That is the question... Just one of the many questions running through my head!!
The home gym has been delivered and assembled. Well I had to assemble it... that was a workout in itself !! So many bits and bobs to bolt together, the instructions came in seven different languages.... thank god one of them was English because the diagrams where a little hard to follow!!! It kinda of reminded me of Ikea furniture only tougher!!! Only took about three hours to assemble, needless to say after that effort I was in no mood for a workout, a movie was in order to relax!!
The new gear has been broken in and so far so good!! I'm loving being at home and being able to do a work out, no need to use public bathrooms at the gym, you can choose what music you listen to, you can choose how loud to have it, you can wear the ugliest gym clothes without being judged, you can use the back lawn for extra room (watch out for the dog poo though!!) you don't have to wait for equipment, it doesn't matter if you short t-shirt rides up and you don't have to drive home afterwards! So many advantages, why did I not think of this sooner???
However, being able to choose your own music can get a little tricky... you need an upbeat song that will get you pumping and keep the pace up while working out. My problem is I keep choosing songs that I love to sing along too (another bonus of being at home, no one to complain about the singing!!!) but I think that impacts on breathing which in turn has something to do with the workout results so I need to learn to keep my mouth shut.... hmmm, just had a brainwave - Karaoke gym anyone??
I would also like to acknowledge my workout buddy.... Mum!! Two thumbs up for her hard out training tonight!! Thought I was going to have to drag her out of the house to the shed but after some gentle persuasion we headed out for some torture!! I think we had a good workout, turns out I may have learnt some stuff from Mark so I was able to coach Ma along a bit, (future personal trainer here... watch this space!!! bahahaha) we will need to tweak our routines a little but I think we are on track for a transformation... Geez we must have trained hard because we were both knackered by the end of it and pretty much had to crawl inside once we had finished.
As a reward for our hard work I was imagining a big piece of chocolate cake and a coffee (not forgetting the whipped cream!!).... ooohhhh, that would have been nice..... But reality hit once I got inside and on the menu was chicken and salad for dinner!! It was no chocolate cake but it definitely tasted good, actually I was so hungry anything would have been good!! Ahhhh, The joys of healthy eating!!!!
Anyway, cardio night tomorrow..... wonder how we will go......
Monday 26 March 2012
Wednesday 14 March 2012
It's meeeeeee...... I'm back!!!!
Your a smart bunch so you have probably already realised that I fell off the wagon.... oops, my bad!! I think I may have missed mentioning in my earlier blogs that I am the King of finding excuses to skip a training session or two or three weeks.... Of late I have used the excuse that Dad was home so I was busy with him, then a friend was over from Oz so I missed a session or two because of that, then working crazy hours got in the way, then I started a new job in a new town which came with a new set of problems and then during the other days I was just glued to the tv... no need to lie about that, we all know it's what I do best!! But I will say when Dad was home although I wasn't going to the gym as often as I should have we did plenty of physical work at home which got a good sweat up and kept the weight from creeping up, which is a surprise because we didn't hold back when it came to food, if Dad felt like something e.g. fish & chips it was on the menu!!
As for most of the other excuses they were real but all I did was use them to justify to myself that it was ok not to show up at the gym, the problem is I accepted my own excuses without a blink of the eye which is where the downhill spiral started and then THUD. The ground smacked me in the face and that's when realised I was sabotaging the good start I got off too.
However, I did start a new job unfortunately it is in another town to where my gym is based so I had to find a new place to sweat it out and show off my short t-shirts!! I found a new gym in Rotorua and was keen as a jelly bean to get going and start my new routine 'going to the gym straight after work five days a week' and then home to relax.... hmmm, that nice little picture I had in my head of how my new life was going to roll was shattered when I went to gym to join up. Turns out not all gyms are the same, I think I was spoiled with Bay Bodyfit and what they had to offer, a friendly relaxed atmosphere with clean and tidy facilities. Turns out it is really important to feel comfortable in the gym you choose to use. So I joined up on the Monday with a gym I wasn't 100% happy with and then called back on Tuesday to cancel my membership!!! Took me a night to realize I would end up finding more excuses to avoid going to a place I didn't feel comfortable in. Now that left me in bit of a quandary... what the hell am I going to do for a gym??? There was another I could join in town but it looked a little small and rough for my liking!!! And then a light bulb flashed above my head I have ended up joining an exclusive gym in Paengaroa... I know who would have thought there was gym out in that little settlement.... Well it's really new, it opened this week and it's out in our shed!! We went equipment shopping last weekend and got a few of the basics, cross trainer, free weights, bench, bench press rack thingee (not sure of the technical name!!) and a swiss ball which according to theory should be enough to get us going until we need to expand our choice of equipment in the gym (and shed!!) Oh yeah, sorry Dad you have just lost half of your shed!!!
