In today’s hectic world where instant gratification is expected, a diet takes time, planning, and most of all dedication. Before selecting the first diet that is discovered on the internet or a friend has attempted, do research. Choosing the correct diet needs some investigating. First, the wisest choice is to consult with one’s doctor. Discuss with the doctor options that have been investigated and find out the pros and cons as well as any possible health complications. There are thousands of diets on the market…diets such as Atkins/Low Carb, South Beach, Paleo, Vegan, Low Fat, Cookie Diet, and Vegetarian. What matters the most is dedication, what works for one’s body, and how one feels. Ultimately, if a person is dedicated, a new diet will work and results will show inside and outside.

They do not realise that the experience of motivation is their own and it is theirs to keep…
I am not a person some would label a “Feminist” but I do care a great deal for the Women in my life, My mother, my daughter, grandmother, Sisters, Aunts and Girlfriends. When I look around these are the people who without judgement support me in only a way a feminine can.
If you are any one of the named above to anyone then you too are very special and loved by another women. We are all important to each other; we create a network with an invisible connection of strength.

So how do such amazing women lose their experience of motivation; so easily losing the momentum to continue with it and achieve what they desire and deserve?

I believe a lack of self-confidence and self-esteem acts as a barrier to the greatest achievements. As women we find the motivation to drive our success but then as quickly as we do we then doubt ourselves and before we know it are subconsciously making excuses with negative self-talk and the inability to believe that we can set out to do what we had planned.

To my clients who have found that motivation to call me, to act upon their desires and to look after their wellbeing. Also to every woman who chooses to connect with me personally or professionally. I’d like to inspire you to find your inner confidence and drive your motivations to a place that breaths your success. Where you believe you can do it and nothing will stop you.

In Marianne Williamson’s “A Women’s Worth” she restores the power within women and highlights our ability to create a better world. For ourselves, other women, and the men we love.

A must read for those who forget their own strengths and a reminder to praise and nourish others…

You’ve spent the past 9 months carrying around you’re heavy round kicking belly and since your little gem arrived you’ve happily been seeing to their EVERY need… …NOW it’s time to start thinking about you!

I’m sure you’ve noticed your body isn’t quite what it was 12 months ago and that’s ok, you should feel no shame. You’re body has been through an amazing experience and transformed in many ways to bring a beautiful being into this world. It was and is all worth it but to find you again. Let’s get back to feeling firmer, trimmer and sexy again!

Here’s what I did and how you can get your body back…

Week 1-4

This month your main focus is your pelvic floor muscles and regaining more strength and control of the pelvic region.  Doing daily pelvic floor exercises will help to tighten and pull your uterus back down into its pre pregnancy position. You should avoid strenuous exercise for now but to help with the healing process here is an example exercise that you will find useful:

Swiss Ball Pelvic Tilts

Sit on your Swiss ball, feet flat on the floor and hip width apart. Gently hold your hips and feel as you roll the ball forwards and backwards. Lift up through the pelvic floor muscles and control each small movement.

An alternative if you do not have a swiss ball that you can even do whilst lying in bed;

Lying on your side with a pillow in between your knees, gently draw the pelvic floor muscles up, hold and slowly release.

Week 5-8

If you have felt up to it you may have started taking the occasional walk with your baby. In these weeks make it a daily ritual to get you outdoors and take a walk and continue with your pelvic floor exercises. I walked 1.5 hours each day to really help the weight drop off but stick to your own pace.

Once I felt strong enough I started to include some gentle body weight exercises such as squats and static lunges and floor work to strengthen my hips (example: hip bridges) and even some light arm exercises.  I Started by working with smaller repetition’s; 3 sets of 10 repetitions increasing each week until I felt able to do 3 sets of 20 repetitions of each exercise.

If you chose to include this in your routine resist from adding weight too soon as ligaments are still loose from pregnancy and it may cause injury.

