The Diary of a Pole Addict: Health & Fitness Blog, Vegetarian Recipes & Pole Dance!

Don't Quit, Keep Fit: 100 Facebook Likes and Other Stories!

31/8/2014

Hi all!!

I thought I'd stop by just to thank everyone who has popped over to see me at Diary of a Pole Addict on Facebook!

I've just passed 100 likes and I'm super excited! I would get up and dance, but today was legs day. Nuff said right... ;)

Remember, you can always come and say hi on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Instagram. I love it when people stop by - do it. And bring a funny picture. Or an interesting fact. You know what I'll even put you in my hall of fame ;)

100 likes on Facebook Diary of a Pole Addict

Now I'm constantly being reminded that I have followers by Twitter via email. This is very handy, although a little on the over-done side, I mean, if I didn't have followers would they send me emails reminding me that I didn't have followers? Because that's sort of harsh.

Anyway - hi everyone who follows me on Twitter, you're not forgotten!

Today I had a sort of grumpy day. You know the sort. When you had a rest day and then ate too much. You *think* you don't want to work out - but that's a lie. So, I put on my arse-kicking vest top and got myself to the gym.

Don't quit, keep fit!

Whilst we're (sort of) on topic - I also want to share the exciting news that I've lost another 1.4Ibs this week! I'm still not past the pre-bulk weight but I'd like to think some of that remaining weight is ACTUALLY muscle.... (just nod and agree, it'll make me feel super-hero :p)

So. Having spewed all of my good news on you, I'm now going to eat pizza. Mmmmm. Laters all!!

Happy Sunday evening!!

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Friday Feature: Forever Fitness - Will You Be The Oldest Woman on the Trail?

29/8/2014

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Welcome to Friday readers!

I hope you've had a good week. I'm sort of at the point of not welcoming this Friday....it's our last Friday before we have to return to school. Yes, I know, I can hear you all in your homes playing the world's smallest violin for the girl who's just had 6 weeks off of work, but I don't like change. Especially when it means I have to get up early ;)

Anyway, aside from that Friday has been a lovely REST day.

Yesterday whilst practicing pole I got some lovely photos - which of course I very much wanted to share with you all ;)

Butterfly

Swan

A (wonky) inverted Crucifix!

Tom and I decided to go over some of the moves we'd learnt early on in our classes. Apparently I cannot remember exactly how to get into Butterfly or actually line my arms up straight, but hey. As I was trying to stop myself going into the arms backward position you see in the thigh-hold, gold-rush etc an instructor who works at the studio walks in. Embarrassing! She asked whether I am holding my breath when I'm upside down because I'm always out of breath - I didn't have the heart to tell her that I'm overweight and asthmatic ;)

Anyway, on to the Friday Feature for this week. Facebook often gets me thinking, and today was no different....

I saw this video on my Facebook timeline this morning:

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It's Your Wednesday Pole Blog: The Spin With No Name Makes A Come Back!

27/8/2014

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It's been seven weeks.

Not that I've been counting.....

but it's been seven weeks.

That's 49 days (You'd be worried at how long that calculation took me. It's been a long week.... :P).

49 days of waiting, practicing and improving on my strings of profanities. They were getting quite colourful.

49 days of "ooooh, so close" and "go on, just put it through there!"

49 days of "come on, you can do it".

49 days of wondering what the hell I was doing wrong - the technique looked fine.....right?

And 49 (actually 48) days of doing THIS....

Last night the wait was over.

It took me 49 days, but I did it.

Let me present to you.....The Spin with No Name aka Robyn's Spin (or more accurately the "post-it" spin).

I did it.

Finally.

I DID IT!

I did it quite by accident, but I did it. You know what was holding me back?

Apparently the arm that starts on the pole should start bent. I discovered that by not paying enough attention to what I was doing and all of a sudden, it was done!

Last night was pole night. Silly me, you guys already know that. My favourite day of the week!