There is no excuses now! No more, 'I don't have time to go into town for a workout' No more, 'bugger gym closes early today' No more, 'Oh shit, what do I wear today to the gym?'
So if you want to join an exclusive little gym (so far we only have 2 members, Mum and I!!) Feel free to pick up an application form.... pretty expensive though.... costs a lot to have a view of the paddock, the smell of the lawn mower in your work space and a cat and dog staring at you the whole time your working out!!! :-)
As for most of the other excuses they were real but all I did was use them to justify to myself that it was ok not to show up at the gym, the problem is I accepted my own excuses without a blink of the eye which is where the downhill spiral started and then THUD. The ground smacked me in the face and that's when realised I was sabotaging the good start I got off too.
However, I did start a new job unfortunately it is in another town to where my gym is based so I had to find a new place to sweat it out and show off my short t-shirts!! I found a new gym in Rotorua and was keen as a jelly bean to get going and start my new routine 'going to the gym straight after work five days a week' and then home to relax.... hmmm, that nice little picture I had in my head of how my new life was going to roll was shattered when I went to gym to join up. Turns out not all gyms are the same, I think I was spoiled with Bay Bodyfit and what they had to offer, a friendly relaxed atmosphere with clean and tidy facilities. Turns out it is really important to feel comfortable in the gym you choose to use. So I joined up on the Monday with a gym I wasn't 100% happy with and then called back on Tuesday to cancel my membership!!! Took me a night to realize I would end up finding more excuses to avoid going to a place I didn't feel comfortable in. Now that left me in bit of a quandary... what the hell am I going to do for a gym??? There was another I could join in town but it looked a little small and rough for my liking!!! And then a light bulb flashed above my head I have ended up joining an exclusive gym in Paengaroa... I know who would have thought there was gym out in that little settlement.... Well it's really new, it opened this week and it's out in our shed!! We went equipment shopping last weekend and got a few of the basics, cross trainer, free weights, bench, bench press rack thingee (not sure of the technical name!!) and a swiss ball which according to theory should be enough to get us going until we need to expand our choice of equipment in the gym (and shed!!) Oh yeah, sorry Dad you have just lost half of your shed!!!
There is no excuses now! No more, 'I don't have time to go into town for a workout' No more, 'bugger gym closes early today' No more, 'Oh shit, what do I wear today to the gym?'
So if you want to join an exclusive little gym (so far we only have 2 members, Mum and I!!) Feel free to pick up an application form.... pretty expensive though.... costs a lot to have a view of the paddock, the smell of the lawn mower in your work space and a cat and dog staring at you the whole time your working out!!! :-)
Tuesday 31 January 2012
Everest has been conquered.... well, my version of Everest!!
Remember me?? Sorry, my bad!! I have been particularly slack over the last week or so doing my blog. For a change I have been busy with.... um, actually I don't really know what I have been busy doing but come night time (the usual blog writing time) my brain is kaput and my fingers are incapable of typing!!!
I finished my last blog saying I would talk about the insane High Intensity Interval Training (also know as H.I.I.T) this time. Well.... I have done it a few times now, the first couple of times I could not complete the 12minutes of fast, slow, rest (repeated 3 or 4 times, I forget at the moment!!) At the end of 12minutes I would be hanging onto the cross trainer with fear of falling off flat on my face, my hands and arms were getting a workout just holding me up, who knows what was going on with my legs during that time, everything was a blur, I think my life even flashed before my eyes at one point!! Then after speaking with my evil trainer Mark, yip evil because he is making me do this!! I was saying that doing H.I.I.T at the end of my workout was not working for me. I had no energy left after lifting weights so was only giving my cardio 40% of what I should have been doing.... So Mark suggested doing the cardio first. Knock me down with a feather, why did I not think of that? The solution was simple and it worked!! The next time I tried it at the beginning of my workout and I managed to smash it out and finished my 12minutes (still holding on for dear life though!!), however when I finished I collapsed onto the closest machine and was out of breath for about 15minutes, and it took about 5hours to cool down after that!!
So to sum up H.I.I.T... it suxs!!! After lengthy discussions with Mark I decided an S needs to be added in front for 'Stupid'. Unfortunately I don't think Mark will add the extra letter.... bummer!! However Mark did deliver some good news which makes S.H.I.I.T not so... shit, after completing 12minutes of excruciating pain the body can continue to burn fat for up to 48hours!!! Awesome!!!
