Reidy writes

Sunday 25 September 2011

Week 2 = Training hard, feeling great !

Unfortunately the last day of week 1 of my 12 Week Body Transformation was sad for me. I wasn't sure if it was appropriate for me to mention this in my blog but the more I think about it the more I think we need to raise awareness. On Saturday afternoon while working at Bondi I was tasked by Deano, my team leader to remove a seal off the rocks at North Bondi that had passed away at some point the day before. We believe it was our resident seal named Salty, Salty has been spotted hanging out around the bays of Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama for at at least the past 5 years. Now I'm not to sure exactly how Salty died but I suspect It was old age because he didn't have any wounds or battle marks on him. We opted for a water burial out at sea as the beach was quite busy and we didn't want to disturb beach goers especially children. It saddened me a lot at the time but was nothing on what I was going to experience the next day while working back at Bondi. On Sunday the 18th of September a beautiful woman took her life by jumping from the cliffs around the corner from Bondi and I was part of the rescue team that was involved in transporting her from the rocks out to the police boat waiting just offshore. For obvious reasons I will not be going into details but I guess I just wanted to write about how it made me feel and the way it affected me. I felt so much sorrow for her friends and family. I can't relate as I have never lost any loved ones to suicide and hope I will never have to go through what they are going through right now but I hope that she is in a better place than whatever it was that made her make the decision to leave this world. Life is so precious and I really think that all of us as a society have a responsibility to be nice to each other. You never quite know whats going through someones mind but maybe that simple act of kindness might change someones life.


On a brighter note early into my 2nd week Corey Oliver and myself went and hung out with the lovely ladies at the head office of the McGrath Foundation. These beautiful women work super hard everyday coming up with new and fun ways to raise much needed funds to supply breast care nurses to women fighting breast cancer. We talked with Tracey Bevan (Foundation ambassador and director) about a couple of ideas that us as their foundation friends along with the other Bondi lifeguards can lend a hand. A good friend of mine's mother has recently fought breast cancer, she is winning the fight but I saw first hand the effects it has on them, their family and friends and its not fun.

Training wise this week I wanted to be more prepared and focused than the first week. I had my exercise schedule for the week set in stone and I wasn't going to miss any of them. As well as completing all my weights sessions in the "Lean and Strong" section of my 12WBT I also nailed two swim squad sessions on Tuesday and Thursday, swimming about 3 km in each. Swimming is very low impact so it's great on the body and even if I am gasping like a goldfish out of water at the end of every main set the feeling I get after a big session is awesome. Plus I'm hopefully drawing closer to my goal of breaking 11mins over 800m. On the off days from the pool I belted out 3 sweat filled sessions with the team up at Shift 60 in Bondi. Many people have asked me what it is that's so different about the training up at Shift60 so I thought I'd let one of the men behind this revolutionary style of training, Damien "Chappy" Chapman tell you all about it.




On Saturday I also completed my first Super Saturday "Fun" Session. This week it was Climbing at the Sydney Indoor Climbing Gym in St Peters. It is the largest in the country and has about 3000 m2 of climbing walls. There are walls and climbs for all different levels, shapes and sizes plus and they even cater to kids during school holidays. In the 3 hours we were there I climbed over 15 walls getting a great all over workout but also having an absolute ball at the same time. When you reach the top of a climb after giving it everything you have got that feeling of satisfaction just blows you away! I think it's places like this that kids should be spending their play time as apposed to in front of a TV screen playing mind numbing computer games.





As I was born with ants in my pants I have a big problem with sitting still so when I woke Sunday morning for rest day with no plans I thought I would have a crack at the 8am yoga class down at a studio in North Bondi. Now I used to do a little yoga (in a heated room) but I have never done the normal type and boy did I struggle Bikram. I'm probably the least flexible person you know so watching all these guru yogis putting their bodies in strange positions was a little intimidating. It made me realise that I need to spend a lot more time stretching, especially if I'm going to keep pushing my body harder and harder to achieve my goals.


It's the start of week 3 tomorrow and I'm looking forward to another successful 7 days of healthy eating and hard training, but because I'm probably doing a few more sessions than the average Joe I spoke to the team at Body Science about what sort of extra nutrition I may need to ensure I can keep my body working at 100%. They put me onto their legendary human performance specialist. He was more than happy to tell me exactly what I needed to keep pushing my body to its limits. This week is going to be the best yet and I can't wait for it to get started !!!


