I’ve freed my Inner Warrior! | Kate Buckland – Personal Trainer | Pilates | Chandlers ford

At the start of 2017 I committed to spending this year trying new things. I think it’s important to continue to challenge yourself physically and mentally, and to have new goals to work towards. Yesterday I tried women’s rugby. I visited the Ellingham and Ringwood Rugby Club and took part in their Warrior Camp. Warrior Camps are free sessions England Rugby is hosting across England which allow women to try rugby without the commitment of joining a team and with other women who, like them, have never played before.

I’ve been champing at the bit to write about last night, but I wanted to hold off and I’ve now had a full 24 hours to reflect on the experience. I’m going to talk you through the whole experience and I’ll be including a video of different bits of the evening. However, I’ll preface this by saying that a day and a bit on I ache like mad. I lift in the gym very regularly, but rugby was a workout on a whole different level. I left dirty, achy and tired but also on a complete natural high!

 

I arrived with about 10 minutes to spare before the start of the training session, and I’ll happily admit I was nervous. I think it was pretty obvious, because one of the first messages I was asked was if I was nervous lol. I met the ladies’ team coach, who was lovely, then got myself signed in. I was given a bright pink vest which I chose not to wear, only because I am rather well endowed in the chest department and the vest had a somewhat restrictive and flattening effect (I may have blushed just a little trying it on). I wandered over and met the other ladies – some who, like me, were experiencing rugby for the first time, others who had played before and wanted to get back into it, and some members of the Ellingham and Ringwood RFC ladies team. We did introductions while passing the ball around the circle. It turns out that after years of no team sports I was pretty rusty at catching, and I had no idea how to pass a rugby ball!

We moved out onto the pitch, where a smaller area was marked off with coloured cones. We started out with rugby ball ‘netball’ – passing the ball in any direction but we couldn’t run with it. Once we got the hang of catching and passing, we began running with the ball, too. Once we were touched we had to pass the ball to a teammate. This was upgraded to two touches, and somewhere around here we learned about keeping a line of defence and the offside rule – you could only pass to someone behind you, not in front.

Coach Dean

We had a break and it was time to learn about dropping safely to the ground. Meet the rugby Gruffalo! We played a game where we were Gruffalos, The Gruffalo’s Child and Sleeping Gruffalos. So, bumping into each other with our shoulders, dropping to the ground, rolling and getting straight up again and lying flat face down and then jumping up again. We also did some partner work learning to pin someone to the ground. I felt a bit mean – I was partnered with someone half my size, but as it turned out I was laughing so hard that she pinned me on the second go with almost no trouble at all. Our last game was basically touch rugby – hold a line of defence, pass backwards only, run with the ball but if you’re touched stop and pass. I thought by this point I would be dying, and I think a couple of the coached thought I was because of my tomato face, which I get even on a warm day with no exercise at all. I was still going strong though, enjoying every moment and I even scored two tries!

We then headed over to a course that had been set up. We split into teams and it was time to learn how to tackle. We had to run at a padded cylinder that looked a lot like a punching bag, drop our shoulder into it and take it down, then pick it up and run with it before running back to our team. It was at this point I got a bit over enthusiastic – I found the idea of running full pelt at something and taking it out just a little too appealing! I threw myself into it on the first go, didn’t drop the shoulder but literally flew through the air and landed hard right on top of the bag/cylinder (can anyone give me the correct term for this please?). One of the coaches asked if I was okay, but I was so pumped at that point that I was utterly perplexed as to why he was asking me this! I shouted “I’m great! Let’s go!” and I charged off carrying the bag, dropped it, and sprinted back to my team.

After I got back to my team I realised I had perhaps rattled my bones a bit, but I was super keen to do it again! This time when someone yelled repeatedly at me to drop my shoulder I tried my best to do it, and the result was much more comfortable.

