Keladris

3/4 meditation. Oops! Today got busy. But there is always tomorrow. Had a big realisation in acting class today.... I had been being blown in too many directions and not listening to the core of all my work, which is solid acting technique and taking the time to really prepare and find my own point of view. I had skipped a few classes lately because I just had too much on my plate, and going to class today felt like my compass got realigned again. Doing less is going to lead to a whole lot more.

So far we are 2/2 on meditation. Meal prep didn't happen Monday because I meditated and during meditation realised I just needed to spend a day collapsed on the floor! Might go get those stickers today and maybe do some light meal prep of salads or something.

Hello Rebels! Have been forum absent for a while but alive and well in discord. I also signed up for NF coaching which has been wonderful. But I'm back here to announce a clear challenge for the next few weeks. I have been burning too many candles at too many ends and needed to stage a self intervention! So here it is. Laying a foundation For this week, I am going to do only the minimum of my commitments, which are: - Choir rehearsals Monday, Wednesday, Sunday - Acting class Thursday - Musical rehearsals Tuesday and Friday This means no dance for me this week, no workouts, and no additional classes or meetings. I'm going to see how my energy is by the end of this week and gradually add stuff in again throughout the month. Campfire cooking I am going to make Mondays a meal prep day. I need some really good and healthy fuel to get me through all my many activities! Will post photos in here to track progress. A safe shelter I am going to challenge myself to meditate every weekday. I need to relax, and meditation has helped a lot in the past. I think I might even buy some stickers and track this with a sticker chart, because I have the mind of a 5 year old 🤣

Where had the summer gone? Keladris looked out at the large maple tree in the middle of the square of the village she'd stopped in. She had meant to pack up months ago, but now the tree, once so green, had lost all but a handful of its golden leaves. She had some catching up to do if she was going to meet her destination by the year's end. ___ So, yeah... I have not completed many challenges this year! And I wanted to get my push up and splits this year! Not sure if I'll get the whole way there in two months, but as @Jarricreminded me over in the discord server, with consistent work, I could be a heck of a lot closer than I am now. My major challenge has been fitting in additional fitness work alongside my dance and all the acting classes I am taking, which are quite draining energetically (but also wonderful!). I know I do well when I have a nice chart to tick boxes on, so I think I might just go with that as my plan of action. Got to tick 3 boxes for push up practice, and 5 for splits training each week! Will update as I go! I think I might use my resistance bands as part of push up practice, just cos they look cool and fun and get me more motivated! So I'll do some pushes, some pulls, and then some negative push ups and elevated push ups. Gunna start small with 1 set of each, 8 reps each. Splits training I have a set little routine I do, either after dance or after a bit of a warm up in front of the TV.

I think that is a very good idea, today I am back down another half kilo lol!

Yesterday I weighed in at 72.65kg and today at 73.45... I think I will log the higher amount for now! It is quite wild how much my weight fluctuates over a day or two. Need to figure out how to track averages instead probably. I do always weigh myself at the same time of day before eating.

Snuck in some more push ups today... Once a week is better than nothing! So, wrapping up... I feel like this is something I can focus on for the next challenge. It's just enough of a challenge to fit it in alongside dance but still be doable, And I really want that upper body strength!

Just weight in at 73.6KG. Which is wild cos 10 days ago I was down to 72kg... Weight does seem to be a bit random sometimes! I also took photos and you can see if I have gained a little fat (although lost KGs weirdly) since a year ago. I suspect its because I haven't been doing my full strength circuit workouts so maybe I lost a bit of muscle and gained fat? In other news, my arms and chest are killing me after push up training yesterday!!

