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Amanda Bisk: The Secret to a Healthy Life !!!!




Amanda Bisk is an inspiration. Check out her Instagram, and you’ll find yourself instantly amazed. But what you may not know is that Amanda has had her own challenges. Always an athlete, she had to give up her dreams of Olympic pole vault in 2011 when she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue. The moment proved to be a life-changing experience, and what is so inspiring is that Amanda did not give in. She turned her hurdles into a story of growth, heath, and an all new way of life. Today she is the spitting image of a healthy body and mind.


While we were in Australia for our recent pop up shop, we had the gracious privilege of meeting Amanda. Along with some pretty badass pictures of her from our FP Me shoot, read on for a peek into Amanda’s life now, and the amazing road she’s taken to get here.





Story from her website from herself :


In 2011 my life was flipped upside down. It had been six months since I had competed for Australia in the women's pole vault at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. I came home with the London Olympics set in my sights and had started the first block of training towards my dream. Ever since I was a little girl I knew I wanted to be an Olympic athlete, and here I was preparing for something I had wanted all my life.


Something wasn't right however.


I started to struggle to recover from my training sessions and generally felt drained during the day. As a naturally energetic and bubbly person, this didn't feel like me. Over the coming months my symptoms continued to get worse, even with more and more hours sleep. I started to wake up feeling like I had no sleep at all, I felt flu-ish all the time, my glands were swollen and I was getting light headed all the time.I visited the doctor week after week, was directed to specialists for tests, took my iron and B vitamin supplements, had a lighter training load and more days off. All I wanted was to train and to be me again. I had lost my spark but no one had the solution. My tests were coming back clear but I was feeling worse. Not knowing what was wrong was breaking me.After months of wondering, I was finally diagnosed with chronic fatigue.Through the many months of trying everything I could to recover and get back to normal, there was one thing I hadn't tried yet. Stopping pole vault. Battling this decision in my mind, I met with my coach, Alex. Alex was there for me not only in my athletics world but also in my day to day life. If one person was to understand what I was going through, it would be him. He was a world class athlete himself, one of the best, and he too had to cut short his athletic career because of injury.He understood I had to give my body a chance to recover. And he understood the pain of giving up the one thing I loved most in my life. The dream I had grown up with since I was a little girl felt like it was ripped from my grasp. I was lost for some time after this.


A new way of life...For the first time in my life the routine of training everyday was gone. I isolated myself from the track. I couldn't face the questions, I even found it hard to talk about it with my own family. It was such a painful time in my life that I just wanted to pretend athletics never existed.


New Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010I just simplified my life. I had amazing people around me who really helped me through the months following my diagnosis. One person in particular picked me up every time I was down. My partner Adam. I had met him early in 2011, during the time I was trying to train and compete with Chronic fatigue. He was there through the struggle and through my lowest point, but every time I broke down he reminded me never to give up. He inspired me to take a situation and make the best of it. Including taking control of my own recovery.





I am responsible for me...During one visit to the doctor towards the end of 2011 I was prescribed anti depressants to help with my symptoms. Something didn't sit well with me when I got home after that visit. I just didn't feel right putting my faith in a little pill to help me feel better. I came home with the packet in hand, stood for a moment and then threw it in the bin. From that point, I was in control.I began to learn about health and nutrition. I had learnt the basics while completing my Bachelor Degree in Sport Science, but now I wanted to expand this knowledge into something I could use for me and my health. I read books, explored the internet, went over my university notes, spoke to nutritionists and just immersed myself in information. This is where my passion for health really started to grow. I realised that the most fundamental element impacting my health was the decisions I was making everyday. Decisions about what to eat, how to move, what to think, everything.The more I learnt, the better decisions I made each day. And I began to see a change.It took a little while, but I started to develop a different perspective of food. I now saw each meal as a chance to heal my body and feed it healthy and nourishing food. As the weeks and months went by I noticed I was starting to feel better. I still had good and bad days, but the days I felt really horrible started to fade away.Having isolated myself from any form of exercise for months, and now that I was gradually feeling better, I thought I would try yoga. I was the middle of 2012. I felt this was the perfect way to begin moving my body and to refresh and recharge my mind. Slowly I began to do yoga and stretching at home everyday and bit by bit I began to introduce other exercise such as walking, swimming and body weight strength. The biggest thing however, was that I learnt to listen to my body. If i didn't feel like going for a walk I would just do a little 15 minute stretch at home. Just something small everyday. This helped me build a routine and my exercise time started to feel like me time. A way to tune into and understand the way I was feeling.





