This is Day 5 of the 21-Day Fitness Challenge held in Feb 2012. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
Hello and welcome to Day 5 (Feb 7) of the 21-Day Fitness Challenge! :D
The past updates took quite a bit of time to write, so I’m keeping today’s update short. Firstly, check out the updates by participants so far if you haven’t:
- Day 0 – Pre-Work: Create Your 21-Day Fitness Plan! | 76 Comments
- Day 1 – It All Begins! | 101 Comments
- Day 2 – Building Up the Momentum… | 122 Comments
- Day 3 – Turning it into a Routine | 77 Comments
- Day 4 – Loving the Sweat, the Pain, and the Aches! | 93 Comments
Secondly, our lovely participant, Raymond, recorded a video to cheer us on while he was doing his walk on Day 4! Thank you, Raymond! :D I’m sure everyone will get a boost in their 21DFC after seeing how you managed to keep up with your commitment to fitness, despite the cold weather over there in Holland!
My 21DFC Progress, Day 5
I walked for a good 2 hours today, all done while running my errands. Climbed the stairs as usual. :D While it was more activity than my more sedentary days in the past, it wasn’t as much fitness as I would like, especially not in light of 21DFC. Kind of disappointing, to be honest. I definitely look forward to tomorrow (Day 6) to get back into gear.
One thing I noticed is that if I don’t start my day on my desired note, it kinda leaves me with a sour taste for the rest of the day. For example, I wanted to jog in the morning as I had done in the past 4 days, but I didn’t in the end because I woke up later than usual (8+am) from sleeping late yesterday.
Since I didn’t get to jog in the morning, I didn’t feel like jogging in the evening either. A part of me was waiting for the day to end so I could start the next day on a fresh note. I also observed myself eating more than the past few days, probably to offset my dissatisfaction with how the day was turning out – remnants of my emotional eating issues at work. This is obviously a very bad all-or-nothing mindset.
My learnings?
- Let go of rigid expectations on how I want the day to unfold, and instead creatively manifest my day based on my highest intentions. For example, I could well have gone to the gym after waking up and gotten my fitness fix for the morning, instead of letting the dissatisfaction of not being able to jog hang at the back of my head and affect me subconsciously.
- Less listening to the side of me that imposes/forces, and more connecting with my higher self. Even if the initial steps may seem counter-intuitive, go with the flow and allow them to play out – with no expectations of what they should be (as per #1).
- Last but not least, sleep earlier so I can wake up earlier.
For tomorrow, I have my first kickboxing class tomorrow evening, so I can’t wait. :D I hope to get to swim too, as my period just ended. An ideal Day 6 would be if I can manage a jog, a swim AND going to the kickboxing class. XD I’ll see how it goes tomorrow.
On a semi side-note, because my phone was misplaced when I was in the States, I’m looking to buy a new phone now. That was part of my errands today – to check on new phones. I believe they will be handy for achieving my fitness goals (for example, tracking my distance/calorie burnt/time taken during my jogs, music player with podcasts and music to make my jogs even more enjoyable, etc). Will keep you guys posted!
How About YOUR Day 5? Share Your Progress!
How did YOUR 21DFC Day 5 go? Did you get to complete your scheduled activity? Did you achieve any personal victories? Did something unexpected crop up, which made you learn some valuable personal lessons?
Regardless of how your day went, we want to hear it all. 21DFC is not about sharing ‘flawless’ fitness progress, but about sharing everything our journey towards a healthier, fitter life – obstacles and all. Post your day’s journal in the comments section! If you have any images to share, simply upload them to Photo Bucket or Imgur first, then include the link(s) in your reply.
- What physical activity did you do (if any), and for how long?
- If you didn’t get to do any physical activity, why? And what can you do about it such that the same thing doesn’t happen again?
- What physical activity do you plan to do tomorrow?
Check out other participants’ responses and join in the discussions!
Looking forward to Day 6 tomorrow! ;)
(Image)
If you like my articles, join my community of 65,000 readers and get my latest articles delivered to your inbox. Your email is safe. 100% no spam.
I am actually quite disappointed in myself because I have had things come up that interfered with my plans of working out. First it was a sinus infection that left me run down and tired. I may have let that keep me from getting motivated a couple days after it shouldn’t have.
Also, I have suffered with insomnia since I was a teenager, therefore my sleeping habits are not healthy and leave me with no energy. I may stay up until 4a.m. sometimes and then have to get up at 6a.m. to get my children prepared for school and get them on the bus. This is affecting my working out plans horribly.
