The Secret to Sticking to Your Sunshine Coast Fitness Program

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Mental toughness is an attribute everyone needs when embarking on a fitness and weight loss regime. Whether its to push through those last ten crunches when your abs are burning like fire; or that last hill sprint when your body is screaming at you and your tired and sweaty or  pumping out the last 5 reps when your muscles have totally turned to jelly. Training your body and your mind is something I consider really important for success and I’ve found that two simple words have an astounding effect on your mindset when you’re at this point…

“Strong mind” are the words I use for myself and my clients,  the looks of discomfort and strain on their faces instantly replaced with an expression of steely resolve and determination to finish the set. It’s a really cool thing to see. It’s the ‘mind over matter’ mentality that pushes you through those last 30 seconds you were so sure you couldn’t finish – but then before you know it, it’s over and you did it! It’s a great feeling.

A lot of people don’t realise that mentally they are ready to give up long before their body is, as soon as it starts to feel uncomfortable or as soon as that burn just starts to set in, already they’re thinking ‘ok that’s enough’ or ‘ouch that hurts’ and they give up. A word of advice  - unfortunately exercise is not supposed to be comfortable! Not if you’re looking for great results! And I don’t mean that you need to flog yourself within an inch of your life to get results, what I do mean is that you need to push yourself beyond your comfort zone. That’s what achieving results is all about –  in any area of life.

Before I was a trainer, some years ago, I was participating in a bootcamp where we given 100 squat jumps to complete at the end of a gruelling hour session dragging tyres, hauling logs, carrying sand bags, backwards tiger crawling and many, many sprints up a hill that was literally at a 60 degree angle from the ground. If the squat jumps weren’t low enough or we didn’t keep in time the count went back to zero.
The second time we got to 50 only to be told the count was back at zero I was feeling like I’d never be able to finish it, the more I focused on the numbers the more I felt aggravated, discouraged and tired and just wanted to give up.
It was at these sessions that I developed the trick of focusing my mind outside of the physical discomfort and diverted my thoughts elsewhere. I’d think about what else I had to do that day, take in the scenery around me or think about how much stronger I’d be the next time we had to do squat jumps. Since I am still able to walk today its clear that my trick worked and I got to the end of those never-ending squat jumps!
( However, I was very sore over the next few days! Click here to find out more about injuries, strains and sore muscles)

It’s great to share with other like-minded people the mental toughness that has inspired you to keep going even when you were sure you couldn’t. So I’d love to hear about the times you’ve thought you couldn’t finish the set or make it to the end. What were you doing? What were you thinking? And what got you through it?

Yours In Health & Fitness
Sascha Aiono
SculptLife Personal Trainer

PS –  For our clients I promise that the above session wont appear in our group training sessions!! Way too hard just for the sake of being hard! Here at Sculptlife we’re about getting results that are achievable and maintainable without being flogged within an inch of your life!
If you’re not already a client, why not give us a try to see how we can help you achieve your ultimate health, fitness and figure goals. Click here to arrange your free fitness consultation – we’d love to help!

Sunshine Coast Fitness & Time Management Tips from Wildly Wealthy Women

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On the Sunshine Coast, there is an absolute plethora of inspiring and amazing women that I come into contact with. One of them is Sandy Forster, International Mentor of the Year 2008, Bestselling Author, Speaker & Prosperity Coach . You can read more about her here : http://www.wildlywealthy.com/

I have recently enrolled in Sandys Inspired Spirit Coaching Academy ( you can check it out here www.inspiredspiritcoachingacademy.com) and in one of her calls she said some great things about time management and making sure that she includes fitness  into her day. I thought it was a really good tip, so I wanted to share it with you Sandy Forster speaking on Sunshine Coast Fitness and Time Management

“When working out your weekly schedule, book in the big things first and write them in your diary straight away. I’m not one of these people that’s in love with fitness and exercise. But I do love how it makes me feel afterwards . I know it affects everything when I exercise; I make better choices with my eating; I feel better; I make better decisions at work; I feel more inspired, I feel more balanced; I have more patience, everything is better.

