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  • Ornagh Lee / Q&A

    29th January 2017

    29th January 2017

    By Shivraj Bassi

    Ornagh is a coach on the Crossfit European Gymnastic seminar team and widely regarded as being the premier CrossFit specific Gymnastics coach in Ireland. We sat down with her to find out about her philosophy on health and fitness, and whether she had any vices!

    "I was a gymnast as a child and love anything that involves being able to tumble, stretch, move your body and be strong. I found Crossfit when I lived in America and fell in love with it. It had so many cool, fun elements for any level of fitness. I began working on the Crossfit Gymnastics staff and got to travel around Europe teaching and learning. These days I have my own studio where I focus on building people's strength and mobility to improve their quality of life! I'm a strong believer that getting in shape shouldn’t be a punishment. It’s an amazing and empowering lifestyle decision that anyone can achieve. While there may be a sore muscle or two along the way, the amount of fun and levels of energy you will experience will far exceed the discomfort. My advice to anyone reading this is to discover and appreciate what your body is capable of. You might surprise yourself!

    Favourite Innermost products, and why?

    The Fit Protein because I'm into CrossFit and having a blend that contains the right electrolytes, superfoods and protein to gets me properly refuelled after an intense workout is brilliant. The Energy Booster to keep my myself energised during a workout and to ensure I'm getting the right branched chain amino acids to fuel me properly as I go through my movements.

    What's your hustle?

    I make people stronger and flexible. I want people to learn how to move their bodies correctly and to discover what they're capable of.

    What do you do to maintain a healthy lifestyle?

    I like to keep my days varied. Working is important but I also need to unwind at the end of the day. I usually take a stroll by the sea in the evening to reflect on the day and breathe in the fresh air. 

    What does #liveinnermost mean to you?

    Your body is the best instrument you'll ever own. Learning to love it and see what it's capable of is fascinating. Don't fixate on how you look and instead take pride in what you can do no matter how big or small.

    Usual breakfast?

    Without fail, I start my day with scrambled egg whites, Piccoli tomatoes, half an avocado and a coconut milk latte!

    Biggest health vice?

    Chocolate and cakes and chocolate and cakes! I love to bake and have the worst sweet tooth in the world. I have to really limit myself and it takes a lot of work. 

    Your last workout?

    I spent time practicing tempo muscle-ups on the rings as part of my gymnastic strength training. And then did some rowing (cardio is not my forte).

    What's on your bucket list?

    Machu Picchu! I'm lucky to have seen some amazing parts of the world but this has been somewhere I've been craving to see for a long time. I'm planning to get there some time soon. 

    Favourite inspirational quote/words?

    "I know nothing with any certainty but the sight of the stars makes me dream" - Vincent Van Gogh. He's my favourite artist. I even have the quote tattooed on my body. To me, the quote means that no matter what uncertainties there are in life, you can look at the vastness of the world and let yourself dream of all the endless possibilities ahead. 

    Where do you see yourself in three years? Be bold!

    I want my to build my own facility, I have a dream design and it keeps me motivated everyday to work hard!

    Want to hang with Ornagh a little more? Check her out on Instagram (@ornagh_morechalk) and her website (www.morechalk.com).

