The White Hart c. 1900!
…again…it’s not fitness related but I’m so stunned in what I find here.
This is the pub I’ve been to for so often. It’s directly in front of our studio and the first thing I see every single morning when I go to the training points studio.
It looks different now…but hey> I love this photo!
It’s so great to know that this pub is such a piece of history. :)
Take care,
AC
the White Hart pub in Upper Norwood, c. 1900
I live in Crystal Palace for such a long time and on tumblr it’s the first time I actually notice how funny some signs in London can be…
Did you see this one?
Hilarious!
How could I not see this :)
Stay toned and laugh…it’s good for the core!
AC
Crystal Palace station
Hi, today early morning clients. It’s 5:42am in the morning here. I had my breakfast (cottage cheese, berries and almonds), will now have a shower and then head to train people in the park.
Have a great day yourself,
AC
Hi Guys,
today I will try to send my first video so people can see me and have a person behind all of those tweets and blog posts. I hope it will make it easier for existing clients and new clients to get to know me and have picture of me. Nothing is worse then trying to find the right personal trainer for you when all you have are websites with a couple of fancy pics, certifications proofs, prices and some random words about how great this specific personal trainer is.
It wouldn’t really help me at all as I would still not know if this person is the right person to train with me or not.
I must say that it still is a completely new thing for me to exposing myself to the internet. I’m new to it and I had a lot of thoughts about it of rather doing this or not. But I thought it might be a big help for people to get warm with me and getting to know me in general before they actually make any decisions.
A personal trainer is a PERSONAL trainer. I will take your measurements, your body fat, weight…everything…I will know when you are ill or not feeling well. I will know when you eat or drink too much…or too little…I will know if you have worked out or if have been lazy. I will see you reaching your plateaus. I will see you in moments when you are exhausted and sweaty, I will see you in moments when you want to give up or can’t stop anymore…I will see you in a lot of personal moments.
So I thought it is only fair from me to you to get to know me a little bit before you will make any decisions with whom you will be working out for a while.
Take care and I will keep you posted about my videos,
AC
Hi all,
today I noticed very much again how much it matters if you actually sleep enough or not.
Not only could I notice this very much on my client but on me, too.
The client I have seen today shows such enormous differences in performances when she is either tired or not. When she hasn’t slept enough she cannot perform up to the standards she is used to…and I mean > A LOT!
On Thursday (when she was tired and really needed a rest rather then a workout) she did 18 press ups in a row. Today she was fitter and felt better (only three days later) and she made 34 press ups in a row. It varies so much with her. It’s shocking what lack of sleep does with us and I can see this every day on the performances of my clients.
We think that we are just tired but could still work just as efficient just if we wanted to or concentrated a bit more…that we can just drink the sleepiness away with a coffee.
But the truth is that we really are a much worse performer mind- and body-wise if we don’t sleep enough.
The same with me today…or actually the last days.
Setting up my website, writing all of those texts, designing the site, making all of those pics PLUS doing my very own workouts AND the workouts I do with the clients has taken it’s troll (I train a lot actively with the clients. I basically don’t stand around and hold a watch. I actually train with them as much as I can because I noticed that it motivates them a lot. Strength training I don’t do with my clients as otherwise I’m over trained but endurance and cardio training I always exercise with them).
Today I noticed that I was so over worked and tired mentally and physically that I couldn’t even count anymore…yes…this has never happen in my life! I really mixed up numbers and words, too. I was so tired after my workout sessions that when I came home I slept for about 3hours…so the rest of my Sunday I did nothing but sleeping :(
Anyway> Get your sleep! I get mine as well now ;). Good night!
Anne Caroline
Dear readers,
thank you very much for visiting my blog.
I´m happy to tell you a little bit more about me and my work.
18 years ago, when I was 12, I started to realise that my body was changing. I became a woman. Unfortunately I didn´t become as pretty as my classmates. I got bigger legs but had still a very thin upper part of the body. I was very unhappy about this and my mother told me that big legs are in my genes and I will never be able to do anything about it.
