Une Femme Fitness

15/04/2026

My thought today is this.
Let's all do something, anything, for good, whenever we can.
My wild imagination pictures a tsunami of kindness and happy deeds swamping all the evil and greed on the planet.
Of course I know that's fanciful and possibly deluded.
But what the heck ... do it anyway and at the very least, it redresses the balance a tiny little bit.
Catalyst for these thoughts was a Lifeblood advert.
I realised I had time and motivation to roll up my sleeve.
I'm glad I did.
Did you know one in three people will need a blood transfusion at some point?
Yet only one in 30 people donate?
I booked myself into the Sippy Downs mobile donor centre.
In 30 minutes, my 'B positive' donation was in the bag.
There was no pain, no after effects, just thoughts that the half hour was well spent.
Dm me if you have questions, or look up Lifeblood.
There are big centres and mobile sites all over the place.
I'd love to hear if you donate, and your thoughts on the above ✨️

15/04/2026

There is only one time of day for you to train.
Is it mornings?
Is it evenings?
Is if 3.10pm every second day?
Could be!
The actual answer is you train when it suits YOU!
We have to find a way of making exercise a regular, consistent part of life.
For me, I train early.
You will rarely see me in the gym working out in the arvo.
I will paddle and ocean train late, but I can't bring myself to hit the gym unless it's first thing, or during my break on shift.
Evenings, to me, are for relaxing, looking back on the day and hanging with my dog.
Happy training on Hump Day and every day ✨️

14/04/2026

Here's my hot tip for anyone looking to recompose their body.
Keep it simple!
I will be putting meals on repeat so I think less about what to eat.
For example, banana protein pancakes rock for breaky!
Dinner will often be a 125g chicken mince burger with a minty yogurt dressing and various vegetables and salads.
Protein needs to be well considered, as well as fibre, and I will aim for a slight calories deficit.
(I aim to lose 250g of fat per week.)
Why do this?
We know and are endlessly told we need to avoid becoming frail.
These six weeks are focussed on building muscle, adding bone and reducing body fat.
I'm 62 and feel amazing.
I do not take this for granted and am aware I need to maintain quality training for life.
My goal is to be that cheeky 90-plus year old organising a break out at the nursing home.
I want energy, strength to scale the gate and fitness to make a run for it.
My little challenge is to see what this type of training focus feels like.
I've long been a HIIT and cardio queen, with a few weights performed to 10 or so reps.
This type of training feels different already.
It's early days, but I have a feeling I will love it ✨️

13/04/2026

Here I go!
Today I started a six-week focus on building muscle, boosting bone health and reducing body fat.
I'm super inspired by the work of orthopaedic surgeon Dr Vonda Wright.
For the next six weeks, I will base my gym time on some of her recommendations.
It's a short enough time to commit, and while I'm unlikely to see huge results, it should create some great habits.
Essentially, I will lift heavy 3 times a week.
That's choosing weights where I struggle/fail after 6 reps.
I will do four sets.
I have picked four exercises of compound moves, deadlifts, squats, bench press and lat pull down.
Additionally, I will do 20 jumps each day on and off a box.
Twice a week minimum, I'll sprint my heart out for 20 to 30 second bursts.
(I will do those sprints in spin class and paddle training.)
As a trainer, I'm always learning and always happy to give fitness ideas a whirl.
Stay tuned and we will see how this goes!

12/04/2026

Here's our UFF playlist to date.
Keep the suggestions coming ... it'll be an ongoing project and be useful for my next road trip!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/38A61A3iZMGTC0IsRlKT63?si=NzXn-3riQRyMqyVrkBNuJQ&pi=uJud4AnyQMetc

Playlist · Cheryl Willie · 6 items

11/04/2026

Asking a question on Arts Sunday ... do you have a favourite song?
I'd love to know.
Then I'd create an UFF play list.
Thought it'd be a fun little project.
Music is an art form that makes life so much better.
I pick music to suit my vibe.
It's upbeat on my drive to work.
Chill when I head out to paddle and surf.
I use it at work ... slower beats on strength days, faster for cardio.
I'll kick off ideas for a play list with Nahko's Black As Night.
My grandkids and I dance to this, drive to this and sing it together.
A friend recommended a Nahko album and I've been a huge fan since.
( Saw him at Bluesfest last year ... twice!)
His lyrics are beautiful poetry.
Please comment with one of your top tunes.
This could be fun!

Official video for Nahko And Medicine For The People's song "Black As Night"Find new music & tour dates at https://nahko.comFollow Nahko:https://www.nahko.co...

