by Melissa Woodward | Nov 18, 2016 | Fitness
It’s often expected as a Personal Trainer that I will have all the latest gadgets, tricks and devices to use in my fitness classes. As fantastic as that would be to track my performance in every move, I don’t have the money or time to worry about all of that. I am a mum and a business owner so both of these lovely responsibilities, take the majority of our funds so I like to look for ways to do it all for free. I would love to share 5 free fitness apps that we use to keep fit. Map My RunThis app is a favourite as I have become a bit of a runner. It’s a free app that tracks time, distance, pace and enables you to save the workouts. I like to know the pace I am running. Sometimes this works in my favour to push me to go faster or other times if I’m going fast I slack off as I am head of my usual pace. It also tracks distance when I decide to go for long runs. It originally helped me know how far I was running so I knew how much I was improving. Couch to 5kmOriginally I used this app to build up my ability to run. It has an in-built training program where you run 3 times per week for around half an hour. It gives you a warm up, cool down and intervals of running or walking in between. When I first started I was lucky to make it through the first 30 second interval without wanting to stop. It helps you focus on gradual increases as opposed to trying to run a whole 5kms straight away. MyFitnessPalWhile this app may not help improve your fitness as such, it helps track your intake of food which fuels your body to perform. If you have a weight loss goal, it also helps you to determine how many calories you should be taking in each day based on your BMR. It also let’s you input exercise or syncs with your fitness tracker. I have trouble updating the diary every day so I use it occasionally as a sense check of the calories I am consuming based on my current food choices. Tabata TimerThe Tabata Timer is an app I use in my classes to set intervals for HIIT classes or circuits. This app can be used at home too if you choose to create your own workouts. Traditional Tabata training is 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest for 8 rounds (4 mins in total). We often use this format in classes and my favourite exercise is to do squats for 20 seconds and a squat hold for 10 seconds in the “rest” period. It’s a leg burner. There’s free or paid versions of this app but I stick with free. S HealthI have a Samsung Phone and it came with an inbuilt tracking app which automatically runs in the background, tracking your steps, distance and can even measure your heart rate. It’s a great tool if you are looking for something free and basic to get you started. Each day if I walk around with my phone I get a notification celebrating my step goal reached and my activity goal met. You can even see a summary of your week. Try these free apps or search for similar apps in the iTunes or Android stores to get started. They have helped me in my fitness journey and I hope you find them useful too. If you would like help with reaching your fitness goals or setting up a plan at home, contact us to help set you on your way. Personal Trainingand Program Writing available at home, gym or park.
by Melissa Woodward | Jan 10, 2016 | Fitness, Healthy Lifestyle, Massage, Nutrition, Role Model
You work hard all week to provide for your family. You work long hours, you commute hours to work and put up with a tough boss all in the effort of being able to give your children the best start in life. You put your children first as you know the importance of a good start in life. You make sure they are in sport, eat a good dinner and go to bed at a reasonable hour. You are so tired after all the running around you prepare yourself a quick meal, complain about that niggling ache you have had for weeks, fall onto the lounge and may even fall asleep there. You have done an amazing job of caring for your children, but what about you? What would like to teach your children about caring for their own health? As a mum I have learnt from my own mum that you put yourself last for your children. While I appreciate everything that my mum did for us, I would have loved to see her healthy and happy too. I wonder if there a better way we can all get what we need. Blake is watching everything that we do from such a young age and I want to be able to teach him that it’s ok to care for himself. From 6 months old, Blake has watched us start our Outdoor Training Classes in Hurley Park. He came along to the Saturday sessions in Winter, snuggled up in his pram with my Nephew JJ, as our first members kickstarted their fitness program. Our first clients were my family. My mum, two sisters and 11 year old neice. As the boys grew, they started to mimic our moves. They would squat, do arm circles to warm up and tried little push ups. Today they run, jump and do burpees. All without ever been shown technique as I do with adults. They learnt through watching us move and had a go too. Through Fitness we were able to set a positive example and show how moving your body makes you feel. When it comes to nutrition in our household, we believe in balance and moderation. We are not perfect and work to make better choices each day. We like to indulge at times but are learning to reduce the options on the Christmas dessert table and invite more people to birthdays to share the cake. We try to make sure Blake has fresh fruit and vegetables for him every day but what about us? We make sure that we also eat the fruit and veggies. We know