Today I attempted to walk the Papamoa Hills again.... yes I'm a sucker for punishment!! I was expecting to just make it to the first seat again then do my little walk up and down from there. Not this time... I made it to the summit!!!!!! YAY!!!! O.K, so I did stop at all the seats on the way up, even stopped at some nice grassy bits because the next sitting area was no where in sight!! Basically it was either stop and recover or keep going and literally have my chest explode open so my lungs and heart could have enough space to work at the same time!! I think I may have to thank the S.H.I.I.T for getting me to the top today!! Shame about all the sheep poo you have to dodge though!! Which makes me wonder how some of the people I saw wearing jandals today managed to a) keep the jandals on their feet (I'm thinking monkey toes) and b) how did they not get sheep poo smushed all over their feet? Hmmm, the silly things you think about when sitting on the side of a hill people watching!!
I guess now that I have done that once I will have to keep going and try to work on the time it takes!!! I just wish there was a suggestion box for the Park Ranger at the bottom of the track.... they need to install one or to more seats, a couple of the distances between seats was a little extreme for a novice like me!!! And if they could put an ice-cream shop at the top, that would be awesome!!
Friday 20 January 2012
Dam it's hot....
I can not believe the amount of sweat one person can make from working out!!! It's insane, I'm considering making a hat out of those Sham Wow's to try and contain the sweat, actually might try making a long t-shirt too! Sorry, I know it's bit of a gross subject but it's part and parcel of the whole workout thing!!
The downside to all this sweating is having to replace all the water in your body. I feel like I have a water bottle constantly attached to my lips, wouldn't be so bad if the bottle contained coffee or flavoured milk but it doesn't, just boring old water! To be fair drinking the water while working out is easy, it's drinking it when I'm at home or work that is the hard part. Trying to consume 3 litres of water a day is a mission and trying to do it before 4pm is a challenge.... I have found if I drink it after 4pm I end up spending the night getting in and out of bed going to the loo, be easier to set up a bed in the bathroom I think!! Hmmm wonder if a grown up nappy would work?? Scratch that thought, couldn't handle sleeping with a wet cold nappy on!! Ahhh, the joys of trying to get in shape!!
Anyway, I have tried out the new program I was given the other day a couple of times now. So far the weights part of it is good, I haven't dropped any on my head and I managed to keep the embarrassing puku flashing to a minimum. Although I did lose control of the swiss ball today while doing my reverse curl crunches... the idea is to lie on your back and hold the swiss ball between your ankles, lift your legs into the air and do a crunch (I think I have explained that right!) Anyway, because of the heat today my legs may have been a little sweaty so when I lifted the ball above me (with some force because I was in a hurry to get this painful exercise over and done with!!) I accidentally flung it across the room.... Luckily there was only one other person using that side of the gym to witness me chasing the swiss ball around like an idiot, could have been disastrous if there was a balance class on, I would have knocked them over like skittles!!
The cardio portion of the program is a whole new story though.... might save that one for the next update!!
The downside to all this sweating is having to replace all the water in your body. I feel like I have a water bottle constantly attached to my lips, wouldn't be so bad if the bottle contained coffee or flavoured milk but it doesn't, just boring old water! To be fair drinking the water while working out is easy, it's drinking it when I'm at home or work that is the hard part. Trying to consume 3 litres of water a day is a mission and trying to do it before 4pm is a challenge.... I have found if I drink it after 4pm I end up spending the night getting in and out of bed going to the loo, be easier to set up a bed in the bathroom I think!! Hmmm wonder if a grown up nappy would work?? Scratch that thought, couldn't handle sleeping with a wet cold nappy on!! Ahhh, the joys of trying to get in shape!!
Anyway, I have tried out the new program I was given the other day a couple of times now. So far the weights part of it is good, I haven't dropped any on my head and I managed to keep the embarrassing puku flashing to a minimum. Although I did lose control of the swiss ball today while doing my reverse curl crunches... the idea is to lie on your back and hold the swiss ball between your ankles, lift your legs into the air and do a crunch (I think I have explained that right!) Anyway, because of the heat today my legs may have been a little sweaty so when I lifted the ball above me (with some force because I was in a hurry to get this painful exercise over and done with!!) I accidentally flung it across the room.... Luckily there was only one other person using that side of the gym to witness me chasing the swiss ball around like an idiot, could have been disastrous if there was a balance class on, I would have knocked them over like skittles!!
