We all need strength on a daily basis, may it be in a work situation, at school, doing sports, in our relationships, or to get through a day unscathed. A dose of some daily strength can give you that needed boost to make any day an extraordinary day.

I am a huge fan of receiving (and passing on) great quotes and sayings from my friends. A number of times these have helped me realise that I have the power to overcome any obstacle in my way and this has sparked a great new feature on NikeWomen; the downloadable Daily Strength Calendar. This is where we share a whole collection of my inspirational quotes, hopefully giving each other that extra boost in sustaining or creating our very own strong days.

Downloading the calendar is easy. If you go to our daily strength section, you will see a nifty little download button and that is your access to your daily dose of motivation.

We would love to share and pass on your daily strengths that have helped you along the way by adding these to upcoming Daily Strength Calendars. I would love to see which quotes have helped you recently, and pass on their power to others. Feel free to post one that has positively influenced your day by simply commenting on this entry and adding your quote(s).

I look forward to sharing daily strengths with you.

Keeping me strong today is this amazing quote that I found from Henry David Thoreau, an American author and poet, hope it gives you that special boost that you might need for today:

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”

Bored of the treadmill? Sick of the chlorinated indoor pool? Or are you just tired of seeing other fitter, healthier and skinnier women strutting their stuff around in the gym confined within four walls. It is time to move outdoors and begin cross training.

Find a dirt track, an open field or a sheltered forest to run in. Walk up a mountain path once a week. Hit the golf course with a group of friends or do your lengths in a tidal pool near the sea. There are many options to choose from. A gym is just an indoor substitute, which replaces a world of possibility outdoors. We have become lazy and our workouts have become a chore that we merely have to get over and done with.

There are many reasons why we exercise: to stay healthy, to lose weight, for the competition, to train for an important event or to just have a break from our busy lives. It doesn’t matter what we do it for, we should first and foremost, enjoy doing it. Sure, it may be difficult and tiring, but running through a forest with the sun above you, hiking up to a viewpoint, swimming without lanes and playing sport with fresh air all around you is far more stimulating than running at a flat screen television or inhaling the sweaty fumes of fellow gym members. So get out of your house or your office and explore what the outdoors can offer.

The sun rises, its time, the day has begun. You eat your bowl of cereal, brush your teeth, and find your keys in the chaos of your room and head out at an extra-ordinary pace. Lectures consume your day, practical to tutorial, from one department to the next, picking up a sweat as you hand in papers, grab lunch and prepare for crits with your supervisors. This is multitasking at its best. Being a professional student was supposed to be easier.

There is no time to stop, relax or have the day off. But the thing that gets me through the day awaits me, my medicine, my cure, my therapy. When I’m finally on the water, out in the open rowing on the dam, cooling off my frustrations of the day, I can breathe a sigh of relief. No one can find me, no one can bother me, its ‘me’ time at its best.  The pristine setting of my wake cuts through the water in front of me as I pick up my heart rate. I begin to sweat out all the pressure, the stress and tension the day has inflicted on me. This is my sport, my therapy, what’s yours?

That’s exactly what I thought as I laced up my sneakers when I overheard Gym-Bunny Barbie-Clone tell her buddy that she’s not going to do a full circuit set because she has “doms”. And being Seffrikan, I had to stifle a snigger.

However, it did peak my curiosity as to exactly what would make you dumb AND incapable of exercising.

A quick Google search revealed that having DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) is an actual complaint. It is the muscle pain/stiffness you feel in the days post-exercise. I learnt something new there. I also found out that a good stretch routine both before and after exercise should work to reduce this, a light massage, and a “contrast shower” of alternating hot and cold water.

Whilst the acronym might be a bit unfortunate in the South African context, the effects are real and for a noob gym-er it might be the end of a lifetime of healthy exercise. Over exerting oneself to compensate for the lack of an exercise routine over the holiday period might also lead to sore muscles the next day. A good idea would be to start off at a slow but steady pace and gradually build up your fitness levels once more. Try to enlist the services of a Personal Trainer who will assist you with tips on warming up, cooling off and stretches.

It is smart to avoid DOMS, but keeping yourself healthy and fit is by far the smartest way to a great year.

Ladies, we need to pull our socks up and prove that we are a force to be reckoned with. Check out this awesome inspiration and all will be revealed.

After seeing this, I have decided to join the challenge myself and have signed up as a member of the ladies team.

Come and join me on the challenge and we can share our progress and feedback with each other. Together we can prove to the world that SA girls have what it takes!

Register at  Nike+ and let the games begin.

A year ago, I (the single most unfit person on the planet) decided to change the relevant prefix in that phrase. I wondered what possessed me, as I fitted on endless tracksuit options for something flatteringly flattening.

I’d decided on something low impact, muscle toning, centimeter burning, and minimal sweat involved. And Lo! I stumbled across a Pilates-yoga type combination. How bad could this be? You spend half the class sitting on a mat? Really, how bad could it POSSIBLY be? I found out the next morning.

I wobbled, slithered and rolled myself about that day vowing never to go back. But I did.

There is something compelling about a non refundable deposit, I suppose. I’m glad I did though, because now I seem to have planned my life around my bi-weekly efforts at “formal” exercise. I actually look forward to stiff muscles now, it lets me know I’m alive, and functioning…and human.

