The run on Tuesday was more or less in the dark.
The evenings are already beginning to encroach even though it isn't September till Thursday.
I forgot to press go on the Garmin until we were about 1/4 mile into the run.
So it clocked us at 2.5 miles and about 23 minutes.
Quite an easy run again. It was colder last night,I had on my Ronhill leggings and a long sleeved shirt AND the lightweight jacket that we bought in Lidl. The jacket is not at all bad for a cheapo. It has vented underarms, unzippable sleeves ,pockets and reflective bits.
Wednesdays workout was scheduled as a virtual gym but I couldn't build any enthusiasm for that so instead I did Pull ups in the morning 6,5,4,5,6 then 4 chin ups,2 X10 leg raises with some ankle weights on and 7 pull ups with the band and then in the afternoon,25 minutes of skipping in the garden using my new skipping board. Quite a lot of double undering incorporated.
During the pull up session,I had a revelation. If I hooked my thumb over the bar,it gave more of my hand strength and the pull up was better. Not necessarily less work but more controlled. This also proved true for the chin up hand position. I wonder if that is why it is easier for some people than others. I mean apart from the usual obvious things like being stronger in the right muscle areas.
I know you are supposed to have your palm over the bar or ring during muscle ups but never thought about how just a thumb could change how a pull up feels.
Wednesday 31 August 2011
Monday 29 August 2011
fitting in the workout
I had 2 workouts on the cards today.
1st the pull up challenge which today had to be done immediately before the virtual workout as that was the only time the living room was free.
I managed a max set of 8 (best so far)
I still cant do them perfectly continuously but they do feel as though they are getting closer together.
The virtual gym workout was focusing on core .
It didn't have weights incorporated today which was just as well after all those pull ups.
Stability ball was the usual crunches.
Not a bad session if a bit knackering . It was number 30.
I have done more than 100 in the past but this is a new lot and so I began again at 1 to build back up in fitness.
We have been watching the Athletics from Korea on the TV.
The OH asked me if my stomach muscles were anything like the athlete on screen.
He always thinks women should be about 7 stone and look like they are 16 which irritates the hell out of me,especially as he is the one who brings donuts,chocolate,pies and cakes into the house regularly .
1st the pull up challenge which today had to be done immediately before the virtual workout as that was the only time the living room was free.
I managed a max set of 8 (best so far)
I still cant do them perfectly continuously but they do feel as though they are getting closer together.
The virtual gym workout was focusing on core .
It didn't have weights incorporated today which was just as well after all those pull ups.
Stability ball was the usual crunches.
Not a bad session if a bit knackering . It was number 30.
I have done more than 100 in the past but this is a new lot and so I began again at 1 to build back up in fitness.
We have been watching the Athletics from Korea on the TV.
The OH asked me if my stomach muscles were anything like the athlete on screen.
He always thinks women should be about 7 stone and look like they are 16 which irritates the hell out of me,especially as he is the one who brings donuts,chocolate,pies and cakes into the house regularly .
Saturday 27 August 2011
The skipping board
I love skipping (jumping rope),it is my all time favourite frugal exercise.
I generally skip indoors because it is easy to pop into the living room and bounce my heart out ,then go sit back and get on with my work.
In the cold weather ,it is a good way to keep warmed up.
When the others are home, the living room is occupied with TV watching or computer use so then,I can't skip.
For my birthday this year, I asked my son for a piece of wood.
It was an odd request but also something I have been looking for all year without luck.
It needed to be big enough for me to skip on in the garden and strong enough not to fall apart when I land on it on the grass.
I didn't think he would get one but he did!
So now I have a skipping board.
I used it today and it works really well.
It is lovely to skip outdoors because there is a breeze to cool me and no worries about hitting anything with the rope or having to stop to make way for anyone walking through the room.
I did 40 minutes ,fast and slow with plenty of double unders.
I generally skip indoors because it is easy to pop into the living room and bounce my heart out ,then go sit back and get on with my work.
In the cold weather ,it is a good way to keep warmed up.
When the others are home, the living room is occupied with TV watching or computer use so then,I can't skip.
For my birthday this year, I asked my son for a piece of wood.
It was an odd request but also something I have been looking for all year without luck.
It needed to be big enough for me to skip on in the garden and strong enough not to fall apart when I land on it on the grass.
I didn't think he would get one but he did!
So now I have a skipping board.
I used it today and it works really well.
It is lovely to skip outdoors because there is a breeze to cool me and no worries about hitting anything with the rope or having to stop to make way for anyone walking through the room.
I did 40 minutes ,fast and slow with plenty of double unders.
Friday 26 August 2011
Dodging raindrops
So it rained most of yesterday.
We were determined to get a run in ,in the evening and were lucky that it was only light rainfall by then.
The boy came too wearing OH's running jacket.
I had been warming up a bit this time with just kicking and bouncing around and it helped loosen up tight ham strings and ankles.
We ran 5.01k .
It was a very comfortable run,no aches or pains and I know I could have gone further.
Then home to glug on water and scoff a banana.
The heart rate was 155 average and I reached 167 max twice ,both slightly hillier areas for the 167's
Too much like P o r n dressed up as everyday life
We watched Torchwood which is a sci fi adventure series.
I like the characters and the storyline but I cant come to terms with the hero having gay bedroom liasons throughout. For one thing, those parts are so artificial,the lines are terribly written and the acting appears wooden and strained. Secondly, the hero loses all credibility because he is constantly chatting up strangers ,with really poor one liners and then brushing them off as beneath him.
Shame! We switched channels for about 10 minutes of the show just so we didn't cringe with embarrassment at the shallow physical scenario's.
Okay so I don't think I am homophobic ,I just don't see the need to write gay bedroom scenes into a sci fi when it is obvious that they are only there because the writers are trying to promote acceptance.
I don't care about the characters sexuality, I just don't want to be an observer in their private goings on.
If I am being honest, I must point out that I really don't like physical portrayal of the bedroom type,no matter what the gender of the actors. It takes away from the story and sometimes is the nail in the coffin on popular TV.
Interestingly,the program we watched for the 10 minutes of switched viewing,was a film called the Duchess, in which the Lady discovers her husband (The duke) likes to sleep with all and sundry. The scenes were subtly implied and worked absolutely to tell everything that was needed without anything being too graphical. It had the air of professionalism that was instantly lost on returning to the sci fi .
It is after all the unspoken implication that is the most intriguing aspect of a story,not the blabbed out coarseness with nothing left to the imagination.
Back to arms
This morning was the 2nd day of week 2 pull ups.
5 sets:
4,4,3,4,6
then I added on 3 chin ups
7 band assisted continuous pull ups
2x 12 hanging leg raises
We were determined to get a run in ,in the evening and were lucky that it was only light rainfall by then.
The boy came too wearing OH's running jacket.
I had been warming up a bit this time with just kicking and bouncing around and it helped loosen up tight ham strings and ankles.
We ran 5.01k .
It was a very comfortable run,no aches or pains and I know I could have gone further.
Then home to glug on water and scoff a banana.
The heart rate was 155 average and I reached 167 max twice ,both slightly hillier areas for the 167's
Too much like P o r n dressed up as everyday life
We watched Torchwood which is a sci fi adventure series.
I like the characters and the storyline but I cant come to terms with the hero having gay bedroom liasons throughout. For one thing, those parts are so artificial,the lines are terribly written and the acting appears wooden and strained. Secondly, the hero loses all credibility because he is constantly chatting up strangers ,with really poor one liners and then brushing them off as beneath him.
Shame! We switched channels for about 10 minutes of the show just so we didn't cringe with embarrassment at the shallow physical scenario's.
Okay so I don't think I am homophobic ,I just don't see the need to write gay bedroom scenes into a sci fi when it is obvious that they are only there because the writers are trying to promote acceptance.
I don't care about the characters sexuality, I just don't want to be an observer in their private goings on.
If I am being honest, I must point out that I really don't like physical portrayal of the bedroom type,no matter what the gender of the actors. It takes away from the story and sometimes is the nail in the coffin on popular TV.