Of course I didn´t listen to my mother and started a diet. I did lose weight but unfortunately lost it on parts where I didn´t want it to disappear. So my legs were still big but the rest of my body even smaller. That´s why I decided to go to the gym to lose weight. I did what the gym instructors told me - do lots of cardio, courses and little weights. I did this and still looked horrible. I hardly lost fat and because of the training results I got even bigger legs. My upper part of the body stayed the same as I did too much cardio and too little weights.
At this point I didn´t know better and quit the gym. I was terribly disappointed and thought the words of my mother weren´t so wrong after all. I had dreams in which I went to the plastic surgeon so that he can remove all of my fat at my bum and my legs. Of course I didn´t have any money for this as a teenager and my mother would have never supported such an idea.
So I decided to lose everything completely. I started to starve myself to thin legs…well, that was my plan at this age. It was the most horrible time in my life as I really got problems with an eating disorder. I did lose weight and got thinner legs but I was totally starved, out of shape, looked horrible and hated myself even more. The problem was that I was too scared to start eating again as I thought my legs would become even worse and my upper part of the body would stay as skinny.
I was in a downward spiral…
As I was too young to lose everything and too much interested in life I decided to try again.
I read everything about fitness, nutrition and beauty. As I didn´t want anyone being part of my last “experiment” I tried all of the exercises at home where people couldn´t see me.
I forced myself to eat enough and healthy. It was so hard to accept every new pound on my scale (I gained weight from 47kg to 63kg).
I measured myself to get assurance that every new gained pound stayed where it belonged (so not all on my under part of the body). I wrote down every good exercise and every efficient way to get the shape I wanted.
I am lazy and unathletic. I am not happy to do extra sports just for fun. I only did sports for two reasons- to keep myself healthy and pretty. It sounds very superficial but I want to be honest here. That´s why I was always after the most efficient exercises with which I could get what I wanted and had to do as little as possible to get it.
As people around me noticed my results very much they started to ask me if I could help them to get in a better shape too. I did help them. I was happy to help my friends and to change their looks. It was incredible how even my friends changed their appearance and the funniest moment was when one of my best friends said “Thank you so much for my new bum”!
I got more envolved with people who wanted to change their looks but didn´t want to be part of this “lifestyle generation” where everyone is super sportive, super cool and does hours of sport every day just for fun. I think I will never understand this even when I look more sportive then most of the “fitness gurus”.
I trained ladies in their homes and when the weather was good we trained in parks or their gardens too. There are so many options and it depends entirely on how comfortable my clients feel in their bodies.
Today I´m very happy that I forced myself to try it again. I´m happy that I accepted my new weight and that I accepted myself eating food to be healthy as there were times when I was scared of every new pound I could have gained just because of wrong or too much food.
My entire metabolism has changed and I´m sure that if you give me enough time with you I will be able to use my experience for you and your beauty too.
This is a very good post by “thespartanwarrior”. It explains you very well what side effects it can have when you don’t give yourself the sleep you need.
I notice it very much myself when I didn’t have enough rest. I can hardly perform the way I want to and I’m very moody. I get headaches and concentration problems.
For example> In the same week in which I was fit and had enough sleep I made my 8:30min plank. Just a day later and after far too many hours of exercising and not enough sleeping I had trouble to only hold a plank for 2:00min.
Get your sleep. It is an important part of your lifestyle plan and just as important as your diet and workouts.
Read the article…it might open your eyes a little bit and make you more listening to your body.
Take care,
Anne Caroline
Sleep nudge.
Sleep is a critical component in the muscle building process and should not be overlooked. Your muscle tissue repairs itself and grows during rest periods but sleep is more important than waking rest periods.
Here’s why:
- The release of growth hormone reaches its peak during deep sleep
- Your metabolic rate slows which is perfect for muscle tissue repair and growth
- Increased blood flow to the muscles
Here’s a quick list of some of the effects of sleep deprivation:
- aching muscles;
- blurred vision;
- clinical depression;
- daytime drowsiness and naps;
- decreased mental activity and concentration;
- weakened immune system;
- dizziness;
- dark circles under the eyes;
- fainting;
- general confusion;
- hallucinations (visual and aural);
- hand tremors;
- headache;
- hernia;
- hyperactivity;
- hypertension;
- impatience;
- irritability;
- memory lapses or loss;
- nausea;
- slowed reaction time;
It’s enough to keep you awake at night isn’t it? Just kidding. Now go to bed.
