'Neeeeew Shoooooes'...

Nike Free 3.0 V4

"Harder to get than hen's teeth"...that's what the assistant in Runways on Parnell Street said to me last week when I asked if he stocked these 'babies'.  "I know"...was my reply...as I had been to every other sports outlet in the city centre in search of this highly recommended trainer.  I'll be more organised in future and order my next pair online.

He only had one size left and in one colour...my fav...red!  This shoe was meant for me.  As I slipped it on, I felt like Cinderella slipping her foot into the 'glass slipper' for the first time, although I fear my foot is twice the size of young Cinder's and this shoe is hell-of-a-lot more practical than a 'glass slipper'!

For €100 they are relatively inexpensive, considering my last pair of trainers were €160 and not a patch on these.

The next day, I put my custom-made orthotics (prone to lower back pain) into them and away I went.  They're made with a seamless hugging upper of ultra-thin material called NanoPly that still gives you room to flex.  Because of their excellent flexibility they let your foot move naturally. The degree of flexibility and softness makes it feel like you're running/training in your socks with padding on the bottom.

It's a small fitting so you may need a half or full size bigger than your normal size.

I'm loving them, highly recommend them and could easily sleep in them.

Does anyone have any other trainer that they would recommend?

Jan - Sept...result :)

 

Thanks to a brilliant best selling self-help/motivation book, a suggestion from a friend, a lot of hard work, focus, positive thoughts, determination and self-belief...I feel I've arrived at where I want to be...albeit at the tender age of 44!

If you had have told me this time last year that this is where I'd be and this is what I'd be doing now, I would have laughed and dismissed it as 'poppy-cock'! 

Yet, here I sit after my first day as a Fitness Instructor and PT in a lovely intimate gym in Howth.   Bearing in mind I was only interviewed last Monday and offered the position on Tuesday, I am chuffed to be up there training members from this morning.

I love to help people (in general) but I love to help them train and achieve their fitness goals even more.  This morning/afternoon I got to do that with people I had just met..and having them thank me, with red sweaty faces was all I needed to put a smile on my face and a sense of achievement.  I have my own PT clients outside of the gym who I am so grateful to for believing in me and employing my services as soon as I was qualified..you know who you are :)  Working here will be another step in the right direction.

Following a few nudges from another couple of good guys, from September 26th, I have the local primary school hall booked for the following:

This is actually a poster but you can't see it clearly because of the 'white on white'.
 

My hope is that I get a few bodies to come along to 'Pamercise', train with me, get a good work-out and have some fun :)

This whole journey has taught me many things....things I didn't know about myself.  I do have focus, I do have determination, I can study, (I can get A's and B's in exams :)) I do have patience. What's even more surprising is that I've been told on numerous occasions that I'm an 'inspiration'! ME an inspiration?  Now that's something I never ever dreamt I'd hear anyone say to me even once no mind on numerous occasions...and that makes me smile :) I am proud of myself.

I suppose my message to any of you out there with a dream is...go for it...it may not be easy and at times you'll question if you're 'doing the right thing' but at the end of it all, you can sit back and say...



"Non, je ne regrette rien"

 

I did it!

Ab Challenge anyone? :)

Advanced Plank with raised foot - change leg half way through ;)

I'll be honest...I used to hate the word 'challenge'...as soon as I heard it I thought of hard work, and yes it is but I've learned to embrace the word.  You've just got to push yourself physically and mentally every so often to improve yourself which results in a greater sense of achievement.  I tried this ab challenge this morning, at home with Def Leppard in my ears.  It was an even greater challenge for me as I had a 'heavy' day of training yesterday and my whole body is sore with DOMS (delayed onset of muscule soreness) today but I just gritted my teeth and got on with it.  It was definitely a case of mind over matter especially for the 'holds'..I thought the timer would never go off.  It's a good job I was alone as there was a lot of grunting and a few 'bad' words, especially for the 2 minute bridge at the end...my whole body trembled and my butt was on fire OOOOUCH!  My suggestion for counting the crunches, which I did by the last set, count them in sets of 10 as opposed to 1 to 50...it's psychological :) The whole lot only took 10 minutes....go for it!

 

Let me know if you take the challenge and how you get on!

 



50              Crunches

15              Push Ups

1                 Minute Plank

30              Secs Side Plank

1                 Minute Bridge

15              Push Ups

1                 Minute Plank

30              Secs Side Plank

50              Crunches

1                 Minute Raised Plank

2                 Minute Bridge

50              Crunches



Crunches - squeeze abs & bring elbows towards knees, keep shoulders off floor

This is the Bridge - HOLD for 1 & 2 Minutes

 

This is the Raised Plank - HOLD for 1 Minute
 

This is Side Plank - HOLD 30 secs each side. Option A easier than Option B