Interestingly,the program we watched for the 10 minutes of switched viewing,was a film called the Duchess, in which the Lady discovers her husband (The duke) likes to sleep with all and sundry. The scenes were subtly implied and worked absolutely to tell everything that was needed without anything being too graphical. It had the air of professionalism that was instantly lost on returning to the sci fi .
It is after all the unspoken implication that is the most intriguing aspect of a story,not the blabbed out coarseness with nothing left to the imagination.
Back to arms
This morning was the 2nd day of week 2 pull ups.
5 sets:
4,4,3,4,6
then I added on 3 chin ups
7 band assisted continuous pull ups
2x 12 hanging leg raises
Thursday 25 August 2011
Heating on in August?
Cant believe some people are already moaning about it being cold and switching their heating back on!
Last winter ours was off until it got to around 15 degrees c indoors and will be the same this year ,if not later.
The power companies have hiked up the cost of both gas and electricity enormously.
Really we need to get back to self reliance, not 'switch' reliance.
My parents never had central heating,nor their parents.
If it was cold, the first port of call was the clothes cupboard for another layer.
Kids were sent outside to run about to warm up.
My dad told me that when he was a child way back in the 1920's,they would make 'winter warmers', these were tin cans punched all round with holes,A string was tied to the tin on two sides to act as a handle, a ball of rags was set alight and put into the tin and then the owner swung the whole thing around and around to get air to keep the rags burning. Then the tin would be grabbed in gloved hands and the heat would warm them up.
Some kids were luckier and would be given a hot baked potato wrapped in paper to keep in their pockets. When it cooled enough, it was eaten which generated more heat for the consumer.
If you look at any old books ,you will see that men often wore a jacket indoors with a pullover underneath. Women would have cardigans and layer clothes beneath. Some people wore hats indoors.
Clothes were cotton and Woolen ,both natural insulators.
Drinks were hot in the winter to warm you from inside and everyone would join in together because that was when it was on offer. Tea or Cocoa is lovely to wrap your hands around.
Hot soup at lunch with sandwiches ,hot milk for the littlies.
Everyone would congregate in the living room because that was the room with a fire. Mum would do her hand crafts or pod her peas in there, Dad would read his paper or listen to the radio,the kids would draw,play cards or do their homework all in that one room. The fire was lit to warm the room while people were home, when the kids were in school and Dad was at work, Mum would be too busy shopping ,cleaning,gardening to be fussed about how warm the living room was that no one was using anyway.
At bedtime, the kettle was boiled and everyone took their hot water bottle upstairs to make the bed cosy. The covers had an extra, heavier blanket over them,sometimes more than one.
These days,people treat their houses like summer holidays, they dress in the bare minimum,lounge around inactive and leave every door open to allow ease of transition from room to room.
They pop to the fridge for a cold drink and the curtains are open wide to allow the world to see in, even quite late at night.
If someone wants tea or coffee,chocolate or soup ,they pop a bag in a cup or add a spoonful of mixture,boil a kettle and pour it out,the rest of the boiling water left to get cold in the kettle.
Duvets are the norm and although easy to keep tidy,they are not so good for keeping the cool air from coming in .
Every room is its own life pod, needing to be warm and full of entertainment,each one demanding an equal piece of the pie that is the household expenses. Often the room in which each person resides, is the old fashioned idea of a home,fully contained,so it is hardly surprising that the cost of maintaining each room is reflecting the cost of a miniature home of days gone by.
You can tell the modern minded people, their houses are like furnaces from about September.
It is a struggle to breathe in those houses .
At work,they complain about the cold and everyone must put up with the dried out ,heavy air, leading to their developing colds and sore throats because one person is used to being in tropical house conditions and might get ill if the company doesn't heat the atmosphere.
Those people may still get colds more often, they will arrive at work with their potions and tablets and tell you they cant afford to take time off because they have so many bills to pay....
Learn to toughen up or as the teenagers are fond of saying 'Man the **** up!!'
Last winter ours was off until it got to around 15 degrees c indoors and will be the same this year ,if not later.
The power companies have hiked up the cost of both gas and electricity enormously.
Really we need to get back to self reliance, not 'switch' reliance.
My parents never had central heating,nor their parents.
If it was cold, the first port of call was the clothes cupboard for another layer.
Kids were sent outside to run about to warm up.
My dad told me that when he was a child way back in the 1920's,they would make 'winter warmers', these were tin cans punched all round with holes,A string was tied to the tin on two sides to act as a handle, a ball of rags was set alight and put into the tin and then the owner swung the whole thing around and around to get air to keep the rags burning. Then the tin would be grabbed in gloved hands and the heat would warm them up.
Some kids were luckier and would be given a hot baked potato wrapped in paper to keep in their pockets. When it cooled enough, it was eaten which generated more heat for the consumer.
If you look at any old books ,you will see that men often wore a jacket indoors with a pullover underneath. Women would have cardigans and layer clothes beneath. Some people wore hats indoors.
Clothes were cotton and Woolen ,both natural insulators.
Drinks were hot in the winter to warm you from inside and everyone would join in together because that was when it was on offer. Tea or Cocoa is lovely to wrap your hands around.
Hot soup at lunch with sandwiches ,hot milk for the littlies.
Everyone would congregate in the living room because that was the room with a fire. Mum would do her hand crafts or pod her peas in there, Dad would read his paper or listen to the radio,the kids would draw,play cards or do their homework all in that one room. The fire was lit to warm the room while people were home, when the kids were in school and Dad was at work, Mum would be too busy shopping ,cleaning,gardening to be fussed about how warm the living room was that no one was using anyway.
At bedtime, the kettle was boiled and everyone took their hot water bottle upstairs to make the bed cosy. The covers had an extra, heavier blanket over them,sometimes more than one.
These days,people treat their houses like summer holidays, they dress in the bare minimum,lounge around inactive and leave every door open to allow ease of transition from room to room.
They pop to the fridge for a cold drink and the curtains are open wide to allow the world to see in, even quite late at night.
If someone wants tea or coffee,chocolate or soup ,they pop a bag in a cup or add a spoonful of mixture,boil a kettle and pour it out,the rest of the boiling water left to get cold in the kettle.
Duvets are the norm and although easy to keep tidy,they are not so good for keeping the cool air from coming in .
Every room is its own life pod, needing to be warm and full of entertainment,each one demanding an equal piece of the pie that is the household expenses. Often the room in which each person resides, is the old fashioned idea of a home,fully contained,so it is hardly surprising that the cost of maintaining each room is reflecting the cost of a miniature home of days gone by.
You can tell the modern minded people, their houses are like furnaces from about September.
It is a struggle to breathe in those houses .
At work,they complain about the cold and everyone must put up with the dried out ,heavy air, leading to their developing colds and sore throats because one person is used to being in tropical house conditions and might get ill if the company doesn't heat the atmosphere.
Those people may still get colds more often, they will arrive at work with their potions and tablets and tell you they cant afford to take time off because they have so many bills to pay....
Learn to toughen up or as the teenagers are fond of saying 'Man the **** up!!'
Wednesday 24 August 2011
A use for an old inner tube in my home gym
I am into week 2 of the pull up challenge.
Today was 5 sets
5,4,3,4,5
Then 3 chin ups
and 6 pull ups using the old inner tube again with my knees hooked into it.
I think if you had a few old inner tubes, you could use them as hanging leg raise straps too.
The one I am using is a to fit a 26 x1.25 wheel and It is just long enough to use for pull ups when draped over both parallel handles on the door gym.
I use two old Karate belts for the leg raises. They are adult length belts,tied near the ends into a loop and then doubled over the pull up handles. A wider inner tube would probably be more comfortable but they do work.
Just before lunch I did virtual gym . This one was the lower body workout.
It was almost all weight work.
There isnt any specification for weight in the program, you must just find what works.
I was using dumbells with a 5 on them.
OH has weighed these and found them to be 2.2kg each so we are not sure where the number 5 comes in.
There was still a fair amount of arm work needed and some crunches towards the end so a good all round workout.
No yoga moves today but they were not missed.