It's the way I live...It has been a long road since 2011 but I am thankful for every step of the journey. In the last few years I have learnt the most about myself and how I want to live my life. The way I live now involves some simple philosophies that I follow everyday. It has taken me a while to find what works for me and it involved hitting my lowest point, but through this I really began to understand not only my limits but also what makes me thrive.


There were many times along the way where it felt like I would never get the old me back again but the one thing that stopped me from giving up was understanding that every positive effort I was putting in, no matter how small, was helping me grow. Changing my mindset to see the positive in every situation has changed my path and my experience of life. Its all about the little efforts I put in, the steps I take and the little accomplishments along the way. They all build up and they all bring me happiness.


Never stop making your life what you want it to be.LEARN, LEAD and LOVE your own journey.





And now a glimpse from Weekend Workouts: Anywhere, with Amanda Bisk :


No matter where you go this holiday, there you are…working out like a champ thanks to Amanda Bisk’s new movement series, Anywhere.Say the name Amanda Bisk around Home Office, and there’s a good chance that the word “hero” or “inspiration” will soon follow. In 2011, Amanda, a professional pole vaulter in Australia, was diagnosed with chronic fatigue. After doctors prescribed several different (and unsuccessful) treatments for her, she sought out a holistic approach — whole foods and yoga — to which she attributes her healing.Today, in addition to being a Qualified Exercise Physiologist, Elite Athletics Coach and Yoga Teacher, she is founder of freshbodyfitmind, a digital platform that allows you to practice yoga and work out anywhere, anytime, on any device you like.What can’t this woman to? EXACTLY our point. And she’s been gracious enough to share with you a few of her favourite on-the-go workouts to keep you in top form during the holiday season (and beyond). Today, we’re going to start with The Pyramid, a Whole Body Cardio Workout.


This workout is a countdown workout. Starting at 20 reps, and dropping by 2 reps each round. Example: Do each exercise for 20 reps, then the next round 18 reps, next round 16 reps…and so on until you get to 2 reps.Advanced variation: Once you get to 2 reps, work your way back up the pyramid until you get back to 20 reps!


EXERCISES1





ARM BURPEES:


Start standing with your feet wide.Place 1 hand on the ground between your feet.Jump your feet out to plank (keep them wide for balance), then jump them back in and stand up.Repeat on other side.


Beginner variation: Step your feet out and in instead of jumping.

Works: Core, obliques, and shoulders.





PLANK KNEE SLIDES:Start in Plank. Finger spread wide and pressing firmly into the ground (to remove pressure from the wrist joint). Push the ground away and round upper back to the sky. Lengthen through the neck (look up) and pull the shoulders away from the ears. Pull the core in and squeeze the bottom (no saggy back!)Bring left knee to elbow, slide down to wrist, then back up to elbow (the up phase in super important and really fires up the deep core!). Then step back to plank.Repeat on other side.*Each side = 1 rep (eg. left side = 1, right side = 2, back to left side = 3…)

Beginner variation: Just bring elbow to knee (no slide).Weak wrist variation: Do on elbows.

Works: Shoulders, lats, core, deep core, and obliques.





DROP SQUATS:Start with your feet together.Jump feet wide, toes out slightly, and sit your bottom down and back into a squat. Touch one hand to the ground in between your feet.Keep your chest up, back straight, and press firmly into your heels (to fire up the glutes).Jump your feet back together and stand up.Repeat on other side.

Beginner variation: Keep feet wide and do low impact Sumo Squats.

Works: Quads, hamstrings, adductors (inner thighs), and calves.




And last but not the least check her app freshbodyfitmind :Exclusive 30 day challenges & programs Full length, follow along classes added weeklyStay fit, flexible & strong all year round from your living room.


How much does it cost ??


Simply pay $2.49/week after your free trial has finished, for unlimited access to the ever growing library of yoga classes, workouts, 30 day challenges and programs ($9.99 USD/month)...



 



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