Improve your 5K time!

I am a big believer in the right strength training program improving an endurance athletes performance. Think about it- why does a man always cross the finish line first? What is the main difference between males and females to make him faster? The only difference is strength. He is stronger than her. Improving your strength can improve your speed as well as decrease injuries and make you a better endurance athlete. I lifted weights with a functional strength program right through training for my Ironman.

A study done at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida showed that using a strength training program 4x a week for 6 weeks, shaved a minute off of 5K times.

The program included-
Swiss Ball Crunches
Hip Extensions
Back Extensions
Russian Twist
and Bird Dog

These are all great core exercises and a pretty good regimine for a 5Ker. Looking back at past research most of the studies used extremely non functional strength training exercises like leg extensions or leg curls and ofcourse showed no improvement. No wonder strength training got a bad rap in the endurance community- they only had done studies using bodybuilder exercises that absolutely won't translate to a faster 5K time.

It is nice to hear about a study that used exercises that really work to see if there would be an improvement and there was!

Add in the above exercises to your regimen if you are an endurance athlete and feel the difference for yourself. Every step you take you will be more efficient, have more strength and therefore more power!

The Big Book of Exercises Photo Shoot

In February when I went to do my photo shoot for my book I also ended up helping out another editor, Adam Campbell with an upcoming book called The Big Book of Exercises (out in the next few months). I had never been on a photo shoot so it was great experience to be able to work on Adam's photo shoot for a few days before my shoot(thanks for the practice Adam :)). And to tell you the truth I had a blast. It was a whole different day in the life for me than usual. I ended up staying for 2 weeks. You see Adam is trying to put every single possible exercise there is into this book of exercises. It is going to be the most comprehensive exercise book and should be extremely helpful. There is a women's version and a men's version.

Below is what it looks like on the photo shoot.

This particular shot was a pose and not an exercise. For the exercises I would go up and coach the model to do the exercise trying to get them exactly where I would want them. Then I would run back behind the camera and the computer and yell at the model to "tighten this or squeeze that or stand up taller or turn your foot this way, or suck your abs in or stick your hips out more or squeeze your butt more..." and when I liked the shot I would say- "Shoot!" and they would snap a few shots. I would look at the computer screen to see if the shot turned out ok and pick out which one to use and sometimes we would have to do more than one because many times what you are looking at looks different from what shows up on the screen and once we got it exactly right we would move on.

This sounds much easier than it was- you see, many of these models had never done any of these exercises before so no matter how good your coaching was you inevitably had a model who couldn't do an exercise or who you had to get to fake it or who even worse is more worried about how his hamstrings look than actually doing the exercise properly. We also had a few models show up with injuries- "By the way, I tore one of my obliques..." Huh? But you are our core model doing 77 Core exercises today... And when you are looking at the picture, you might be focused on- "Is their back in the right position?" because that's what you were looking at the most but in the mean time they moved their foot or something else. It isn't easy to get every single thing exactly right but I think we came extremely close for this book considering we had days where we would shoot 85 exercises with one tired model. By the 85th exercise the poor model was shaking and just needed some food. Not only did you have to make sure the exercise form was right but you also had a lighting guy who had to make sure the lighting was just right and with the females a make up person who needed the makeup and hair to look good. So every shot, one of us would go- Nope the lighting should be different, or nope her bruise is showing or nope he needs to stand up taller.... By the end we got it down to a science.

Things I learned-

1. Models look like that despite being able to do any functional exercise. Some of the models were amazing and made the day fly by because they obviously train with real functional exercises. But most of them I think have extremely good genetics and look amazing but don't have to train as hard as the average person does just to get somewhat fit.

2. To give them some credit- Those models worked their butts off! That is a tough job and I was just glad I was on the backside of the camera and not out there doing 85 exercises without probably having eaten for a few days. They work very hard! It is not all glamour as a fitness model.

3. Hanging out on a photo shoot with a bunch of Men's Health Models was not the experience I thought it would be :) It was work, I swear!

4. The female models have just as many insecurities as every other female I have ever worked with. Very interesting- the female psyche. Here are these women in amazing shape, models for a book and they even had hang ups about this or that about their body...

5. I have a whole new respect for any exercise pictures I see in a magazine or a book. It isn't as easy as you would think. Models show up with injuries or having never done an exercise before. Once you snap the shot and walk away from it, when you get the photos back- there is no reshooting, it is done. You have to get it right the first time.

Overall, I had a fantastic experience and I can't wait to see how the book turns out. Watch for it, The Big Book of Exercises.

No more "But's" to get your Butt in Gear!