Today was 5 sets
5,4,3,4,5
Then 3 chin ups
and 6 pull ups using the old inner tube again with my knees hooked into it.
I think if you had a few old inner tubes, you could use them as hanging leg raise straps too.
The one I am using is a to fit a 26 x1.25 wheel and It is just long enough to use for pull ups when draped over both parallel handles on the door gym.
I use two old Karate belts for the leg raises. They are adult length belts,tied near the ends into a loop and then doubled over the pull up handles. A wider inner tube would probably be more comfortable but they do work.
Just before lunch I did virtual gym . This one was the lower body workout.
It was almost all weight work.
There isnt any specification for weight in the program, you must just find what works.
I was using dumbells with a 5 on them.
OH has weighed these and found them to be 2.2kg each so we are not sure where the number 5 comes in.
There was still a fair amount of arm work needed and some crunches towards the end so a good all round workout.
No yoga moves today but they were not missed.
good running
Yesterday evenings run was 2.93 miles ,almost 5k.
The OH was having a hard time of it.
He had already cycled twice in that day plus he was wearing some weight .
We began with a loop,up to the main road and back to the top of the turning where we live,then in the opposite direction because there are more hills that way,then back and along the initial loop to finish off.
OH walked a little bit and I met him back home.
In the past,I would have walked when he did but he doesn't do it for me ,so instead I just keep ploughing on.
I finished in 29.44 .
It was the only real exercise I did yesterday ,that was on purpose because the last run was done after pull ups and plank etc and was much harder work than was comfortable.
The OH was having a hard time of it.
He had already cycled twice in that day plus he was wearing some weight .
We began with a loop,up to the main road and back to the top of the turning where we live,then in the opposite direction because there are more hills that way,then back and along the initial loop to finish off.
OH walked a little bit and I met him back home.
In the past,I would have walked when he did but he doesn't do it for me ,so instead I just keep ploughing on.
I finished in 29.44 .
It was the only real exercise I did yesterday ,that was on purpose because the last run was done after pull ups and plank etc and was much harder work than was comfortable.
Monday 22 August 2011
Jelly arms
This morning I did week 1 day 3 of the pull up challenge.
The goal is to be able to do 20 consecutively.
The workout was 5 sets of
4,4,4,3 and max which was 6
Last time I did a combination of pull ups and chin ups as chin ups are a little bit easier because of the biceps being used more when your hands are facing you rather than facing away.
However,that isn't really pull ups and so I determined to only do hands facing away from now on.
After the allocated moves, I did 3 chin ups and then with an inner tube to act as a helper, I did 6 PU's without putting my feet down.
The band is an idea I got from utube ,you hook it over the bar and rest your knees in it,it isnt strong enough to carry your whole weight but is just enough to help take strain from your weedy little arms . The idea is to use something to just help with your own body weight but not enough that your muscles wont get stronger.
After all those, I did 20 hanging leg raises in 2 sets of 10.
Then I scoffed a picnic bar which was sitting in our fridge as I was ravenous.
Before lunch I did a virtual gym workout.
I wanted to change things up a bit so I chose upper body for a change.
This proved very challenging but also satisfying.
The last upper body workout,I hadn't got my stability ball yet so tis time it was incorporated many times and made for a whole different aspect to 'arms' exercises.
It was also the physical challenge day today which consists of counting the heart beat at rest,then doing 2 minute jump jacks getting faster each 30 seconds. after 2 mins I count my heart beat again.
It was 54 to begin and only 78 at the end.
Then there are squats,push ups and crunches all of which I can max so I just click the max numbers and then there is a forward fold stretch to see how flexible you are. I went up one count in flexibility.
That is todays exercise over as my arms can still feel the flys,overhead extensions and presses that the virtual coach forced me to do :) I think she has compulsion like the vampires on TV.
The goal is to be able to do 20 consecutively.
The workout was 5 sets of
4,4,4,3 and max which was 6
Last time I did a combination of pull ups and chin ups as chin ups are a little bit easier because of the biceps being used more when your hands are facing you rather than facing away.
However,that isn't really pull ups and so I determined to only do hands facing away from now on.
After the allocated moves, I did 3 chin ups and then with an inner tube to act as a helper, I did 6 PU's without putting my feet down.
The band is an idea I got from utube ,you hook it over the bar and rest your knees in it,it isnt strong enough to carry your whole weight but is just enough to help take strain from your weedy little arms . The idea is to use something to just help with your own body weight but not enough that your muscles wont get stronger.
After all those, I did 20 hanging leg raises in 2 sets of 10.
Then I scoffed a picnic bar which was sitting in our fridge as I was ravenous.
Before lunch I did a virtual gym workout.
I wanted to change things up a bit so I chose upper body for a change.
This proved very challenging but also satisfying.
The last upper body workout,I hadn't got my stability ball yet so tis time it was incorporated many times and made for a whole different aspect to 'arms' exercises.
It was also the physical challenge day today which consists of counting the heart beat at rest,then doing 2 minute jump jacks getting faster each 30 seconds. after 2 mins I count my heart beat again.
It was 54 to begin and only 78 at the end.
Then there are squats,push ups and crunches all of which I can max so I just click the max numbers and then there is a forward fold stretch to see how flexible you are. I went up one count in flexibility.
That is todays exercise over as my arms can still feel the flys,overhead extensions and presses that the virtual coach forced me to do :) I think she has compulsion like the vampires on TV.
Sunday 21 August 2011
Saturday,time for double unders.
I finally have a piece of wood so I can skip rope outside if I want to.
The grass catches in the rope unless there is something smooth underfoot.
Today I did my double unders workout.
For this I use the Garmin to give me the timings.
10 minutes regular skipping pace to warm up.
20 minutes of double unders done as I can manage them.
10 minutes regular skip again to cool down.
I managed 528 double unders which is an average of around 26 a minute.
It used to be about 20 so they have improved.
I checked out the Heart rate figures afterwards and was surprised to find that the average was 149 and the highest was 163 which is lower than when I am running.
Given the exhaustingness of the double unders, I expected it to be way above 170 which is my very highest on a run so far. I suppose it is because I have to get my puff back before the next batch each time.
I managed 3 consecutive 29'ers and many of the other batches were above 10.
A great workout. If you can do double unders, this really has you feeling it by the end.
The grass catches in the rope unless there is something smooth underfoot.
Today I did my double unders workout.
For this I use the Garmin to give me the timings.
10 minutes regular skipping pace to warm up.
20 minutes of double unders done as I can manage them.
10 minutes regular skip again to cool down.
I managed 528 double unders which is an average of around 26 a minute.
It used to be about 20 so they have improved.
I checked out the Heart rate figures afterwards and was surprised to find that the average was 149 and the highest was 163 which is lower than when I am running.
Given the exhaustingness of the double unders, I expected it to be way above 170 which is my very highest on a run so far. I suppose it is because I have to get my puff back before the next batch each time.
I managed 3 consecutive 29'ers and many of the other batches were above 10.
A great workout. If you can do double unders, this really has you feeling it by the end.
Friday 19 August 2011
Come on Garmin!
My gps watch seemed to take forever to locate the sats last night.
It seemed longer due to the impending rain and breeziness.
Eventually it discovered them and I had already started running to save freezing to death in my P.E. kit.
Quite a slow old run . My legs felt like they had had the tendons shortened and it was about half way round before they became bouncy.
I uploaded the run to mapmyrun and then dragged the start position back to the right place so I could see how my pace was. As expected it was slow but the heart rate was 166 maximum and 155 average which is in zone 4(Anaerobic or Cardio I think) .
S'morning ,I did the 2nd of the pull up challenge sessions.
Week 1 day 2
4,3,3,4,5 and an extra 4, 1 minute between each except the set before last when I waited 90 seconds.
I used my gloves with the padded palms this time.
Again the chin up hand position was easiest but I did the 1st 3 sets using pull up hands because they wont improve if I don't actually do them right.
I have been keeping up with push up and dip maintenance with 100 of the former and 150 of the latter yesterday.
