110km 77hrs 49 mins

we made it!
and I'm struggling to find the words to describe it.
Amazing, hard, emotionally mentally physically draining, so I'm just going to put some pictures up, and maybe when the words come I will tell you all about it.
I will say that I am proud of my self, and I have a new sense of what is 'hard'.
Thank you Jane for sharing this journey with me :)

go pro

go pro

go pro

go pro

go pro

go pro - ROCKS!

lingon

keb in the background hiding in the clouds

team good to go

the hardest 10.5 km of my life

too scared to take off the tape

I took the tape off

110 km in the arctic circle

Next Friday I will set off on what will be my first big adventure of the year and quite frankly possible the hardest thing I have done in my life so far.

I have entered into the Fjäll Räven Classic.

http://www.fjallraven.com/classic

it is 110km or 11 swedish miles up in the north of Sweden.

I have done this walk before with Sofi when I first moved here, but this time it will be a little different,

I am aiming to complete the walk in 4 days, 

I find myself doing the maths of the walk and it works out that if we walk for 12 hours a day we should make it in time to get our flight home.

I am surprised at my complete lack of fear going into this walk. 

in my mind it seems like a big thing, when you say it out loud it seems like a thing that I should be scared that I cannot complete, instead I am inspired and excited.

in the helicopter from Kebnekaise to Nikkaloukta

I look forward to this challenge, I look forward to being physically exhausted, to finding out if my body can do this or if I am going to have to be helicoptered out.

(on my last trip we caught the helicopter from Kebnekaise Fjäll Station to Nikkaloukta. It was an awesome end to a fantastic trip.)

Right now with the trip 7 days away, I am fidgeting in my chair thinking about what I am about to go through.

It Shouldn't be that hard right, I mean just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

We shall see.

this time next week I may feel very different, but right now in this moment all I can say is Bring it on!

Tjäkta Passet

so stay tuned folks, Ill get back to you in a couple of weeks with news of the trip and photos of how awesome it was.

Running still sucks

so running still stuck, and after having some weeks off, and trying to get back into it I feel like not only have I lost all the progress I had made before I broke my finger but I have gone backwards.

my new running partner olivia and her egg

This is a very depressing feeling, and somewhat debilitating, I mean where is the progress, technically speaking it should be easier for me to get back to where i was not harder. My education tells me that my body should still have some muscle memory from my training before, and even tho i have not run for 6 weeks and will definitely not be at the same level I was before injury, i should at least not find it as hard as I am finding it to actually physical run.
But reality is somewhat different.
I'm heavy and every step is hard work, its painful and I am not 'feeling it in any way'.

So what do I do?, well today we change direction and start a new path. for those of you who dont know I have signed up for the fjäll räven classic this year
www.fjallraven.com
this is a 110km trek through the kings rail at the top of Sweden, I have signed up to do this with my cousin, and am hoping to complete the trek in less than 3 days.

and what does this mean for your running program I hear you ask?
well here is my new plan.
because its not just about running its also about

• using my body, 
• feeling good, 
• creating some head space, 
• working towards a goal,
• teaching y kids that exercise is important

and all those kinds of things, I have had to sit down and re think my program.

so to work around all those things that are taking me away from my training i have sat down and written a program that should work into my life instead of being a burden and making my life work around my training program,

essentially what I want to be getting in is, 

3 walks  - minimum 10 km

2 runs - minimum 1/2 hour - will probably be mostly taking the dog out for her exercise

3 rides - because riding my bike is not only a healthy and environmentally friendly way to get to and from the studio, our of all the cardio options I have cycling is by far my favourite.

so there it is people

oh and don't forget, 

squeaky and olivia in the snow

1 core w/o

and 1 functional fitness w/o

and there you have it

my training program for the next 10 weeks,

lets see how it goes.

speaking for core w/o's my training tip for this week will be on 

'what is my core and why must I turn it on?'

my diary says it time to go for a walk, so Ill collect the dog and head out.

thanks for reading

getting the right trainer

this week I came to a decision that it was high time I started putting up training tips on the blog instead of just using it as an outlet for my rants about the ups and downs of becoming a runner (running sucks this week BTW).
and life has provided me with my first tip topic.
the very next day I received this photo from Sofi.

the headline translates to 'my PT gave me an eating disorder'.
and the article reads that this woman decided to get into shape and went to a gym hired a PT, who gave her a training program and recommended a strict calorie controlled diet with a cheat day once a week.
this is a fairly common training philosophy, and it works for some people.
However, when this woman told her trainer that she would binge so much that she would purge afterwards, it would seem that he would just laugh it off, and she was left feeling unhappy and often in tears.
As a trainer I hate reading articles like this one, or hearing stories like this, so I though I would write up my tips for getting the right trainer and program. It's important to have the right advice from the beginning.
Lets say you want to climb mountains, and I told you the best way to train for that is to swim.
you'd be asking questions right? I know I would.