that making one nutritious meal for the whole family means we are all taken care of. Blake makes such amazing choices sometimes that it blows us away. He prefers water over any juice, loves bananas, peaches and yoghurt, and sultanas. We have never forced him to eat this but with what was available to him, these are the choices he made. When I eat something I probably shouldn’t, I see him curious to try. When I say no, I realise that by not wanting him to have it, should I even be having it. I need to model the food behaviours that I would like Blake to have too. This week I was giving my Nan a Remedial Massage. She needs some assistance getting onto my massage table and travelling. My mum was minding Blake while I worked and brought my Nan down for her appointment. He wanted to stay in the room so I allowed it. This was the first time he had ever seen my work in my clinic rooms. He looked and listened as I spoke. He watched as I started to treat my Nan. She made a noise as I hit a painful point. He then began asking “you alright Nan?”. He understood that something was happening and mummy was helping. The following day he walked up to my husband and said “Daddy, sore?” pointing to his arm. He then began to massage his arm. I realised then that we have been teachinghim the importance of touch and caring for one another. Over time we have realised the importance of self care. As parents we plan our time to allow each of us to have regular massage to treat issues impacting on our health. We want to be able to spend quality time with Blake without pain or stress. Tristan is part of Wimp2Warrior to follow his own passion for MMA Training, teaching Blake to follow your dreams. I am working on making it to more training sessions or making time to train myself. There are plenty of things we can do each week to care for ourselves outside of these. Something as simple as a walk, window shopping, read a blog post (wink wink), or spending 10 minutes in the sunshine. This week, pick one thing you can do for yourself. Looking after yourself this week will give you more energy to be able to care for your children. If I can support you in creating time for yourself Contact me here or would like to book a Massage, Book online now.
by Melissa Woodward | Nov 1, 2015 | Fitness, Fun Run, Goals
It’s only 2 weeks away and you have committed to race. Have you been training? What should you do to prepare? Are you ready for the Fishers Ghost Fun Run? Evolution Health Services has entered a team in this years race. For me, this is my first time of completing the 5km Fun Run. I have wanted to do it for years but timing was never right. I have completed the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge in the past and could not run the whole thing. I kept walking. So I made it my goal in our 12 Week Challenge to run the whole 5km without walking. While training, inspired by my own client who is about to run the New York Marathon, I decided to just do it. I ran 5 laps of Park Central Campbelltown which is just over 5kms. I didn’t stop but now I have a time to beat. You may be thinking, why are you setting goals when you are the Personal Trainer. Well I believe that to motivate your clients, you need to show them it is possible. I am by no means an athlete. I don’t look like the sculpted babes on the magazines, I am a real person with a family, business and life to deal with too. So I would like to share my tips of what we can do over the next 2 weeks to get prepared. 1. Tell yourself you can do it. Mindset will get you far. When completing my training, I was actually saying the number 5 out loud as I ran. Not 2.5, not 3 or 4… I wanted to complete 5kms so I kept telling myself to do it. Luckily there were not too many others nearby so there was no one to hear this crazy person talking to herself. <hatulclass=”font_8″>2. Picture yourself and imagine the feeling Achieving a goal is one thing, but have you considered how you will feel. Do you crave to have that feeling? Well start picturing yourself going the distance and how proud you will feel when you achieve it. It is easy to set a goal but attach your emotions to it and the goal will drive your body when your mind wants to give up. 3. Keep hydrated. Did you notice on the back of your race bib they provided you with a Hydration message from Sports Medicine Australia? Hydration is important before the race, as well as in the weeks leading up. You do not want to start a race in a dehydrated state so ensure you get the required amount daily. Also remember that you need to increase your intake when training. 4. Get yourself some comfy gear Running shoes and active wear choices are important. Choose shoes that will support your feet and avoid shoes that are too tight, too loose or likely to cause you blister. I choose to run in tights as I have the lovely issue of my thighs rubbing together so short shorts ride up. Tights allow my legs the freedom to slide against one another easily. You may start the race feeling cool but run in a singlet but bring along your sunscreen to protect your skin. 5. Address any injuries now As a Remedial Massage Therapist I can also help to identify any issues with your muscles prior to racing. If you have a niggle in any area of your legs or back, speak to me about how I can help. You may require a massage treatment or I can provide you with appropriate stretches or foam rolling exercises to help. If you would like to join the Evolution team in the race, head to the Fishers Ghost Fun Run website to enter now. If you need any more tips, Contact Us today.