The weather has been weird again. Yesterday was sunny enough for no coat when I went out early on but Autumnal despite it being August for most of the rest of the day.
Today is sunny again so far.
The postie is in shorts and short sleeved shirt. I always think that must be a lovely job to have as it is exercising and getting paid to do it.
It seemed longer due to the impending rain and breeziness.
Eventually it discovered them and I had already started running to save freezing to death in my P.E. kit.
Quite a slow old run . My legs felt like they had had the tendons shortened and it was about half way round before they became bouncy.
I uploaded the run to mapmyrun and then dragged the start position back to the right place so I could see how my pace was. As expected it was slow but the heart rate was 166 maximum and 155 average which is in zone 4(Anaerobic or Cardio I think) .
S'morning ,I did the 2nd of the pull up challenge sessions.
Week 1 day 2
4,3,3,4,5 and an extra 4, 1 minute between each except the set before last when I waited 90 seconds.
I used my gloves with the padded palms this time.
Again the chin up hand position was easiest but I did the 1st 3 sets using pull up hands because they wont improve if I don't actually do them right.
I have been keeping up with push up and dip maintenance with 100 of the former and 150 of the latter yesterday.
The weather has been weird again. Yesterday was sunny enough for no coat when I went out early on but Autumnal despite it being August for most of the rest of the day.
Today is sunny again so far.
The postie is in shorts and short sleeved shirt. I always think that must be a lovely job to have as it is exercising and getting paid to do it.
Thursday 18 August 2011
Soldiering on
No exercise on Tuesday, it was my Birthday.
We went to see a film (rise of the planet of the apes), I made jam and we ate take away for tea.
The film was excellent, it explained about how the Apes could become so much cleverer and also about why the Planet becomes so much less about people and more about the Apes. There were also pointers towards a sequel if they choose to make one. I hope that they do.
Wednesday I did a virtual Gym workout and the first day of the Pull ups challenge.
It was a little harder than I had thought but I got through it.
I'm only doing every other day for 3 days a week which is what I did for the other challenges too because really, you do need to let your muscles recover between harder workouts even if they are not very long.
I did my pull ups as chin ups really, because my hands were facing me,not palm away.
I managed to haul myself up further than I do on my HIIT when I do the chin up part of it so that is an improvement.
Today should be a run this evening if it isn't bucketing down.
We went to see a film (rise of the planet of the apes), I made jam and we ate take away for tea.
The film was excellent, it explained about how the Apes could become so much cleverer and also about why the Planet becomes so much less about people and more about the Apes. There were also pointers towards a sequel if they choose to make one. I hope that they do.
Wednesday I did a virtual Gym workout and the first day of the Pull ups challenge.
It was a little harder than I had thought but I got through it.
I'm only doing every other day for 3 days a week which is what I did for the other challenges too because really, you do need to let your muscles recover between harder workouts even if they are not very long.
I did my pull ups as chin ups really, because my hands were facing me,not palm away.
I managed to haul myself up further than I do on my HIIT when I do the chin up part of it so that is an improvement.
Today should be a run this evening if it isn't bucketing down.
Monday 15 August 2011
HIIT ME
Well my HIIT timing thing that I uploaded to the HRM watch,wasn't quite what I hoped.
I managed to get the times right but somehow got the' repeat next stage' bit wrong.
Anyway ,it was fine up until the 'repeat the last 4 moves again' thing ,when it didn't. Instead it went on to the warm down time which was too early.
So I went back to the clock and counting in my head so that I could finish the second set of repeats and then set up a 10 minute warm down separately
After that I used my timer only to do the 30 second stages of the hydrant move.
2 things were evident from using the HRM.
1 was that my heart rate never went above 154 the whole time, even when doing a few double unders which I add into my cool down 10 minute skip although I was being conservative with them today,I do sometimes do many more per minute
The other was that I average a 138 HR over the 50 minutes which is much lower than the average of 155 and a max of 161 for the run.
This shows me that the running is more demanding than the HIIT much to my surprise.
Next HIIT ,I will incorporate more double unders into 2 sets as they are more difficult if done continuously and judging by the HRM, I could benefit from that.
I managed to get the times right but somehow got the' repeat next stage' bit wrong.
Anyway ,it was fine up until the 'repeat the last 4 moves again' thing ,when it didn't. Instead it went on to the warm down time which was too early.
So I went back to the clock and counting in my head so that I could finish the second set of repeats and then set up a 10 minute warm down separately
After that I used my timer only to do the 30 second stages of the hydrant move.
2 things were evident from using the HRM.
1 was that my heart rate never went above 154 the whole time, even when doing a few double unders which I add into my cool down 10 minute skip although I was being conservative with them today,I do sometimes do many more per minute
The other was that I average a 138 HR over the 50 minutes which is much lower than the average of 155 and a max of 161 for the run.
This shows me that the running is more demanding than the HIIT much to my surprise.
Next HIIT ,I will incorporate more double unders into 2 sets as they are more difficult if done continuously and judging by the HRM, I could benefit from that.
Flexibility
The virtual gym yesterday was a flexibility workout.
I strapped on the heart rate monitor and it said 48 which is very low even for me but I suppose all the skipping and running are improving my heart strength still.
Once the workout began, it showed the ideal heart rate on the screen and I leapt about like a mad thing ,trying to get my heart rate to show the same.
Most of the time, I couldn't get the rate up high enough however hard or madly I moved.
The heart rate section isn't very long on workouts where cardio is not the main focus ,so after about 5 minutes, I unstrapped it and strapped my ankle weights on for the core part of the hour.
I did some corkscrews using the weights and they are much more effective when weighted.
Bicycles are hard to do with weights on too.
There were the usual balance ball crunches which are always a good burn.
Plank twists were actually quite hard work today. I took off the ankle weights from this point on , no point doing damage to myself by being silly.
She always announces how many reps should be done and it is almost always 3 each side for this move but then she (remember she is a 3D virtual person) continues to do about 20 and I find myself trying to keep up and failing .
Well of course it isn't really a fail as I easily manage 3 each side and sometimes up to 6 but because the virtual trainer is still going strong, it feels like I should be ,too.
Flexibility is still improving I think. At the end of the workout, there is always Quad stretching and Hamstring stretching and now, I have to really have my feet a long way apart before the hamstring stretches actually 'stretch' anything.
I strapped on the heart rate monitor and it said 48 which is very low even for me but I suppose all the skipping and running are improving my heart strength still.
Once the workout began, it showed the ideal heart rate on the screen and I leapt about like a mad thing ,trying to get my heart rate to show the same.
Most of the time, I couldn't get the rate up high enough however hard or madly I moved.
The heart rate section isn't very long on workouts where cardio is not the main focus ,so after about 5 minutes, I unstrapped it and strapped my ankle weights on for the core part of the hour.
I did some corkscrews using the weights and they are much more effective when weighted.
Bicycles are hard to do with weights on too.
There were the usual balance ball crunches which are always a good burn.
Plank twists were actually quite hard work today. I took off the ankle weights from this point on , no point doing damage to myself by being silly.
She always announces how many reps should be done and it is almost always 3 each side for this move but then she (remember she is a 3D virtual person) continues to do about 20 and I find myself trying to keep up and failing .
Well of course it isn't really a fail as I easily manage 3 each side and sometimes up to 6 but because the virtual trainer is still going strong, it feels like I should be ,too.
Flexibility is still improving I think. At the end of the workout, there is always Quad stretching and Hamstring stretching and now, I have to really have my feet a long way apart before the hamstring stretches actually 'stretch' anything.
Sunday 14 August 2011
Rest day (sort of) and a new challenge
It's Sunday.
I often treat it as a rest day.
Today I will be doing a laptop workout but will still count it as a rest day because everything feels restful.
I did our Supermarket shop this morning.
I drive there once a week. Today I drove myself because there was a car part-blocking the drive(the nice lady next doors visitor) and I didn't think my son who is still learning to drive, would manage the angles all that well. I could have knocked and asked them to move it but I knew I could get round it providing I drove out myself.