Week 9-12

By this stage you may be beginning to feel more like you did pre pregnancy and if you’re not too sleep deprived from staying up all night with your newborn, you may feel more energy returning.  If you are sleep deprived then be gentle on yourself. Attempt to follow the previous suggestions for pelvic floor exercises and taking a minimum 30 minute walk each day, then increase this to 1 hour when you can.

Light resistance exercise is now a possibility, during my recovery I found it to be a helpful way to start to tone up and lose the last of my pregnancy weight.  After losing muscle mass during pregnancy I Introduced weights to my training at week 9 and saw great benefits. Whilst I was still breastfeeding I was careful not to overload my joints as relaxants were still present but even lighter weights showed increased muscle mass and a firmer body.

Week 12 onwards

By week 12 training in the gym will feel much easier than it has been as your core strength returns and you feel a little more energetic.

Now it’s time to get back into a previous training style and pushing yourself a little harder. You will not be quite as fit or strong as before but start to work yourself towards that. A great workout in the gym will leave you feeling more energetic and give you a great sense of achievement! Congratulate yourself on every piece of effort you put in and ENJOY!!!

Love Lianne xxx

If you have never exercised before then now isn’t the time to start exhausting yourself with strenuous exercise. Light walking would be all I recommend but what if you’ve trained for years to keep your body in tip top condition and are now wondering what you should do?…

Here are some changes to expect during pregnancy and what I recommend you do to stay fit and healthy whilst pregnant (For you and bub!):

First of all the number one exercise I suggest is to walk every day. This can be done throughout your whole pregnancy; it is cost effective and is done at your own pace.

For some, walking is enough but I also believe that maintaining muscle tone is important too. Whilst pregnant we lose a lot of muscle mass, our body is providing nutrients to the baby and hormones promote an increase in body fat rather than muscle. As long as diet is correct the increase in fat is healthy for the babies’ health and you will lose the extra weight quite rapidly once baby arrives. Exercise is important but is not a tool to lose weight at this time. To maintain your strength and muscle mass you need to include light weight sessions to your training. The intensity will depend on your pre pregnancy body and exercise regime. This is where you need to know your limits or get personalised advice from a professional. As your pregnancy progresses remember that relaxin is pumping through your body and your joints may feel weaker and a little wobbly. Avoid lifting too much weight or repetitive movements keeping reps and weights low.

Throughout your pregnancy but especially during your third trimester swimming is a fantastic way to work out. Allowing the weight to float off your body feels amazing and gives it a break from carrying that weight around.

Stretching is also important. We tend to get tighter and find the extra weight on the front causes discomfort in our backs, legs and shoulders.  During my pregnancy I felt tightness through my back, glutes and hamstrings. Participating in a prenatal yoga class I found helped to stretch out those sore parts and was gentle enough to do from week 6 all the way through to week 40! As well as a workout Prenatal yoga is also a great way to socialise with new mums to be and to chat with them and the instructor about any new experiences.

Meet Fiona! She was my yoga instructor throughout my pregnancy and was great! She started her prenatal yoga class to help women come together by providing a network of other mums. Her sessions were personal to the individuals in the class. Each week we had different body parts we needed to stretch and she catered for them all. It was great to relax and unwind the mind and body!

I am passionate about yoga which is why I made a decision to work for myself full-time as a yoga teacher and yoga therapist. Yoga provides many benefits from a physical practice to a mental calming and grounding for our own well-being.  I teach general level classes and for the past 6 months have also been teaching prenatal classes and more recently mums and bubs yoga.  I love these classes.  It is a very different class and very special to teach and support women through their stages of pregnancy, offering a class that is preparing them for birthing. Mums and Bubs is beautiful.  Little bubs coming to class and absorb the benefits of their mothers yoga practice. We do movements to stabilize the hips, open and stretch the chest and back from the physical strain of nursing bub. Lots of very gentle supportive poses and also include bub in some the poses. They are both beautiful classes and you have the opportunity to share with other people in the room who are going through the same things as you.  

http://www.yogatherapybrisbane.com.au

Hope this helps!

Lianne xxx

P.S Look after yourself during pregnancy more than ever, your body is not only your temple but your precious bubs too.

