Evening All
L has recently done a fitness post and a few healthy eating ones and I thought I'd do a general update on my fitness. Both of us are doing tough mudder this August so we really need to get in shape and improve our strength. I need a massive increase in upper body strength!
You can read most of the posts from my previous weight loss here. I managed to lose over a stone but slowly it's gone back on. It's taken a lot to get the motivation to lose it again and tough mudder is the motivation I need. I've also signed myself up to Cardiff Half.
I was doing really well running for Jan but easily lost the motivation trying to fit in 2 runs a week. I've now joined a local gym and I'm loving trying out all the classes. I find classes best for me as I push myself harder as I don't like people to see me quit.
So far I'm loving
Kickboxing Fitness
I had expected this to be like combat aerobics but it's taught by a taekwondo and kickboxing instructor. The first half an hour is spent doing kicking and punching drills and working on a target group like abs or legs and doing things like squats, leg raises, planks or sit ups at intervals. For the second half of the class it's spent doing pad work wear we pair or group up and kicks and punches onto pads. I love this as it really gives you a chance to push yourself and the instructor corrects your technique. It's a really good workout and the hour goes quickly.
Pilates
I love the focus on relax and breathing, this is a great class to follow an energetic class and really stretch you out. It focus's on your centre point and the abs stay engaged through a lot of the class. I'm really hoping this will help tighten and flatten my stomach.
Pump
I'm really enjoying pump. It's a really hard workout with weights and works the whole of the body. After this I really ache. When I do kickboxing on Sun and Pump on Mon I really ache. It's a great one to build strength. The classes I'm struggling to fit in so I think I'll do the routine myself. Here's one that I can remember
Squats, Straight leg dead lift, standing row, side lunges, lunges, overhead abs, and some I can't remember the names of. You do each of these 20 times, 15 times then 10 times in sequence. For ones with a weight bar I do 7.5kg (this was my first class and I don't normally lift) then I use 3kg free weights and a 2.5 kg plate for the over head abs. After this sequence it's time for tricep dips, chest press and chest flies. These were all done 15 times 3 times. Lastly 5 minutes of abs. 1 of each of these. Frog abs (don't know the real name but you sit with your knees near to the floor and feet touching and you touch your hands over the toes, lie back and touch your hands over the head and repeat this move), normal crunches, reverse crunches, bicycle crunches and lastly plank. It's a great work out and I'm doing to try and do this in the gym.
Lastly I'm trying cycling. My bum gets really achey on my tail bone so I've now invested in padded shorts and I'm hoping they will help. I want to vary my cardio but really have to get back out to road running too.
As for food I'm trying what I did before. For me it works best to eat healthy 5 days a week and relax more at weekends food wise. I struggle to maintain 7 days a week as I usually end up doing stuff at the weekends.
For meals I love overnight oats and porridge for breakfast, soup, salads and stews for lunch, poached eggs, Danish toast and plum tomatoes, low fat bolognese, fish and veg for dinners. I try and snack on fruit and nuts, nakd bars, protein shakes and crudites and hummus.
How do you exercise? What's your motivation?
Love M
xxx