Therefore I know it’s a big thing, even though I’m probably one of the laziest people on earth and I do not enjoy it at all and I moan and groan the whole time – my daughter says “Mum, you sound like you’re having a baby! “ But really, it is fun, I go down to the mfirst thing in the morning and when it’s done I feel great. I feel amazing. I feel good and so I know I have to write it down and book it into my schedule. I set the alarm and make sure it happens. It’s 5 o’clock, it’s dark, I could so easily go “ I don’t feel like it today” but because it’s written in my diary and I checked it the night before, my mind was already committed and my body just has to follow through “

How Highly Successful Business Women Commit To Their Sunshine Coast Fitness Programs.

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As a Sunshine Coast Personal Trainer, I have been working closely with some of the Coast’s most high profile business women, I am in absolute awe of these inspirational powerhouses and how they commit to their Sunshine Coast fitness programs. Their constant desire to better themselves has shown me that to really be successful in business; a woman can’t just be a good negotiator. She has to juggle all of her roles; manager, mother, wife, friend, on top of a very demanding work schedule and still find time to commit to a Sunshine Coast Fitness program. I have been eagerly learning off these women and their juggling acts and here are some of the gems of wisdom they’ve shared with me.

To be a successful business woman you must ;

1. Always, always, always put yourself and your health first, no matter how busy you are. Poor Energy = Poor Perfomance = Poor Profits. .

2. Understand that your personal presentation has a direct correlation to your income. You know that how you feel about how you look gives you the confidence to tackle projects head on.

3. Clearly define your goals and your Sunshine Coast Fitness Program in order to get the best health and fitness results. There’s no time for wishy washy goals, your time is valuable and you need maximum results in the minimum amount of time.

4. Forget about will power, this isn’t about punishing commando style bootcamps and and eating rabbit food. You need to make sustainable lifestyle changes for the long term for a long illustrious career.

5. Create a Sunshine Coast Fitness workout schedule and stick to it religiously, your fitness appointments are amongst the most important in your very full diary.

6. Always be prepared, simply taking 15 minutes the night before to prepare quick and healthy meals for the next day will make an impact on your bottom line, as well as your waist line.

7. Seek the help of a Sunshine Coast Personal Trainer to tailor a Sunshine Coast Fitness program to your needs. Your trainer will provide you with the accountability and motivation to achieve your goals. The last thing you need is an injury, or to waste time on an inappropriate exercise routine that doesn’t inspire you or deliver you the results you demand.

Vanilla & Blueberry Protein Packed Porridge

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Vanilla & Blueberry Protein Packed Porridge 

60grams of oats  (¾ cup )

30grams of frozen Blueberries

3 Tablespoons of Vanilla Protein Powder

¾ cup of water

Chuck all ingredients except the powder in together and zap in the microwave for 1 minute

 Stir through protein powder and add a dash of milk or any additional water as required.

 Enjoy!

Sunshine Coast Outdoor Personal Training !

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Ros and Kerry Smerdon, Avocado & Custard Apple Farmers in the Glass House Mountains have been training with us for almost six months now and the have been making some amazing lifestyle changes ! I am really impressed with how much their fitness levels have improved, as well as their tone and shape. They are an absolute pleasure to train but you gotta watch out for these guys competitive streak -  and I think Ros’s interpretations of the rules on our “Games Day” are always… hmmm a little “lateral” but Kerry puts up a good fight too !

Ros was named Rural Business Woman of the Year ’08, hear what she has to say : “While we had a physically active lifestyle through our work, Bianca and her team have showed us to eat well and exercise for strength and our health.  Their encouragement and interest in our health and wellbeing is not just as trainers but as friends also. Choosing healthy meals, not simply quick meals well has now become a positive habit for us. We have a lot more energy as well as losing weight and toning up.”

