Six Years of Fighting Fit Devon......time flies!

Who remembers this logo? This is a piece of history, and looking at it now it seems a lot longer than six years ago that I started Fighting Fit Devon.

For those that don't know, I started FFD after being made redundant from Devon Tree Services LTD.
I was already doing my Personal Trainer qualification so I could train people part-time outside of work. I became demoralised going to the job centre and finding nothing suitable and decided to make my hobby my job.

I knew that this was going to be hard going, I have a mortgage, animals, vehicles to fund and didn't know if I was going to be able to make the money to live, but it was my best shot.

Already a Boxercise and Kickboxing instructor, my reputation for exercise and fitness was already out there, I just had to build on it. I was told it could take 2-3 years to do this, daunting, but I am always up for a challenge.

Over time, my client base built up, I took on 'The Box Room' my tiny little gym where I train people 1-1 in the dry. Other clients love to train outside and I became known for this, in particular training people on the beach.

There's something very special about training outside in the fresh air, rather than a stuffy gym, and I am a particular fan of body-weight exercise over excessive use of weights. Everyone I guess has their own ways of working.

I have seen clients come and go over the years.....as a 'luxury item' I am sadly the first thing to go when it comes to finances and change of circumstances.
I've also see clients go due to pregnancy and injury (not my fault injury!)

Some have returned and gone again, and then there's the loyal few who have been with me for years, Colette has put up with me almost every week for well over 4 and a half years and is super-fit and healthy.
One of clients has recently moved from Devon and taken me up as a virtual personal trainer, me in The Box Room, she is in the park in London! It's working.

Over the years I've done various classes, some work, some don't. I now know that I make more money from Personal Training, that's years of experience. Clients (friends) from classes have taken on amazing challenges with me, from, 'The Delicious Dart Trail' to 'The Forces March' and then there's those that have gone from 5k to a half marathon. Amazing achievements that I can say that I am proud to have been part of.

I've made some great friends, some mistakes, some bad choices and a little money!

Ultimately looking back, I made the  right decision at the time. It's never going to make me rich, but my work makes me happy.

This year I have had a look at my business and made another decision to really go for 'Virtual Personal Training' I also had a good hard look at how FFD appears to the public.
It has a very masculine approach, not everyone who wants to get fit and lose weight want to do boxing or fighting training.
My clients are varied, I even train a couple who are in their 70's and 80's, it's a different approach I use with them and I wanted everyone to see the softer side of me. I don't shout at people, but I get results when training them.

Healthward Destiny is a softer approach with the same destination, and it offers a Virtual training service, so anyone, anywhere in the world can take me up on sessions, as long as they have Facetime or Skype. It's a whole new world in terms of training, and the cost for someone in London is lower than hiring an 'actual' trainer up there. It's working and once my mobile app is launched I am going to pushing for more and more clients NOT in Devon.

What have I achieved and what have I learnt?

Kickboxing - still going
Personal Training - better than ever!
Bouncefit - worked for a while
Boxercise - private class only, no hall hire
LONG20 - long gone
Aerobics - may return
Legs Bums and Tums - may also return
Tabata - disaster
Insanity - The love of my life
The Box Room - success

What next? That's easy, work is on-going for my  mobile app that will go alongside 'Healthward Destiny' that offers client support, they can chat to each other, get recipes, workouts, upload workouts, it will be a virtual support network for clients actual and virtual, and anyone else who fancies it.

Here's the schedule moving forwards.......

INSANITY - Monday 7pm, Wednesday 6pm, Friday 5.30pm
all at Totnes Pavilions.

KICKBOXING - Thursday 4.30-6.25
Adults and Junior mixed class, first 2 are FREE
Kings Boxing Gym, Homers Lane, Kingsteignton.

VIRTUAL and ACTUAL Personal Training available Monday to Saturday, prices from £30 an hour.

THE BOX ROOM 1-1 Kickboxing and fitness.
Monday to Saturday, prices from £20 an hour.

SELF DEFENCE parties and groups, weekends only.

So, a brief history of Fighting Fit Devon - I am having a little celebration on Saturday 30th September (actual anniversary 27th September) in The Box Room, Collins Road, Totnes. I am having a 'Neal's Yard' party and some bubbly so drop in between 5-7pm I'm sure we can do that 'virtually' if you want to join in the fun!

Thanks to everyone for their support and belief in me, I truly couldn't have done it and been as successful as I have been, without you guys and gals. Here's to another 6 years of Fighting Fit Devon!

What's love got to do with it?

It's that week of the year where the pressure is on.........your heart goes through enough everyday, without the added stress of proving your love for someone on just one day of the year, which you should be doing all the other days of the year too.

'What's it to do with you?', I hear you ask.
I know, I am a failure at relationships, always have been, this time around now I've been single for just over a year. The thing is, I have been through it, the highs and lows, the happy days and the arguments, so I know.
This blog is only a little musing about what it's all about, from a personal fitness point of view, how 'love' lust and relationships change our thoughts on our own bodies, how, ultimately it's a chemical thing!

So, let's start at the very beginning, no don't worry I'm not about to burst into the Sound of Music, but it is a very very fine place to start!
I can remember fancying someone, I remember those little hormone surges and face flushes, although I didn't realise at the time just what they were, you don't at that age, do you? That intense feeling of teenage passion, writing this takes me back to a moment back in secondary school, but let's not go there, but that feeling, where nothing else matters in the world because, let's just say, 'Martin' brushed past you, or caught your eye, those moments are priceless at any age.
Your body is evolving daily during those years, but isn't it still, even years on, with other hormonal changes in life - mainly affecting women, aren't we lucky?!