I have managed to walk this evening with my children and best friend for approximately 20 minutes. We walked in our small home town because it was nice outside.
My desire to improve this is strong. So what I need to do is try different approaches for falling to sleep earlier at night. It is almost 9p.m. here, so I am finishing this up, doing some meditation and lying down to sleep. I also this evening cut back on my caffeine intake and smoking cigarettes because I feel that is stimulating and keeping me awake also.
My goal for tomorrow is this: Get up at 6 with a different state of mind. Instead of thinking to myself that I’ve been tired because of being sick, I will tell myself that I am feeling much better and will feel even better with exercise.
Once getting my girls on the school bus, I plan to do 30 minutes of yoga, enjoy my healthy breakfast, and then take approximately a 10 minute walk. Later in the day I will do at least a 30 minute work out. The evening will be finished up with a brisk walk and hopefully some yoga and meditation before bedtime, again to help me sleep.
I am confident that even though I am not happy with my progress during this challenge, I can turn it around and wake up with a positive attitude.
Good luck to everyone else and I also want to note that although I am bummed about exercising lightly only on Day 1, that I am glad I took the time to walk today because my best friend was taking my girls with or without me. So I am proud I made the choice to go. So now it is my bed time after some meditation. :shy:
I did my bike riding today . It was cold and wet outside but it was worthwhile. I am now going to do my bodyweight exercises. This is what I am going to do.
Bodyweight Warm-up Circuit
• I will go through the circuit using a 2-0-1 tempo for each exercise.
• I will rest 30 seconds before repeating the circuit one more time for a total of two circuits.
1) Jumping Jacks – 20 reps
2) Elevated Pushup – 6 reps per side
3) Stickup – 10 reps
Next I will do this Workout
• Bodyweight Warm-up Circuit
• I won’t rest between exercises.
• I will then rest 1 minute at the end of the circuit and repeat it 2 to 4 more times.
1) Chin-up or Pushup – Max Reps (2-0-1)
2) Prisoner Squat – 25 reps (2-0-1)
3) Reverse Lunge – 15 reps per side (2-0-1)
That’s it. I am off to finish the workout. What do you think of that?
:dance:
I think it sounds darn impressive, that’s what!! :)
I finally tried some Pilates. I did everything in this vid: http://youtu.be/mVWZAjHM328
I pulled a muscle in my right shoulder, and even though it really really hurt, I got over it and really enjoyed following along with the video :D
I also did some Tai Chi, which was good, because the Pilates vid was pretty tough on me :shy:
I will probably find more (easier lol) Pilates vids to follow along for Day 5. See you then! :hug:
Thanks for sharing the link Rosa. I would like to try Pilates. I hope your shoulder doesn’t bother you for the next day. I also have never done Tai Chi but as part of this challenge I would love to try some exercises that I haven’t done before. I’m used to yoga, walking fast paced, and aerobic type workouts. Sounds like you are doing well though!! Thank you for sharing and best of luck with the days to come! :)
Hello Netta! I’m happy you enjoyed the link :D
Tai Chi is really awesome. I know some people prefer ‘fast-paced’ stuff, but
I think it’s good to do ‘slow’ stuff WITH the fast. Especially when the fast stuff beats you up and leaves you with many sores lol
I never tried yoga until today (Day 6), and it was fun..even though I totally couldn’t do a lot of the poses :shy:
I hope you are doing well with your 21DFC too! See you around :hug:
I have been having some tightness in the chest so the doctor told me today (when I went in about an ear problem) that I should hold off on exertion until I’ve seen a cardiologist. I have an appointment. In the meantime, I can do gentle stretches, gentle yoga, and gentle movement. But I’m not even supposed to do the stairs more than necessary.
Today I’ve walked about 6.75km and done my stomach clenches. Planning to do floor exercises later (hopefully will have digested food by then!) Think these are starting to make a small difference around the stomach muscle area.
What I learned today:
I already knew that walking with energy (bounce in step, smile on face, brisk pace) means that I arrive at my destination revitalised. However I have been having trouble getting myself in the zone.
To address the pace: I started using my bottom muscles instead of legs to propel me forward: this immediately picked up my speed.
To address the smileyness: was feeling a little silly trying to plaster a smile I wasn’t really feeling on my face. But then I recalled some fond memories from my favourite hobby over the past few years and these just put a smile on my face without me even thinking about it!
Will need these resources at my disposal tomorrow as I’m chairing a meeting at work and would like to be projecting energy during this in particular!
