Wednesday 23 February 2011

Workout 1a

Time for a new workout!

Workout 1a.
Running Intervals
1 min walk 7.0
1 min Run 16.5   x3

1. Chest Fly          8kg dumbells 12 reps
    Tricep pullover  12.5kg barbell 12 reps  x3

Running Intervals x3

2. Shoulder Press   6kg dumbells 12 reps
    Front raises          3kg dumbells 10reps   x3

Running Intervals x3

3. Cable wood chop    5kg handle attachment 10 reps
    Tricep pushdowns   6.25kg rope attachment  12 reps      x3

4. V-sit, twist                On Bosu ball with 5kg med ball 10 reps
    V-sit leg extension    On Bosu 10 reps 
    Plank                       60 secs                                         x3

Thursday 17 February 2011

When I Grow Up

This is my second week back at uni now since my extremely long two month Christmas break. My timetable is quite pressing so I'm struggling to fit my training in (I wish you could hear the sarcasm in my voice). I have five hours of contact time per week...spread over 3 days?!?! I would love to know where my tuition fees are going. If they put all of the five hours into one day I could commute up to uni and work full time back home home! Not that I don't like Loughborough but here I am paying £82 a week rent, paying for bills, and living off a student loan, when I could just be paying £40 for a return train ticket once a week, gah.
I sometimes think to myself; why am I doing this? Then I remember; 'one day Sophie, your knees are going to pack in then what will you do?' Also I do actually find the degree very interesting (in the short space of time when I am in learning stuff).

So what do I want to do with my life? At the top of my long list; I want to go into Fitness Presenting. Actually, I am quite desperate to do that, so fingers crossed!!
-I also want to teach other instructors for module training in programmes such as Les Mills programmes, WaterWorks, ETM maybe even Gym Instructor courses.
-I would like to run Fitness Bootcamps (watch this space, and watch out Daddy I may need some -money, haha joking, I'm already saving).
-Health and Fitness writing, I enjoy writing, I wrote my autobiography when I was 8, I have started writing a fiction book, details of which will only ever come out if I finish it. I would love to freelance for health and fitness magazines though, writing about your passion, yes please!
-Maybe try out the police force, I wanted to be a PTI in the army at one point, but then someone told me I would have to serve in the army first...no thankyou (if anyone knows anything about this please let me know!)
-Soooo, what else do I want to do, open the gym of all gyms with atleast 4 studios :) with the widest range of group exercise classes and instructors ever! That would be awesome!
-Teach Secondary school PE.
-Be a vet and work in Africa! (Definitely doing the wrong degree than)

Most of all I want to change people's lives. I want to teach the best possible classes that I can, I want to inspire people to try their hardest, to 'be the best that they can be'. The best feeling in the world is when someone speaks to you at the end of a class and tells you how good you have made them feel.
There is one occasion in particular that sticks out in my mind when there was a lady who I noticed was a bit puffy eyed at the beginning of Body Combat, she didn't look happy at all, putting in zero effort, just didn't look like she wanted to be there. I kept my eye on her and little bit worried to be honest, but by the end of the warm up she was shouting with everyone else, her effort level had soared and she was looking a hec of alot happier. At the end she hung around until everyone had left, I had spoken to her before but she said she would catch me in a minute.
She came to me when it was just the two of us left and told me she found out the night before that her husband had been cheating so she chucked him (then came to Combat the next day! Superwoman I know).  She had just wanted to get out of the house so she would stop sitting around crying and feeling sorry for herself, she said the class made her feel amazing, and that she felt a massive weight lift off her shoulders, experienced a massive stress release and could see she was better off without him, she didn't need him, then she thanked me. In my head I was thinking 'eh? what did I do?' Whilst trying to figure this out, she have me a hug (now, not many people are very willing to touch me after a class and I am absolutely soaked.) This is when I realised I really am in the right job, to make people feel good makes me feel good. They can only put in as much effort as I put in, so the day I pull back and take it easy in class is the day I know I need to hang up my mic belt.
I love my job
I love my participants
I want to help change the world one class at a time.

Saturday 5 February 2011

Beats To Make You Move Your Feet

New feature to Barrett's Fitness is 'Beats To Make You Move Your Feet' 

Each week I am going to share with you music that will get your mind and body through any workout!

This track called 'Spotlight' by Mutemath and in my opinion is awesome! It's great for interval training and makes a kick-ass spin track.







Let me know what you think.