If the purpose of personal training has to be summed up into one single word it would be – results. As a personal trainer I believe its your job to achieve results for your clients in every area of their lives – in their body, nutrition, and training (the obvious ones), then it’s about mental state, health, daily performance, time management, relationships, and all the goals a client has.

To achieve results in clients it should be shown that the same thinking to achieve results in their body is the same anywhere in their life. For me and us at FLAUNT IT, I believe its always important to practice what we preach.

Of course your personal trainer should have a body you aspire too, of course your personal trainer should train like an athlete of some sort, of course your personal trainer should be a  friend and referred by people you know. More importantly they should also be successful in other areas of their life as well – are they healthy and live a desirable life style. Have they achieved success with their personal relationships, and they always motivated when you see them and open when they are having a hard time. Are they achieving their goals in live?

Personal trainers are becoming our life mentors of today. You will see a good personal trainer regularly so its only natural they will have influence over your life. Find a personal trainer who’s worth influencing you so that you can achieve the results you want. It’s all about results.

The premise of detoxing is based on the Ancient Egyptian and Greek idea of believing foods consumed, can rot and produce toxins that harm the body. By Wikipedia: Detoxification is an alternative medicine approach that proponents claim rids the body of “toxins”, accumulated harmful substances that are alleged to exert undesirable effects on individual health.

Commercial detoxification usually includes one or more of: dieting, fasting, consuming exclusively, or avoiding specific foods (such as fats, carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, juices, herbs or water), or colon cleansing. Detoxing is not supported by science, with no medical benefits demonstrated, and is based on questionable or disproved scientific claims.

Detoxification has been referred to as an elaborate hoax used by con artists to cure nonexistent illnesses. Medical experts state that body cleansing is unnecessary as the human body is naturally capable of maintaining itself, with several organs dedicated to cleansing the blood and gut.

People have dropped weight from detoxing but this was from the reduced calorie consumed. People have body water levels dropped but this was from the reduced bad foods they ate, and this all happened sometimes within only a week. Unfortunately once the detox was complete and people generally returned to their normal living and this cycle repeats itself.

Detoxing should correct the below “10 things we all experience that are toxic to your body”, because these are the everyday pillars that our health and wellbeing is built on. I know for a fact as a personal trainer detoxing your body is not just exclusion of the bad stuff we consume, it’s also about the inclusion of all the right stuff and right activities that create good health. Good health is never just achieved. Good health is something we have to work on and maintain. The pursuit and conscious action towards good health only stops when we do. Life uses our energy and we need to put it back into us.

Here is my list of 10 things we all experience that are toxic to your body:

1. Excessive body fat
2. Low fitness levels
3. Inflamed and sticky red blood cells
4. High adrenalin levels from stress
5. Dehydration
6. Mineral deficiencies
7. Irregular & badly form bowel movements
8. Inability to naturally relax & sleep well
9. Poor muscle tone
10. Always getting sick

We are what we eat and do. We all know how the below negatively affect our body:

• Cigarettes
• Alcohol
• Junk food
• High prolonged stress

Then we are also aware of the negative effects of excessively consuming:

• Sugar
• Saturated fats
• Processed carbohydrates

If you’re serious about detoxing I recommend blood type dieting. For those of you unfamiliar with blood type diets, we each have our own individual blood type A, B, AB & O. Each blood type has certain foods which are harder for it to break down and some which are more beneficial for its type of blood. By eating food specific for your bloody type your body’s natural ability to heal is increased.

As a personal trainer I have seen the results firsthand what blood type diets positively do for people’s bodies.

Making a decision to learn more about your health and make a difference in your body’s wellbeing regardless of its forms is still always something to be proud of. Taking the first step in any direction for wellbeing is always the hardest. Unfortunately a lot of our society just doesn’t know any better and is lead by the best advertised products in the public eye.

Detoxing can start simply by drinking 4-6 litres per day. Did you know without even lifting a finger your body needs at the very least 2500ml of water per day?

