Keep on exercisathon

[MotherForkinShirtBalls]

Another thread to keep going!

that's amazing @Happleandhorange

It's amazing how much improvement you can feel in just a couple of weeks. Obviously that's not a lot of time for physical changes in the body, but your muscle recruitment and coordination (and not to forget morale) can improve a lot in a short time, and you feel much stronger and have better endurance. So great to see someone turning a corner and feeling enthusiastic about training!

I had to do the 6.30am crossfits today. My back hasn't been great this week, so I told coach I had a letter from my mum about not doing burpees. Today was all about the muscle-up on a bar. Basically a pullup then get over the bar and press out until the bar is on your hips and your arms are straight down. Yeah nah that one is a fair bit away for normal people, me included, so we did some great progressions and exercises towards it. Coach said that the pieces were all looking good so that felt really good.

We had one big strong guy get his first bar muscle up, after 2 years of training, and the crowd went wild. Then later on we had two more firsts (another big lad and a thin woman), and one other woman was this >< close to getting it but not quite. That was so inspirational to see people with quite different body shapes getting such a big exercise, you don't necessarily need to have the perfect ideal physique or attributes (although that for sure helps).

I had a little vision of me doing the same thing one day. I don't know how long it will take, but it will happen!

That's very cool. It's good to have goals.

Yes I really needed something good to happen. It takes me around 48 hours to recover fully from a hypoglycaemia episode, and I was feeling pretty discouraged about it all. Tomorrow I am going to try the last gym on my list, the other CBD one. Just need to check their class schedule so I know what I can drop in on! They have two hours' parking so that's a bonus.

Sadly there are no BodyCombat classes near me any more. The nearest ones are a ferry ride away (haven't visited them yet actually). In the last couple of years I've been a visitor at BC classes in Edinburgh and two different towns in central Scotland (400 miles away from home!). I love a bit of tourist fitness.

46 x 25m swim
158.

S&c today. A lot of shoulder work which really highlighted the problem with what should be my less bad one. Have finally messaged my physio and hopefully nip it in the bud before it starts to freeze.

Oh, shoulder problems are awful @MotherForkinShirtBalls . I'm glad you're getting it sorted.

I went to the last of the gym branches on my list today. I was quite relaxed about it as having visited three others I reckoned I knew what to expect. Goodness, was I wrong.
It's the biggest gym in NZ and you can tell that as you wander around. It's enormous, cavernous is probably the best term. It's also a very different style - some of the others are quite lush and luxurious, potplants and mirrors everywhere. This is more like a huge factory, it's quite austere. Plus they had closed the women's gym section for work on the roof, so goodness knows how big it is when that is open too. There was a dedicated boxing gym which looks amazing (can't wait for hand to be ready for that, they do special classes). It was a bit like starting at secondary school, I felt totally lost and overwhelmed. Had planned to do a class but couldn't find the board saying what's on, and I found I couldnt settle properly into anything. So I ended up doing a series of five-eight minutes on a few different cardio machines, my physio exercises and some very gentle experiments with dumb-bells (I am trying to find different ways to improve upper body strength as some of the pin machines don't work well with shoulder). It wasnt a big workout but it was better than running away which is what I wanted to do!
When I drove home I realised that this gym is probably closer than my 'home' one and certainly much less,bothersome in terms of traffic at that time of day. There's also a dedicated disabled parking space with no time limit. So I'm glad I persevered. It was interesting after yesterday feeling so good to be feeling out of my depth again.
21

@BezMills , do you know anything about Conquer and Grit? This gym does these (as well as a billion other classes). I wondered if I would be able to manage Conquer in a couple of months (walking on treadmill instead of running, etc)

Forgot to post on Wednesday. 30 min on the elliptical.

10K on the bike today.

Gorgeous 20 mins in the sea at lunchtime, in between horribly wintery weather.

@Happleandhorange I know about Grit. They are quite intense 30 minute classes. I feel like they're for people that really want to work and push themselves hard.

There are three kinds with different emphasis, like Cardio or Strength. You might find that it's not massively different to Combat in terms of how it physically but I personally find Combat much more engaging and fun. I always say give things a go once, you never know.

This week I did my Crossfits. Every day is different and I looked ahead and picked the monkey madness of pull ups, muscle ups and today was rope climbing. I got on great with the rope climbing : topped it first time, which pleased me greatly!
The workout was the ridiculous (skipping) to the sublime (rope climbs) via WTF (deadlifting with a couple of strong uns).

3.35 mile walk - at least I did something😳
159.

Yay for walks. 3 miles is loads.

30DS here. I’m reluctantly getting back into exercise after the summer and reckon the Shred is probably the best way to get fitter fast.

@ProfessorRadcliffeEmerson if it's something you've done before and confident in, that's half the battle! Good luck.

S&c this morning.

I've done 30 DS a couple of times frustrated. It's always a good one to have in the back pocket.

I hadn't heard of 30DS. It looks good.

Today is six weeks since I started regular gym attendance, and I decided to write a list of all the barriers I had encountered and what was working to overcome them. I'll post it here in case anything on the list resonates with anyone else.

Barriers I have found.

General

1. Hunger: feeling guilty about eating more. Solution - eat when hungry as not specifically dieting, but try to make healthy choices / not have junk food in house. Lost 3 kilos in six weeks since starting gym so something must be working.

2. Can't do home workouts when others home. Solution - go with this ,wait for privacy.

3. Dog feeding times: cannot be changed, dog cant be left for too long. Solution - plan ahead.

4. Dog walks, ideally short 20 m twice a day. Solution - don't stress if it doesn't happen, prioritise gym, he seems fine with one longer one or even missing a couple of days occasionally. Aim for consistency longterm rather than daily perfection.