And that was it. We were done. It felt like we’d only been going for about half an hour, but a full hour had passed and it was time for the team to continue a proper training session. I had been so nervous but I was sad it was ending, especially as I was on such a natural high! I’ve resolved to find myself a team in the near future.

England Rugby’s Warrior Camp was a fantastic experience, and one I’m so glad I found the courage to embrace. Warrior Camps are being run all over the country this year, so if you’d like to have a go at women’s rugby in a safe and fun environment without the pressure of everyone else knowing what they’re doing, then get yourself along to one near you. They’re free, they’re so much fun and you’ll learn what the game is all about. Click here to go to the England Rugby website and search for Warrior Camps near you.

So, my Warrior Face. You wanna see it, right? Are you ready?

I was #BraveEnoughToTry and I hope you are too!

Have you been to a Warrior Camp? Join me on Instagram and tag me in your #InnerWarrior photos!

 

via I’ve freed my Inner Warrior! | Kate Buckland – Personal Trainer | Pilates | Chandlers ford

 

Unleashing my Inner Warrior!

At the beginning of this year I challenged myself to spend one year trying new things. I got off to a flying start earlier in the year and threw myself into my new project. I tried gymnastics, which was hard but amazing, and I signed myself up for adult ballet. I got a road bike and began dabbling in cycling and I entered the Great South Run, which unfortunately is now out of reach due to an injury. Since then I lost my mojo a bit, disappointed I wasn’t going to achieve a major goal I had set out to smash.

Well, I’m pleased to say that when it comes to trying new things, I’m back!

This summer I’ve challenged myself to give rugby a go! Yes, you heard right 🙂 Girls can play too, ya know! I grew up playing a variety of sports, but I think as adults it’s really easy to forget the value of playing team sports. A lot can be said for the team spirit and camaraderie that comes with being a member of a sports team, not to mention better mental health and overall fitness and wellness that comes as a result of being physically active. I have several friends who play football, AFL (in Australia) and rugby who say when they joined they didn’t just get a new sport, they found a sisterhood. I don’t know about you, but that’s something I could definitely use more of in my life.

The great news is, that I’ve picked a fabulous time to try rugby, because England Rugby is running a series of Warrior Camp events to give women the opportunity to try rugby in a fun environment without the pressure of being thrown straight into the deep end with other experienced players.

So who’s with me? On August 30 I’ll be going to the Ellingham and Ringwood Warrior Camp at 7pm in Ringwood, Hampshire. It would be fantastic if some of you can join me! You can sign up to this Warrior Camp or find one closer to you at www.englandrugby.com/innerwarrior

I’m going to post all about my experience, so make sure you check back here and follow me on Instagram to if you’d like to see what Warrior Camp is all about.

Are you a woman that plays rugby? I know there is at least one female PKU rugby player – Emma Harbage has represented Britain and is currently over in the US and Canada playing Rugby. If you’re a female rugby player, do you have any tips for me? Help a sister out here!

I seriously can’t wait, but in the meantime I think I’d better keep working on my cardio… 😉

Going Strong

Hey guys! How are you all doing?

Things have been pretty busy over here in PKUFit land, so I haven’t done a lot of blogging lately. Some of the busy stuff is fitness related and some isn’t.

Fitness
My training has been going well. Honestly, I haven’t seen much physical change, but then I have been finding nutrition SUPER challenging lately. In the last couple of weeks this has improved dramatically as I’ve gotten off my arse and actually put the work in doing my meal planning and food prep. I’m still far from perfect, but its getting there.

One thing I can say with absolute certainty is that I’ve achieved a lot more consistency in my workouts and it’s paying off.  I’ve been training at Spartans in Southampton, at home or at my new studio (more on that in a second). I LOVE Spartans. I was intimidated at first, but that changed quickly.

I’m seeing some good shape change, particularly in my legs and shoulders.

I’ve also moved studios, so I’m now training out of MGB Fitness in Swaythling, and my clients and I all love it so far. I’m enjoying having a shorter drive into work!

