I’M A RUNNER: ODETTE BLACKLOCK
Article added October 17, 2017 Categories Columns, Featured Columns
THE AUSTRALIAN SURVIVOR 2017 CONTESTANT IS ALSO A PODIATRIST AND AVID RUNNER. ODETTE BLACKLOCK, PODIATRIST AND PERSONAL TRAINER, 33, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.
​Some people may know me from season two of Australian Survivor. I am a busy mother, sports podiatrist, personal trainer, Pilates instructor, and founder and coach of Urban Run.
I originally wanted to be a PE teacher. I did my health science degree but there was a lack of jobs in my area. I wanted the stability to provide for my son. I felt sports podiatry complemented my love of running.
I started running when I was four years old. I stopped running and many other pursuits when I lost my mother at 14. I remember starting to run again many years later at the age of 22. I had become quite unfit, unhealthy and I was struggling with depression. I remembered how running used to make me feel as a child and I wanted to have that good feeling back in my life again.
To me, running is empowering. I have the power to test my limits, to keep my body healthy and to venture where I want to go. They say if you don’t use it you will lose it, [and running is] a way to show gratitude to the vehicle that is my body. It helps me in my daily life, because I find it to be like meditation.
You can go [running] anywhere, any time. You don’t need much preparation. They say you always find time for the things you love. I run whenever I get the opportunity. I also join in when taking my run groups.
As a podiatrist and runner I get to test shoes from many different brands. I had never worn Under Armour before and after being sent my first pair of shoes (Gemini 2) which I absolutely loved, I noticed the competition for the Under Armour Death Valley Run Camp [in the US] advertised on Instagram. The timing was perfect: I had just finished my masters, and I had family in America I had never met and was desperate to meet. I did everything I could to make my application stand out – you can still see the posts I submitted on my Instagram (@odetteblacklock).
The Under Armour Death Valley Run Camp last year was the most gruelling run I have ever done and I learned so much about myself on that run. I became aware of the self-talk that had been holding me back over the years and the pain I endured on the run really helped me to change that. I developed a mental toughness that made me see my potential.
The only time I have a bad run or day is when I’m not listening to my body. I know then that other areas may need some attention. I usually put more focus on recovery in the form of rest, stretch and nutrition. The most important lesson I have learnt is don’t beat yourself up, as long as you continue to try, it’s a good day.
It is very important to get to hear your own thoughts and a solo run allows you to have that time. But I absolutely love to share the run with others [too], as it’s a great way to strengthen friendships. When I run with a friend or with my crew we are always beaming with positivity and good vibes.
As I just got back from Survivor I need to get my training back to where it was.
Most of the time I run with music and I always bring the beats on the UE Boom portable speaker to run crew. I will always be busting out dance moves or rapping in between sets. I love listening to hip hop when I train.
Odette Blacklock was a contestant on this year’s Survivor on Channel Ten. Off-screen she is a podiatrist, and owns Athletic Medic Podiatry Clinic in Sydney.

Are you in two minds about weight training?


Let me share some advice: weight training produces outstanding all-round health and wellbeing, coupled with the aesthetics of a brilliant body. Unlike traditional steady state cardio, it delivers bang for buck and requires less time in the gym, yet turns your body into a calorie burning, anti-aging and disease fighting machine.


It’s time to replace your old beliefs on calorie burning with the new facts. Weight training preserves lean muscle mass and burns fat. The old saying of ‘calories in vs calories out’ ignores the main element that is imperative to weight loss: hormones! Hormones are what controls our metabolism. Understanding this will allow you to train your metabolism rather than training your body into the ground.


The benefits in strength training are the adaptations that the body undergoes. Strength training stimulates the release of, you guessed it, HORMONES, specifically anabolic and lipolytic hormones. Growth hormone (GH) and testosterone (T) are hormones that build muscle and make it more efficient to utilise fat as the main source of fuel, both in training and at rest. Additionally, resistance training is shown to increase insulin sensitivity. This means that the body can utilise glucose more effectively (Pollock et al., 2000), which is fantastic in lowering the risk of metabolic disease.


Weight training allows you to stay in the fat burning zone for longer. EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) is a term used to calculate elevated metabolism post exercise. According to the ACE (American Council of Exercise), EPOC is influenced by the intensity, not the duration of exercise. Heavy training loads yield a greater EPOC effect during the post-exercise recovery period. This means you burn more calories at a higher rate post weight training for longer, some studies suggest up to 48 hours!


​For toning and weight loss, it really is a no brainer. Weight training builds lean muscle which elevates your metabolic rate, improves insulin sensitivity and reduces inflammation. It balances your hormones, stimulating an anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and fat targeting hormone response. Improvements in cardiovascular health are found to have an equal degree of benefit and this is coupled with a strong and lean physique.


