If chocolate/pudding is calling to you from the fridge or crisps/cakes/biscuits from the cupboard ask yourself this..
What are they doing in your house?
Next time you are flicking through the channels or waiting the dull 5 minutes of an advertising break think..
All that wasted time where I am being brainwashed by TV could be a 20 minute workout. (20 minutes of adverts every hour) how many hours are you sitting through telling yourself there is no exercise time in your day?
Next time you are on the bus or in the car for less than 10 minutes, consider the length of time it would take to walk or cycle that same distance.
Is the school run (kids delivery to school) a complete pain because there is nowhere to park and the kids are whining in the back? Start out 30 minutes earlier ,kids in coats ,toddlers in the buggy and walk. Your kids will be wide awake when they get there and you will be calm and in control. Your petrol money can stay in your purse and the car can live another day.
When your kids tell you they 'NEED this' fad food on your next shopping trip ,seriously ask them why.
Tell them the responsible adult who balances the household budget decides what is bought and if that isn't them then they are out of luck! Often kids want to impress their friends with the amount of money that was spent on their lunch,it is wise for them to remember that their friends really don't care what is going into someone elses mouth.
Next time you see a jogger or cyclist in the street or park or a yoga or fitness documentary on TV think..
I need to do that.
So what are you waiting for?
This isn't the rehearsal!
Thursday 30 June 2011
Scams ,cheats and gullibility
About 20 years ago, a guy(the cleaner) at my husbands work ,was burgled.
Well firstly he was mugged of his take home pay as he reached his flat then the thieves stripped his home of everything and even took his bike.
He turned up at work and told everyone and they all rallied around with a collection of several hundred pounds.
My husband donated his bike so the guy could still make it in to work.
About a week later, he resigned.
Does that set off alarm bells in your scam antenna?
It did in mine.
I was furious at my husband for giving his bicycle to this man when we were so poor ourselves.
I mean we have never been destitute but when we bought the bike,I lent the money ,which should have gone into savings ,until he could sell his bone shaker . The bone shaker was stolen by his brother and we never did put that money back in our savings. To me,that bike had cost us dearly .
15 years ago a man knocked on the door and displayed the back of his van. He was fitting carpets in the new builds around the corner. These were the spares. My husband paid £20 (from an income where every penny was precious) for a 16 X 12 and hauled it inside,the man drove away. On unrolling the carpet, it was discovered to be 10 X 12 .too small for the room.
They say you never get a free lunch, there is always a catch.
Unfortunately hubby is too trusting, he cant see why anyone does not have his best interests at heart. It has taken me being cuttingly cynical again and again to persuade him otherwise.
These days you are more likely to be scammed online.
People will email sob stories or fantastic,never to be missed opportunities.
It is easy to fall victim until you really think about it.
How did this stranger get your email?
What possible reason would a company have for offering you a job/diploma/winnings/vouchers when you have never heard of them?
Even more unpleasant are the appeals on the internet for 'help' with illness.
While I can see that this is a great way to reach people, it is also the problem.
It is a great way to reach people!
All that is needed is a donate button and a sob story.
Lastly are the bags left on your doorstep.
We seem to be getting one a week from various 'charities'.
Some are well known with official logos and charity registration numbers.
However, some have dubious wording.
They provide affordable clothing to the third world! (they are going to sell to the poverty stricken 3rd world in other words).
Look closer and some have a percentage that will go to the cause ,it isn't always very much.
Your generous donations are lining someones pockets.
Even the officially registered and bone fide charity bags are not always what they seem.
Who collects the bags?
Often it is bag thieves who case the area and help themselves.
These donations will end up on ebay or a market stall.
Ultimately, the charity bags which actually make it to the charity intended, will be charged for.
The charity pays for each bag regardless of what is in it so don't be tempted to fill it with holey underwear or torn books. One charity worker on a forum I read claimed it was £2 a bag.
Look at the TV and you will hear words twisted about every day to persuade the gullible.
A talent show is almost entirely populated by people who's loved one died unable to see them fulfilling their dream or who's family are virtually destitute and this is their one and only chance in life to 'make good'.
All that is needed is for the public to text or phone and this person will be made for ever.
Well no! Actually what will happen ,will be, your phone bill will rise by maybe £1.50 which is sent to the talent show's owners. Thousands of 'voters' will pay the talent host's mortgage and affluent life style and the poor sap who is making a ridiculous spectacle of themselves on Television, will be a nobody in less than 6 months having signed away most of their rights to a real career assuming they were anything to write home about in the first place.
All the other unplaced participants of the show will be ridiculed and any good reputation tarnished for years to come. They are the failures and will be made to remember that. Self Humiliation!
Isn't that the reason why the auditions for shows such as 'Opportunity Knocks' were held off camera and only the cream ever got to be filmed?
Of course some of them deserve the wake up call.
The pouting girls with their hard,course voices ,screeching out 'pop' songs completely out of tune ,then waiting for the applause, need to be shown the reality.
'Singers' with absolutely no resonance.
'Comedians' who are only funny to a room of drunk people.
' Dancers' with their skeleton showing or no visible physique under a mass of cushioning.
All need to know how they are seen by others.
The Noel Coward song 'don't put your daughter on the stage Mrs Robinson' proves that this is nothing new.
....................................................................................................
Heh excuse my wingeiness just wanted to get that lot off my chest.
Well firstly he was mugged of his take home pay as he reached his flat then the thieves stripped his home of everything and even took his bike.
He turned up at work and told everyone and they all rallied around with a collection of several hundred pounds.
My husband donated his bike so the guy could still make it in to work.
About a week later, he resigned.
Does that set off alarm bells in your scam antenna?
It did in mine.
I was furious at my husband for giving his bicycle to this man when we were so poor ourselves.
I mean we have never been destitute but when we bought the bike,I lent the money ,which should have gone into savings ,until he could sell his bone shaker . The bone shaker was stolen by his brother and we never did put that money back in our savings. To me,that bike had cost us dearly .
15 years ago a man knocked on the door and displayed the back of his van. He was fitting carpets in the new builds around the corner. These were the spares. My husband paid £20 (from an income where every penny was precious) for a 16 X 12 and hauled it inside,the man drove away. On unrolling the carpet, it was discovered to be 10 X 12 .too small for the room.
They say you never get a free lunch, there is always a catch.
Unfortunately hubby is too trusting, he cant see why anyone does not have his best interests at heart. It has taken me being cuttingly cynical again and again to persuade him otherwise.
These days you are more likely to be scammed online.
People will email sob stories or fantastic,never to be missed opportunities.
It is easy to fall victim until you really think about it.
How did this stranger get your email?
What possible reason would a company have for offering you a job/diploma/winnings/vouchers when you have never heard of them?
Even more unpleasant are the appeals on the internet for 'help' with illness.
While I can see that this is a great way to reach people, it is also the problem.
It is a great way to reach people!
All that is needed is a donate button and a sob story.
Lastly are the bags left on your doorstep.
We seem to be getting one a week from various 'charities'.
Some are well known with official logos and charity registration numbers.
However, some have dubious wording.
They provide affordable clothing to the third world! (they are going to sell to the poverty stricken 3rd world in other words).
Look closer and some have a percentage that will go to the cause ,it isn't always very much.
Your generous donations are lining someones pockets.
Even the officially registered and bone fide charity bags are not always what they seem.
Who collects the bags?
Often it is bag thieves who case the area and help themselves.
These donations will end up on ebay or a market stall.
Ultimately, the charity bags which actually make it to the charity intended, will be charged for.
The charity pays for each bag regardless of what is in it so don't be tempted to fill it with holey underwear or torn books. One charity worker on a forum I read claimed it was £2 a bag.
Look at the TV and you will hear words twisted about every day to persuade the gullible.
A talent show is almost entirely populated by people who's loved one died unable to see them fulfilling their dream or who's family are virtually destitute and this is their one and only chance in life to 'make good'.
All that is needed is for the public to text or phone and this person will be made for ever.
Well no! Actually what will happen ,will be, your phone bill will rise by maybe £1.50 which is sent to the talent show's owners. Thousands of 'voters' will pay the talent host's mortgage and affluent life style and the poor sap who is making a ridiculous spectacle of themselves on Television, will be a nobody in less than 6 months having signed away most of their rights to a real career assuming they were anything to write home about in the first place.
All the other unplaced participants of the show will be ridiculed and any good reputation tarnished for years to come. They are the failures and will be made to remember that. Self Humiliation!
Isn't that the reason why the auditions for shows such as 'Opportunity Knocks' were held off camera and only the cream ever got to be filmed?
Of course some of them deserve the wake up call.
The pouting girls with their hard,course voices ,screeching out 'pop' songs completely out of tune ,then waiting for the applause, need to be shown the reality.
'Singers' with absolutely no resonance.
'Comedians' who are only funny to a room of drunk people.
' Dancers' with their skeleton showing or no visible physique under a mass of cushioning.
All need to know how they are seen by others.
The Noel Coward song 'don't put your daughter on the stage Mrs Robinson' proves that this is nothing new.
....................................................................................................
Heh excuse my wingeiness just wanted to get that lot off my chest.
HIIT 6
Well yesterday was going to be a rest day but my daughter was having an away day to the city,my husband and son whisked themselves away to Karate and I was alone in the house so I got my act together and did my interval workout.
Still keeping to the easy parts being jump rope.
This time I didn't do the two sessions of double unders but instead did more of the stability ball.
I found some interesting core moves for it so they were incorporated.
In my cool down, I did the double unders and this time did a different sequence just to keep things interesting.
Instead of a minute each of certain numbers of single and then a DU ,I did a number of jumps then one DU,then a number of jumps and 2 in a row,then a number of jumps and 3 in a row.
Anyway, adding in the various DU's does make the cool down go a bit faster.
Managed 6 each of the pull ups and chin ups again before needing to swap to negatives (lowering from the chair).
Still keeping to the easy parts being jump rope.
This time I didn't do the two sessions of double unders but instead did more of the stability ball.
I found some interesting core moves for it so they were incorporated.
In my cool down, I did the double unders and this time did a different sequence just to keep things interesting.
Instead of a minute each of certain numbers of single and then a DU ,I did a number of jumps then one DU,then a number of jumps and 2 in a row,then a number of jumps and 3 in a row.
Anyway, adding in the various DU's does make the cool down go a bit faster.
Managed 6 each of the pull ups and chin ups again before needing to swap to negatives (lowering from the chair).
