LastGirlStanding

What is it about planks though that make them sooooo hard? I'd happily run for half an hour just to avoid doing them, which is saying something Thanks for the good wishes.

Friday 19th August - went to the gym for some interval sprints at lunch time. 5m warm up on 10 incline and 6.5 speed, then 20 min of sprint (11.5 kph) for 1 min, walk (6 kph) for 1 min, then 5m cool down on 10 incline and 6.5 speed. I then took a baseline on my holding a plank, as this is something I SUCK at - over 3 attempts I averaged 30 sec, so this is where I'm starting. Saturday 20th August - a quick session in the afternoon with the particular intention of getting my sets up to 4 x 10 reps on the increased weights: 4 sets of 10 leg press, 85lb. 4 sets of 10 bent over rows, 10kg. 4 sets of 10 clean + press, 7.5kg (still hard - I left this one to the end and wished I hadn't) 4 sets of 10 deadlift kettlebell, 14kg. 4 sets of 10 kettlebell swing, 14 kg. 4 sets of 10 squats, 14kg (this was haaaaaaaaard) 4 sets of 10 push ups 4 sets of 10 leg raises 4 sets of 10 TRX rows. I'm pleased with this overall success. The real test will be whether I can get through it all on Wednesday evening after some interval training to warm up! Monday 22nd August - got up early for my 6:45am kettlebells class. This was tough, so I used a lighter weight (10kg) to accommodate all the reps and the upper-body exercises. We did: - swings - round the body - deadlift - cleans - bent over row - sit ups - leg raises - squats - lunges - and of course, push-ups.

So I'm about to start my second challenge! The first went well, so I'm keeping what worked (3 x weight sessions a week; intermittent fasting; lots of water; writing 30 min per day; Pilates once a week) and trying to build on my achievements. I'd like to build up a narrative here about training to beat the zombie apocalypse, but I don't have time. Let's just say that faster, more focused, able-to-lift-their-body-weight people are going to survive better when the Big Z Day hits. And... thinking about Scary Things on a daily basis (writing) will help me toughen up? Yeah. Let's go with that. Goal 1 (fitness): complete the Core challenge at Darebee. My core strength absolutely sucks. I measured myself over 3 elbow planks today at the gym, and my average hold time is 30 seconds. I can't do a single sit-up. I am skinny fat. I need to build up my core strength alongside my other work-outs. Goal 2 (diet): track diet daily at MyFitnessPal. I seem particularly prone to under-eating in terms of calories and protein: I'm a vegan and eat largely home-cooked food with tons and tons of fruit and vegetables, and I've noticed that when I have weeks of harder work-outs (say 3 x strength training for 60 min plus a couple of days of interval training) I feel absolutely exhausted, both in the evening and in the mornings. I don't think I'm eating enough, so this should help me. My MFP calorie goal is 1400 and protein goal is 45g. It says I'll lose weight, but over 6 weeks I've found that the scale doesn't budge... although I look a million times better, so am hoping that the slimming down is being counteracted weight-wise by building a small amount of muscle ready for the next steps. Goal 3 (diet): no alcohol. Speaks for itself... I don't drink every day, and I don't often drink to excess, but, yeah, when I do... it's not pretty. I don't think I've ever gone completely teetotal for a month before. Just think of all those empty calories I'll be cutting out! Goal 4 (lifestyle): complete the next 2 weeks of my writing programme. I have a novel to edit and re-write, and 30 min/day is becoming a little aimless. I need to focus and work through the next 2 weeks' worth of work in my Weekend Novelist Redrafts The Novel book, so that I'm actually starting to play around with the text and structure rather than making big meta decisions.

Love the theme on this! Can't wait to see how you get on.