So here it is

• interview your trainer

• at good to go with our fitness programs my policy is first session is free 
• if you are trying one of our group sessions, first session is free
• if you are wanting PT, we sit down and have an interview
• it is important that you and your trainer are on the same page, do they understand your goals?
• are they the right trainer for you? this may take a few sessions to work out, but if the relationship is not working end it, it's your money your body, your life.
• a good trainer will should always offer to meet with you first free of charge to talk about your goals and whether or not you can work together to achieve them.

• do your own research

• by research I mean understand what your goals are and research your trainers philosophies, if the recommendations they are giving you are not the best for your goal, then you are not going to achieve your goal. in saying this also understand that this is what your trainer does this for a living, so they are probably going to know more about it than you (at least I hope so).
• as a trainer I like to keep updated on all the latest things in the industry not just because if something new is out there that I can use in the studio to make training more fun and effective but also because if I have done my home work and you ask me about something that I don't believe works then I need to have a knowledgeable and valid response, not just laugh things off or dismiss them.

• make sure your trainer is qualified!!!

• this is a big one, it is no good handing your money over to some guy or girl at the gym who knows lots, that's all well and good, but there is more to being a PT than just having trained for years and knowing stuff.
• a PT has an obligation to make sure you are safe at all times whilst training
• among other things a qualified PT will have studied first aid, and contraindications and injuries, anatomy and physiology, nutrition and the list goes on.

• don't be afraid to end the relationship.

• this is also a really big one. As a trainer I have had to end relationships with clients, and it is always hard, but my view is that same of clients as of trainers if the relationship is not working, move on, training should always be fun, hard and goal oriented but fun. if you're not having fun this is a pretty good indicator that the relationship is not working.

so there it is friends.

just make sure your trainer knows what they are doing.

and have fun

J

my new running partner

its going to take some time to get used to running with her.
she is nothing like my training partner from last year (who has unfortunately had to stop training because of injury )
she is very young,
and were learning to work together in our training sessions
to date ourlongest run has been 4 k's
which was today, ,and whilst we ran faster than i normally would we did a shorter distance.
her concentration span is a little short and i have to keep reminding her of where we are going and what we are doing.
she does'nt mind if I listen to music whilst we run, she doesnt say much.
and really its going to be probably another cuple of years before we can get to some good distance runing but this is true for me also.
so Im very excited about running with her and when my old training partner is recoverd and can come back to running, all 3 of us can hit the trails.

one of the best things about my new training partner is I always know when she's had a good run, she goes stright to sleep aftrwards.

dojo dog

trouble getting started

its been a while,
but I've not just been on holiday.
I broke my finger just before Christmas, and needed surgery.
personally I wouldn't have thought that a broken finger could stop me from running, but it has.
and now I'm struggling to get back into the routine.
and I'm slightly depressed about it.
but here is my plan.
tomorrow I go out and run. at least 8 km.

there it is, now I've said it I have to do it.
stay tuned - Ill get back to you tomorrow about how it went.

Monday Runday

so true to form, after posting how much I was starting to love running last Monday, I had the crappiest run ever!

• I was sore from training the night before.
• I walked too fast at the start - it was cold and I was excited because of my new found love for running - and my legs didn't really like that.
• I tried out a new pair of compression socks which were a huge fail.
• when we got to the forest track there were no lights - see creepy guy in the forest - and after our experience a couple of weeks ago now way was I going to attempt a run on the rack when there were no lights, and subsequently no other runners.
• we ran on the foot path / road - not a good thing to do for my legs especially taking into account the bad start and the wrong socks
• we went to the sports hall down the road and ran on the outdoor track - BORING!!!

So after finding that I was starting to love my running I had what was the crappiest session in this adventure so far.

I missed my session on Friday due to reasons that include a sick 2 year old and just a little laziness


, and after a week of extreme tiredness and little good training I sit here in a Monday contemplating my Monday Runday.

magical vinter wonderland

Today I have decided to try something new - I am going to attempt to run into my studio.

its 10 k (or if you prefer a Swedish mile) -  a good distance.

As I write this I look outside my window and see that what was an ok start to the day has turned into a typically Swedish autumn day.

