We are very excited to announce that we will now be featuring guest bloggers who will be blogging about a wide range of topics related to their own fitness journeys. Our first post comes from our Hungarian client Hajnalka who joined Nemesis back in October 2017. Hajnalka had just come out of the back of her own prep to compete in a bikini competition. Unfortunately Hajnalka never made it to stage from a combination of personal issues and because she was over dieted and had lost a great deal of lean muscle mass. A very hungry (no pun intended) Hajnalka came to Nemesis in search of food, high calories, a kick ass training program, an enjoyable off season and most importantly to be dieted down correctly for stage to allow her to understand her own body and the process behind a successful competition prep. Over the past 6 months I have slowly reversed dieted Hajnalka from her horrendously low calories and low carb diet to smashing out 2500 calories per day, hitting over 250g of carbs. During that time Hajnalka waist measurement has actually been dropping! and her weight staying fairly steady with slow increases throughout the entire off season. This Sunday is the start of her cut, and we are currently looking at what federations, competitions and timelines would be suitable for Hajnalka. All personal trainers will agree, that the best job satisfaction in this industry comes when you have a client who commits 100% and trusts the processes. They don't quit because the scales don't go the way they want them to, they stay focused with their eyes on the end goal - through the good weeks and the bad! Hajnalka's StoryMy love for sports started when I was only three years old after my mother enrolled me in ballet classes – from that day on I couldn’t be stopped. I swam for a couple of years, went skiing almost every winter, played handball for two years, horse riding which ended after I broke my tailbone, I did modern jazz for 10 years and I even tried trampolining! My love for dancing then developed into a love for aerobic gymnastics. I was extremely lucky to work and train with the second best gymnastics club in Hungary. My coach was a former Olympian in rhythmic gymnastics, and frequently used coaching techniques she was put through on us. In addition to training three to four times a week for two hours each time, the older ones (including myself) needed to pay a lot of attention to their shape, and how their bodies looked. We were constantly under pressure to lose weight and look thinner – this would allow us to “jump higher at competition”. The pressure was so big on how we looked, that I once recall buying two popsicles as a snack, after which I was called into the coaches’ quarters for a serious talk about how I will ruin my training and get even chubbier by eating those two popsicles (each being around 70 kcal). I have to admit that I was never the thinnest child nor the most muscular, but in my gymnastics team I had the biggest frame and I was certainly the heaviest. I was fourteen years old, around 170 centimeters tall, and weighing in at 62-63 kilograms. Despite this I only consumed around 1000-1400 kcals per day and still looked the chubbiest in my age group in the club. I was constantly compared to my other teammates who were thin, toned and below 60 kilos. I clearly remember how before competitions our coaches started weighing us before each training session, and if we gained weight from one training day to the other they told us to go running on our rest days. I was always told to run, as I was way heavier than my teammates, and my coaches thought that was a problem. I tried everything and worked so hard to look like the other girls, which resulted in severe undereating, going on hour long runs two-three times a week. I was constantly fatigued and because of this started picking up injuries almost every other week. My body was telling me to stop, but I trusted my coaches 100%. I battled with their comments internally, my body told my to stop, but my mind mind told me to push through - so I did. My last competition was the 2013 European Championships. On the first day of training before the competition I partially snapped my left ankle on the leg I used the most. I did everything I could to make the most out of the competition even though my coaches thought my injury would make us lose our place. We qualified to the finals with both groups I was in, and placed fourth in both categories. It was a painful injury, but pushing through it and finishing high put a quite positive end to my bumpy gymnastics career and also hopefully to my body hate. Ending my gymnastics career was the best thing I could do for my studies, I was now sixteen years old, and I had just started my junior year in high school. And of course I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. I decided to dance my heart out, taking more advanced classes, which helped me in both mental and physical recovery. Despite my injuries healing almost immediately and my confidence on the rise, my nutrition required improvement. The big turning point came when a really good friend of mine introduced me to the fitness side of YouTube. Since I was 12 years old I have had several different channels on the