Challenge Over. OR IS IT?

Yep. I’ve reached day thirty of the ‘exercise every day’ challenge. I feel fitter, stronger, more flexible and all around fantastic. Here is an obligatory photo of me looking a mixture of tired and proud after the thirtieth work out:  

(ok I may have taken a small breather to wipe the sweat off my face to stop me shining like the sun)

And now it’s day thirty so…. I can stop.

But why would I want to do that eh?

Habit formed. I love the effects of all this exercise far too much to give up now! Sure, it won’t be every day (can’t see myself going for a jog during boomtown festival) but I am gonna keep going with it as much as I can. And there you go, in just thirty days I have successfully adjusted my lifestyle to what I want it to be. Go me.

I’ve learned a lot about the importance of setting goals. I’ve tried getting exercise routines off the ground before but this time it was different – because there was a time frame. And I think the ‘thirty day challenge’ method is really good, because it isn’t too long but it’s long enough to really make you think about what you’re doing, and allow it to influence you permanently. So I think I need to put this lesson to good use, and keep setting myself goals to keep myself motivated. I haven’t quite figured those goals out yet, but I will. For now, I’m just going to….

Ironically swimming has not featured in my regime whatsoever!

And so now, it’s time to announce my new challenge.

So far there has been a lot of focus on my body, so I would like to now focus more on my mind. I love writing, but I simply don’t do enough of it. So my new challenge is to write SOMETHING every day – whether it’s a song, a poem, a scene, a short story. Anything. My aim is to get my creative juices flowing, and to be my own inspiration. I want to stop waiting for things to just come to me, and start digging around to find the potential in what’s already there.

So to mark the occasion I have bought a new, clean notebook, which I hope to fill with many wonderful musings. The good stuff I may even post on here!

Here’s to the next adventure, I hope it is as fulfilling as this one has been.

Ten random things to know if you're taking up regular exercise

I'm sure some of this stuff you have seen before - but if it helps for it to come from a very regular girl just trying to get fitter rather than a hot shot fitness expert then at least that's something. Here are some things I think are good to know if you are taking up regular exercise. And some Bridget Jones pictures just for good measure.

1. You can both push yourself AND know your limits.

It's a fine art, it really is. I would love to do 10k runs three to four times a week, but my dodgy joints mean I simply cannot. But that’s not to say that soon I won’t be able to do 10k twice a week! I just need to work up to that, slowly. It’s when you push yourself too hard that you end up giving up completely. I know this because I myself in the past have gone in to regimes full throttle, failed quickly, and then cried and ate ice cream.

This time is different. I have eased myself in –setting myself realistic goals, and then as soon as that goal is achieved I bump it up a notch, but only a little. Just a little bit further or faster, just one more set of reps. This feeling of moving forward is its own reward.

And if right now running for five minutes is your limit? That’s fine!! Never be ashamed of something like that – as long as you are working hard you will reap the benefits. Once upon a time I couldn't do a single push up – my limit was one. But I kept trying and now I can do about fifteen to twenty. That’s still not a lot, but it’s fifteen times more than I could do before, and I know that I am pushing myself as hard as I can and that’s all that matters.

2. Don’t make excuses - Push through the pain.

Unless you’re actually injured, pain is not an excuse to just not exercise at all. During week one my muscles were aching a lot – so each day I worked around that and found something I could do. Leg’s hurting? Let’s focus on abs today then. Abs now hurt? Ok, hard-core run then. And if EVERYTHING hurts – go for a gentle jog and do some stretches – it won’t kill you and will probably help ease you out a bit. Once you have pushed through the pain you will find you can suddenly perform a lot better than before. If you give up, that won’t happen.

3. You will never be so clean in your life.

Ok you might be very clean already, so maybe this would make little difference – but I was generally the person who just kind of let the shower water wash over me with a bit of soap and not much effort. Now, because I need to scrub the sweat out of my pores to avoid the dreaded back acne that most runners get, I have become a full on exfoliating machine in the shower! And of course I need to shower every day now, so my skin has never been so smooth and polished. It’s quite nice really, I can see why grooming appeals so much!

4. Your appetite will change.

Of course it will, you are giving your metabolism a massive kick up the arse. If you’re trying to lose a lot of weight then you gotta watch out for this, it’s all too easy to replace the fat you’ve worked so hard to burn. If not, I say go with your gut and top up those calories – just try and do it with good healthy foods and you can’t really go wrong (I think I’m pushing ten fruit/veg portions a day at the moment!)

