MsAllegraFox

Fell behind a little! However, to catch up - 

Workout

• 5th July
  • Kettlebell halos (8kgs 3 sets of 8 )/Goblet squats (12kgs 3 sets of 10)/Kettlebell swings (8kgs 1 set of 15/2 sets of 10)/Kettlebell overhead press (8kgs 3 sets of 5)/Kettlebell bent over row 8kgs 3 sets of 8)/Incline ring row (4 sets of 8)/Straight arm holds (4 sets of 10secs) Hanging scapula retractions (4 sets of 5)
  • Running: 4.24km at 33:59 
• 6th July
  • No official work out, but I did carry slabs of granite into car and out of car
• 7th July 
  • Step ups (4 sets of 5)/Elevated push ups (4 sets of 5)/Band pull aparts (4 sets of 8)/Side planks (4 sets of 40 secs)/Incline ring rows (4 sets of 8)/Straight arm holds (4 sets of 10 secs)/Hanging scapula retractions (4 sets of 5)
• 8th July
  • No work out, did try to put the pole up (didn't work, long *sad* story)
• 9th July
  • Aerial deadlift practice (3 sets of 5)/Jefferson curls (4kgs 3 sets of 5)/Basic front leg lifts (3 sets of 5)/
  • Reddit bodyweight fitness
    • Warm Up
    • Scapula retractions with band (3 sets of 5)/Assisted pistol squats with rings (3 sets of 6)/Assisted parallel bar tricep dips with band (3 sets of 5)/Bodyweight single legged deadlifts (3 sets of 5)/Incline ring rows (3 sets of 5)/Elevated push ups (3 sets of 5)/Tucked hanging leg raises (3 sets of 5)
  • Running: 3.57km in 33:27 

04/07/2020

• Calories consumed: 1,634kcal 

To even eat under 2,000kcal on a Saturday is something that I struggle with, I didn't think I could do that, let alone eat under my calorie goal!  

•  Miles walked/ran: 6.5

 The weather was very... atmospheric last night when I went for my run; the wind had picked up late afternoon and continued on late into the night, it almost felt like a storm was on it's way. This, combined with the fireworks being let off, made my session feel very dramatic, I quite liked it.

• Work out 
  •  Kettlebell Halos (8kgs 3 sets of 8)/Goblet squats (12kgs 3 sets of 10)/Kettlebell overhead press (8kgs 3 sets of 5/6)/Kettlebell swings (8kgs 3 sets of 10)/Kettle tricep press (8kgs 3 sets of 8)/Ring rows (2 sets of 8)/Straight arm holds (rings) (4 sets of 5 secs)/Assisted chin ups (3 sets of 5)
  • Middle splits: 35mins

 The kettlebell overhead press is hard, I've had to drop down from 7 reps to 5; I'm planning on adding Turkish Get Ups to the mix to help strengthen my baby bird shoulders. Middle splits definitely did not leave me with the DOMS that the front split walkthrough did, but I'm annoyed that I don't have the room to complete all the exercises in the walkthrough  

•  Book: Medici Money

Thing that I learnt from this reading session: not only has there been an instance where three men were fighting to claim the title of Pope, but there is a long history of these 'anti-Popes'.

03/04/2020 

Overview!

I may have went a little OTT with the kettlebells I received yesterday, but I have no regrets - it feels like a door has opened up and I have access to a lot more workouts that I didn't have before (I'm looking at you Jefferson curls!).

• Calories consumed: 1,706kcal  

That's 26kcals over my limit, which is pretty good, I had the opportunity to eat another 3 or 400kcals, but I managed to exercise some self control

•  Miles walked (and ran!): 6.5miles

 I downloaded Zombies, Run and I laced up my trainers and did some interval jogging for 2.5 miles - the heavens had opened and it was pouring down and it was so nice just to get out and jog. I'm never been that keen on cardio, but this was quite nice.

