Haven't updated in a while but I'm still exercising! I'm finding quite a lot of issues with the blog so I'm looking around for an alternative to swap to and I'll update more frequently once I change over.

I'm still going to the gym but I've had to stop doing certain exercises as they were aggravating an old injury. I tore an arm muscle during the summer of last year and I still get pain from it so Doc has referred me to a specialist who will consider what to do next. So that rules out a lot of the machine work I was doing and I still can't run on the treadmill because of my knees. Doc reckons I'll cause too much damage by trying to run or do other impact exercise simply because I'm carrying an extra 5 stone and my fitness and muscle tone is so poor. And just to round things off, my blood pressure is too high. So all in all, I have my work cut out for me.

Those years of junk food, couch sitting and time consuming DIY were soooooo not worth it.

Anyway, I'm off to the gym now. I'm going to try to go every day this week. Even if I get some time in on the bike and the cross trainer, it's bound to help.

Friday

I'm knackered. Someone tell me this gets easier?!

I couldn't managed my usual 20 minutes on the cross trainer, I had to give up at 17 minutes. I did 20 minutes on the bike but only on the lowest level. Even at that I'm sure if muscles could cry, mine would have been sobbing their heart out. I did a few reps on some of the machines but didn't manage to do all of those either, in fact I was feeling quite sick towards the end. Clearly a message that something is not as it should be.

I'm sure the fact I was rushing around town this morning trying to cram in shopping before my gym session didn't help. It meant I was tired before I even started exercising. Couple that with a last minute sandwich for lunch grabbed on the run, and you have a recipe for disaster. At least for me. I really must try to organise my days better, I'll be damned if I'm going to let all this slip now, I just need to plan food timings better and make sure shopping trips are not on gym days!

Never mind. Roll on Monday.

Week 3

Monday's Post

I wrote an update post on Monday but it seems to have disappeared into the ether. Blogger appears to have many glitches, people are unable to leave comments also.

Anyway, the basis of Moday's post was to say a huge well done to my girl who finished her first ever 5k fun run. The 'run' turned into a 'walk' for part of it and she ended up coming 2nd last, but she finished it and I'm so proud of her.  Her Dad also did well, finishing his 10k in good time and injury free!

I on the other hand, had a rubbish day at the gym. It became very quickly apparent that low carb = no energy for exercise. In my case anyway. I felt weak and everything I did was a huge effort. In fact I couldn't finish my usual routine, I cut short a couple of exercises and missed one out completely.  I also put a pound back on weight wise.

I've reconsidered my dieting and have decided low carbing suited me when I was a couch potato and had no need for energy but now I'm upping my exercise, I need to change what I'm eating. I think Slimming World seems to have a good reputation and many people seem happy on their plans so I'm going to give that a go now.

Wednesday's Post

Had a better day today. I've been eating 'normally' and it definitely had a beneficial effect on my gym efforts. I managed 20 mins on the cross trainer, 20 mins on the bike, 4 x 5 reps on each machine with the weights upped one level and the leg press upped to 100lbs. Tired now but I feel I've worked.

Woke up hungry today. I forgot how hard low carbing was in the first few days.

I had intended going to the gym again this morning but I had a really bad night with hardly any sleep so I've kicked that idea to the kerb for now.

Weight stayed the same this week, which isn't surprising as I only started changing my eating habits yesterday. Hopefully next week will show a change on the scales.

My daughter Hannah, is running a 5k fun race tomorrow and her Dad is joining in with a 10k. I shall be on the sidelines cheering them on. (I offered to compose a few cheerleading chants and shake a pom-pom or two but that didn't go down well. ) 

Maybe this time next year I'll be joining in too.

Yay! 2 weeks in the gym under my belt!

Happy days! 2 weeks equates to 6 sessions in the gym! For me, that's a record!

I stayed off the treadmill today because of my knee problems, but I managed 20 minutes on the cross trainer/stepper and 20 minutes on the bike. I also upped the weights on the machines I've been using so all in all I'm happy with my efforts. I felt good in there today! Never thought I'd see the day I'd be saying that.



Today also saw the start of my low carb way of eating. I'm positive I was more productive at the gym today because I wasn't bloated out with carbs like I usually am. Carbs make me tired and sluggish. I can eat a toasted sandwich or a bowl of cereal and want to sleep within minutes.  I lost a fair amount of weight following a low carb diet before but I never exercised then and my head wasn't in exactly the right place so I never stuck to it as I should have.

Hopefully things are beginning to fall into place at long last. Just a matter of keeping them going now.

First hiccup!

Well it looks like I may have been trying to do do much too soon. My left knee felt a little sore at the start of the week and after Wednesday's lunch time visit to the gym, it felt pretty bad.

I couldn't do my usual routine on the treadmill, partly because of my knee and partly because 'brunch' clearly hadn't been eaten early enough in the day and it was still sitting heavy in my stomach. Wont make that mistake again!

I did a feeble attempt at running, then gave in and did the usual round of reps on the machines. I also added in the leg press and chest press and 5 minutes on the cross trainer/stepper.

I finally realised I was holding myself too rigidly whilst trying the cross trainer and if I shifted my weight slightly whilst stepping, it made it a whole lot easier. Doh! Funny how the most obvious things can escape you sometimes.