I still love cardio for its mind clearing, endorphin hitting and cardiovascular benefits, but I always ensure I am weight training. Keep active and your body will thank you.

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For more information or personal training, please leave your details via the contact us page.


References
Pollock, M.L., Franklin, B.A., Balady, G.J., Chaitman, B.L., Fleg, J.L., Fletcher, B., Limacher, M., Piña, I.L., Stein, R.A., Williams, M. and Bazzarre, T. (2000). Resistance exercise in individuals with and without cardiovascular disease benefits, rationale, safety, and prescription: An advisory from the Committee on Exercise, Rehabilitation, and Prevention, Council on Clinical Cardiology, American Heart Association. Circulation, 101(7), pp.828-833.

https://www.acefitness.org/blog/5008/7-things-to-know-about-excess-post-exercise-oxygen
http://main.poliquingroup.com/articlesmultimedia/articles/article/1307/nine_reasons_to_prioritize_anaerobic_training_over.aspx

Do you want to exercise but couldn't be f*#ked? Do you ever scroll through Instagram and end up feeling temporarily motivated to drink kale smoothies, eat clean and run your first half marathon, but when you really think about it, you couldn't be f*#ked?!
 
Well the truth is, a lot of us feel this way. It's been suggested that 90% of diets end in failure and only 25% of us stick with our exercise routine.
 
Studies have found that barriers to exercise people face are lack of time, lack of energy, or that they find their exercise program too challenging, too hard to follow, or too boring. We all know those excuses are another way of saying “I couldn't be f*#ked”. And we don't need a study to prove it [1].
 
Why don't we exercise when we know the benefits will improve every aspect of our life? What keeps us on the couch, in the car, and fixed to the screen rather than on the run, in the park and pumping our motivational music? It’s that tug-of-war in the brain, that delayed gratification, and that unpredictability. It’s that convoluted process, the getting to, form, in and out of. It’s the cold, the heat, the uncontrollable elements. Yes, it's more excuses.
 
So what can make us un-f*#ked? What can motivate us to get things done? Action. Suck it up. Sink or swim. Not the answer you want to hear? Sorry.
 
Let's say it: simple motivation is bullshit! Mel Robbins identifies hesitation as the culprit killing all of our good intentions. When we hesitate about getting up at 5am to go to the gym, our brain goes into protection mode. She explains the well-known phenomenon called ‘the spotlight effect’. This is where your brain magnifies risk to pull you away from something that seems to be a problem. Hesitation is this effect taking place, a decision that blocks us from action.
 
So basically you need to hack your brain to get over this hurdle of hesitation or remain f*#ked.
 
Mel says we need to change our decisions. Her life's work is focused on the five second rule. Her work started when her world fell apart at 41 years of age; she was unemployed, having lost everything financially. She admits to being trapped in the ‘knowledge action gap’, and continues to explain, “We have knowledge of what to do, and then hesitation hits and paralyses us”. Mel changed her life with the five second rule. She counts 5,4,3,2,1 and then executes what she wants before her brain kicks in. It activates the prefrontal cortex in your brain, requiring more focus to be more courageous and get you moving.
 
This five second window stops self-sabotage and can change your life. It has helped thousands of people around the world in a plethora of aspects in their life. But for us wanting to start that new exercise routine, this is a must try.
 
Please share your experiences using this technique or let us know what blocks to exercise you face.
 
Please click the links below for more information.
 
1.     Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overcoming Barriers to Physical Activity. Physical Activity for Everyone. 22 May 2007.
 
2.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCHPSo79rB4
 

If you don't record or post it, did it really happen?
Have you ever found yourself wanting to be in the moment, be present, be with out distraction, be in awe of the place that you are in and observing, Yet in the back of your mind the need to capture it on your smartphone is looming "just a quick insta story to let people know about this fabulous experience" the need to let others know you have an interesting life, the need to connect with others that might feel the same. 
So here in is the conundrum. It is estimated that we upload over 1.8 billion photos per day. Yet the average amount of conscious decisions an adult makes per day 35,000.
So if a picture is to speak 1000 words, what makes yours a wise decision to double tap on?

Being present with people or events that are dear to us Vs posting to a population of strangers is the question we may pause to ask.
Did you ever notice how highly successful people such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs wear the same out fit day after day, after day? They understand and value the limited number of conscious decisions we are able to make in one day.

If your decision making processes are being bombarded by popping out of your present state and on to your phone, having to decide how to snap, filter and hashtag. It may be so much more beneficial for your head space and even future success in life, to brush the smart phone and stay in the moment.