Wednesday 29 June 2011
smooth running
Last night was so much cooler than it had been for most of the day.
We had a downpour in the afternoon and little spits of rain thereafter so was expecting the run to be rained off but it was looking a bit clearer by 8pm so we went.
I had been drinking tea and water on and off for the evening and my run was very easy so when we got back to the top of the road to turn home, I continued along the other way( usually that is our shorter run) and managed the whole of it.
That was a 7.5 k run all told( 4.69 miles or something like that), the most I have managed in well over a year.
We had a downpour in the afternoon and little spits of rain thereafter so was expecting the run to be rained off but it was looking a bit clearer by 8pm so we went.
I had been drinking tea and water on and off for the evening and my run was very easy so when we got back to the top of the road to turn home, I continued along the other way( usually that is our shorter run) and managed the whole of it.
That was a 7.5 k run all told( 4.69 miles or something like that), the most I have managed in well over a year.
Tuesday 28 June 2011
Getting closer to the century
70 press ups this morning! Well more really but the last set are to failure so I only count them.
I had a little bit of paid work to do first thing so got that out of the way first.
It is absolutely cripplingly hot here so expected the press ups to be too taxing but no!
Surveys do pay..
I had another onepoll survey this morning which took me up to the £40 pay out.
That took 6 months as I requested the last one just about Christmas time.
Now they will pay via pay pal as well as bank payments .
I find paypal very handy because I can use the money for ebay.
Some survey companies will change criteria mid term and will then reject your membership which is rather rude I think. I always contest any left over points and they usually will pay them once they see you aren't going to go away and die somewhere.
Nearly forgot
4 minutes Plank!
Longest ever.
I had a little bit of paid work to do first thing so got that out of the way first.
It is absolutely cripplingly hot here so expected the press ups to be too taxing but no!
Surveys do pay..
I had another onepoll survey this morning which took me up to the £40 pay out.
That took 6 months as I requested the last one just about Christmas time.
Now they will pay via pay pal as well as bank payments .
I find paypal very handy because I can use the money for ebay.
Some survey companies will change criteria mid term and will then reject your membership which is rather rude I think. I always contest any left over points and they usually will pay them once they see you aren't going to go away and die somewhere.
Nearly forgot
4 minutes Plank!
Longest ever.
Monday 27 June 2011
Workout of the day
Today was number 15 of my yourself fitness workouts.
I chose 'Core' again.
This is my favourite as it helps so much with my running and is my main fat store(tum) so needs to be trim.
I clicked on weights and stability ball for my equipment. I may add step at a later date having realised I can use just about anything as a step.
The warmup was luckily not too intense as it is 27 degrees c in the front room where my mat is.
I got a fair number of supermans (3sets) and the same number of bicyles. Then 3 sets of double crunches.
Since my planks have improved, the workout has become a bit less painfull on my wrists which is a good thing.
My wrists are only 6" round and quite puny.
I did one set of lateral twists with my sons 25lb weight. Then the rest with the smaller 5lbx2 and 1 wrist weight .
Tomorrow is day 3 week 6 of my pushup challenge.
It should have been on Sunday but it was far too hot .
If I do well I shall forge forwards with the 100 challenge on Thursday or maybe next weekend but if it is as hot as today, I shall repeat the week before giving the whole lot a go.
I chose 'Core' again.
This is my favourite as it helps so much with my running and is my main fat store(tum) so needs to be trim.
I clicked on weights and stability ball for my equipment. I may add step at a later date having realised I can use just about anything as a step.
The warmup was luckily not too intense as it is 27 degrees c in the front room where my mat is.
I got a fair number of supermans (3sets) and the same number of bicyles. Then 3 sets of double crunches.
Since my planks have improved, the workout has become a bit less painfull on my wrists which is a good thing.
My wrists are only 6" round and quite puny.
I did one set of lateral twists with my sons 25lb weight. Then the rest with the smaller 5lbx2 and 1 wrist weight .
Tomorrow is day 3 week 6 of my pushup challenge.
It should have been on Sunday but it was far too hot .
If I do well I shall forge forwards with the 100 challenge on Thursday or maybe next weekend but if it is as hot as today, I shall repeat the week before giving the whole lot a go.
Beachbody Coach?
Erm this term actually makes me laugh.
Not wanting to take away from Tony Horton or Sean T as their fitness regimes do seem to work for those who keep at them but really, become a beach body fitness trainer!
Isn't that another form of a pyramid scheme?
What happens is this, the person who buys the fitness 'program' also can become a 'beachbody instructor'.
This appears to be earned by fulfilling the workouts and I assume applying for the status online.
However, some of the 'instructors' on youtube, are constantly starting and stopping their workout programmes and so never in reality, get through the workouts they are claiming to know and support.
I am sure the workout's inventors are not that bothered, they have their payment and the kudos of those who keep 'pressing play'.
What really gets me is the 'instructors' who go on youtube, post their 'success by showing you only a few bits of them actually performing the moves themselves' and then disappear for long stretches .
Every now and again they pop back in to add comments and short pointless add on videos, about how they are now successful 'coaches' and you can subscribe to them ,buy the workouts from them and also pay them to send you the 'shakes' which you absolutely NEED if you are to gain any results while you follow your DVD, at home, alone, in front of your TV.
Of course you can buy the workout DVD's and the Shakes from the actual site itself without needing to go through a 'coach' to get them and Messrs Horton and T will be motivation enough.
The support they offer seems to come in the form of 'online motivation' which you can get for free from many fitness forums,websites and facebook pages.
So the beach body coach status appears to be a selling strategy ,with advertising in the form of proclamations of happiness in their new found fitness and nothing more.
The other thing that bothers me about these workouts is their progressiveness.
I was most impressed with P90x and all the smiling ,less fat, more fit ,shapely people on youtube.
What I find a little less impressive is the way some participants become not only obsessed with their workout life and the 'Shakes' but also their need to keep buying the next newer workout .
There have been many different versions it seems and the last one that I have seen videos of is 'Insanity Asylum'. This last is very intense, it is a series of leaping and pressing and bounding around movements, as hard as the exerciser can manage. Many of the 'users' show before pictures,then do their 30 days of workouts and then show ,to me,rather disappointing 'result' pictures where they have reduced any muscle they had and become too thin.
Several people post every workout and it is interesting to see that while many can do the moves by the end of the 30 workouts, there are massive variations in form.
Not wanting to take away from Tony Horton or Sean T as their fitness regimes do seem to work for those who keep at them but really, become a beach body fitness trainer!
Isn't that another form of a pyramid scheme?
What happens is this, the person who buys the fitness 'program' also can become a 'beachbody instructor'.
This appears to be earned by fulfilling the workouts and I assume applying for the status online.
However, some of the 'instructors' on youtube, are constantly starting and stopping their workout programmes and so never in reality, get through the workouts they are claiming to know and support.
I am sure the workout's inventors are not that bothered, they have their payment and the kudos of those who keep 'pressing play'.
What really gets me is the 'instructors' who go on youtube, post their 'success by showing you only a few bits of them actually performing the moves themselves' and then disappear for long stretches .
Every now and again they pop back in to add comments and short pointless add on videos, about how they are now successful 'coaches' and you can subscribe to them ,buy the workouts from them and also pay them to send you the 'shakes' which you absolutely NEED if you are to gain any results while you follow your DVD, at home, alone, in front of your TV.
Of course you can buy the workout DVD's and the Shakes from the actual site itself without needing to go through a 'coach' to get them and Messrs Horton and T will be motivation enough.
The support they offer seems to come in the form of 'online motivation' which you can get for free from many fitness forums,websites and facebook pages.
So the beach body coach status appears to be a selling strategy ,with advertising in the form of proclamations of happiness in their new found fitness and nothing more.
The other thing that bothers me about these workouts is their progressiveness.
I was most impressed with P90x and all the smiling ,less fat, more fit ,shapely people on youtube.
What I find a little less impressive is the way some participants become not only obsessed with their workout life and the 'Shakes' but also their need to keep buying the next newer workout .
There have been many different versions it seems and the last one that I have seen videos of is 'Insanity Asylum'. This last is very intense, it is a series of leaping and pressing and bounding around movements, as hard as the exerciser can manage. Many of the 'users' show before pictures,then do their 30 days of workouts and then show ,to me,rather disappointing 'result' pictures where they have reduced any muscle they had and become too thin.
Several people post every workout and it is interesting to see that while many can do the moves by the end of the 30 workouts, there are massive variations in form.
SUN day
Twas absolutely bloomin boiling yesterday!
We do our food shop Sundays as it is quieter on the roads.
My son is learning to drive so we sat in the car park, parking,in reverse,for what seemed like an AGE!
The other half can be very directing in his 'directions' and that can be a problem for everyone ,so eventually, he had to swap seats and park the car himself.
To be honest, I think telling a learner driver to find a space where he can reverse park from the right, is a bit too controlling,especially in an almost full car park.
There were plenty of easy to get into spaces but he had his 'orders'. I felt sorry for him but I am not the one who volunteered to teach him, so kept quiet.
No formal exercise but I spent a couple of hours in the garden shoving the wheel hoe about and then picking berries so feel that, that was rather like a moderate workout. I took a half litre water bottle down there and drank the lot plus 2 mugs of tea.
We do our food shop Sundays as it is quieter on the roads.
My son is learning to drive so we sat in the car park, parking,in reverse,for what seemed like an AGE!
The other half can be very directing in his 'directions' and that can be a problem for everyone ,so eventually, he had to swap seats and park the car himself.
To be honest, I think telling a learner driver to find a space where he can reverse park from the right, is a bit too controlling,especially in an almost full car park.
There were plenty of easy to get into spaces but he had his 'orders'. I felt sorry for him but I am not the one who volunteered to teach him, so kept quiet.
No formal exercise but I spent a couple of hours in the garden shoving the wheel hoe about and then picking berries so feel that, that was rather like a moderate workout. I took a half litre water bottle down there and drank the lot plus 2 mugs of tea.
Saturday 25 June 2011
Hiit 5
Another improvement in the chin up/pull up dept.
6 pull ups and 6 chin ups in one round and 4 chin ups/4 pull ups in another.
The rest of them were negative(lowering to ground from chair).
Double unders for 2 rounds,one round 49,next round 40
Kettle bells for 2 rounds 17 and 16
Leg raises 2 rounds 14 and 12
rope jumping for the in between bits.
