Time to kick it up a gear.

Summer is here and the sun is shining (well between the downpours - this is Britain after all). It is time to top up the vitamin D levels, slip on that bikini and feel good about life.

Not actually me, but you get the idea

Except. I don't have a bikini body. Not even remotely comfortable in a bikini. Not even comfortable in a swimming costume at the pool. Frankly you are much more likely to see me like this > 

Hidden in a tent.  

Gym life is going well. Training is challenging, but progressing nicely. Muscle is being built and VERY slowly, but surely, body fat is creeping down. :)  Being the impatient person that I am, this lovely, positive change isn't happening fast enough. Not only is my body (rudely) not changing over night, but I am becoming beset my aches and pains and the dreaded exhaustion. Whoo!! Nothing like all the annoying things. 

Having had a few chats with my gym trainers, it has slowly dawned on me that I train too much. I have known this, but for the first time it is really sinking in. I TRAIN TOO MUCH. And what happens when you over train? Your body, which suffers a little bit of temporary damage every time you hit the gym (or other forms of exercise) is unable to heal efficiently. People react differently to over training:

•  Some suffer fatigue, 
• Others actually lose strenght and fitness, 
• Constant soreness,
• You can pick up illnesses easier, 
• Some people even suffer from burnout, which can affect some individuals mental health quite badly. 

Me? Well i suffer the fatigue and loss of fitness and strenght - therefore i train harder and end up going in circles until i crash. Joyous. Well no, not really.  Anyway, this knowledge coupled with the whole, 'i know i don't really eat that well' but i'll not be honest with myself has led to this point. The realisation that need to do both less and more. 

Why Less?

Doing a HIIT class followed by Judo - explosive followed by explosive. No wonder my explosive abilities die ten minutes into Judo. My muscles are done in. 

Spin, run and maybe weights - Stamina, stamina and of wait more stamina. Yeah no good either. 

Time to tailor my training more. Summer is the perfect opportunity. Judo slows down a bit, which is a great opportunity to mix it up, start training for a half marathon (following an actual plan - big deal for me - for the next 13 weeks), fitting my gym time around this. Then Judo around that. Keeping one day for pure rest and two lighter days to aid recovery.

Why do more?

It is time to put a darn sight more effort into my nutrition. A girl can't run a half marathon on poor nutrition. A girl can't hit her Judo ambitions (low level) with out energy in the tank. 

I've taken a bit of time to read about nutrition, calorie intake and macros (can strongly recommend heidi powell's blog. So it is time to, not only train like a pro, but eat like one too. 

My plan is simple. Consume 1555Kcal per day, of which 40% will come from carbs (trying to keep away from bread - it hates me), 35% will be protein and 25% fats. This isn't right for everyone, indeed i may need to tweak this myself. And I totally intend on having a cheat day once a week so stop me going nuts and having a chocolate binge. 

Summer is here, and it is time to kick it up a gear.