exercise

Didn’t do yoga the other night but I did go to the gym last night and there’s a pretty good chance I’ll go to the gym tonight. I’m craving an actual class instead of the elliptical but I’m also feeling like I don’t want to do an hour worth of cardio. What I really want is a nap….

Last night I did 200 crunches, 10 minutes of elliptical on a not very hard level, some leg stuff, lots of back stuff and some arm work. Mostly I concentrated on my back since that’s what’s been giving me trouble. Row machine etc. I KNOW i need to do more cardio if I want to get rid of the squishiness on me… sigh but that’s the part I’m finding hard.

and was supposed to go tonight after physical therapy…but physical therapy makes my shoulders and arms feel so wonky…tight, prickly, sore…etc. So, I came home. They’re starting to feel better now and I think I’ll aim to do an hour of yoga before bed. next week im down to 30 hours at work. I’ll have more time for the gym…maybe even start back up on that horrible running stuff i keep trying to do….

13 minutes on the eliptical (ranging from 4-7 intensity…. it was work but not super hard… i was satisfied. my legs were a little numb afterwards)

did some arms, core and leg work afterwards. i pushed myself a little bit too far on the arm work i think. my shoulders were not happy afterwards but they feel fine now.

did about 120 crunches on the straight crunch machine and then 30-40 each side on the oblique machine. did two leg machines…

i’m so out of shape… but it was good i went at least.

I am restarting this for what seems like the millionth time…but as long as I keep trying I haven’t failed yet, right??

Today I did Day1 of Couch to 5K again. I was surprised at how well I felt I did. Don’t get me wrong though, it was challenging but it I didn’t struggle as much as I anticipated.. the beginning was tough then I did okay for the next 4 run cycles and then the last cycle was kind of brutal but I powered through. Anyway, YES, I surprised myself in a very good way and it was invigorating.

I’ve been dealing with a workers’ comp issue lately—sprain/strain in my thoracic muscles, shoulders and neck… Lots of back pain, etc. It’s been 6 weeks of build up now and the last two weeks were really bad. Part of this is DEFINITELY work but I feel like if I could strengthen the muscles in my back I’d be stronger in general and more resilient to repetitive strain injuries? Maybe I’m wrong but it wouldn’t hurt to be stronger anyway and have better posture.

A couple weeks ago I started doing YOGA again for the RSI and it helped mildly but then the pain amped up just because I couldn’t find the right med..so I had to stop. I’ll be back on yoga again since I have an anti-inflammatory that works. Really basic easy yoga stuff.. I’m a bit scared if I rev it up that I’ll hyper extend something so I’m sticking to beginner level stuff just to get some stretch going.

Tomorrow…. I’m going to a zumba class with my little sister… that should be good. Last weekend I went on a hike (about 2.5 miles I think…it was pretty good but my rsi was murdering me so that and the massage I got pretty much killed me the next day).

This is all hard to navigate for me so that’s why I’m going to obsessively log it here. I just want to stay consistent. No need to be falling apart at 27 years old….and most of it I can blame on diet and exercise. Probably mostly lack of exercise actually…I don’t eat too junky usually.

My other sister wants to lose some weight so I decided I’d join forces with her somehow (she lives on the other side of the planet). I have about 15 lbs I could shed if I felt like it. I’m not really overweight but what I have is jiggle and not muscle…so I’ll work on that with her. I’d just like to be healthier and in setting a goal to just do this with her I think I’ll see some improvement for me. I don’t want to set goals for myself…maybe because I’m scared I’ll fail at it..or because it seems to rigid.

So, flexible goals: I want to be stronger, I want to feel healthier, I want to complete the couch to 5K plan at some point before June…..

OH, and I got invited to climb half dome in yosemite on memorial day weekend… soooo I want to get “in shape” enough to enjoy that.

the end. :)

Okay, I finally feel the gym. A little bit. I decided to take today off from the gym (but I may change my mind later and go down for 20 minutes of cardio..or something…or at least go for a walk). I ran through the workout that the trainer gave me and got through most of it. I’m okay with not having done all of it because I went to Yoga for a full hour before hand and it was kind of an intense little class. I did decide, however, that I definitely need to make sure I spend equal amounts of time stretching out with Yoga as I do weights and cardio. I can feel tightness in the muscles targetted from weights and I refuse to lose the flexibility I have from Yoga.

I have a little notebook that I think I’ll start tracking excercize and food in. I don’t plan on changing my diet (except for maybe less fast food) but it would be good to see what it is I’m eating. Maybe that would inspire some healthful changes. I tend to eat a lot of the same thing over and over again. Maybe at least it will inspire some variety.

Okay so, Monday I rejoined the gym and spent 35 minutes on the elliptical and felt NOTHING. Then I went to Zumba yesterday… and feel NOTHING today. Today, I met with a personal trainer (free session for new members..) and got taught how to use an elliptical correctly…whoops… and got taught how to use a handful of other machines (correctly). So, now I have a 45-ish minute work out to do for a while. I maaaaay save some money and pay for more sessions but we’ll see. For now, lets see how I do with what I learned tonight.

$5 bucks on being sore tomorrow though… (which would be SO good)

Several months ago I let my membership at 24 expire. Today, after much debate about finances within my own mind, I went and started up again. My membership is pricey but I wanted to be able to go to any of the classes I want (since I know I’ll do the classes more than stand around on a treadmill). There weren’t any classes at that particular club tonight so I jumped on an elliptical and did 35 minutes. I’m surprised that it wasn’t difficult… a work out, yes… hard? no..not so much. I imagine I’ll feel it tomorrow though. I was certainly jello-y feeling afterwards. I missed the gym though.. nothing beats a little bit of physical activity after sitting around at a desk job and in coffee shops all the time…

I have an atrocious skill of thinking about wanting to excersize when I can’t (ie. in a meeting, busy at work, on bart, in bed at 2AM) and then putting it off when I have time (ie. all the time I sit vegitating in front of my tv). The problem (not necessarily an excuse though) is that I work seven days a week right now and have a considerable number of things to ‘stress out’ about. Granted, I know that good excersize will not only help with stress and making my body feel better but it will also help me get better sleep which contributes to why I’m so exhausted and feel the need to merely vegitate in front of the tube.

It all makes sense why I should excersize more. And, I want to most of the time but now I just have to convince my mind that I want to when its the right time!