Rowan Caldicott Reporting for Duty

[Rowan Caldecott]

I know that daily accountability helps keep me going, so I decided I'd start a battle log here to keep track of my progress on my first challenge. I am in training to become a demon hunter; also, my best friend gave me an N7 pin for Christmas, so I guess I'm starting my N7 training.

 

I thought about my challenge quite a bit yesterday after posting it - is it too ambitious? Am I biting off more than I can chew? I've decided that it is not too ambitious. Everything on there is stuff I'm already doing, just not consistently. Some weeks I do it all, then I might have a flare-up or struggle with a health issue, and all my motivation evaporates. Although I do have some ongoing health issues, what keeps me from moving forward is pain in the muscle between my ears, not pain in my other muscles. I tend to zone out and not want to face what's going on in my body, rather than staying committed and moving through it. And sure, I can keep doing that and living a so-so life for the rest of my life. But I don't want to. I want more life in my life. So, I am here. Showing up.

 

While the challenge doesn't officially start until Monday, I had already committed to doing GaiamTV's My Yoga 21 day Commit to You challenge, so today I'm reporting that I did the day 3 class. I was still a bit tired and sore from yesterday's class, but I showed up anyway. Yay me!

[Rowan Caldecott]

Did the 21 day Commit to You yoga challenge today. I did the alternate, easier class, because my muscles were still feeling yesterday's class. Still, I was proud of myself for showing up to the mat.

[justtrish]

I'm a Gaiam subscriber as well.  I thought of doing the Yoga challenge, but not sure if it's doable with a larger body.  I am starting Classical Stretch with Miranda Esmonde-White (from PBS) I watched her show Aging Backwards early in December, which highlighted her system of stretching (using only body weight) and it seemed like a gentle, doable, workout that would yield results.  I also think it complements the strength training NF videos rather well.  I discovered she has three seasons of her shows (30 - 25 min workouts per season) as a subscription service @ $15 a month and figured I'd give it a go.  At some point, I want to take up yoga, but my body will need to become a bit smaller first.

Will be cheering you on! Good work!

[Rowan Caldecott]

Justtrish, I also have a larger body, so I often modify yoga poses for my size and fitness level. I have been pleased to find that so far I can do more of the GaiamTV's videos in this challenge than I expected. Also, each day has an alternate, easier video, so I can do that if the main one is too difficult. If you haven't done yoga before, however, learning to modify is most easily done in a live class with an instructor present who can help you figure it out. The Aginge Backwards show sounds interesting; I will check it out. Thanks for the tip, and the cheering.

[Rowan Caldecott]

Did the GaiamTV Commit to You challenge today, day 4. Also walked for 10 minutes and had my breakfast.

[Rowan Caldecott]

I want to post this here so I can find it easily again: My new year's resolution for this year, from the week 1 mini challenge.

 

My first challenge goals are definitely SMART. New Year's Resolution? I usually don't do them; instead, I usually have a word for the year. However, this year, my resolution is to let go of saying, "I can't." I'm not sure how to make that SMART, but let's see:

 

1. Complete at least 4 challenges this year.

2. Try one new physical activity I haven't tried before.

3. Start weight training.

4. Put $500 into savings.

[Rowan Caldecott]

I walked for 10 minutes this morning, I did my Core Performance level 1B workout, and I did the GaiamTV Commit to You challenge, day 5. I'm off to a good start!

[Rowan Caldecott]

Today's goals were met:

 

Walked for 10 minutes

Did the GaiamTV Commit to You challenge, day 6.

Met all my breakfast goals.

 

I forgot to say yesterday that I met my breakfast goals yesterday morning, too.

 

I was very tired today and the yoga felt especially challenging. But I showed up and I feel really good about that.