• 1500 ml/day excretion by kidneys in the form of urine
• 500ml/day evaporation and sweating from the skin
• 300ml/day from the lungs
• 200ml/day from the gastrointestinal tract

Are you drinking this much? Remember this is only to maintain your normal water levels. Doing one thing and getting a result in your body, then going back to your old habits will only get you back to your original starting place. If you are interested in taking this more seriously please get in contact with me or a naturopath who is experienced and knowledgeable. I believe that having a strong, healthy body that looks its best is one of the most important factors in ensuring you get the most out of life. Feeling great about the way you look builds confidence that can help you open doors to greater opportunities. My philosophy is to celebrate your image and to be proud of the efforts you have put in to develop your body.

Is your:

• Heart healthy
• Bowels regular
• Immune system strong
• Body recovering quickly
• Stress levels low
• Daily energy output high
• Thinking always clear
• Life organization at its best
• Body fat levels low
• Body muscle shape and quality at its best
• Body image and self esteem the best its ever been
• Relationships strong and communicating openly and effectively

The 2012 man is lean, muscled, healthy & operating at his best.

In the following weeks I will be working through each of the above dotted areas to maximise the results in my client’s lives. Sign up for my blog if you haven’t so you can keep track of the knowledge I share. Having clearly understood goals set is the key to successful life results.

Dream small to make big dreams reality.

Wishing you all a happy new year.

Christian Aquilina

Getting abs is not about thou all the sit ups and leg raises and obliques and whatever other abs exercises we can do. It’s about the whole picture – Results. It’s about how you managed a good level of cardio with a great weights program and kept your eating lean and in the right quantities for the period of time you needed to bring your abs out.

We work hard creating the right amount of muscle to shape our body the way we want it and that’s an art in itself. The next stage of is to then remove all the fat while maintaining the muscle we created. We bulk then we lean up it’s the cycle to repteat until we are happy with the body we have.

When you bulk it’s about heavy and lots of weights with high protein and lots of good carbs and fats. When you lean up it’s about heavy and lots of weights, with enough cardio and high protein and reduced amounts of good carbs and fats.

Of course you can add in your abs training into your weights programs (they can assist keeping your heart rate up during sessions) – but don’t loose focus of the bigger picture of chasing abs. Its more than just abs training….

Mental stability…

“Good” foods help us to stay stable under stress and balance our mood. So that we can attend that last stressful meeting for the day with a clear mind; or can be patient when our children test us with tantrums at bed time.

Balancing the brains chemistry is easier than you think. By making simple changes to what you eat and when, you can make positive changes to the chemical balance in your brain.

Follow these 3 steps to engage a healthy mind…

1.      ALWAYS  have a good yummy breakfast!

Yes, we’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But what should we be eating and why?

A protein rich breakfast will help increase your concentration and problem solving skills by boosting a chemical in your brain called tyrosine leaving you more energetic and creative throughout your day.

Also a good source of complex carbohydrates such as wholegrain bread or oats will keep your energy flow even until your next meal.

Eating Breakfast is also the best way to kick starting your metabolism each day! BONUS!

2.      Make time to snack!

One thing my clients always say to me is that they don’t have time to stick to their regular meals. But how hard is it to have a snack close by that could in return make them even more efficient at their daily tasks?

By snacking more regularly on healthy snacks such as nuts which are full of proteins and slow release energy, you are feeding your brain the nutrients it needs to sustain a higher alertness and creativity. Taking 2 minutes to eat may save you hours trying to problem solve on a “half-empty brain”.

If you do forget to eat and at 3pm when your sugar levels have dropped find you craving a bucket of lollies as a quick pick me up, then your best option is a piece of fruit. An apple, peach or pear contains fructose, a slow releasing sugar that will give you the energy you need without the crash 20mins later.

3.      Eat a super Food…

Oily fish, avocado or nuts: Great for stress; full of the omega 3 DHA which acts as a stabiliser so that chemical messages can be sent throughout the brain with ease. DHA also has been shown to increase serotonin, a chemical in the brain that improves mood and decreases depression.