11/04/2026

Wish me luck!
It's Random Chat Saturday and I have an admission.
I'm not super confident trying new things.
Tonight, lovely friends have encouraged me to join them for a Latin Dance thingy.
Typically, I feel brave.
I've seen sharks while surfing and carried on anyway.
(Granted, they were small sharks but all the same 🤣)
Speaking in public doesn't worry me.
But dancing .... eeeeeek!
I have two left feet.
While I'll happily bop away at a gig, the thought of actual dance steps makes me nervous.
But what the heck.
We live once.
We have one wild and precious life.
Best to grab all it offers with a big smile and good attitude, right?
Any dance tips much appreciated ✨️

10/04/2026

My goal right now is to be a strong, fit, athletic, balanced, happy and mobile old woman.
I know exactly how to achieve this.
My heart is so happy this week as I become aware more and more women are focussed on these same goals.
And more of them know what to do too.
It's simple.
Lift heavy 3 to 4 times a week.
Do 30sec sprint work twice a week for a few minutes.
Jump uo and down 20 times a day.
These are the things I'm doing
to stay on track.
I know all of the above from decades in the industry.
More recently, experts like Dr Vonda Wright are doing a stellar job of spreading the word.
(If you do nothing else today, check out her pages and podcast interviews.)
My generation grew up with the message that skinny was everything.
That a low number on the scales was our target.
Cardio was paramount.
A workout wasn't a workout unless we sweated profusely and did a thousand reps.
Thank goodness more of us are telling skinny to go love itself.
We want muscle and strong bones and lower body fat to stay as healthy as possible.
All of the above is so well explained by the doc who is an orthopaedic surgeon, sick of seeing frail patients with busted bones, in awful pain, and ultimately, unlikely to live well after broken hips etc.
Starting Monday, I'll be doing a six week experiment where I up my game on all of the above.
I'll share my progress and each Monday, explain the above in more detail.
In the meantime, imagine this.
You are strong enough to pick up your grandchild who has fallen, and run to get help if needed.
That's the kind of grandma and great grandma I aim to be.
How about you?

09/04/2026

None of us have to be kind.
We can turn in on ourselves, ignore others and crack on with life.
Or ...
We can take a moment or two to say something kind, do something kind and make someone's day a bit brighter.
It's not hard.
And sure feels like an antidote to these globally greed-filled, selfish times.

Writing this because a stranger was kind to me yesterday.
In a rush to get from training to a class, I'd left my surf key in my driver's door.
After a few hours at the gym, I returned to my van to see a note on the windscreen telling me to go into JB Hi-Fi Maroochydore.
Someone had spotted my key and popped into the store to tell them.
Staff member Braedyn then popped out and grabbed the key, leaving it at the service desk for me to collect.
THAT is kindness.
People took a moment to help someone they didn't know.
I'm super grateful because that surf key could easily have got dislodged and I'd have spent ages looking for it.

Kindness thoughts they started dancing in my head.
How kind is it to share photos etc ... thanks Erica for yesterday's pre-training sunrise pic.
Or that fella in WA paying for people's fuel.
And thanks to my SA buddy who posted the Punk As F*ck message.
Kindness does rule.
It always did.
Let's do our bit to keep it front and centre 😉

08/04/2026

Truly, I'm still smiling after Good Friday's surf at Noosa.
Love how Adrian captured this 'wave on a wave.'
I realise now I had that blast despite my little accident with that same sup a few days prior .
My face/board collision has resulted in two black eyes.
The bruises have finally appeared!
While I've taken things a bit easier, I've pretty much carried on training and paddling, just with less intensity.
Here's the thing about injuries ... I'm okay getting one doing my sport.
Things are unpredictable at times in the ocean.
Not every accident can be prevented.
But in the gym? Not so much.
It's a more controlled environment.
So I focus on good form, lifting the correct amount of weight, avoiding overuse.
I mix up strength work with conditioning sessions and cycle classes.
I just added Reformer Pilates to my week and already appreciate its benefits for stretching and core.
It's vital to listen to our body as we train.
It's important to not get caught in self-imposed competion with others.
I even respectfully decline encouragement from trainers to lift heavier.
I know me.
I understand my body.
I put range of motion first, total weight used second.
And I'll always do my best, based on how I'm feeling.
Injuries should never be an accepted risk of training.
We workout to avoid them, not raise the risk of getting one.
Who agrees?

07/04/2026

Veggies. Let's love them.
I eat loads now I've found bargains at The Fruit Shed on Nicklin Way.
Most of us know how important veggies are for good health.
(Sure there are some who disagree. I won't get into that though.)
Fibre, vitamins, minerals, complex carbs ... the list of veggie benefits is long.

Getting kids to eat their veggies can be a challenge.
A texture thing maybe?
So grating and chopping finely might help.
I also use funny names like 'little trees' for broccoli. That works ... sometimes.

Adults though?
Just do it!
Sometimes a little salt, a few flakes of shaved partisan or a smidge of sauce turns plain veggies into taste sensations.
Last night I had tofu with parmesan-sprinkled broccoli.
I roasted tiny sweet potatoes and added a beaten egg to create a weird sweet spud omelette.
Deliciousness!

Thought I'd share Tommy's carrot time yesterday.
Usually, he chomps away immediately.
But yesterday, he seemed to think it was a toy.
Love that dog 🐕 ❤️

06/04/2026

Had a bit of a babble today.
Motivation versus inspiration?
Are gym memberships essential spending?
(YES!!!!!!)
And my warm up routine.
Happy Easter Monday 🐰