Night Owl vs Early Bird

Today I am really really really tired. I am not motivated to work out, and all that is appealing right now is SLEEP! On Saturday night I got 8 hrs sleep, Sunday night I got 4-5 hours sleep, Monday Night I got 6 hours sleep.

This routine is not helpful to getting up earlier or to wanting to workout after work. Work itself is a struggle. AND because I am tired I’m having all these weird food cravings that I am only aware of because normally I am happy with the new healthy diet and portions. Earlier toady I was really craving something salty (cup a soup, Stew, meat pie, macadamia nuts, anything!!), even though I had enjoyed my lunch, and had 2 serves of fruit and a peppermint tea as snacks.

After I finally got home from work (at 6:20pm) the last thing I wanted to do was a workout. My boyfriend and I agreed he would cook dinner and while he did this I would do a workout with the Xbox Kinect. So I did! I played the Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout Challenge game, and did a toning program for an hour.

383 calories burned, and (thankfully) mindset block overridden!! Now I can rest and go to bed early knowing its all done. What a relief!

My Night Owl personality is really not working with my new life goals. Somehow I need to become an Early Bird… I just really like sleeping in, and for some reason also really like being the last to go to sleep. I tried setting my alarm earlier but had no success as I just ended up snoozing the alarm.

I really need to make this change for my program to be successful. If you have any tips & tricks for how to improve this please share!

x Keya 

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Day 1 of Week 1 successfully completed!

Day 1 Week 1, 12WBT = Completed!

Pre-Season Task 7: Fitness Test = Completed!

Wow! Tonight I did my fitness test for the 12WBT. I was expecting this to be really tough. I have been fit before but not in a loooong time. When I turned 30 this year, I realised that when I had put on 11 kg in 5 months without any major change in my life that my metabolism was slowing down and that my age was catching up with me. There was no longer time to say “I’ll get fit soon”… The time is now!

The 5 part test & my results tonight are below:

• 1km run (or jog or walk) timed

Beginner: 8mins or slower
Intermediate: 5:30 – 8 minutes
Advanced: Faster than 5:30 minutes

Overall my time was 7 minutes flat = Intermediate level!

I ran the first lap in 3 mins – OMG!!! That was one of my goals for the 2nd month! I expected to only be able to run ½ a lap without stopping! – then I power-walked ½ a lap, ran ¼, power-walked ¼, then ran the last ½ lap hard out.

I expected to be around 9 mins, and to only be able to run/jog half a lap so I was stoked with this result!

• Push ups, how many you can do in 1 min

Beginner: 20 or less
Intermediate: 21-30
Advanced: 31 or more

I got 20 done on my knees so am a beginner here

2 years ago I could do 5 on toes & 25 on knees. I was doing a lot more exercise though and was boxing 1-2 times a week also, which really helped me build my upper body strength

• Abdominal strength: 5 stages of sit ups where your score is the highest stage you reach while your heels stay on the floor:

Stage 1: Wrists to kneecaps
Stage 2: Arms folded across your chest. Full sit up, Elbows to thighs
Stage 3: Hands linked behind head. Full sit up. Note your elbows must stay wide, don’t let then swing close to your head.
Stage 4: Arms crossed behind your head. Hands on opposite shoulders. Full sit up.
Stage 5: Arms fully extended crossed behind head. Full Sit up.

Beginner: Level 1 or below
Intermediate: Level 2 – 3
Advanced: Level 4 – 5

I was able to do up to level 3, making this Intermediate level

I definitely expected to be a beginner here! Also, I was very surprised how much harder Stage 4 felt in comparison to Stage 3!

• Wall Sit: best time for how long you can rest back against wall and lower till knees are bent at 90 degree angle, so you are sitting against the wall

Beginner: 59 sec or less
Intermediate: 1 min – 1:59 min
Advanced: 2 min or longer

I got only 54 secs, so am a Beginner here

I was really sore still from my first tennis game (90 mins on Sat which was a GREAT workout!). I had expected at least 1:20. Still this leaves plenty of room for improvement!