The warm up was 10 mins easy steps
Cool down 5 mins with cross arms every 10 jumps
1 min with double unders every 10
1 min with double unders every 12
1 min with double unders every 15
1 min with double unders every 20
1 min with double unders every 25
5 mins easy steps.
Absolutely dripping with sweat but very satisfying overall.
I shall probably follow this same pattern for 6 weeks and then switch to different exercises.
6 pull ups and 6 chin ups in one round and 4 chin ups/4 pull ups in another.
The rest of them were negative(lowering to ground from chair).
Double unders for 2 rounds,one round 49,next round 40
Kettle bells for 2 rounds 17 and 16
Leg raises 2 rounds 14 and 12
rope jumping for the in between bits.
The warm up was 10 mins easy steps
Cool down 5 mins with cross arms every 10 jumps
1 min with double unders every 10
1 min with double unders every 12
1 min with double unders every 15
1 min with double unders every 20
1 min with double unders every 25
5 mins easy steps.
Absolutely dripping with sweat but very satisfying overall.
I shall probably follow this same pattern for 6 weeks and then switch to different exercises.
Friday 24 June 2011
A good run
Last night was a good run!
I even managed to speed it up in a couple of places.
We didn't run Tuesday so this was only a 4k instead of a 5k to let our legs readjust.
If you try to do too much after a lull, it can lead to too many aches a pains of the tendon and joint variety so we err on the side of caution.
The other half is cycling part way to work and so keeps pace with me . When he was just running after work without the cycling, it was quite hard to keep up with him.
My Son(22) also runs with us and he managed to keep a steady pace all the way around.
Oftimes he will speed on ahead and then wait for us as he gets his breath back.
He is still quite new to running but is much younger so we even out in ability.
Pleasing results
I put in my measurements on a body weight calculator this morning and found my body fat was at 17.4% which is a vast improvement on the 25.9 that it was back in April when we reassumed running and workouts.
Weight has dropped to 128lbs (from 134)and BMI is at 22(from 22.9).
The weight drop doesn't seem that much but my strength has really improved and there is far less visible flab.
I even managed to speed it up in a couple of places.
We didn't run Tuesday so this was only a 4k instead of a 5k to let our legs readjust.
If you try to do too much after a lull, it can lead to too many aches a pains of the tendon and joint variety so we err on the side of caution.
The other half is cycling part way to work and so keeps pace with me . When he was just running after work without the cycling, it was quite hard to keep up with him.
My Son(22) also runs with us and he managed to keep a steady pace all the way around.
Oftimes he will speed on ahead and then wait for us as he gets his breath back.
He is still quite new to running but is much younger so we even out in ability.
Pleasing results
I put in my measurements on a body weight calculator this morning and found my body fat was at 17.4% which is a vast improvement on the 25.9 that it was back in April when we reassumed running and workouts.
Weight has dropped to 128lbs (from 134)and BMI is at 22(from 22.9).
The weight drop doesn't seem that much but my strength has really improved and there is far less visible flab.
Thursday 23 June 2011
Push ups improve again!
Week 6 ,Day 2
Well I thought last session was as good as I was going to get but this morning I managed 60 push ups for my failure set.
I do my push ups on running day so that I have fresh arms in the morning and haven't knackered my legs by evening (when we run).
We don't time our running. There is no point. I am not competitive and so no need to know my pace.
Providing I can keep running for 30 minutes or so, I am happy.
Well I thought last session was as good as I was going to get but this morning I managed 60 push ups for my failure set.
I do my push ups on running day so that I have fresh arms in the morning and haven't knackered my legs by evening (when we run).
We don't time our running. There is no point. I am not competitive and so no need to know my pace.
Providing I can keep running for 30 minutes or so, I am happy.
Wednesday 22 June 2011
Jam and rain and raspberries
I spent a good hour picking berries yesterday, I wanted to get them in before it rained so I wasn't soaked by the wet bushes.
In the afternoon, I made microwave jam.
Quite easy.
1kg berries
Good squirt of lemon juice and
500g of sugar
Mix in large bowl and zap on full for 7minutes 30,stir and zap for another 7 mins ,30,stir
do twice more.
Jar it up. Remember the bowl will be VERY hot!
This is lovely with home made yoghurt.
No running Tuesday evening, I had a splitting head ache (Due to TOTM).
.............................................................................................................
Today (Wednesday) I did my plank challenge.
3 minutes 20 seconds this time.
Before lunch I did an hours yourself fitness workout for core.
I added a hip lift to the leg raises which was quite effective.
The plank twists are becoming easier probably due to the plank challenge.
In the afternoon, I made microwave jam.
Quite easy.
1kg berries
Good squirt of lemon juice and
500g of sugar
Mix in large bowl and zap on full for 7minutes 30,stir and zap for another 7 mins ,30,stir
do twice more.
Jar it up. Remember the bowl will be VERY hot!
This is lovely with home made yoghurt.
No running Tuesday evening, I had a splitting head ache (Due to TOTM).
.............................................................................................................
Today (Wednesday) I did my plank challenge.
3 minutes 20 seconds this time.
Before lunch I did an hours yourself fitness workout for core.
I added a hip lift to the leg raises which was quite effective.
The plank twists are becoming easier probably due to the plank challenge.
Tuesday 21 June 2011
push ups report
Just finished my week 6 day 1 push up stint.
The target was >40 and I managed 51 to failure.
I highly recommend this push ups program 100 pushups in 7 weeks
My arms were so weedy to begin with (week 1) that I could only do 12 in one go.
I am noticing a bit more shape to the back of my arms (where we ladies get flabby) and more definition to my forearms too. Not manly definition, just less soft and pappy looking.
The target was >40 and I managed 51 to failure.
I highly recommend this push ups program 100 pushups in 7 weeks
My arms were so weedy to begin with (week 1) that I could only do 12 in one go.
I am noticing a bit more shape to the back of my arms (where we ladies get flabby) and more definition to my forearms too. Not manly definition, just less soft and pappy looking.
Monday 20 June 2011
Time of the month or womens talk :)
Hmm I really don't look forward to the time of the month!
All my energy is drained away.
It starts about 4 or 5 days before the actual cycle and carries on until almost the end.
Today is day 2 .
I managed my skipping/HIIT workout in the afternoon. The morning got off to a bad start as I was still in bed until 9am.
When I run during my cycle, I have to pace myself more slowly to be able to get round.
The mooncup has been a great help. It is a silicone cup for catching the flow and means no more awful pads but I had to get used to using it and it wasn't so easy at first. I am quite looking forward to waving 'Aunty Flo' goodbye in a few years.
When I was a school girl, the TOTM was a week long misery sentence. I always got depressed and all enthusiasm for anything was gone.
It wasn't until I was in my 20's that I discovered that caffeine can affect some women that way.
We always drank tea at home ,especially in colder weather and it wasn't unusual to have a cup 8 times a day.
I cut my tea drinking back to 4 cups and the moods were gone.
These days I make tea in the teapot which uses less tea and so less caffeine to make more cups, so I can manage about 5 or 6 of these weaker tea's without becoming the evil witch woman one week a month.
Today I did 4 real pull ups from the floor!
Then 4 real chin ups.
After that it was back to negatives by lowering myself from the chair but woohoo progress.
I am managing about 40 double unders in a minute now(not all consecutive) this is double my old number from before I began the HIIT .
All my energy is drained away.
It starts about 4 or 5 days before the actual cycle and carries on until almost the end.
Today is day 2 .
I managed my skipping/HIIT workout in the afternoon. The morning got off to a bad start as I was still in bed until 9am.
When I run during my cycle, I have to pace myself more slowly to be able to get round.
The mooncup has been a great help. It is a silicone cup for catching the flow and means no more awful pads but I had to get used to using it and it wasn't so easy at first. I am quite looking forward to waving 'Aunty Flo' goodbye in a few years.
When I was a school girl, the TOTM was a week long misery sentence. I always got depressed and all enthusiasm for anything was gone.
It wasn't until I was in my 20's that I discovered that caffeine can affect some women that way.
We always drank tea at home ,especially in colder weather and it wasn't unusual to have a cup 8 times a day.
I cut my tea drinking back to 4 cups and the moods were gone.
These days I make tea in the teapot which uses less tea and so less caffeine to make more cups, so I can manage about 5 or 6 of these weaker tea's without becoming the evil witch woman one week a month.
Today I did 4 real pull ups from the floor!
Then 4 real chin ups.
After that it was back to negatives by lowering myself from the chair but woohoo progress.
I am managing about 40 double unders in a minute now(not all consecutive) this is double my old number from before I began the HIIT .
Sunday 19 June 2011
legs eleven
Well a legs workout day anyway.
I did the lower body workout from yourself fitness on my laptop.
It's the first time I have done it with the stability ball added in and it really makes a difference.
After I had finished my hour, I did a 20 minute yoga in the meditation garden .
That is a first for me too.
You really do need to become familiar with the names of the moves as she doesn't hang around and wait while you learn them.
I especially liked the pose called the Corpse LOL It is just lying on your back on the floor!
All in all, a great workout.
We had chocolate today(once a week treat) and 2 jam doughnuts last night(I usually have one).
I did the lower body workout from yourself fitness on my laptop.
It's the first time I have done it with the stability ball added in and it really makes a difference.
After I had finished my hour, I did a 20 minute yoga in the meditation garden .
That is a first for me too.
You really do need to become familiar with the names of the moves as she doesn't hang around and wait while you learn them.
I especially liked the pose called the Corpse LOL It is just lying on your back on the floor!
All in all, a great workout.
We had chocolate today(once a week treat) and 2 jam doughnuts last night(I usually have one).
Friday 17 June 2011
The evening run
We ran last night about 8pm.
The other half has been cycling during the week as a part commute and had already done 120 miles of that this week so his legs were a little tired but he still came along.
The river run
Our house is quite near the river so our road goes uphill to begin with ,then along the flat pavements beside a main road (usually quite trafficy) and then we can leave the road for a while ,go down alongside the river and plod along there.
People in their boats,peer out at us as they are eating their suppers. On one stretch of the river, is a restaurant boat, a sort of boxy wooden barge, so we have a larger audience just for a moment.
I can imagine the comments, they are typically, 'I used to run',or 'We should do that', or even 'If my back/leg/arm/head was okay,I would do that'.
It is raining, we are getting wet but it is cool too and refreshing.
