Saturday 26 February 2011

Watch your thoughts

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny


Friday 25 February 2011

Home Sweet Home


That's it. I have had enough of home. My quota of patience has been used up and I would like to get back to my own organised life now. I love my family dearly, but there is only so much I can take of them. I am just simply fed up of biting my tongue. I have bumped into every man and his dog in my local town and my small village and I  have had the same conversations over and over and over... I should just get a tshirt with the answers printed on it to save me time :p
So tomorrow I will be going back to MY house, with my bike in tow, ready to hit the gym and take my bike for a spin around the park.
I just cant wait.
* I know I sound like an ungrateful bag... but I do know its because they love me really*

Thursday 24 February 2011

Brushing off the bike

One of my goals when I escaped university for a much needed break, was to go through all my remaining clutter that still resides in my childhood home. Needless to say I managed to get rid of 4 black sacks of rubbish and 5 bags of clothes/shoes/odds and ends. And yet, it doesn't seem to me that I have even made a dent in my old room! My room is very deceptive at holding more than you think it can... or maybe I have just always been good at cramming :p

To cut my post to the point, while I was in the swing of things, I also decided to have a little rummage through the shed. This was probably a bad idea as by the end of search, although I had found what I was looking for, I was covered from head to toe in spider webs and dead bugs. *Shudder* What I was looking for was my bike. A rather small, green and rusty bike that had 2 flat tyres. The poor thing was still covered in mud from the last time I had used it, and only god knows when that was. I suddenly felt very guilty for using and abusing this poor bike that had brought me considerable freedom and many memories. I have only abandoned my bike once before, for the new trend of scooters. I can quite safely say my love affair with the new trend did not end well. I decided to go down my local hill on it whilst wearing a hat... as I reached the fastest part of the hill, my hat flew off and instinctively my hand shot up to rescue it. Now anyone who has ever ridden a push scooter will know that steering requires both hands, especially at that speed. Needless to say, I ended up head first in the nearby hawthorn hedge and was forced to walk home in tears and very shaken up. I returned sheepishly to using my bike for high speed adventures.

 It was time for me to dust off the bugs and give my bike a well earned clean up in an attempt to say sorry for its long neglect. Now when you consider that I received that bike for my 10th birthday and I am soon to be turning 20, she didn't look too bad by the time I was finished with her. Even if I do say so myself! I was now just faced with 2 small problems... both tyres were extremely flat and I had grown a hell of a lot since my 10th birthday. That seat definitely needed a raise. Aha! you say, those problems are both fixable.... well not when you are me (have absolutely no idea where to start), live in an all female household who know just as little as me concerning bikes and have nothing useful to fix it. It was time to call in the cavalry. My childhood friend of 12 years was more than willing to give me a helping hand out of my predicament. But on one condition. I was to go out for a cycle ride with him.

Considering my newly set goals, I knew that I had no choice but to accept... however a nasty feeling settled in my stomach. Not only did my childhood friend cycle regularly and so was miles more fit than me, I also live in an area of "outstanding beauty". That could also be known as "bloody great hills everywhere". I knew exactly where he was intending on going, we had cycled it together plenty of times as youngsters, and in its 10.5km length it has at least 4 hills. Of which, 2 of those are vertical. Ok, ok, I exaggerate!!! More like a reasonable incline, but still! I am nowhere near being able to cope with these yet. Or so I thought...

I summoned up my courage and managed a convincing  enough smile and said "Let's do this thing!". Fast forward 15 minutes to me, red faced, sweating like a pig and swearing enough to make a sailor blush. Plenty of times I was offered a rest and I declined the luxury. There was no way I was wussing out now, especially not in front of him. I have way to much pride for that. And so I slogged on and damn am so glad that I did. 20 minutes later I got off my bike, extremely triumphant, covered in mud and looking an absolute wreck. The last time I attempted that route, I never quite finished it. It just goes to show that my recent gym work outs have done more than I thought had. In the process I also recovered my childhood love of cycling - the insanely hard struggle to reach the top is more than worth the joyous ride downwards, with the wind in my hair and a stupid grin on my face. I am not ashamed to say I had to resist the urge to woop like my 10 year old self!
If I am philosophical about cycling and almost every exercise I am beginning to grow to love, I have to say that it is a lot like life. That uphill struggle, pushing your body to its maximum and cursing why you ever started is all made worthwhile by reaching the top, seeing that view and knowing that it was you that got you there.