•  Workout
  •  Kettlebell swing (8kgs 3 sets of 8)/Inch worms (4 sets of 5)/Farmers walk (12kgs 4 sets for 1 min each)/Assisted pull up (on rings) (4 sets of 5)/Ring rows (4 sets of 8 at 45*)/Straight arm holds (on rings) (4 sets at 5 secs/2 sets of 10 secs)/Hanging scapula retractions (4 sets of 5)/Kettlebell halos (8kgs 3 sets of 8)/Goblet squat (12kgs 3 sets of 10)/Kettlebell overhead press (8kgs 3 sets of 7)
  • 45mins front split

Yeah, I might have went OTT, but I was bored and had nothing to do all day. It was exhausting in the best possible way and I got such a good sleep that night. I found a good front split walk through and I tried it and it killed me, my hamstrings are too tight. 

•  Book: Medici Money

 Definitely enjoying it! It's really well written and it's weaves stories with facts it a really engaging way, and it's interesting to read about the lengths people went to when trying to get around sumptuary laws issued in Florence at that time!

Successes to be celebrated:

• Calories consumed: 1,680kcal

Work was exhausting, that kind of exhausting that makes you want to consume your weight in take out once you've walked out the door. I ended giving in and getting cheeseburger, nuggets and breaded mushrooms and thankfully enough I came in on my caloric limit. The combination of having protein for breakfast and being really busy all day meant that I wasn't sat around snacking on chocolate cornflake cakes

• Miles walked: 7.4 

So I had to get a lift home as my kettlebells turned up, and there was no way I would be able to walk home carrying three kettlebells weighing in total of 28kg. I can now incorporate the NerdFitness kettlebell routine into my workouts.

• Workout 
  • Elevated push ups (3 sets of 10)/Wall slides (3 sets of 10)/Leg lower down (3 sets of 10)/Front lever pull (4 sets of 😎

Morning workouts are definitely a thing I that I'm trying to get used to. Leg lower downs were surprisingly hard, especially when trying to keep my lower back on the floor

•   Book: Guards, Guards! By Terry Pratchett 

I did try reading Medici Money, but I wasn't feeling it today; so, instead of letting that excuse stop me, I chose to read the first book of the adventures of Sam Vimes for inspiration.

Today was a good day to start off getting back on the road!

Successes to be celebrated:

• Miles walked: 10.2 

A lot of this is down to job, which means I am so much more physically active than I was before. More physical activity, better mood, less temptation to eat the feelings. Speaking of which...

•  Calories consumed: 1,729kcal

Today was the second day I forgot to pack food, so I ended up getting a sandwich to go along with some cookies to snack on (the fact that Subway have now opened back up means that their Oatmeal & Raisin cookies have never been more tempting). Nevertheless, I didn't go OTT and kept the final count within sight of my 1,680kcal limit. I also kept to my rule of having a piece of fruit/veg with every meal.

• Workout
  • Step ups (4 sets of 5)/Elevated push ups (4 sets of 5)/Band pull aparts (4 sets of 8 )/Side planks (1 set of 40 secs/1 set of 30 secs)/Front lever pull (4 sets of 8)/Ring rows (2 sets of 8)/Straight arm support (4 sets of 5 secs) 

I thought I would try and be clever and work out before I walked to work, so to preempt the excuse that I was too tired from work to workout, my quads have since informed me that this was an unwelcome decision as they have been hurting all day,  To finish off I did the Diamond Dozen Introduction from DDP Yoga, which was surprisingly tough. 

•   Chapter: Medici Money

I stumbled across this book when trying to figure out if the Pazzi conspiracy from NBC's Hannibal was a real thing, and it was! Realising that I actually didn't know that much about the Medici family, despite knowing that they are supposed to be a fascinating part of Florence's history urged me forward in reading this book. The first chapter is especially interesting as iy talks about the effect the Black Plague had on the economy in Italy at that time.

I just checked and I believe it's been about six weeks since I last checked in (there abouts) - a fact that I am having a hard time getting over because wow it's amazing how much the body can change in six weeks (and not in the good way). 

Quick Backstory

A Thing happened and my mental health took really took a nosedive, the anxiety and depression reared their ugly head and it was really hard to see what the point of even trying was; I lost sight of why I should care about my physical health, and how important regular exercise was to keeping myself treading water. However, I got some news Monday that meant that things are turning around, as such I decided it was time I gave a shit again.

