Session 2: Body

Unwind S2: Body - Finding the ‘fit’ in Fitness

Ms Elaine’s experiences: What she has learned so far

Before starting Muay Thai

- She likes to eat biscuits while she is working

- Was at least walking to travel but stopped moving after starting work

- Unhealthy lifestyle

In 2017,

- not fit, keeps getting sick, within 1 year, hospitalized 2 or 3 times for various conditions

- not healthy related to lifestyle

- eat quick food, not healthy, higher calories

- 10k run sign up for wind, took her 2 hours to complete

- get unhealthier, in between the fitness peak

Reason she wasn’t healthy

- Stressed

- depressed

- Binge eating

- Feeling out of control in terms of health, relationship & work

- Overwhelmed

After started Muay Thai

If you make the decision to become healthier, do not be afraid to step out of your comfort zone! (Decided to join Muay Thai- wasn’t in her comfort zone, she was nervous and scared. However, the trainer didn’t look down on her. She felt she is welcomed)

First session: she was dead during the warm up because it was challenging but she enjoyed the class because;

- The class were fun although it didn’t feel physically comfortable

- Didn’t feel judged – give her confidence

What fitness has given her

1. Patience

a. Fitness is a lifelong pursuit

b. Be patient with yourself

2. Self-compassion

a. It is okay to suck at it or miss a day

3. Self-efficacy

a. With enough practice you will get there. This is important because a lot of times what stops us from workout is, we think that we are not able to do it. However, when you start your first try and complete it, it will motivate you to continue the next time. For example, she was not able to do 30 pushups but now she is able to do more than 100.

4. Facing fears

a. Things become less scary when you just try them

5. Consistency

a. Pick yourself up and try again and again and again. Ensuring a sustainable lifestyle.

Determination

- Even if you suck in something, as long as you keep going, u will improve

- Doing something is always better than doing nothing

- Goal is good but not necessary, discipline is more important.

Unlearning & Relearning

1. Calorie deficit =/= dieting

a. People always talk about dieting, but in reality what matters is calorie deficit.

b. Consume fewer calories than how much you are burning off to see weight loss

over time

c. Do not restrict food

d. Calorie deficit is not eating ‘clean’ all the time, it is also considering portion

control.

e. Beneficial for a sustainable and enjoyable method

2. Focus on progress, not perfection

a. It is not about reaching the goal, but how you get to the goal

b. Focus on the journey not the destination

3. Rest is non-negotiable

a. Rest does not mean losing progress but enhances it over time

b. Muscle heals, gets stronger and maximize from the benefits of working out

c. If you don’t rest at all, your body is going to get fatigue and your progress will be

affected

d. Sleep is absolutely crucial. 7-8 hours of sleep is when the body repairs itself.

4. There is no one ‘right’ way

a. Training affects people differently as everyone has different body compositions,

experiences, how much exposure to fitness and neurochemical/biochemical

makeup of the body.

b. Some people are going to find cardio easier than weightlighting and vice versa.

Myths to look out for

1. Spot-reducing fat

a. There’s no specific exercise that will remove fat from particular place

b. Doing certain exercises will build muscle in that area

c. Don’t be excessive in food

2. Diet A > Diet B

a. As long as you are in a calories deficit regardless which diet will still cause you to

lose weight.

b. Don’t follow a diet because someone said it is the best

3. Detox juices/cleances

a. Can lose weight because the calories is really low but it is not sustainable lifestyle

b. May cause you to have unhealthy relationship with food

4. Promising results to everyone

a. No one knows your lifestyle in detail and it may not be the same as the influencer

you are following. Thus, results may not be the same.

5. Good athteles = good trainers

a. This is not particularly true

b. Athteles were trained for a long period & have specific body compositions

6. Soreness/sweat = good workout

a. Soreness can happen due to adding more weight to workout

b. Sweat is not a good indicator either as it is conditional to humidity, temperature,

etc..

