training Archives - Justine Switalla

I am so glad that when I competed back in 2008 that the fitness industry isn’t what it is today. When I started out on my fitness journey there was no social media and there was definitely not as much ego around as there is today. I had no one to compare myself too and had no one putting me down behind my back as I just did what I needed to do in the gym and in the kitchen and it was no one else’s concern until comp day.

These days it seems that every girl wants to be a fitness model and a lot of girls only want the accolades and titles that go along with being one. Social media has created a monster and given people a platform to be all they ‘perceive’ to be and more. The sad thing is that you can be anyone you want to be in images and you can tell the world what you think they want to hear and you will get people believing you. A lot of what you read can be so mis-leading and give you the wrong impression of what reality actually is. Real life is hurdles, real life is having set backs, real life is experiencing low days, real life is overcoming adversity, real life is not rainbow’s and fluffy white clouds! For people to really get a grasp on reality they need to understand that no one is perfect and no one has the perfect body, perfection is in the eye of the beholder and seeing things for what they really are will help you be able to move forward and become YOUR best and achieve YOUR best body.

These days I will always tell the truth and call a spade a spade, I have had my fair share of girls latch on to me over the years and now I honestly have no time for it. I will give to those that I actually know and who deserve my time but having had my fair share of girls only want something from me so that they can benefit has left me only to believe and trust in a few.

I believe that what you see isn’t always what is and that unfortunately you can not take things for face value these days. I know that when I was unhappy within myself and seeking validation from the outside world I would preach that my life was amazing when in fact I was covering up to the fact that I didn’t have inner peace and was seeking approval from the public.
At the time I was being genuine and couldn’t see my actions for what they were, this is something that I have now looked back on and realised that I had done. You can put it down to the fact that I am always looking to improve myself and always trying to better who I am and be as honest with not only myself but to the women who follow me. I believe that being vulnerable and sharing my growth with others will hopefully inspire and help women to make better choices and not beat themselves up over the silly little things.

I love social media and know that it has helped me move forward in my career but I also see a huge negative to it in that it isn’t reality and far too many women see images and read statements and buy into them and then they feel insignificant and not good enough as their lives are no where near what they are reading day in day out.

I don’t want to hear that your life is amazing everyday and that you are loving life, that does not motivate or inspire me one bit. I would love to scream that from the roof tops everyday but it just isn’t necessary, if you are truly content and happy within yourself then why do you need the world to know? Don’t get me wrong, it is fine to share your happiness from time to time with everyone, we all want to see people happy and living their lives to the fullest but when it is a daily external ritual that has to be shared then I question its authenticity!

Being happy doesn’t mean that you need approval or validation from the world, it doesn’t mean that you need everyone to know about it, it means that you are happy within yourself and can just ‘be’, you can live in the moment and be at peace with who you are and where you are at in life.

Far too many women these days are left feeling lost and alone by what they read and it is frustrating for me to see. I am strong enough to not take a lot of what I see on board but I know for a fact that there are a lot of broken women out there who need to know that fitness model’s have bad days and don’t eat organic 24/7. They need to know that those that are in peak condition have shit days and days where they lack motivation and give in to temptation and are just all round NORMAL people!

My respect these days goes out to those that I can see are growing in an industry that is heading down a very fake path, I respect those that can own up to their downfalls and learn from them. Those that are out there telling the TRUTH to people and not sugar coating the bullshit that lies underneath the surface.

I am all for seeing people achieve their goals, I just wish that with that there were more honesty and more people out there telling it how it actually is so that the general public can feel content and happy with who they are and feel worthy of achieving all they deserve!

Justine xx

I took this article off the Simply shredded website and wanted to share it as it explains in detail a lot of what I get asked in regards to which cardio is best for them and why they need to do it.. It is a big read but definitely worth it.

Why is it that cardio is always the hot topic of fitness discussion and seems to be the fix all solution to burning fat?

As we have all learned and I have written about in the past that cardio is not the fix all solution when it comes to body compositional changes anymore. New times have rolled in and we have tons of research studies proving that weight lifting is far more superior for fat loss and body compositional changes. But, even though we have these new findings, people still don’t get it and people still want to sit on the bikes reading magazines about Kim Kardashian’s divorce for hours and hours. Do as you please, but I know I’m one of those types of people that want to get the most bang for their buck when it comes to training. This leads me to write about what is the right type of cardio for you?

