NewYearathon

[KanyesVest]

Happy 2016 everyone!

If your new year's resolutions include more exercise, come and join our little band of (almost) daily exercisers. The idea is loosely based on Juneathon, and you do some form of exercise most days each week (we take rest days too). The exercise can be whatever you like, swimming, running, DVD/ gym classes, yoga, stretching, etc, but we post here to keep motivated and encourage each other.

Our previous threads are Octoberathon and Juneathon

I'm planning to get out for a short run later today, fingers crossed it stops raining at some point!

Cave kids sounds fab, kanye! DS is really into cavemen, so he would love something like that.

Braved the cold for a run just now. I won't lie, it was FREEZING and generally awful. But it's done!!

[Random aside: I got DS this caveman sticker book from the Book People. He studied the pictures with great concentration and spent ages peppering me with questions I had no idea how to answer, like why did mammoths go extinct, etc. At one point he went a bit quiet, clearly thinking, and then asked in all seriousness "Was Grandad a caveman?" Oddly enough, my FIL did not find that nearly as funny when we phoned to ask him directly as I did.]

Bloody hell it's cold today. Well done to any of you who braved the elements to exercise today!

I've just done 30DS L1D10 & 6W6P L2D5. I'm pleased I did it - I really didn't want to I struggled to persuade myself to change out of my nice warm clothes into my cold kit

(13/287)

Glad to report that motivation has returned over the past few days !
I even, for the first time ever, managed the first 20 min of KBFF this morning with weights!
I am strictly an inside exerciser so agree with Oubliette that anyone who is a runner or cycler is brave in this weather - a light dusting of snow here today!

10/290

Argh, my post disappeared!

I had an unplanned rest day yesterday, so I'll be catching up over the weekend. Thankfully it's dry again although very cold, so I might be joining everyone who has got their mojo back.

Come again, hope your baby is on the mend and dh enjoyed the cinema. Serendipity, I love that you told your fil about the caveman question! The sticker book looks cool.

I moved up a level on 30DS today - I'd forgotten how hard level 2 is bloody squat thrusts

So 30DS L2D1 & 6W6P L1D6 for me this evening.

(14/286)

I'll be having a rest day tomorrow I'm having lunch with a friend I haven't seen in 6 years (and getting a second hand piano delivered). See you all on Sunday.

Rest day for me today. I suspect tomorrow and Sunday will be indoor pursuits as it's supposed to stay cold ... realistically, I'm unlikely to brave an outdoor run. Since you all seem to have such fun with 30DS, I might give that a go on youtube. TBC whether I will thank or curse you.

Enjoy the weekend!

It's positively tropical here (4 degrees), so I got out for a half hour run. My lower back was getting achey towards the end. I'm not sure if it's because I've done a lot of an work this week, and they are finally engaging, or it it means they need loads more work Being fat and unfit was a lot less difficult to work out.

oubliette, how are you after moving up the level?

11/289

(I need to type this bit first from now on so I don't keep forgetting!)

Hi all, it seems motivation has been found by many of you. I did a long post yesterday, but then it wouldn't load up. Anyway, on Wednesday I didn't get to swimming, but I did a massive 12000 steps instead. Thursday I found some motivation myself and I did Davina again, but I also included the extra 3 minute boost on the HIIT section. Yesday I just achieved my step target and I expect it will be the same again today. I'm debating whether to go out for a walk, its lovely and sunny, but bloody freezing. I need a balaclava because my face feels as though it's going to just drop off when I'm outside.

My shoulders ache today Kanyes - but other than that I'm OK. I'm ridiculously proud of the fact that I can manage the walk out push-ups nowadays - well worth slightly sore shoulders

Helllo from snowy scottish-land!!

Not posted in a couple of days, its been dry for past couple of days so have been good walks with plenty of squats/stretches throughout day. Not started couch to 5k yet. Thinking a bit of building up leg strength would be a good idea.

Anyway, as its proper lying snow on top of an already icy/frosty road, ive not been a walk today. Will hopefully get my exercise video done though.

Hope ypu all have a good weekend 😃

OK, I am definitely cursing you Jillian Michaels aficionados! I decided that since I've been doing HIIT for a couple of weeks I'd dive right in to L2 today (not clever, I know, though I did have enough sense to do the low impact/beginner versions for most of the exercises). Suffice to say I am now emitting a loud "oof" each time I try to stand up. That woman really does not fool around. Might download the full DVD to use on indoor days.

How lovely to have snow, comeagain! I'm sure the ice is not so lovely, though.

Kanye, fwiw after years of physio for running induced lower back pain, I now go to one who tells me that soreness and aching is more likely to indicate weakness than it is to indicate injury. He says it can still be a signal to back off before you do progress to injury, but to let it prompt you to focus on strengthening. He also insists that core strength is less relevant than it's been made it out to be for running, and says that it's more about strengthening your "springs": calf/leg/hip muscles so that your core isn't overused.