Whilst on this sabbatical I did think about popping back every now and again, but I immediately felt guilty at the thought of logging on and came up with various excuses, all of which I have now addressed: 

• "What's the point I've probably gained a load of weight that will be almost impossible to get off?"
  • I weighed myself last night and I am walking around at 66.4kg, pretty much the same weight I clocked in at six weeks ago (something that I still quite shocked at)
• "My laptop has gone, it's too hard to type a long post on a phone!"
  • I have my laptop back and am no longer confined to trying type up posts/upload photos on a smart phone       
• "Life at the moment is just unending monotony and there is nothing to look forward to or to strive for."
  • Work has changed and I now have far more structure to my day than I did previously
  • I actually have something to look forward to and to work towards 

So, with that all said, hello again - third time's the charm 😉    

Yesterday was pretty much a doss day, nothing much done aside from reading and counting my calories (clocked in at a respectable 2,086kcal). I managed to keep myself occupied enough with other things that I didn't feel the need to graze all day, bonus points: I did manage to resist the pull of a delicious clotted cream Victoria sponge *and* I decided to test if I had the range of motion to get into a camel position and I do! 😄

Awesome set of goals here! I dig your meditation goal and your leisure reading goal - it's reminded me of what I used to do as a kid, instead of having page number goals, I think I might use that in the next set of challenges. Definitely following along! 😊

Yesterday I was awoken at 4:30am (1), like bolt up hair in a bun-wide awake and I realised I had a couple of hours before work starts, so I jumped on the pull up bar and completed my bodyweight routine. Turns out I was standing too far back from the pull up bar, so my swinging has stopped! However, I have also noted that I am going into a tuck and that isn't good form. Next time - *no tucking*.

Also! I've been inspired by @PaulG and his grading of his reps -I have set up a colour chart on my spreadsheet so I can accurately progress my routine (I'll post a pic when I am not on my mobile). I also tried to do reverse hyperextension pikes and to my surprise I realised that I could do them! 

Calorie count clocked in at 2,477kcal - I was very much grazing all day at work, I can add a lot of veggie snacks next week so if I'm going to graze, it's going to be all low calorie stuff.

Stretching with The Office S2E2 and middle splits. Not my favourite episode, definitely not enough to distract me from my crampy hips; I had to add more exercises and a middle split hold and it was sore and I was unable to put my elbows down. I also noticed that my stag leg kick ups and I found my right abductor was significantly stronger and I can't think why it would be.

I'm now 20/350 pages - still enjoying the book, I think it's one of these books that I won't feel confident enough to comment on until I have finished it.
___

(1) Family member A smokes, which is their decision, but they refuse to smoke outside despite my repeated requests for them to do so - so when they start smoking at 4am it wakes me up

2 hours ago, grendella said:

wow those bodyweight reverse hyperss are AAMAZZINNG! gotta adds those in.  are you working towards doing a split or?

Thank you! They are good and I really recommend them 😊 I am! Both the middle split and the front split

Nice one! Congratulations on two days of OMAD and finishing your workout 😊 - good luck on day three!

I'm glad that it's not just me who finds push ups a nightmare! 😆

2 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Have to ask - what's stirring the cauldron, besides a great name for a stretch? 

It's an "easier" way to get into a pancake (I use quotation marks, because I really struggle trying to get into a pancake all ways, but this way led to me actually getting my forearms to the ground)

Start in a seated straddle with pointed toes, hands on waist and imagine everything from the waist up is the handle of a spoon - start moving in small circles which gradually get bigger and bigger as you get lower and lower to the ground (at no point can you touch the ground with your hands - all control comes from your core) - you can then go straight into a pancake hold.

It's kind of a good news/bad news situation- can't get a replacement from that supplier, but I can get a refund! So I've found another place that I can get a pole and fingers crossed it will get here this time! 😊

Thank you! The Discworld books have gotten me through some tough times in my life - to the point where I used to bring a copy of Night Watch or Thief of Time or Unseen Academicals with me all the time.

Let us know how you get on! 😊

2 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Oh cool a pole dancer I take it! Yay! 🤗Welcome! It was a really nice class, and well taught despite being on IG live. Funnily enough I can usually pull off a shoulder mount or two despite never practicing (as long as I don't weigh too much). But I've lost everything else! It's been years since I poled on a regular basis, but my plan is to make that more of a priority and revisit the basics. 😄

Thanks!