We turn and come back the other way once we reach the curved footbridge that leads to the cinema.
The bridge gets slippery in the rain and there is no adjoining path along the other side of the river.
Once past the railway bridge that crosses the river,we rejoin the road and bumble uphill.
It is only a light uphill stretch but with the traffic alongside, it seems interminable.
A car honks its horn as it goes by ,making me jump. No one I know but I wave anyway.
Once I have passed the library and the turning down to my road, I continue alone for a little while.
My other half and our son have turned home wards.
A solo last half mile.
The last part of the run is more hilly and I shuffle past some teens on their bikes.
None of them comment and I keep my eyes off them. If you make eye contact,they are likely to call out or even accompany you on their bikes. You have to become oblivious to them.
The hill flattens out and I pass the general store(we call it the 'top shop' because it is at the top of the hill).
It is closed now and the shutters are up.
Past the houses either side of it and after crossing the road that leads down into the council estate where you must be extra careful of cars with youthful and maybe not always sober drivers suddenly speeding up to beat you to the junction, past the next row of houses and the bus stop all surrounded by rose bushes. Then at the next turning,touch the lamp post and turn for home.
I always try to run to a landmark that I can see on Google maps so that I can estimate the length of the run. We used to time ourselves but I don't anymore as it becomes too obsessive..
This run is about 3.5 miles which seems quite short when I think of the long Sunday runs we did a few years back. We are happy with the length right now.
Other runs nearby
There are heaps of different ways we could go. Sometimes we turn away from the town and go towards the motorway, The run is hillier but the audience are fewer unless you count those in cars.
A lot of our area is on hills because of the river valley.
Our long run used to go from our house round in a big loop,cross the river entirely and right round to the other side of the town eventually where we would enjoy the down hilledness of the home straight. I think it was about 10 miles. Lovely on a light breezy day, miserable in the hot summer and freezing if you were caught in a downpour as it took so long to get back that your body started to lose heat more quickly than you could generate it. The roads are not very well drained on long stretches and you have to stop running, edge up against the wall and walk until you pass the huge lake like puddles for fear of an unthinking driver causing a tidal wave .
We could drive to much prettier areas but taking the car out to go for a run seems like a fail.
Bike routes
About 10 years ago, we used to drive to the Sustrans cycle routes and bike along with the kids and a picnic. The routes are lovely and a lot of old abandoned railway is incorporated but they are such a palaver to get to. I especially like the crab and winkle way which goes to the seaside.
Our town has a route too. It is painted in red on the road. One stretch goes to the next town about 7 miles away and is nearly all uphill. There are places where it is shared with the pedestrians and some where it is shared with bridle paths . We have never bothered to try it. The drivers here are uncaring of the safety of cyclists and quite likely to plough one down . At least when running, you can use the pavements legally and avoid the madness of motorists with a grudge.
The other half has been cycling during the week as a part commute and had already done 120 miles of that this week so his legs were a little tired but he still came along.
The river run
Our house is quite near the river so our road goes uphill to begin with ,then along the flat pavements beside a main road (usually quite trafficy) and then we can leave the road for a while ,go down alongside the river and plod along there.
People in their boats,peer out at us as they are eating their suppers. On one stretch of the river, is a restaurant boat, a sort of boxy wooden barge, so we have a larger audience just for a moment.
I can imagine the comments, they are typically, 'I used to run',or 'We should do that', or even 'If my back/leg/arm/head was okay,I would do that'.
It is raining, we are getting wet but it is cool too and refreshing.
We turn and come back the other way once we reach the curved footbridge that leads to the cinema.
The bridge gets slippery in the rain and there is no adjoining path along the other side of the river.
Once past the railway bridge that crosses the river,we rejoin the road and bumble uphill.
It is only a light uphill stretch but with the traffic alongside, it seems interminable.
A car honks its horn as it goes by ,making me jump. No one I know but I wave anyway.
Once I have passed the library and the turning down to my road, I continue alone for a little while.
My other half and our son have turned home wards.
A solo last half mile.
The last part of the run is more hilly and I shuffle past some teens on their bikes.
None of them comment and I keep my eyes off them. If you make eye contact,they are likely to call out or even accompany you on their bikes. You have to become oblivious to them.
The hill flattens out and I pass the general store(we call it the 'top shop' because it is at the top of the hill).
It is closed now and the shutters are up.
Past the houses either side of it and after crossing the road that leads down into the council estate where you must be extra careful of cars with youthful and maybe not always sober drivers suddenly speeding up to beat you to the junction, past the next row of houses and the bus stop all surrounded by rose bushes. Then at the next turning,touch the lamp post and turn for home.
I always try to run to a landmark that I can see on Google maps so that I can estimate the length of the run. We used to time ourselves but I don't anymore as it becomes too obsessive..
This run is about 3.5 miles which seems quite short when I think of the long Sunday runs we did a few years back. We are happy with the length right now.
Other runs nearby
There are heaps of different ways we could go. Sometimes we turn away from the town and go towards the motorway, The run is hillier but the audience are fewer unless you count those in cars.
A lot of our area is on hills because of the river valley.
Our long run used to go from our house round in a big loop,cross the river entirely and right round to the other side of the town eventually where we would enjoy the down hilledness of the home straight. I think it was about 10 miles. Lovely on a light breezy day, miserable in the hot summer and freezing if you were caught in a downpour as it took so long to get back that your body started to lose heat more quickly than you could generate it. The roads are not very well drained on long stretches and you have to stop running, edge up against the wall and walk until you pass the huge lake like puddles for fear of an unthinking driver causing a tidal wave .
We could drive to much prettier areas but taking the car out to go for a run seems like a fail.
Bike routes
About 10 years ago, we used to drive to the Sustrans cycle routes and bike along with the kids and a picnic. The routes are lovely and a lot of old abandoned railway is incorporated but they are such a palaver to get to. I especially like the crab and winkle way which goes to the seaside.
Our town has a route too. It is painted in red on the road. One stretch goes to the next town about 7 miles away and is nearly all uphill. There are places where it is shared with the pedestrians and some where it is shared with bridle paths . We have never bothered to try it. The drivers here are uncaring of the safety of cyclists and quite likely to plough one down . At least when running, you can use the pavements legally and avoid the madness of motorists with a grudge.
Thursday 16 June 2011
Almost at the half century
48!
That is the number of push ups I managed this morning and brings me up to the end of week 5 for the 100 push up challenge.
Next week is the final push up workout week ,it actually seems less demanding as the sets are shorter on the whole but just more of them. I am not confident of following that week with 100 non stop though, I can just manage the 48 and will need a bit more time I think before managing a whole century,so I may repeat week 6, 2 weeks in a row.
48 is also my age until my birthday in the summer.
On Tuesday I did my plank challenge to myself.
To begin with I could manage 20 seconds easily and about 45 to failure.
I think I have been working on planks simultaneously with push ups but without a program.
I can now do 3 minutes 30 seconds before failure sets in so I am very pleased with that improvement.
Why I am even bothering with these two exercises?
When I follow the workout on my computer, the virtual trainer announces the next move and I feel compelled to follow. Often it is planks or push ups.
When I first began with the push ups again this year, I was shocked to discover how pathetic my arm strength was. The narrow push ups were nearly impossible. That made it quite hard to feel motivated.
Not only were push ups hard but the plank was announced 2 or 3 times in a row and would have me getting all hot and bothered.
Improving on these 2 things has really improved the workouts because now I can continue on quite happily instead of thinking 'oh no ,not again' .
I am also working on my pull ups.
This is much harder as I must both hold up my bodyweight with my girlie arms and then lift myself using the same.
At the moment I can do a couple of baby pull ups and 4 whole chin ups.
The baby pull ups are with over hand grip from the chair.
The 4 chin ups are with underhand grip from the floor (4 more than I could manage a few weeks ago).
That is the number of push ups I managed this morning and brings me up to the end of week 5 for the 100 push up challenge.
Next week is the final push up workout week ,it actually seems less demanding as the sets are shorter on the whole but just more of them. I am not confident of following that week with 100 non stop though, I can just manage the 48 and will need a bit more time I think before managing a whole century,so I may repeat week 6, 2 weeks in a row.
48 is also my age until my birthday in the summer.
On Tuesday I did my plank challenge to myself.
To begin with I could manage 20 seconds easily and about 45 to failure.
I think I have been working on planks simultaneously with push ups but without a program.
I can now do 3 minutes 30 seconds before failure sets in so I am very pleased with that improvement.
Why I am even bothering with these two exercises?
When I follow the workout on my computer, the virtual trainer announces the next move and I feel compelled to follow. Often it is planks or push ups.
When I first began with the push ups again this year, I was shocked to discover how pathetic my arm strength was. The narrow push ups were nearly impossible. That made it quite hard to feel motivated.
Not only were push ups hard but the plank was announced 2 or 3 times in a row and would have me getting all hot and bothered.
Improving on these 2 things has really improved the workouts because now I can continue on quite happily instead of thinking 'oh no ,not again' .
I am also working on my pull ups.
This is much harder as I must both hold up my bodyweight with my girlie arms and then lift myself using the same.
At the moment I can do a couple of baby pull ups and 4 whole chin ups.
The baby pull ups are with over hand grip from the chair.
The 4 chin ups are with underhand grip from the floor (4 more than I could manage a few weeks ago).
Wednesday 15 June 2011
Session 3 of HIIT
No running last night. The other half was in a mood and it wouldn't have been pleasant company.
I was a bit disappointed because I plan it as cardio but I am not running on my own after 8pm.
Anyway today was my mad workout again.
I did skipping and leg raises on the bar.
I managed 4 chin ups again ,more kettle bell swings and more double unders.
I am finding the HIIT a very satisfying way to workout.
Next time I will incorporate some stability ball I think.
I was a bit disappointed because I plan it as cardio but I am not running on my own after 8pm.
Anyway today was my mad workout again.
I did skipping and leg raises on the bar.
I managed 4 chin ups again ,more kettle bell swings and more double unders.
I am finding the HIIT a very satisfying way to workout.
Next time I will incorporate some stability ball I think.
Britain are a load of Fatties!
I was just watching a utube video all about obesity in the USA and wondered how many people are obese here in the UK.
Well according to one Doctor ,we are 50% overweight and 25% Obese.
I assume the 25% are half of the 50% already mentioned but who knows?
I can believe it. Walk down any street in the UK and you will see people who are far too heavy, out and about.