I had a feeling you might be cursing us Serendipity

It's worth persevering though - I mostly enjoy her workouts. L2 of 30DS has some fairly evil moves though: I hate squat thrusts (circuit 1 cardio) and chair squats with a 'v' rise (circuit 3 strength).

One of my favourite things about her DVDs is that the people in them all look 'real'. Yes, they are very fit, but they have normal body shapes - not something unachievable.

Very very sore today, Oubliette. I'm so impressed you do 30DS every day! I'm thinking today will be a stretchy/yoga day for me. Technically I should go for a run, but I'm in hilly-ville today and just don't see it happening ...

I had to psych myself up to do my Jillian session today. I'd quite happily have skipped it except we're going out for dinner, so I'm going to be eating more calories than usual

I've just completed 30DS L2D2 & 6W6P L2D6.

(15/285 - or 5% of the way to my 2016 target )

Poor you Serendipity! It's a while since I've braved Jillian...you're reminding me why!

It was ok again weather-wise here today, so I went out for another run and managed 8km! I was delighted. Especially since I did all of it 30 sec per km faster than I usually manage, although even at my fastest I'm pretty slow! My back didn't feel it too much, so I'm not sure what I was doing differently, although I got my predictable blister at exactly 5km. I don't know what the middle toe of my left foot does when I get to that distance, but it's like clockwork. I was at a market this afternoon with my brothers and treated myself to a box of utterly magnificant truffles as a reward

Velma, how the hell are you managing 12000 steps?? Even with running today I'm not even at that. I thought I walked a lot, but it seems I'm much more sedantary than I thought hoped.

Hope you had a nice dinner Oubliette and that you're having lot of fun in the snow Comeagain.

12/188

Just found this thread. Been keeping a note at home anyway. Mainly hillwalking, but also swimming and running. Hadn't been trying for something every day, but will after joining this thread.

So far 12/17 days:
1 swim - 350 metres but will do more when more time!
2 runs - 2-3k each approx.
9 hillwalks - 2-8k each

Please would someone explain the numbers bit (such as OP's 12/188) I can't work it out.

Serendipity - that's really interesting about strengthening the 'springs'. I love running but am not very good at it. I notice it gives me definition around the lower stomach before it changes my legs at all, except that they get really tight and achey. Apart from proper stretching after a run, what exercises help strengthen the springs (love that term :) )

Welcome to our merry band, DancingDuck. Sounds like you've been doing really well so far.

My 12/188 is a typo, it should be 12/288 . Oubliette suggested upthread that she was going to try to do something on 300 days this year, so I (and I think some others) stole her idea and the 12/288 represents days done and days left.

Thank you Kanye Got it. Think I'll just do it out of 366 to see how many days this year I exercise, if that makes sense.

Oubliette those walk out push ups are killers. I can do the walk out or the push up but not both in one go. Respect!

Good afternoon everyone.

After a bad week last week (dd's tonsillitis) I'm back. Managed 4 hours of yoga last week which is better than nothing at all.

Today I have done Zumba and yoga. Chickened out of a third class as I hadn't yet eaten today and had already done an hours walk. I had another 30 min walk home (the car is having its brakes fixed today and new tyres). So that's 3:30 hours of exercise today not to mention the 1:30 walk back to the garage to collect it after lunch. If I walk really really fast, I'm hoping to do it in just over an hour.

Welcome, dancing! To strengthen the springs, my physio recommends calf raises (working up to single legged ones with weights), squats (very deep double legged squats, again working up to doing them with weights), one legged squats, lunges, and all manner of plyometric exercises. I tend to work squats, lunges, box jumps and burpees into my HIIT workouts and fit in the odd set of calf raises and single legged squats randomly. I should do more, but I do find even the small amount that I do helpful. Previously I focused almost exclusively on core strength, thinking that running itself was all I needed to do to strengthen my legs, but as he says the world's strongest core will never be able to overcome a weak lower body, so it's best to pay more attention to it.

Purple, glad your DD is better. Impressive that you managed to fit in yoga last week, and amazing that you've managed basically half a day of exercise just now!

Kanye, well done on the 8k, especially Speedy Gonzales style!

Yesterday ended up a bit of a wash out for me in terms of exercise. DH and I had a slow, 20 minute meander while waiting for DS to finish his swimming lesson, and I did a few stretches, but that's it. Back to it today. In anticipation of another Jillian torture session workout tonight, I popped out to Sports Direct at lunch to buy some wee little 1k weights, as I struggled to maintain form with 2k weights on Saturday .