And at the end of the challenge: Challenge 1 (fitness): Complete strength training (either bodyweight or weight based) 3 x weekly. Tick! Tuesday and Thursday at the gym, Saturday at the hotel gym while I was at Nineworlds con. I can't believe I got up early at a con and used the gym. I don't even know myself any more. Will I take it forward? Yes! I've noticed such a real difference in the way I look, and yesterday I increased my weights without much pain and suffering. I've never been able to do push-ups, so going from that even to be able to confidently do knee push-ups is a real game-changer. Challenge 2 (fitness): Attend Pilates class 1 x weekly. Tick! I went on Wednesday. Will I take it forward? Well... I think the complete beginner level classes (which I paid for) were interesting, but I don't really feel like I'm accomplishing much there. I'd like to keep up my Thursday classes at the gym, and try to progress to more demanding work-outs through mat practice at home. I've just bought a mat. Challenge 3 (diet): Practice Intermittent Fasting on weekdays. Tick! Will I take it forward? I'm so sticking with this one - what a simple and effective way to deliver a 2000 calorie deficit over the course of a week. It was so much easier than I expected - providing I ate dinner at around 8pm (and not after 9pm as I sometimes end up doing). The one exception is really, well, in the days leading up to my period, when I'm STARVING all the time. I've read some research that suggests women need about 100 extra calories a day during that time, which would definitely fit in with my sudden and intense feelings of hunger. I suppose the point is to listen to my own body and learn to distinguish normal fasting hunger from sudden, I'm-going-to-pass-out hunger. Challenge 4 (diet): hungry? drink water! Tick! Will I take it forward? Yes! It's really useful in conjunction with the fasting, to help me get through the mornings. I drink about 1 litre of water between 8.30am - 12.30pm before going to the gym. Where I fall down is in drinking later in the day, because I hate getting up in the night to go to the bathroom (which is on a different floor from my bedroom). Not really sure how to fix that! Challenge 5 (lifestyle): 30 min of active work on my novel daily. Tick! Mostly. Giving myself an A minus, because sometimes life happens. I think I'm doing pretty well with fitting it into my day, considering: 7am wake up. 7:45am leave the house and walk to work. 8:30 arrive at work. 8:30 - 5:30 work. 5:30 - 7:00 gym. 7:00 - 7:45 walk home. 7:45 - 8:30 cook and eat dinner. 8:30 - 9:00 (say) chores. 9:00 - 10:30: 1 hr 30 minutes of precious free time. So, you can see that fitting 30 mins writing into that is pretty good going. Will I take it forward? Yes! Hopefully! I've been slack the last few days, due to an unexpected and awful "completely exhausted" scenario in which I just. Want. Rest. Fundamentally having no "me time" at the weekends is just kicking me in the face! But this is such a positive goal to have that I'll be building it into my next challenge too. Onwards and upwards!

Ugh! So I'm really behind posting here, so here's a small summary: Thursday 11th August - weights. Saturday 13th August - weights - really proud of this workout, as it was when I was at Nineworlds convention - not traditionally a time when I'd be trying to go to the gym! I even forgot my sports bra and went out and bought another one so I wouldn't derail myself. Tuesday 16th August - weights, increased some: Leg press to 85lb - have just realised that the increment bar is in pounds and the measurement I've been using is in kilos, oops. Deadlift to 14kg. Thursday 18th August - I looked back through my old training diary and smacked myself in the face with the fact that, barring small improvements on the running and leg press, I hadn't really challenged myself on the weights front since I started logging my workouts. This is wholly as a result of inattention. I need to do better! So yesterday I increased the weights after working out what (with the bar in particular) would be the smallest possible increase to try out: 3 sets of 10 leg press, 85 lb (see above) 3 sets of 10 bent over rows, 10kg (I'd previously been using 7.5kg on the bar) 3 sets of 10 clean + press, 7.5kg (this one was hardest - I'd previously been using 5kg on the bar) 3 sets of 10 deadlift kettlebell, 14kg. 3 sets of 10 kettlebell swing, 14 kg. 3 sets of 10 squats, 14kg (this was haaaaaaaaard) 3 sets of 10 push ups 3 sets of 10 leg raises 3 sets of 10 TRX rows. I was pleased with this, and not hurting too much this morning. Ultimately reflecting on what I've achieved since I started here - I am DEFINITELY smaller and really notice the difference in my stomach and legs. The scales are lying, as they still have me at 56-57kg depending on the day, but I can see the progress "in the flesh" so to speak - for the next challenge I'm busting out the tape measures and trying to track it properly.

