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Fitty & Fatty Ep.85 – We’re Back

https://fittyandfatty.podbean.com/e/fitty-fatty-s3-ep85-were-back/

This week we are FINALLY back in studio and not a minute too soon. With lots to discuss from the recent controversy surrounding Crossfit, to how we are navigating the “New Normal!” seasoned with a smattering of TV news as always.

We want to thank everyone who has stuck with us during lockdown. Our sound quality wasn’t always up to par, but we love you guys and wanted to keep showing up for you, even though it wasn’t perfect. Thanks for listening xxx

 

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Fitty & Fatty Ep.55 – How to Get the Most from Your Training, and Are You a Pushover?

https://fittyandfatty.podbean.com/e/fitty-and-fatty-s2-ep55-getting-the-most-from-training-and-are-you-a-pushover/

In this weeks episode Fitty talks getting the most out of your training while Fatty talks about whether or not you may be a pushover.

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Thank you for listening!

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Fitty & Fatty Ep.50 – The Coaching Relationship and PMS

https://fittyandfatty.podbean.com/e/fitty-and-fatty-s2-ep50-the-importance-of-choosing-the-right-coach-and-pmsfoods-to-help-with-the-symptoms/

This week on the show Fitty talks about the coaching relationship and choosing the right coach for you. Fatty talks about PMS and tells us about some foods which can help with symptoms.

Follow Fitty & Fatty on our Social Medias:

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/andfitty

Snapchat: fittyfatty1

Email: fittyandfattypod@gmail.com

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Fitty & Fatty Ep.49 – The Benefits of Strength Training and Tips to Boost Self Confidence

This week Fitty talks about the benefits of strength training and Fatty gives us some tips for boosting confidence.

https://fittyandfatty.podbean.com/e/fitty-and-fatty-s2-ep49-benefits-of-strength-training-and-tips-to-boost-self-confidence/

Thanks for listening.

Fitty took her information from https://www.myoleanfitness.com/health-benefits-of-strength-training/

Follow Fitty & Fatty on our Social Medias:

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Email: fittyandfattypod@gmail.com

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Run Baby Run!!

My Crossfit workout today involved running. That was it, just running. It consisted of intervals of 1,000, 800, 600, 400 and 200 meters, with three minutes rest in between. What could be more straight forward?

Anyone who knows me, will know that to say running isn’t my jam, would be a fairly sizeable understatement. I hate it and it hates me right back. Up until very recently, and I am talking like yesterday, I would have done anything in my power to avoid doing this workout. I would have either skipped training entirely or if I had gone I would have come up with 101 reasons (read excuses) why I “couldn’t” run.

That has been my default stance since I began strength and conditioning many years ago. I have lost count of the number of times I have told anyone who would listen that I can’t run. Of course, what I actually meant is that I can’t run fast. It is not a strength of mine. It isn’t in my wheelhouse as they say in the biz!

You see, I have this innate fear of coming last. I am mortified at the thought of my glaring weaknesses being exposed and of letting people know just how much I suck. This has led to me sidestepping occasions where I think this could potentially happen. Not exactly the best mindset for growth.

Don’t misunderstand me, I am not saying that I am wonderful at all, or indeed any, other aspects of Crossfit, but nowhere do I feel more exposed and vulnerable than when I am running. Huffing and puffing and being overtaken by little old ladies out walking their pugs. It’s a struggle, and it’s painful but it’s also the only thing that has even the slightest chance of making me a better runner.

At the beginning of the summer I had started going out for some runs. But before long I had picked up a tiny injury. I wasn’t hurt so badly that I had to stop training, thankfully, but it was just enough to completely knock my new found confidence. Within a week or so the old thought patterns and self limiting beliefs had taken hold again.

It is extremely difficult to break a habit that you have had for a lifetime. It requires stepping out of your comfort zone again and again and again. Eventually it gets easier, but not over night. It isn’t a case that you face your fear one time and it never rears it’s ugly head again.

All week long I had been dreading today’s workout, and only half jokingly said it was giving me anxiety. I kept playing it out in my head. Forcing myself to feel the shame of being last to finish before I had even started. Talk about setting yourself up to fail!

When it came time to actually do the workout, it wasn’t so bad! Yes, it was a struggle and as predicted, I finished last. I would still say it wouldn’t be a workout I would choose, but I got through it, and also predictably, nothing bad happened. As Pat Sherwood would advise, I high fived some people and made it the best hour of my day.