"Think about your thoughts" is something I tell my clients on a regular basis. Think about what you are saying to yourself in your own head daily. This can be very powerful because if I can transform the way they think, I can also transform the way they look and feel. Your body is listening to what your mind is telling it.

One way I can tell what their daily thoughts are is by listening to what they say out loud. A big red flag is when I hear the word, "But" a lot.

"I really want to lose this 5 pounds BUT I don't want to give up my wine every night."

"I would come to the gym four days a week BUT my schedule is too busy right now."

"I am trying to stick to my diet BUT during the summer I can't always plan and be prepared."

The list could go on and on....

Do you ever use the word "But"? The word "But" actually completely and totally negates everything you just said. It completely disqualifies whatever came before it. If you are going to use the word "But" you may as well not have even said your intention in the first place because as soon as you throw the word "But" in there you just gave yourself the out that what you said means NOTHING.

Think about your thoughts today and start to catch how many times you use the word "But," you'll be surprised!

Instead swap it out for the word "And." This will all of the sudden change your mindset to start looking for a solution to accomplish your intention that you said in the first place.

"I really want to lose this 5 pounds AND I don't want to give up my wine every night."

"I would come to the gym four days a week AND my schedule is too busy right now."

"I am trying to stick to my diet AND during the summer I can't always plan and be prepared."

See how when you change your "but's" to "And's" the first part of your sentence and the second part of your sentence can now coexist and you will look for a solution or a way to accomplish what you want to accomplish.

So from now on, the use of the word "But" is not allowed.

No more "But's" to get your Butt in gear! Now get your Butt to the gym!

And you better not say, "But...."

Alexandra placed in the top 10!

Congratulations to my client, Alexandra! She placed in the top 10 in the Bikini division at Fitness Universe. Doesn't she look fabulous? She has been working hard for months and all of her hard work paid off!

Final Plug...Alexandra is off to Miami

Check out the email my client, Alexandra, just sent out. She is off to Miami to do her first Bikini and Figure Competition at the Fitness Universe! She is raising money for a charity. Check it out-

Alexandra's email-

"Mission Miami is due to launch this Wednesday. Unbelievable! It seems only yesterday that I decided to embark on this personal challenge. And boy has it been an adventure. If I see another whey protein, piece of chicken, tuna, another alarmingly high pair of heels or high cut bikini bottoms…I will crack up. It has been such hard work but I wouldn't change it for the world.

First and foremost, I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to all of those who have generously donated to our amazing charity Ability Bow. We have already raised £917 which thrills me to bits. I have fully achieved my goals listed below!

Well…apart from the last one, due to be ticked off the list this week! ·

• To weight train 4 hours per week 100% ACHIEVED (in fact I worked out since end of January 09 I have trained 72 hours) ·


• To consume a minimum of 100 grams of protein per day 80% ACHIEVED (I found this one very tough) ·


• To maintain a single digit body fat percentage 100% ACHIEVED ·


• Get on stage and compete in the 2009 Miami Universe competition TO BE ACHIEVED 19th & 20th JUNE

In addition to these goals, I also discovered yesterday that I have gained 3.2 kg since the end of January which means I have achieved my weight gain target of 3kg too! Now, does this stellar girl not deserve more donations??? Of course she does! You have until the 20th July to make your donations! So keep them rolling in!" http://blog.alexandra-wilson.co.uk/

90% On Average - Nutrition Periodization

That last post was not meant to give everyone an excuse to take a week off. Actually I have been thoroughly enjoying getting back to my normal lifestyle- eating healthy, getting all of my workouts in and losing the bloat. Back to my normal self...

I always follow the 80-90% rule with my nutrition but one concept that I don't know if I have ever explained is the 90% "on average" concept.

When I have a week like we did last week in Britain I do my best to be close to 100% on track the week or two before we leave and then when I get back (this week) I am super motivated because I have had a break and am usually close to 100% for a week or two on the other side. So over 5 weeks-

Week 1- 100%
Week 2- 100%
Week 3- 50%
Week 4- 100%
Week 5- 100%

Guess what? On average the above equals 90%!!!! So on average I am actually right on track. The hard part about the above is being 100%. 100% means no meals can be missed, no vegetables can be skipped, and no wine can be drank(usually my weakness, a glass of wine with dinner 1-2 x a week). But knowing you are leaving on vacation in a few weeks keeps you focused and then because you let yourself relax, you are ready to be back on 100%. It works really well actually and is a strategy you should give a try.

I think too many people try to be 100% all the time and it just does not work long term. They eventually blow it, become self destructive and it gets them nowhere. Plus your body needs a break and will respond better afterwards.