DARK COLD AND DREARY WITH JUST A LITTLE RAIN.

its not cold enough to snow - but dear got i wish it would. at least when it snows the world becomes a wonderful magical place. this is just depressing.

but never fear - Good to Go Jo is here.

with my never-ending stream of positive thinking I look forward to this run.

• I need to take a back pack, and pack carefully - I must take with me my work gear and then I also need to ride my bike home (I left it at the studio last night) so I need to take riding gear also.

cool, I can try out my hydro pack for running, I have been using it for cycling for over a year now but i have never run with it - I hope it works our ok - we shall see.

 Marilyn  - just because

• also I get to see how long this is going to take me - something I have wanted to find out since we opened in October.
• I think I go through Vinterviken - it runs along the water and offers more trail running than road running.

And now - I am ready

Looking forward to running today -and taking note of my mistakes from last Monday lets see if today's Monday Runday can be a better one than last week.

training actually works - and the running is getting easier

so despite creepy guys in the forest I have continued with my running program, and am starting to notice some effects.

• Its getting easier
• my recovery time is getting shorter
• I want to run more
• I look forward to my next session
• I am starting to think of other ways in which i can en-corporate running into my life - e.g.. to run t my studio instead of ride, (but then I would miss out on my ride so that  doesn't really work, but you get the idea)

And for the first time since I was a kid, I really like - dare I say it, am starting to love running.

so what is so different about running this time?

because really I have been trying to get to this place for years, and always failed.

its simple really - I finally took my own advice.

I set a goal

educated my self

and have taken steps to achieve that goal.

this running thing didn't just start a couple of weeks ago for me, really it started a couple of years ago when I started training clients here in Stockholm.

I  specialise in functional training as a PT, and it has made a huge difference in my own training.

for years I have watched how my advice and programs have helped my clients but for whatever reason I just was not applying it to my own training.

well finally the penny dropped.

I started taking some active MSR sessions with my self looking to release the fascia in my lower legs so that I wouldn't suffer from compartment syndrome so much.

I started to work on my core and functional body, I started to build strength in my lower legs and consciously work on getting my legs back into balance.

and the result.

well I now run twice a week for an hour or so, and next week we move it up to 3 times a week.

and I couldn't be more excited.

so my lesson here is, (and I can hear my self saying this to just about every client I have ever had - sigh & slight head shake) DO THE FUCKING WORK JO & THE RESULTS WILL COME.

And the scary thing is I know this - I have done this with so many other things in my life. (insert smile here)

and now I am doing it with something that has been a stumbling block for over 20 years, and it feels awesome!

so keep training people.

good to go Jo

why do a 12 week challenge?

what is all this fuss about?
why do a 12 week challenge?

me doing goblet squats

If you're thinking about a challenge, chances are that you re at a place in your life where you are looking for a change, and a 12 week challenge is he perfect opportunity for such a change.
there is a common misconception that its all about losing weight.
And for most people it is, but it doesn't have to be just about losing weight, for some people it can be too put on weight, it can be about training for a run, it can be about learning to use your body better, it can be about getting stronger, any way you get the picture.

so back to the question, why do a 12 week challenge?.
This is where I would like to share with you what one of my clients wrote about her 12 week challenge experience:
—
The Good to Go 12 week program changed my perception on many things. Jo transformed my daily attitudes and inspired me to achieve more than I thought I could. The program taught me above all that "I am worth it" - a quote I heard weekly and will never forget. Training and diet do not have to be a burden, and whilst following the program I learnt this. It's not about a fad, it's about a lifestyle. A better lifestyle.
From Lauren Byrnes – Melbourne Australia—

When I received this in an email, I was in the middle of a very busy shopping centre, and had to go and sit down, and have shed a little tear. I was so filled with pride and happiness that I was a little overcome. She had gotten the message, and understood the process.

So rather than telling you why you do them let me tell you why I run them.

When I first started out s a trainer, 12 week challenges were all about losing weight.
the company I was working for was running them purely as a money making venture.
They ran this big promotion and got in a bunch of clients base on this advertising.
They went to an info day where they were told you can lose heaps of weigh, look what it did for this girl... insert before and after pictures here, bla bla ba.
needless to say some of these people achieved their goals, but most of them didn't.
There are many reasons for this, but from my own perspective and taking responsibility for my own actions I was a naive instructor who in reality hadn't had much experience, I knew the theory but in practice things are different.
Any way so this program left me wanting. (and a few clients as well)
and yet I persist with them. as a trainer I have grown and matured (only just) and with that so has my ability to help clients through their challenges.
So the reason I still run challenges even after such a rotten start is because they are a great opportunity to start the process of change.
As a trainer it is a time specific frame work within which to work.
I gives me the space to set out specific goals not just for the client but also for me as a trainer.
It gives me the opportunity to really get to know a client so that after the challenge i can continue to support them through their change process.

hello my little friend, want to play?