"It never gets easier, you just go faster." - Greg LeMond

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Who do I want to be?

That is a big question that deserves a reasonable amount of thought. It is almost as important as the question of how am I going to get there? But before I can get there I need to know where I am. Its a little like getting google map directions but for my health!

Current Statistics:
Height - 5ft 6
Weight - 68.9kg
BMI - 24.5
Body Fat - 29%
Bench weight - 35kg
Squat weight - 30kg
I have trouble running 1k continuously let alone 5k! I cannot do unassisted pull-ups and I can barely do 1 well formed push up. Pretty pathetic to be honest BUT the only way is up. I can't get any worse (... surely!?)
And this... is me (After previously having lost 1 stone, woop woop). 

OK, OK... I know that sports bras and stripy pants just don't go... :p

Oh bicep, where art thou?
If  I am honest, taking pictures of myself was a daunting task. I really didn't want to see what I truly looked liked, after all the camera doesn't lie. So I gritted my teeth and asked my partner to "Just do it"... and I was surprised with what I saw. "Damn, I'm not that bad after all!" I must have a really messed up sense of what I look like because this certainly wasn't what I was expecting to see staring back at me! I am not satisfied with what I see, but I am not totally grossed out by it either. And that, I think, is a good place to be. I am comfortable with my body (enough so that I am willing to show you, which is a big step for me!) but still passionate enough to think that I can make this OK looking body into something strong, capable and hot ;) Well I hope so! 

Now for the WHAT part of the equation. I have modest aspirations for myself in the next few months (or however long it takes me to get there but preferably by July), just to get myself started.
  • I want to be a healthy 66kg minimum, maybe eventually getting down to 63kg. This would push my BMI into the healthier bracket of 22-23 However I am pretty easy going with how much I way as long as I feel good and can still fit into my size 12 jeans! 
  • I would like to reduce my body fat by at least 4 %.
  • Be able to run 5k and participate in my first marathon for charity.
  • Be able to do 1 unassisted pull up.
  • Be able to do 10 non "girl" push ups with good form.
  • Be able to bench and squat my own weight.
  • And finally to begin to see some definition in my muscles. I want to find my bicep ;)
So, now that I have decided on my starting goals, HOW on earth am I going to get there?
  • I will shift that last little bit of excess weight by maintaining a 500 calorie deficit, cutting out the crap in my diet and eating healthier foods. I apparently need 2113 calories a day to maintain my current weight, so that leaves me with 1613 calories a day to play with. I would love to attempt a paleo diet, however I don't think that at this point in my life I would be able to keep it up. So for now I will settle for small healthy changes to my diet.
  • I will be using the couch to 5k to improve my cardiovascular fitness
  • I will also be following the weights routine recommended by stumptuous 3 times a week
  • I will be starting this coming Sunday, once I return to uni from home
And that, is my master plan *queue evil laughter*. It may end up being too much, or maybe not enough. However I won't know until I try.

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you will land amongst the stars" - Les Brown




