Thank you

To all of those who have offered support & advice over Facebook and Twitter, Gym Ninja would like to thank you profusely.

To those who are unaware, Gym Ninja has been feeling overwhelmed lately (what is Gym Ninja saying? Of COURSE you are all aware as GN goes on about it constantly in this blog-sorry about that!) and it has all built up gradually until now, over the past few days, Gym Ninja has kind of lost the plot somewhat.

Not in a mental 'covering everything in tinfoil and only wearing custard yellow' kind of a way. More in a 'losing sight of the end goal' kind of a way... Trying to bottle up emotions and stresses is just never a good plan. There is only so long the lid can keep the contents from bubbling over. Gym Ninja has bubbled a few times this week. Then Gym Ninja feels a bit better. Then Gym Ninja supresses everything again, bubbles, feels better, supresses...and so the circle of stress continues. Possibly not the most fun time ever, nor fun for Gym Ninja's friends either. Sorry again about that! Normal service will be resumed at some point in the future....er....don't ask Gym Ninja for an exact day/date/year though eh?

So...Gym Ninja ensured that although her day today would be a Valentines Day free zone (!!) & full to bursting with study/revision/online tutorials/coursework, she would also make time for a workout. Remember, moving the body can often burn off a lot of the physical manifestations of stress, and distract the mind even momentarily...

 Just because life 'gets in the way', it does not mean you should abandon your fitness goals and regular workouts. At times like these we need to ensure we are in the best shape of our lives to cope with the additional pressures we are under.  So, Gym Ninja HAS To make sure that at least some of her workouts can be done even if pushed for time, and that healthy nutritious food and drink be ingested to ensure a strong body and immune system. Now is NOT the time to poison the body with nutrient-free junk food and/or alcohol.

However, Gym Ninja is off her food. What to do? Well, if you find yourself in a similar situation for whatever reason and your appetite dies a death, ensure you do not! Make time to pick nutrient-packed healthy natural foods. A small amount of these are better than nothing and will keep the body ticking over until the appetite returns. Gym Ninja is keeping protein levels high, ingesting complex carbs and fats for energy and of course supplementing with Promax protein powder mixed into porridge made with milk (for that feel-good factor).  Vitamin and mineral supplements are essential when eating is not as wide-ranging as it should be.  Oh and Gym Ninja is as ever, ensuring she does eat often (even if it isn't as much as she usually eats). It's not fair to take out her mental stresses on her body. What has her body ever done to her to deserve that eh? It's times like these that GN is using her Jack LaLanne Juicer to it's maximum. if yo cannot EAT the nutrients then drink them!

So...off to the Gym for an hour or so. Merely cardio and abs today though. Cardio to 'still the mind' and kick up the endorphins. Abs because Gym Ninja needs to work her abs!!! Once in the changing rooms, GN spotted this...

A jelly sweet cola bottle!
In the GYM changing rooms!
What next? A pie in the sunshowers? Spangles near the lockers? Chicken McNuggets in the sauna?

Why?

Gym Ninja pondered this whilst running (Fartlek training today with no pre-thought planned intervals as GN was too sketchy for that. Merely razzing up and down with the speed). Why spend time in the gym and then go and gobble some jelly sweets before you even leave the building?

Of course, Gym Ninja used to have a nasty evil sweet habit that she couldn't kick! Booze was eventually reduced to almost never. Chocolate Gym Ninja can take or leave (she once ate NO chocolate for 10 years!).  Cakes, pies and biscuits is something Gym Ninja NEVER eats anyway due to her wheat flour intolerance...but sweets? Mmmm, those lovely tangy fizzy Haribo that rot everything they come into contact with? Yep! Gym Ninja's Achilles Heel! Not a day would go by without some sort of sweet passing GN's lips. Yum! But it wasn't until she decided to enter the Maximuscle Body of 2009 competition that GN realised that in order to sort out her physique, she needed to sort out her addiction to those chemical and sugar laden (yummy) nasties! So...Gym Ninja quit. She now had a reason to quit as she had a GOAL. Maximuscle Body of 2009 and the best body she'd had!

Cold turkey!
Or cold Haribo.

NO sweets.
Cut down from a bag a day of whatever took her fancy to ABSOLUTELY zero! It is Gym Ninja's only way. She personally cannot possibly have them in moderation so had to cut them out completely.

Does she feel better now? HELL yeh!
Has she eaten ANY sweets since that day in May 2009 when she quit? No!
Was it hard? YES!
Has Gym Ninja been tempted t o eat them? YES!
But you know what? That moment eventually passes....now Gym Ninja doesn't have the energy spikes and dips she used to get from scoffing pure sugar! Now Gym Ninja has better abdominal definition (remarkable seeing as she rarely works her abs-but THIS will change Ninjarettes! GN will work her abs!!!). Oh and Gym Ninja has NO desire to eat sweets. The addiction (and that is what it is-a sugar addiction) has gone.

Hmmm..all of that from a cola bottle lying dead on the gym changing room floor.

