Monday 28 June 2010

Fitness frocks 2

Although not the most practical workout outfit, I am quite a fan of this one!


I couldn't resist this short sleeved NIKE hoody when I saw it on sale in JD sports at only £14.99. These shorts are a simple cotton pair from, Primark (with chafing potential!)
Their a bit short to for me to wear at the gym, but could be good for dance practice or stretching






Old old Puma trainers. I've had them for years but can't bear to part with them!

Sunday 27 June 2010

Ignition, Super Quartely workshop

At the beginning of this month (June 5th) myself an hundreds of other Les Mills Instructors gathered at the K2 centre in Crawley for the Super Quartely Workshops. Every three months, each BTS programme releases new choreography and music especially for Les Mills Instructors to learn and deliver in their own classes, so we all attend quartely workshops to get a taste of the new chore from a participants point of view and for the opportunity to be taught by the best Les Mills Presenters.

It was an absolutely fantastic day, I loved every minute of it!

I started at 8.30 with Body Combat. This was the most insane experience EVER!
504 people participating in Body Combat in one room is mad! Body Combat 44 was absolutely off the hook, with my favourite track being track 7 Muay thai! Joint programme director Dan Cohen was but one of the presenters on the day which was amazing!

9.45 brought the new release of Body Balance. I don't actually teach Body Balance myself but I love going to the classes. I don't find the new release as hard as the last one, but I still love it! One of the presenters was Sarah Norman who taught my Body Jam module (my very first Les Mills course!)

11.00 was time for Body Pump 74. Wicked release. Enough said! Favourite tracks are between Triceps and the killer lunge track! Three awesome presenters for Pump, Niamph Mcguirk, Dan Cohen, and Shaun Egan.

12.15 was where it all went wrong. Body Attack. I LOVE Body Attack. I don't teach it but I find it so much fun! It is exactly what it says on the can...an attack on your body!! It was bonkers, I went full pelt and am sure that I almost went into cardiac arrest! This is me and my pal Nik after Attack. Hour number 4. Done.

I then had a much needed break to consume as much food and free lucozade and I possibly could!

14.45 was Body Jam time!! and omg programme director Gandalf Archer himself taught it! It was soooooo good, however, I realised whilst toe tapping that my new NIKE trainers I bought especially for Body Jam were too big and are actually quite a hinderance. But they look cool so I don't care :)


16.00 was my 6th hour of classes, my legs felt like led, I was hungry, tired, light headed, on the verge of moody (that is what happens when I'm hungry) a million and one reasons to go home to bed, but nope, I soldiored on and off I went to Body Step 80! I have to admit, I do prefer 79 (im so sorry for saying that) I'm just not a huge fan of the 80s themed music. Don't get me wrong though, I still think its fab :D I didn't bother with 2 risers just the one...check me out stepping !  >>




I then spent the next few days out of training with a strained calf I couldn't run the Race for Life the next day, I also could'nt walk it! I had an exercise hangover for about 4 days but it was so so so so so so so soooooooo awesomely awesome! Next one is beginning of September in Sheffield. I can't wait to do it all again!

A massive thanks to all the presenters who made such a great day for us and to all the staff at Fitpro who organised the event, and kept us on track throughout the day. Without them the day would't have been able to go ahead. Kia Kaha!

Tuesday 1 June 2010

Query...I want to loose weight, should I just do cardio cardio cardio?



No!

Cardio is great for loosing weight and for burning fat if you are working in the correct heart rate zone,

but a mixture of cardio and resistance training, and a healthy diet is the best combination if you want to drop the pounds.


Resistance training boosts your metabolism (the rate at which you burn fat and calories), which means that you will be burning more fat and more calories at rest! You need to keep mixing up your workout programme every 4 - 6 weeks to keep your body guessing to enable yourself to continue speeding up your metabolism and maintaining it.

20 minutes of resistance training 3 times a week is sufficient to gain the results that you need. This is not a substitute for cardio exercise. Try combining it with 30-40 minutes of to gain optimum results. Worried that resistance training will bulk you up? Click here to find out what you actually have to do to 'bulk' up.



If you are unfamiliar with resistance training just drop me a comment or an email at barrettsfitness@googlemail.com for some help and advise on what to do in your gym programme.