Some are on motorized invalid carriages ,I suppose because their joints cant take it any more.
It isn't really a surprise. The healthy food options are expensive.
You can buy a bag of frozen chips(French fries) for less than the cost of the same weight in potatoes and they are already peeled and cut.
Why buy whole fish at £8 a piece when you can get shaped fish already breaded or battered for £1-£3?
Fruit is silly prices too. Apples are about £1-£2 for 5 or 6. A cheap sugary pudding is maybe 25p or less.
Green vegetables are a luxury.
A lot of people are feeding themselves absolute garbage. I think their thinking is,calories in ,not hungry!
It isn't true though. Our bodies are very good at knowing when we don't have enough of something and so while a person may have a huge plate of food, if there are things we need to survive that are not on the plate, our bodies still want them.
When I was in school, the obese kids were the bullied kids. There weren't many of them. Maybe 2 in a group of 200(boys and girls). I can still remember the name of the girl from Infants school.
Well according to one Doctor ,we are 50% overweight and 25% Obese.
I assume the 25% are half of the 50% already mentioned but who knows?
I can believe it. Walk down any street in the UK and you will see people who are far too heavy, out and about.
Some are on motorized invalid carriages ,I suppose because their joints cant take it any more.
It isn't really a surprise. The healthy food options are expensive.
You can buy a bag of frozen chips(French fries) for less than the cost of the same weight in potatoes and they are already peeled and cut.
Why buy whole fish at £8 a piece when you can get shaped fish already breaded or battered for £1-£3?
Fruit is silly prices too. Apples are about £1-£2 for 5 or 6. A cheap sugary pudding is maybe 25p or less.
Green vegetables are a luxury.
A lot of people are feeding themselves absolute garbage. I think their thinking is,calories in ,not hungry!
It isn't true though. Our bodies are very good at knowing when we don't have enough of something and so while a person may have a huge plate of food, if there are things we need to survive that are not on the plate, our bodies still want them.
When I was in school, the obese kids were the bullied kids. There weren't many of them. Maybe 2 in a group of 200(boys and girls). I can still remember the name of the girl from Infants school.
Role models both good and bad and a bit of self history
When I was young, Dad would cycle to work every day.
I loved the idea of smoothly gliding along under your own steam .
In the infants ,he would wait at the gate at home time and hoist me up onto the crossbar sitting with my hands on the handlebars for the short trip home.
In those days, we walked nearly everywhere that was walkable .We never owned a car and buses and trains were only for long trips, so we did a fair amount of exercise without really knowing it.
Mum was a very fit lady. She had been a Ballerina in her past and would often do her limbering up exercises on the floor while we watched her.
In the school holidays ,we would go to the reservoir with mum and 'swim' or if she had a few pennies,she would take us to the boating pond which was used for swimming. There was even a small swimming pool in one park that was free but unsupervised. It was filled only in the summer and there was nowhere to change but it cost nothing and you could picnic after a swim and then play in the play park afterwards.
One park had a trapeze and mum showed me how to lift myself up and hang upside down on it much to the envy of the other children.
After we moved to flats, there was the big Lido that opened late spring (may/june) and closed at the end of September . I would borrow library books describing how to swim and practice and practice.
Swimming lessons at school were basic but we started them at age 9 and after 2 years I could do the 10 yards dog paddle. The lido was a good place to meet school friends when we were older and didn't cost a lot.
I think it was about 30 pence a person in the 1970's. Mum would sometimes give me the money to take my younger sister so that she could have a break from us. I was 8 years older so given full responsibility for her safety.
I didn't have a bike as a child so would beg rides from the other children who would often be glad to let someone 'watch' their bike while they played. I learned to ride one day in the park on a borrowed bike and was quite sad to have to hand it back and go home without one.
Secondary school was a bus ride away or walkable if there was time. If I walked, I could save the 2 pence fare . We didn't get pocket money so it was the only way to have any money if I wanted to buy anything and meant a lot of saving up and self discipline not to just blow it on chocolate.
Most days were of course 'No Spend days' .
School sports were a little ridiculous.
To begin with,we were required to have the sports uniform.
This was a small sleeveless singlet looking thing made of thick polyester that reached to above the knee.
White plimsolls with laces(everyone owned black slip ons because you had to have them for primary school), Hockey boots(!) and a Black plain swimming costume.
The singlet thing showed your underwear at the armholes and beneath.
Trainers were unheard of in 1972 .
PE was often various gymnastic poses or athletics. Nothing was explained properly.
We ran on the field in the plimsolls which jarred our feet ,I went over on my ankles almost every time.
In summer we 'played' tennis which consisted of hitting the ball over the fence and going to retrieve it.
In winter we might play badminton which was the same as tennis because the majority of the game was spent in walking to the wall and picking up the shuttlecock.
We played Hockey in our singlet things and plimsolls(most people didn't have hockey boots) even when it was snowing. Almost nobody knew the rules.
Netball was the only fun part.
We spent the rest of the day in our sweaty underclothes.
I desperately wanted to be in the Netball team and practiced with my equally keen friends at lunch times after the sports teacher had announced that only the practicing girls would have a chance.
Enid Blyton has a lot to answer for!
In her 'school' books, the girls play lacrosse and each week ,the head of the lacrosse team chose the most promising girls for the next game.
Most of us girls had read them and expected the same.
In secondary school, the PE teacher chose the teams in the first year(age 11) and those girls were 'the team' all through to 6th form.
There were around 100 girls in each year and only 7 are needed for a netball team with possibly 2 reserves,there was no 'B' team.
Obviously I might not have 'qualified' in any case but the criteria for choosing was pathetic and unfair. In no sport are the places in a team guaranteed to the participants because they were the first to be chosen 6 years earlier .
My vision of fitness was never in question,my vision of school sports and generally the integrity of teachers was the victim here.
I never willingly participated in school sports again.
At home,I borrowed mums limbering up books and followed the exercises.
I continued to walk to school 2.5 miles each way.
When I left school aged 16, I weighed 10 stone(140lbs) which was heavy for me, I started work 6 miles away from home. In London that is seen as a long commute! First I went by bus and watched my small wages drain away week after week.
Then some friends gave me a lift in.
After about 18 months I bought myself a bicycle( I had always wanted one ). Then I cycled to work every day.
To begin I walked the hills but it wasn't long before I rode the whole way.
My weight went down to just under 8 and a half stone( about 118lbs) and I could eat anything without fattening up.
I felt I had my fitness back no thanks to school.
In future years I worked 15 miles from home and cycled that distance too.
Swimming came back to me when we started to drive to work after I married.
I would go for several hours after work and swim up and down the pool (I managed 3 miles once).
Books were the only trainer but that was enough for me to improve on my 10 yards dog paddle.
I truly believe anyone can be fit and it needn't be expensive.
Sometimes you have to swallow your misgivings and just go for it.
You aren't doing it for anyone else so why do their opinions matter?
I loved the idea of smoothly gliding along under your own steam .
In the infants ,he would wait at the gate at home time and hoist me up onto the crossbar sitting with my hands on the handlebars for the short trip home.
In those days, we walked nearly everywhere that was walkable .We never owned a car and buses and trains were only for long trips, so we did a fair amount of exercise without really knowing it.
Mum was a very fit lady. She had been a Ballerina in her past and would often do her limbering up exercises on the floor while we watched her.
In the school holidays ,we would go to the reservoir with mum and 'swim' or if she had a few pennies,she would take us to the boating pond which was used for swimming. There was even a small swimming pool in one park that was free but unsupervised. It was filled only in the summer and there was nowhere to change but it cost nothing and you could picnic after a swim and then play in the play park afterwards.
One park had a trapeze and mum showed me how to lift myself up and hang upside down on it much to the envy of the other children.
After we moved to flats, there was the big Lido that opened late spring (may/june) and closed at the end of September . I would borrow library books describing how to swim and practice and practice.
Swimming lessons at school were basic but we started them at age 9 and after 2 years I could do the 10 yards dog paddle. The lido was a good place to meet school friends when we were older and didn't cost a lot.
I think it was about 30 pence a person in the 1970's. Mum would sometimes give me the money to take my younger sister so that she could have a break from us. I was 8 years older so given full responsibility for her safety.
I didn't have a bike as a child so would beg rides from the other children who would often be glad to let someone 'watch' their bike while they played. I learned to ride one day in the park on a borrowed bike and was quite sad to have to hand it back and go home without one.
Secondary school was a bus ride away or walkable if there was time. If I walked, I could save the 2 pence fare . We didn't get pocket money so it was the only way to have any money if I wanted to buy anything and meant a lot of saving up and self discipline not to just blow it on chocolate.
Most days were of course 'No Spend days' .
School sports were a little ridiculous.
To begin with,we were required to have the sports uniform.
This was a small sleeveless singlet looking thing made of thick polyester that reached to above the knee.
White plimsolls with laces(everyone owned black slip ons because you had to have them for primary school), Hockey boots(!) and a Black plain swimming costume.
The singlet thing showed your underwear at the armholes and beneath.
Trainers were unheard of in 1972 .
PE was often various gymnastic poses or athletics. Nothing was explained properly.
We ran on the field in the plimsolls which jarred our feet ,I went over on my ankles almost every time.
In summer we 'played' tennis which consisted of hitting the ball over the fence and going to retrieve it.
In winter we might play badminton which was the same as tennis because the majority of the game was spent in walking to the wall and picking up the shuttlecock.
We played Hockey in our singlet things and plimsolls(most people didn't have hockey boots) even when it was snowing. Almost nobody knew the rules.
Netball was the only fun part.
We spent the rest of the day in our sweaty underclothes.
I desperately wanted to be in the Netball team and practiced with my equally keen friends at lunch times after the sports teacher had announced that only the practicing girls would have a chance.
Enid Blyton has a lot to answer for!
In her 'school' books, the girls play lacrosse and each week ,the head of the lacrosse team chose the most promising girls for the next game.
Most of us girls had read them and expected the same.
In secondary school, the PE teacher chose the teams in the first year(age 11) and those girls were 'the team' all through to 6th form.
There were around 100 girls in each year and only 7 are needed for a netball team with possibly 2 reserves,there was no 'B' team.
Obviously I might not have 'qualified' in any case but the criteria for choosing was pathetic and unfair. In no sport are the places in a team guaranteed to the participants because they were the first to be chosen 6 years earlier .