Kerry and Ros training at home with panoramic Glasshouse views

Ros & Sash laughing at Kerry's boxing jig drills

Kerry shows he's multi talented and displays his highland jig skills

Kerry & Ros Training

Sunshine Coast Personal Trainer Says " You Can Melt Fat With Your Mind "

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All too often I have heard clients downplay their achievements and results when it comes time to re-assess their figure and fitness results. Sadly, its not uncommon for me to see someone to drop 10cm from their waist in 4 weeks and then say, ‘oh but my thighs are still too big’, or for someone to decrease their bodyfat percentage by 8% in 12 weeks and then say ‘oh but I’m still not a size 8 yet’.

When it comes to fat loss and fitness, there are several pieces of the puzzle you need for success; a healthy and balanced nutritional plan; an exercise regime that includes cardiovasulcar exercise and resistance training; and finally accountability for your actions (a SculptLife Personal Trainer is perfect for this as well as all of the above!). But there is one other component that you may not realise you need to address, but is vital to your success…

…Your mental approach to your training and weight loss regime…

Have you ever heard the saying ‘it’s like watching paint dry/grass grow?’ Or have you ever been waiting for something and watching the seconds tick by on the clock and each minute feels like an age? In my opinion, these are comparitive to changes in your figure when trying to reduce fat/tone up. It becomes far too stressful and discouraging when you focus too much on what your body is doing.

It is better to simply be aware of your exercise/healthy eating regime, and focus on the “process” but not to focus too much on your progress. Set yourself in your daily routine and let your body do the rest. Just relax, let it happen and enjoy it.  Check out the article “Setting Fitness & Health Goals with a Sunshine Coast Personal Trainer” for advice on how to turn your dreams into reality .

How to Stay Slim during the Festive Season

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By Sascha Aiono, INBA Sportsmodel Champion

Christmas is usually thought of as one of the only times of the year that you’re ‘allowed’ to gorge on calorie dense foods and drinks, but on the other hand, you’re also expected to look fab in your outfits when at all those special Christmas events. Here are 4 tips to avoid weight gain over the Festive Season.

1. Decide now to be more health and figure conscious with your food choices this Christmas, but still enjoy yourself! You dont have to overindulge on everything in sight to have a good time, enjoy the company of family and friends you rarely see; play games with the children or make a great mix cd and have a dance with the family on Christmas Night!

2. Be prepared. It is essential that you are mentally and physically prepared. To ready yourself mentally, ask yourself these questions:

-Do I honestly and seriously want to eat healthily and feel good over Christmas?
-Do I want to resign to the fact that I will gain weight over Christmas?
-Do I really want to face the task of losing the same weight again after Christmas?

Your outlook towards staying slim during Christmas is highly dependant on your attitude. Your mind is a very powerful tool, dont underestimate it’s power. After some thoughtful and serious consideration of the above questions, if you answered, ‘yes, no, no’ then you’re in the right mindframe and on the right track to keeping those extra Christmas kilos in check.

Thoughts like ‘I always gain weight at Christmas’, or ‘I’ll get serious about my figure and health after Christmas’ are negitively fuelled thoughts. Keep your thoughts postive, think things like ‘I will stay slim and maintain my figure over Christmas’ instead of ‘I want to stay slim over Christmas’.

3. Be aware of what your Christmas figure maintenance goal is, since you’ll most likely be experiencing a big change in your regular routine with regards to your normal eating habits, your goal may simply be to maintain your weight. That way you wont be disappointed if you dont lose anyweight, but any loss would be an added bonus! Know what you expect of yourself and what you’re aiming for.

4. Really want it and believe you can do it. This is something that you are doing for you, not anyone else. It is definitley possible to keep excess weight off over Christmas, the only thing that could possibly stop you from doing it is yourself.
This is your figure you want to maintain, your goals you want to achieve and the benefits and results will be yours too, really make it your own and do it for yourself and most of all, believe you can!

The Top 6 Most Common & Critical Dieting Mistakes

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So our last two weeks of the Your Best Body Challenge are fast approaching and
after seeing the calibre of effort from everyone in last weeks sessions I can see
you guys really mean business! Congratulations on your efforts thus far, I almost
didn’t recognise some of you !

