Business Coaching and Training Cork Ireland

Archive for the ‘Fitness’ Category

Welcome to my world…

To follow is a copy of an email I sent to my close network. So rather than bombard everyone in my network, I am producing the mail below for you to read, if interested

Hi there, happy weekend!

I haven’t been in touch in a while now and wanted to let you know how the Mini Marathons went, the fundraising and of course, what the hell I am doing now.

Firstly, I am delighted to report I am pain free, unlike this time last year when I was crippled, and had to give up running altogether. My waistline was not happy!

So after intense self care and chiropractic treatments in Spring, I was promised I would be doing the 3 things I love again – gardening, driving my motorbike and running. At first it was a struggle, and my health seemed to be deteriorating rather than improving, but finally after about 2 months, I suddenly began to feel huge improvements.

So much so that I was back running with a great new podcast programme, building my distance, stamina and endurance over 9 weeks, ready for the Cork and Limerick Mini Marathons. Not only did I finish both without killing myself, I improved on last year’s times with little effort. I felt great

I decided to dedicate my efforts for charity – Age Action this time. In light of the bad weather we had last year, I felt the elderly were in dire need of vital funds, and it would give me a greater focus for my training. And it worked! I completed both runs successfully, and am delighted with the progress on last year, which was so difficult I really believed I wouldn’t run again. Read the rest of this entry »

I am no stranger to health and fitness, having been a part of various therapies, classes and courses over the years, mostly as a preventative rather than a cure. Those of you who know me personally will attest to the fact I have NEVER dieted, but do not indulge in fast and overly processed foods, but like anyone else, have my “weak” areas.

Cork Mini Marathon bib 2010

I fought these weak areas for a long time, and there is something about turning 40 that helps us realise that health is so important, because without it, you do not have quality of life.

Now I allow myself my indulgences whenever I want them, and compensate by eating healthily otherwise, drinking lots of water and exercising on a regular basis. To be truthful, mostly my exercising consists of brisk long walks, and generally going to a class of some kind.

Last year, in beginning of 2010, I discovered running was a faster way to improve fitness and endurance, and of course kick me back into a state of racing heartbeat and pushing myself beyond my comfort zone. I wrote a post about it at the time about motivation, and decided to achieve my goals by training for both the Cork Women’s Mini Marathon AND the Limerick Women’s Mini Marathon. I followed a programme to the minute, and achieved my training goals for the first race. The second race was exactly a week later and unfortunately I did enough damage to my lower back that Read the rest of this entry »

“Breast cancer will affect one in every twelve women in Ireland today” ~ Breast Cancer Ireland Website

Last year I had no problem with my fitness programme. I was getting married and had plenty of motivation to drive my goals. I achieved all my fitness goals without problem, and needless to say, also lost the obligatory 2-3 kilos on the day itself (I still haven’t figured out how or why that happens to brides, but I was very grateful for it!)

Roll on 6 months, I was still attending the gym after returning home from Honeymoon. But I noticed the lust, the drive was not there. I gave up the gym, as it was taking Read the rest of this entry »

So we have had a tough 2009 all round. Some more than others, and those of you who have been concentrating on your health will know how difficult it can be to keep the momentum going.

Someone said to me recently: “I saw a new car the other day and it had “Zero Ten” on the registration plate” She then realised her mistake (one zero) and claimed it was difficult to pinpoint a name for the year.

So what do we need to consider when we embark on the New Year ahead? Firstly, we need to decide what we are going to call the year:- Two thousand and Ten? Or Twenty Ten? It’s important to have this clear in your mind, so you can plan ahead and the name of the year remains consistent. The problem with not deciding on a definitive name for yourself, is it conjures up uncertainty, and that is the last thing we need coming into a new year with a new routine and new ideas. Consistency!

The first thing we can do to get us on the right track is Read the rest of this entry »

Sleep is good for you!

According to Wikipedia: “Sleep deprivation (having too little sleep), can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight gain. Complete absence of sleep over long periods is impossible to achieve; brief microsleeps (3-14 seconds) cannot be avoided.”

What causes us not to sleep?

I asked around Ireland and was not surprised by Read the rest of this entry »

Top Tips for Fitness Success

The road to fitness success holds many rewards, and as many roadblocks. So when we begin a fitness program, we are full of energy, drive, motivation and dreams of our “fitter self”. We have a vision of how much more toned/muscular and slim we will look. We go out and buy the proper gear and accessories, to look the part but more important BE the part. We are full of enthusiasm as we write the cheque and sign up for a year memebership to our local gym.
We steam ahead day after day, week after week, and suddenly after a certain time, realise we don’t really look any better; don’t really feel any fitter. We are plagued with self-doubt. We question our motives and reprimand ourselves for even thinking it was possible.

Now STOP!

This is the beginning of the road to failure. Read the rest of this entry »