JETTY TO JETTY ONLY 4 WEEKS AWAY

We are all aware of the perks of running; less stress, better heart health and even an easier time slipping into your jeans. But even the most disciplined person can find themselves requiring extra motivation. One of my favorite quotes states, "Once you've succeeded at a challenge, you need new ways to test your limits”.

We all have goals and dreams but it can be difficult to stick with them. Every week I hear people say that they start with good intentions but they can’t seem to maintain their consistency for a long period of time. The other one I hear all the time is that they struggle with mental endurance. Clients often get started at something but then they can’t seem to follow through or stay focused for very long. Don’t worry, I am just as guilty of this as anyone else. The result of this is people often end up disheartened when they lose focus or motivation because they think that successful people have some unstoppable passion and willpower that they seem to be missing. Now here is the reality.

Successful people feel the same boredom and the same lack of motivation that everyone else feels. They don’t have some magic pill that makes them feel ready and inspired every day. The difference is that the people who stick with their goals don’t let their emotions determine their actions. Top performers still find a way to show up, to work through the boredom and to embrace the daily practice that is required to achieve their goals.

It's this ability to do the work when it’s not easy that separates the top performers from everyone else. Anyone can work hard when they feel motivated however the defining question is can you continue to work out when you are bored? What about when the work out isn’t easy? What about when it feels like nobody is paying attention or you’re not getting the results you want? It’s the ability to work when work isn’t easy that makes the difference.

So with this is mind, here are a few tips that can help:

Stay Positive

Finish runs feeling strong and happy, not worn-out. It'll keep you coming back for more and help you reduce injury risk.

Find your sweet spot

Write down your workouts, then color-code how they made you feel: yellow for amazing, orange for just OK and red for exhausted and flat. It's a visual way of seeing how your body responds and will help you pick up patterns. For example, if you're always orange or red around the end of the week, that's a sign that you should be doing lighter workouts on those days.

Maintenance

Use a foam roller three times a week to improve flexibility—it helps reduce injury better than static stretching. If you are not sure how to use one, come and see me at the Dolphins Health Precinct.

Train Smart

In order to get stronger your body needs time to rebuild. Mix easy days with tough training days and avoid pushing when your body needs a break.

The Mental Game

Confidence springs from putting in the physical work of hard, smart training between races. On race day, even a well-trained runner can sabotage his/her effort with negative or unproductive thoughts. The bottom line is to believe in what you’ve done to get to the start line, focus on what is possible, and use both your physical and mental strengths to produce the best outcome on the day.

Keep up with your training. The Jetty to Jetty is only 4 weeks away however our health is a lifetime assignment so make sure you enjoy doing what you do. Keep it up guys and I will see you on the running path.

Lisa Maclean

Personal Trainer & Marathon Runner

Dolphins Health Precinct

Mindful Eating in 9 Steps!

Struggling to lose weight? Here are 9 things to consider next time you're at the dinner table.

There’s more to savouring a meal than simply avoiding screens and eyeballing your food as it goes from fork or spoon to mouth.

At Austria’s F.X. Mayr Health Centre, where he is medical director, Dr Stephan Domenig encourages a silent dining room and spends a great deal of time teaching people how to re-think their relationship with food.

Mindfulness is a critical part of that process. In his book, The Alkaline Cure (Penguin Books, $24.99), he outlines the following tips for truly mindful eating that will help you better enjoy and digest every mouthful.

9 diet tips for mindful eating:

1. Allow at least 30 minutes at the table for each meal.
2. Make sure you are comfortably seated. Take a couple of deep breaths to settle yourself.
3. Notice any feelings of impatience and urges to just get on and eat the food. Stop thinking of things you need to do. Dedicate this time to enjoying your food.
4. Look at the food on your plate. Appreciate its visual qualities. Smell your food and breathe in the mouth-watering aromas.
5. Think about how much food you put on your fork – the less the better.
6. When you put the food into your mouth, appreciate the different flavours and textures.
7. Chew well, around 30 times is the minimum. Ensure the food in your mouth it fully masticated before you swallow.
8. Put your fork down between bites.
9. Resist any urge to rush to dessert, the next bite of food, or to get up and do something else.

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Beauty tips for your 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s

Learn how to look after your skin at every age 

Whatever beauty means to you, how you maintain it changes with age. Louse Wedgwood offers some advice for women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. 

In your 20's

Your 20s is the time to start investing in your skin, says Dr Serene Lim, a Perth-based cosmetic and complementary GP. “Your skin is quite resilient at this age but negative effects accumulate and it’s much harder to reverse the effects in later years.”

To protect your skin, she recommends a zinc-based daily face sunscreen. Sunscreen has been shown to prevent ageing in recent research at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Participants in the study who wore sunscreen every day had no detectable skin ageing after four-and-a-half years. 

In your 30's

Your 30s can be particularly stressful while you develop your career and often raise a young family. Dr Lim says that stress creates more free radicals – molecules with unpaired electrons that damage surrounding molecules. Free radicals age your skin, make your hair grey, and increase skin pigmentation. She recommends offsetting stress by prioritising a healthy lifestyle.