I will be doing a comparison on HIIT cardio vs LISS cardio, since these two forms of cardio are used the most. By the end of this article you will have a really good idea of what kind of cardio is right for you and how to effectively use it.

What in the world do these crazy acronyms HIIT and LISS mean?

HIIT stands for High intensity interval training, which consists of short sprint intervals coupled with low-moderate intensity work. An example of this would be a 30 second sprint followed by a 4 minute steady pace walk to cool down and bring your heart rate back to normal and then repeating it. LISS stands for Low intensity steady state cardio, which consists of purely low-moderate intensity work. An example of this would be walking on the treadmill or riding the bike and being able to hold a conversation (we tend to see a lot of this at gyms).

Now that you have a basic understanding of the two forms, let’s dive into some more detailed stuff.

LT & AD

Why testing the lactate threshold (LT) and anaerobic threshold (AT) is a good idea? The AT and LT are extremely powerful predictors of performance in aerobic exercise (cardio). There are 2 ways that muscle can burn glucose (blood sugars) and that is through aerobic work (with air) and anaerobic work (without air). For example, long bouts of LISS cardio is considered aerobic work and weight training or HIIT cardio

How can you change your metabolism?

(1) If you want to change your metabolism, you have to increase muscle mass and increase your muscle’s oxidative capacity. Your muscles have these energy producing units called ‘mitochondria’ and this is where ATP are made and fats are burned.

The more mitochondria you have and the more active they are the greater oxidative capacity you will have for fat loss. HIIT increases mitochondrial capacity and you actually increase the amount of mitochondria you produce. Studies show that you get greater fat loss through high intensity training because of the increase in oxidative capacity. Whereas with LISS you’re only burning calories at that precise moment, there’s no 24 hour energy expenditure (boost in metabolism) and it hurts you down the line because your body adjusts to it and you end up needing more to lose fat. With HIIT you are burning calories at the moment but you actually change the muscles metabolism and it boosts your metabolism because you increase the mitochondria density of your muscle, so you increase the muscles oxidative capacity and you really do burn more calories. What most people don’t realize is you have to put your body in an uncomfortable mode and use the max energy expenditure.
It’s supposed to hurt when you’re doing HIIT and if it’s hurting, you’re in an uncomfortable mode and that means you’re doing it right.

(2)We tend to see a lot of people doing hours and hours a week of LISS and according to calculations they should be losing pounds, but they can’t lose anything because your metabolism adjusts to low intensity exercise. It just doesn’t cut it because it’s just a calorie burn at that time, not 24 hour energy expenditure. If you do LISS all the time, you’re basically trading calories in and calories out and you can cut these same calories through diet and still get the same effects.
Ex: You burn 200 calories over 30 min of LISS, you can cut out 200 calories through carbs or fat and get the same effect as opposed to getting a 24 hour energy expenditure through HIIT cardio.

Research

(3) A study conducted by Wilson et al. From the University of Tampa, FL, shows when you add in LISS you get a temporary boost in weight loss. Subjects lost a couple of pounds the first week and after that they lost nothing. This happened because their metabolism completely adjusted to that and that became their new set point to what they had to do just to maintain. LISS with a low calorie diet is terrible for fat loss and could cause muscle loss. During a low calorie diet, LISS cardio is more catabolic (muscle wasting) towards muscle as opposed to HIIT cardio being much more muscle sparing.

The reason being that your metabolism gets so adjusted to LISS and you constantly have to do more and more and people don’t understand when you are on a low calorie diet, it usually ends up being low carb, so once you are glycogen depleted (stored carbs in muscle), your body is going to look for energy to rely on and guess what it goes after? Protein! Once it goes after protein, then you start to see catabolism (muscle wasting).

(4) In the same study by Wilson et al. It showed that LISS caused more muscle loss than HIIT. HIIT caused more muscle retention because when you’re doing LISS (say fast paced walking) you’re not activating muscles the same way as if you were lifting weights. So when you sprint you have hip flexion, knee extension, and these are all weightlifting movements. HIIT is another way to overload the muscle. Just compare a sprinters body composition to marathon runners, more muscle mass!