I have always said that comfort zones are for resting in, not for living in. I believe that you should push yourself sometimes in your training and be prepared to leave your comfort zone. Because that is where growth happens. However, there is a pretty big caveat to this. Your training environment needs to be a safe space. You need to feel supported and empowered enough to allow yourself to risk failure.

If you are made to feel ashamed or humiliated every time a workout doesn’t go to plan, you will never take risks. If the atmosphere is super competitive, you will only want to do the workouts you know you are good at. I am so fortunate that I have great coaches around me and incredibly supportive team mates. This has been the biggest game changer for me this year. Knowing the guys and girls are rooting for me and genuinely want to see me progress, even when I am dead last makes a huge difference. Now if I could just get out of my own way…

Be well and keep putting one foot in front of the other xxx

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Fitty & Fatty Ep. 31

In this weeks episode, Fitty sits down with Dominic Munnelly;

https://fittyandfatty.podbean.com/e/fitty-and-fatty-ep31-a-sit-down-with-dominic-munnelly-one-of-irelands-leading-personal-trainers/

Dominic Munnelly is one of Ireland’s leading personal trainers having worked in the business for over 20 years. He has supported many clients on their health and fitness journey advising them on training, nutrition, mobility and wellness and in the process helped people lose weight, get fit and lead a happier and healthier life.

His background is Sports Science had he holds a degree from the University of Sunderland and as well as training clients, he co-owns a gym in Kildare.

Check out Dominic’s book Move, Train, Nourish here:

https://www.easons.com/move-train-nourish-dominic-munnelly-9781848893351

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When Nothing Goes Right, Go Lift!

Last week was one of the silliest, messiest weeks that I have had in a while.  There were no major catastrophies.  Rather a domino effect of minor irritations that all added up to a fairly “off plan” week.

The irony is that just the week before I had been busy congratulating myself on how I had it all going on.  My training plan was coming together.  My nutrition was on point.   Like it says on my pj’s I felt like the Queen of Everything!  Nothing could knock me off track.  Yeah, right!

Things started to go awry on Monday, when a half day from work due to a plumbling problem, meant I couldn’t get to the gym.  Tuesday and Wednesday I wasn’t feeling my best so no gym again.  I hadn’t planned on training Thursday anyway because I had an appointment with my therapist, which was then cancelled last minute.  By this time I was firmly in the “are you kidding me right now?” zone.

Friday eventually rolled around.  I was having the whole will I or won’t I debate with myself when it came time to head to the gym.  Rationalising that there was probably no point in going on a Friday when the rest of the week had been so bad.  Surely it was better to just start fresh on Monday?

Knowing that the much maligned double unders were in the workout did not serve to encourage me.  For those of you who might not know, double unders are when you are skipping and the rope passes around your body twice with each jump.  In my former iteration as a “Crossfitter” I cried many, many tears of frustration while trying to get to grips with them.  I didn’t think my new gym buddies were quite ready for that.

After a lot of back and forth, I eventually decided to go.  I was so glad that I did.  The workout was fun (by fun I mean it was really tough and made me feel like my lungs were on fire) and there was a super atmosphere in the gym.  Everyone seemed to have that Friday feeling and their energy was infectious.  I really enjoyed the session and I even managed to get a few double unders and there were no tears.

By the time I left the gym I had an entirely different prespective on my week.  I felt like it had ended on a positive note and that at least something good had come out of it.  I am not going to say that a workout will always do this for you.  However, if we are in a negative mindset, as I was, sitting in it is not going to help.  Nothing changes if nothing changes.

Good Vibes Only?

There’s so much talk about “positivity” and “good vibes” around these days.  To be honest, I don’t buy into it.  Nobody can go around being ridiculously happy all the time.  Bad days and bad weeks happen.  It is all part of a whole and authentic human experience.  My point is that in each bad day or crappy week, it is still possible to pick out a thing or two which was good.  Or at least better than the rest of it.

When I look back on last week, I still chalk it up as not being the best I have ever had.  Not every week can be the best after all.  But at least when I look back now, I can be happy about my Friday workout, and remember how energised I felt leaving the gym.  If I had been determined to write the week off, I would have deprived myself of that.

Perhaps more importantly for me from a mindset point of view is that I stopped the rot last week.  I am not facing into the new week with all of the carried forward negativity.  I can instead say to myself that yes, the Queen of Everything’s crown was a little crooked at the start of the week, but it was back in place before the weekend.  The gym bag is packed, the meals are prepped and I am ready to rock it.