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    On Resolutions And Staying Authentic With Anj Magecha
    We sat down with Innermost Insider and mindful wellness advocate Anj Magecha, who shares how she stays on track with new goals and habits whilst remaining true to herself, and what to do when faced with setbacks. Hey Anj! Can you introduce yourself to our readers? Hey everyone, I’m Anj! I’m a 24 year old wellness geek working in consulting. I’m all about navigating life in London, trying to find a balance in my approach to nutrition, exercise and socialising, and improving my mental health and personal development 1% at a time. (And hopefully helping other people do the same!)  How did you become an Innermost Insider and what’s your goal as an ambassador for the brand? I’ve been a Innermost user since I joined F45 TCR in 2018, I was new to the gym, vegan, and in need of some serious protein intake to pack on muscle— at a time where most vegan protein powders were a bit rubbish! I also run on caffeine and hate coffee so got hooked on the pre-workout to fuel going to the gym, uni, working at lululemon and a busy social life!  I joined the Insider program as soon as I was able to, and have seen so much growth for the brand since then! I love all the extra merch, the sweatshirt and duffel are essential - so would love to see more of my go to gym bag essentials become Innermost 👀 Our topic this month is resolution. How would you personally define resolution and has it been a pivotal part of your life?  Resolution means taking control of your own life and making conscious choices that lead you towards the often intangible ‘better’. It's about having the determination and drive to create the future you want for yourself, and accepting the task of navigating the challenges that come your way. To me, resolution is about being true to myself and living with purpose. It's about not letting fear or doubt hold me back, but instead trusting in my own strength and abilities to overcome any obstacle even when it feels like it’s too difficult, or unfair. To be resolute requires a strong sense of self-discipline and self-control, as well as a clear vision of what you want to achieve. It requires a sense of resilience and adaptability, and the understanding that things sometimes get worse when they get better. Resolution has showed up for me in my journey with eating disorder recovery and weight restoration, with difficult conversations with therapists, even with holding boundaries with friends when sometimes it feels easier to let things slide. It’s not just about the big things! Ultimately, resolution is about living a life that is authentic, meaningful, and fulfilling. It's about having the conviction to pursue my passions and make a positive impact on the world around me. How do you go about setting goals in your life? So this is an interesting one. I suck at New Years resolutions. Or so I thought. With a background in disordered eating and a late diagnosis of ADHD I can retrospectively look back at some of my new years resolutions and understand why they felt so insurmountable.  To keep it brief, they were generally unrealistic, overly restrictive or prescriptive, and boring. And to be honest, sometimes goals aren’t going to be exciting.  I’ve read quite extensively around habit forming and achievement and currently quite like the 12 week year format (it’s a book, decent read but for a short version there’s a video on my TikTok!) The 12 week year has really resonated with me - it's all about focusing on what's most important and taking consistent, small steps towards achieving your goals over the course of three months, and then re-evaluating. So a year long goal gets broken into 4 three-month goals, then 12 one-month goals, and so on, until the minutiae of daily habits. It helps you focus on what matters most It keeps you accountable It allows for flexibility It helps you make progress faster Do you ever struggling with sticking to your goals and resolutions? How do you overcome setbacks? Overcoming setbacks in pursuit of your goals can be tough, but it's also an essential part of the journey towards success. Every challenge and obstacle presents an opportunity to learn, grow, and become stronger. I am a very emotionally driven person, when I get sad or anxious or I’m face with a negative life event, my goals are quite easily derailed. So for me it’s important to allow myself time to recuperate after a major setback, as it can be emotionally and physically draining to deal with challenges and obstacles. Taking a break to rest and recharge helps refocus and regain energy and motivation.I practice self-compassion and am not afraid to reach out for support when things feel overwhelming. I’m also a strong believer in setting boundaries for myself to protect my time and energy. Naturally some setbacks are less personal, things like the pandemic or tube strikes. In those cases I try to keep things in perspective: an old manager at lululemon used to say, at the end of the day, it’s just black stretchy pants and I apply that thinking to most areas of my life. Don't let setbacks define who you are or what you're capable of. Instead, use them as an opportunity to learn and grow. Are there certain times where you feel more motivated to set goals or resolutions? Naturally times like birthdays and new years have loads of messaging around goals and time passing, but in my experience I find birthday goals and new years goals are just that. They exist until I feel less festive and then things get difficult. I find the goals that come to me in the other 75% of the year are actually more in line with what makes me feel happy and healthy. The 12 week year method really helps facilitate this for me. Furthermore according to a study published in the journal Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, people are more likely to succeed in their goals when they start working towards them immediately, rather than waiting for a specific time (like the new year) to begin. When we set a goal, we often have a burst of motivation and energy that can drive us to take initial steps towards achieving it. By waiting to start working on our goals, we risk losing that initial motivation and energy, which can make it harder to get started. So why wait for the new year to make changes that will make you happy? What advice would you give to others about setting goals and resolutions for the future? Check in with yourself to make sure your goals are your own and not what you think people expect from you. And don’t be afraid to set goals that people aren’t going to see happen, there have been points in my life where my goal has been to get out of bed every day for a week and they were probably more difficult and transformative than any weight loss or fitness goal I’ve set for myself.  Do you have any important personal resolutions for the next year? I have some goals from my previous 12 week cycle, including the turf games in summer 2023 hopefully, which naturally lends itself to some commitments around training style and frequency.  I think saying no more often is a big one for me. Not to everything by any means but I do a lot of things that I think I ‘should’ do and I usually go in eyes wide open knowing it’ll leave me not feeling great. So hopefully this year I’ll have the resolve to just say no straight off the bat!  That's a wrap! To keep up with Anj, check out her Instagram and TikTok. Read more