platform. I loved content creation and expressing myself in the form of videos. The people I started following on YouTube looked amazing and strong, with great mindsets and were eating huge volumes of foods – which I never thought was possible! I was introduced to the concept of macro tracking, IIFYM, reverse dieting, lifting heavy and still not looking bulky, and I fell in love with all of it. I knew that I wanted to move on from the body hating period and this was my answer. I started tracking my macros in November 2015, and stepped into the gym for the first time in January 2016, where I followed a BodyBuilding.com program. At that time, I weighed 63 kilos and was eating 1200-1400 kcals, so I decided that I would reverse myself out from that state. By June 2016 I weighed 59 kilos, ate over 2100 kcals and looked more toned and muscular than ever – it’s funny because people falsely believe that calorie starvation will ensure weight loss, and this is not always the case. I felt stronger mentally and physically and I loved it. I went further and started a bulk. I didn’t have a way to measure myself, as I started university in the UK, and my room was carpeted, meaning that the scales I could’ve afforded wouldn’t work. I pushed my calories high to 2300-2500 kcals, and I lifted more weights than ever. I remember how surprised I was when I first deadlifted 90 kilos for three reps easily. From then on I knew that the limit was the sky and that I could do anything I set my mind to. By April 2017 I was deadlifting over 100 kilos, squatting around 90 and benching over 50, I now weighed 73 kilos. I loved my look, I loved how strong my body got. I conquered each day and became more mindful of what was happening around me. I was switching between intuitive eating and tracking macros, enjoying life. I then decided that I would like to compete in bodybuilding at some point. Dieting to look a certain way never crossed my mind, but dieting for a competition did. I had a prep planned out and I lost 10 kilos, by the end of the plan I was running on low calories, and not stage ready. Although I had lost 10 kilos, a lot of the loss had come from muscle during the dieting process, which I found extremely upsetting after all the hard work I put in. This was why I turned to Nemesis and seeked the help of Nemesis coach Lainey. She showed me new ways to push myself in the gym, undertaking several training systems. She slowly reverse dieted me out of the low amount of calories and reduced the excessive amount of cardio I had previously been doing, which no doubt played a huge role in my muscle loss. I am currently back at 73 kilos, but I look completely different from what I looked like a year ago around this time at the end of my own bulk. The thing is, I loved my body before my cut, after my cut, and I love my body in its current condition! Lifting has taught me that my body is a temple that I can destroy, rebuild, renovate, shape and form however I want to. In order to change your body you need to give it some love and that’s in the form of food and training tailored to your needs and goals. You also have to give your body the rest it requires. I have come a long way from where I was back in my gymnastics days, but I don’t regret any part of my journey. Sometimes we need to be overworked, challenged and we need to fail in order to be able to grow stronger, become happier and healthier both mentally and physically. Lifting has changed my life – it has improved my mindset, my mood and my health in a positive way. I finally am at peace with myself, and most importantly I now understand where I went wrong with my bulk and diet which I did myself last year, and what food and training my body responds best. Anyone can follow a plan given to them by a personal trainer or in a magazine, but you need to understand why you’re eating in that way and why those food sources will benefit you. In addition following the right training program for your body type and goal that actually achieves the results you desire. It’s education and knowledge that allows you to achieve your goal and maintain your results – something which Nemesis provides as part of their online coaching plan. If you would like to follow my journey further you can follow me on Instagram @strawberrylifts Hajnalka x
0 Comments
Since completing Kilimanjaro in October last year, Everest Base Camp (EBC) has been the hot topic of discussion between Graham and I - should we or shouldn't we do it? Are we fit enough? Can we get enough training in whilst we are travelling? Watching the EBC trips fill up and space availability reducing on a daily basis we decided to go for it! After all it is the best time to do the trip, we both don't have job commitments, we are young and fit and what better way to end 6 months of travelling? We kicked our travels off by summiting Kilimanjaro the worlds highest free standing mountain and highest peak in Africa and ending it by standing at EBC at the same time as those who plan to accomplish Everest in 2018? Both Kilimanjaro and Everest are ranked as the most epic climbs in the world and are members of the 7 summits of the world and highest peaks of the 7 continents, but what are the key differences between both treks?