My vision of fitness was never in question,my vision of school sports and generally the integrity of teachers was the victim here.
I never willingly participated in school sports again.
At home,I borrowed mums limbering up books and followed the exercises.
I continued to walk to school 2.5 miles each way.
When I left school aged 16, I weighed 10 stone(140lbs) which was heavy for me, I started work 6 miles away from home. In London that is seen as a long commute! First I went by bus and watched my small wages drain away week after week.
Then some friends gave me a lift in.
After about 18 months I bought myself a bicycle( I had always wanted one ). Then I cycled to work every day.
To begin I walked the hills but it wasn't long before I rode the whole way.
My weight went down to just under 8 and a half stone( about 118lbs) and I could eat anything without fattening up.
I felt I had my fitness back no thanks to school.
In future years I worked 15 miles from home and cycled that distance too.
Swimming came back to me when we started to drive to work after I married.
I would go for several hours after work and swim up and down the pool (I managed 3 miles once).
Books were the only trainer but that was enough for me to improve on my 10 yards dog paddle.
I truly believe anyone can be fit and it needn't be expensive.
Sometimes you have to swallow your misgivings and just go for it.
You aren't doing it for anyone else so why do their opinions matter?
Tuesday 14 June 2011
yay push up success
Well I tried my push ups again this morning after a breakfast of oats,home made berry yoghurt and raisins(the yoghurt is the liquid in the oat bowl).
I am on week 5 day 2 of the 100 push up challenge and I managed 45 for my failure reps!
I needed >40 to proceed to day 3 so that cheered me up.
My workout with maya was a bit more challenging yesterday on the warm up as a few new 'steps' were introduced. I have done them all before a few years back but you lose the pattern in your memory and must relearn them.
The actual physical ability to do them remains. I had' in and outs' which are sort of like the in and outs in the Insanity Asylum workouts I have seen on utube.
There are also cross country's which look like cross country skiing and frog leaps where you touch the ground and leap high,one hand reaching up.
Very enjoyable though.
We have had several rainy days and the water board were digging away yesterday outside so I wonder if we are to finally get the promised water meters. They turned off the water without warning but it was on after they had gone. Can just imagine if you were in the middle of a shower and they had turned it off,you might have got a terrific scalding as the mains cold water suddenly disappeared.
I am on week 5 day 2 of the 100 push up challenge and I managed 45 for my failure reps!
I needed >40 to proceed to day 3 so that cheered me up.
My workout with maya was a bit more challenging yesterday on the warm up as a few new 'steps' were introduced. I have done them all before a few years back but you lose the pattern in your memory and must relearn them.
The actual physical ability to do them remains. I had' in and outs' which are sort of like the in and outs in the Insanity Asylum workouts I have seen on utube.
There are also cross country's which look like cross country skiing and frog leaps where you touch the ground and leap high,one hand reaching up.
Very enjoyable though.
We have had several rainy days and the water board were digging away yesterday outside so I wonder if we are to finally get the promised water meters. They turned off the water without warning but it was on after they had gone. Can just imagine if you were in the middle of a shower and they had turned it off,you might have got a terrific scalding as the mains cold water suddenly disappeared.
Monday 13 June 2011
Having a ball
I did my workout before lunch.
It was the core workout.
Having already worked through 2 HIIT workouts last week, I found the pauses a little long in this workout and so did a few weight moves in between.
The 3D 'coach' gave me some stability ball crunches today.
The first time I tried these, it was a strain on my back but then I found I had the ball pumped up too hard.
This week I checked it's height properly before starting and the crunches were much less back stressed.
I do like using the ball, the crunches are more effort than on the floor and my abs feel more worked out afterwards.
There was a workman's lorry just outside the house all the time I was working out.
The drive rises outside the house so it always seems as though anything there, should be able to see right into the room.
Actually it is probably too dark to see in from outside.
I carried on though ,even though I was wearing my shorts and sports bra for P.E. kit which is a little more revealing than I am comfortable with in front of strangers.
It was lunch after so I dry fried (in microwave) 2 eggs to have on toast as that is a good source of protein.
It was the core workout.
Having already worked through 2 HIIT workouts last week, I found the pauses a little long in this workout and so did a few weight moves in between.
The 3D 'coach' gave me some stability ball crunches today.
The first time I tried these, it was a strain on my back but then I found I had the ball pumped up too hard.
This week I checked it's height properly before starting and the crunches were much less back stressed.
I do like using the ball, the crunches are more effort than on the floor and my abs feel more worked out afterwards.
There was a workman's lorry just outside the house all the time I was working out.
The drive rises outside the house so it always seems as though anything there, should be able to see right into the room.
Actually it is probably too dark to see in from outside.
I carried on though ,even though I was wearing my shorts and sports bra for P.E. kit which is a little more revealing than I am comfortable with in front of strangers.
It was lunch after so I dry fried (in microwave) 2 eggs to have on toast as that is a good source of protein.
wobbly arms
My push ups this morning were pants compared to last week!
I think not having any sugar on breakfast probably didn't help.
I shall try the same ones tomorrow after a more sensible breakfast.
On the plus side,I am 1/2 an inch thinner on waist and hips since last week.
Still the same weight as last time I weighed.
Later on I will do a Maya workout (the fitness workouts on my computer are presented by a 3D character of that name).
My son told me he didn't want a muscle bound mother LOL
Not much chance of that I think.
There is a pork pie in the fridge with my name on, as I managed to avoid it yesterday but I may sacrifice it to the needy (Son has a cold).
I think not having any sugar on breakfast probably didn't help.
I shall try the same ones tomorrow after a more sensible breakfast.
On the plus side,I am 1/2 an inch thinner on waist and hips since last week.
Still the same weight as last time I weighed.
Later on I will do a Maya workout (the fitness workouts on my computer are presented by a 3D character of that name).
My son told me he didn't want a muscle bound mother LOL
Not much chance of that I think.
There is a pork pie in the fridge with my name on, as I managed to avoid it yesterday but I may sacrifice it to the needy (Son has a cold).
Sunday 12 June 2011
A summer break from working
I heard yesterday that the firm I freelance for, wont want any homework until the end of Summer.
That is fine by me as our daughter got back from Uni last night and will be home until then.
Last year I did feel guilty that we couldn't do much together because of the amount of work I had taken on.
I think I was working for another client at that point(he has since shut up shop) .
I guess having photographs restored/cleaned is quite bourgeois and so people are doing without in the present economic climate.
Todays exercise is likely to be a walk into town to the shops.
I try to keep a light day of exercise between the harder workouts so that my poor old carcass can recover.
I found this very interesting blog yesterday http://evilcyber.com/ . The owner is quite sensible concerning exercise and nutrition and has good advice about getting started.
I found him on youtube originally while looking for advice about improving my pull ups.
He is hugely entertaining too.
Well worth a visit.
I discovered our old workout bench in the shed yesterday. It is sitting folded against the wall at the moment but will get used next week probably.
That is fine by me as our daughter got back from Uni last night and will be home until then.
Last year I did feel guilty that we couldn't do much together because of the amount of work I had taken on.
I think I was working for another client at that point(he has since shut up shop) .
I guess having photographs restored/cleaned is quite bourgeois and so people are doing without in the present economic climate.
Todays exercise is likely to be a walk into town to the shops.
I try to keep a light day of exercise between the harder workouts so that my poor old carcass can recover.
I found this very interesting blog yesterday http://evilcyber.com/ . The owner is quite sensible concerning exercise and nutrition and has good advice about getting started.
I found him on youtube originally while looking for advice about improving my pull ups.
He is hugely entertaining too.
Well worth a visit.
I discovered our old workout bench in the shed yesterday. It is sitting folded against the wall at the moment but will get used next week probably.
Saturday 11 June 2011
HIIT at home
Just finished my second HIIT(high intensity interval training) workout.
I did 10 minutes warm up skip with various steps at about 150 steps a minute.
1 minute kettle bell swings with my sons dumbell (I can just about do 14 with it).
Skip 1. 30
hanging leg raises with the pull up bar (karate belts tied on for the arm slings)about 17
skip 1.30
Chin up/pull up 1 minute(still learning but can do 4 chin ups unaided )As many as I could aided
skip 1.30
double unders As many as could in 1 minute(I always trip up but got one round with 28 non stop)
and repeated above 4 exercises again with the skips between.
Then 13.30 of cool down with double unders mixed in to keep it interesting.
All told 43.30 minutes
I am used to doing 20mins of plain skipping with 20-30 minutes of blasting away at double unders in between so thought I would try and keep to 50 mins exercise but found I had to stop a little early through plain knackeredness.
Surprisingly, my double unders jumps were getting higher and stronger even since the first HIIT last wednesday.
I did 10 minutes warm up skip with various steps at about 150 steps a minute.
1 minute kettle bell swings with my sons dumbell (I can just about do 14 with it).
Skip 1. 30
hanging leg raises with the pull up bar (karate belts tied on for the arm slings)about 17
skip 1.30
Chin up/pull up 1 minute(still learning but can do 4 chin ups unaided )As many as I could aided
skip 1.30
double unders As many as could in 1 minute(I always trip up but got one round with 28 non stop)
and repeated above 4 exercises again with the skips between.
Then 13.30 of cool down with double unders mixed in to keep it interesting.
All told 43.30 minutes
I am used to doing 20mins of plain skipping with 20-30 minutes of blasting away at double unders in between so thought I would try and keep to 50 mins exercise but found I had to stop a little early through plain knackeredness.
Surprisingly, my double unders jumps were getting higher and stronger even since the first HIIT last wednesday.
tick tock
This morning I remembered to count my resting heart rate.
You are supposed to do it before getting up but I always remember too late.
Today I managed it.
RESULT!
It is 48.
That is down 12 beats a minute since we restarted the exercise regime properly at the beginning of April.
You are supposed to do it before getting up but I always remember too late.
Today I managed it.
RESULT!
It is 48.
That is down 12 beats a minute since we restarted the exercise regime properly at the beginning of April.
Friday 10 June 2011
Keeping the faith and a bit of whingeing
Perseverance is the name of the game now.
Not just in the fitness stakes but also I am on the back boiler in case more work is offered.
Truly I would like to give up on the freelance stuff.
It is terrible pay for too long hours but I have had a little talk with myself about that and I am ready to step back now and refuse extra work in favour of living. If there is not enough work this year, I will claim back our dining room and pack away the machines that now inhabit it so that we can resume our family life complete with meals around a dining room table and being able to work out without having to wait for the living room to be out of use.