The 12 week challenge isn't he whole package, it is a start for change.
For most of us we need longer that 12 weeks with which to change our lives, you know old habits die hard...
but within this framework together we can work to identify areas that need work, things that need to be left behind or worked through and new habits that need to be built.

So you see its not just about losing weight, its about real and genuine change.
For me as a trainer its about helping people to reconnect with their bodies.
I find that in this society we are very disconnected from our bodies in various ways, some of us are overweight, some of us are addicted to things - alcohol - drugs  suguar - coffee - carbs - stress.
So we take a whole self approach to the challenge. We look not just at 1 issue but everything that's going on in your life.
We set the goal. and we work towards it in a methodical in intelligent manner.
And then hopefully at the end of your challenge if you have done everything I have asked you to do you will have achieved your goal.
At the start of a challenge I tell my clients my job isn't to do the work, your job is to do the work, my job is to keep you looking in the direction of your goal, and to keep pointing it out. Your job is to move towards it.

I love to watch my clients faces when the reality of this statement sinks in.
And this my friends is the difference between real success in a challenge and failure.
The understanding that:

• You are the one who has to do the work. 
• You are the one who has to come up with the motivation to move.
• You are the one who is responsible for your success in this challenge.

I am responsible for guiding and advising and inspiring, but you must take the steps, you must move and you must decide.

So if you're looking for change I encourage you to take the step. You may find that its not as hard as you first thought, and with the right advice and guidance the journey to real change and self discovery whilst hard is well worth it.

Alex lost 15 Kg over summer this year on his 12 week challenge

I am a runner!

So we did it!
we made it as planned.
as testament to how hard just starting this endeavour for me has been, in true form, my level of self sabotage was pretty high. I brought many things into my path on monday afternoon that previously have been a great excuse to not go for a run.
at about 2 pm my leg started to hurt.

Me and my mountain bike

since i was 14 years old I have had "shin splints", and at certain times over my life this condition has gotten so bad that just walking was an extremely painful experience.
I have been working very hard with my body over the past 18 months to eliminate my bad habits and to be able to run.
This hard work however has not been tested, and with the expectation that running was going to be a painful experience my legs started to "go out" as I like to say and I was experiencing pain in my anterior compartment of my lower right leg.
But this was not going to beat me.
Next I hid my heart rate monitor from my self - I know , can you believe it?
I got home from the studio, got it out to see if it needed charging, it didn't, I then proceeded to put in my jeans pocket and forget that I had done so.
When my training partner had arrived and we were getting ready I went to get the monitor and lo and behold it wasn't where I thought it was.
I then spent the next 5 minutes looking for it. getting stressed, know full well that here was a perfect option to just say nup cant go, cant find my HRM.
But no this will not get in my way.

in the forest

I decided that I was running even if I couldn't find it. And with that decision came the flash that it was in my jeans.
HRM found, now I can collect all the data I want.
So we left the house, and began walking to the start of the track.
In the play area near our building we bumped into my wife and our son.
a flash of inspiration.(and a potential stumbling block)
Now My wife is a runner, She doesn't train much at the moment as her focus is on other things, however even when she isn't training her level of fitness is still that of an elite level athlete, and for me, as a non runner, I just simply haven't been able to go out running with her. Its humiliating. Now I know you're not supposed to compare your self to others and you should just compete with your self and all that but you know I'm human, and I do these things, and I have let them get the better of me in the past.
But in order to overcome this hurdle instead of constantly beating my self up for not being at the same level as her, I have come at it from a different angle, I am training with someone at my own level so that we can both come up to the level that my wife is at in the hope that one day we can run together, and not just as a couple, but as a whole family.

more of the forest

I want my kids to look at our level of activity and be inspired, i want for them to enjoy the outdoors as much as we do, and I want for them to so that when taking on a challenge, hard work dedication and an intelligent approach will bring rewards.
So any way back to the run.
This is the first time my training partner and I have run together, we have trained outdoors and in the studio for over a year now, and its proving to be a great friendship and partnership, but running is a totally different animal.
Running brings up all kinds of stuff.