People often think EBC will be the most challenging trek however, unlike Kilimanjaro, EBC has a success rate of around 90%, whereas Kilimanjaro varies from 40% to 60%. Kilimanjaro is actually higher than EBC at 5,895metres, whereas EBC sits at 5,364 metres above sea level. Another reason for Kilimanjaro low success rates is that you summit in 4 to 7 days (depending on the selected route) - roughly 1000 metres per day resulting in less time to acclimatise and increasing the likelihood of altitude sickness, whereas EBC your hiking around 500 metres per day, often staying at some camps for several days thus reducing altitude sickness. The EBC hike does take longer but the incline is gradual. Experienced climbers rate Kilimanjaro as the most physically demanding of the two. Summit day for Kilimanjaro is intensive and done through the night setting off at around midnight with hikers climbing 1200 metres at -20 degrees Celsius reaching the peak at sunrise, what people fail to realise is that these hikers have already hiked for 8 hours, to reach Kilimanjaro base camp, are fed, sent to bed for 4 hours and then woken at midnight to set out for the peak, leaving climbers tired and reducing summit success. This doesn't take into account the adverse weather conditions that Kilimanjaro has. Altitude sickness can occur on both routes, this happens when you ascend too quickly and the body does not have enough time to acclimatise. Everyone's bodies have different acclimatisation rates. Altitude sickness can lead to death and it isn't something that can be played down. On our ascent night on Kilimanjaro I had first hand experience of altitude sickness, and also witnessed members of our group suffering from some form of altitude sickness. I am hoping the EBC trek will work more in my favour in regards to altitude sickness. Altitude sickness is not something you can prepare for, it doesn't matter how much training you put in, how healthy and fit you are, if your body feels that your ascending too quickly it will tell you. Unlike EBC trek, there is nothing on Kilimanjaro, no services, and the only people you see on that mountain is the other trekkers and sherpa's. Whereas EBC has tea houses, farming villages, and on the trek its not just other hikers you will see. I read a blog earlier this month where the person described EBC trek as a "well oiled tourist machine". The tea houses on EBC come with beds, warm blankets, some even have roaring fire places and all the comforts of a lodge! (I would have loved this on Kilimanjaro! - but I guess it does take away an element of the great outdoors experience). Although the meals were great on Kilimanjaro, by the last day the bread was so stale and hard, you could tell it had been on the same tough journey up the mountain as you! I am lead to believe by people who have done EBC that meals are cooked fresh on the mountain - including freshly baked bread, croissants and cakes! I feel that I am better prepared for EBC physically and mentally. Although we have been travelling since October, its been one hell of an active holiday! We have been walking everywhere, we go for morning runs when we have no access to a gym. This doesn't include all the sporting activities that we have been doing! Of course travelling comes with issues in regards to diet, as you have no control over how your food is prepared, but we have been making the best food decisions possible whilst ensuring that our travel and holiday experience isn't restrictive, and some of our friends have commented on our pictures saying how great we look and that we have lost weight. Some of my friends have asked me if I am scared? I think they confuse summiting Everest with the hike to base camp! I will not be climbing to the top of Mount Everest! and after doing Kilimanjaro I have a better understanding of what to expect. My only real fear is the altitude sickness, so hopefully summiting over 15 days rather than 5 will work in my favour and prevent me getting ill again. At times on Kilimanjaro I was so ill and the pains in my stomach were unbearable along with hardly being able to breathe. The best example I can give was feeling like you had been winded for 18 hours solid. It was my fear of failure and competitiveness that got me through summit night. On reflection Kilimanjaro appears to be a much tougher trek than EBC - but only time will tell for us.... 50 Days to go - We can't wait! |
AuthorsSharon & Lainey are Online PT & Nutrition Advisors with a combined 18 years experience in the Health & Fitness Industry. Archives
August 2018
Categories |