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How do you fill in your weekend? Most of us would probably appreciate a lie in, then maybe a trip to cafe for brekky then a lazy walk on the beach. But not self proclaimed 'sporty spicette' Julia Nash. For Julia, getting up at the crack of dawn to do a hardout Ludus Magnus (described as Crossfit on crack), then maybe run later in the day is a typical Saturday, then on Sunday its a leisurely stairclimb for an hour or so. |
| But Julia hasn't always been the fitness freak and you'd be surprised by her body transformation from fat and unfit to the super fit gym bunny she is today. Check out our Q & A with Julia and get inspired by her up and go attitude - and get your fitness going too! |
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What is your typical week of activity. I don’t really have a typical week. Since “retiring” from the stage my life is not as structured as it used to be and I’m actually really enjoying the haphazardness of it all. I still get up early every morning to train but instead of starting my day with fat burning cardio I go to Ludus Magnus 6am every weekday morning and it’s not an unusual occurance for me to head in on weekends too. I also run (thee days per week), box (not well), and do random challenges like seeing how many burpees I can complete in one hour (471). List some of the races, events you've entered in recently ie fun runs etc, burpee challenge etc Albany Lakes Run Series Contact Triathlon Coatesville Classic 8k Real Womens Duathlon Ludus Marathon Orewa 10k Burpee Mile Why Women Run 10k |
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Were you ever unfit? Have you always done this much exercise, if not, when you did you start getting into it and why. I spent most of my life being unfit at first I was fat and unfit, then I started bodybuilding and I was lean and unfit (I just looked like I was fit). Now I like to call myself “averagely fit” because amongst my circle of friends I’m probably middle of the pack. On a daily basis I’m actually doing less exercise now than when I was bodybuilding. Leading into a competition I was doing double cardio AND weight training, now a typical day only involves training twice a day max unless I’m completing some epic adventure like the Ludus Marathon (which is completing every Ludus Magnus session on the timetable in one day). |
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You do alot of high volume training which tires out most normal humans, where do you get your stamina and strength from? or do you think its a lot of mental strength. I have to thank Jo Stewart for my strength because she “made” me lift all those heavy weights and my stamina comes from a) being fit and b) fuel. Being able to fuel your body for endurance makes things so much easier. What do you enjoy about all the activities that you do? The variety! Bodybuilding is very much same old same old, day in day out. Walk, Lift Weight, Walk some more. However my week is always different. One day I might be flipping tyres, jumping over tyres and hitting tyres with a sledgehammer and the next day I might be doing a mile of burpee jumping at a track. My legs have really leaned out and my shoulders and arms look visually harder and fuller but most importantly I am still holding all the muscle mass that I had when I stopped bodybuilding even though I’m not doing any structured weight training. Does your body get sore and tired from all the activity and do you give yourself a rest some days. Yep sore is my normal state of being, I am human after all. I can’t remember a time when some part of my body wasn’t tight, inflammed or literally broken. I usually only train once a day on Friday so Friday afternoon is my “rest day” and I probably take one entire day of rest per month. I do however have regular massages to keep this old body going! |
   NABBA WFF April 2011 |
You've competed in bodybuilding comps, which do you find harder? BBing or the constant exercising Without a doubt bodybuilding is harder because you are doing eveything on such a limited calorie intake. How is your diet, do you eat alot to compensate for the activity you do? My daily calories are much higher than they used to be and I found that really hard to begin with because I was worried that I would get fat. My nutritionist had a hard time convincing me to eat the calories I needed and it took me awhile to get my head around the fact that I was no longer a bodybuilder and couldn’t continue to do endurance activities on a bodybuilders diet. |
 Julia and her hubby James |
How do you work around your family schedule and spending time with your kids? you must have a super supportive partner! Scheduling has actually been the easiest part of it. I train before and after work and because I start early and finish early I’m home by 5pm each day in time to have dinner with the kids. Weekends I tend to try and get all my training done by 10am so that I can spend the rest of the day with the kids. But yes I have a very very supportive partner and my parents live in flat attached to our house, so we have the luxury of live in babysitters. |
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If you are in Auckland come and join me at Ludus Magnus! If you are not fortunate enough to live in Auckland I found that when I took up running my fitness level increased astronimically AND more importantly it’s something that you get good at very quickly which helps with motivation. And finally surround yourself with the people you want to be like, its amazing what a little “peer pressure” can do. Heck do you think I would have “voluntarily” done an entire mile of burpees without a group of nutty friends! |
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