One quote I would like to share with you, which I find helps me focus when I have my
eye on a finish line is:

If it was easy, everybody would do it

I suppose it’s my own form of saying, “Get some Tuff’n Up Juice inta ya !” Anything
worthwhile doing is going to take some hard work and some sacrifice. So to help
you through these last couple of weeks I wanted to let you know some tips so that
you can work smarter not harder.

The 6 Most Common and Critical Dieting Mistakes

1. Skipping Meals or Snacks.
Don’t think that you’ll lose more fat by skipping meals, actually the opposite will
happen and your body will go into starvation mode, hanging on to fat for dear
life.

2. Overcompensating with portion sizes
You should finish each meal just before you feel sated, and not eat more in one
meal just because you skipped the one before. Or undereat because you gorged
the night before, just get back on the bandwagon and eat the normal meal you
originally planned.

3. Relying only on the scales for your progress
You should be aiming for a half a kilo to a kilo of pure fat loss a week. Weekly losses
above that mean you’ve also lost fluid and sacrificed some fat burning muscle. It also
means that you are more likely to gain that weight back again.

4. Severly restricting calories
Lowering your calories excessively makes your body say :
“Am I in the desert? Am I walking on the kokoda traill in enemy territory? Well I better
hold on to this energy dense fat as stubbornly as possible, and burn some of this
energy expensive muscle because I don’t know when I’m going get my next sqare meal”

5. Being impatient & unrealistic
I could almost say The Biggest Loser has been the bane of my existence! I get super
motivated clients at the first weeks of programs, and then when they don’t lose 10 kilos in
the first week they are disapointed! Remember, if it was easy everybody would do it, and
that weight didn’t come on in a week, so set yourself realistic weight loss goals with a
routine that fits into your lifestyle and you will achieve safe and permanent weight loss!

6. Relying on the scales as your only feedback.
Many people make educated and well informed opinions on events everyday. Not so when
it comes to their weight and body image! You can’t compare apples to oranges, so why
only use weight as your measure of success when weight takes into account muscle
glycogen (energy) storage, the amount and density of lean muscle, hydration levels ASWELL as
fat. Use measurements, how your clothes feel, how you look in the mirror and compliments
from friends and family to really gauge how you are going.

So, now you know the Top 6 Most Critical Dieting Mistakes….. Don’t Make ‘Em!!!
I urge you to go through the Your Best Body Guide again this week, mark your Week 6
Self Assessment and plan out your sessions and meal ideas for the next two weeks.

That is the most powerful advice I could give you right now, if you have any questions
please don’t hesitate to send me an email at info@sculptlife.com.au or call the office
at 5438 7609.

Bye for now !
Bianca

PS. We’ll be doing our Christmas Break Up Games & YBB Awards Breakfast on Dec 12th 7am – 10am at Point Cartwright. Stay tuned for more details !

Five Tips for Making Sunshine Coast Fitness a Priority

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Committing to a Sunshine Coast fitness program is really hard.  It’s tough to stay motivated when you are the only one saying you have to do it.  It’s hard to see the fruit of your labors when some of them are only measurable with a doctor’s complex testing and instrumentation. It’s exceedingly easy to be consumed by the pressing responsibilities of life and it’s really easy to tell yourself that one more day won’t make a difference.

To make Sunshine Coast Fitness a priority in your life, you need to give yourself as many reasons and as many helpful tools as you can.  Here you’ll find five great tips for making fitness a priority in life, rather than an afterthought.

5 Tips To Make Health And Sunshine Coast Fitness A Life Priority

Clarify your undeniable need for fitness, enlist some help, and pencil—no pen—fitness in to make sure that you live well and live long.

Write it down—what gets done in the course of your day?  The things you’ve made time for.  Exercise should be top of that list because it is what will ensure that you are around to do more and live better.  Schedule time for fitness just as you would for getting dressed, working, and attending important meetings.  Block out your time for fitness in your daily planner first so that you make the time.  Schedule exercise in at a time that makes sense and the rest around it.