I suppose that sounds very selfish as there are people desperate for paid employment but this is almost sweatshop level pay so I must be sensible and treat it as what it was supposed to be to begin with, an interesting hobby that sometimes brings us some spare pennies.
I do tend to get obsessive about work and raking in the cash. I think I want to be seen as trusty worthy and dependable and that gets taken advantage of especially by businesses who rely on profits to be successful.
It really isn't about the little guy for them, it is about their coffers overflowing because they have whittled down their expenses.
Not just in the fitness stakes but also I am on the back boiler in case more work is offered.
Truly I would like to give up on the freelance stuff.
It is terrible pay for too long hours but I have had a little talk with myself about that and I am ready to step back now and refuse extra work in favour of living. If there is not enough work this year, I will claim back our dining room and pack away the machines that now inhabit it so that we can resume our family life complete with meals around a dining room table and being able to work out without having to wait for the living room to be out of use.
I suppose that sounds very selfish as there are people desperate for paid employment but this is almost sweatshop level pay so I must be sensible and treat it as what it was supposed to be to begin with, an interesting hobby that sometimes brings us some spare pennies.
I do tend to get obsessive about work and raking in the cash. I think I want to be seen as trusty worthy and dependable and that gets taken advantage of especially by businesses who rely on profits to be successful.
It really isn't about the little guy for them, it is about their coffers overflowing because they have whittled down their expenses.
So here we are today
We resumed our running and I reached for my skipping rope and the workout DVD and we are back in business.
My weight in March was around 138lbs and has now reduced back to 131lbs from these 3 main activities.
We are running twice a week about 30 minutes a run.
Skipping is 40-50 minutes including a lot of double unders (I can do 38 in a row) and maybe 2 sessions a week.
The workout DVD is used maybe twice a week.
How to progress
Goals now are to incorporate some high intensity interval training into the loop. I have done it for one session of the skipping.
For Hiit you must exercise in rotation. Picking a harder and an easier task. The harder being performed for 2/3rds of a round and the easy for a whole round.
Therefore you would skip for 1 minute 30 and do weights or hanging leg raises for 1 minute then straight back to the skipping.
I decided to mix it up on the hard tasks to keep it doable,so did core work with weights as well as the leg raises. 8 rounds in all.
It was fun and challenging.
My weight in March was around 138lbs and has now reduced back to 131lbs from these 3 main activities.
We are running twice a week about 30 minutes a run.
Skipping is 40-50 minutes including a lot of double unders (I can do 38 in a row) and maybe 2 sessions a week.
The workout DVD is used maybe twice a week.
How to progress
Goals now are to incorporate some high intensity interval training into the loop. I have done it for one session of the skipping.
For Hiit you must exercise in rotation. Picking a harder and an easier task. The harder being performed for 2/3rds of a round and the easy for a whole round.
Therefore you would skip for 1 minute 30 and do weights or hanging leg raises for 1 minute then straight back to the skipping.
I decided to mix it up on the hard tasks to keep it doable,so did core work with weights as well as the leg raises. 8 rounds in all.
It was fun and challenging.
The wolf at the door
The work continued for the rest of the year as the company who were employing me made the most of the prices.
I wasn't really happy with this. It took all the fitness time away .
Then this year the other half's employers announced they were doing much better and no more redundancies were in the offing. He was awarded a pay rise(the first in about 5 years).
I paid my taxes and we took a step back.
I wasn't really happy with this. It took all the fitness time away .
Then this year the other half's employers announced they were doing much better and no more redundancies were in the offing. He was awarded a pay rise(the first in about 5 years).
I paid my taxes and we took a step back.
Losing momentum.
The following year, I lost interest in the DVD.
It had become too repetitive.
The voice of the character which is encouraging and enthusiastic sounding at first, becomes too drone like when you are lying on the floor raising your legs to echoes of 'keep good form' or 'I'm feeling ya' yet again.
We continued to run but the other half's work pattern changed as redundancies kicked in, he couldn't get away so early ,so sometimes it was just too late to feel like running together when he got home from the long commute and just wanted his dinner and the TV.
Only my skipping rope persisted.
I found myself missing a day here and there though even so.
By Christmas, I was getting depressed as redundancies still loomed in the background and another of the other half's work colleagues was given the push.
Then there were 2
Both the young people were away much of the year and I was alone all day .
I started learning to use the computer more. Not for exercise but to do photoshop.
I got much better at it in a couple of months and was offered some home work on a casual basis.
By the middle of the year, I was working all week and there was hardly a moment to breathe.
The exercise was completely abandoned.
It had become too repetitive.
The voice of the character which is encouraging and enthusiastic sounding at first, becomes too drone like when you are lying on the floor raising your legs to echoes of 'keep good form' or 'I'm feeling ya' yet again.
We continued to run but the other half's work pattern changed as redundancies kicked in, he couldn't get away so early ,so sometimes it was just too late to feel like running together when he got home from the long commute and just wanted his dinner and the TV.
Only my skipping rope persisted.
I found myself missing a day here and there though even so.
By Christmas, I was getting depressed as redundancies still loomed in the background and another of the other half's work colleagues was given the push.
Then there were 2
Both the young people were away much of the year and I was alone all day .
I started learning to use the computer more. Not for exercise but to do photoshop.
I got much better at it in a couple of months and was offered some home work on a casual basis.
By the middle of the year, I was working all week and there was hardly a moment to breathe.
The exercise was completely abandoned.
Working out renewed
A relative gave me a DVD of an exercise program she no longer wanted.
She said it was very good but she now had the newer version on their game consul.
I installed it on my bodged up Laptop and ran it.
The first thing I noticed was a 3d animation of a female in her workout gear.
She looks like a character from sims2.
A menu appears with options and you can make yourself a profile.
Anyway I decided I would give it a go.
I put my name ,age,weight,gender etc and she told me to do a fit test.
It was jumping jacks,squats and stretching.
I was to count my heartbeat before the jump jacks and again after.
2 minutes of jump jacks and I was a bit tired already.
After this intriguing evaluation,I was presented with a chart of workouts and was able to choose which priority I wanted.
Next was a commitment chart to choose workout days.
Last I was sent back to the workout screen.
I chose a workout.30 minutes long. No equipment. (we owned a few weights but I hadn't touched one in years).
It was very effective but not long enough.
There were breaks for water and she asked about how i was keeping up and would adjust the next time.
Anyway. I loved the format and continued with the workouts for months, I would run one day,workout the next and if it wasn't a running day, I would skip rope.
My weight dropped to 8 stone 6 (I weighed that when I was 18 only now I was 46).
I reached the 100th workout and inwardly celebrated.
The program was called yourself fitness (I think it had teach at the beginning but was shortened,hence the odd sounding title).The consul version is something like personal training coach or something similar but is almost the same .
The other half bought me new gait analysed trainers for my birthday .
She said it was very good but she now had the newer version on their game consul.
I installed it on my bodged up Laptop and ran it.
The first thing I noticed was a 3d animation of a female in her workout gear.
She looks like a character from sims2.
A menu appears with options and you can make yourself a profile.
Anyway I decided I would give it a go.
I put my name ,age,weight,gender etc and she told me to do a fit test.
It was jumping jacks,squats and stretching.
I was to count my heartbeat before the jump jacks and again after.
2 minutes of jump jacks and I was a bit tired already.
After this intriguing evaluation,I was presented with a chart of workouts and was able to choose which priority I wanted.
Next was a commitment chart to choose workout days.
Last I was sent back to the workout screen.
I chose a workout.30 minutes long. No equipment. (we owned a few weights but I hadn't touched one in years).
It was very effective but not long enough.
There were breaks for water and she asked about how i was keeping up and would adjust the next time.
Anyway. I loved the format and continued with the workouts for months, I would run one day,workout the next and if it wasn't a running day, I would skip rope.
My weight dropped to 8 stone 6 (I weighed that when I was 18 only now I was 46).
I reached the 100th workout and inwardly celebrated.
The program was called yourself fitness (I think it had teach at the beginning but was shortened,hence the odd sounding title).The consul version is something like personal training coach or something similar but is almost the same .
The other half bought me new gait analysed trainers for my birthday .
Back to the running.
We shortened our run back to 2 miles.
The long stretch of not running meant we needed to build back to longer runs slowly.
The skipping really helped as the other half had still been able to get in some runs when at work using the treadmill so I could still keep up despite only skipping for cardio.
The bump on his toe did not go away.
A trip to the doctor explained it. Arthritis in the joint.
Even the new shoes couldn't cure that.
Eventually an appointment came up with the hospital and he had the joint injected so that it would hopefully cushion the movement when running or walking.
Two weeks later and he was back beside me,jogging along.
The long stretch of not running meant we needed to build back to longer runs slowly.
The skipping really helped as the other half had still been able to get in some runs when at work using the treadmill so I could still keep up despite only skipping for cardio.
The bump on his toe did not go away.
A trip to the doctor explained it. Arthritis in the joint.
Even the new shoes couldn't cure that.
Eventually an appointment came up with the hospital and he had the joint injected so that it would hopefully cushion the movement when running or walking.
Two weeks later and he was back beside me,jogging along.
Skipping along
I become obsessed with skipping.
Youtube is a fount of knowledge.
Type in ;
skipping rope
boxers jump rope
jump rope
jump rope workout
corde a saute
saltando con la corda
touwtje springen
double unders
be prepared to be hooked !
Different steps
All of a sudden, I wanted to do as many different steps as possible.
I found Buddy Lee on there and he was leaping about like a jack in the box.
I found the Duvide videos too with a demonstration of all the different workout jumps in slow motion.
My two footed jump began to seem a bit lame.
I wanted to run my legs while the rope flashed by.
My legs had other ideas.
The rope was trying really hard to trip me up.
It knew what I wanted to do and it wasn't going to let me.
Eventually,I decided that if I couldn't do the 'easy hop from foot to foot' that Mr Buddy Lee described.
I would just hop on one foot on its own.
I did. Then just on the other.
Then miracle of miracles, I lost my balance and hopped onto the other foot and back.
Hooray! I could use two feet independently of one another.
This is the secret code of skipping. Until you can go foot to foot,you can do very little.
At once, I could do the skiers jump,the bell,the jump jack,the twist. (all two footed jumps).