Business has been going well and I’ve got some really exciting things coming up that I will hopefully be able to share with you all soon.

Non Fitness
Earlier this year we put an offer in on a new build house which was accepted and we’ve been not so patiently waiting for the build to be finished so we can complete on the sale and move in. That day is fast approaching and will hopefully be in the next few weeks. My parents are also arriving from Australia next week, so between packing, cleaning, training, work, having the girls home for the summer holidays and getting ready for my parents to be here I’m pretty busy.

Okay, so I think that’s everything! Look out for more content soon 🙂

From fat to the stage on a low protein diet

I have neglected this blog for a while. Truth be told, I’ve just been getting on with life and business, and for a long time I’ve put my own goals aside to help everyone else. A good friend helped me realise recently, that while it’s good to help other people that I am important too. Over the past year I’ve put everything into my business. All my spare time, money and energy. By the time looking after my family fits into that equation there was nothing left for me, and I’ve been exhausted. My training has long fallen by the wayside in favour of helping my personal training clients to achieve their goals. I’ve got that the wrong way round. No, not the wrong way round, but perhaps that balance is wrong. I shouldn’t have to sacrifice myself in order to help others, and I’ve decided that it stops now.

It’s with quite a bit of trepidation, and yes, even fear, that I resurrect this blog in the name of my goal. I’ve set myself a huge goal and it terrifies me. Previously I’ve experimented on myself in the name of science (well, sort of!) to learn how my PKU reacts to different kinds of exercise, but now I’ve decided to see how far I can truly push myself.

I’m not going to lie about the fact that over the past year or so I’ve gained some weight. At my biggest ever I was around the 140kg mark, and I’m nowhere near there, but I have gained. That’s what happens when you don’t make your own health and fitness a priority though, I suppose.

I’m giving myself a year to see how radically I can change my physique while still maintaining my low protein diet. My ultimate goal is to shred the fat and carve a stage worthy physique, notwithstanding the inevitable loose skin that would most likely prevent me on stepping onto an actual stage.

I’ve thought about this long and hard. I have no idea what can be achieved, and how much having PKU and maintaining decent phenylalanine levels will hold me back. I know it won’t be easy, and that’s certain. It’s going to mean hard work, dedication, early mornings, constant DOMS, possibly being hangry, frustration and no doubt annoying the hell out of my metabolic clinic with this, my latest crazy scheme.

There are going to be definite challenges. For one, this is going to be done on a tight budget. We’re trying to buy a house at the moment, and that means that all expenses except the absolute essentials have had to go, including my gym membership. I have some basic equipment in my home studio – a bench with bench press, ham curl and leg extension attachments (though I doubt the leg attachment will hold much weight as it’s quite poor quality, and it shows), a very basic squat rack, a low step, two kettlebells, battle ropes, a TRX that I have no room to use and some too light dumbbells. I also have costochondritis, and I have no idea how to train chest without hurting myself. One decent depth press up on my knees or a chest session with measly 1kg weights and that awful pain starts to come right back. I don’t want to end up back feeling like I’m having heart attacks every week or two! I also only eat 12-15g of protein per day, plus an additional 60g of protein from my GMP (from whey) based medication. That’s not exactly much.

The only thing I might do is to get a few sessions with a personal trainer of my own. I have someone in mind, but I need to speak to her to find out if I have to be a member of her gym to train with her, and if she accepts credit card payments over the phone (which, to be fair, is very unlikely). My ability to train with someone rides on those two things, because I can’t afford a gym membership, and the PT sessions would be a birthday present from my mum in Australia, who, I understand, wants to use her credit card rather than sending me money directly.

I have no idea how this is going to play out. I have a rough plan, tomorrow is my day 1. I will be weighing in, taking my measurements and… probably not my body fat % because I have zero idea how to do that by myself and I don’t have anyone I trust enough to grab and pinch handfuls of my fat.