(via)
It was 1992.
I was 12 years old.
To this very point I had no idea that women can
> achieve this
> look like this
> act like this
I was more fascinated by this single “workout” scene then by the entire rest of the movie. This single scene has changed my entire life
Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in Terminator 2, Judgement Day
I wanted to be like her and realized that it was impossible for me to do any kind of chin ups or even press ups. I didn’t know what I was doing but since this day chin ups have a big fascination for me…as it took me a long time and effort to be able to do them at all.
I know this sounds silly for a man…but normal women cannot do chin ups…not even a single one…not even a half chin up…impossible…
So just hanging on the bar and waiting for someone to lift me up didn’t really work. I had to built up a lot of strength before I even started considering doing just a single pull- or chin up. I cannot explain enough the feeling I had when I first ever pulled me up the bar in a clean and proper way.
Today I do full workout sets with pull- and chin up variations. My male clients take it completely for granted when I explain to them how to do different kind of pull ups with actually showing those variations myself to them. For them it is completely normal that their Personal Trainer does things like pull ups or press ups without even showing some signs of effort.
Well girls, don’t feel bad about yourself just because you cannot do a pull- or chin up. It is very normal for a woman to not being able to do this from the very first beginning. Don’t let this be hindering you to try it though…with a little determination even us girls can do those fancy body weight exercises!
Now you know my little secret and I hope it motivates you!
Stay toned,
Anne Caroline
I had a lot of clients who were unhappy with the size and form of their calf’s. Women normally want to have them much smaller and men prefer them bigger.
So what happens is that some men train like crazy on their calf’s and never really see a result any close to their idols. And women starve them self’s , go to one bum&leg course after another and wonder why their calf’s don’t get any smaller.
Here is the answer: We are born with different calf shapes. No matter what we do and train there is little we can do about it.
Here is a very interesting picture which I scanned out of the book “Strength Training Anatomy” by Frederic Delavier. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to any fitness professional or hobby fitness fan. I will talk further about this book after the “calf discussion”.
I’m sorry for the blurred text and corner on the right but this was the best scan I could do :( Please look more carefully at the picture rather then the text…as it explains more then a hundred words.
Explanation of the picture>
People with smaller calf’s have a much longer tendon on the calf. This is why the calf is smaller and shorter.
People with long calf’s are normally the ones with the full and thick calf’s which can sometimes reach nearly down to the ankle. I, for example, have a long calf and there is nothing I can do about it. I will always have full calf’s no matter what I do because of the short length of my calf tendon.
So please boys and girls: Accept the way you are and love yourself. Neither the long or short calf is bad and they both look lovely!
…
About the “Strength Training Anatomy” book:
As you can see it goes very much into detail not only about the anatomy but also about the different human body shapes. There are a lot of examples in this book which a an amazing eye opener to things we might have never noticed. I will quote it from time to time as the knowledge in this book is just to interesting to not talk about it.
Again the title of this book>
Frederic Delavier
Strength Training Anatomy
Have fun, love your calf’s and enjoy your day,
Anne Caroline
For everyone who is interested in why we store certain fats in different areas this is a very interesting video to watch. I don’t know if this might be true or not but it is an interesting view closer to why we are shaped the way we are. I hope there will be more research done on this subject as it sounds very interesting to me and it would help any fitness professional to understand even more about their clients, their individuality and how to recommend them the most precise workout program to the very specific needs and wishes of their clients. What do you think about the bio signature theory? Stay toned, Anne Caroline
Hi Guys,
before I recommend anything to my clients I ALWAYS test everything myself. So every single exercise and diet I recommend and will ever recommend to my clients I have tried myself and have found effective.
The diets I have tested in my life I cannot even count anymore but there was one specific diet which stood out by far with it’s results and has proven to be the most effective for any kind of toning or fat loss program.
It’s called “The Zone Diet”.
I always tried to live after it somehow but had my odd pizza, chocolate and cake now and then.
This time I meant it for real just because I wanted to see how effective it can be if you really eat after it day by day.