Wow 6.75 kilometres! I barely walk 3! I know, I know, no sniffing at myself :D ;)
That’s an interesting technique (using the bottom muscles to increase speed) & I’ll try to do it on the next walk because i need to go from 3 mph to 3.5 mph.
What you mentioned about smiling for the sake of smiling & appearing silly rings a bell! The expression of the eyes probably matters, like if they were too wide open while smiling then we might look creepy ( been there before…) so what you did (recalling nice memories) probably made your eyes appear soft, perfect! :)
Your energy is passing through the digital barrier all the way to this challenge’s participants & if you can project energy over text characters then doing so in a meeting will be a piece of cake :)
Hey Nadia, thanks for your positive reply! Am feeling more optimistic about tomorrow’s meeting now :)
Hope the walking technique works for you – and 3km is certainly enough to get your heart pumping more efficiently and blood coursing in a good way through your body! :D
xx
I can’t believe it’s day 5 already. Well, a lot of walking today as I can’t jog and made sure at work that I was up and down the stairs as much as possible :) I didn’t do any squats today to give my creaky knees a little rest.
When the waether improves I will start riding my bike to work again but for now, I’m afraid it’s staying in the garage!
Hey Mark
Walking is great exercise so good for you! I’m with you on the weather front – bring on the warmer weather!! :)
All of you have been inspiring! Lina, thanks for the link, I always like a good aerobics link to try it out. I’ve tried this link, and as it starts from warming-up to gradual intensity, it works the muscles – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKkVpu3VRQ4&context=C35de01cADOEgsToPDskIzgIm3CuYdDytysPi10MpD.
Celes, I don’t usually jog or run outside though I’d like to aspire to doing that. It’s slippery and cold here, hence my exercises are limited indoors. When it gets warmer, I would like to jog and swim like you. I hope I’m not ‘cheating’ by counting walking to the stations/supermarket as doing some physical exercise.
So, for day 5, my exercise is this stomach exercise – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4S7sYup_Rw&feature=g-vrec&context=G295ef61RVAAAAAAAAAQ and thigh exercise – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7SB_3rEPgg&feature=relmfu. I put this links here, in case anyone else on this DFC might want to try it out.
To everyone who does indoor exercising, do continue to share good and fun work-out links.
Let’s do this! :dance:
Thanks, LiLi,
I am eager to check out those exercises! Thanks for the link!
This is such a rewarding challenge, isn’t it? It makes sooo many changes for the better in my body and in my quality of life! (a topic worth journaling about, don’t you think?
Continued consistency to you, to ALL of us! :angel:
Bette
Today it was great.
i did yoga for 30′ first thing in the morning.
Then I jog-walk to the supermarket form more than 1 hour, over 5km (my pedometro crashed because of the cold so I have not precise datas)
Now I just finished other 30′ yoga.
The run especially was very good. I did 2 session of about 15′ without gasping and panting as usually. I honestly don’t love running because usually I can’t go over 15′ without feeling tired of bored. It’s a menthal thing more than physical. Today it was one of the rare day where I enter into a zone and when I stop I am not exhausted.
My focus on the rest of the day was better too.
Maybe after dinner I’ll try to meditate, if not tomorrow.
To-day is a public holiday in Mauritius, a religious south indian festival ,the Cavadee. We receive dinner invitation from many friends and neighbours who actively participate in the rituals. I had doubt whether I’ll beable to stand by my resolution. And with cause. But then I said to myself I would start a little earlier, and complete my jogging assignment, which I did and felt so satisfied.. I came back, had a shower, and was on time for dinner.In between I was pleasantly surprised to note that I have burnt amodest one kg. Little performance -great est pleasure.
Well done for sticking to your assignment! And another well done on your weight loss!
Hope you enjoy the holiday xx
Well, my 5 day still includes an usual morning exercise. However, I think I lengthened my exercise and I’m also be able to do more intense movements. :)
I did know beforehand that I wouldn’t be able do any outdoor activities such as running so I tried to make the most out of my time by doing small exercise during my breaks and stair climbing.
Another thing I want to note is that it seems like exercises are getting into me and I feel a bit down without jogging like previous days. :shy:
Later I’m going to increase my exercise before bed from 15 mins to 30 mins.
I can’t wait for tomorrow since i’m gonna go swimming :dance: :dance: I love swimming, I’m not a good swimmer, though :lol: .
haizz it’s so annoying. I remember that I did post my update right before my dinner and now I check again, it disappeared =.=” I feel so low-tech :shy:
Well, I started my day like usual with a 15min morning exercise. It is quite disappointing that I couldn’t go jogging. My day only includes home exercises. However, I tried to make the most out of my time by doing exercise during my break (it was about 10 mins) and stair climbing.