Then I tried the boxers shuffle ,the running jump(heheheh!) ,the can can...
They were all doable.
This lasted me round for a good long while. I skipped and skipped for the cold months and worked up to an hour of skipping.
The other half (has access to a gym at work and the London parks) worked out in his breaks.
Then I discovered the Double under.
This was the new Holy Grail.
For a double under,you must jump up and spin the rope fast,so it goes twice under your feet before you land.
I leapt and stood on the rope , leapt and nearly tripped, leapt and whipped my bare legs(they had lines on all day).
It was a whole month before I got 1 double under jump.
I watched so many demonstration videos and eventually found this great Double unders demonstration
I listened and watched and tried it myself and yippee, I did two in a row.
My skips become shorter because I did spreads of trying to do double unders in between the warm up and cool down.
Youtube is a fount of knowledge.
Type in ;
skipping rope
boxers jump rope
jump rope
jump rope workout
corde a saute
saltando con la corda
touwtje springen
double unders
be prepared to be hooked !
Different steps
All of a sudden, I wanted to do as many different steps as possible.
I found Buddy Lee on there and he was leaping about like a jack in the box.
I found the Duvide videos too with a demonstration of all the different workout jumps in slow motion.
My two footed jump began to seem a bit lame.
I wanted to run my legs while the rope flashed by.
My legs had other ideas.
The rope was trying really hard to trip me up.
It knew what I wanted to do and it wasn't going to let me.
Eventually,I decided that if I couldn't do the 'easy hop from foot to foot' that Mr Buddy Lee described.
I would just hop on one foot on its own.
I did. Then just on the other.
Then miracle of miracles, I lost my balance and hopped onto the other foot and back.
Hooray! I could use two feet independently of one another.
This is the secret code of skipping. Until you can go foot to foot,you can do very little.
At once, I could do the skiers jump,the bell,the jump jack,the twist. (all two footed jumps).
Then I tried the boxers shuffle ,the running jump(heheheh!) ,the can can...
They were all doable.
This lasted me round for a good long while. I skipped and skipped for the cold months and worked up to an hour of skipping.
The other half (has access to a gym at work and the London parks) worked out in his breaks.
Then I discovered the Double under.
This was the new Holy Grail.
For a double under,you must jump up and spin the rope fast,so it goes twice under your feet before you land.
I leapt and stood on the rope , leapt and nearly tripped, leapt and whipped my bare legs(they had lines on all day).
It was a whole month before I got 1 double under jump.
I watched so many demonstration videos and eventually found this great Double unders demonstration
I listened and watched and tried it myself and yippee, I did two in a row.
My skips become shorter because I did spreads of trying to do double unders in between the warm up and cool down.
New beginnings
Having bored myself to death with my witterings about everday gardening and shopping.
I decided to do an about turn and think about fitness.
I cant abandon frugality, it has become an ingrained part of living,especially now with everything being so expensive, so I must become fit and forty something for not very much money.
That rules out swimming as our pool is in the leisure center which charges an arm and a leg to even walk through the hallowed entrance foyer.
The river is about 5 minutes stroll but has a deadly undercurrent.
Remaining activities are, home workouts, running and Cycling.
Flab begone
I embarked upon my original fitness journey with a simple 20 minute workout at home, back in the dark ages. I used my trusty workout book from the 1980's which is called something like fully fit in 60 minutes( 3 x 20 minutes a week).
It is a handy book when you work and don't have much home life. In the 80's, I used to be at the office alone every evening for about 2 hours before going home(when OH picked me up in the car), so I would workout on the office floor. Exercises include jump jacks, side bends, bridge, push ups,leg raises...that sort of thing and I could easily manage 3 a week.
Then along came the kids and I still used the little book after their bed time.
Roll on about 10 years and the book was lost somewhere in the dust laden shelves of the bottomless book cupboard. Every now and again, the front cover appears as something falls to the floor or is pushed aside but the vision of the leotarded and toned 20 year old author on the front cover,no longer holds its appeal as it once did.
Jane Fonda to the rescue.
First I found her Video in a charity shop and watched it a few times . Her workouts were demanding and incorporated flexibility and yoga. I persevered when no one (giggling juveniles) was around to spectate.
Then joy of joy, I came across her book. This was a life saver because I could now follow the moves in the secrecy of our bedroom.
Anyway, eventually life took over as the young people went to evening activities and I became the taxi driver. The workout time was swallowed up and I slumped into flabbiness or was it flumped into slabbiness.
Wind on forwards to 3 years ago.
The young people are doing their own thing.
We oldies are left to our own devices .
My thoughts turn towards that lost fitness regime.
I stand on our weighing scales and sudder as the needle whooshes past the 10 stone mark (140lbs).
I talk with the other half and he agrees we should trim our waistlines and become fit and fabulous once again.
I scour the charity shops for some exercise clothing. I find a pair of lined jogging bottoms.
The other half has plenty of shorts and some cycling shirts and I have a cycling shirt so then I buy a pair of cheap trainers and a couple of pairs of sports socks for me.
We begin to run in the evening when he gets home from work.
So we begin by trotting along at a sedate pace for about 20 minutes ,some of it is admittedly walking.
By the end of the second week, we can both run all the way without stopping. It is about 1 and a half miles.
It soon becomes evident that people are not supposed to exercise every day of the week as feet and knees begin to complain.
My discounted trainers(bought for £15 at the sports outlet) ,hurt my feet if I don't land exactly right in them.
The other half has a bump on his toe which aches , his 3 year old trainers aren't helping.
We reevaluate.
The first decision is to buy the other half a new pair of trainers as his are so old and mine are quite new.
We go to the running shop and I buy him his first gait analysed trainers for his birthday and christmas present combined. (they were expensive and his birthday is almost on top of christmas).
Perseverance brings its own reward.
The weight is beginning to drop away and we both want to run a bit further each time. We run to the next lamp post once a week.
We reduce our runs to 2 in the evening and do a longer one on Sunday.
The Weather intervenes.
It is freezing. There is snow on the ground. We decide not to risk the broken bones and stay in.
I have an argos voucher from Christmas and spend it on a little stepper so we can still exercise.
It is quite effective at making my behind ache but it doesn't have me puffing like running does.
The stepper is noisy too and leaks black grease from its pistons. It goes to live under my sons bed.
I spend £8 on a skipping rope in the sports shop . It is a desperate measure because I don't want to lose all the health benefits that have been gained from the running.
This is a good move. I merrily get into my running gear, grab my rope and jump two footed for about 3 minutes.
I am knackered.
However, it is a good knackering because I am puffed.
So skipping becomes the new icy weather running.
I decided to do an about turn and think about fitness.
I cant abandon frugality, it has become an ingrained part of living,especially now with everything being so expensive, so I must become fit and forty something for not very much money.
That rules out swimming as our pool is in the leisure center which charges an arm and a leg to even walk through the hallowed entrance foyer.
The river is about 5 minutes stroll but has a deadly undercurrent.
Remaining activities are, home workouts, running and Cycling.
Flab begone
I embarked upon my original fitness journey with a simple 20 minute workout at home, back in the dark ages. I used my trusty workout book from the 1980's which is called something like fully fit in 60 minutes( 3 x 20 minutes a week).
It is a handy book when you work and don't have much home life. In the 80's, I used to be at the office alone every evening for about 2 hours before going home(when OH picked me up in the car), so I would workout on the office floor. Exercises include jump jacks, side bends, bridge, push ups,leg raises...that sort of thing and I could easily manage 3 a week.
Then along came the kids and I still used the little book after their bed time.
Roll on about 10 years and the book was lost somewhere in the dust laden shelves of the bottomless book cupboard. Every now and again, the front cover appears as something falls to the floor or is pushed aside but the vision of the leotarded and toned 20 year old author on the front cover,no longer holds its appeal as it once did.
Jane Fonda to the rescue.
First I found her Video in a charity shop and watched it a few times . Her workouts were demanding and incorporated flexibility and yoga. I persevered when no one (giggling juveniles) was around to spectate.
Then joy of joy, I came across her book. This was a life saver because I could now follow the moves in the secrecy of our bedroom.
Anyway, eventually life took over as the young people went to evening activities and I became the taxi driver. The workout time was swallowed up and I slumped into flabbiness or was it flumped into slabbiness.
Wind on forwards to 3 years ago.
The young people are doing their own thing.
We oldies are left to our own devices .
My thoughts turn towards that lost fitness regime.
I stand on our weighing scales and sudder as the needle whooshes past the 10 stone mark (140lbs).
I talk with the other half and he agrees we should trim our waistlines and become fit and fabulous once again.
I scour the charity shops for some exercise clothing. I find a pair of lined jogging bottoms.
The other half has plenty of shorts and some cycling shirts and I have a cycling shirt so then I buy a pair of cheap trainers and a couple of pairs of sports socks for me.
We begin to run in the evening when he gets home from work.
So we begin by trotting along at a sedate pace for about 20 minutes ,some of it is admittedly walking.
By the end of the second week, we can both run all the way without stopping. It is about 1 and a half miles.
It soon becomes evident that people are not supposed to exercise every day of the week as feet and knees begin to complain.
My discounted trainers(bought for £15 at the sports outlet) ,hurt my feet if I don't land exactly right in them.
The other half has a bump on his toe which aches , his 3 year old trainers aren't helping.
We reevaluate.
The first decision is to buy the other half a new pair of trainers as his are so old and mine are quite new.
We go to the running shop and I buy him his first gait analysed trainers for his birthday and christmas present combined. (they were expensive and his birthday is almost on top of christmas).
Perseverance brings its own reward.
The weight is beginning to drop away and we both want to run a bit further each time. We run to the next lamp post once a week.
We reduce our runs to 2 in the evening and do a longer one on Sunday.
The Weather intervenes.
It is freezing. There is snow on the ground. We decide not to risk the broken bones and stay in.
I have an argos voucher from Christmas and spend it on a little stepper so we can still exercise.
It is quite effective at making my behind ache but it doesn't have me puffing like running does.
The stepper is noisy too and leaks black grease from its pistons. It goes to live under my sons bed.
I spend £8 on a skipping rope in the sports shop . It is a desperate measure because I don't want to lose all the health benefits that have been gained from the running.
This is a good move. I merrily get into my running gear, grab my rope and jump two footed for about 3 minutes.
I am knackered.
However, it is a good knackering because I am puffed.
So skipping becomes the new icy weather running.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)