[Rowan Caldecott]

I met my goals for today:

 

Breakfast with all parts

Did Core 1B

Walked for 10 minutes

Did the day 7 yoga class of the Commit to You challenge

 

Really tired today after doing all my physical activities yesterday plus helping my in-laws unpack boxes. I spent some extra time meditating, took a nap, and just generally took it easy. In the (not-too-distant) past, feeling that tired would have made me give up on all my physical fitness goals, afraid that I would injure myself or have a FM flare-up, or get sick. Today it felt good to know that I could keep my commitment to myself and still rest and take care of myself. I listened to my body and didn't push myself more than I felt capable of. I walked a bit slower and moved a bit slower through yoga and my core workout, but I still did it. And I felt good afterward. My muscles were zinging and I had more energy when I was done than I did when I started. I still needed a nice long nap afterward, and I took it, no guilt or shame.

[Rowan Caldecott]

Today's goals:

 

Walk for 10 minutes - done

Do day 8 of the Commit to You yoga challenge - done

Breakfast with all parts - done

Also worked on getting averages of my expenses over the last few months, to create a spending plan

 

Today my inertia felt huge. I saved all my willpower to meet my challenge goals plus get some groceries. There was no physical or emotional energy left for anything else. I whined (in my head) all through yoga. But I did it, I met my goals. That is what I'm after here, learning to stay the course even when I don't feel like. Demons don't care if you're not in the mood to fight them, right? So a demon hunter has to train no matter how she feels.

[Rowan Caldecott]

Today:

 

Breakfast with all parts - done

Walk for 10 minutes - done

Day 9 of the Commit to You yoga challenge - done

 

I felt good today. I got lots of rest yesterday afternoon and stayed in bed all morning today, resting. It felt good, I felt much better when I got up, and it was easy to get my goals accomplished today. I also can feel my muscles getting stronger; I can do several yoga poses much more easily than I could before I started the challenge 9 days ago.

 

I made myself a "training montage" playlist, which I listen to while walking and doing my core workout. It helps me feel inspired and keep going. Today I even danced a song after my core workout. Yay for music!

[Rowan Caldecott]

Today's goals:

 

Breakfast with all parts - done

Day 10 of the Commit to You yoga challenge - done

Walking - this was my one day off walking this week

 

A couple of wins today that I feel really good about. First, I just did my yoga. There were no highs or lows about doing it, it was just sort of "that's what I do." And it feels nice to think it's just becoming part of who I am now. Also, I could do the whole sequence of downward dog to plank to cobra back to downward dog. First time ever! When I started 10 days ago, I couldn't even do a half-plank with my knees down, but today I could do the full plank and the rest of the sequence, too. I was thrilled! It's nice to already feel myself getting stronger, after just 10 days of commitment. Very motivating.

[Rowan Caldecott]

Today's report:

 

Walk for 10 minutes - done

Day 11 of the Commit to You yoga challenge - done

Breakfast with all parts - done

 

Feels good to have my first week successfully completed.

[Rowan Caldecott]

Today's report:

 

Walk for 11 minutes - done

Did Core, went up to level 1C! - done

Had breakfast, all parts - done

Day 12 of the Commit to You yoga challenge - done

[Rowan Caldecott]

Today's check-in:

 

Walk for 11 minutes - done

Breakfast, all parts - done

Day 13 of the Commit to You yoga challenge - done

 

I've been reading posts on Nerd Fitness, especially success stories, to keep me motivated. And I'm planning what piece of armor I want to upgrade when I get to level 1. I think I will invest in a good pair of walking shoes. I find myself getting excited about the next challenge already, but I keep reminding myself that I am here.

[Rowan Caldecott]

Report for today:

 

Walk for 11 minutes - done

Core level 1C - done

Breakfast, all parts - done

Day 14 of the Commit to You yoga challenge - done

 

I actually increased my walk to 12 minutes today. I felt like I could be increasing it a bit faster than weekly, so I decided to give it a try. I had some low back ache by the time I was done, which I think was actually hormone related, not because of the extra minute. Tomorrow I will keep it at 12 minutes and see how it goes.

