get in shape

Tuesday – Hike

Thursday – My first time walking to the park by myself at night, it was actually pretty cool… there were tons of people walking and running around, even an exercise group in the grass. I felt pretty safe, so no excuses of not going for a walk “even when it’s too late”. It stays open to 10:30, much better than the 7pm hiking trails.

Friday – Hike 19 hours ago

After my amazing week of four gym visits, I hadn’t gone again. The best thing about being crazy organised is that I write everything down in my diary – if I didn’t go to the gym, the reason is there.

Friday – well earned rest day!
Saturday – working the longest shift available at work – no gym.
Sunday – same excuse but I couldn’t feel my feet.
Monday – I had an interview and overslept not making it to class.
Tuesday – Another interview, spent the day with my boyfriend.
Wednesday – Worked and started on my packing instead of going to class.

Yesterday, however, I went TWICE with my gym buddy. We tried BodyStep in the morning, which made you sweat but wasn’t an enjoyable workout as the combinations are too complicated in places. Then after seeing a movie and shopping we decided we had enough left in the tank for a Step Kick Boxing class. I am definitely feeling that today!

There are no classes on today and I’m working later so today is my rest day. 1 day ago

I’m almost at my goal!! 2 days ago

2/2/12 Day 9 of Exercise to Fit commitment

It’s kind of amazing that I’m already seeing results..
1. Yesterday, Day 8, when doing “long jumps” in the front room, I could only do a little more than 2.5 tile squares (10” each, so about 26-27”) and at best almost make 3 tiles. This morning, my 2 jumps easily hit 3.5 tiles!

2. This morning I did a back roll on the mat.. the kind where I hold my knees to chest and roll from top to bottom longwise. Usually (meaning always), my spine sticks out so much that doing this exercise hurts a little as my back bones feel exposed and bruised by the hard surface even thru a mat. THIS MORNING I did the roll and did not feel any hard spine contact, no pain. Can I already be changing the landscape back there? or maybe the spine is tucking differently? I can’t figure out what happened.

3. Day 1 when I was trying a little of everything I could think of, I was doing a little jumping jacks without the arms part and I started to hear a loud clap with each jump. What in the world was that? It totally took me by surprise but it was my butt cheeks slapping together. That’s gotta be a great measure of flabbiness. It was quite the amazing trick. Yesterday, jumping still could produce a clap but it was already more muffled, less loud. wow. that’s progress. : )

4. The first thrill actually came the very first night when I lay down in bed and decided to try to do leg lifts. To my shock and dismay, when I lay on my left side and tried to lift my right leg, the one with a persistent hip bursitis problem that wakes me briefly at least 1-3x a night if I’m not laying on my back.. that leg would not lift for me.. not even a little fraction of an inch. It hurt but it was not pain that was keeping it down, I just couldn’t move it. Was this like my frozen shoulder of some years past, where the tissue had “frozen” into its folds from lack of use? I kept trying, and found that if I turned my body to different angles, forward or backward, I could lift my leg. I kept doing leg lifts in every angle I could as I continued to vary my body angle, having to skip around certain positions to avoid pain and weakness.. but to my delight, after some half hour including lots of rests, I was able to do leg lifts from a straight side up angle! I had somehow worked my way thru the stop and was thrilled. Had I just averted an impending long term “frozen” (at least from the side) condition? Still had certain weak positions but no locks.

5. Night 7 was the first night in a long time when I was not awakened by bursitis pain, even though I caught myself sleeping on my side. It’s still there, but apparently not as bad.

My “program” is far from any “routine”.. I’m still looking up exercises online to try, and I have to rest a lot between little bursts of exercise, but my simple commitment is to do at least 10 minutes of exercise a day. I try to be balanced (not exercise in one direction only) and not do anything too strenuous. So far some of my menu includes: bed or standing: leg lifts in all directions, bed: bicycle motions, semi-squat poses, lunges, step up/step down lifts, push ups against the door frame or counter top, arm band stretching in all directions, arm lifts while prone as posture exercises, stretching and twisting in different directions, ...

Progress is encouraging. And marking my wall calendar with an E every day I meet my 10 minutes minimum is rewarding more than I’d have guessed. 1 week ago

So far everything is going really well. I’ve been to the gym four times this week! I think I’ll take tomorrow as a rest day and will start up again on Monday as I’m working all weekend.

This week’s classes = Aqua, Cardio Kickboxing, Body Balance and Body Step. I really need to do my weights program and get that reassessed. 1 week ago

Monday – Hike

i also listened to a lose weight hypnosis… wonder if it’ll work :)

Thursday – walk with friend

(weight hypnosis didn’t work. I ate crap all day)

Saturday – hike & walk with friend

Sunday – hike 1 week ago

Hiked once this week. 1 week ago

I’ve been swimming a mile this week. Next week I start 2 =D 2 years ago

R and I are thinking of joining the Y. Though I’m being active with (nearly) daily walks and yoga sessions, I’d love to have access to weights and machines. Not to mention the tons of “free” classes they offer. I’m not so sure about fitting it into our budget, but we’re going to check it out tonight to see what we can work out.

Then R throws me a curve ball – he asks if I would be up for doing a triathlon, since we’d have access to a pool. I thought about it for a second. I’ve never ran a 5k in my life, so that’s the most daunting part. I think I could physically handle the swimming, but if I think back to my high school days, I was the kid who was always swimming into other people’s lanes. And I would probably have to buy a new bike, since the only one I have right now is a 3-speed cruiser. That’s a cost I just can’t afford. It would also be such a huge commitment to training – quite a bit, considering I’m already signed up to walk a half marathon in October.

But it’s not impossible. It would be an INCREDIBLE accomplishment and a great way to bust my butt into shape. I’m already trying to figure out how I could fit training into my daily routine. What a freaking goal… 2 weeks ago

my goal is no longer to “lose weight”.
that’s too much pressure & i don’t want my goal to be to lose x amount of pounds or x amount of inches. i just want to be able to not count count calories & get as much exercise as possible & lose weight at my own pace….cos i wanna be healthy & feel good …& feel good about myself. not beat myself up over not losing enough weight by a certain date like i usually do. i’m doing this MY WAY! 2 weeks ago

I may not reach the bar, but I am in pretty damn good shape compared to my peers. Yeah me! 2 weeks ago

I went to Step this morning. 15 minutes aerobic warmup, roughly 20-25 minutes step aerobics. It was ridiculously hot in the studio so I kept having to stop for water breaks. I broke a decent sweat!

I forgot to check my weight but will do so tomorrow. Fingers crossed it hasn’t ballooned too badly. I’m using My Fitness Pal to track my weight and my eating habits. So far today is going well. 2 weeks ago

hiked twice this week 2 weeks ago

Goin to physical therapy to work on. Neck a. Back pain that prevent me from doing quite a bit. I’ve also started bike riding with my dog (benefits her quite a bit as well). However, I’ve now developed a knee problem….sheesh. But I’m not quitting!!! 2 weeks ago

Tomorrow I weigh myself and find out the damage Christmas and Vacation has done. Tomorrow I begin my onslaught of fitness classes.

Today I rest, prepare mentally and have a light dinner. Today I work on starting! and finishing my exam preparation so I can relax. 2 weeks ago