by Melissa Woodward | Sep 22, 2015 | Fitness, Motivation
Have you got a Fitbit or anotheractivity tracker?I purchased a Fitbit Charge HR for my birthday in February and have been wearing it almost every day since. I have the Android App that syncs all the data back to my phone and sends me notifications of my progress. So I thought I would share my 5 lessons from my fitbit. 1. I Don’t Sleep Well The Fitbit tracks my sleep based on how much I move around at night. I was very surprised to see that I was not even getting close to 8 hours sleep, especially when I went to bed 10 hours before I set my alarm. Some nights I really didn’t get to bed in time but due to my restless sleeping, it didn’t count towards sleep. I saw nights where I was restless 25 times. I would barely get 1 hour of settled sleep. The app has a new setting where you can determine a sleep goal every night. I am still struggling to get those stars when I reach my goal. 2. Cleaning and Moving House is a great workout. The day this screenshot was taken I ran our 9:30am Outdoor Group Training Session then went straight to our old house to clean up. We spent all day there packing, moving and cleaning. It was a two storey house so I managed to climb the stairs 26 times apparently. I burned an additional 700 calories above my daily goal. I was exhausted after the day but look how effective cleaning is as a workout. So next time you avoid the housework, think of it as an awesome workout. Squat with the washing basket, lunge while sweeping, tackle those stairs as many times as you can. 3. I Can Be Very Competitive So the app also has a function where you can link up with your friends to join work week, weekend or daily challenges. They involve getting the most steps over one of the above timeframes. I soon noticed that I didn’t want to lose. I thought I was so busy all of the time I must be doing more steps than everyone. I would see my sister’s steps climbing up all day and I would get a bit obsessed. I wondered how she managed to get so many steps and joked that she must be sitting on the lounge pumping her arm up and down. I have taken myself out of these challenges or avoided constantly monitoring progress or it could have become very obsessive behaviour. 4. Boxing really gets my steps up It’s probably cheating in a sense that boxing isn’t “steps” but you are still moving. During a boxing session we can get thousands of steps up between the running and punching. 5. Massage doesn’t get my steps up I spend my other hours of the day after our Group Training or Personal Training Sessions in my massage clinic. I can spend up to 5 or 6 hours on my feet with my Remedial Massage clients but my fitbit doesn’t really give me many steps for all my hard work. Luckily I go to training most nights to get those steps up. Has there been any surprising things you discovered from using your activity tracker? We would love to hear them. If you would like to join in our group for weekly challenges or get your steps up with Boxing, Contact Us Now.
by Melissa Woodward | Aug 5, 2015 | 12 week challenge, Fitness, Healthy Lifestyle, Inspiration, Success Story
Peita is one of Evolution Health Services‘ Clients who has shared her story about training with us over the past year. A year that changed my life is a fitting title for this inspirational story of success with weight loss, self confidence and being proud of what she has achieved. Peita has been a part of our Outdoor Group Training sessions and signed up for our first 12 Week Challenge. We have included these before and after photos. Photo 1 – Taken 5th January 2015Photo 2 – Taken 29th June 2015 Peita does not have a “before” photo from starting with us. Read on to find out why. It was just over a year ago that I woke up one morning and couldn’t walk on my right foot. I went to the Dr who told me I had a heel spur (Plantar Fasciitis) and told me it had a lot to do with being overweight. After years of avoiding mirrors and scales, hiding behind my kids in photos, the lower than low self esteem and not to forget the total self loathing I had about my body image, I said to the Dr ” I need help”. He referred me to a Podiatrist and Nutritionist. So off I went to see how they could help. I then got some sexy new footwear, new insole supports for my sexy shoes and a healthy outlook on diet and exercise. I started doing “The Biggest Loser” workouts in my lounge room a few times a week and started to see a small difference. This got me motivated and after having a chat with Kerrianne, who I’ve known for a few years now, she got my interested in joining up with Mel and Tristan to step it up a notch.
Best decision I’ve ever made in my life so far!
As I write this I’m trying not to sound too cheesy but joining with these guys has changed my life. From the dietary advice, killer workouts and the massages I get to relive my aching muscles, my life has totally changed.
I’ve gone from 2 sessions a week to three, then four and now I’m doing 5-6 a week, with one or two workouts at home, that I write up, based on the workouts Mel and Tristan provide us.