And I finished my day with a 15mins exercise. I can’t wait for tomorrow because I’m gonna go swimming :dance: I love swimming, I’m not really a good swimmer, though :lol:
Moreover, I want to extend my exercise section to 30 mins. ] :rolleyes: So I think after this challenge, I may even cultivate a habit of waking up early. At the moment, I usually get up around 6:30 but I need to wake up at 6 :D
Oh another thing is that I have to agree with you, Celes. Without any activities such as jogging like previous days, I’ve been feeling a bit down and bored today :idea: I guess it may be a good sign since I start feeling like exercising :lol:
Hey Linh! Your comment didn’t disappear – it’s here. Looks like it went into the spam queue for some reason, so I’ve manually approved it – and also placed your latest comment together with your previous one. Let me know if you want your second one removed.
And GREAT job on your workouts!! I guess we have effectively cultivated a special place for exercise in our hearts just from the past 4 days, such that when we don’t work out, we feel some sort of void. :lol: I think that’s a good sign, actually – that we naturally gravitate towards exercising now. :D
Oh thanks Celes. ^^ Well it’s fine just leave the 2nd there :)
Lucky I did any excersise today as I got home late & should have being in bed, but I wanted to do my excersise for the day , so I spent 1hour 10 minutes on my WII. Great back up & always fun trying to better my score & exercising at the same time. Did 40 minutes playing 100 pin bowls, & the rest doing table tennis & tennis!! Was pleased to accomplish this so late!!!
I had been working out for the past 4 days consistently. What I am noticing about myself is the resistance to keep up with the program, for no reason. I listen to that voice in my head and do it anyway. It turns out that the voice was not being truthful. I am currently in NY and yesterday, the voice told me not to go out for a run because it is too cold. Well, I did anyway. Turns out the weather was just amazing and I am exhilarated. Thank you Celes, for this challenge. It is starting to be wonderful NOW!
Vidya
The change I’ve noticed since I began exercising is that I feel more energetic and I’m ready to join more activities. :D So yeah, Celes, you rock for coming up with this challenge! :dance:
“I am currently in NY and yesterday, the voice told me not to go out for a run because it is too cold. Well, I did anyway. Turns out the weather was just amazing and I am exhilarated.””
Wow, YOU GO GIRL!! Go tell that voice otherwise and put it in its place! :mrgreen: And don’t thank me, thank YOU for your amazing energy and spirit! You guys are DA BOMB! :dance:
Just finished my workout.
I did 30 min of cardio on the elliptical and 30 min of strength training.
It’s 11am on the East coast and my goal for the following days is getting out of the house at 8am instead of surfing online and delaying my exercise..
I’m pretty happy with my workout because I did some strength training which I have never done before..
Also I agree with you Celes, that the more I delay my exercise the more likely that I won’t be able to do it the way I want it.. So I need to make it a routine at the same time every day…
Hi Ozum
Getting into a routine is a fantastic idea! Sounds like a pretty intense workout you managed today too :) I’m trying to cut down on the web procrastinating – definitely agree that time could be better spent out and about actually doing stuff!
x
Today I woke up late (at about 10 am). I felt too lazy to exercise and my whole day went by working on other things and finding excuses not to exercise. But then in the evening, I said to myself that I must exercise. Even if I exercise for 10 minutes that would be fine or else I would be coming up with some new excuses tomorrow to skip exercises. I pushed myself to exercise and I went on a brisk walk. I started feeling fresh and more energetic, so I continued walking. I walked for half an hour, then I did cycling for 15 minutes and some stretching exercises too.
Tomorrow I am definitely going to wake up early and start the day with some workout so that I feel energetic all day.
Excellent stuff Viva, pushing yourself to exercise when your mind wanted to take the easier option! Glad to hear it pepped up your energy levels! x
Thanks Zingfairy for your lovely comment :)
Congratulations on sticking to your commitment to fitness, Viva! :clap: I’m so proud of you. I find that when I start the day with a workout, it gives me a positive rush to get to my other things for the day.
Thanks Celes :)
That is so true. I have been working out in the morning from the next day of that comment I posted earlier, and so far it has been great. Working-out in the morning is giving me a positive feeling and my days are going very well, very energetic.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I am sorry I couldn’t post/report daily. Actually I have been little busy with some other stuff. I’ll try to post all my pending updates by evening.
