Hello! So this was my first week after finishing my 30 Day Exercise Challenge. I have decided to maintain a weekly log on the blog (I’m a poet
and….;-0), partly to keep myself motivated, but hopefully anyone else who is interested in the progress of a not
very fit person to a (hopefully!) slightly more fit person will find it helpful
too!
So I confess, I had a slight dip this week, I only did two
aerobic workouts – but in my defense it was an unusually busy week for me, and
my Pilates class started back up on Wednesday, so that counts for something I
hope in the lean mean exercising machine stakes! Hopefully I will get back into
a better routine this week.
This week my workouts were:
Davina umm….ok I definitely did a Davina but I’m actually
drawing a blank right now. I think it was Buff Boxing? It’s usually Buff Boxing
or Cardio Box, I might change it up this week you never know!
Pilates: So my Pilates class also entails a twenty minute
walk to and from class so I kinda feel less motivated to chuck in another
workout on that day. At any rate, we had a three week break, it’s a new term so
there were a few new faces as well as most of the old stalwarts who have been with
this class since it started something like 3 years ago now. The room was packed,
almost uncomfortably so, and selfishly I’m hoping it thins out as it usually
does after a couple of weeks!
My instructor had us using the hoop this week, it was kind of intense/painful to be honest! My back and arms really felt it for a couple of days after from doing the "swimming" type move as well.
Claire Richards: 5 Step Fat Attack: After last week’s fiasco
with the bathroom interrupting this, I figured I owed it to myself, and to Claire ;-0, to try and
finish this one! And I just about managed it, much to my shock. The warm up is to be honest as high impact as
most of my other dvd’s, so you are starting out of the gate racing. I
prefer to ease into things, but this one definitely gets you sweating fast.
Fat Assault Aerobics: This escalates to an almost manic
pace, where I don’t even know what I’m doing half of the time, but it’s also weirdly
fun. Most of the moves are do-able with my knees, I take down any squat jump
type manoeuvres to squats only, I figure that’s still doing me good. I notice that someone has actually put this up on Youtube, so go nuts people! My dumb "smart" t.v. no longer supports Youtube, which is a pain as there are so many workouts on there now.
Combat Manoeuvres: Um so this has boxing/kicking and hopping
around and also this happens. (I originally had a screenshot but the great Google photo wipe has disappeared it so this one will have to do sorry!).
Target & Tone: This is freaking hard. It feels like there are a hundred push ups in this section. AND Planks and abs. I do what
I can!
At Ease Cool Down: This is a good cool down section with decent stretches,
I will say that the instructor pays little mind to people’s varying abilities
(throughout this dvd) so obviously adjusting certain stretches and moves is something
I’m used to, but a couple of the stretches here are tricky for me and I’m
pretty flexible.
Food wise, this week was slightly better than last (I think
I only had one day where I went over my MyFitnessPal calorie limit). Because I
am hesitant to weigh myself for fear I get discouraged/lose my exercise mojo, I
do feel like I’m flying a bit blind here.
The MyFitnessPal app at this point is like a sort of
general Sat Nav for me, but I am becoming more cognizant of my fat and sugar/empty
calorie consumption, I’ve cut down my
morning coffee to a teaspoon of sugar in the first cup only, I think eventually
I will get down to none. I’m also paying
attention to portion sizes, it’s kind of essential with a plate of pasta or
rice or whatever to know how many calories are in it. I feel like I am wasting
a lot less food because I used to just put whatever looked about right on the
plate and most of the time I wouldn’t eat it all anyway.
I also treated myself to some more exercise duds from Primark, I
know it sounds silly but it does help keep me motivated. I really love this purple mesh type vest I got, it’s super breathable. It comes in a few different colours, I think I might pop back for another one. I like Primark's exercise wear a lot, it's cheap and cheerful and so far in my experience durable.
The t-shirt wasn't part of their exercise range but I love the coral colour. The leggings are a matte black, not too shiny, with a nice wide waistband. The sports bra has a bit more support than some of the other ones I've tried from there - I bought it without trying it on because I presumed it would fit the same but it's a bit snugger/less stretchy feeling than my other Primark sports bras. Which is fine actually as I need all the support I can get!