I’m 34 in a few weeks. This challenge ends on almost my 35th birthday. I’ve never been small. I’ve never been under a size 14, and while I’m fairly okay with me as I am, I want to know what I can do if I am 100% dedicated and push myself without giving up.

But hey… what’s a year, right? 😉

Training for fat loss

Tomorrow is a big day for me – two exciting things are happening. The first one is that I’m having my first day at the private personal training studio I’ve recently accepted a job at (albeit to learn the admin side of the business… no clients just yet). The biggest thing happening tomorrow though, is that it marks the start of my new training plan.

I’ve been coasting along for a while. Since I got busy in the gym my own training has fallen by the wayside a little. To be honest, that is part of why I have decided to move on. Between the 10 free hours I work at the gym in return for not paying rent, plus training all my clients, the only time I’ve been finding to train is after 10pm. When I train that late, I find I can’t sleep, so I’ve been letting that become an excuse and I’ve only been training when and if I’ve been able to find a spare hour elsewhere in the day. I do walk about 5km daily, but that doesn’t really cut it when you’ve got a big fat loss goal like I do.

Starting at the new studio tomorrow marks the beginning of more time for me to fit in my own training. Granted, this month is going to be tough – I’m going to be training clients at both PureGym and the studio, plus fulfilling my free hours as I’m contracted to give four weeks notice to finish those up. However, I’ve set myself some pretty big fitness goals for this year (like trekking either the Inca Trail in the Peruvian Andes or The Great Wall of China to raise funds for either PKU or Alzheimers – I haven’t decided which yet). That means that I’ve got to get as tough with myself as I am with my clients. I’ve given myself a huge kick up the butt and I’m putting a lid on the excuses and just getting on with it.

Over the next four weeks I’m going to be working through a periodised programme I’ve put together that focusses on fat loss through a combination of high intensity interval cardio training and resistance training specifically for muscle hypertrophy (growth).

But wait! Don’t women get bulky from lifting weights? Let me tell you now, this is a huge myth, and it’s FALSE!

Our body needs muscle, and building muscle is actually really important when it comes to fat loss. When you build muscle, you increase your metabolism, leading to higher fat burning, even while you’re fast asleep. And that can only be good, right? 🙂 My goal is to build curves in the right places and strip the fat off the top.

I’m going to be doing:

• Three full body hypertrophy resistance workouts
• Two high intensity interval cardio sessions (lasting roughly 15-20 minutes)
• and one LSD (long slow distance, not the illegal drug 😉 ) cardio session

On top of that I’m also going to be teaching spin, pilates, a strength and conditioning class loosely based on Body Pump and a rig based circuit class each week, plus getting in some of my own pilates practice when Miss 2 allows (she loves to climb up and sit on me while I do Pilates, which makes it impossible sometimes!).

I’m also going to combine this with a healthy, balanced diet comprising mostly fresh, minimally processed foods, perhaps with the odd low protein product in there, and of course I’ll be taking my Lophlex LQ 20 four times per day (one with each meal plus one post workout).

Now if you’re new to fitness, I wouldn’t suggest you try this to start off with. Even though I haven’t done a lot of my own training, I still do a lot and I’ve got a good level of fitness already. You can still do three resistance workouts and two HIIT cardio days, but keep the weight and reps in the endurance range (I’ll post a table of this below). Try that for a couple of weeks to get your body used to lifting, then start to move up into the hypertrophy range.

If you’re more experienced, start in the hypertrophy range, and every now and then have a week in the strength range so you can then lift more when you return to the hypertrophy range. Rest weeks are important too. This doesn’t mean total rest. Rather, scale your training back, focus on long slow cardio (min 30 mins at a steady state – you should be puffed but able to talk) and keep your lifting in the endurance range.

The table below refers to 1 rep max. This is the most that you can lift for one single rep. There are plenty of free apps out there that will help you to work this out.

