricier. But so much healthier as well. :)
Enjoy!

DERAIL

Did so well last week, but my body feels so tired. And I did a complete derail this weekend with my food and drink, which stressed my body out even more. And I got proof if it when I woke up this morning with a big, fat cold sore. AGAIN! 2nd one in a month. Thankfully I've got some Aciclovir tablets and cream to treat it with, but still no fun. Especially not since today, I've got my 3rd interview at one of the companies I'm really interested in working with and on top of it a BodyPump release later on tonight. Anxiety!

FAT LOSS TOOLS

Woke up this morning still feeling super motivated. It's like a switch has been turned on and that fire in my belly is revved up again. Dug out my Moleskine notebook and started on a fresh new page. Got weighed in this morning, both in kg and lbs as I wanted to use it to calculate my calorie expenditure and other formulas. Got my pictures taken and body fat measured on the scale. All recorded now.

Experience from a long time of dieting and ultimately losing all that weight during my journey, I have a really hard time letting go of the diet mentality. I always secretly count calories in my mind and try not to eat too many calories, however I am aware of that I am most of the time way below my calorie allowance when I am in this focused zone to lose a few pounds again, which I need to change. Coz like I wrote last night, this is a lifestyle for me and I want to be able to eat and train like this for the rest of my life. But we have to have goals in order to give ourselves a bit of a push, so my short term goal is the Fitness Festival in December, which gives me a little over 11 weeks to complete my goal of losing 10 pounds and get down to 21% body fat. So achievable!

Have calculated now that my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is 1421 kcal according to the Katch-McArdle formula, which means if I would be in a coma this is the total amount of kcals it would take for my body to keep repairing itself, my hairs to grow, bowel movements to work, tissues to keep reproducing, etc, so it's kind of scary that when I'm on a diet I eat about 1000-1200 kcal per day. Way too little if I want to make sure my body is not using muscle instead of fat, which in return slows my metabolism down anyway. So, on the days I'm pretty sedentary I should eat 1637 kcal and on the days I workout I should eat 2114 kcal. Now, that last number scares me, but I'm gonna trust the process this time and try a different route and maybe I can save my muscles this time when trying to lose body fat.

If you want to calculate your own BMR or goal weight calorie expenditure, go to Fat2Fit Radio Tools page.

I WANT TO LOOK LIKE THAT GUY

Just finished watching the documentary "I Want To Look Like That Guy" made by Stuart Macdonald about his own journey to compete in a bodybuilding competition, which overweight and only 6 months away from the date, almost seems impossible. He seeks out Jeff Willet, a Pro IFBB Bodybuilder, who becomes his mentor and trainer. The documentary is obviously for people who are into this kind of training and dieting and for me, who absolutely love and look up to people who have the determination and willpower to complete such as journey, well, it was a rare couch treat for me tonight.

The documentary is well worth watching, especially if you need some motivation to start anew or to start a healthier lifestyle at all. And let me emphasise LIFESTYLE. Unless you're going to compete in fitness or bodybuilding this might not be a training or dieting regime for you, but it's very interesting and very motivating to see Stuart's journey from start to finish, his goal to stand on that stage and be absolutely ripped and shredded. A long way from his 30% body fat he started with 6 months earlier.

I would love to follow somebody's journey from puff to buff. Maybe I will have to make that journey myself someday. Or not. Unless I would decide to compete, it's not a lifestyle for me to lead. I rather live a regular, "normal", healthy lifestyle I can maintain in the longrun without depriving myself of stuff, but that doesn't mean I admire those who choose otherwise. The much, much harder and dedicated way. Kudos to all of yous! :)

Now, go watch the documentary and I'll see you at the gym. ;-))

SUBJECT

Testing new post from mobile. And it worked! Hey tadeloodadey. :))

Sent from my iPhone

WISHFUL THINKING

As I was thinking "Oh, I wish it was easier to blog..." and logging into my blogger, they announced a new, easier interface. Wishful thinking sometimes works! :)) And so I hope the rest of my life right now will as well. A lot of changes lately for me and I'm a tad tired. Want some structure. Want some stability. Want some grounding. Still though... Sick of counting my calories right now. Sick of weighing every single ham or cheese slice. Sick of not feeling motivated. And then it hits me, sometimes even I need those "I've had it up to HERE" days. So I linger in it... for about a couple of hours and then I get bored and want to dash to the gym for a good workout session. Beat my PB in 5K. Take my Kettlebell license. You get my drift.

Got this question at a superb interview: "What stresses you out?" My answer after a short thinking process: "Waiting, that stresses me out. But I'm working on it." ;))

Have a fab day y'all!