5. Your body will change, but not necessarily the way you want it to.

I dream of perfect slim thighs that most trousers will just slide over. That is the ultimate fantasy for me. When I started this challenge I thought ‘I don’t need to lose any more from my torso, so my legs will start slimming down soon’ – nope. I have continued to shrink in the parts that I thought were pretty slim already, and my thighs have stubbornly remained. I am now a slightly smaller boobed, skinny armed, chunky thighed individual – which I did not hope for really. I am eating enough to maintain my weight, so maybe with some work my thighs will take a slightly better shape, but get smaller? Probably not gonna happen. But you know what? I’m ok with this, because….

6. More importantly your attitude to your body will change.

Once upon a time ‘diet and exercise’ was simply something I would do to get thin. I changed that when I gave up sugar – yes I did get slimmer but the amazing feeling I got from being sugar free was the real reward. The same applies here. Slimmer thighs? Pfffft. My legs are strong, they can take me places, they can run lovely long distances, they can sprint. They are perfect as they are. The stronger I get, the better I feel – and the way I look really does rank second. Also, the more you exercise, the more you realise your body IS YOU. You are not a separate entity from your body. So when you say ‘I hate my body’ you are really just saying ‘I hate me’ and that is not healthy. The more you nurture, care for and respect your body the more you will come to love it. It’s the only one you’ve got, so yes, love your body. LOVE IT LIKE THESE TWO LOVE EACH OTHER.

7. You will need to do a lot of clothes washing.

I am burning through pants and socks. Seriously. Because, you know, you don’t wanna put those back on... Just beware of this one because I nearly ran out and had to wear the back up pants (we all have them). I know it seems stupid, but it’s valid.

8. You really can make time for exercise.

I've made the ‘I don’t have time’ excuse so many times in my life – and yet I still managed to watch a fair amount of TV. Seriously. Just do it. And if you choose not to do it, be realistic and say ‘I just don’t feel like it today’ – don’t lie and say you don’t have time. Because I bet most of the time you do. One tip I would give is get it done first thing in the morning, and then it’s done. I know if I had planned evening work outs I would be forgoing them for spontaneous social events, so just do it in the morning and then you can’t back out. 

9. Stretching works!

No really! It does! It just works reeeeeeeeeally slowly. But honestly one day you can just suddenly do something you couldn’t do before and it’s like ‘when did this happen?’ and then it feels great. Just persevere with it.

10. You get out what you put in.

Sometimes I put on my Zumba dvds, I do the moves, I get a fairly good work out and then it’s done. Other times I really go for it, really trying on the extensions, adding power and attitude to the dance moves, and squeezing my muscles with all my might on the toning exercises, and I come out of the same work out dvd completely dripping. It feels good. I forgive myself for the days I don’t try all that hard, but I also aim to always put in 100% because I know I will get so much more from it that way. It’s more fun too. 

So, in short: exercise is good. Love yourself. And if all else fails watch Bridget Jones and have a really good giggle.

Ten days to go!

I think... I'm forming a new habit.

Oh my god IT'S HAPPENING

Exercise is becoming a part of my life

How do I know this?

Well:

1. Everything has stopped hurting - even though I am pushing myself harder as I go along, my body has stopped whining at me and is just putting up with it.

2. I am actually gaining flexibility and LOVING it. It's only been thirteen days so far but that's the longest I've ever managed to stretch every day - and it's starting to show! It's such a slow process but when you start to see changes it does get very exciting.

3. I have now, TWICE, managed to get up and zumba having had less than three hours sleep. If I can exercise in those conditions I can exercise any time.

4. I don't even consider not doing it. At first I had to convince myself. Now it's just becoming part of the routine.

5. The main benefit I have found thus far from regular exercise is it allows you to eat more without having to stress about it. That is a benefit I do not want to be without (as we all know, I love food!) so it's a good motivator.

So considering that this is how I feel and I'm only 43.33% (oh yes, let's get specific) through my challenge - I should hope that things will only get better! By the end of the challenge I should feel fitter, stronger, more flexible and will want to carry this new good habit on into my life. I shall feel like these two, and if you don't get this reference then please - do your research.

Seventeen more days and I will be there! Woopee!