My O.H. is still on police duty today and will be tomorrow too after his paid work so we (son and self) are the only ones home . O.H. is getting in, having his dinner and going to bed,waking,washing, having his brekky and going out the door.
I have decided on a new challenge to begin next week.
It is this twenty pull ups challenge.
It works like the other challenges, you work your way up from a low number until you have reached your goal.
I really like the way the other challenges worked and they really did work.
I have been reading up about my garmin watch. It can do some very clever things.
One really useful thing for me will be the workout timings which can be preloaded.
Another is the mapping which can be uploaded straight to mapmyrun. That saves a lot of clicking about on the website. I do like the idea of being able to input a distance and it telling me when I have done enough.
I downloaded 'sports tracks' because several reviews mention it as being nicer to use than the software given with the watch. At first I couldn't import from the watch to the program but I discovered that it needs Internet explorer to download a plug-in and then it works fine.
I often treat it as a rest day.
Today I will be doing a laptop workout but will still count it as a rest day because everything feels restful.
I did our Supermarket shop this morning.
I drive there once a week. Today I drove myself because there was a car part-blocking the drive(the nice lady next doors visitor) and I didn't think my son who is still learning to drive, would manage the angles all that well. I could have knocked and asked them to move it but I knew I could get round it providing I drove out myself.
My O.H. is still on police duty today and will be tomorrow too after his paid work so we (son and self) are the only ones home . O.H. is getting in, having his dinner and going to bed,waking,washing, having his brekky and going out the door.
I have decided on a new challenge to begin next week.
It is this twenty pull ups challenge.
It works like the other challenges, you work your way up from a low number until you have reached your goal.
I really like the way the other challenges worked and they really did work.
I have been reading up about my garmin watch. It can do some very clever things.
One really useful thing for me will be the workout timings which can be preloaded.
Another is the mapping which can be uploaded straight to mapmyrun. That saves a lot of clicking about on the website. I do like the idea of being able to input a distance and it telling me when I have done enough.
I downloaded 'sports tracks' because several reviews mention it as being nicer to use than the software given with the watch. At first I couldn't import from the watch to the program but I discovered that it needs Internet explorer to download a plug-in and then it works fine.
Saturday 13 August 2011
Challenge 2 is met and surpassed
I decided to try for the dips challenge earlier than I had planned.
It was going to be Monday ,leaving a longer space between exercise but I really felt like giving it a shot this morning.
Anyway, I did it.
The challenge was to perform 150 chair dips in a row without stopping.
A few weeks back, I began the challenge and managed 50 at one try, so I started my challenge at week 3.
Today I reached 160 without a stop and so mission is accomplished.
I am still maintaining my push ups from the 100 push up challenge.
I don't do 100 at one shot but instead do smaller sets until I have done the 100.
So now I will add dips to my maintenance alongside.
My arms are more defined as a result of these two challenges.
Having been quite weedy in the arm department for a good long time, that is a bonus.
It was going to be Monday ,leaving a longer space between exercise but I really felt like giving it a shot this morning.
Anyway, I did it.
The challenge was to perform 150 chair dips in a row without stopping.
A few weeks back, I began the challenge and managed 50 at one try, so I started my challenge at week 3.
Today I reached 160 without a stop and so mission is accomplished.
I am still maintaining my push ups from the 100 push up challenge.
I don't do 100 at one shot but instead do smaller sets until I have done the 100.
So now I will add dips to my maintenance alongside.
My arms are more defined as a result of these two challenges.
Having been quite weedy in the arm department for a good long time, that is a bonus.
Friday 12 August 2011
By the cracking of my thumbs, something spicy this way comes!
I love the witches in Macbeth!
The spicy thing was curry made by me, from goodness only knows what, as it was several containers of something orange coloured ,with beans in, from the freezer. On Fridays, we have freezer pot luck.
My son who dislikes curry, is having left over 'cowboy beans' (chili con carni minus the chili) which is what we had yesterday.
The OH is on Duty tonight and all weekend as the riots meant every regular policeman in London was on duty whether they liked it or not.
OH is in the reserve and so works full time during the week at another task and as he was the only person not on holiday in his department at the firm,he couldn't join in till tonight much to his disgust.
The spicy thing was curry made by me, from goodness only knows what, as it was several containers of something orange coloured ,with beans in, from the freezer. On Fridays, we have freezer pot luck.
My son who dislikes curry, is having left over 'cowboy beans' (chili con carni minus the chili) which is what we had yesterday.
The OH is on Duty tonight and all weekend as the riots meant every regular policeman in London was on duty whether they liked it or not.
OH is in the reserve and so works full time during the week at another task and as he was the only person not on holiday in his department at the firm,he couldn't join in till tonight much to his disgust.
Bossy old 3d woman workout
Heh well it was my laptop being bossy,or rather,it was the woman on my laptop who is only a 3d image.
Today I did a workout for core ,wearing my Garmin for the heart rate monitor.
Unfortunately,I hadn't got the heart rate set up to display so I had to pause the workout and go in search of the setting.
I found it eventually.
It was a bit late to try to incorporate it as the workout only uses the warm up to give you an idea of the figures that should be showing up on your monitor. Anyway, I did manage to get it to show me the average HR after I was done with the workout. 89BPM.
That was after the more energetic part of the hour I suppose,you get around 15 or 20 minutes of fast stuff,then medium paced moves and the last 10 minutes is mostly yoga which would be a much lower rate, probably about 65BPM. I noticed it showing 91 a couple of times on the ball crunches.
Next time I will have it ready first.
I got quite a good workout otherwise.
Plenty of Stability ball. No weights whatever.
I did add quite a lot of side crunches in between the sets that were announced because it gets a bit lame to be waiting for the trainer to give the next move while just standing there doing nothing.
The monitor counted the heart rate all of the hour but can't calculate calories based on duration and heart rate,so I went here and input info to discover the cals.
The estimate from yourself fitness was very close so I will trust that in future.
Scheduling workouts looks easy. I have imported a workout into the garmin so that when I do my HIIT next time, the timing is all set ready for me to just follow the prompts.
I'll have to see how that goes as I haven't left any space of time to get from one piece of equipment to another.
Today I did a workout for core ,wearing my Garmin for the heart rate monitor.
Unfortunately,I hadn't got the heart rate set up to display so I had to pause the workout and go in search of the setting.
I found it eventually.
It was a bit late to try to incorporate it as the workout only uses the warm up to give you an idea of the figures that should be showing up on your monitor. Anyway, I did manage to get it to show me the average HR after I was done with the workout. 89BPM.
That was after the more energetic part of the hour I suppose,you get around 15 or 20 minutes of fast stuff,then medium paced moves and the last 10 minutes is mostly yoga which would be a much lower rate, probably about 65BPM. I noticed it showing 91 a couple of times on the ball crunches.
Next time I will have it ready first.
I got quite a good workout otherwise.
Plenty of Stability ball. No weights whatever.
I did add quite a lot of side crunches in between the sets that were announced because it gets a bit lame to be waiting for the trainer to give the next move while just standing there doing nothing.
The monitor counted the heart rate all of the hour but can't calculate calories based on duration and heart rate,so I went here and input info to discover the cals.
The estimate from yourself fitness was very close so I will trust that in future.
Scheduling workouts looks easy. I have imported a workout into the garmin so that when I do my HIIT next time, the timing is all set ready for me to just follow the prompts.
I'll have to see how that goes as I haven't left any space of time to get from one piece of equipment to another.
New toy (Garmin 305)
Hooray for the Postie!
He came bearing gifts yesterday at lunch time!
Well it was a self administered gift as it is my birthday next week and I decided to finally treat myself.
I bought a Garmin 305 heart rate and GPS thingummy.
It is a watch based GPS for sports.
It took me 3 hours to charge it from scratch which meant I had to be patient but I managed not to fiddle with it until it was charged.
I inputted my profile which asks for date of birth and gender and I think weight.
Yesterday evening I gave it ,it's first outing.
We ran the river run (2.96miles)
The heart rate strap goes round your chest after you wet the contacts and the watch obviously straps on your wrist.