So, if your Monday hasn’t been going according to plan, don’t worry.  Tomorrow has every chance of being a better day.  In the mean time, try to pick out something you can be happy about.  Even if it is just that you managed not to spill coffee on your white shirt.  Life is not all unicorns and rainbows, and that’s okay.  Be well xxx

 

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Another Sip of Crossfit Kool-Aid

An Affair to Remember

I have always loved Crossfit. I loved the community aspect. Everyone rooting for everyone else. The last guy across the finish line get the loudest cheer. The training itself was always fun for me too.

In the four years I spents doing Crossfit style strength and conditioning workouts, I was never the strongest, the fastest or the best. In truth I struggled enormously with most things! But I was hopelessly addicted. There is something so insanly satisfying about seeing how far you can push your body. It is also very cool learning new skills, and gaining a different appreciation for what your body can do.

My love affair with the sport ended a little over a year ago. The break up was not mutual.  The injuries I kept picking up were becoming hopelessly frustrating. My coaches did their best to scale workouts for me and help me to train around my issues, but it just wasn’t the same. I felt disconnected from the rest of the class. I just wanted to be able to play with the other kids.

I ultimately made the decision to walk away from Crossfit and I started working with a great physio, Noel Mallon. When he was finished mending me, I spent some time training with a local personal trainer, Ross Lynch. He was incredible. Patiently and methodically working with me to improve my movement patterns. Making sure I stayed fixed.

Ironically, our pathes crossed accidentally. I asked for a consulation in the gym I had joined and he was assigned to me.  He has definitely had way easier clients.  His misfortune turned out to be very lucky for me!

At the time I was teaching Zumba a few times a week.  I suppose I was probably too busy to miss Crossfit. That all changed a few months back when I found myself unemployed and then re-employed. Working in Dublin was going to mean scaling back my Zumba classes.  I needed to find something to else to do.

To be completely honest, the second half of 2018 was such a crazy time for me. I stopped focussing on my goals and I piled on a whole load of weight. It also made me question how I want to identify myself. For the previous few years I had enjoyed identifying as a “fit person.” Someone who loved the gym and prioritised it. Someone who made time to train and slotted the other optional things around it.

As Christmas approached and the number of items in my wardrobe that fit me continued to decrease, I did some soul searching. Something needed to be done to stop this back slide, but what? I toyed with the idea of taking up Jiu Jitsu, or boxing. I looked into joining the commercial gym across the street from the office, but nothing really appealed. None of it seemed like me. I felt as though I had completely lost sight of myself and taking up something else new, was just going to exacerbate this.

Finding My Way Back

Eventually it dawned on me. Go back to Crossfit. I contacted Alan, a coach I knew, but had never trained with.  He must have thought I was out of mind.  I tried to explain where I was coming from. “Treat me like a complete beginner,” I told him. I went on to explain that I am finally injury free and above all else I want to stay that way. I don’t want the coaches to let me get away with any shitty movement.

When the day came for the first of my Elements classes, I wondered if it was possible to die from anxiety. I was shaking like a leaf as I walked through the door. I received a warm welcome and Alan tried to put me at ease. We got to work right away and soon I was too busy huffing and puffing to worry about nerves.

My God! All I could think was “how the hell have I let myself get so out of shape AGAIN!” The simplest of exercises seemed beyond me. Over the course of our five introductory sessions together, I had that same thought a million times. Each time Alan asked if I was familiar with a certain movement I would parrot “yes, well, I used to able to do that.” I might well have added, in another life. There were times during those classes when I thought I might cry. The combination of shame and dissapointment in myself was a heady one.

Last night was my final introductory session and tonight I get to go play with the big kids. To say I am nervous would be a huge understatement. I have been completely humbled over the last couple of weeks. One thing I have going for me now, is that I don’t even have an ego to leave at the door.

I knew coming into this that I had a massive amount of work to do. I am hoping that at least some of it will be like riding a bike! 2019 for me is going to be a year of working on me. Trying to figure out how I want to feel about myself and acting accordingly. I know that Rome wasn’t built in a day.  As long as I can be patient with myself, I think good things are going to happen.

I am not sure if I am quite ready to embrace the Crossfit lifesyle again. The thought of being on a team, even just for a workout, is extremely uncomfortable. I am painfully aware of how much of a liability I would be. It is reminiscent of being picked last for PE. It will be a while I’m sure before I start talking about benchmark workouts, and thinking about entering The Open.