[Rowan Caldecott]

Today's report:

 

Walk for 12 minutes - done

Breakfast, all parts - done

Day 15 of the Commit to You yoga challenge - done

 

Today was a struggle. I am having a FM flare-up, so I've been exhausted and sore. This is the point at which I've always given up in the past, usually for a long time, out of fear that I would overdo things and injure myself. And this is why I came here, to help myself learn to push past this and keep going. Today I kept my commitment. I moved more slowly than usual and my yoga was more easy stretches than downward dogs and planks, but I didn't give up. I feel proud of that and hopeful that I can keep it up.

 

I read Steve's article about becoming antifragile and it really resonated with me. That's what I want, to become antifragile, in spite of my FM, my age, and my current fitness level.

[Rowan Caldecott]

Today's report:

 

Walked for 13 minutes - done   (Up by 1 minute again today)

Core level 1C - done

Breakfast, all parts - done

Day 16 of the Commit to You yoga challenge - done

[Rowan Caldecott]

Today's check-in:

 

Breakfast, all parts - done

Day 17 of the Commit to you yoga challenge - done

 

Today was my day off from doing my regular walk; however, my husband and I went down to Town Lake because it was so gorgeous outside and walked for 2 km, just over a mile. We moseyed, so it was easy walking, but we did that one day last month because it was a quest in the NF Academy, to which he belongs, and I was not able to go for the whole mile. So I feel pretty darn good about doing it today!

 

Also, my husband told me this morning that my back and shoulders look more muscular. Yay!

[Rowan Caldecott]

Today's report:

 

Walk for 13 minutes - done

Day 18 of the Commit to You yoga challenge - done

Breakfast - Had all the right content, but ate late, so not completed   

[Rowan Caldecott]

Today's report:

 

Walked for 14 minutes, up another minute today

Did Core level 1C

Did day 19 of the Commit to You yoga challenge

Had breakfast, all parts

Finished up calculating my average expenses to help with creating a spending plan

[Rowan Caldecott]

Check in for today:

 

Walked for 14 minutes

Did Day 20 of the Commit to You yoga challenge

Had breakfast, all parts

[Rowan Caldecott]

Today's report:

 

Had breakfast, all parts

Walked for 14 minutes

Did Day 21 of the Commit to You yoga challenge - yay! final day!

 

Today I opted not to do my Core Performance workout, but to take my 2 break from that now instead of on Saturday and Sunday. So I'll do it Monday, Thursday, and Saturday this week. Yesterday I felt completely exhausted, achy, and had a sore throat, so I thought I'd give myself a somewhat easier day today in case I'm fighting off something. Now that I've finished the 21 day yoga challenge, my yoga for the rest of this week is going to be nice, easy stretches and breathing, to give my body a bit of a rest. Next week I'd like to start another yoga challenge, but I will do easy yoga on the days I do Core and the challenge classes on the other days.

 

I'm really proud of myself for completing the yoga challenge. I learned a lot about what I'm capable of, versus what I think I'm capable of, and I could feel myself get stronger. I can't wait to keep going and discover what else I can do!

[Rowan Caldecott]

Today:

 

Walked for 14 minutes

Did Core level 1C

Had breakfast, all parts

 

Since I finished the 21 day yoga challenge, I will now give myself one day a week off from doing yoga, so I took that today, in the interest of continuing to give myself some rest after feeling like I was fighting something off. My walk and Core felt about as challenging as they've been, so spacing things out the last couple of days to give myself extra rest feels like the right idea. I like that I can take care of myself when my immune system is struggling, but still keep moving forward. In the past, I've pushed myself too hard, got really sick, and gave everything up. This feels like good progress.

[Rowan Caldecott]

Report for today:

 

Had breakfast, all parts

Did yoga

 

Today I took my day off from walking because the weather was gross. As planned, I did some nice, easy yoga to give myself a rest from the hard work of the past 2.5 weeks. I'm actually looking forward to doing some more challenging yoga again next week.