“Your body needs as much sleep, rest, and nutritious food as it can get to support healthy skin,” Dr Lim says. Nourish your skin with healthy fats, grass-fed organic meats, wild-farmed fish, a rainbow of different-coloured vegetables, and wholegrains. If life is too busy and you’re burning the candle at both ends, Dr Lim says you should be mindful that the effects of late nights show up on your face.

In your 40's

In your 40s, hormonal changes begin to affect your appearance. Dr Lim warns: “Your skin can start looking dry and wrinkly, especially if you haven’t taken all the preventative measures in your earlier years.” She suggests using a serum containing a trifecta of vitmans A, B and C to boost collagen and replenish your skin. When you’re transitioning to menopause, hormones can also mess with your beauty sleep, and a lack of sleep affects your complexion. To sleep well try eating some protein before bed, taking the occasional melatonin supplement and practising meditation if you wake up during the night.

In your 50's

If you’re 50, you may notice muscle tone declining in your face, which can contribute to sagging. Facial exercises and massage can slow the process (go online to learn the techniques).

“Facial exercises not only improve your facial muscles but will help deliver oxygen to the skin surface,” Dr Lim says. To prevent further sagging, always smooth moisturisers and sunscreen upwards over your face – in the opposite direction to gravity.

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Awesome Tips & Inspiration from Running Coach Lisa Maclean!

Another insightful, useful and inspirational running article from Dolphins Health Precinct's Lisa Maclean who is hosting the DHP Jetty2Jetty Running Program 2015.

Words by Lisa Maclean

For those of us contemplating running the Jetty2Jetty we have already dusted off those running shoes of by now!! The exciting news is we all have a goal - from just finishing one of the distances to trying to smash a PB, and all goals are achievable if you believe in yourself!! 

I hear from different people “I would love to be able to do that” and my reply is always “but why can't you?” The old saying of “If you change how you think then you will change how you feel and what actions you take” is so true, once you believe anything is possible. 

Training is the fun part - firstly we get the beautiful bay as our backdrop and breathe in the fresh air, secondly it's all about experimenting with our fitness and mental strength without any pressure at all. Mental strength is the toughest strength to build, we can all build strength in our muscles by following a program but how to we follow a strength program for that little voice in our head called “doubt” - somehow that little voice seems to win… But we need to step outside that comfort zone and turn that “doubt” into “believing”.

When you hear the words “I could never do that” turn it into “why can't I?” If you know you can run a 5km already then why can't we aim for finishing the 10km run? The possibilities are endless!!! We are 8 weeks out - plenty of time to start assessing our goals. 

My tips would be:

• To make sure your shoes are suitable for you, remember your shoes are your tools when you run they protect your body from the impact and ensure you are landing correctly and who wants to have sore feet while you are running?
• Also remember to warm up and cool down, a good warm-up signals to your body that it will have to start working soon. By slowly raising your heart rate, the warm-up also helps minimise stress on your heart when you start your run. So you should start your runs with a brisk walk. The cool down allows your heart rate and blood pressure fall gradually, so it's important that you end your run with a slow 5-minute jog or walk, also ensure you stretch those muscles out.
• One more tip would be to keep correct posture; improper upper body form can lead to pain in your arms, shoulders, neck, and back. Try to keep your hands at waist level, right about where they might lightly brush your hip. Your arms should be at a 90-degree angle, with your elbows at your sides. Keep your posture straight and erect. Golden rule would be keeping your head up, your back straight, and shoulders level.

All in all keep training positive and fun! Take all pressure out of your head and remember “your race - your rules” if you feel like walking to catch your breath then why not? If you feel good and think you can break down that comfort zone and pick the pace up then why not?

Ohhh I love this time of year when there are more people out running on the footpaths giving each other a big encouraging smile and sharing the same passion for running!!!

10 Tips to Make Your Diet Stick

1. Try new foods. It’s the new year so choose one a month. Try it 10 times and you will like it. Become familiar with smell, taste, texture and flavour. The wider the range of foods you eat, the more nutrients you will be ingesting.

2. Reward and recognise your achievements. Focus on the positive. Use the strategies that kept you on track to help implement the next challenge.

3. Get started straight away. Ban procrastination. This time next year you'll have wish you started sooner!

4. Set yourself up to succeed. Identify the challenges and find the solutions to overcome them. Write down the strategies you will use. Don’t leave it to chance.

5. Choose a time and day to shop. Write it down in your diary so you don’t end up with a bare fridge.

6. Divide up tasks. Take it in turns to cook, shop and wash up so it isn’t an overwhelming task.

7. Have frozen meals ready to defrost. That way you won’t have to resort to unhealthy takeaway options.

8. Allow some treats. But don’t go overboard. Have one scoop of ice-cream rather than two, gourmet yoghurt on berries rather than cream, fresh fruit with a few squares of dark chocolate.

9. Modify your cooking methods. For example, try oven-baked potatoes brushed with oil rather than deep-fried chips. Crumb your schnitzel and brown in the pan with a little oil, then finish dry-baking in the oven.

10. Make an appointment with yourself for activity. Start at a pace you can continue with, for example, walk three days a week at lunchtime and twice a week after work rather than walking every day at 5am, which you know you won’t continue in winter.

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