Squat Challenge

I’ve now been following the Popsugar 21 day arm sculpting challenge for a week and I’m already seeing changes. 
My weight is still quite high so although I want to feel fitter I’m not expecting to see much in the way of muscle until my weight goes down a bit. 
But for the first time in over a decade I have the teensiest hint of muscle in my arm. There’s a bulge on my arm, these mythical things people call biceps but that I’ve never obtained. I can start to see them!
So with that in mind, I’m going to keep going with the arm workout and now I’m going to give the Popsugar squat challenge a blast as well. 

Love this feeling! 😄

 

Identify Obstacles – Children!

My children are definitely one of my obstacles, but in a good way. 
I want to work out, I want to be a healthy role model. 

But more than that I just want to be with them. 

This evening I lay on the front lawn while my girls ran around the street with their friends. They kept coming over to chat and sit with me and their friends. It took me twenty minutes to get through a page of my book but I wouldn’t change it. I could have read in the back garden in peace. 

Soon they won’t want to come and tell me there’s a cute boy moved in a few doors down, or ask me to watch a cartwheel or hear a silly song they just made up. 

Now they want to be with me too. 

But that means until they go to bed I am Mum. I’m a working Mum too so no time during the day to workout.

So how do I get round it?

I workout with my kids. 

My five year old loves yoga, or anything where she gets to show off how insanely pretzel bendy she is. My eight year old just likes joining in and will follow whatever DVD we put on. She does have a soft spot for kick boxing and martial arts though. 

I do the workout properly, I use my weights and I push hard. 

The girls. Sometimes they give it their all, sometimes they don’t. Their ‘weights’ are Barbie dolls. It’s not about the workout for them. It’s about time spent together.

  
Dad doesn’t join in so its girl time and they enjoy it just as much as I do. 

What are your obstacles? How have you overcome them?

21 Day Arm Sculpting Challenge

   A quick browse round Pinterest and eventually I think I may have found something that will help. 
I have exactly 21 days until the work Highland games trip. I think I might see if I can find a similar leg workout to slip into those rest days. 

Although her weights do look a tad bigger than my 2.5kg ones. 

Fitbit Friends?

Hey everyone, sorry I sort of fell off the face of the planet again! There’s been a lot going on, I haven’t decided if I’ll blog about it or not. 

I got myself a Fitbit Flex recently. I got fed up waiting for the Fitbit Charge HR coming out in plum. I’ll maybe upgrade in a year.

It’s been a real eye opener so far. I hadn’t realised how inactive I was, especially at work. Some days I’m only hitting 4k steps and I average 6k. Days I’m at university I’ll hit 15k though. 

The problem is that I’ve only got one friend with a Fitbit so the friends/challenges section of the app is a bit lonely and unused.

So would any of my fellow bloggers like to be Fitbit friends?

Could we find a whole group of us to link up together? Cheer each other on an offer support in bad days?

Insanity Day 4 – 10:32 – Seeing results

Tonight’s workout was Tabata Power again. Last time I did this workout I felt a little guilty afterwards.

Along with the regular evil moves there’s a modifier move. An easier, low impact version. Last time is switched to using that quite early on. This time I was determined not to use it until after I’d maxed out.

I maxed out at 10 minutes 32 seconds

I’m delighted with that. I pushed myself to the limit, as usual though my arms failed me. The push ups were too much. But I managed more than before. Crazy considering how few days it’s been.

I’m already seeing some results though. I have an “anterior tilt” I think it’s called. My pelvis is rotated forward too far and the curve of my spine is overly pronounced. It makes standing up for any length of time painful and I can’t walk for as long as before. I’ve got exercises from my physiotherapist to keep my core muscles tight and support my pelvis, keeping it where it should be. But I tend to forget about them till the hurts. Oops!

Later in the day is when its worst, walking home from work especially. I noticed today though, I was powering home through the snow at a fair speed, and it didn’t hurt. I was standing upright instead of the strange crumpled walk I normally end up with.

I’m standing straighter. It’s just proof that my core muscles are tightening already, I’m delighted.

I’m already getting excited about the first set of photos and measurements at Day 30, halfway!

Getting impatient waiting for the Charge HR UK release day. Hurry up already! Haha!

Insanity Day 3 – 6:52

Wow. After going tonto on day 2 I was really feeling it doing my day 3 work out.

Everything aches from the first second. But I stuck at it and managed to get to 6:52 before I maxed out.