even more of the forest

And we have an agreement to be ok with what ever comes up, and totally ok with the fact that we would both rather listen to music very loudly than chat whilst running.
we get to the start of the track and it begins.
I am reminded of running down the bush with my dad as a kid and I smile to my self, I am happy. and I am looking forward to running becoming a happy place.
So we ran to the out door gym, did a couple of rounds of obstacle type stuff there, and kept running .
all up we walked 1.3 km, then ran for the next 1.5 k's to the gym, did our rounds, then ran a further 3.5 ks round the track, then walked home from there.
and what can I say, it felt Awesome!
The running part was fantastic, the hills were hard but achievable, we stopped at the right time, I think if we had kept running what was a good experience may have turned bad,
in the aftermath, by legs are sore but in all the right places, NO SHIN SPLINTS!!!
and 4 days later I am ready to go again.
And I am very proud of my self. I can see my self running through the finish line at next years tough Viking and many other races (as well as the lidingöloppet MTB race, cant forget the bike races).

 So We Did It.
and there will be many more.

Be Strong
Love
Have Adventures

Good to Go Jo

conntect with us on sportstracker to follow the data.
goodtogojo.

Today is the day I become a runner

This weekend I signed up for the Tough Viking race for august next year.

Now for any of you who know me, (and now for all of you who have never met or trained with me) running is not my forte'.
Lifting heavy things - I can do that
Martial arts - I can do that
I can even do aerobics - but running... not so much
in fact I can often be heard saying (usually by clients who are asking me why I am not running with them when I make them go for a run), "the reason I learned to fight is because I cant run".
For me running is a painful and very uncomfortable experience, yet there lies within me a desire to to run, and not just run but to compete in these types of races.
For years I have looked at adventure racing and multi-sport races and wanted to do it, but given it a miss because running is just not my thing.

Well no more. Starting today I am a runner. My training partner is coming round at 4pm and we will go for a run.
I am terrified. my legs hurt just thinking about it.
If I was my client I would be saying something like Jo you just have to do it. Of course its going to hurt at first but after a while it will get easier, you just have to start - come on lets go.

And then there is that other part of me that smiles warmly and says "Finally... I have been waiting for years for you to reach this decision, now lets go before fear takes hold of you, I know you can do this because you are doing it and in a very short while you will have done it".

the basic plan for today is:

• walk to the start of the track & warm up in the process
• run to the out door gym (approx 1.5 km)
• do a circuit that involves equipment at the gym and running
• run home
• stretch

so now the only thing left to be done is the actual execution.

Today I remove the words "I cant" and replace them with "I am"

and that feels awesome - what an adventure this is going to be.

Ill let you know how it goes 

be strong

love

have adventures

good to go Jo

Why functional training?

here at good to go we describe functional training in the following way:
Functional training is performing compound exercises across multiple planes or axis of movement in a dynamic or movement based fashion to encourage greater stability and correct process of movement and muscular function.

and what does that mean?
basically we use exercises and equipment that makes you work hard whilst performing movements that uses more that one body part.
a good comparison would be a kettlebell clean and press swing versus say a seated dumbell shoulder press.

• with the kettlebells clean and press, the exercise is unilateral or one sided yet it employs the entire body in lifting the bell to the shoulder and then again over the head, 
• the seated dumbell shoulder press as the name suggests focusses mainly on the shoulder muscles.

In functinoal training we use equipment that helps us to achieve this idea of forcing the body to work in multiple planes of movement such as:

• kettlebells
• sling trainers
• balance boards
• medicine balls
• body weight exercises
• exercise tubes
• the list goes on...

we also use conventional equipment like

• olympic bars
• dumbells
• free weights

and we chose exercises that are as we say in our description, compound in nature for example: Olympic lifts.

so why do we chose to train this way?

why not?
no but seriously, when your body works better it feels better, functional training isn't just for athletes and crazy cross fitters, its for every day people living every day lives.
functional training helps you to do normal things easier:

• playing with the kids
• carrying the shopping
• putting out the rubbish
• going for a walk or a run
• sitting at your desk at work.

and then you get the other benefits of feeling good,  - you want to feel good more often, you may feel like doing something with this good feeling like entering a race, going camping, having an adventurous weekend kayaking, you can fill in what ever you like here.
And for us, as athletes we like to train for function, movement and agility, and as trainers our passion for a functional body helps us to be better trainers.

so over the coming weeks, months & hopefully years we will be posting some of the functional workouts that we do in the studio so that those of you playing at home can get some idea of what we do, and those of you who can make it to the studio have a resource to refer to when you're trying to get your head around what we did at the studio this week (insert smiley here)

feedback and questions are most welcome

chat soon
J
be strong
love
have adventures