Wednesday 3rd August - very very hungry all day due to PMT - had to break the fast early in the morning for a 100 calorie protein bar. Had to skip working on my novel in the evening to see a (sick) friend and pack for my holiday. Warm up on treadmill: 5 min at 10 incline, 6 kph. Weights: Leg press 4 sets of 10, 32.5kg. Deadlifts 4 sets of 10, 12kg. KB swing 4 sets of 10, 12kg. 4 sets of 10 Trx bodyweight rows (still getting easier) Squats 4 sets of 10, 10kg. 4 sets of 10 push ups. 4 sets of 10 leg raises (ouch). 4 sets of 10 KB rows, 10kg. 4 sets of 10 clean and press, 5kg. Thursday 4th August - off to Avignon on holiday! I had a 150 calorie smoothie/juice to break up what would otherwise have been an unbearable fast from 4:30am (getting up) to 1pm (packed lunch on the train). I also skipped working on my novel (boo). Friday 5th August - REST DAY, fasted, worked on my novel. Saturday 6th August - Fasted, worked on my novel. Did the Hotel Room Workout, which was satisfying and very motivating, although I didn't have a suitably heavy weight for the rows. 5 x circuit in 15 minutes. Sunday 7th August - REST DAY, fasted, worked on my novel. Monday 8th August - REST DAY, fasted, worked on my novel. Overall I was happy with my level of activity in Avignon - I was walking approx 4 hours a day around the city and the surrounding area, and keeping my diet relatively friendly by making a selection of salads or a baguette for lunch (we were self catering) and then having a smaller than usual evening meal. A few sorbets, but then... we WERE on holiday! Tuesday 9th August - fasted again and worked on my novel in the evening (snatching 30 min when I really didn't feel like it turned into a whole hour). Went to the gym after work and managed to really speed things along by doing my weights in alternate sets so that when I'm "resting" my arms from Trx rows I'm doing squats, and vice versa: Warm up on treadmill: 5 min at 10 incline, 5 kph. 5 min at 5 incline, 7.5 kph (this felt much easier) 5 min at 2 incline, 9 kph. 5 min at 11 incline, 6.5 kph. 5 min at 1 incline, 9.5 kph. Weights: Leg press 4 sets of 10, 32.5kg. Deadlifts 4 sets of 10, 12kg. KB swing 4 sets of 10, 12kg. 4 sets of 10 Trx bodyweight rows (still getting easier) Squats 4 sets of 10, 12kg. 4 sets of 10 push ups. 4 sets of 10 leg raises (ouch). 4 sets of 10 crunches. 4 sets of 10 KB rows, 10kg. 4 sets of 10 shoulder press, 5kg. Wednesday 10th August - fasted, and went to the gym at lunch for some interval training. This time: 5 min walk (6.5 kph) at 11 incline. Sets of 60 sec sprint (11 - 12 kph) and 60 sec walk (6.5 kph) at 2 incline for 20 minutes. 5 min walk (6.5 kph) at 11 incline.