Not a problem, Viva. Thanks so much for making the effort to check in and report your progress. :D And keep up with your awesome work too!
Wow, what a coincidence, of it may, because I was just feeling the same way.
I skipped my workout yesterday because I woke up late, due to going ti bed late, so I was kinda beating myself up for it, so that atittude didn’t inspire me to find other ways.
I guess I’ve been imposing on myself that I have to run, but I don’t think that is for me.
I took off the running pressure today and instead included along with my daily activities exercises like squatting, crunches and sit ups, many other ones even while I watch TV. So far so good.
Also what I did today was have a dancing section, a bit of ballet and contemporary, and that was an amazing workout. And it’s good to see that even though I haven’t practise in a long time, I haven’t lost my skills. Yay!
For tomorrow I think I will stick to that, I danced for like 30 minutes or less. Tomorrow I will plan for some appropriate stretching and all, and time the whole thing, and make sure the space Is clear.
Congratulations to all for sticking to this!! And no matter what don’t give up!
Hey Mirna, dancing to exercise sounds like fun! How wonderful that you’re talented at it! Keep up the great work! :dance:
I feel good about today. I made some exercise in the morning and also didn’t use the elevator.
After work, I’ll go to gym so will be some more extra work there.
Good luck to all of us!
Well done tibi! Going from elevators to stairs makes such a big difference in the long run so it’s ace that you’ve got a way of embedding it in your routine :)
Good luck Tibi!! I liked the part about taking the stairs. I can think of so many times I have had the chance to do that and actually out of just not thinking about it, took the elevator. Since this challenge though, I won’t be looking at elevators the same again. :D
Hi all
Day 5 and I’m feeling really excited and motivated about everything. I completed my exercises todays which included clockwork jumps, leg raises and pull ups. I had to improvise with the pull ups as I have not bar or safe place to dangle myself! Also my upper body strength is not good so I find pull ups really difficult (be interested to hear of any alternative exercises that don’t use a bar). I balanced a pole across some benches and laid down and pulled my top half up (obviously making the exercise a bit easier too)…
Anyway, very happy with my work out. Another 30min run and some exercises tomorrow.
Hope everyone is feeling ok. Keep up the good work
I :-)
I just learned about clockwork jumps. It seems to be fun jumping in this way! Probably I could try it out within these 21DFC!
Thanks for sharing :)
You are setting a great example. Pull ups. I’m nowhere nearly there yet ;)
Me too! My upper arm muscles are near non-existent at the moment. :rolleyes: I’m slowly building them up with the indoor rowing machine at my gym.
Thanks guys.
The clockwork jumps are really good, I discovered them through this iPhone app I’ve been using strangely enough.
The pull ups are hard. Very hard. As I mentioned I’ve modified them to make them a bit easier whilst I build my upper body strength up.
Ian :-)
Day Five is really getting off to a great start! Already had a cardioaerobic workout and worked with my bands! The youtube videos that Lina and Jaleen linked in their posts are now a great addition to my fitness plan. SO happy about that! And so happy about having this “on the move” mindset that will increase my fitness! What a difference in outlook and quality of life! Hmmm…let me count the ways this is changing my life…I need to journal about that.
Already worked out for 20 minutes, and the day is just beginning!….
Stay tuned…
Really am motivated by reading others’ posts. Thank you everyone for being here, being committed to improving fitness level, and sharing! :hug:
:heart: Bette
Woohoo, cheers for being active! haha.
Good thing we are a community (virtual one, but still a community) whose members support each other; we’re making each other proud. :D
Great to hear about that!
This is the first time I join the community to workout together in a big group. It’s feeling good to have people supporting each other as well! :clap: Thanks to you and other members for sharing their experiences!
cardio workouts, always hear about them never really got a chance to try it out
maybe 21DFC and this forum growth would invoke one more bright side to my life……
Sounds like fitness is beginning to become a routine for you as well, Bette! I’m so happy for all of us. :dance: The increased fitness is definitely making a difference for me, too. As I mentioned to Linh in a separate comment and also in Day 5’s update, I feel weird if I don’t exercise now.
Did you achieve any personal victories?
1. Got smaller hips :)
2. I was able to jog for a little more than 2 minutes without stopping :D
3. Today I didn’t feel nauseous because I took action to stop it.
4. My exercise endurance increased!
What physical activity did you do (if any), and for how long?