Tuesday 22 February 2011

It doesn't matter how big your bones are

 I have never been athletic. I feel that first reason for my lack of athleticism would be that I suffered from childhood asthma. Even the slightest exertion would reduce me too wheezing and frantically reaching for my inhaler. As a small child, I almost drowned in the middle of swimming class due to having an asthma attack... From then on I became anxious of everything that could possibly set off my attacks and obviously, exercise was on this list (Along with cats!) My mother and my teachers were indulgent, allowing me to sit out classes and to only take part in the easier exercises.
  Luckily for me, I grew out of my asthma but by this point the damage was done. I was miles behind my fellow classmates and still terrified of setting my asthma off by truly pushing myself to work hard in PE lessons. Teachers don't want to waste their time on children that are not enthusiastic or naturally talented in their subject and so they didn't encourage me either (I knew only a handful of super teacher in my short time of education, sadly none of them taught PE) . I constantly compared myself to the other girls of my class; the ones who could do a handstand, glide effortlessly through the water, do a lap of the field without collapsing in a heap and had infinitely long slim legs. I would look down at my own body and wonder what was wrong with me.
  When I confided in my mother about how I felt about myself she told me not compare myself with them. I was "Big boned and academic". I know that my mother meant well and to a point, she was right about me. I am not a petite girl who is delicate and slim but instead I am tall with broad shoulders, wide hips and capable hands. My skills were academic not athletic. However, her words stuck with me. I am big boned.
   I subsequently stopped believing there was any point in trying to fight genetics. I was never going to be one of those girls. I decided to give up on exercise and focus on the things that I was good at. For a while this worked for me and I did well at school, getting into my first choice of university. I was happy with how my life was and where I was going...

Well that sounds wonderful Tilly, so why on earth have you started this blog?
Like a lot of students that go to university, I gained an awful amount of weight. My unhealthy lifestyle combined with my total lack of exercise (not to mention the booze...) had caused me to start sliding down the slippery slope of obesity. I was horrified to find myself not being able to fit into my usual jeans. It was time to take action.
   I joined a gym, I ate healthily and I lost weight. But it didn't stick...I totally lacked the motivation to simply keep at it. Having absolutely no fitness to work with, I found everything an absolute mission. I hated every single minute I pounded away at the treadmill. Consequently, I always gave up... until the weight started to creep back and I would hit the gym again. During this yo-yoing, I noticed two girls that were regulars in the weights sections. It would be hard not to notice them considering how absolutely stunning they both looked,  exactly how I wanted to be. Green with envy, I whined at my partner about how I would never be like them. He simply responded with "Rubbish". He then began the tough job of convincing me that I could be anything I wanted and achieve anything... all with a little bit of hard work.
   With his help, I began to research how to permanently change the way I live and the way I look. This research ended up at women lifting weights. I was fascinated by the amount of misconceptions and myths that surrounded women and weight lifting when there is so much evidence that girls that lift weights are hot! I stumbled across various websites that provided me with masses of information and motivational pictures of  people who looked just like me becoming something so much more. I realised that it didn't matter that I wasn't petite or skinny. I could become a better, faster, stronger version of myself  no matter my current level of fitness. All I needed was time, determination and the courage to stop hiding behind my excuses.

So me and my partner hit the gym. Luckily for me, he had been one of those kids that I had envied  so much at school and so knew exactly how to start me off. Under his patient guidance, he introduced me to the world of weights. And oh my god... I freaking love it! I have finally found something that truly excites me and has me wanting to go back for more. When you combine that with all the amazing, motivational websites and blogs that are out there on the internet, I was and am hooked.
One of the most inspirational blogs that helped me to believe I can change is strongisnewskinny. I simply cannot summarise the morals of this blog any better than Adam from practicalpaleolithic
"TO ME, “Strong is the New Skinny” is about women deciding FOR THEMSELVES what they want to look like and who they want to be.
TO ME, “Strong is the New Skinny” is about women being STRONG and TRAINING HARD and TRAINING “LIKE A GUY.” 
TO ME, “Strong is the New Skinny” is about increasing EVERYONE’S awareness that WE – us as individuals – have a serious level of control over stereotypes and norms and what is accepted and what future generations see. We – each and every one of us – has the ability, tools and OBLIGATION to lead and inspire future generations and create a better world."
To me, that is everything I want to be and be part of. And so here I am, like so many others, joining the SINS body transformation blog challenge
I will be documenting what I want to achieve and how I am going to go about doing it. Hopefully, my motivation will stay strong and soon I will be on the road to becoming better shinier version of me. And of course, it doesn't matter how big my bones are ;)

 I would like to leave you with a quote that has now become my motto.
"Strong is dedication, desire, perseverance, passion and acheivement of the goals you set for yourselves. Strong is a state of being attainable by every body"
From  StrongIsTheNewSkinny facebook group