The only positive about being back at square one again is that I get to start over with a little bit of knowledge. I know that it gets easier. In time I will no longer be anxious before workouts and sore after them (at least not as much.) I also know that although the community aspect is nice, at the end of the day it’s down to me. Only I can close the gap between where I am, and where I want to be. Be well xxx

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No Business Like Snow Business!

This time two weeks ago, Ireland was bracing itself for the arrival of Storm Emma and “The Beast From The East!”  Just like when a tornado meets a volcano, it was to be a perfect storm.  For three days the country was hit with the most severe snow storm in a generation.  Huge drifts left roads impassable and very many of us were housebound for the duration.  Panic set in as people cleared the stores out of bread and milk.  Some households lost power, others were without water.  In fact some areas are yet to have their water supply fully restored and curtailments are still in place.

As for me, I was without the gym!  Before you accuse me of having a pity party, or being down right nuts, let me give you a little context.

Just over a year ago, I was diagnosed with hyper mobility in my hips and back.  I had been having pain in my hips for a long time (which I had steadfastly ignored) before eventually reaching out to a physio for help.  The guy I went to was great.  He gave me exercises to do and before long, I was free of pain.  He also explained to me that because my hips are essentially too loose, I don’t have the stability required to do some exercises, namely anything involving a squat!

At the time I was in a Strength and Conditioning gym, doing Crossfit style training.  Anyone who done or even watched Crossfit will know that not being able to squat safely, rules out a huge number of exercises.  The trainers at the gym were really understanding, but after a few months of constantly having to modify workouts, my frustration got the better of me and I decided to leave.  It was torture seeing everyone else taking part in workouts I was excluded from.  I felt like a kid not being allowed to play with any toys!

I joined a local leisure centre and started taking fitness classes there.  I was also doing a little bit of strength training, “my own thing” as I called it.  However, it was very unstructured.  I didn’t have the confidence to start squatting again without someone watching me carefully.  Whatever else happened, I knew I didn’t want to risk another injury.   Meanwhile, I was getting more involved with Zumba.  The more time it was taking up, the less I had available for my own training.  With the limited time I had, I was happy enough tipping away with what I was doing.

Fast forward to this year.  My Zumba classes are up and running and although learning new choreography will always take time, it is not as all consuming as it once was.  I found myself with the desire to focus again on my own fitness.  This time, I knew I needed the help of a professional.  So, I booked in with a personal trainer.  I explained all of my issues (that took a while) and told him exactly what I was hoping to achieve.  I wanted to build strength in order to support my activity, I couldn’t afford to risk injury and eventually I wanted to be able to get under a barbell again.

The trainer, to his credit, was completely undaunted by this.  He told me to come back in a couple of days and he would have my program ready for me.  True to his word, when I returned, it was all set.  We ran through everything and I began to get really excited.  All I had to do was follow his instructions and before too long, I could get back to “proper training.”  I left the gym that lunchtime feeling relieved and elated.  I had honestly given up hope of ever being able to do all of the fun stuff, like Olympic lifting, that I had loved in the past.  I had been in denial about just how much I missed it.  I was so grateful to not be injured anymore, but had no idea how to bridge the gap between where I was and where I wanted to be.

I was so happy I practically skipped to the car.  I managed to do one more session that weekend and then BOOM!!  Snowed in!  Are you actually kidding me right now???  Once again, I felt like I had taken one step forward and two steps back.  Is it too much to ask for just a little momentum?  Okay so in my rational mind I knew this wasn’t a big deal.  A few days watching Netflix and eating chocolate never killed anyone, right?  But I couldn’t help feeling that this interruption to my newly budding regime was coming at the worst possible time.

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All in all, I think we made the most of the snow-cation.  We took Annie on adventures (she was in Heaven) and we ate as well as we could, apart from the chocolate and beer!  By the Monday enough of the snow had cleared to allow us to go to work and by Tuesday I was back at the gym.  I ran into my trainer and he asked how I was getting on.  I explained that I hadn’t been able to get in and I think he could sense my frustration.  He just looked at me and said “but you’re here now.  Most people would have said screw it and never come back again!”  He was probably right.

You see the thing about me is I don’t like waiting.  I want everything to be happening right now.  When I commit to something, I go all in and I don’t deal well with my efforts being thwarted.  I am a control freak, but alas, even I cannot control the weather.  What I can control is how I react to it.  Do I allow the snow to bury me, or do I brush it off and move on as best I can?  Loath as I am to admit it, there are always going to be things that come up and get in the way.  Sometimes we are able to go through them, sometimes we have to go around.  Still other times, we just have to settle in and wait for the thaw.  Be well xxx