Fitness Editor Blog

So last year when I was bullied inspired to enter the Fittest in Cape Town competition by my coaches at Cape CrossFit, I didn’t really give it too much thought.

Then came December with it’s chaotic times and debauchery and alas I didn’t manage to do as many crossfit classes as I would have liked. I kept on doing running, hill sprints, burpees (I know… who the f#%! does burpees of their own accord… clearly the brainwashing is working).

So I’m still fit. But FiCT-fit? I dunno so much…

If you don’t have the foggiest about what I’m talking about check the website out here FiCT. Watch the video from last year’s event and see what it’s all about. But if you’re feeling uninspired to do that here it is in a nutshell – it’s a team and individual competition that takes part over a weekend, where teams and individuals compete against each other until there is a winner. Except… and it’s a BIG except…. the actual workouts are not known until the morning of the event.

Crazeee right? Well that’s part of the charm that is crossfit. Gotta be prepared for anything. It could be rope climbing (must remember to pack super-sexy long socks), or rowing, or sled pushing and pulling, or running or burpees (eish) or ALL of the above.  For three rounds. For time.

I know I know… it’s a MOFO of a thing to sign up for. Especially since you don’t really know what kind of pain is heading your way.

So I am in a team with 2 other girls and 3 guys. I think I know one of them. It’s gonna be like a group blind date. But weirder.

So it should be bucket-loads of fun (until I wake up the next day and can only move my eyeballs to ask for water). I just hope that it’s not too hot over that weekend (the 26th and 27th Jan… TWO WEEKS AWAY *silent scream*) or windy. But it’s Cape Town, so the chances are it will be both. Oy vey.

So if you want to see me kitted out in my sweaty best, grinding out reps of madness with a team of people that I haven’t even met yet, then come support! If nothing else I’m a good sport for the point-and-laugh crowd.

Camps Bay High School, January 26 and 27 from 8.30am.

I’ll be the sweaty Ginger Ninja on the field… if you’re REALLY lucky I might even give you a sweaty hug. No promises though… it all depends on the workouts I’ve had to do and whether I can still lift my arms without having to jump first.

Another new feature in a lot of gyms recently is TRX Suspension Training. Its not as scary as it sounds but it does require a bit of coordination and getting used to.

TRX  (Total Resistance eXercise)  uses straps and a central pivot point with which you then use your own body weight to work out. Sounds easy right? That’s usually where these things go wrong….

Once again I met up with Virgin Active personal trainer Ian Pienaar who put me through my paces with the TRX. Usually at Virgin Active gyms anyway, these straps are hanging from a wall, which isn’t how they are meant to be used, but the wide A-frames they usually come in are quite space-consuming. But if you know what to do you can still get a good workout with them against a wall.

What are the benefits of TRX training? Portability, using your own body weight, quick changeover between exercises and it provides a real workout for your core.

I was actually very surprised at what a good workout the TRX provided…for a few days afterwards I could feel the muscles that had been worked, especially my core.

Check out these pics of some of the core exercises Ian made me do, I didn’t do many but my stomach reallllllly felt it!

The pics aren’t very clear, but you get the idea… my feet are suspended off the ground… so my core had no excuse for not working exceptionally hard to just keep me balanced. It took a few minutes to get my balance right, and made push-ups rather difficult, but it was a great workout.

We also did some upper-body exercises which really highlighted how my upper-body strength needs some attention. But that’s where the TRX could come in really handy, just practicing a few upper-body moves on it with different foot postions should help build my strength in no time.

Overall I really enjoyed the workout, but I would recommend getting someone who knows what they’re doing to show you how to use them properly first. No point in using them if you’re not going to do it right, right?

I would definitely recommend this as a good strength training addition to your workout.

So it’s now halfway through the SleekGeek Office Challenge with only three weeks to go. I think it got off to quite a sluggish start, even though there were lots of eager people who signed up for it, I’m not sure how many have thrown themselves into it.

To try get a bit of momentum going I volunteered my services to teach a weekly bootcamp session for anyone who was interested. I recently did a group fitness trainer course and figured this would also give me some good practice with my cueing and phrasing and so on. (Terms I never even knew existed till a few months ago… don’t EVER underestimate an aerobics instructor, there’s a TONNE of stuff you have to think about during a class sheesh!!)

Anyhoo the first class was a dud. Not one single person showed up. I must admit I felt a little annoyed… this was after all a free exercise class. Free fitness sessions don’t come around too often y’know!

Fortunately they persuaded me to do another one and with four eager participants we got started. Its a bit difficult to do much toning without any weights or equipment of any sort, but I actually think they get quite a good workout with the amount of body-weight exercises I throw at them. From push-ups to walking lunges, squats for Africa and some lovely burpees and mountain climbers in the mix it’s enough to get anyone’s heart rate going!

The classes have now grown to 13 participants and are three times a week. It might be a little late in the challenge but these guys are giving it their all and I really admire them. A few of the ladies have never ever exercised – and they do damn well keeping up and doing the best they can. I’m super-impressed!

The goal at the end is for them to be able to do more push-ups than they did at the start of the SleekGeek Challenge and to be able to hold the hollow rock position for longer than they did before. I daresay that if they keep coming they’ll all see a big improvement!