So, maybe look at your addictions? See what you rely on at times of stress/boredom/lazy moments when you reach for the nearest thing. Are they really doing you good? Your body is made up of what you eat. Everything you eat and drink gets broken down by the body into its most basic chemical level and then these chemicals are used to rebuild and strengthen YOU!
Do you want to be made out of Haribo? You're gut will be made out of Haribo if you eat too many of them, mark GN's words!
Do you want to be made out of chocolate?
Vodka maybe? How strong will your body be to fight disease if you're fuelling up on Vodka? Huh?
How well do you think your immune system will be able to fight nasty bugs if it's partly made from chocolate?  How hot will your muscle tone be if your muscles are trying to rebuild out of substandard nutrients and proteins?
Yes, it's not strictly right OUT of chocolate in the chocolate form btw... Gym Ninja is simplifying it here, but effectively this is how it is.

So maybe today, you may want to stop and think for a second before absent mindedly snacking on that tube of Pringles crisps as you watch TV...??

Before Gym Ninja goes (what an odd blog today!), she'd like to suggest to anyone who is on Twitter, to follow  @RevRunWisdom. The guy from Run DMC? He is a wise guy! It's his tweets that often come at the right time to help Gym Ninja...

For instance...today as GN was in tears through stress and sadness, he tweeted this...

2 keys 4 those under xteme pressure:: #1) its ALWAYZ darkest b4 the light #2) Pressure is makin u in2 a diamon

See?

OK...so see you in the week Ninjarettes. Oh and a big thank you to @Ethel1977 and @martino_kernow for there support today. It meant a lot to Gym Ninja.

xx

Sorry sorry sorry!

BAD Ninja for leaving you yet again without a blog.

 Gym Ninja did warn you all that work pressures are leaving her with precious little time at the moment and this is still the case. Gym Ninja has been hit with a mega wave of stress so she is now going all-out to try and do some damage-limitation as stress can do some nasty things to one's body-things that if you are aware of them, will cause you even MORE stress fretting about!

Gym Ninja does not WANT to go catabolic and have her body tear up precious hard-earned muscle in a response to stress.

Gym Ninja does not WANT to have cortisol (the stress hormone) rage through her body, raising blood pressure and blood glucose, reducing immune response, playing havoc with skin collagen, and if long term exposure occurs, wrecking her memory/learning ability!! Oh and it encourages the body to store fat on the stomach too!

AHHR!

So Gym Ninja is stepping up her diet in terms of being sure to take her supplements, especially Vitamin C, Omega 3 to blunt the effects of cortisol, and also drinking her beloved Maximuscle Promax protein shakes to try and stop the body leaching it out of her muscles.  Gym Ninja is also ensuring she makes some vegetable and fruit juice combinations to further support her body at this stressful time. Gym Ninja has not had ONE cold or bout of flu this winter so has no intention of falling prey now due to lowered immune  levels!!!!!!

So today she is about to mix up the following organic produce...apple, kiwi, carrots and broccoli...

Broccoli is high in Vitamin C, K and A and has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties
Kiwi has again, Vitamin C, plus a decent whack of potassium, Vitamin E and a small amount of vitamin A.
Apples contain many antioxidants (but Gym Ninja learned today that the apple seed are mildly poisonous! EEEK! Who knew?)
Carrots have betacarotene that the body can use to formulate other vitamins from, dietary fibre, antioxidents...and so on....

So it turned out a dirty shade of orange...a bit like if a child used orange poster paints, and then rinsed his brush in a water pot that had green poster paint water...mmm...tasted OK though! Gym Ninja feels a tad less stressed after drinking it too..psychosomatic perhaps?

Look what happened when Gym Ninja did a search on apples..she found this...

  

No mention of the poisonous pips on this though is there? At least the pips don't grow into a tree inside you (as once thought by a young Gym Ninja)...

OK...so that is enough moaning for now. Gym Ninja hopes to do a hardcore workout later that should also help dissipate the stress levels. Gym Ninja needs that endorphin high! Plus, her order of Promax Crisp protein bars (all chocolatey and yummy) are due to arrive. If you haven't tried them yet go click on the Maximuscle link and buy a box. You WON'T regret trying them!!!

Gym Ninja xx

Juicy Ninja!

Hi

Gym Ninja is back after a very enjoyable birthday yesterday. Yes, GN is one of those people who love the birthday fuss. Gifts although welcome, are not the real reason she loves her birthday. It is that 1 day of attention that she finds so wonderful.  Anyway, yesterday was a fantastic birthday...

Firstly, she went to visit her family & received her presents. Always fun! Her sister had made her a birthday cake too. Now Gym Ninja does not eat cake, but her family do hence the huge masterpiece that awaited her...apparently this was a fondant icing replica of Gym Ninja!

    Gym Ninja (the fondant cake version)

Her favourite gift was the Jack Lalanne juicer she's been harping on about. FANTASTIC machine. It wasn't until the day after that GN got chance to road test it, but it is truly marvelous. MUCH quieter than past juicers she has owned, & if you put a plastic bag in the pulp collector then there is minimal washing needed.