So, you are with the one you 'love' depending on your personality type it can affect you in many different ways, as I have said before, this is just a musing, I'm not a doctor, but I have had life experience.
For me, personally, in a relationship, I feel a daily struggle to look and be the best I can be (main reason why I'm single) and, being honest with you, as I always am, being in certain relationships have not been healthy for me, as they brought about my old eating-disorder nemesis. This changed me, causing pressure, mood swings, depression eventually leading to relationship break-up. The power of hindsight eh?
So, I am one extreme, let's discuss the other......how about being so content and happy in your relationship that you don't worry about your appearance? It happens, the comfort, thinking that they will love you no matter what you look like, it's you they love. This leads to weight gain, lethargy and ultimately ill-health.
These are two extremes of what could happen to affect your fitness and health in a relationship. Of course there are many wonderful happy endings in between.

Let's talk about the endings though.....this is a big life-game-changer for us, and again I think there are two distinct things that happen.
Break-up weight-loss! From my point of view, this is a form of self-torture, punishing yourself for not being successful in your relationship, or for letting them cheat on you, manipulate you, or worse, domestic violence. You starve yourself, you start to lose weight, you start feeling better about yourself...this is the time to knock it on the head, but some people continue, then make themselves very ill.
Some people call post break-up 'preparing yourself for the market again' it's always used in a comical way, the depth of the problem could make or 'actually' break a person's spirit.

The people who deal with upset by eating food.....the reverse happens.....I don't know about that personally so I can't say what goes on in a person's mind, but it's still self-destruct and ultimately bad for your health and well-being.

I did want to keep this blog as brief as possible, the human body and mind is so complex I could go on typing for years, I won't put you through that.
The human heart is a teeny tiny complex organ, without it, well the obvious occurs.
If you want to find true love this valentines day, have a look at what you are doing to yourself, are you in a happy place? Do you eat in a healthy way? Do you exercise regularly? Do you let your fears and worries run your life? Is your relationship with your partner really good for you, or would you actually be in a better place on your own?
It's YOU, that you need to love, you need to do this with exercise, healthy food, good friends, getting outdoors, taking up a new hobby, just do anything, correct anything that is wrong and love yourself.

Of course, I am here to help too, even if you just need to go and punch the pads and bags once a week to get rid of your work stress, have a run on the coast path, do burpees on the beach, whatever it is I can help with, happy to give it a shot.

Happy an amazing Valentines week everyone and remember, it's all about YOU!

INSANITY statistics and a whole lot more........(no photos)

Well hello there fitness fans!

Checking back, I haven't done a Fighting Fit Devon blog since May 2016, I am a slacker, well, when it comes to just sitting on my bum and typing I am. I would much rather be running about, cycling, jumping up and down, kicking, punching, to be honest any physical kind of activity, you know me....

Anyway, I felt it was about time to share a few little statistics with you.
I've never been a stats geek, but since being given my wonderful Fitbit surge (thanks so much Michele) I have become slightly obsessed with daily measuring of steps, exercise, and the best one - how much I'm sleeping, it truly is an amazing little piece of kit and I would be lost without it.

The surge has GPS too so can track my runs easily, way better than when I had a Garmin, as it's easy to use, GPS works a treat and the battery life is phenomenal. (Fitbit, maybe you can use that for a review and give me free stuff please?)

So......I was asked last year, how many calories do you burn doing Insanity, and the surprising fact is...not as many as is advertised, unless you are extremely overweight and unfit.
I label Insanity now as
Strength-giving
Toning
Cardio - you only have one heart, work it and make it strong just like any other muscle!
Great for increasing co-ordination
A steady fat-burn
BUT, mostly, it gets you absolutely FIT!

It has all the things I love about exercise, it's shaped and toned my body into something a 42 year old woman isn't usually. It gives me exercise endorphin-highs. It makes me sweat out any possible toxin I may have taken in in a 24-hour period. I have the strongest core - ever in my life. Occasionally when I'm shouting and jumping and pushing, I feel a bit sick, it means I am working to my maximum, I love to know that I am pushing myself, in front of a class, then the class works harder.
I have seen this when I've been ill or injured, the class doesn't work as hard, I make them jump high and push harder when I'm there with them.

So, I have waffled long enough - want to hear my dodgy accidental innuendo of the night?
(this happens frequently in a class, makes me laugh, sometimes others, ultimately makes me human)
The move - Broad jump, shuffle back - round 18
The reason - small studio, not much room to travel
The comment - 'Want to jump down my runway?'
Few laughed...........

So, the reason of the blog.
Stats.

Seemingly 'easy' new Round 23
Monday - 367 calories, 54% cardio
Wednesday - 358 calories, 62% cardio
Thursday - 294 calories, 73% cardio
Friday - 372 calories, 45% fat burn ( not even in the cardio zone)

This week....

A tough and extremely sweaty Round 18
Monday - 357 calories, 73% cardio
Wednesday - 374 calories, 74% cardio

So, what do we learn from this?
Well............
The time of day, moons, food, other activities, they all play a part in your calorie burn. The more you are in the cardio zone, the less fat you burn, but the more you train your heart - it's the most important thing to train in my world.

As a woman, I burn LESS calories in fasted exercise (Thursday 7am) I need food to help burn, I've said it for ages, fasted exercise is great for men, not for the women! Ladies, eat breakfast, train later, you will gain more benefit.

So, it doesn't matter how hard or sweaty Insanity is, it's flipping awesome, the best thing I have ever taught in terms of fitness and strengths results, and (other than the Bieber tracks) the music keeps you going, and of course, me shouting at you!

My conclusion - Insanity is the best all round class for everything you could ever want to be Fighting Fit! (see what I did there?)

Speak soon

Debbie - Insanity Instructor and all round fitness guru (in my dreams)
Take care and stay Fighting Fit