Walking, jogging, stretching, lunge with twist, jumping jacks, marching in place, skipping, push up with leg extension, the plank. Total time taken was a little more than 50 minutes :)
Wow, pretty intense for one workout. :D Nicely done!
Fantastic work Monisha. :clap: I hope the nausea situation has improved? :hug:
@ Lina: Thank you for putting a smile on my face! :hug: :D
@Celes: Thank you so much for the support, Celes!! :D Yes it improved, thank you for asking! :hug:
Well done sounds like you are already feeling benefit.
Ian :-)
Today, Day 5, finally I got the chance to do home aerobics for about 30 minutes. Below is the video clip of the home aerobics that I follow usually.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3ZDwFiLmTY
The actions are not too hard as I have knee problem, yet I start sweating after 5 minutes.
Tomorrow I will have class until 5pm. By the time I reach home, it will be late, so I guess I will only go for running in place as normal. Listening to music / watching anime will running in place is quite enjoyable to me. :P
P/s:
I just got to know that, yesterday I felt dizzy, and that was the vertigo effect. I knew the word in Mandarin, and today my friend just told me the word in English –> Vertigo. It is because of a dysfunction of the vestibular system in the inner ear. As far as I know, there is no medicine for this type of dizziness, usually it is caused by the heat within the body.
I ate too much of biscuits and Mandarin oranges during the CNY… That’s probably the cause of the vertigo happening. :p Luckily, the dizziness has gone now.
Jaleen, thanks for posting this video. I will definitely check it out. I have knee issues too, so I modify the postures so I can do the moves. I can do alot from a seated position. Alot. I am encouraged with every movement that I am able to do that I haven’t been able to before!
Haven’t searched vertigo, and wonder if symptoms are sometimes reflecting what one eats/drinks. Wonder what is causing too much heat/inflammation in the body :?:
Thanks for being here in this challenge and sharing :!:
Bette
Bette, yes, some of the actions keep pressure to our knees, so I would encourage you to only do according to your comfort ability, do not force yourself too much. I got my knee hurt because of hiking, so now I hike slowly, cannot move too fast. :(
For vertigo, according to my mum’s saying, it is usually caused by the heat of body, but it seems that I cannot find any other cause of vertigo, other than my mum’s saying. In Chinese, we usually say a food is “heaty” or “cold” or belongs to “wind” categories.
For examples, chocolate, Mandarin oranges (my favorite fruit…), fried food, etc, are heaty. If a person eat too much of heaty food without taking much of water, they will get fever / flu easily. (That’s me =.=” )
Whereas celery, cucumber, etc, belong to “cold” category. If a person has arthritis on certain part of the body, and he eats too much of the food under “cold” category, they will feel pain on their body. That is kind of serious and might cause a person unable to walk at all.
Also some of the fruits like banana, jack fruit, they belong to “wind” category, which might cause stomach problem to some people that cannot take it. They will feel like vomiting or have diarrhea.
The above are the categories that I learn from my grandmother… We always take care of what are the food that we can eat more or less, especially for old folks. :)
Hi Jaleen, thank you for your comments.
Interesting about the cold, heaty, and windy categories of food. It all makes sense.
Amazing how much what we eat affects our bodies and our lives!ette
On to the next day, shall we? :dance:
B
I’ve watched the first minutes of the video and it looks like a lot of work on the arms and my arms are a really weak point for me, lol. I do 5 push-ups and my arms react like “Stop…Stop, please…Now!”,haha. But I think I will try out tomorrow the workout you posted. Thank you for the link, Jaleen! :D
You are welcome, Lina. :D
At the first few times of workout with that video, my arms (and legs) are very painful after that too. Now I’m still ok, finally can get through all the actions they do. XD
Yoga, some dance :dance: and jogging in place for today. Feels good but nothing like walking.
So, today was my first school-day trying this out. Since my parents just got back, I put off the exercise until the evening so I could spend time with them. I did ten minutes on the exercise bike (about 4km) and another ten on the Wii Fit.
As this challenge has been going along, I’ve been getting away from the balance games and aerobics and instead doing more yoga and strength exercises. Hopefully this week I’ll unlock more things that I can do.
Good luck everyone and have fun :dance:
Awesome – keep us posted on your progress, Kristen. :D Wii Fit sounds like a lot of fun – I do wish I have a console I can use for my workouts, but then I’d be buying it solely for the fitness aspect of it only, which I can do with the parks/swimming pools near my home. How much did your Wii cost, do you remember?
It’s very nice to have since there aren’t really places near here to do activities (except the pool in my yard) and if there’s bad weather or something.