Guidelines for Weight Training Goals
	Endurance	Hypertrophy (muscle size)	Strength
Intensity	Low	Moderate	High
Weight: % of 1 rep max	Less than 67%	67 – 85%	More than 85%
Reps	12 – 20	6 – 12	1 – 5
Sets	2 – 3	3 – 6	2 – 6
Rest between sets	30-60 seconds	1 – 2 minutes	3 – 5 minutes
Frequency per muscle group	2 – 3 x per week	1 – 2 x per week	1- 2 x per week

Many people benefit from structure in their training programme. If you’d like some help you can sign up for an online training programme by creating a profile at http://katebuckland.ptminder.com

Sweet potato and apple breakky hash

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day – this is a phrase I definitely agree whole heartedly with, and this belief has been backed up by my fitness and nutrition training. Breakfast is the first meal of the day where you are breaking the overnight fast – hence breakfast. For this reason, having a balanced meal to kickstart your body for the day is super important, and I’m always going on insisting my kids get a good breakky into them to get them set up for the day.

I love weekends because I’m not trying to rush two children out the door to get my eldest to school. I can spend a little more time in the kitchen and come up with new ideas for breakfasts that are healthy, filling and that are going to fuel my body for the first part of my day.

This morning I came up with a real winner, and I’m pleased to say that my non-PKU family thinks it’s a hit, too! You can easily take this meal from low protein to high protein, but to the best part about it is that it’s actually pretty quick and simple. From start to finish, it only took me about 15 minutes.

Ingredients

1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped into small cubes
1 apple, peeled and chopped into chunks
1/4 of a brown onion, chopped into small pieces
1 tsp coconut oil
A sprinkling of rosemary

You could use Mevalia burger mix in this too – simply make up 1 portion as per the instructions on the box, chop it up and add it in at the end.

If you want to make a high protein version, you will also need a couple of eggs and a rasher of lean bacon if desired.

How to make it…

Once you’ve prepped your veggies, heat a medium sized frying pan over a medium heat and pop in the coconut oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and rosemary, fry until it’s becoming translucent, then add the sweet potato. Stir it around a bit to make sure it’s all coated in the oil, then if you’ve got a lid for your pan pop it on to help speed up the cooking process. After 5 minutes or so, add the apples, mix it all up and pop the lid back on. Once the sweet potato is cooked through and the apple has softened, it’s done!

For the high protein version, poach or fry the eggs (I fried them because I’m terrible at poaching eggs lol), grill the bacon until nice and crispy. Crumble the bacon into the high protein portion and top with the eggs.

If you want to have the low protein version but want to add a little phe, try adding some avocado!

I hope you enjoy the recipe, and as always, if you give it a go I’d love to hear what you think.

Don’t just be PKU… be PKUfit

Hello! I’m so glad you’ve found my blog.

I’m Kate – PKU adult, writer (ex newspaper editor and broadcast journalist), wife, mother,

This is me mid-workout (well, posed workout!) at the gym I work at as a personal trainer. I used to be 140kg. I’m still on my journey, but now I’m helping other people reach their goals, too.

Aussie living in the UK and personal trainer.

I’ve been thinking about re-starting a PKU blog for a while, but I have never found the right time. Well, today I’ve jumped right in. I used to have a blog about five years ago, and it was very popular, but being a new mum took over my life and the blog fell by the wayside and I eventually deleted it.

Last year I changed my life. I walked away from a very high paying job in public relations and re-trained as a personal trainer. This was a huge leap of faith for me. Since the birth of my eldest daughter (now 5), I have been battling obesity, and yes, the weight has (oh so slowly) been coming off. However, the journey of weight loss, fitness and eventually becoming a personal trainer has and continues to change my life, and I wanted to share that with others. Balancing my phe levels with the amount of physical activity I do, as well as my fat loss goals, has been tough. I spend a lot of time experimenting on myself with nutrition and training systems, so my results aren’t always consistent (physical results or phe levels). I felt I needed to do more to share this with others.

You can have PKU and still lead a fit and healthy life. Join me in taking that healthy path 🙂