Buddy up—get a friend to be your fitness buddy; or, if a friend isn’t interested or available, partner with a like-minded acquaintance at the Sunshine Coast fitness  center and make him or her your friend and fitness buddy.  Having a buddy makes fitness fun and (close to) painless and helps you support each other.  You’ll find that the reasons you give your buddy to go on work for you, too!

Make a list—list all the reasons why you want to get fit and be healthy.  This helps you set fitness goals, motivates you with clear reasoning, and works as a reminder for those times when ambition is waning.  Refer back to your fitness list to see what goals you’ve accomplished, what goals need revamping or replacing, and for general motivation.

Reward yourself—create a reward system as further motivation; with one caveat—your reward cannot be food.  Give yourself something worth working for, something that promotes fitness, and something with lasting motivational power.  A spa treatment, new clothes/wardrobe, a long weekend or vacation, or new recreational or even fitness activity are some good rewards to start with.

Look to the pros—the guidance and support of a good personal trainer is unbeatable as a prioritization strategy for Sunshine Coast fitness.  A personal trainer will help you in innumerable ways by making exercise more enjoyable, more ‘do’-able, providing ongoing information and support, structuring a fitness program tailor-made for you, and being a general source of motivation.  You’ll find that keeping that appointment time and being accountable to someone else helps, too.

You’ll find these five simple tips for prioritizing fitness in your life will go a long way toward your success on the Sunshine Coast fitness trail.  Small changes like these can make a big impact and really help you keep your good health and well being at the forefront of your list of things that need doing.

Sunshine Coast Fitness Tips For Beginners

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Starting on the path to better Sunshine Coast fitness can be a difficult road in the beginning, but those that make the commitment to stick it out will be rewarded not only with better health, but feeling better as well. There are plenty of pitfalls for those that are starting a Sunshine Coast fitness routine, but being aware of them and working through them don’t have to be a struggle. In this article, we’ll take a look at five tips for people that are starting on the path to better health.

Eating Right

Improving your eating habits is an important part of improving your overall fitness. A great way to think about what you eat is that it is fuel for making your body work better. A diet that is comprised of a healthy balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables will help your body work better, and you’ll be surprised to see how much more you can eat following a healthy diet than one that is made up of fast food or lots of junk food. But changing your diet doesn’t mean starving yourself – if you’re following a Sunshine Coast fitness routine, your body will need plenty of fuel to run efficiently.

Work Out with a Sunshine Coast Fitness Trainer

A personal trainer doesn’t have to be a drill sergeant! The relationship that you form with your Sunshine Coast fitness trainer can be a highly valuable one. Not only will he or she be there to make sure you are working out in a safe and efficient way, but they can help encourage you when you’re feeling down or that you can’t get through the next exercise. A personal trainer can also assess your needs and create an exercise program that is right for your body and reaching your goals.

Stay Positive

It’s easy to lose your enthusiasm for working out shortly after you’ve only begun. You may not see changes in your body soon after starting an exercise program and this can be very disheartening. While it’s true that you might not see changes right away, you are making great strides in ensuring that your healthy lifestyle will have a positive impact on your health and your self confidence! Try keeping track of your progress and you’ll see that, while you may not see changes overnight, the small changes will soon add up.

Get Plenty of Rest

While exercise is an important part of improving your health, getting plenty of rest is just as important. Sleep deprivation has lots of had effects, from temperament to loss of memory and concentration and can even reduce reaction time. Try to avoid exercising right before sleeping, as well as caffeinated products, and try to get eight hours of sleep every night.

Make a Lifestyle Change

Those that are willing to make a lifestyle change, rather than those that only want to lose a few pounds for an upcoming event, are much more likely to succeed. Crash dieting may help you reach a short term goal, but what will happen when you go back to your regular eating habits? Most people will put the weight they lost right back on. Making the commitment to change the way you eat and your exercise habits will not only help you reach your goal, but you’ll be much more likely to retain the good results.  There is no better way to stay on track, than to hire a Sunshine Coast fitness trainer!

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