In a year I have now lost 31 kilos and 70cm off my body as a whole. And I’m going to keep going. Not because I want to be slim or anything, because I enjoy it. Sometimes I hate it while I’m doing it, but I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment at the end and I feel proud of how far I’ve come. Even if I still can’t do push ups on my toes.
I admit ithasn’t all been smooth sailing. I’ve pulled muscles, I’ve ached in places that I don’t think should ache, I’ve gotten depressed that I can’t eat certain things that my body has craved, I’ve been upset and too hard on myself that I can’t do certain exercises that others can and sometimes I still feel blah about how I look!! But it’s all part of my journey and I’ve learnt that I can deal with all that and still keep going. Even on the days I don’t feel as motivated as I do other days.
This 12 Week Challenge has been mentally hard for me, partly because I think I’ve been too strict on myself at times and too negative about “not losing enough”. My goal for the next 12 Week Challenge is to chill out, not stress and just do exactly what I normally do on a day to day basis and not do my own head in.
One of my proudest and saddest moments was when my son said I could cuddle him in bed now that I’ve lost weight and won’t squash him. I’m proud that my kids see the hard work I’m putting in and proud of the fact they’re taking it all in. They are even busting out their own workout moves at home. I never want to be an embarrassment to my kids with my weight, I know how kids can be cruel and I never want to be the “chubby” mum on the playground that their kids are ashamed of.
So to wrap it all up YAY to Mel and Tristan for their awesome workouts, motivation and guidance, and also to the girls that support me and everyone else at our sessions. I’m getting my self esteem back and a lot more confidence too and I’m loving that.
Mel and Tristan, I can never thank you enough, you mean so much to me and all I ask is that you keep on pushing me and making me work hard to achieve more goals down the track. Deal. From us Peita, thank you for sharing your story. We are touched that we have been able to inspire your success but know that it is you who has put in the hard work and consistent effort.
by Melissa Woodward | Aug 3, 2015 | Bootcamp, Fitness, Motivation
With Outdoor Fitness being so popular, we hear many people raise concerns with coming to a bootcamp. They are worried about being yelled at, made to work too hard for their fitness level or flipping tyres. It made me think about those who have not yet joined us.Are you scared of bootcamp? We hear many people refer to our Outdoor Group Training as Bootcamp. While we don’t see outselves as a Bootcamp, we understand that this is a much easier way of referring to what we do. Bootcamps became very popular with the military style of training where a buff trainer in camo would take the group outdoors and make them work as hard as army recruits. You got the image of crawling across the ground, getting dirty, sweaty and generally working hard. We like to think we are different. While we may do some of the same exercises you see The Commando rocking out, we want you to succeed so we will work with you to get the best results. So what are you afraid of? Injuries I have also heard stories of clients afraid to train in these groups as they sustained an injury at a bootcamp. While injuries can occur with any type of exercise, it is important for us to make sure you complete your exercises safely. We ensure correct technique in all that we do. We will regress to an easier version of an exercise until you are strong enough if needed. Flipping tyres Well we think flipping tyres is a great way to show your strength, work together as a team and get a bit dirty, but we won’t have any tyres for you to flip. Campbelltown Council has a draft policy in council at the moment which actually prohibits this in their parks so we may have to wait until we have our own facility to give this a go. It’s really not a scary activity. We will show you the correct technique and never ask you to do it if you are not ready. Being yelled at While we like to motivate our members, we won’t yell at you. We know you are all adults and we want to treat you with that respect. We give you the workout to do and if you don’t want to do it, then that’s your choice. We want you to give everything a go and try your best but in the end we won’t force you or demean you to get you working hard. We will give you positive encouragement throughout the session and inspire you to push yourself to the next level. Not fit enough Are you worried you aren’t fit enough? There is no need, we all have to get started to be able to improve. Many of our clients are beginners who start out not being able to do basic movements like squats and pushups. We will start you off with an easy version. As you get stronger, we show you how to keep improving. Tristan and I have never been in the military and we started out in the same place as you. While we have been active growing up, we became adults who went through a stage of being less active. We have taken our time to get fitter and stronger to be able to do what we can these days. We are always working harder to achieve something more and want to help others to do the same. We would love you to trial a session for free to see if you like how we work. If you want to experience our Group Training, Contact Us now to come along to our next session.
