How does your waist measure up?

It came as quite a shock, as someone who has been a size ten for ever and who runs on a regular basis, to find out that my body was 26 per cent fat and that my waist measured 30 inches – clearly size ten has been getting bigger and so have I. Size aside, I thought I was pretty healthy so the over-average body fat percentage was a real worry. With three big running events coming up and a series of beach holidays following soon after, I thought it was about time I reconsidered how I was treating my body.

My personal trainer (and hopefully part-time Wonder Woman!) sat down with me and we came up with a series of goals, one big target and four smaller targets to get me on my way. Sarah (that’s her, WW) insists on combining nutrition with exercise as she says that it is impossible to lose inches and body fat without making positive changes to your diet. Sarah has just set-up shop alone and is based at a studio in Warwick Avenue, although training happens both at the studio and in Hyde Park. She can definitely run in heels – we like her!

Rather than focusing on what I am doing wrong, Sarah centres plans on what I should be doing, giving both general guidelines and specific tips and plans. Our goals are set for July 14^th and I’ll be reporting back on how I’ve done; the experiences, achievements and struggles over the two months that lie ahead – I can feel the pain already!

The Bikini Blast Goals

Major Goal: Lose 9 per cent body fat (It’s a pretty big challenge but definitely worth aiming for).

Minor goals:

● Complete the two 10km races in less than 45 minutes.

● Commit to at least 6 workouts per week (of which only 3 are runs).

● Double my press-up count for fitness test (This is how many before exhaustion, currently I can manage 32).

● Complete 2.4km on running machine in 11 minutes or less (currently I manage 12.04).

● Get waist measurement back down to 27 inches.

The great news is that I don’t have to get on the scales. It turns out that there is truth in saying that muscle weighs more than fat (as a result of its holding 50 per cent more water than fat). Additionally, the more lean muscle mass you have the more calories you will burn, so weight gain of the right kind is not a problem!

Sarah has a plan which will work towards my specific goals, but has the following top nutrition tips which apply more generally:

Sarah’s Top Nutrition Tips

● Snack regularly so your body is never tempted to go into starvation mode – try nuts and raisins, a small amount of cheese and an apple, hummus and carrot sticks, smoked salmon and cream cheese on a ryvita or a piece of rye bread.

● Avoid alcohol – 7 calories per gram.

● Start the day with carbs such as porridge and snack on seeds and raisins at work.

● Avoid starchy carbohydrates such as pasta, rice, bread and potatoes in large portions, especially after 6pm. Don’t cut out carbs altogether as the fibre in them is essential to keep you regular and you need them for energy. When you eat carbs choose the unrefined variety such as whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, or sweet potatoes in small amounts.

● Drink two litres of water a day, more if alcohol has been consumed! This keeps hunger at bay and will also transfer toxins to your kidneys and liver to dispose of. Water will help relieve stress and fatigue too.

● Protein has 4 calories per gram rather than fat which contains 9 calories. Protein will also help to repair damaged muscles after a workout. It is essential that protein is eaten within 20 minutes of a workout. Protein is also needed before a workout to be able to develop and maintain muscle!

My Exercise Programme

Sarah has tailored a programme to suit my needs, so this won’t work for all, but it will probably make you want to cry – sympathy tears! We are going to follow a regular effective workout programme which includes a mixture of high intensity cardio training and weight bearing exercise in order to lose body fat and increase lean muscle mass.

We will be doing high intensity interval training in circuit form and we will allow the heart rate to remain elevated throughout the circuit. Running at a steady pace for a long period of time works your aerobic system but interval training (working full out for a short period of time) will work your anaerobic system. The anaerobic system is when your muscles are using oxygen faster than your body can replace it; this builds slow and fast twitch fibres. These fibres are used for distance running and explosive movements and sprinting respectively.

Working out with those scary kettlebells

An example circuit will include a short high intensity cardio activity such as 3 minutes sprint on incline on treadmill or 700 metres on rower or shuttle runs and jumps, a large compound lower body exercise (compound exercise is an exercise that involves two or more joints) such as a squat (no, please no!) or a lunge and an upper body exercise such as a chest press or press up. This circuit will then be repeated twice after three minutes’ rest (which I enjoy).

We will be using kettlebells (petrifying torture devices) to help with fat loss and to get a lean and well defined physique. They also increase strength and power.

We will also be using boxing sessions. Research has shown that a 45 min boxing session can used 60% of the aerobic system and 40% anaerobic. The boxing itself will be used alongside cardio activities and body weight exercises such as tricep dips, push ups, squats, lunges and burpees.

I am torn between very excited (about new beach body which is just around the corner) and total dread (obviously!). I’ll be filling you in as I go along and pray that I will have lots of positives to come back with. If all else fails, I’ll have to do one of those ‘super surgery me’ documentaries!

I’m thrilled to have a female trainer – for some reason I’m happier knowing that she’s been through this too. If what she says is true, and I have no reason to doubt it, Sarah was quite a bit bigger a few years ago. She now looks amazing – if that’s not enough motivation then I don’t know what is!

Sarah has had a huge amount of interest since going solo, so if you want to book I’d get stuck in asap. She’s doing ten sessions for £400, and if you mention RIH then you’ll get two free sessions to go through the health check consultation and nutritional advice when you book the block of ten.

Wish me luck ladies; I have a tough couple of months ahead!

For more information on personal training with Sarah, telephone +44 (0) 7877 744450 or email     sarah.craig@fitatalltimes.co.uk

Start your bikini blast with this at-home workout.