Since that I have found a new love for working out with those exercise balls. I seem to have left the mat in favour of a ball.

Besides constantly trying out new things I have a few things up my sleeve that no one really knows about me.

I am obsessed with languages. I like maths. I’m and Internet junkie of note, and I spend way too much time imagining up all sorts of things. I can and do identify spelling and grammar errors a mile off (it’s a talent). Now that I think about it, these were all unknown for a reason! I just realised I could brand and market myself as the poster girl of randomness. It worked for Phoebe so why not for me?!

Keep your eyes on the blog to see what random activities or interesting snippets I come across next.

I can’t believe that we are already ¼ ways through the year! I know the saying goes “time flies when you’re having fun” but I think it just flies by in general! And what a year it’s already been! Mine started off with the great news that I had won the Nike woman competition, and as a result I get to share my life with all of you for the next year.

At the moment I am currently in training for SA Lifesaving Nationals that are coming up later this month and at the end of April. These nationals end the racing season but also act as trials for selection into the SA team for upcoming international competitions. I find this time of year the busiest and craziest of all and between training and varsity my friends start to forget what I look like and my family tends to avoid me and my more regular grumpy moods!

The season has been a little disappointing so far, with two of my biggest competitions being cancelled due to poor surf conditions! I guess that’s the name of the game though, especially when the sport you love takes place outdoors… as a result, I’m itching to race at the end of this month and holding thumbs that the weather plays nice!

At the moment I’m currently in heavy training. This means doubling up of sessions and an average of 8-10 sessions per week! My current focus is to keep up my swimming, as this is the base for all my events in the pool or surf. An average swim set at the moment lasts 1 ½ hours and averages 4-5 km’s. Aside from that I do some strength training and add in an occasional run.

Other than training, I’m spending most of my time at varsity. I’m currently in a practical learning block within a Cape Town community and I work with treating groups of people everyday. It’s really interesting to learn different life perspectives from such a wide range of people, and I love being in practice rather than just in lectures. Doing what I love whilst helping others helps keep me inspired!

I know that now is the time when I often need the most support and motivation to keep at it and not let myself down by taking the easy way out… for me it really helps having a great support system in place. I also have a saying for when things get tough (if you’ve seen Finding Nemo, then you’ll know mine, it goes, “just keep swimming, just keep swimming…”) it’s just something light that makes me smile and happens to hit the mark spot on! Otherwise a beautiful sunset, an hour with a good book, a drink with friends… all bring a smile to my face, and a moment of calm!

I think what I’m trying to say is that, if like me there are times when you find the time running out, the list only half done, and your battery already half empty (because as athletes it would be unrealistic not to!) then hang in there and keep at it – it’s always worth in the long run!

Until next time, much love and strength!
Jade

It’s officially a few months into my new year resolutions, and they’re not going all that well. I mean, I haven’t turned into a terrible person already, but I haven’t eaten something green everyday, or stopped watching reality TV shows, or, you know, ceased fire in the Middle East (yet). So, when my friend – a copywriter with good hair and great intentions – called to say she’d booked us into a beginners Bikram yoga course, I really had to agree to go.

I logged onto the Bikram site for a dose of more information. It turns out that Yogi Bikram, the pioneer of the art, created the 26 poses (gulp!) in an effort to restore his health after a weightlifting accident crippled him. It worked. And, if it can do that, it’s impossible it won’t make me feel better.

The Bikram teachers assure me it will increase my energy, build my stamina, encourage restful sleep and help with muscle tone, which sounds good (in fact, if it also makes me tea, I’ll marry it). But, I’m also looking for a way to be a lot calmer this year. The website promises Bikram will open my heart and accelerate my spiritual evolution, and learning to slow down, expand my mind and heart and, frankly, to breathe, is something I’ve been wanting for a long time.

So I’m off and I’ll let you know how it goes. Just hold thumbs that when I open my chakras, I don’t spill my emotional juices all over the floor…
Wanna join? Check it out.

Picture the scene: Wednesday 4 February 2009, a scorcher of a day in Stellenbosch, the Spar South African women’s hockey team are preparing for their first international game of the year, as a felt fire starts on the top of one of the mountains in Stellenbosch. As the time draws closer to the start of the game, so the fire draws closer to the Sports Science Institute- close to the hockey field.

Waiting around for the decision by the technical directors whether it was safe to play or not felt like an eternity. We knew that we could not play as the smoke was too bad, but we waited anyway. The decision was made to postpone the game, as the fire was coming closer to the fields. The SA girls ran to save the horses at the foot of the mountain while the Germans ran to the mini-buses to vacate the facility. If only the hockey series was based on bravery, we, the SA girls would have definitely won the challenge. However, the challenge was based on the three 70 minute hockey games that we were yet to play.

I hate losing in my books, the series was not great, and however there are always a lot of positives that come out of losing. The one thing that I learnt is that when training you are able to push yourself as hard as you can go, because when it comes to the test (for me, these are the games) you don’t want to look back and wonder if you could have given more into the preparation. Training is not always fun, but you have to keep remembering your goals and aims and the purpose of the training.