The cardio portion of the program is a whole new story though.... might save that one for the next update!!
Tuesday 17 January 2012
Time to get back on the wagon.. S4CFVTVCJ59V
No more excuses now!!! Everything at home has returned to normal so I can get back into the routine of regular work outs and healthy eating...
Had my first official meeting with Mark for the year yesterday to get my program for the next 3 weeks and check up on the damage done over the holiday period. Found out something I already knew... I have no self control when there is holiday food in the house!! I thought about bull shitting everyone and saying I maintained my weight loss from before Christmas then working my butt off to drop some weight fast however I realised Mark reads this blog and he knows the truth... my cover would be blown, dam it!! So the truth is I managed pig out on just enough food and do the least amount of exercise possible to return me to my starting weight... oops!! However that will not get me down, (although I did have a teary eyed moment when I looked down at the scales!!!) I have lost it before and I'll do it again! This time I plan to lose it for more than a week though!!
We had a run through of the new program... it seemed to be ok... more intense than the last one I had but I reckon this is going to work a treat! The cardio portion of the workout is.... um, how do I put it nicely.... insane?? Mark has me doing some high intensity interval training on the cross trainer which translated into layman's terms means going uber fast, then slow, then uber fast, then slow, then uber fast, then slow, I think you get the picture... and because Mark is soooo generous you only have to do that for 2 minutes the you get to cruise for a couple of minutes before going through that pain again!! To make it even more fun he wants me to hold onto the bars of the cross trainer (you know, so your arms going back and forth) because it burns more calories.... how about I eat less calories and not worry about the arms because I look like a spastic when I do it?? Did I say I only did the fast slow thing for a minute yesterday and nearly collapsed?? Not sure if Mark and I will be talking at the end of this 3 week stint!!
Purchased some new 'running' shoes today (which will be relabeled 'walking' shoes because I don't run!!) What an exercise that is!! They had one of those video thingees to see how you walk and what sort of shoe would be best, worked up a sweat just walking backwards and forwards with a bizillion different shoe types on! But I'm all set now for the next 3 weeks of pain...
Oh in case you are wondering, the random letters and numbers (S4CFVTVCJ59V) in the title of this blog is so a blog directory can verify I am who I say I am... I didn't just have a dumb moment and leave a spelling mistake in the title! Well not this time anyway!!
Had my first official meeting with Mark for the year yesterday to get my program for the next 3 weeks and check up on the damage done over the holiday period. Found out something I already knew... I have no self control when there is holiday food in the house!! I thought about bull shitting everyone and saying I maintained my weight loss from before Christmas then working my butt off to drop some weight fast however I realised Mark reads this blog and he knows the truth... my cover would be blown, dam it!! So the truth is I managed pig out on just enough food and do the least amount of exercise possible to return me to my starting weight... oops!! However that will not get me down, (although I did have a teary eyed moment when I looked down at the scales!!!) I have lost it before and I'll do it again! This time I plan to lose it for more than a week though!!
We had a run through of the new program... it seemed to be ok... more intense than the last one I had but I reckon this is going to work a treat! The cardio portion of the workout is.... um, how do I put it nicely.... insane?? Mark has me doing some high intensity interval training on the cross trainer which translated into layman's terms means going uber fast, then slow, then uber fast, then slow, then uber fast, then slow, I think you get the picture... and because Mark is soooo generous you only have to do that for 2 minutes the you get to cruise for a couple of minutes before going through that pain again!! To make it even more fun he wants me to hold onto the bars of the cross trainer (you know, so your arms going back and forth) because it burns more calories.... how about I eat less calories and not worry about the arms because I look like a spastic when I do it?? Did I say I only did the fast slow thing for a minute yesterday and nearly collapsed?? Not sure if Mark and I will be talking at the end of this 3 week stint!!
Purchased some new 'running' shoes today (which will be relabeled 'walking' shoes because I don't run!!) What an exercise that is!! They had one of those video thingees to see how you walk and what sort of shoe would be best, worked up a sweat just walking backwards and forwards with a bizillion different shoe types on! But I'm all set now for the next 3 weeks of pain...
Oh in case you are wondering, the random letters and numbers (S4CFVTVCJ59V) in the title of this blog is so a blog directory can verify I am who I say I am... I didn't just have a dumb moment and leave a spelling mistake in the title! Well not this time anyway!!
Friday 6 January 2012
The first entry for 2012...
