Kaite the Nomad

Thursday 20th April Aching today so didn't go to zumba just the short cycle to work and back (once I didn't feel so tipsy from the celebratory toast). Did 1min30 of high knees for the mini challenge. Friday 21st April Aching worse lol and fingers are still swollen which limits things. Was hoping to go cycling today - sadly not to be. 1 min of L-sits (heels on ground) - increased time per rep from about 13 seconds to 20 - most was 25. 1min plank. Last 1 min 30 of high knees. Days not over yet, hope to do some more later.

Tuesday 18th April Back to work this afternoon so didn't do that much exercise-wise. Cycled there and back which I will do for as long as we have the work but that's less than 5 minutes to get there. Did 1 min of high knees before as part of the mini challenge (I did the first minute on the Monday) and I think that was it. Wednesday 19th April Full day of work today- did 1 min 30 of high knees before, cycled there and back - went to the village rec before coming home to 3x5 assisted pistols which was a bit rushed. Also a cheeky couple of pulups on the girder at work. The index fingers of both hands have swollen up because of work with skin rubbed off too so hands are kinda painful to do much which sucks. Will have to bandage them a bit for tomorrow's work.

Monday 17th April Itching to go for a bike ride today so went fo a 10km ride. Had a look around the woods went I was out dog walking later on and hoping to take the bike up there soonish but it's back to work for me tomorrow.

Sunday 16th April Some strength based exercises today 3x8 Decline pushups. Also did a few diamond and decline elbows in - the latter I find tricky. I'd like to progress to one handed pushups some time so we'll see how things go. 60 second Plank plus some smal planche planks Hollowrocks and candlesticks Bench pistols 3x5 each leg Assisted pistols 3x5 each leg

Friday 14th April Today I went on a 5 mile hike followed by a 13km bike ride Saturday 15th April Went for a 25km bike ride today.

Thursday 13th April Zumba class today, plus I did a bit extra in the morning so about 75min altogether.

With pushups I'm currently working through some push up progressions - it goes from absolute beginner (wall pushups) to one handed pushups so that could work - the idea is once you're capable of doing 3 sets of 8 repetitions you move onto the next progression. With pullups you need a bar - can be at a playground, a home bar or at the gym. To learn how to do them there are different exercises you can do. This is what I did: Deadhangs (arms extended - hanging from the bar - I did these for 20-30 seconds) Flexed hangs where you hold your chin above the bar height, you can jump to get up there (I think I did these for 10-15) Pull-up failures also known as reverse pull-ups - where you gets your chin above bar height and then slowly lower yourself down until your arms are fully extended (I did 3 sets of 5). You can do chin-ups too similar to pull-ups but your palms face towards you rather than away, these are easier as it's more arm strength where as pull-ups relies more on back strength. It can take a really long time to learn to do a pullup though, especially if you're not exercising your upper body much. I did beforehand and it took me about 5 weeks, but it can take months. It is a really good exercise to learn though - feels like having a nice stretch in the morning to me (well the first one does).

Wednesday 12th April Yup, aching today. Did 50 minutes of zumba at home. Got my class tomorrow evening so hopefully no more aches by then.

Tuesday 11th April Today I did some strength training in the morning. 3 sets of glute bridges, goblet squats, bench pistols, deadlifts, and assisted pistols. 3 sets of dumbell flys Pushup progressions - 3 sets of 8 on diamond pushups, followed by uneven pushups 3 sets of 8 each arm. Shoulders were feeling it so I stopped there for the day.

Pull ups are a great upper body workout as are pushups. The body can adapt to routines pretty well so it is important to change things up ever so often with increasing difficulty or different exercises to push yourself to go further. Good luck with the Tough Mudder.

Monday 10th April Felt pretty awful all day but managed to get out for a more gentle ride. I'm no longer aching from the exercise I did at the weekend - yay so I can get stuck in tomorrow. Cycling - 32km 1hr 37min

So as of around the middle of March I've been itching to get out on my bike after the cold winter where I used a turbo trainer a couple of times. I'm no cyclist though and up until the autumn of last year I barely cycled at all - I'd drag the bike out of the garage once every few years. But I got a new one in October so started using that to commute to work (its only like 2 minutes lol). So I've wanted to do more cycling and get into mountain biking (that's yet to happen unfortunately the trails near me are super intimidating and advanced). I've been off work for a couple of weeks now so I've been cycling around my local area using Strava (which I've found a little addictive and I've been going at a challenging pace for myself). So far, starting March 12th, I've done 130.2km which as I live in a valley has included some steep hills (steepest was 10.1% average). So I thought I'll track that along with my other exercise progress which is mostly bodyweight exercises and zumba. I'm probably attending my first taekwondo class next Saturday so I'll have to see how that all goes too. but I figure it's useful to have a log to see how things are progressing. Sunday 9th April Cycling - 18km, 123m elevation, 49min

Hey I was looking into some bodyweight exercise progressions like the planche, dragonflag and pistol squat and came across your thread. So I thought I'd follow along, looking good so far I never thought about trying out resistance bands - they seem a good way to establish form and get the muscles working.