Everything Hurts

Well I am officially one week into my exercise challenge and I am aching all over! In a good way. But right now, I would really like to be this guy:

So this is how my week has been:

Tuesday: 5k Run.
This is something I do fairly often anyway, nice to get back on the York Knavesmire, one of my favorite places to run. Sun is shining, feeling positive about my new challenge, all is well.

Wednesday: 5k Run
Only a tiny bit achy after tuesday's run, but it eased out about ten minutes in to this one. Once again, feeling good.

Thursday: Zumba 'Cardio Party' (50 minutes)
Haven't stuck the zumba dvds on in a long time! Cardio Party is definitely the funnest one, really gets the heart rate up! Lots of energy today!

Friday: 10k Run
Starting to ache a little bit now - the zumba dvd worked some muscles that haven't been used in a while! I love doing long runs - this is probably my favorite work out of the week. I don't do them all the time because my knees are a bit dodgy, but when I do get the chance I absolutely love it. Gave myself a nice long stretching session after this, which was definitely needed!

Saturday: Zumba 'Fitness Express' (20 minutes) and one set each of plank/push ups/leg lifts/sit ups/back raises
It's nice to do a short cardio session - but as I say I despise strength training so this was not my favorite start to the day! And I was doing this on only three hours sleep! Various muscles are really starting to ache now - glutes in particular! Later on, after this session, I started to feel my abs getting sore - and considering I only did one set of each core exercise that just goes to show how out of shape my core really is!

Sunday: Zumba 'Sculpt and Tone' (45 minutes)
This is definitely the hardest dvd but it's the best work out. It's a great combination of cardio and toning exercises. Again, one you need a good stretch after! Only an hour after this work out I felt all my muscles start to ache - expecially around my hips which makes sense because zumba is all about the hip movements! Also this one wiped me out - I ended up going to bed at 9.30 because I was so tired!

Monday: Zumba 'Fitness Express' (20 minutes) and two sets each of plank/push ups/leg lifts/sit ups/back raises.
Frankly I am amazed I pushed myself to do this one. Sunday's work out has left me aching in muscles I didn't know I had. And this is the session I hate. Still - managed to do an extra set of core training so that is good - next time I will do three! Really looking forward to doing a run tomorrow and giving some of my muscles a break.

I have also been doing some basic stretches (downward dog, butterfly, and touching the floor) after each work out. I hold each stretch for two and a half minutes. Interestingly after two or three days I was actually tightening up - so those were the hardest days to stretch. I think it was just my muscles going into a bit of shock as I never stretch them out! But then once I had pushed through those days I felt it getting easier, and I am really starting to enjoy stretching, which is something I never thought I would say. So that's at least one positive thing to come out of this week! I'm looking forward to the days when my muscles get used to this and stop aching all the time - I'm hoping that will only take another week but we shall see! Energy wise I am pretty up - but then absolutely shattered in the evening. It's true what they say, when you exercise you sleep a lot better.

So overall, despite the aching I think this challenge is going pretty well. Roll on week two!

Twenty Three days to go.

New Challenge Huzzah!

Good morning Star Shine - the earth says: HELLO

So my new challenge began yesterday (which is when I intended to blog but I forgot) and the challenge is......

Exercise every day.

Bit of an anti climax, this is probably one of my least interesting challenges, but it's SUMMER and considering how much I love running, this is the right challenge for this time of year. My plan is to alternate between running, zumba, and strength training. Mostly it will depend on weather/time restraints as to what I do, I'm not going to plan it too rigourously. For example, both today and yesterday the sun was shining so I went running. As soon as it rains I will be sticking on the zumba dvds instead! And I will aim to do strength training a couple of days a week (I hate it, but I want to get strong!)

The idea with this challenge is to keep riding the 'I feel so good and healthy' vibes I got from my no sugar challenge. Small update on that: yesterday I indulged in many treats, they were all delicious but did make me feel a bit crap - so I'm gonna give 'one day of sugar a week' a go and that way I can keep a tab on it and still have my favorite things.

I also have decided to set mini goals to keep it more interesting:

One 10k run a week.
Work on reducing my running time on my 5k runs.
With every strength training session, add another set of reps.
After every cardio session do downward dog (a stretch I despise but recognize to be very important) for at least two minutes.

So hopefully, by the end of this month I am going to feel fitter, healthier, stronger and happier. Maybe this level of happy:

Yeah.

Twenty eight days to go.