I was a bit worried about it slewing around as my wrist is only 6 inches round but the strap is a sort of nylon and quite easy to get the right length to keep it steady. The weight is surprisingly light, you really don't notice it. I think it is less noticeable than my usual metal ladies sized wrist watch.
After about 1 minute waiting for it to find the satellites, I then pressed the 'start ' button ,we were off.
Now I don't know if it is a mental thing ,but my pace felt very strong for a change and I strode along the route quite quickly for me.
When we went under the bridges, I could hear the watch beep a little tiny bit which I think was its signal for losing and re-finding the satellites. Understandable under a bridge.
We had to avoid a dog about halfway into the run ,the owner sat quite happily on the bench with another dog on a lead and laughed as the untethered dog chased my feet,me looking at it as I skipped out of its reach, I really like dogs but not when they might be about to snap my ankles ,so we took a detour around the Church to avoid meeting the same animal on the way back.
Once home,I pressed the 'start' button again as it also doubles as the 'stop' button. Simples!
Then after grabbing a cup of water and a banana,I went upstairs and plugged the garmin into my laptop.
It has a cradle so you can connect it to the usb and upload/download stuff + charge it up.
The garmin prog opened and let me upload my run.
It was very exciting to see it appear instantly in the program with a little map,my pace and calories and time all ready laid out in a chart.
I exported the file as tcx format and then opened mapmyrun and imported it to there to see how the map would look alongside my painstaking versions .It was fine and added in the pace and time and date all by itself.
Next I will learn how to use it with the options for timing and distance .
Then I will see how it works with my virtual gym program as that can also use a HRM to integrate with the workouts.
He came bearing gifts yesterday at lunch time!
Well it was a self administered gift as it is my birthday next week and I decided to finally treat myself.
I bought a Garmin 305 heart rate and GPS thingummy.
It is a watch based GPS for sports.
It took me 3 hours to charge it from scratch which meant I had to be patient but I managed not to fiddle with it until it was charged.
I inputted my profile which asks for date of birth and gender and I think weight.
Yesterday evening I gave it ,it's first outing.
We ran the river run (2.96miles)
The heart rate strap goes round your chest after you wet the contacts and the watch obviously straps on your wrist.
I was a bit worried about it slewing around as my wrist is only 6 inches round but the strap is a sort of nylon and quite easy to get the right length to keep it steady. The weight is surprisingly light, you really don't notice it. I think it is less noticeable than my usual metal ladies sized wrist watch.
After about 1 minute waiting for it to find the satellites, I then pressed the 'start ' button ,we were off.
Now I don't know if it is a mental thing ,but my pace felt very strong for a change and I strode along the route quite quickly for me.
When we went under the bridges, I could hear the watch beep a little tiny bit which I think was its signal for losing and re-finding the satellites. Understandable under a bridge.
We had to avoid a dog about halfway into the run ,the owner sat quite happily on the bench with another dog on a lead and laughed as the untethered dog chased my feet,me looking at it as I skipped out of its reach, I really like dogs but not when they might be about to snap my ankles ,so we took a detour around the Church to avoid meeting the same animal on the way back.
Once home,I pressed the 'start' button again as it also doubles as the 'stop' button. Simples!
Then after grabbing a cup of water and a banana,I went upstairs and plugged the garmin into my laptop.
It has a cradle so you can connect it to the usb and upload/download stuff + charge it up.
The garmin prog opened and let me upload my run.
It was very exciting to see it appear instantly in the program with a little map,my pace and calories and time all ready laid out in a chart.
I exported the file as tcx format and then opened mapmyrun and imported it to there to see how the map would look alongside my painstaking versions .It was fine and added in the pace and time and date all by itself.
Next I will learn how to use it with the options for timing and distance .
Then I will see how it works with my virtual gym program as that can also use a HRM to integrate with the workouts.
Thursday 11 August 2011
Hyde park Triathlon pics
Many were using breaststroke from the outset.
The canoists were very attentive when anyone seemed like they might be struggling.
The athletes were very meticulous about the bike's positions and where they had the pedals balanced.
The swim was first but we couldn't see for the crowd so we turned the other way,our backs to the lake and watched it on the big screen.
and then all of the run was in torrential downpour mode. We didn't snap the run for fear of getting the camera wet.
I think there were 4 Brits including the two Brownlea Brothers. Alastair Brownlea won overall.
More measuring and weighing
I thought it was time for another weight check so this morning I consulted the scales again.
weight 124lbs
I measured too to see if anything else had changed.
Afterwards I went here and input my numbers
Results below
Body Fat %: 14.99 (down 10% since April)
Lbs/Kgs of Body Fat: 18.59 (down 16.21lbs of fat since April)
Lean Body Weight: 105.41 (up 6.31 of muscle)
If you think in terms of bags of flour,that is almost 5 and 1/2 bags worth of fat lost and about 2 bags worth of muscle gained.
Last Dips sets before the target day.
dips today were 9 sets
33,33,43,43,34,34,28,100,48
The 100 was my max set but then I thought I would add one more set to bring the total up to 400 dips overall.
I did a very small pullup practice yesterday.
I wanted to be able to pull up more than one without putting my feet on the ground and managed almost 2.
If I stop with my feet on the ground ,I can do around 8.
Although that sounds rather weak, if I think back to before I began practicing,I couldn't do even one,not even a chin up which is slightly easier because of the hand position.
weight 124lbs
I measured too to see if anything else had changed.
Afterwards I went here and input my numbers
Results below
Body Fat %: 14.99 (down 10% since April)
Lbs/Kgs of Body Fat: 18.59 (down 16.21lbs of fat since April)
Lean Body Weight: 105.41 (up 6.31 of muscle)
If you think in terms of bags of flour,that is almost 5 and 1/2 bags worth of fat lost and about 2 bags worth of muscle gained.
Last Dips sets before the target day.
dips today were 9 sets
33,33,43,43,34,34,28,100,48
The 100 was my max set but then I thought I would add one more set to bring the total up to 400 dips overall.
I did a very small pullup practice yesterday.
I wanted to be able to pull up more than one without putting my feet on the ground and managed almost 2.
If I stop with my feet on the ground ,I can do around 8.
Although that sounds rather weak, if I think back to before I began practicing,I couldn't do even one,not even a chin up which is slightly easier because of the hand position.
Wednesday 10 August 2011
The run last night was 2.59 (4.17k) over pavement and some of the river side(also paved).
I felt very dry mouthed.
My son came too and walked a couple of times as he hasn't run in about 2 weeks.
It was warm out and a little bit windy.
We run past a floating river restaurant when we go in that direction and so give the diners something to think about while they feast.
This week there were a couple of bouquets tied to one of the mooring posts because a couple of weeks ago, a man lost his life in a boat fire at that place.
Last year, one of the boats was burned to the water line.
Our town seems to have escaped the rioting so far.
Last night, Birmingham was the target and the mob broke into several shops, taking mobile phones,shoes ,clothes and Jewelery.
These thieves have no other motive than personal gain and hopefully will be found out and punished.
The majority of the perpetrators appear to be youths and young adults that do not expect consequences and I think that this is because for a long time, there has been too much Political correctness (AKA straight jacket rules about how adults discipline children) which has led to a lot of children growing up without having to become accountable for their own actions either at home,in the community or in school.
About 18 years ago ,I had a part time job selling housewares door to door and eventually gave it up because of a youth becoming abusive and physically attacking me. The main culprit was 14 and knew I could not as much as hit him with a rolled up newspaper because the 'law' would support his being 'too young to be able to understand his actions might cause distress'.
I had seen this same child a few years before ,exposing himself to a little girl as they walked up our road on their way to school.
My next door neighbour knows the family and claimed this boys mother would never hear a bad word about her children even if it were true.
I wonder how he behaves today.
David Cameron the Prime minister was called back from his holidays to sort the rioting out.
He stated
'if you are old enough to commit the crime, you are old enough to face the punishment'.
I am interested to see how that unfolds.
I felt very dry mouthed.
My son came too and walked a couple of times as he hasn't run in about 2 weeks.