Health issues

5. Narcolepsy, needing to sleep in, paralysis stopping gym attendance. Solution - go with it, don't plan gym visits early in the day. Sleep will make the rest possible. Hopefully will improve as weather warms.
6. Betablockers making exercise harder. Solution - take them early morning and avoid gym for a few hours. In six weeks, try to lower dose or go to one larger dose at night.
7. Injuries - work around them, do stretches and physio rigorously, accept that lower intensity is sensible and stop whenever it hurts. Notice the improvements and trust they will continue.
8. PTSD heartrate/panic issues - increase heartrate at start of cardio gradually. Make sure you feel in control, e.g. setting your own pace in classes. If you have a panic attack, don't try to plough through it - be gentle on yourself, this is a marathon not a sprint. Go and do some stretches and regroup. When you go back to same class/machine, do it at a low intensity for longer than you think you need.
9. Diabetes - eat before gym, make sure to have good quality snacks in bumbag and gym bag at all times.
10. Asthma - always carry inhaler. Use before cardio and cold night walks. Don't wait until it hurts. 11.,Migraines - eat regularly to avoid hypoglycaemia. Be aware of higher potential for migraines on recovery / rest days. Experiment with some limited cardio (getting heartrate up) on those days and see if it fixes problem. Always carry migraine abortives.
11. Discouragement due to health issues /sense of impossible mountain to climb. Remind self that general and mental health has improved significantly through gym. Set small SMART goals, ideally not to do with specific fitness, weekly, to keep motivation up. E.g. find dumbbells at new gym, sort locker padlock. Remind self that when bedbound you were desperate to be well enough to exercise and this is the next stage in recovery.
12. Frustration at loss of time for other activities - schedule them in like gym, so they happen. But also remember this is therapy, and better health will create energy and opportunities longterm.
13. Embarrassment at speaking to teachers / staff re disability, needing extra support. Solution - remember this is their job and it offers them the chance to develop their skills, go extra mile.
14. Dehydration/forgetting water bottle: keep spare in car.

Practical
16. Traffic issues: go to trafficky gym in the evening (except for when wanting to attend a specific class).
Friends wanting lifts at inconvenient times: be very clear as to when you are and are not available.
17. Distraction from phone calls, messages etc in gym - do not answer except for emergencies.
18. Parking issues - sort with (upcoming), do not go to branches where this will be a stress.
19. Friends being discouraging/dismissive - ask them not to do that, limit discussions if needed

Rest of life!
20. Gym time clashing with social activities/fun - choose the fun, otherwise you will come to resent gym.
21. Gym cutting into creative time: give yourself a limited amount of time to work on art as a challenge, do photography as quick alternative etc BUT be aware that this may need to change.
22. Mental fatigue/discouragement/lack of motivation. Solution - use caffeine! to get into gym when not excited about it. Remind self that it is not always exciting to walk into office or school but that this will work longterm. If bored, do something different so mentally stimulating. Play around with the different workout options on bike etc. Change podcasts/music choices regularly. Remind self that not everything you listen to needs to be serious and educational! Plan crap tv shows as a reward after effort at gym.

23. Different branches with different layouts etc, confusion with brain fatigue etc. Use this as mental motivation: challenge yourself to learn where all the different bits are longterm - is good for recuperating brain injury. When in doubt, do cardio/a class/free weights as easy to find. Remember this is intro/adjustment time.

24. Home workouts not motivating: try to do something at home once a week for next six weeks, so you get used to it. Don't set your targets too high on those days, follow up with a dogwalk/ scooter or bike ride etc instead. Remind self it doesn't have to be your favourite way of exercise, but useful to be accustomed to it longterm.

25. Finding it impossible to plan attendance at specific classes and stick to a timetable - solution, don't sweat it for now. Pick one class (Thursday Pilates) and do that consistently, drop in and out of Bodycombat whilst ankle recovers, treat the others as fun warmups and distraction for now.
    Embarrassment at being hopeless in class: remember everyone else is focusing on their own workouts not you.

26. Gym reminding self of wanting to ski/dive/tennis/squash again, and getting depressed. Solution - think of gym as the gateway to those activities, not an end in itself.

Strength training 30 minutes. Start of a 3 week programme to get ready for my holiday. 1/15

Oh good. I am glad I haven't broken the thread with my monster post.

Bodycombat tonight (30 min before they started doing pressups) plus a little bit of bike.

I thought your post was really interesting @Happleandhorange and I did identify with some of your struggles! Honestly I have it easy relatively but it is always hard to carve out the time to train, and to be consistent over the medium and long term.

I think group fitness has been a game changer for me. I am at almost 4 solid years of training with all of the usual ups and downs of life going on alongside. I've never had a run of consistent training like this in my life, and I'm very grateful to my instructors and fellow class participants for being there with me.

I think the biggest thing I've changed in my mindset is I don't really do things that are no fun any more. I always say try things out and find something fun if you can.

I really respect those of you training lone wolf style, it's inspiring. I know how difficult it can be to keep showing up for yourself - there are so many distractions at home!

Yes! The sofa, the pile of laundry, the gardening, the admin work waiting to be done....

10 minute meditation
strength class 2/15

P.s. I’m a lone wolf, I’d love to be in a gym class but working full time with a commute means I just can’t get there enough. I found it easier to avoid a gym class but classes at home are harder to find excuses for

I use the Peloton app and I love it. Also it’s a lot cheaper than David Loyds where I used to go!

If there is one lesson I am taking from this thread, it is find the movement route that suits you, and it has to be the one that fits your circumstances as well as your ideal-world preferences.