For everyone that is reading this and thinking about taking on their own 12WBT for what ever reason, all I can say is "JUST DO IT". Im feeling the best I ever have and may even give up beer forever. "Yeah maybe not forever but maybe a little more in moderation :)"


Next weeks  Super Saturday "Fun" Session I'm going to train with a Dragon Boat crew in Sydney. It looks like hard work but a lot of fun all the same. Let the good times roll !


Thanks for stopping by again :)


Reidy

17 comments:

  1. So love reading your blog, very inspirational. I did rock climbing last year when I was studying the Diploma of sport, I couldnt barely get my self off the ground, infront of my class mates it was embarrassing. Thinking I might attempt rock climbing again and get further than ever before...thanks for sharing...xo

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  2. I love following your blog reidy!
    but what a sad week for you! andthe team!!
    You are doing so good with you're weight loss, thanks for sharing!!!

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  3. Sorry to hear you had a bad couple of days recently. Deaths (wether animal or human) are never easy to deal with. Glad your week got better. Keep it up Reidy! Love following your blog. x

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  5. I seen your tweet about salty, then an episode of BR was on and salty was playing about with a fish in the water having lots of fun, made me kinda sad.....on a serious note, that poor woman! Its hard to understand what would make someone take their own lives, its so sad!! I hope she is happier wherever she is now and free from the pain that made her take her own life - such a sad thing to hear!

    On a brighter note, well done on your fitness week 2, your inspiring me to carry on, I've lost 10lbs so far and have got so much further to go, keep up the good work :) x

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  6. Hey,just wanna let you know that you guys not only saving lives, you guys have abilities to "save" my mood too, sometimes when I feeling down I will watch some videos of yours/Deano's/or even Bondi Rescue, you know you boys have had so many funny moments can give me a real good laugh, I thank you for that so please keep them coming :). So envy (not jealous) that you have so many bonded mates. xx

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  7. Love the excitement you show in your #12WBT journey! I'm loving it too, in a hopeful kind of way (that's I'll start shedding the kgs faster soon!)

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  8. Hi Reidy,

    Sorry to hear about the two events earlier in the week. Really makes you take stock of your own life and appreciate all that you have just that little bit more. I completely agree that we all need to treat each other with a little more kindness.

    Great work in regard to the 12WBT. I did two rounds of it last year with great success and it really did change my life. Just one question for you - do you worry about over training? I guess you are aware as you have been seeking advice re. extra supplements, but I guess my question comes as I was training six days a week with quite a high level of intensity up until earlier this year, but it all came crashing down when I got quite sick (for several months)....and every single man and his dog has been telling me it was because I was pushing myself too hard. I still don't think I was.... but now I'm paranoid about it happening all over again. Just interested in your thoughts.

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  9. Hi Reidy!

    We are currently sitting at our PC in the UK. My 2 sons are your biggest fans! They want a fabulous picture of all the Bondi Lifeguards to make into their bedroom wallpaper! Please can you post one here??

    Can't wait to watch the next series!

    Big surfy love from the UK,

    The Mosses
    xxxxxxxxxxx

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  10. That rock centre looks amazing, wish I had one near me.
    Sorry for the loss of salty. x

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  11. Sorry for the loss of Salty and the poor lady, I hope she is in a better place and thoughts are with her family. I wish we had a team like Shift 60 in the UK. Keep up the good and hard work you do, fantastic show and wonderful job you guys do. x

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  12. I like it reidy will b looking forward to follow ur posts.have a great and safe weekend:)

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  13. Fantastic blog as always mate!! OMG Look at that rock climbing wall!! Once upon a time that would have made me shudder but now after some 12WBT rounds I am thinking "Let me at it!!"
    Have a STRONG weekend.
    xx

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  14. Loved reading of your 12WBT experience mate, you are so positive! Looking forward to the next post.

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  15. you are so cute ♥ :D i wanna come to Australia.

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  16. Reidy, I would just like to say thankyou. You are such an inspiration. Ever since meeting you for the lifeguard experience at Bondi, I have decided to take up my own 12WBT and have continued to read these blogs as they are pushing me further and giving me more motivation.

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