If you're trying to bulk try not to worry about it. Your muscles need the fuel to grow and like you've said you're trying to put on some weight, which I'd say is more important right now. You're both taller and lighter than I am. Like the others have said I think the anxiety comes from the previous eating disorder, you won't get fat or lose any gains with a rest day - even a rest week or so. Feed up your body - it needs it to build and do some other things you enjoy . If the anxiety is still a big problem then you should definitely speak to someone about it.

I've noticed I get into a bit of a funk if I have a day off and feel fat and lazy and I've tended to push through times where I've been a bit ill or exhausted rather than letting myself rest which I don't think is particularly good - although I don't think it harmed. A few months ago I had to completely rest for a week after getting bad RSI and tendonitis which made me feel incredibly grumpy lol. Maybe it's partly down to the addictive qualities that exercise can have?

Super late but I'm in. Despite her late realisation, Kaite had luckily been hiking through the scree fields in search of branches for her trusty black wolven companion to maul. Still there was some distance to go so she hurried to catch up. After clearing the door and carefully lighting torches along the halway she waited in anticipation of what was yet to come.

Lots to try I tried skin-the-cat and wow I'm not as flexible as I was as a kid. I didn't think I'd be that bad but my shoulders weren't happy and I had trouble fitting my feet under the bar.. so that's really disappointing. Guess I'm just not as sprightly at 31 years.

Thanks for the tips. I definitely felt it more in the shoulders on the ground which is something I never had to deal with on bars.

Thanks for all the awesome suggestions guys it'll be good to do something fresh and it gives myself a challenge which is great as things had been getting so stale. I can do an L-sit on bars or a chair arms but haven't managed it on the floor so I'll try out the progression and I'l head over to the local park and see what I can do towards the back lever - I did skin-the-cats as a kid but never knew they were called that. Progression is definiately the way to go. I'm off work so it's down to the park tomorrow woo!

They look effective but I've yet to step in a gym so just have some light dumbells and one barbell so can't really get a good amount of weight on.

I find myself getting increasingly bored with doing sets of various exercises. The thought of ending a set of around 6 different exercises and then having to go through it again and again is just making me groan at the moment so I was thinking maybe I just do the one set but include more exercises in it? Would that work? And how many exercises should I do? I know that diet is the biggest factor with abs begin visible. To be honest I'm not sure how much exercise they need anyway or whether you can get by without exercises that target abs specifically. So what would be some good exercises to do? I do get a bit of an issue with lower back pain from time to time (mostly on waking) so I want to stay away from exercises that aggravate it too much.

Thanks -10 is cold, at least spring is on its way now. I swear it felt like it was about 20 out today. I was working outside this year in -5 which wasn't much fun I can tell you. At least you have ice hockey in Canada

Regarding the LiveStrong article I can understand why they're saying to drink more water than normal. In order for your body to get energy from what is eaten it uses water in the respiration process to extract it from food. I remember reading somewhere that proteins are more difficult for your body to break down - carbs are simpler, then fats. This is just off the top of my head so sorry no refs. But don't believe everything you read online, look for reputable sources such as medical journals for this kind of information.

It's been over a week but it honestly didn't take me that long to recover from the spinning . It was a pretty demanding and sweaty experience but luckily I didn't get any aches or pains from it or suffer from cardiac arrest from pushing too hard which I have a tendancy to do. I spent this weekend doing a pull up and ab workout as it had been a couple of weeks and woah do I feel it today. The fine weather this weekend made me twitchy to go out on my bike so I went on a 11.6km ride along the hilly country roads and woodland tracks and did a bit of geocaching. Next plan is to contact some martial arts clubs.

But Patrick is awesome One thing a month sounds like a good plan. I tried paintballing and geocaching last month and am making my first trip to a gym and a spinning class this Saturday - hoping I can still walk by the end lol. I just started a bullet journal so I'll try and plan it all out properly.