It is periodization with your nutrition! We are always using a periodized training program, why wouldn't your nutrition be the same? Having periods of a more regimented food intake and other times of complete freestyling.

At this point I have 6 weeks until Alwyn and I head to Cabo for another vacation so once I again I will be on track close to 100% until we go because I know we will probably relax and have a few drinks while we are there. So overall, my year is 90% on track with what I should be eating and therefore I can feel good, look good and enjoy a relaxing vacation throughout the year!

What will you eat there?...Aahhh The British Bloat!

Just got back from a trip to Scotland and London. Alwyn and I try to go once a year to see his family and friends who live there. Before I left I was at my hairdressers and she said to me-

"What in the heck do eat while you are there? There is nothing healthy, is there?"

To tell you the truth when Alwyn and I go to Britain we absolutely do not try to stick to our normal healthy diet and I definitely know that the nutrition regime that we usually follow a minimum of 80-90% of the week slips to probably 50% or even worse...Gasp!!! It is as the saying goes- "It isn't what you eat between Christmas and New Years...it is what you eat between New Years and Christmas." Basically if most of your year you stick to a healthy diet of lots of fruits and veggies and lean protein, you can give yourself room to relax and enjoy yourself when you choose to such as on vacation or during the holidays.

Life is about experiences. The reason we eat healthy and workout is to experience life to the fullest, feel optimal and get the most out of life that we can. To fully experience Britain you definitely have to indulge in Fish N'Chips, the kind you get from the "Chippy" and eat out of a newspaper while walking down the street drenched in sauce, British Chocolate which is out of this world, Crisps in flavors such as Roasted Chicken and Steak and Onion, square sausage on a roll with brown sauce(Alwyn's fav), a Traditional British Breakfast which includes Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, mushrooms, Beans and fried bread and the assortment of Pies, Pasties and other cooked goods that you can only find in Britain. It is true that at a traditional British restaurant their idea of vegetables is a few green peas on the side of your plate. And then of course...the beer- I am usually a one glass of red wine kind of girl(ok, maybe two) but not in Britain- Yes, I do enjoy a Guiness or a Newcastle or my new favorite was one called Organic Honey Dew. We drank a lot of Shandies which are half Beer and half Sprite. They have lots of different beer and being married to a man from Scotland I have accumulated an appreciation for good beer.

Yes, I usually do put on a few pounds and feel less than optimal and am anxious to get back to my normal routine when I get home and within a week lose the British Bloat. It is usually a good boost for my fitness and nutrition when we get back and it is amazing that within a day or two the bloat comes off. If you follow a healthy lifestyle most of the time you can take a week completely off without too much damage at all and give yourself a break. As long as you get back to it after a week, you'll lose the bloat within a day or two.

Our damage control- We did keep up our exercise despite all of the food we indulged in and tried to drink enough water. We hiked up to a Castle which was a pretty tough hike along with squeezing in a couple workouts a week at the local gym and I got a run in along with walking what we figured to be about 5 miles a day while in London. I actually like to run when I am in a new place to explore the area and Alwyn and I usually walk around the city quite a bit.

Anyway, I just thought it was funny that my hairdresser thought that I actually eat super healthy while in Britain...because honestly I don't even try. I remember when I first met Alwyn and we went to a British Pub and I tried to order a salad and some wilted lettuce came out while he chowed down on some yummy fish and chips I swore I would never order a salad at a British Pub again. From now on when we go to a British Pub it has to be part of my 10% so when we have a week full of British Pubs...that 10% goes out the window and I enjoy myself!

BUT- I will say, because of this question I did pay more attention to IF you could eat healthy if you really wanted to and yes, of course, if you made the effort you can find healthy choices. Not at the chippy and maybe not at the British pubs but I was surprised that most of the British Pubs did have Vegetarian Options and many had a section of Healthy Choices on their menu. I did also notice a number of health conscious restaurants including- Pret A Manger and a place called LEON. Plus of course you can find grocery stores and get whatever you need. But when we sat down at our first British Pub of the trip and ordered our Shandies I was not about to order from the healthy options and miss out on a good steak and mushroom pie and chips with vinegar to go with my beer to get the full experience. And when Alwyn's dad cooked up a full British Breakfast for me I couldn't turn it down.

In all I gained 4 pounds while in Britain for 10 days and it took me one day to lose the 4 pounds. It was all just British Bloat that went along with the amazing trip we had, with fabulous experiences, good British food and of course beer!

And a renewed motivation to get back to my normal lifestyle!

Cheers!