I can’t remember how much it costed (my brother got it when it came out) but I checked and it should probably be 200-300 SGD by now since it’s older and there aren’t many good games for it.
20 minutes of knee strengthening exercises, 30 minutes stability ball work (upper body and abs), 10 minutes stretching, and 10 minutes of meditation.
I am also making an effort to stand up more at work. (I work two jobs that require me to sit for long periods.) I’m going to try to do a few laps around the office today. :D
Side note: I feel a difference in my upper body and core since I started using the stability ball. I highly recommend it!
I’m interested in the knee-strengthening exercises, Tina. Where from did you get those exercises, I’m wondering? And I am not sure of what the stability ball is?
Anyway, that is so great that you see a difference in your upper body and core. Congrats on that, Tina! Keep moving toward your fitness goals! :heart:
Bette
brrrr. Still too cold to enjoy walking outside. After doing my walk yesterday my legs were tingling for hours after.
Nevertheless I did reach my steps aim for today. :D Although it cost me more effort than yesterday. :(
Tomorrow afternoon I’ll play it safe and go to he gym.
Thank you for the video Raymond! Those encouraging words were just what I needed to hear this morning!
Sorry to hear that getting your walking in is tough. Hopefully the gym works out better for you today!
Wishing you a wonderful day!
You are welcome. I am confident tomorrow gym will work out fine!
How’s your day been?
take care,
Hi Raymond :) Just saw your video and I thank you for making it, wish you the best in this challenge too! It’s admirable that you can take a walk in that freezing weather, guess I can give no more excuses to myself & complain about a simple chilly breeze during my walk :D
Have fun at the gym!
Hi guys! My plans crashed on me (the ones on swimming and running) because I was dead tired. I don’t know why, but I just had to sleep. And then my chance of exercising was gone. :p
But at least…there was an hour of PE today morning (and maybe, that was the reason why I was so tired). 600m run, plus some throwing and catching skills for handball.
Then I was late for early recess (I had to go earlier so I can be on time for duty), so I sprinted there. :rolleyes: It wasn’t more than 200m. :) Then during duty I walked around again for about 600m (3 rounds of the field).
I also managed to keep my stop-one-stop-earlier promise. I realised it wasn’t very long, so I’ll be extending it to two stops tomorrow! :D
That pretty much sums up my exercise today. I’m also trying to get down for minimum 20 minutes to run later. :D
I haven’t been reading ALL the posts every day, so this is the first of yours I’ve read. I got curious when I saw “PE” and “recess” in your post. Wondered if you were a PE teacher. Clicked to your website and saw that you’re 11 yrs old and in school. Wow, I’m impressed at your website, your participation here, your youth-and-maturity all-in-one package. Good stuff! You’re pretty amazing. Keep up the inspirational work, Amanda! I have high hopes that your generation can take over the world and heal it! :hug:
LOL, that’s what I’ve been telling Amanda too, Kate! It’s impressive that she’s doing what she’s doing at the tender age of 11. Definitely shows that people are becoming more conscious at a younger age these days. You go, girl! :D
Kate and Celes – thanks! :D
“Wow, I’m impressed at your website, your participation here, your youth-and-maturity all-in-one package.” Youth and maturity? Really, that’s flattery. :p
Thanks so much again. :D
Oh, and by the way, my update for the night: nope, I didn’t manage the 20 minutes. Dragged myself into bed after eating. :rolleyes:
Smiling to myself, cleaning the dusty bits of my life’s shelf
Every day now has something new to look forward too
no more laziness or lethargic blues
going to reach out to a fit and fine life’s colourful hues….
20 mins of cycling, would take a walk later…..
Love this, ASLO!
Here’s to a fit and fine life’s colorful hues!
I’m am so on board with this…bye bye lazy, “lethargic blues”!
Hello, smiles and fitness! :D :dance:
Yup 21DFC is now bringing out the poetic side of me……
and i like your sign off, really what we all need the perfect reminder at the end of very conversation right….
So hello, even more smiles and fitness to you too….. :D
Day 5: Lots of walking x lots of sitting
This morning I walked to the library and took the longer route to increase the distance + increase the calories burned. There were lovely trees and colourful flowers to see along the way and the fresh smell of grass was very …refreshing (have to work on my poetic skills :mrgreen: )
I arrived at the library, got on a computer & with the help of walkjogrun.net (thanks Celes!) it was easy to figure out the total distance walked (~1 mile) – they even calculate the speed & calories lost!