After week 3: Challenge 1 (fitness): Complete strength training (either bodyweight or weight based) 3 x weekly. Tick! Kettlebells class on Monday, weight training on Wednesday and the Hotel Room Workout on Saturday while I was in Avignon. I completed 5 circuits and was very very warm (well... it was 33 degrees out and I hate air con!). Challenge 2 (fitness): Attend Pilates class 1 x weekly. Tick! I went on Monday evening. Still having reservations about level 1 Pilates. Challenge 3 (diet): Practice Intermittent Fasting on weekdays. Tick! One smoothie/juice on Thursday morning after getting up at 4:30am to catch the Eurostar to the South of France, as I didn't have faith I could deal with 7.5 hours of fasting while awake. It wasn't a huge calorie hit and meant I didn't get hangry and tear into our train picnic at 10am. (Plus, is anyone else amazed at the smoothie nutritional values Steve gives on NF for these huge smoothies with 500, 600 and 700 calories? I mean, come on - a Meaner Green from Pret is 120 calories for more juice than I can drink in one sitting!) Challenge 4 (diet): hungry? drink water! Tick! Through the working week I managed at least a litre every morning as I tried to keep up the fast. I may have been a little bit less assiduous while on holiday as I was walking around a lot and not wild about constantly having to pay 4 Euros to use a cafe toilet... Challenge 5 (lifestyle): 30 min of active work on my novel daily. A qualified tick - I bailed on Wednesday, as I used up my lunchbreak in the gym and then needed to see a friend who was ill and vulnerable after work, so I got home at 9pm then needed to pack. Would I say my novel wasn't a priority that day? Yes, probably. But I kept up a good level of engagement with it throughout the holiday and got some meaningful progress. An A minus grade on this part of the challenge.

Hi there! Good to see someone else from the same city. Yup, core strength was one of my intentions with Pilates, but I'm in a weird gap between level 1 classes (I attend a private studio) which are "easy" but focus on form, and mixed-level classes (in my gym) where I have to sit out quite a few of the exercises... but I can feel the benefits the next day! That's a very useful list of plank exercises, thank you

Hi Hpav! Thanks for your good wishes! The novel is historical supernatural/horror, if that makes sense...

Saturday 30th July - fasted, worked on my novel (3 hours!) REST DAY! Sunday 31st July - attended another Level 1 Pilates class. I know it's good to focus on form and technique, but I confess I'm finding these deathly slow. I can't get over wanting the difficulty/pain that so motivated me in my mixed-ability gym Pilates class, where I felt I was really stretching myself. I'm going to give it to the end of this block of sessions, and then reassess. Fasted, and stayed very calorie-light until 5pm as I'd had a big meal the night before (vegan pizza at Fed By Water in Dalston, yum). Worked on my novel for 3 hours at writing group. Monday 1st August - new Kettlebells instructor, which is GOOD for keeping my muscles guessing, BAD for my sense of achievement... I can do the whole class usually with a 10kg weight, but this time I had to down-scale some exercises (largely the abs work... notice a theme here??) and there wasn't as much aerobic effect from stacking the exercises. I really hope the other KB instructor comes back, as I love how intense and tiring the work-out is. I also attended another Pilates class in the evening - the above continues to apply. I suck at balance. That is all. Fasted, worked on my novel. Tuesday 2nd August - very very hungry all day due to PMT. I managed the fast, but for the minimum time possible and had to have a banana before I could contemplate going to the gym. I decided to try something a bit different and went for sprint intervals, so: 5 min walk (6.5 kph) at 11 incline. Sets of 60 sec sprint (11 - 12 kph) and 60 sec walk (6.5 kph) at 1 incline for 20 minutes. 10 min walk (6.5 kph) at 11 incline. I felt REALLY tired, so I must have pushed myself! Worked on my novel in the evening.

So I've completed the second week: checking in with progress. Challenge 1 (fitness): Complete strength training (either bodyweight or weight based) 3 x weekly. Tick! Kettlebells class on Monday, weight training on Wednesday and Friday. The Friday workout wasn't great, as I was in a hurry and a lot of the machines/equipment were in use, but I've decided it still counts. Challenge 2 (fitness): Attend Pilates class 1 x weekly. Tick! I went on Sunday morning. It was a very gentle class. Truthfully, I'm starting to think level 1 Pilates is too gentle for me to see improvements and progress, but I'm going to stick at it for a while and consider buying a mat so I can do slightly more advanced routines at home. Challenge 3 (diet): Practice Intermittent Fasting on weekdays. Tick! Once again, today (Monday) I "cheated" with a home-made protein ball at about 10am, as I'd attended a 6:45-7:30am class and needed something to keep me going until lunch. But given that it's after a very intense class, I think this is acceptable. Plus, I've kept up IF at the weekends - even fasting completely until 5pm on Sunday because I'd had a big meal the night before. Challenge 4 (diet): hungry? drink water! Tick! Through the working week I managed at least a litre every morning as I tried to keep up the fast. Challenge 5 (lifestyle): 30 min of active work on my novel daily. Tick! Save for one day (Monday) when I'd planned to write at 8pm and... sat down at my laptop and found I'd been served 800+ pages of evidence for a hearing the next day. Curses. Still, as I did 3 hours each on Saturday and Sunday, this isn't such a big blip. I'd rate myself A- on this challenge so far, which is better than I'd expected! I'm already thinking of what I'd like to do next challenge. Basically my core SUCKS (I can't even do a single sit-up... yes, I know) so I'd like to work on my core strength through planks and leg raises and work my way up to a proper sit-up.