  The New Juicer!!!

Just to leap forward a day, Gym Ninja decided to share her first 'new' juicing experience with you all. Today, Gym Ninja made...

'Spring Clean Tonic'

Now she has a fantastic book called 'Superjuice' by Michael Van Straten. She's had it for years and this book shows you exactly what each drink is supposed to do and also has a cross-reference guide at the back for ailments and almost a 'prescription' of juices to take to help with ailments. Anyway, GN based her choice on what stuff she had in the fridge, and the Spring Clean Tonic is supposed to boost your system after winter, purify the blood, cleanse the body and give you vitality. All this from a drink!

Gym Ninja followed the recipe, scrubbed the organic veg and then shoved it down the shoot of the machine as per the recipe...in went the following:

3 UNpeeled carrots

1 large lettuce leaf

1/2 cucumber

1/4 of a red pepper

1 generous handful of spinach

1 generous handful of watercress

This was after she'd added the 'green' stuff...  

Then she pushed through ALL the green stuff and got this....

And then she added the coloured stuff and got....er.....this...

Hmmm......not EXACTLY the most appetising drink she'd ever seen. Oh and just HOW Much was created too? FAR more than a normal juicer. Fine if it tastes OK, not so fine if it tastes yak?

She grabbed the glass and sniffed the murky coloured drink.

Hmmm.

NEVER stare directly into a glass of raw vegetable juice. It doesn't stimulate one's tastebuds!!!!!

It smells like peppery grass.

She took a large gulp...

Yuk! it TASTES like peppery grass too. Oh bugger! But GN KNOWS this is good for her, so she does what any normal sensible grown up would do.....she holds her breath and drinks it!

It takes 5 attempts to finish the glass, but once she does she feels very virtuous indeed. Her stomach seems a tad suspicious mind, but apart from feeling it is saying, 'oooer, what's all this juicy raw stuff?' , she felt fine and as of yet, 7 hours later, has had no nasty side effects or reactions.

More to follow over the next coming week...

So, back to the birthday story...

Later that evening, she had arranged a birthday meal with some old school friends, so having dolled herself up in a black outfit (what else), she met up with her friends at Gusto, Albert Dock Liverpool for her birthday meal.  The group were ushered away into a private area that overlooked the dock, & settled down to mooch through the menu.

The good thing about Gusto is that they have a healthy menu too, that gives the nutritional breakdown of the meal.  Gym Ninja decided upon Sea Bass. Mmmm. Yum. She also decided to order some steamed spinach as an additional side order too. Fantastic!

As they were all waiting for their meals (and yes, Mrs C, here IS the place to name and shame the girl who virtuously ordered a salad for her main course...then added a side order of CHIPS!), everyone faffed around with their cameras doing the obligatory poses, trying to ignore the odd Gusto style features (magician-style gold lame curtains anyone?). After a long wait (apparently Gym Ninja's sea bass would take half an hour!) the meals arrived. YUM!

This is what was put in front of Gym Ninja...

Wow.
They weren't kidding when they described it as 'sea bass'. They are REALLY spoiling her with that lemon! Gym Ninja kind of thought it may have had something else on the plate! But wait! She'd ordered her spinach remember....??

Oh.

Look. Let us just say, that not only was the sea bass delicious, it was also EXTREMELY waist-friendly!  NO chance of breaking anyone's diet in here!  (plus a good job GN had a protein bar in her bag!)

Now GN knows what you are all wondering? Did she break her no-alcohol rule? Well yes, she decided to treat herself to one alcoholic drink, and went to the bar to order a single malt.

GN: "Hi-what single malts do you have please?"
Barman: "We have this (points to one 12 year old single malt) and this one (points at a 12 year old single malt that is Japanese)."


Gym Ninja is none the wiser!

GN"What do you recommend?"
Barman: "I like this one actually-would you care to try it?"  He enquires, wafting the Japanese bottle at her.

Gym Ninja nods, and watches as the barman grabs a glass and decants the tiniest amount of whisky into the glass possible.  She tries it, and it rips the back of her throat off.

GN:" I'll have that please, on the rocks".

As she is paying an EXTORTIONATE amount of cash for this shot of whisky (whilst lookig for Dick Turpin to turn up!) the barman looks at her and smiles as he says,
"I must admit, I'm impressed when a lady orders a single malt".


IMMEDIATELY, his colleague blurts out,
"We don't actually KNOW if she's a lady yet do we?" *he smirks and elbows his colleague as he winks at GN*

WTF? Does Gym Ninja look like Dial-A-Slapper???

Having had a fantastic night and also received her birthday dessert of lemon sorbet (See? GN is a healthy girl!) which did actually remind GN of something else (see if you can guess what??), they headed off into the night....

The Birthday Sorbet!!!!



See you all tomorrow!!!!!!!

Gym Ninja xx