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!