I've been vegetarian for 23 years and now vegan for 6 months. I was vegetarian initially because I believed that, if I didn't NEED to kill to eat, I shouldn't do it simply for pleasure. Over time I became more interested in the environmental and ecological impact of the meat industry and its implications for global warming. I believe that diet can make a big difference to your overall footprint on the planet. I went vegan this year because I found it increasingly hard to ignore the inter-relationship between the dairy and meat industries, and the early deaths of "layer" hens and male chicks. I thought it would be much harder than it is - in fact I'm happier and the diet change has really not been a huge deal for me. There have been some tough spots (travelling around Japan, where EVERYTHING contains fish unless you eat delicious vegan temple cuisine... not such a hardship after all!) but, as I cook pretty much all my own food from scratch, it hasn't been a big deal at all. Weirdly, health is a very very small part of why I'm vegan, but everyone instantly assumes that it's the main reason - and assumes I eat nothing but salad! I do feel healthier, but that could be because I've cut out so much junk-type food unless I make it myself or plan to get some vegan alternatives. I also realise how much cheese I ate as a vegetarian... and definitely feel better for giving it up.

Monday 27th July - I fell down by one challenge goal: no work on my novel as I sat down to do this at 8pm and found the defence had served 800+ pages of evidence for the hearing the next day... eek. Tuesday 28th July - fasted much longer than usual (until 4pm, as I was at court) and dealt with it by drinking tons of water. Rest day. Wednesday 27th July - Fasted. Went to gym after work: Warm up on treadmill: 5 min at 10 incline, 5 kph. 5 min at 5 incline, 7.5 kph. 5 min at 2 incline, 9 kph. 5 min at 10 incline, 6 kph. 5 min at 1 incline, 9 kph. Weights: Leg press 4 sets of 10, 32.5kg. (Went up a weight) Deadlifts 4 sets of 10, 12kg. (I think I'll stick to KB on deadlifts) 4 sets of 10 Trx bodyweight rows (getting easier) Bent over row 4 sets of 10, 10kg. (KB to do alternate arms) Push ups 4 sets of 10. Squats 1 sets of 10, 10kg. (Right knee hurt so stopped as a safety measure). Thursday 28th July - fasted, worked on my novel, REST DAY! Friday 29th July - fasted, went to gym at lunch while fasting, which was soooooo hard during the cardio warm-up. I felt several tonnes heavier and much slower than usual, and kept shouting at my body to JUST BURN FAT FOR FUEL, FFS. Warm up on treadmill: 5 min at 10 incline, 5 kph. 5 min at 5 incline, 7.5 kph. 5 min at 2 incline, 9 kph. Weights: Deadlifts 4 sets of 10, 12kg. KB swing 4 sets of 10, 12kg. 4 sets of 10 Trx bodyweight rows (still getting easier) Squats 4 sets of 10, 10kg. 2 sets of 10 crunches. 2 sets of 10 leg raises (these were super hard). No bent over row, leg press or clean and press as the equipment was all in use and I was stuck for time. I think my next challenge will be a core/abs challenge as I really feel it when I do ab work at the kettlebell class, and am sore for days after - so I need to work on this!

Thank you very much! It's encouraging to hear. It's all written, it just needs editing, and then hopefully next year it'll be ready to make its way into the wider world.