Hello gang, I'm back! Last year's weight loss was a great success and I am happy to say I have kept it off. Thank you all to your support in that journey! I have decided I would like to lose the extra couple of kilos and get down to 70kg. That's ~3kg/6lbs of loss. I would love to manage that by the end of this challenge (which also coincides with a trip I am taking to visit home in the UK). I'll be calorie counting (~1800/day) and upping my exercise a little bit (more dance classes and working on my push ups). Will weigh in in the morning, and add my measurements to the sheet

Time is flying! Physio gave me cobra exercises to work on to encourage a better curvature in my spine. So that's been my main focus since my last post and I am managing to do that consistently. It's funny, I also recently went to the dentist and the hygienist told me I really have to start flossing because my gums are starting to recede, and even though I have never been able to develop good teeth hygeine habits, I now suddenly am able to. I think there is something about really feeling what the consequences are if I don't do it. With both my teeth and my back, I really want to take good care of them to ensure longevity of both! And hey presto, consistent habit building hasn't been an issue because the motivation is strong enough. Today I started on my new push up challenge. I am going to follow NF's guide (see here). Today I was impressed that I actually haven't lost upper body strength since I stopped regularly training it. I think the cobras and also the increased dance is helping with that. Even though dance is mostly legs and trunk, we do hold our arms out for a lot of the time and that in itself builds strength. So I am doing elevated push ups, with the bar somewhere between my knees and hips. I managed 2 sets of 10 plus a 3rd set of 4 today. Then I did negatives on my knees, and a 60 second hold at the top of the push up. Not bad! Especially pleased with the 60s hold! Will do my next push up training on Tuesday Not sure whether C25K or the push ups will be my main focus for the upcoming challenge. Will decide this week! I am taking even more dance classes (starting contemporary on Mondays!) so will see where my energy is at.

I didn't manage the 3rd GMB session last week. I think cos I was a bit tired and didn't prioritise it in my scheduling. Going to try to get it done this week... BUT I have run into a back issue. So off to the physio tomorrow to make sure I'm good to keep moving. Seeing as this challenge is all about finding what works for me though, I think I will shake it up next week. I want to add some upper body work on some of my dance and rest days, to start working that push up! I think I'll keep it really simple and just do push ups as many days as I can. Probably 3 sets of 8 reps. I think this kind of very focused strength training will fit alongside my dance. Then... If I am finding I am able to build consistency with that, I'm going to add C25K as my May challenge! Something about the weather slowly shifting has got me much more motivated to eat well and exercise. I have started tracking calories again, I'd like to lose a couple of kg to bring me to a round 70kg/154lbs. And I'm going to take photos because I have been struggling with body image lately and recognising my new body from all the weight loss last year.

Done my second GMB workout, this was focused on 'play', which I loved! It was about stringing together different movements in as many combos as possible. I made me realise that I have come a long way already with my strength, control and mobility. I can see how these sorts of workouts will support my body in daily life. Dance today and did a stretching session this eve. So so close to my splits on one side! I'm really grateful to myself for all my work over the last year because I feel better and better in my body and I am seeing results!

Just posting here to tell myself I WILL do the active rest day today (mobility work) before bed. Yesterday I did an inactive rest day... So I really need to do SOMETHING today. Then I can do the next strength workout tomorrow on waking up.

Hey gang, as usual late to the party! Last night I got hit with the motivation to get back to strength training. Dance is going great, and I seem to be doing a better job with my energy levels again (note to self: sleep, whole carbs , protein, Vit D and relxation are the way!) . So... It's time to start towards my longer term strength goals. Ultimately, I want to be doing pull ups and handstands like nobody's business. I am a long way from there! With all the dance and other commitments, I do not have enough time and energy to commit to additional high intensity work outs. So I am thinking little and often, with a focus on careful functional movement will be the way to go. Going to spend this month figuring out how to build strength into my life again. This week, I am going to experiment with GMB's kickstarter, as it seems like the sort of strength training that could work well with my routine and my goals. We'll see how that goes and reassess in a week! I've also re-started my focus on flexbility and I am SO CLOSE to the splits. Will track progress on that here as a bonus challenge. It'll be a month of initiative rolls and figuring stuff out, but by the end I should be in the fight! (shoutout to new D&D group and new Critical Role obsession...) Let's hope I roll higher than 1!

Your running inspires me! Go go ! I am sure you are much fitter than Homer, but look how happy he is!