So, it’s really hard to argue with this study because the point about HIIT activating hip and knee movements. Hip flexion and knee extension are the same movements when doing leg workouts. Also, by doing high intensity work you are activating muscle fibers and anytime you activate muscle fibers you are primed for growth. LISS unfortunately can’t stimulate muscle fibers the same way.

(5) In another study done by Naito et al. From Juntendo University in Japan, found that in rats, the enhancement of satellite cell pool caused by endurance training is influenced not by the duration but by the intensity of the exercise.

So, I know most of you are saying well that was done in rats, but rats are very good models for protein synthesis (making of new proteins in muscle tissue) & metabolism because they have similar responses to amino acids and their metabolism. Also, for those that don’t know about satellite cells, increasing the number of satellite cells is necessary in humans because it leads to makings of new muscle fibers and the more muscle fibers you have, the more muscle growth occurs. So, what’s interesting about this finding in this study is that when the rats performed HIIT, they got muscle stimulation and that’s because HIIT overloads the muscle. When the rats performed LISS, there was no activation in satellite cell pool.

So, it shows that when it comes to cardio, the intensity matters more over the duration.

LISS

Now I know a lot of you have gotten the hint as to why HIIT cardio is more advantageous to LISS cardio for muscle retention and fat loss and it seems as if I totally bashed LISS cardio to the ground.
But, keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that LISS is useless. I’m a big believer in doing both HIIT and LISS combined. Here are the following reasons why:

You can’t do HIIT 5-6 days a week because eventually it will have a negative impact on your weight training and interfere with growth
Many people have legitimate orthopedic, cardiac, and even psychological reasons to avoid HIIT, so LISS is their only option
HIIT could be dangerous if not used right and could lead to injury
HIIT and LISS on either a combined, cyclical, or rotational basis seems to be the best formula in my opinion

So to sit there and say that HIIT is hands down more superior than LISS for improvement in body composition is as bad as saying that 6 reps per set is better than 20. I’m a firm believer that both HIIT and LISS cardio have unique benefits unto themselves. I feel they both should be incorporated into your routines since each have specifically different effects.

The Bottom Line

Do the type of cardio that you have a personal preference for. Whichever one fires you up the most because you’ll most likely work harder at it. HIIT is quicker, proves to be more effective for fat loss, creates metabolic changes, and helps with muscle retention but not everybody can do HIIT. LISS is safer, but takes twice as long to accomplish similar things and it still has its place for fat loss in moderate amounts, from a pure calorie burning standpoint (meaning only to burn calories & not make changes to your metabolism). My intentions weren’t to favor one form of cardio and bash the other, even though it sounded like that. My intent was to educate and notify you that times have changed and science is proving some good stuff with HIIT cardio. But at the end of the day it’s up to you on what kind of cardio suits you best.
Hopefully, after reading this article you should have a really good idea of what kind of cardio is right for you and how to effectively use it.

Author: Chris Martinez

References:
(1, 2) Layne E. Norton
(3, 4) Wilson, et al. Concurrent Training: A Meta Analysis Examining Interference of Aerobic and Resistance Exercise. University of Tampa, FL. J Strength Conditioning.
(5) Naito, et al. Satellite cell pool enhancement in rat plantaris muscle by endurance training depends on intensity rather than duration. Juntendo University, Japan. Acta Physiologica. 2011 Oct.

link http://www.simplyshredded.com/cardio-for-fat-loss-high-intensity-interval-training-cardio-vs-low-intensity-steady-state-cardio.html

There really is no other way to reach your goals without a little thing called self belief. If you are not in your own corner backing yourself 100% then I am afraid you just won’t get there.

Goal setting is crucial for life, you should set yourself not only fitness related goals but spiritual, emotional and mental goals. There are so many aspects to living and if you focus solely on one you will miss out on a lot of what life has to offer.

Lately I have been challenged in a few ways.. I have been going through a transitional phase.. I am one to always see the bright side of life and keep moving forward but this does not mean that I don’t have bad days and days where it all seems too much. We are all human after all and if we don’t have the low points we genuinely can’t rebuild ourselves to take on the challenges that life will always throw at us.

Taking a few months off from photo shoots and comps etc I went out and I had some fun, I lived a very social life and it was fun at the time, I really needed to do that after having a very serious year working and training my butt off.

While I was in that social phase I started to doubt who I was and where I was heading, I started to feel a tad lost and a lot overwhelmed by the task at hand and by the goals that I had set myself.