So a big YAY for the peeps at 24.com for coming to the party and doing their bit. It’s SO awesome to see people passionate about exercising and wanting to get fitter and healthier. It’s not even about the weight-loss – it’s about being healthier. And we can all be healthier and make healthier choices on a daily basis. It’s hard most of the time, but it’s not impossible.

If you feel you can’t do it alone, sign up to the SleekGeek group on Facebook and see what other ordinary people are doing. It’s one big support group that’s free. If nothing else you might even make a few friends

When I was invited to try out a new fitness regime I was quite excited – until I found out that it included electro muscular stimulation. That made me nervous. And a little intrigued as to how to would work. So I agreed to go along for a session to see what it was all about. Don’t say I don’t ever do anything in the name of fitness…

What is it? According to the FutureFitness peeps it’s a machine manufactured in Germany which:

• Trains 90% of the muscles simultaneously
• Muscle contraction is 150 times more intense
• It also makes deeper lying muscles work
• It is gentle on the joints
• 1 x 20 minutes session a week is enough to achieve the required results

• Maximum strength development
• Increased endurance
• Muscle growth
• Settling muscular imbalance
• Improved efficiency
• Cellulite treatment
• Weight and fat loss
• Improved metabolism

Sounds good right? And for only two 20 minute sessions a week with all those benefits how could I NOT try it out?

When I arrived at FutureFitness at the V&A Waterfront to try out the Miha Bodytec I was told I had to get completely naked and put on an outfit that was basically a skin-tight top and shorts. The good news is that they opened the packed in front of me so they were brand new.

However, that’s not all that I had to wear. After I had changed, I was measured and fitted with what looks like a bulky waistcoat with wires popping out of it. I was then strapped up with some straps on my upper arms, around my bum and on my thighs. Not your usual workout gear I know… I was starting to feel a bit restricted and more than a little apprehensive as I was plugged into a machine that would send electrodes into my muscles.

Check it out: It’s the Ginja Ninja in her Lara Croft outfit…

Before we started the trainer went through everywhere I would be zapped by the machine and checked how intense a current I could withstand. My legs and back seemed to take the stronger current without too much trouble, my abs not so much and I actually had to ask him to turn it down because I felt a little breathless like someone was punching me in the stomach.

Once he had my ‘stats’ the workout began. How it works is that the machine delivers the set current to your muscles for 4 seconds and then stops for 4 seconds. This goes on for 20 minutes. During that time you do a variety of exercises ranging from squats to bicep curls and lunges. You only hold the position for the 4 seconds the current is delivered.

So what was it like? To be honest, not very nice. I am usually more than happy to try out any form of fitness regime, no matter how extreme it may seem. But this one is not for me. I felt very shaky during it and the sensation was really unpleasant. My muscles were also INCREDIBLY sore the next day and even worse the day after to the point where I couldn’t sit down properly.

Again, if I had perhaps done a particularly hard session at the gym I would have welcome the pain as a sign I had done some good work. But this was different, I don’t really see how it can be classed as exercise. You don’t work up a sweat and as reassuring as the people are about it’s safety, I can’t see how electro muscular stimulation can do your muscles any good.

Can it make you stronger? Fitter? I don’t think so. I could be wrong of course, and I’m sure for people who are recovering from an injury and still want to do some form of exercise it would probably be quite nice for them. But for someone who enjoys exercise in all it’s sweaty red-faced glory, its just not for me.

Have you tried it out? Let me know what you think at community@health24.com 

 Check out FutureFitness for more information here. 

I can’t believe my baby is almost 10 months old – he is almost a year and I have still not shed ALL of the pregnancy weight. I’m only 3kg off my pre-pregnancy weight but I had hoped it would have all gone by now. Alas

Hence the fact that I am exercising like a demon. I have been for months. But the irony is that while I might not be back to my original weight I am MUCH stronger than I have ever been and have noticed huge improvements in my strength and fitness in the last three months. Almost every gym session sees me hit a new PB (personal best) and I have never felt more… well… powerful I guess. Sounds a bit He-Man/She-Ra but it’s true.

Last week alone I managed to increase my 1 rep max deadlift by 12kg to 103kg!!! That’s lots! And it was damn heavy, but I did it! My 1 rep max back squat is sitting at 70kg too, which is more than I weigh so I reckon that’s quite cool too. Does it sound like I’m boasting? Cause I am! After all the hard work I’ve put in I reckon I’m allowed a little bit of a brag. It’s reinforced how much I love lifting heavy sh*t!

My eating has been almost 100% clean, apart from this damn sweet tooth that I can’t shake… that developed during the pregnancy and I don’t know how to get rid of it. My trainer suggests I go cold turkey for a few weeks, and I have tried, really I have, but then hubby brings home a slab of dark chocolate and I’m already sucking on it before I remember I’m supposed to be avoiding all sugar. Oops!

But I’ll get there.

It was so awesome watching the Olympics as well – especially the weightlifting. I have now been at Cape CrossFit for two years (although almost all of one of them was while I was pregnant) so while my Snatch and Clean & Jerk will never be anywhere close to the Olympic weights, it’s still cool to watch professionals do something you did earlier.

Anyhoo, I still have a lot of work to do because my brain has suddenly decided that it doesn’t “do” upside down which makes handstands almost impossible (and embarrassing to watch) so those need practice, as do many of my other moves. But fitness is a journey not a destination so I will just keep plodding along, practicing the things I suck at and enjoying the things I’m getting better at. C’est la vie, no?