• Sit and Reach test: where you sit with legs straight out in front & measure how far past your toes you reach in cm, using your best result of 3 attempts

Beginner: -5cm or lower

Intermediate: -4cm – +5cm

Advanced: +6cm or higher

I got two +8cm and one +9cm = Advanced level!

In high school I was able to do +15cm so that’s my next benchmark.

So in the end I had the below category results:

1. Intermediate jog

2. Beginner push ups

3. Intermediate abs

4. Beginner wall sit

5. Advanced sit & reach

That’s an Intermediate level average!!

I was pumped afterwards! So pleased! It can only get better from here! Not only was I surprised with my fitness, I was really loving the feeling of having completed the task, AND having never wavered in my commitment to complete it.

Want to know the best part? I burned 421 calories (1762kj) in that time!

My boyfriend is helping me get started, by running with me at least once a week, and doing more active things on weekends. He has watched some of the videos with me and is really supporting me in the challenge – which helps a lot!

He & I have decided to do the 1km time trial weekly on Monday evenings & measure the results. The fitness test task is repeated in week 4, week 8 and week 12, but this way we can regularly set goals and see successes, e.g by 1 km times improving; calories burned getting higher, being able to run more of the 1km, and eventually run more than 1km, etc.

This is especially important now as in Week 3 I have signed up to participate in the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival, 3.5km fun run. This is on Sunday, 16th September which is only 3 weeks away now! This will be my first mini-milestone in the program – although I will be doing it in week 3 not week 4. I am quite worried about how the 3.5km will go, but my plan is to jog and power-walk in intervals. I’m mostly excited about the fact that the course takes you over the Sydney Harbour Bridge! Maybe next year I’ll sign on for the Half Marathon. For more info on the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival see http://www.sydneyrunningfestival.com.au

Last words:

So all in all, day 1 of week 1 has been a real success for me! I managed to stick to my planned exercise, burn lots of calories, get great results in my fitness test AND I also was able to resist going to the pub after work when my work training finished 50 mins early! That last one is a mean feat!!

I will finish up with a quote that I love and feel is relevant to help me in this journey:

“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.”

xx Keya

Measure up

Task 8 in the 12WBT is “Measure Up!”

This is the last Pre-Season task and I completed it tonight with some assistance from my partner. We also took a “Before” photo but I don’t plan on showing that unless I am happy with my “After” results!

I felt really disappointed in my weight. 4 months ago I was 11kg lighter. That weight I sustained for at least 3 years without needing to try too hard to maintain it. Sure I wanted to be lighter but I never really took the steps required to commit to change. Now I am 30 and it seems my metabolism is now changing. What I used to do is no longer enough, which is ok as I wasn’t doing enough anyway. Now it’s time to make a sustainable change and improve my health and well being. 30 be damned! You’re not going to get me down!!

MY MEASUREMENTS:

• Height: 160 cm
• Weight: 87 kg
• Chest (at nipple line): 108 cm
• Chest (under breasts): 91 cm
• Waist (at belly button): 108 cm
• Hips: 114 cm
• Thighs (at largest point): 70 cm
• Arms (3 fingers from elbow crease): 32 cm
• Arms (bicep, flexed): 35.5 cm
• Neck: 36.5 cm

Feel the fear and do it anyway

I am doing the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation and today is the last day of the Pre-Season. I registered for the program in late June 2012, completed most of the Warm Up Activities, and am finalising the last of the Pre-Season Tasks. I have 2 tasks not complete: Task 6: Organise & Diarise, and Task 7 Fitness Test.

And forgive my language, but I am shitting my pants…. I am scared out of my mind. I’m not even sure what I am afraid of… Needing to plan each day including specific foods, when to shop, when to cook (and when to defrost pre-cooked meals) and what time each day I will fit in my hour of exercise 6 days a week. Arghh!! I am freaking out at the idea of so much planning! I thought I like to be organised and to be prepared, but I am finding the ‘Organise and Diarise” task really daunting. The idea of planning to exercise at a specific time is really foreign to me.