Thank you! Pole, hoop and sling are my main three (I really want to do silks and static trapeze, but there are/were no classes in my aera). That's amazing, big up for your shoulder/core/bicep strength! Can't wait to see your progress! 😊

Cloaks are a highly underrated piece of clothing! 😆 Also I'm willing to bet there was more than one person who looked at your costume and kicked themselves for not dressing up!

That skit was hilarious! 🤣 Your goal of doing something like that might not be as far away as you think! If you have someone to practice with at home or when lockdown is lifted in your area - you should totally check out Acro Yoga! 😊

This is all epic stuff! I love your notations for your work outs - the idea of measuring the reps qualitatively as well as quantitatively is really appealing and a great way to get a better picture of your actual progress! 

So I know day one is today, but I jumped straight into it yesterday to test it out! 

I clocked in at 1,935kcal, which is very impressive considering a co-worker ordered take out and gifted me with a waffle covered with white chocolate sauce (furloughed from first job, but second job is classed as essential work). I was surprised at how sated I felt all day, normally weekend work means that I'm grazing all day, but I'll take a victory where I can! I've inputted this into my fancy-dancy Google Sheets spreadsheet, so I can keep abreast of my progress (I've also been very lazy efficient and prefilled the rest of the cells with the appropriate formulas). 

 After work had finished I got back and started on the bodweight exercises and did what could loosely be described as a "circuit": a couple of pull ups, followed by a couple of dips, followed by a couple of incline rows and incline push ups and rotating until all of those were done, I do have a sneaking suspicion that I'm perhaps swinging too much in my pull ups either because I'm behind the bar too much or I'm not engaging my core enough and then finished with an L-sit hang on the pull up bar and I noticed that due to my Damned Hamstrings it was more of a sad 'L' shape.

After those were out of the way, I scrambled around to find a suitable surface to try the reverse hyperextension tucks. I had no idea what reverse hyperextensions tucks were until the other day when I was looking for an alternative to skin the cats (1) and I found this video!

Honestly, it was an absolute nightmare trying to find something that could double as a bench (pro tip: beds are too squishy/chairs are too low/doing it on the arm of the sofa or on the table only concerns the animals who start barking in frentic hopes that you stop this nonsense immediately) in the end I weighted down a tall storage box and got quite a bit of success! I finished with split squats, which were meh - I'm not sure if I should add weights? (2)

Then came stretching with The Office, I purposely started with S2E1 'The Dundies' because I love that episode and I hate stretching my back so that I hoped it would counteract each other, which it kind of did. All was going well until I realised I had been a bit too optimistic with my routine and discovered I didn't have enough space for some of the stretches in the routine, so I improvised on the fly with some camel swings and some wheel prep until I felt confident enough to try to get into my full wheel, which I did! I took a picture and honestly, it's more of a table than a wheel, but! it's there and it's something that I can work on!

I finished the day with 13 pages from Master and Margarita, which was not what I was expecting at all - I was led to believe that this book was set in Spain, not Russia under Stalinist rule, I mean it's good! I am enjoying the book, it's just a little jarring.     

___

(1) I've got the equipment to try them, I'm just not too confident yet on my set up to start inverting  

(2) In the absence of actual weights, I have found a stash of unused paint tins that could be generously described as an alternative to kettle bells if they went nowhere near above my shoulders 

Welcome! Pilates is an excellent for building strength and I always found myself surprisingly worn out every time I've been to a class. I've always been quite curious to try belly dancing - have you been doing it for long? 

7 hours ago, Cherry_Bomb said:

 

Yay! Since you're following, here is the video I plan to follow for the challenge - I'm learning more about stretches and I now realize I should probably figure out how to do a proper straddle first, but I'm still going to do this one a couple of times a week as per the YouTuber's suggestion. 

 

Thank you so much for posting that video! My pancake is absolutely shocking and I actually learned a lot from watching that video! (Damn hamstrings! 😆)

Hi! It's nice to see someone with similar starting weight/height/goal weight! Good luck with your SMART goals! 😊

2 hours ago, //Min said:

Thank you! I can't do any push up on the ground either, like AT ALL. So hopefully at the end of the challenge, at least I'll be able to do one? 100% improvement and all that... What aerial sport did you do? I think aerial hoops look so graceful and maybe I'll learn it one day! 