7. Focusing on weight loss/BMI

a. An individual can be thin but very unhealthy

b. An ideal situation is to have muscle>fat, regardless your weight

c. Better indicator for how much weight you lost

i. How tight clothes are on you

ii. Body composition measurement scale

iii. Body fat %

iv. skeleton muscle mass

8. Cardio > strength training

a. both equally as important

i. Cardio: cardiovascular health

ii. Strength training: build muscle -> higher metabolic rate

How to stay consistent

1. Find something YOU enjoy

a. Find workouts that could help you improve your favourite sports

2. Set achievable behavioural targets

a. Be specific in setting target

b. e.g setting a day in a week to exercise

3. Track progress

a. Write down your progress

b. Can help in motivation

4. reward yourself - celebrate the little things

a. Even if you are able to do one pushup extra than yesterday is a good reason to

celebrate

b. Share these milestones with someone close and encourage each other

5. Get your friends involved

a. Keep each other company

b. Encouraging each other and helping each other out

QnA

1. How long did it take for you to see significant results of you working out, and how long

did other people take to see results?

It took me 3 months for me to lose 10kg, then it was a slow progress after that but I was

getting stronger after I lost some of the excess weight. After about 6-8 months, I was able

to handle workout regularly without feeling fatigue.

2. Is it harder to lose weight when you're already at normal weight?

Yes. Because your body does not have excess fat stored. At this point, you should focus

on building muscles to have a leaner body. If you focus on being fitter, you will lose fat.

3. How to deal with injuries from workouts? or at least for beginners who are not exactly

aware of how to deal with it?

You should probably meet a physiotherapist to get advice. It is not ideal to work through

an injury. If it’s sore but you think it could turn into an injury, avoid doing workouts that

focus on that area and have a low impact.

4. any advice for someone who wants to gain weight instead? i used to be too thin and

underweight.

Eat more calories than you’re burning. Getting a sense of your basal metabolic rate could

help. Online calculator could help you figure out how many calories you will need. This

takes time so don’t beat yourself up over it. Focus on getting stronger, and eating more

healthy food.

5. how to avoid hurting your back when workout because i did abs workout and my back

tend to hurt

Pay attention to your form. Is your back flat on the floor? Is it arching? if it is you will

most likely hurt yourself. Make sure your core is engaged while doing abs workout. Do

what you can in the best form if you realise your form is slipping, stop and take a rest

then continue again.

6. Is it normal for the back of your neck to hurt during ab workouts on mats?

If your neck is hurting then it means you are not engaging your core. It means you are

tightening the back of your neck too much instead of using your abs to pull you up. If this

is the case, you might want to work on strengthening your core first. For two reasons, it is

not good for the neck and it also is not helping your abs either.

7. Does working out really help with elevating mood?

Everyone is different and responses to different workouts. I do respond well to

endorphins and it does elevate my mood, but there are days where it doesn’t work that

way. But i guess this is not the way your body is responding in regard to elevating mood,

and you’re probably not neurochemically sensitive to it. But keep doing what you’re

doing because it can bring so many other positive effects.

Recommended by Ms Elaine

YouTube:

Jordan Syatt: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZk-b1KyEL9rovh7zdfw_lg (he's got videos on calorie calculation that are super helpful)

Redefining Strength: https://www.youtube.com/user/redefiningstrengthOC (she's got a lot of

great videos targeted at different experience levels; awesome for beginners and also

understanding what you're doing with each exercise)

Dr La Thoma Gustin: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLejVvqmibT0RzepnWkxCIg (she's Grant Gustin's wife, who also happens to have a doctorate in physical therapy; her workouts range from typical strength/HIIT to ones designed for rehab/flexibility/injury recovery etc.)

Instagram:

@syattfitness

@lathoma3

@megsquats

@susanniebergallfitness (she's the older woman who got fit later in life)

@joompa (they're a local fitness platform that connects clients to coaches, but also provides

good fitness content via their blog for general public consumption; evidence-based and highly researched info!)

Your fitness journey is YOURS. Every decision is up to you to get to the desired destination.

You cannot fail if you don’t do it.

#don’tthinkjustdo !