After 41 years, I'm finally discovering that daily exercise really makes a difference to me - not just in my fitness amd weight level, but in my overall mood and motivation. Who knew?! :)
Since I got back from holidays (ie 12 days ago), I've exercised at least 20 minutes each day - most days over 30, a couple of days up to 45 mins. I'm mixing it up, some days on the Wii Fit, some days I go for a walk / run, tomorrow I'll have Defendo class (eeeek!). Today I was feeling really tired and slothful, so mid-afternoon I forced myself to do a couple of 10 min workouts I found on YouTube. And funnily enough, I got a modicum of energy back.
I'm finding doing my workout first thing in the morning works best for me - then its done and I don't have to worry about it anymore. It also boosts me for the day - making me eat better and have more energy and focus.
This is all very strange for me - I've never been a sports person, or an exercise person. Last year when I lost 7 kgs over 6 months was the longest I'd ever consistently exercised and that was generally 3 or 4 times a week. Daily is something else again!
One thing I've never been able to do is run - even as a kid I avoided it at all costs. (Especially the cross-country runs the nasty PE teacher used to make us do for sport!) As an adult - well, its quite easy to avoid running if you don't play sport! So it was quite a shock to the system when I started Defendo and our warm-ups often involve running. Not fair!!
Towards the end of last year, I started toying with running. I'd go out on my walks and would try to run from one driveway to the next a few times (we live in an estate with wide front yards!). I really had no idea what I was doing or any plan to measure if I was improving. I made a goal this year to improve my aerobic fitness - one way is by running. Last week at the library, my attention was snagged by a book called The Complete Idiots Guide to Running. Yep, that sounded like me.
One of the things I was excited to see (yeah, I couldn't believe it either!) was a schedule for building up from running 0 minutes to running 30 minutes in nice incremental babysteps. You can find it here if you're interested. You just had to be able to walk for 30 minutes to start - easy, peasy, I could do that.
So far, I'm up to Workout 3 of Week 1. Yesterday, as per workout 3, I walked for 10 minutes, then for the next 15 minutes, I alternately ran for 2 minutes and walked 1 minute, then finished off by walking for 5 minutes. Now, I'm sure those of you who can run are sniggering, but it was a big step for me. That meant I ran 10 minutes (non-consecutively, but still!) I plan to repeat that workout again next time I go out for a walk. (Because while I did it, I really struggled through the end).
I'm sure that it will take me far longer than the 4 weeks they've scheduled, but slow and steady will do me fine. I hope to be able to run for 30 minutes by the end of the year.
Any tips gratefully received :)
Oh and I've lost 2kg since I came back from holidays. I think that was the 2kg I found over Xmas!