To get me out of this rut I started implementing mini goals, I knew that if I was to look at the big picture I would freak out and I could have stayed in that rut. So I booked in a training video shoot to get my head back in the clean eating game and I started aiming towards that. I then booked in a photo shoot in Sydney for my own port folio (which is what I am training for right now). These mini goals are easy to focus on and they don’t scare me, they have helped me move forward and get me out of that rut. It is like a clog ticking over in my head, once I have achieved that mini goal I tick it off and move on to the next mini goal. When that clog is in motion you can’t help but move forward from the momentum of it. Not only do you feel self satisfaction but you start to feel GOOD and you want to keep that clog ticking over and over.

This week alone I have begun to really land on my feet and have had some very exciting news in regards to magazine publications, media opportunities, a potential weekly radio gig and new sponsorships. I can honestly say that I feel like I am moving forward one mini goal at a time. The people that are in my life are in my corner, I have some amazing people who genuinely want me to succeed. I have sorted out those that I don’t believe to be true or those that are not on the same path as me, they are not bad people they just can’t be in my bubble. I need people I can trust 100% in my life right now.

I have my eyes set on the prize now and I know what I need to do, it doesn’t scare me anymore because I can see the path opening up for me and I am feeling more and more confident everyday.

I always like to share my story with my followers so you can see that it isn’t easy for anyone to achieve greatness, it takes time, effort and a lot of energy to get there. When you have moments and it all seems too much you have to embrace them and take them for what they are. You have to trust that it is happening for a reason and that you WILL come out on top and much better off for it.

Start now by looking at the big picture then work backwards setting yourself mini goals then start to work towards those mini goals and watch your life change.

You have to believe in YOU and be your biggest support, you only get one shot at life so I say get goal setting and never lose sight of the vision!!!

Justine xx

IF YOU TRAVEL A LOT THEN THESE EATING TIPS ARE FOR YOU 🙂

I know that many of you out there really struggle with food choices when you have weekends away and are out of your usual routine. That been the case, I thought I would give you a few suggestions on how you can make better choices and not come home from your trip feeling like you’ve gone back to square one.

As you all know I travel loads with work and usually have no choice but to eat out at for every meal.

Here is an outline of the foods I eat while I am travelling.

-For breakfast I always opt for an omelet, if I am not on strict diet mode I will have whole eggs, if I am dieting I will have only egg whites. I like to add mushrooms, spinach and feta to my omlets.

-For snacks I will carry low carb protein bars with me for emergencies and I will also carry some almonds/raw nuts on me at all times. The bars that I feel are the best are Maxine burn bars, they taste yum and are very low in calories and carbs. It is crucial to have these snacks on you so that when you feel peckish and it has been a few hours since your last meal that you have them there to tide you over rather than heading into a 7/11 for a sugar hit. We all know that it is important to eat every 2-3 hours to keep the metabolism in check so keep your snacks as high protein/good fats as you can.

-Lunches and dinners I will always order a chicken salad or chicken and veggies or if I can still order breaky I will have eggs again (at lunch), I always like to eat low carb/high protein. If I need to I’ll ask them to make adjustments to my meal ie dressing on the side, no croutons etc. Restaurants are usually more than happy to make meals that you ask for..Please note I have to be carb sensible if I don’t train in the time that I am away. If you are exercising I would suggest ingesting complex carbs either before or after your training session. In general I don’t like to eat a lot of grains or starchy carbs as they make me feel sluggish and bloated.

-Be sure to buy a 2 ltr of water a day and drink that throughout the day, stay hydrated, even if it means you need a ‘wee’ stop every half hour 😉
Sticking to a strict eating regime can be tough when traveling but only if you aren’t organised and mentally strong to be able to say NO to the foods that are only going to

a) make you feel guilty or
b) take you 2 steps backwards.

-The biggest thing is to watch your alcohol intake as alcohol really does set you back. I still managed to really enjoy my weekend and I didn’t once feel like I was missing out on anything 🙂

Hope this helps you guys when you are travelling xx

The past few months I feel like I have been on some sort of adrenalin rush, the hype and excitment towards my competition, my Oxygen magazine photo shoot and then our Thailand health and fitness seminar. It all went wayyyy to fast and now I am left to deal with the aftermath.