The t-shirt wasn't part of their exercise range but I love the coral colour. The leggings are a matte black, not too shiny, with a nice wide waistband. The sports bra has a bit more support than some of the other ones I've tried from there - I bought it without trying it on because I presumed it would fit the same but it's a bit snugger/less stretchy feeling than my other Primark sports bras. Which is fine actually as I need all the support I can get!
The one thing I really need and am
struggling to find for my exercise wardrobe is a sweatshirt or jacket that
covers my bum, because I feel super self-conscious walking around in exercise leggings
with my Kardashian-esque rear hanging out!
The fitness clothing makers seem to only design these little
form fitting jackets for waif-like girls, when I just want a jumbo sweatshirt
to hide in if I’m wearing this stuff out in public.
Anyhoo, that’s my week in fitness, five weeks down, still feeling motivated! How about you, are you feeling motivated to try any new exercise routines this Spring?
Half naked sweaty men is kind of a bonus I think ;)
ReplyDeleteMy work out is just lifting boxes all day at work, not as fun.
Any kind of manual labor is probably just as good if not better for you I imagine! I defrosted my freezer last week which was just lots of crouching down for like 6 hours at intervals, and I could not walk the next day, seriously, agony. I need to get a job on construction site for a few weeks and maybe then I will be in shape!
DeleteYeah, I kinda of want that half-naked sweaty men workout just for the aforementioned half-naked sweaty men - pretty sure I wouldn't be able to do the workout portion.
ReplyDeleteSince you mentioned your knee...I am curious if you might expand upon that in a future post...(if you are willing)? I am only asking because I am currently battling with rough joints (lord only knows what I did to bring it on) and I am working RICEing it, and doing gentle stretches and exercising, but I'd be really interested to hear anything you had to say, having previous experience in the area.
Hey it's on Youtube for free so go nuts! If you are anything like me you will be too out of breathe and wishing for death to actually ogle them much!
DeleteI will have a think about the knee thing. I am hesitant to post advice on it only because I'm not actually doing anything that my physio recommended (swimming and biking) because they are unavailable to me right now. I would say that my knees do not like pounding/jumping movements, too much twisting, etc. I can handle jogging in place (lightly) skipping,kicking etc. Jumping Jacks or jump squats are a big no. I am super careful when I do these but tbh I am still having little pains, but so far nothing as bad as when I was injured from Zumba.
I take out some of the reps for squats and lunges because I want to build my strength hopefully. If you can get a cheap Pilates dvd or watch one online they actually have some good moves for legs that don't put too much pressure on them. If you are in a lot of pain it's probably best to rest though I'd imagine from overdoing it.
Walking, even at my worst, is always something I can do. I notice a big difference too if I wear my insoles for my fallen arches, like if I walk a lot without them my knees really start hurting again. Have you ever had your feet checked? It's AMAZING how they can throw off your whole body. Ok hope some of this helps. I would recommend physiotherapy if you can swing it, a even a couple of sessions where they give you exercises/diagnose you can help. I had to pay private here because you have to wait forever with the NHS, they basically are like "Oh your knees hurt, come back to us when you can't actually walk/need replacement surgery" ;-/
Also obviously but forgot to say it, my number one rule is "If it hurts, don't do it!" There was a time when I couldn't do any squats at all when my knees were really bad, but I am trying to work them in now because they are my only means of building my quad strength because my knees are weak.prone to slipping their kneecaps out of place and not sliding back in where they belong (it's called patellar tracking disorder). I have some leg weights that I used to do raises with when I was adhering to the physio exercises only, I should really get back on that too!
DeleteYeah, I definitely need to see a Dr. then. I am at a point where I can only walk. Going down stairs is a punishment and sitting with my knees at 90 degree angle is torture and I do everything I can to avoid it. I can't even get down on the floor to do push-ups or gentle yoga or anything like that because of the necessary bending. Calling my doc right now.
ReplyDeleteStairs are problematic for my knees too. I hope you get some relief soon, there are small exercises hopefully your doctor can give you, you will get better, it just takes time. It's part of the reason I am doing the exercise thing, to be less falling apart/overweight, but we need to be patient with ourselves change doesn't happen overnight (i keep telling myself that anyway! ;-) xo
Delete