Still at the library right now & will occupy myself in bookwormish activities for a couple hours before going back and walking the same route; I’ll try to make it longer then.
1 mile plus the walk back (which you intend to make longer), that will make more than 2 miles :) Not bad! :D
And hurray for bookworms! haha. I love reading.
Thanks Lina, I did make the walk back longer after all :)
Hey Nadia, I love your current lifestyle. Walking/Keeping fit, reading, taking part in life improvement challenges such as 21DFC, improving yourself – I’m so proud of what you’re doing with your life! :clap:
Hey Celes it’s great to hear that from you :) And it only encourages me to do more!
Today’s classes have been suspended due to the massive amounts of snow so I woke up at 6:30, did warm up exercises and then used this cardio/aerobic workout:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkzscyvXiwY
It’s a fast paced workout, which I haven’t done in a while. By the time I reached minute 7 I felt my thighs buzzing (can’t think of a more appropriate word, lol). Tomorrow I intend to do the same aerobic workout and also add a strength one.
As a downer, my mother thinks that working out at the age of 19 is useless and she keeps telling me that “When you’ll reach your 30s you’ll need to workout to stay in shape but if you exercise from now, when you’re young and you don’t really need it, you’ll have to workout even more later and you won’t have the time, life will get busier” etc. etc. But I really think there is no age to be an active person and tend for your health and physical condition.
Awesome job, Lina. :clap: LOL @ thighs buzzing – I sure know what you mean. :lol: I feel that way when I go *all out*, in a very rapid motion within a short frame of time, for my workout.
That’s kind of weird that your mom thinks that way about fitness – I’ve personally never heard of this before. It sounds more like a limiting belief than anything else. Working out will improve the fitness condition of anyone, regardless of age. I’m glad that you are not letting that affect your fitness plans. You go girl! :D
Thank you! :D
Yeah, kind of. But it’s just how my parents think, they’re both really caught up in routine and it’s not like I have the power to change them. But at least they don’t stop me from doing what I wish, the things I like. :)
Thanks for sharing the aerobics routine Lina, I hope I can give it a shot soon especially because of the encouraging review you gave it!
I think it’s great that your parents are giving you space & letting you do something even if they disagree with it. But maybe you can ease your mom’s concern with the info below:
“Those Who Exercise When Young Have Stronger Bones When They Grow Old”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100503111744.htm
“Regular Exercise While Young May Slow Middle-Age Spread”
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/647483.html
You’re welcome :D Hope you find it useful, too :)
And thank you for the links!
Lina, thanks for posting and including the cardioaerobic workout! I went right to it and really got into it. At this point, I modified it since I have knee issues that compromise my standing tall. But I am going to try different moves with different postures and make it work for me. As long as I am MOVING and increasing my physical activity, I’m on the right track! I can feel my leg muscles already kinda sore, so I know I am getting results.
Who knew that I would be doing a workout already this morning?! I am jazzed about that! I also worked with bands too!
So thank you Lina for being here, and sharing your experience and the video, and keep on buzzing those thighs, girl, you are doing great! Being fit is a good thing at ANY age! :dance:
Bette
Aw, such a nice comment! Glad I could help. :D
As long as you’re committing yourself to being more active than usually, you’re doing a great job! Keep going,Bette :hug:
Hi
Glad the weather didn’t stop you, it’s good to find ways to improvise. Well done
Ian
:-)
Thank you, Ian :D
Posting now because I quite certain I won’t be do any other exercise for the rest of the day.
I just did 40 minutes of jumping on the rebounder. An additional 10 minutes since yesterday. It’s still fun :) My legs felt a bit funny after getting off though, in a good way. Since I’m jumping or stepping to the music which is quite fast, I can usually only manage small jumps or steps to stay in time. But in the last 5 minutes I did some higher jumps which I wouldn’t normally do, as they don’t seem like as much exercise. But fun just the same. Thankfully for the 5m high ceiling, no chance of hitting my head either :)
More of the same tomorrow.
Wow, you’re really hard-working :D Kudos for the 40 minutes workout – I don’t think I could keep it up for that long, at least not now ;) Haha.
It gets easier after a while if you don’t mind the extra sweat :)
Well done :-)
I went to gym day 4, so today Im not sure what to do, so I have being doing tricep dips at work trying to build up to fifty, not sure how long that will take, then won’t getnhome till after 5 so maybe more WII if it gets too late to take the dogs for a walk, as it is always so enjoyable, I live in a very pretty peaceful place in Australia!!
Commenting for this post is closed.