After a quick breather I got back in the game but I definitely had more breaks this time than before.

We saw our neighbour who’s a week or two ahead of us doing Insanity and he assured us that the all over dying ache doesn’t last the whole way. I’m hoping he’s right!

It’s one thing hobbling round the office but I have meetings next week lol.

Insanity Day 2

Ouch ouch ouch!!!

Today was Tabeta day. I still have no idea what that means, even after hitting Google.

I didn’t max out today. I was yelling at my TV and grunting like a Grade A Headcase but I didn’t max out.

I’m not going to cheer though, I did have to swap to the modifier moves a few times and the water break saved me at the last second, twice!! Otherwise I would definitely haves maxed out early on.

It hurt, it really hurt. My grumpy husband didn’t like this one, he struggled with a lot of the moves. The push up style moved killed me but I found it easier than yesterday’s cardio.

Cardio is definitely my weak spot.

Tomorrow is my big exam, I’m really hoping I haven’t overdone it and can actually get in and out of my exam chair lol.

It’s going to be interesting explaining the carpet burns on my hands though…

The jokes right write themselves don’t they?

Fitbit Charge HR in the UK?

Do any of my fellow bloggers know anything about the Fitbit Charge HR release date in the UK?

I’ve asked for a plum one for my birthday which is three weeks tomorrow but they’ve only just been released in North America with the rest of the world to follow “shortly”.

How long is shortly?!

Do any of you use fitness trackers? Do you like them? I’m a total gadget freak so I really fancy one. Would you recommend Fitbit?

I’m drawn to the Charge HR for it’s heart rate ability. My resting heart rate, even as a child and a healthy, sporty teen, has always been higher than my peers. I’d be interested in keeping track, just to see.

I’d like to plan a few runs based on heart rate as well.

But it needs to hurry up!! You’re missing the Resolution Brigade Fitbit, come on!! Haha!

Insanity Day 1 – Maxed Out 7:52

Today my husband and I started Insanity Max 30.

It involves a healthy eating regime and a 30 minute high intensity workout. There is a 30 second water break every five minutes but apart from that it’s all go go go!!

The idea is that you go until you can’t go anymore and need a break. The point where you stop you note the time. That’s your max out time. Then after a brief rest you keep going till the end of the 30 minutes.

Today I maxed out at 7 minutes 52 seconds.

I’m not very fit so I was only expecting to get to maybe three or four minutes so I’m delighted with my start.

Although, I had really wanted to Beaty husband. He managed eight minutes 25 seconds.

I think this is going to be a really hard one to keep up. I need to stay motivated. I can feel already why this works so well. I just need to keep at it!

I did tag an extra little workout on at the end of today. Doing the workout highlighted a rather embarrassing problem, my pelvic floor really isn’t as strong as it was pre-children!

So pelvic toning exerciser was out tonight as well! Need to get back into using that on a daily basis too.

After a lovely long, hot shower I even managed to cram in a couple hours exam revision.

Feeling very on top of things today. It’s a good feeling.

I really need to figure out food though. That can be a separate post!

My Mile

For some people a mile isn’t a long way, for others it feels like an eternity.

I take it for granted that I can walk it, and probably many more, without really thinking about it. A days shopping in the city I bet I walk a good ten miles at least.

In the same way I’d bet a lot of people take it for granted that they can run a mile.

I’ve never been able to run a mile.

Not without having to slow to a walk, gasping my way along the road for several minutes before attempting to run again.

I would take four, five, sometimes more breaks in my mile. My time was always 21-22minutes. A ridiculous length of time for anyone who runs properly.

I haven’t gone for a run since well before Christmas. But today my exam revision went well so I packed away my books and went for a run. I wasn’t expecting much, I just wanted to take step one.

I ran a mile.

I didn’t stop for any walking breaks.

A whole mile.

In 11 minutes 33seconds I ran a mile, that’s half my previous times!!

I haven’t been running so I can’t put it down to training. But I have changed my diet. Not drastically, in leaving all that till after my exams are out the way.

I’ve cut down on bread, reduced my sugar intake, increased my fruit and veg intake, cut out junk food and treats and stopped snacking because I’m bored.

They’re little changed but in just a few weeks I’ve seen some definite differences. Not in my clothes, but in my energy levels, my stamina, my ability to run a whole mile without stopping.

I feel so proud of myself right now.

I wanted to share that feeling, and have this post to go back to when I need a boost.