For starters you have to let your body rebalance itself after been on a depletion diet your body reacts in all sorts of ways. I am struggling a bit with fluid retention at the moment and I guess all the extra sugars I had in Thailand were not so good for my waistline or my head space;)

Even us girls who have been in the game for a long time still go through those physical image issues and need our heads to be checked at times. I know I look healthy and I know that no one else would notice but the fact that you have been in such amazing shape still plays havoc with your head. I think we tend to forget what ‘normal’ is and what ‘healthy’ is. We have to remind ourselves that it isn’t healthy to be shredded 24/7, it would be nice if we could but it just isnt manageable if you want a life outside of the gym. I tell girls all the time that the way I look in my pics is not maintainable, it is great to look at my pics and use them as inspiration but unless you really need to get super shredded for a comp or a shoot then you should always be aiming for a healthy goal, one that you can find a healthy balance with and not have to starve your body of nutrients.

I am not too sure what is next for me in regards to whether I will compete again or whether I will just train for shoots and life, I have a lot options and that is a good thing. All I know is that right now I need a mental break away from worrying about comps and been super lean, I need time to focus on ME and all the business ventures that I have lined up.

I know for a fact that there won’t many people out there who can honestly say that they haven’t experienced low points after reaching a goal. For me there is a positive in these low points as it has been those low points that have made me who I am today, I like call these low points, turning points.

Without the lows we can not truly appreciate the highs, the most successful people have hit rock bottom before climbing there way to the top.

Now I am in no means saying that I am at rock bottom, I am just at a cross roads, I have made a few big decisions and have some very exciting new paths to venture down. Sometimes taking a new path can be just as daunting as starting again as you pretty much have the same amount of doubt and fear that can creep in.

In life you have to trust your gut, you have to trust in YOU and back yourself 100%. That way no matter what happens you know you have given it your all and comitted to making your life as exciting and as adventorous as possible. No one ever said it was going ot be easy and if they did then they are in for a shock, cos it’s not!

Be true, be brave and keep it real my friends xx

Well just like that it is all over.. all the blood sweat and tears of 5 months of solid training all comes down to just one day on stage to show off all your hard work.

I had an absolute ball up on that stage and loved every minute of showing off my hard work and dedication.

My training leading into my comp was pretty specific- I trained heavy weights 4 x per week- back/chest, arms/shoulders, legs, back/shoulders, I taught 3 RPM classes and also taught 2 x CXworx classes. Remember that I have trained continuously for around 5 years so I have had loads of development time, it takes TIME to gain lean mass and develop your body! Also during my comp prep I decided to give up teaching body attack and step down from my presenting role within Australia and Asia, this was such a hard decision but I decided to see how I would respond to my training by taking out the high impact cardio training and if it would make a difference to the amount of lean mass I was trying to gain, in the end it was the right decision for me. Not only did it help with gaining lean mass it gave me more recovery time and as we all know recovery is CRUCIAL!

Here is a Photo from my comp and also a before and after transformation pic on the right, the one on the top right was taken in Dec 2011, so that is 5 months before my comp.

My diet was super strict from 5 weeks out with limited fats(only before training), no carbs and lots of protein, salad and green veggie and NO cheat meals. I need you all to understand that a depletion diet is not necessarily a healthy diet and it is one that can NOT be carried on into everyday life, it is only so I can get to my goal body fat. I always say to people that when I am at my leanest I am not at my healthiest. Taking essential nutrients out of your diet is not the way to go long term, I can not stress that enough.

It was an amazing experience to compete in front of my family and to take out 1st place was just a bonus, it is always good to win but the way I see it is that you are a winner before you step on stage.

Where to from here….. I think I have got the bug again.. hehe!!! I have a feeling I might try and get my butt over onto the US stage at the end of the year, I want to do it for fun and not for any other reason but to see how I measure up against the girls overseas.

Here are a couple of you tube clips from my 3 rounds, have a look and watch me working it on stage.
I hope my videos inspire you to achieve all you dream and more!!!

Justine xx

Hey ladies,

I felt a video blog on learning to love oneself and understand your body better was in order. It is so common to hear girls talking about all their own faults and pointing out their bad spots. I can not stress enough that your focus around this has to shift in order for you to achieve your goal.

Watch this as many times as you need and have it on stand by for ‘those days’ when you need it 😉

A Juzzy Rant- My views on the Fitness Industry today

Tag: training