I looked into getting some sort of knee support but was advised to avoid impact exercise until I upped my fitness and/or lost some weight so I now need to avoid the treadmill and will concentrate on the bike and the cross trainer before heading to the bench machines.

Felt a wee bit fed up today as it seemed far too early to be having a set back but then again, I guess it just shows how much I need to get fit/lose weight.

Tomorrow is another day........

Week 2

Start of week 2

Just back from the gym. Tired and starving. The gym was really busy this morning, busiest I've seen it. Mix of older people and young ones. Needless to say the young ones were all seriously fit. I felt conspicuous again.

Each time I go, I feel a bit sick at the thought of what I've done to my body, years of overeating and couch sitting have really taken their toll. I have no choice but to be faced with the evidence thanks to the huge wall mirrors behind the line of treadmills. No escaping or pretending, I am forced to acknowledge just how much damage has been done. My resolve gets a bit firmer and I'm even more determined to see the old me emerge again.

Today's efforts consisted of:

Treadmill - 20 minutes (5 min warm-up walking) run 1 min / walk 2 mins, repeated until end.
(Still not as required for the c25k prog but better than last week)

Bike - 10 minutes (5 minutes Level 1 /  5 mintes Level 2)

2 x 10 reps on each of machines pictured above. (Weight 18k)

2 x 10 reps on leg press machine

1 minute on the Stepper
(I just can't do this exercise, my legs crumble within seconds, I'll clearly need to build this one up slowly. I try to get off and sneak away from the machine without anyone realising just how little I managed to do. I can't wait for the day when I can use this machine with the best of them and manage to last a reasonable time on it!)

Back on treadmill for 5 minutes. Mostly walking but one fast burst of running.

All in all I spent a little over an hour at the gym today and I did a shade more than last week so I'm happy with my efforts. I feel quite good today!

Week 1

Tuesday brought sore legs and a desire to sit on the couch all day. I couldn't believe how tired I was after just a little exertion. This is clearly going to be a long haul.

Wednesday's gym visit was harder than Monday's. I didn't expect that. I kinda thought each successive session would be easier than the one before. I got that wrong! The c25k program involved warm-up walking for 5 minutes, then alternating 60 seconds of running with 90 seconds of walking. I managed 2 lots of running but only with loooong walks inbetween. I very quickly realised that my level of fitness was so poor that I was going to have to build up to being a c25k beginner.  Pretty embarrassing but what the heck, I'm not put off, I'm just a bit shocked at how unfit I actually am. Oh well, such is life. :)

I was a bit happier on Thursday to see I wasn't too sore and stiff. I wasn't completely ache free but nor was I walking like a Hobbit. Happy days!

Friday brought a slight change of plan. The previous two gym visits had been in the morning, I figured it was best to get the exercise out of the way first, before the day grew long and I grew lazy, but on Friday the choice was taken away from me due to external circumstances and my gm visit had to be scheduled for early afternoon. By noon my resolve was quietly beginning to falter and reasons not to go had started crossing my mind. I'm happy to say the angel on my shoulder booted the devil off and off to the gym I went.  As it turned out, I was pleased with my efforts. Clearly I hadn't turned into an Olympic athlete overnight but I was able to run and cycle a little better this time than I managed on my previous two visits.

So, that was my first week at the gym. My original plan was to visit the gym 3 days a week and do some form of exercise at home on the alternative days. I've realised now that I need to take things a little slower to start with and it's probably best if I just stick with the gym by itself for the first couple of weeks.

At the moment, my routine is pretty basic and will probably be very undemanding by anyone else's standards, but right now it's my starting point and even the fact I did it three times in one week is an achievement for me.

End of week 1

20 minutes on the treadmill. Mostly fast walking pace with several (4 or 5) 60 second bursts of  running.

10 minutes on exercise bike. Level 1

2 x 10 reps on each of these......(lowest weight setting)

Hardly the stuff of champions but it's a start.

The Start!

Here we go again. Yet another attempt to lose weight and get fit. I've tried so many times in the past and failed each time so what's going to make this time any different? Well I don't know, if I'm honest. I just feel different this time. I also have a 'carrot on a stick' incentive, in the form of a holiday to Florida (hence the title) which our family is planning for Easter of 2012 and I have to be of normal weight for that. 

I'm 47 and fed up. Fed up of being fat and feeling frumpy. I've been fed up often enough before but I've finally got to 'that' point where I'm ready to do something about it now. 

I figured a blog might help keep me focused and would track my progress so that on days where I'm struggling (and I expect there will be several), I can look back and still see progress which will help encourage me.

My new fitness routine actually started nearly a week ago, on Monday 21st February 2011. A few days before, I saw many posts on a chat forum discussing the c25k (couch to 5 k) program. This is a gradual introduction to running which is designed to help people of all levels of fitness become fitter and more proficient at running. "Perfect", I thought. "I can do that". Only I couldn't. My first outing on the gym treadmill consisted of me wheezing my way through a slow speed walk! It was debatable whether my face was redder from exertion or embarrassment and I'm sure my breathing was louder and more raspy than the gym extraction fan. Day 1 was not a huge success!