Don’t be fooled: You gotta eat a lot of food in the Zone Diet because nothing you eat within this diet is very dense in calories. The portions I have to eat five to six times a day are enormous and I actually love that :) Due to exercising a lot I feel hungry after sessions and it’s nice to be able to always eat when I need it without feeling guilty…but no> With knowing the more I eat of this healthy food the thinner, trimmer and tighter I get :)
I started to live strictly after the Zone about two month ago…and I have lost an incredible amount of body fat percentage. When I started I had 16% bodyfat which is already quite low for a woman. Now I have 7% of body fat…
For a woman this is incredible low…and always remember: I do not take any supplements, no drugs or any kind of harmful hormones or pills. I achieved this naturally with following the Zone Diet strictly.
I must say that it might not be everybody’s taste to be this toned but as I said earlier this self testing was more for my clients then for me. I played their guinea pig to prove how much of an importance the right diet plays with every sort of weight loss and fitness program.
Have a look yourself:
I might consider to eventually put on some little fat again to not look so much like a man (< but for some reason I actually quite like this “athletic body” a lot and might keep it for another while ;))…but I was happy to prove my point that the right diet combined with a good workout program can make WONDERS for you.
I have never felt better, healthier and more energetic in my entire life…
Do you want start the Zone Diet and get toned?
Take care and enjoy life,
Anne
Hi guys,
yesterday I let my biggest judge look at my new website. My toughest and meanest judge is, was and ever will be > my very own partner!
He had a look at it and said: “It’s okay. So far I found nothing to complain about…I think it’s just because I haven’t read all jet!”
But then he said: “I wouldn’t put one specific picture on your side. On this one you look like a freak. I can see all your bones on this one and people will think that you starve yourself to this figure!”
I was curious which one he meant…and after I’ve seen what he meant I was very angry!
I must say to his defense that my partner is very little into sports and not interested in any sort of fitness. He has never thought about visible muscles and any form of tone jet. He doesn’t know that visible abs are not just those six/eight squares of muscles you see in the belly area. He doesn’t know that there is much more to see on a defined and toned core rather then just the six pack in the front.
What he saw on this picture was actually not even close to what he thought it is. He mixed up my hard earned OBLIQUES with my RIBS.
Here is the photo of concern:
What you see on this picture is not ribs but my core muscles called obliques. As you can see they sit underneath my rib cage.
I was very angry with him of being called a freak just because of the fact people can see every single of my core muscles.
It is my job to be fit so I can’t really prevent my muscles from popping out…and actually> I’m proud of it!
Le freak, c’est chic!!! ;)
Take care and love yourself the way you are!
Stay toned!
Anne Caroline
A week ago I took the challenge with one of my clients. I must say that he is one of my fittest clients, runs Marathons regularly and comes to the Core Classes for more then two years.
We both knew we can hold the plank for a long time. My record to this point was 6:00min. So we thought it might be an extra challenge and motivation when we do the plank for our new record together.
Glen, this is this client, knew he could do a 5:00min plank but was convinced that if he did the exercise with someone together he might be able to hold it for longer.
It was quite funny how we both prepared for this “big event”. Because when you know you have to be in a very uncomfortable position for a while you check everything out to make sure nothing can interrupt your personal record.
So we testet several different mats until we both found a good one which we thought had a good grip, was thick enough for our elbow support and soaked all the sweat to not be on a slippery surface.
We even testet if we want to plank with or without shoes.
After we both found our perfect plank mats, foot grip and position we finally started the plank.
I decided that it might be the best idea to entertain ourself a little bit with a conversation so the minutes don’t feel so long. This was possible to 5:00min. After this we didn’t have enough breath and energy to actually concentrate on any smalltalk. From this moment on it was all about “Can you hold it for another 30sec? Another 15sec? Let’s do the next full minute! Another 10sec?”
Until be both finally gave up at 8:30min.
Although I know that there are a lot of people out there who might hold it for even longer and that the record in holding a plank is 33:40min, I’m still very pleased with my own result and already set with my client 10:00min as our next challenge.
What is your personal record in planking?
Take care and enjoy you day,
Anne Caroline
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