 

And yes! The art is gorgeous and characters are so super loveable!! I can't wait for them to succeed in getting together! XD

Starting from the wall is a really good idea - I'm sure you'll smash your goals! 😄

Much to the chagrin of my instructors I'm trying to get experience in all of them (I say chagrin, they are utterly supportive of my efforts, but they do worry about me overtraining 😆) My main three are aerial Hoop, pole and aerial sling and you're right - you can get a lovely flow going on aerial hoop that looks so graceful and elegant - I would 100% recommend that you try a class when you get a chance!

It's the best slow burn kind of story out there, I'm not even mad that it's taking them so long to get together! 

1 hour ago, analoggirl said:

Makes a lot of sense! Love it.

 

Someone on NF had this in their signature: replace I don't have time with "it's not a priority", see how that feels. I have been trying to apply that and it kinda helps :)

 

A pole? To dance on? I am always intrigued by the idea of having one at home (even though I haven't ever tried a lesson either)

 

Are you getting a no-screw pull up bar? I have one with screws from my old place but I have not been able to bring myself to drill my new door frame bc I didn't use the bar much when I had. Though I wasn't consistent with working out back then either

 

PS - Hi! Good luck with the respawn! Press [Y], press [Y]!! It looks like you will have a lot of fun! (Or in any case I would enjoy reading about your journey, )

I think I read about using 'not a priority' somewhere, it's really useful to find thought patterns to counteract the ones that tell you that eating cake for every meal is a fool proof method for a longer life 😆 

There's kind of a spectrum in the pole world between the 'dance' side and the 'fitness/gymnastics' side (I say spectrum because people frequently vary between the two), I lean more to fitness/gymnastic side and would normally do a couple of hours of training a night at the studio, but with everything being shut down having no access to the studio, a home pole would be a god send. I would wholeheartedly recommend getting into it - it has done wonders for my fitness, but I would recommend going to a class when lockdown is over or maybe even contacting a teacher for a Skype lesson, moves that you see online can look deceptively simple and having someone experienced to guide you can be a blessing. 

I actually ordered and received a new pull up bar! It was a no screw bar - there were no issues with installing it, I've managed to do a pull ups with no issues,  I've done a couple of hangs from it without it moving (though I make sure to check it before doing anything too adventurous!)

Thank you! 😄 I have taken plunge and gone ahead and set up a new challenge!      

2 hours ago, //Min said:

 

I hear you! Setting baselines and habits for auto pilot take effort! I'm trying to build habits too! How are you fitting your habits in?

 

Also that's terrible! I hope your pull up bar thief gets his karma!

At the moment I'm giving myself the rule that the bodyweight work out routine can be completed in little segments throughout the day (a couple of pull ups here, a couple of squats there) just to so I can trick myself into starting by negating the excuse of "I don't have time for that". With my stretch routine by tying it to a 20 minute episode of The Office I'm undermining my tendency to procrastinate when it comes to stretching- like as much as I tell myself I don't have time for it, I always seem to fit an episode of The Office in my schedule when I'm craving some comfort TV (if that makes sense?).

Thank you! I did get a refund, but the whole situation felt extra galling just because it was an empty box!

6 hours ago, TGP said:

oh do pick YES

 

admittedly the pandemic has made EVERYTHING hard; but your health is to important to be lost, miscarried, or procrastinated.

 

...

anyways if I read you right; all system are go, no?   you better equipped now that I am - so LIFT off gurl

 

3 hours ago, Riviera16 said:

Well, given my goal is to deal with chronic boredom it will probably be some of both! If you know of any particular exercises/workouts/resources you'd recommend, I'd be happy to hear.

I don't know too much about weightlifting, but if you check out the reddit r/bodyweightfitness there is an amazing bodyweight fitness progression chart which details loads of different types of exercises (progressions and regressions). It coms in a Google Sheets link and each exercise listed has a link to a YouTube video - it's made by u/shellerik and it's so useful (if slightly overwhelming to look at, at first).

Terry Pratchett is amazing and I love Thief of Time, but I think Night Watch might edge out as my favourite (both involving Lu-Tze) - though I always find  that trying to pick out a favourite Discworld book is like trying to pick out a favourite type of cake- they are all so good! 😆