In Task 4: Say It Out Loud, I broadcast the below message to my Facebook friends, followers on Twitter, and members in the 12WBT Forums:

“I commit to working hard to change my habits with food and exercise. I commit to working hard to have integrity with myself and my body. I commit to making healthy eating, measured portion sizes and physical activity into my life – like showering, brushing teeth, shopping and reading! I commit to the 12WBT!”

Now that I am starting and needing to do the harder task of setting out the next 1-3 months and the worst part… knowing I will only be letting myself down if I do not do what I set. That’s the fear – that I will knowingly let myself fail…again.

Tomorrow is Day 1 of the 12 week challenge. I have a plan for tomorrow at least, but beyond that I am still quite lost. I aim to have at least 1 month exercise and diet planned by the end of this week. This way I can print out what I need, look at the exercises, join the gym and really get into it. In the interim I can play tennis, job at the park, dance and work out with my Xbox Kinect and eat healthy – and moderately sized – meals.

I want to feel the fear and do it anyway, because that’s the way I will begin to reach my goals and be successful!

Yesterday I played 90 mins of Tennis and 30 mins of basketball. Unfortunately I haven’t mastered my heart rate monitor yet so I was unable to track everything. I did notice my heart rate at it’s highest was 160 beats per minute during tennis and 135 bpm during basketball.

I also spent my Saturday night playing Xbox Kinect with the family dancing and doing adventure challenges for fun and fitness. In 1 track I burned 69 cal. My heart rate was180 bpm while dancing this track. I wish I had worked the calories function out earlier in the day! I woke up this morning unable to use my hip flexors to lift my legs! My entire lower body was aching which shows that 1. I should’ve stretched properly and 2. I worked really hard! I haven’t felt that sore in a long time, even when I was working out 5 days a week 2 years ago! I hope it can only get better.

Tomorrow is a new day…

I am determined to start Week 1 in a positive mindset. Sure I may not have all my goals set, and sure I have lots of change to adjust to, but that’s life right? Work is full of change at the moment – why should my home-life be any different? I need to do what needs to be done for me, for my health, for my happiness and for my future. I’m going to feel the fear, and do it anyway!

 

The scariest moment is always just before you start.

Stephen King

Taking Control and Setting Goals

Task 2 in the 12 Week Body Transformation is “Take Control: Set Your Goals!”

MY GOALS:

After 1 month:

• Identify & purchase fitness methods/ tools 
• Exercise at least 7 hours per week 
• Run 10 laps a week by the end of the month 
  • Be able to complete 1 lap while running at least 1/2 the oval  
  • Start going to the oval 3 times a week
  • Attempt to run laps in quarters of the oval, gradually increase to halves
  • Run 3 laps each visit
  • Play tennis Saturdays

After 3 months:

• Lose 5kg
• Exercise 6 days a week or at least 7 hours per week
  • Run 15 laps, 3 times a week 
  • Run 2km without stopping 
  • Participate in 3.5km Fun Run – Sydney Running Festival Sunday 16/9/2012
  • Stick to meal plan and actively reduce and monitor portion sizes
  • Play tennis and go swimming Saturdays and Sundays

After 6 months:

• Lose 10 kg
• Run 5km without stopping
• Exercise 6 days a week or 10 hours a week
  • Run 15 laps, 3 times a week 
  • Run 4km without stopping 
  • Stick to meal plan and actively monitor portion sizes
  • Play tennis and go swimming Saturdays and Sundays

After 12 months:

• Lose 20kg
• Run a half marathon (City To Surf?)
• Quit smoking
  • Continue with 12 WBT
  • Continue with active lifestyle
  • Follow half marathon training and nutrition plan
• Exercise 6 days a week or 10 hours a week

With luck and love I will get there!