It was warm out and a little bit windy.
We run past a floating river restaurant when we go in that direction and so give the diners something to think about while they feast.
This week there were a couple of bouquets tied to one of the mooring posts because a couple of weeks ago, a man lost his life in a boat fire at that place.
Last year, one of the boats was burned to the water line.
Our town seems to have escaped the rioting so far.
Last night, Birmingham was the target and the mob broke into several shops, taking mobile phones,shoes ,clothes and Jewelery.
These thieves have no other motive than personal gain and hopefully will be found out and punished.
The majority of the perpetrators appear to be youths and young adults that do not expect consequences and I think that this is because for a long time, there has been too much Political correctness (AKA straight jacket rules about how adults discipline children) which has led to a lot of children growing up without having to become accountable for their own actions either at home,in the community or in school.
About 18 years ago ,I had a part time job selling housewares door to door and eventually gave it up because of a youth becoming abusive and physically attacking me. The main culprit was 14 and knew I could not as much as hit him with a rolled up newspaper because the 'law' would support his being 'too young to be able to understand his actions might cause distress'.
I had seen this same child a few years before ,exposing himself to a little girl as they walked up our road on their way to school.
My next door neighbour knows the family and claimed this boys mother would never hear a bad word about her children even if it were true.
I wonder how he behaves today.
David Cameron the Prime minister was called back from his holidays to sort the rioting out.
He stated
'if you are old enough to commit the crime, you are old enough to face the punishment'.
I am interested to see how that unfolds.
Tuesday 9 August 2011
Dip target nearly met
This mornings chair dips improved yet again.
8 sets
28,28,39,39,31,31,23 and max of 125
Not sure if we will run tonight as Hubby is a Police reserve and so might have to chip in with the Riot police.
Late payments
Things are looking up.
In my life as a freelancer, one of my former clients has actually begun paying his debts to me.
Last month he reluctantly paid 1/4 of what he has owed for the last 9 months.
This morning he has paid the next 1/4.
....................................................................................................................................................
Bit of a Whinge below !!!!
He is a Jeckyle and Hyde character.
At first he was friendly and positive, then he accused me of taking his contract(the work I did was given to me by him personally so I can't understand how he came to that conclusion). Then he was all apologetic for having thought so, then ,when he still didn't pay for the work despite having promised to sort it out,we pointed out that the small claim court would be the next port of call and he became accusatory once more.
Now he is back to mild mannered and paying up.
All I can surmise is that he is Bi Polar .
I won't be doing any more work for him but I really wouldn't be surprised if he asked me to.
8 sets
28,28,39,39,31,31,23 and max of 125
Not sure if we will run tonight as Hubby is a Police reserve and so might have to chip in with the Riot police.
Late payments
Things are looking up.
In my life as a freelancer, one of my former clients has actually begun paying his debts to me.
Last month he reluctantly paid 1/4 of what he has owed for the last 9 months.
This morning he has paid the next 1/4.
....................................................................................................................................................
Bit of a Whinge below !!!!
He is a Jeckyle and Hyde character.
At first he was friendly and positive, then he accused me of taking his contract(the work I did was given to me by him personally so I can't understand how he came to that conclusion). Then he was all apologetic for having thought so, then ,when he still didn't pay for the work despite having promised to sort it out,we pointed out that the small claim court would be the next port of call and he became accusatory once more.
Now he is back to mild mannered and paying up.
All I can surmise is that he is Bi Polar .
I won't be doing any more work for him but I really wouldn't be surprised if he asked me to.
Monday 8 August 2011
Long Planks
I beat my plank record this afternoon.
The new highest score is 5 minutes and 15 seconds.
Not too wobbly in the last seconds but my teeth were gritted.
The new highest score is 5 minutes and 15 seconds.
Not too wobbly in the last seconds but my teeth were gritted.
Finally Hiit 12
Yay back to HIIT
It was cooler today and no workmen camped outside the front of the house, although they were there 3 days of last week.
So...1 hour workout as follows
Skipped 10 minutes then
round A
repeat A
then round B
repeat B
Skip 10 minutes incorporating double unders
Then Hydrants
Skip 4 minutes
It felt very good to get back to it.
The pullup/chinup thing is still hard work and on the second round I did need to use the chair on the pullups after he first one but I did all the chin ups without it.
The Hydrants are killers still. The leg you are working acts as a weight and is less tired than the leg supporting.
My legs do feel stronger when out running recently.
It was cooler today and no workmen camped outside the front of the house, although they were there 3 days of last week.
So...1 hour workout as follows
Skipped 10 minutes then
round A
- Pullups 8 reps from floor( quick 2 or 3 second rest between each)
- Chinups same
- skip 1.30
- leg raises 16
- skip 1.30
repeat A
then round B
- Kettlebell swings 18
- skip1.30
- kettlebell twists 18
- skip 1.30
repeat B
Skip 10 minutes incorporating double unders
Then Hydrants
Skip 4 minutes
It felt very good to get back to it.
The pullup/chinup thing is still hard work and on the second round I did need to use the chair on the pullups after he first one but I did all the chin ups without it.
The Hydrants are killers still. The leg you are working acts as a weight and is less tired than the leg supporting.
My legs do feel stronger when out running recently.
Weekend stuff
Saturday, my daughter was on her way back to Uni.
My husband took her to London in the car so she could get a train .
I walked into town back home to do a food shop with my backpack and then home with a whole chicken,16 bananas and 1lb of beef mince which was about all I can carry at one go.
Sunday we got up early and drove to London again, this time to watch the Triathlon in Hyde Park.
We parked away from the park and then walked about 40 minutes to get there.
I loved the diversity in participants. There were young and old, fat and thin.
Some wore T shirts ,some in triathlon suits,sort of vest or t shirt type tops with shorts joined on.
The bikes were varied too. Some had expensive carbon fibre frames and streamlined wheels, others had ordinary road bikes.
It was excellent watching.
In the afternoon , the Elite men got to run and we stood by the transition area to see them.
68 men, various countries.
The weather was typically British. Rain one moment and blazing sun the next.
The swimming was in the Serpentine which is a large lake in the park.
When the cycling began, we walked around to the road and clapped as they went by ,about 10 minute laps x 6. Then they swapped over for the running and we waited a bit further around the course to clap. The rain had started back up just at the end of the cycle leg and pelted down in stair rods for the rest of the Tri.
One poor chap was left way behind, almost a full lap ,as he had come a cropper in the cycle .
We reached the transition area again ,just as they were finishing.
There was a big screen up over the area so we got to see the end even though the crowds made it impossible to actually see the finish line.
It was well worth the long drive up and back.
We finally arrived back and decided to feast on Pizza from the shop(very rare occurrence).
So no actual official exercise either day but a lot of walking and standing around on Sunday.
My husband took her to London in the car so she could get a train .
I walked into town back home to do a food shop with my backpack and then home with a whole chicken,16 bananas and 1lb of beef mince which was about all I can carry at one go.
Sunday we got up early and drove to London again, this time to watch the Triathlon in Hyde Park.
We parked away from the park and then walked about 40 minutes to get there.
I loved the diversity in participants. There were young and old, fat and thin.
Some wore T shirts ,some in triathlon suits,sort of vest or t shirt type tops with shorts joined on.
The bikes were varied too. Some had expensive carbon fibre frames and streamlined wheels, others had ordinary road bikes.
It was excellent watching.
In the afternoon , the Elite men got to run and we stood by the transition area to see them.
68 men, various countries.
The weather was typically British. Rain one moment and blazing sun the next.
The swimming was in the Serpentine which is a large lake in the park.
When the cycling began, we walked around to the road and clapped as they went by ,about 10 minute laps x 6. Then they swapped over for the running and we waited a bit further around the course to clap. The rain had started back up just at the end of the cycle leg and pelted down in stair rods for the rest of the Tri.
One poor chap was left way behind, almost a full lap ,as he had come a cropper in the cycle .
We reached the transition area again ,just as they were finishing.
There was a big screen up over the area so we got to see the end even though the crowds made it impossible to actually see the finish line.
