Mama’s Boy

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So ladies my little man, Hendrick is a little mummy’s boy which I am perfectly happy with. With the constant love he needs, Boxing Betty will be extending the break until January 2017.

Hendrick is 4 months now and becoming cheekier by the day. It’s wonderful being a mum but oh boy is it exhausting. I am exclusively breastfeeding him every three hours and this includes night time too!

Ive been fitting in exercise where I can and its often challenging, running constantly low on energy and sleep.To all the mothers out there fitting in exercise while sleep deprived and wearing tights inside out.. I salute you!

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Break for Babies

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Boxing Betty will be on a short break to have a baby!

Thank-you to all the ladies for your support in the last year. Yesterday was the last class before my short break but don’t worry I wont be gone for long. Classes will be up and running again in September 2016.

In case you’re wondering, I’m due around the end of April and expecting a little boy. He has been quite active, already practicing his jabs and uppercuts!

Remember to follow the Boxing Betty Facebook Page to keep updated.

Boxing Betty back with a punch

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Boxing Betty is back this Saturday 9th January at 8.30am, Central Park Sydney (Chippendale Green Park). Come along for a punch.

Happy New Year Ladies! I trust you had a wonderful Chrissy & New year celebration. Now its time to get back into it and throw away the leftover ham (if its still in your fridge along with the pudding). 2016 is your year – a healthy and happy year.

 

How to build your own gym for under $100

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Save money by creating your own gym for under $100!

A lot of people are moving away from traditional gym memberships and embracing our great outdoors or working out at home.

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Must Have:

  • Gym Ball $10 at Kmart – also called stability ball or fit ball. They come in 3 sizes. 55cm for 150-160cm tall. 65cm for 160-180cm and 75cm for 180-195cm tall
  • Dumbbells fr $6 each at Kmart. For women starting out, I suggest having a set of 2, 3, 4 & 5 kgs
  • Yoga or exercise mat $10 at Kmart – the foam one at Kmart is really thick and durable
  • Resistance Bands fr $14.50 at Workout World – Buy a good quality otherwise they will snap. Workout world has some great ones
  • Skipping Rope $10

Nice to have:

  • Hook and jab pads fr $30 at Rebel Sport. Don’t buy mitts (mitts are for MMA). Buy proper boxing gloves to protect your hands (especially knuckles and wrists)
  • Boxing Heavy Bag $39 at Kmart. They vary in price but you can get good ones second hand
  • Kettlebells fr $10 each at Kmart

Tips:

  • Check out Gumtree, eBay, Trading Post for some wholesale and second hand gear
  • There are a lot of parks with outdoor gyms. Check your local council website for the names. Around Sydney CBD, we have Wentworth Park, Prince Alfred Park and Observatory Hill.

Do you have a favourite piece of equipment? Share them with me on Facebook or Instagram.

How much protein do I need?

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Protein is the secret to fat loss. 

You killed your workout. You’re on a high and now, you’re hungry. In this situation, most would be tempted to nom on a cronut than a porterhouse steak. The truth is, we need protein everyday and here is why.

Each time you workout, you break your muscle tissues down and it is essential to replenish your body – after all 75% of our body is made up of protein. Unfortunately, most women don’t have enough protein in their diets for many reasons:

  • There is a misconception protein increases body fat. This is further from the truth. Its what you eat with the protein that could be the culprit (the french fries along with half a bottle of tomato sauce – enough said).
  • Another reason for not having enough protein is that most of us don’t understand how much we actually need and not tracking it.

Me in Barcelona with Lean Steak

Me in Barcelona with Lean Steak

There are many benefits to increasing your protein intake including (but not limited to):

  • Protein increases your metabolism – it takes the body more energy to break down protein. Therefore, raising your metabolism and burning calories at the same time (oh yeah!!! multitasking to the max)
  • Protein makes you feel full and satisfied – protein increases insulin sensitivity and helps control hormones like leptin, helping to avoid hunger
  • Protein gives you sexy shape and tone – yes ladies, we all want that perky booty but spending hours at the gym is not enough. Protein aids in building muscle which gives you shape. It will not ‘bulk’ you because women don’t have the same amount of testosterone as men do which is needed to ‘bulk up’.

So, how much protein do I actually need?

Ok, get your calculators out. Research states that you need approximately 1.0-1.6 grams of protein for every Kg of your body weight. For example, if you are 60kgs, you will need about 60 to 96 grams of protein a day.

Best Sources of Protein:

Here are some sources of protein to consider for your next meal. I suggest tracking what you eat on an app such as my fitness pal to ensure you’re getting enough everyday.

  • Poultry including Chicken & Turkey (28g protein per 100grams)
  • Fish (salmon is my personal favourite at 22g protein per 100 grams)
  • Beef (choose grass fed where possible 30g protein per 150grams)
  • Lean Pork (choose free range pork. 21g protein per 100grams)
  • Eggs (choose free range. Not to be confused with cage free. A large egg contains 6g protein)
  • Whey protein powder (depending on the brand, one scoop can have 20-30 grams of protein)
  • Beans (all kinds – black beans have the most protein content at 15g in 1 cup)
  • Nuts (almonds and walnuts contain the most protein)
  • Dairy – full fat milk, Greek yogurt & cheese (almond milk does not count)

References:

Lemon PWR.:Protein and Amino Acid Requirements of the Strength Athlete.;Int J Sport Nutr , 1991;1;127-145

Walk In Her Shoes

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Get walking for CARE Australia!