Thought it was time to get writing again.... I think today marked the final day of holiday slackness!! All the family have left so it's time to get into a routine and get this journey back on track! Well for a week anyway then I'm off to Wellington for a few days!!! Where I will be walking the hills so kind of staying on track!
So I thought I would take advantage of all these sales on at the shops and I went on the hunt for some t-shirts to do my workouts in. What a disaster!! I was certain I would find a long t-shirt so I would have no more incidences of peek-a-boo puku (stomach)!! Turns out the shops I went to where all out of long t-shirts, so I have had to make do with the regular length but I have a theory.... as the tractor tyre shrinks to lets say a bicycle tyre around my midsection, the t-shirts will be able to hang like they are designed to and my problem should be solved... make sense?? If I was clever on this computer I would draw a diagram!! So in the mean time, I apologise to all the other gym members who are unfortunate enough to catch a glimpse of some extra white meat!!! I'll try to keep my workouts to the middle of the day when no one is about!!
I don't know how people manage to keep up their fitness regime during the holiday season but I am sooo easily distracted when it comes to going to the gym, exercising or eating during this time, just one twist of my rubber arm and I'm away! I planned on going to the gym twice this week and twice I didn't go! First time I was tempted away with lunch in town and a spot of shopping, the second time I ended up doing extra hours at work and couldn't be bothered to go because I was too hungry (managed to miss my breaks so had not eaten since breakfast), all I could think of was KFC so I raced home in fear of the car detouring (by itself of course!) into the nearest drive thru... it could have easily happened, I have to pass 3 KFC drive thru's on the way home and my car is unpredictable!!!
Today was another day I had considered going to the gym but it was the first fine day we have had in what feels like an eternity so I took advantage to head home and get some of the outside chores done. Going to the gym would have been easier!! The killer today was trimming the hedge.... who knew it was so hard to hold the hedge clipper machine thing in the air while trying to cut the hedge in a straight line!! I have a new respect for Dad, he is a machine because he doesn't moan and complain anywhere near as much as I did!! Even the dog looked at me strange as I collapsed onto the lawn wheezing and struggling to breathe!! I think she thought I was about to cark it, hell I was thinking it!! What a work out it was!! I have found muscles in my arms I never new existed! Cutting my dinner tonight was a mission, even typing this blog is hard work!! And do you know what the best part of all this is....... I only got half the hedge done!!! I have to go through all of this pain again!! Arghhhhh!!!
So I thought I would take advantage of all these sales on at the shops and I went on the hunt for some t-shirts to do my workouts in. What a disaster!! I was certain I would find a long t-shirt so I would have no more incidences of peek-a-boo puku (stomach)!! Turns out the shops I went to where all out of long t-shirts, so I have had to make do with the regular length but I have a theory.... as the tractor tyre shrinks to lets say a bicycle tyre around my midsection, the t-shirts will be able to hang like they are designed to and my problem should be solved... make sense?? If I was clever on this computer I would draw a diagram!! So in the mean time, I apologise to all the other gym members who are unfortunate enough to catch a glimpse of some extra white meat!!! I'll try to keep my workouts to the middle of the day when no one is about!!
I don't know how people manage to keep up their fitness regime during the holiday season but I am sooo easily distracted when it comes to going to the gym, exercising or eating during this time, just one twist of my rubber arm and I'm away! I planned on going to the gym twice this week and twice I didn't go! First time I was tempted away with lunch in town and a spot of shopping, the second time I ended up doing extra hours at work and couldn't be bothered to go because I was too hungry (managed to miss my breaks so had not eaten since breakfast), all I could think of was KFC so I raced home in fear of the car detouring (by itself of course!) into the nearest drive thru... it could have easily happened, I have to pass 3 KFC drive thru's on the way home and my car is unpredictable!!!
Today was another day I had considered going to the gym but it was the first fine day we have had in what feels like an eternity so I took advantage to head home and get some of the outside chores done. Going to the gym would have been easier!! The killer today was trimming the hedge.... who knew it was so hard to hold the hedge clipper machine thing in the air while trying to cut the hedge in a straight line!! I have a new respect for Dad, he is a machine because he doesn't moan and complain anywhere near as much as I did!! Even the dog looked at me strange as I collapsed onto the lawn wheezing and struggling to breathe!! I think she thought I was about to cark it, hell I was thinking it!! What a work out it was!! I have found muscles in my arms I never new existed! Cutting my dinner tonight was a mission, even typing this blog is hard work!! And do you know what the best part of all this is....... I only got half the hedge done!!! I have to go through all of this pain again!! Arghhhhh!!!
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