It was well worth the long drive up and back.
We finally arrived back and decided to feast on Pizza from the shop(very rare occurrence).
So no actual official exercise either day but a lot of walking and standing around on Sunday.
Friday 5 August 2011
laptop workout day
It was going to be a HIIT day today but there were blokies outside the front window,working on the water supply ,so rather than entertain them with my super woman prowess, I waited till the afternoon when they went off on their lunch break (not till 2pm)and did my virtual gym session sans spectators.
As usual I chose the core workout.
Today the trainer gave me 7 sets of stability ball crunches and 3 sets of bicycles.
The ball work is effective, it burns after only a few reps.
Bicycles are a sort of love/hate thing as I can feel them working but don't really like them.
The planks were easy again thanks to my now stronger arms.
Even one legged planks are no problem now.
After the workout,I got dinner on the go and then went off for my shower while the food simmered.
We tend to eat fairly early (4-5pm)because in the early days, the kids would get school ( home education) over with and needed to be ready for clubs and the timing has carried over into adult life.
It works out well if we are running later as it gives a largish meal time to digest.
We ran yesterday evening. About 4.5k. Just Me and my husband.
He wore an old stab vest (old police issue) because he wants to add weight resistance to his run and is finding holding weights tricky for the whole length of a run. The vest has pockets which can hold heavyish things instead of the Kevlar inserts.
It was still warm even though it had rained almost all day.
I was quite pleased with my run considering I had already done a dips challenge workout earlier and then a 300 squat session later and a 10 minute skipping rope session (I was bored).
My legs are feeling stronger, especially the hip area and the quads.
As usual I chose the core workout.
Today the trainer gave me 7 sets of stability ball crunches and 3 sets of bicycles.
The ball work is effective, it burns after only a few reps.
Bicycles are a sort of love/hate thing as I can feel them working but don't really like them.
The planks were easy again thanks to my now stronger arms.
Even one legged planks are no problem now.
After the workout,I got dinner on the go and then went off for my shower while the food simmered.
We tend to eat fairly early (4-5pm)because in the early days, the kids would get school ( home education) over with and needed to be ready for clubs and the timing has carried over into adult life.
It works out well if we are running later as it gives a largish meal time to digest.
We ran yesterday evening. About 4.5k. Just Me and my husband.
He wore an old stab vest (old police issue) because he wants to add weight resistance to his run and is finding holding weights tricky for the whole length of a run. The vest has pockets which can hold heavyish things instead of the Kevlar inserts.
It was still warm even though it had rained almost all day.
I was quite pleased with my run considering I had already done a dips challenge workout earlier and then a 300 squat session later and a 10 minute skipping rope session (I was bored).
My legs are feeling stronger, especially the hip area and the quads.
Thursday 4 August 2011
Nearly at dip destination
Wow ! This mornings dips were very good.
It was only 5 sets long as opposed to the 8 I did for the last two sessions.
I think it was the same with the push ups challenge and I can only surmise that the mental boost it gives you to actually manage more in less sets, really spurs you on.
Anyway todays sets went:
55,65,45,59 and a max rep set of ...
120
1 minute between sets and 1.30 before the last set
Only 2 more sessions to go and then I will attempt the 150 non stop
It was only 5 sets long as opposed to the 8 I did for the last two sessions.
I think it was the same with the push ups challenge and I can only surmise that the mental boost it gives you to actually manage more in less sets, really spurs you on.
Anyway todays sets went:
55,65,45,59 and a max rep set of ...
120
1 minute between sets and 1.30 before the last set
Only 2 more sessions to go and then I will attempt the 150 non stop
Wednesday 3 August 2011
Evening run
We didn't run until 8.15pm.
It was so hot all day that it was better to wait for the cooler evening and anyway my husband didn't get back till then and we almost always run together.
The run was 2.65miles long.
It took around 30 minutes.
I could have gone for longer but OH couldn't,he had already biked half way to work and back after all.
I have got my son interested in the challenges.
He is going to try the 100 push ups after hearing that I could still do 100 after a month from only being able to manage 20 ,2 months ago.
It was so hot all day that it was better to wait for the cooler evening and anyway my husband didn't get back till then and we almost always run together.
The run was 2.65miles long.
It took around 30 minutes.
I could have gone for longer but OH couldn't,he had already biked half way to work and back after all.
I have got my son interested in the challenges.
He is going to try the 100 push ups after hearing that I could still do 100 after a month from only being able to manage 20 ,2 months ago.
Tuesday 2 August 2011
Some like it hot
It is far too hot again. We Brits are just not used to more than a couple of warm days in a row.
I decided to test out my push up skills again this morning.
It was several weeks ago that I managed 100 in one go and I have been maintaining since then so anyway.
I gave it another go and guess what? I can still do it.
Better, I made less stops. Each stop became a straight armed plank but there weren't as many as the last time simply because my arms are stronger.
My husband did comment on my arm muscles yesterday . I told him that female muscle doesn't get as hard as male muscle. That is something I have noticed in my travelings through life.
I think that is why women have so much more trouble looking strong even when they are.
Combine that with their higher body fat needs and that convinces me that women who body build must work terribly hard to get their shape.
I don't like the shape myself. I prefer the defined look much more than the ripped/shredded look of competition builders.
I want to look fit and feel fit but I don't want to look like something from a Marvel comic.
Much respect to those who do achieve that look though.
I decided to test out my push up skills again this morning.
It was several weeks ago that I managed 100 in one go and I have been maintaining since then so anyway.
I gave it another go and guess what? I can still do it.
Better, I made less stops. Each stop became a straight armed plank but there weren't as many as the last time simply because my arms are stronger.
My husband did comment on my arm muscles yesterday . I told him that female muscle doesn't get as hard as male muscle. That is something I have noticed in my travelings through life.
I think that is why women have so much more trouble looking strong even when they are.
Combine that with their higher body fat needs and that convinces me that women who body build must work terribly hard to get their shape.
I don't like the shape myself. I prefer the defined look much more than the ripped/shredded look of competition builders.
I want to look fit and feel fit but I don't want to look like something from a Marvel comic.
Much respect to those who do achieve that look though.
Monday 1 August 2011
Too hot!
It is baking here today, very dry and muggy too.
As usual in this weather, all I can hear outside are the humming of traffic and the odd calls of kiddies as they walk past with their mums.
There is a very distant sound of hammer on wood too.
Today I did Week 5,day 3 of the 150 dips challenge.
8 sets.
26,26,31,31,26,26,28 and a max of 104 (298 all together)
There were 30 seconds between the first 7 sets and a minute before I did the max set.
Later I did a core workout from 'yourself fitness'.
The Bicycles were the killer today. 3 sets of 12.
The Stability ball was 4 sets of 10 crunches ,the first 2 before bicycles and the last 2 after.
No weights given today so I did side rotations using the heavy dumbbell in time to the virtual trainer's movements which were shown empty handed. I don't find them effective empty handed.
We had quite a greedy weekend.
Chocolate gateaux on Saturday after roast pork dinner
Sunday we had pork stew with Dumplings.
Normally we wouldn't be so greedy but it is my daughters last weekend home until Christmas.
As usual in this weather, all I can hear outside are the humming of traffic and the odd calls of kiddies as they walk past with their mums.
There is a very distant sound of hammer on wood too.
Today I did Week 5,day 3 of the 150 dips challenge.
8 sets.
26,26,31,31,26,26,28 and a max of 104 (298 all together)
There were 30 seconds between the first 7 sets and a minute before I did the max set.
Later I did a core workout from 'yourself fitness'.
The Bicycles were the killer today. 3 sets of 12.
The Stability ball was 4 sets of 10 crunches ,the first 2 before bicycles and the last 2 after.
No weights given today so I did side rotations using the heavy dumbbell in time to the virtual trainer's movements which were shown empty handed. I don't find them effective empty handed.
We had quite a greedy weekend.
Chocolate gateaux on Saturday after roast pork dinner
Sunday we had pork stew with Dumplings.
Normally we wouldn't be so greedy but it is my daughters last weekend home until Christmas.
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