Vertical-LogoInternational Women’s Day is coming up and this year I will be taking part in CARE Australia’s “Walk in Her Shoes challenge”.

Participants of this challenge walk 25, 50 or 100 km to raise funds toward vital CARE projects that help reduce the distance women and girls in poor communities have to walk every day. I have signed up to the 50 km challenge which equates to about 10,000 steps a day.

The Walk in Her Shoes challenge takes place 16-22 March 2015. I encourage you to register individually or join as a team with you friends and colleagues to raise money for women and girls in developing countries.

For more info, please visit http://www.walkinhershoes.org.au

International Women’s Day – Save the date 7 March

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What a fantastic start to the year. One thing to note at Boxing Betty is that almost every week, there is always something to celebrate and thats why every week, the workouts are different. For instance, we’ve had several ‘special editions’ including Australia Day and Valentine’s Day (or anti- Valentines day as it seemed due to the tough workout ha ha).

An upcoming event worth celebrating is International Women’s Day which is celebrated every year on 8th March. This year will be Boxing Betty’s first International Women’s Day and we will be celebrating on Saturday 7th March at our usual spot in Central Park, Sydney.IWD

International Women’s Day celebrates the economic, social, political achievements of women in the past, present and future. This year’s theme is #makeithappen. If I relate this event to boxing, I can proudly say that we have come a long way as boxing has always been viewed as a male sport or ‘unlady like’.

There are now a lot of professional female boxers and a classes and bootcamp just like Boxing Betty. Women were finally allowed to box for the first time during the 2012 Summer Olympics, producing the world’s first 12 female Olympic medalist boxers. 2012?!?! Yes that was only 3 years ago.   

Boxing Betty runs regular classes on Tuesday and Saturday but I urge you to come to the one on 7th March as a must if you cannot make regular classes. There will be prizes, lot of fun and of course sweating!

Please come on the day wearing purple which is the colour of International Women’s Day. Proceeds of the day will go to #whiteribbon. White Ribbon is an organisation that works to prevent male violence against women.

  • When: Saturday 7th March
  • Location: Chippendale Green Park (behind Central Park Mall)
  • Cost: $10
  • What to bring: Towel, water, cotton inners  and wear purple

See you there!!!

Cheers,
Catherine

Happy New Sweaty Year

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Happy new year to my lovely clients. I trust you had a wonderful holiday and break – now lets get backBoxing pink wraps into training shall we?! Just a reminder that classes begin this Saturday 10th January 2015 (it feels funny typing 2015…I almost put the ‘4’) from 8.30-9.30am in Chippendale Green (behind central park shopping centre). I am not going to even ask you what or how much food you had during the break, lets get together and sweat it out.

The old timetable still remains i.e. classes every Tuesday (6.30-7.30am) and Saturday (8.30-9.30am).

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Catherine

New Timetable

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Hello my lovely Boxing Betties! Just letting you know we have changed the timetable slightly.

Effective Tuesday 14th October, classes are every Tuesday, 6.30-7.30am and Saturdays, 8.30-9.30am.

Classes are designed to be in small groups (almost like a Personal Training session) so please let me know if you would like to attend. Classes are only $10 a session.

Thanks and see you soon!!

Catherine

 

 

There’s a Wonder Woman in all of us

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Boxing Betty is more than just a women’s only boxing bootcamp. It’s also about bringing out the best in ourselves and each other. If I was to pick the theme song, it would be Helen Reddy’s song “I am woman” (humming in my head “I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman!!”) – cheesy I know!!! Maybe I should pump up the song during bootcamp?

As this site is new, I would like to set an agenda. Every Friday, I will be introducing an inspiring woman. It will be a regular feature called TGIF – Thank Goodness I’m Female. So keep an eye out tomorrow for the first TGIF. I am open to suggestions if you would like me to feature anyone you know.

Woman

Speaking of inspiring women, Westpac and the Australian Financial Review are running the 100 Women of Influence Awards. These awards recognise and celebrate inspiring women across a range of industries and the community who work tirelessly to help shape a vibrant and inclusive future for all Australians. I encourage you to use your influence to nominate yourself or someone you know at 100womenofinfluence.com.au

Professor Adele Green, was last year’s overall Women of Influence award winner. Her influential work was proving that daily sunscreen use can halve the risk of melanoma. The greater understanding Adele has given us of this insidious disease is, of course, particularly relevant for us here in Australia when you consider that 11,000 Australians are diagnosed with melanoma every year.

The award categories are:

Board / management
Women working in a management role or on a board in public or private companies. You might be running a team, a key project, or developing strategy and your influence extends beyond your formal role to personal support, mentoring and networks

Public policy
Women working in the public sector at either local, state or federal level. This may include those working in agencies or in an advisory role to influence and change public policy to support better social inclusion and equity.

Diversity
Women who have dedicated themselves to consistently advocating for a more diverse workforce and who have helped make the change happen. This includes advocacy in the boardroom, in government, lobby groups, in small or large businesses or the community.

Business enterprise
Women who are business founders, owners, operators or part-owners and are actively involved in the

Head to 100womenofinfluence.com.au for more information.