It also happened to be my sister Tasha's 21st birthday and after a couple of hours playing paintball, I dragged her to a pole session (she's been holding out on me). I wondered how the session would go given we were all completely knackered but off we trooped, with my other sister Sarah, Amber and a friend to the lesson.

Tom and I set-up on our usual pole and got to work, I spent some time watching the four of the others on the poles - they ALL appeared to be having a great time (three of them would love to try it again and Tash (ofc) is holding out on admitting she enjoyed it....!) and spent the hour doing basic spins, chair spins and Kylie poses, which illicited many giggles from the four of them.

Meanwhile, Tom and I were working our butts off on a few moves that have been eluding us. My first conquest was, of course, the spin with no name.

Tom followed that by finally getting the final part of his flat-lying scorpio (actually dropping into Scorpio position).

I then decided it was time to work on last week's armpit hold assignments. Yogini and mid-air teddy had been eluding me last week, through lack of time and surplus sweat, so it was time to get to work on them.....this is what happened....

Karen had to hand me my foot for that picture - which I'm glad she did because when I tried it without her I looked VERY special. And not special in a good way.

The thing about this picture is it doesn't look that much better even with the greyscale filter on (which usually adds class right....)

I think it must be the agonised look on my face. But really. I have a BRUISE today. Don't get me wrong, I'm usually bruised, that goes without saying, but this one is purple, blue, black and pink. It's like a gorgeous sunset palette of pain.... ;)

I suppose this could have also contributed to the bruising...

I love this photo. I think it clearly shows exactly what I was thinking....

"YES I DID IT" vs "OH MY GOODNESS THIS HURTS" (or likewise language that I won't repeat here).

Tom took one look at that picture after he'd taken it and burst into laughter. I'm ok with that.... :p

So after Yogini and Mid-Air teddies, we then tried "embrace" (which I didn't have the heart to get a picture of). Nailed :)

I'll work on not looking quite as agonised in the pictures (and of course flexing my back more for that photo).

Karen also introduced a gorgeous looking invert - Dagger

See, greyscale adds class....although the pig tails do NOT

Which goes into a great little move called a "bomb"

Love that photo and I loved how easy bomb was to get into - especially after the hip-hold (aka pike) took so long for me!

So after a very successful session I spent the remaining time working on my suicide back hook spin. Great looking spin but it HURTS! After a day of paintballing and legs day yesterday it has been an interesting day today. Espcially given that my last attempt at the suicide back hook I misjudged the distance and force required to the pole from the spin and hit the back of my thigh so hard it went dead.

It remained dead for the next 6 hours. Admittedly the alcohol consumed for Tasha's party time went a long way to helping me not feel it.

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The One With The Yoga: If At First You Don't Succeed...

25/8/2014

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This is the sight I was confronted with as I left the gym today.

It seemed impossible....

Can you guess what day today was at the gym? ;) Yep, you got it - it was legs day. Now being a bank holiday the gym was amazingly quiet, so quiet I got to spread out - now who doesn't love spreading themselves over the gym a bit? I had a barbell, a squat rack and a bench.....get me ;)

I conquered the stairs (AND the last three steps of the stairs at the apartment....the steps of DEATH) and have been sat down since I got home. I have to confess, I've not actually made it to the shower yet.....don't judge me with that judgey face on, you must have done it at some point....right? :p

I mean, I don't smell. Well. Not yet. Maybe if I left it another day to shower.... ;)

Anyway, as you all doubtlessly know, I've been endeavoring to do 20 minutes of yoga every day. So far I've managed 17 days - whoo!

I've been practising yoga on and off for around 10 years now, it's amazing how quickly that time passes and another example of if I'd started on that day 10 years ago....anyway, no time for regrets. I've been working specifically on back, hip and arm flexibility and strength.

I've found that yoga practice is a beautiful thing - no matter how bad, irritable, tired or cross I feel when I start my 20 minutes, I never get up feeling the same way. It's such a complementary art!

I've made progress from where I've started and I'm looking forward to the gains in flexibility and strength I'll be making over the next few months!

Anyway, I thought it was time to share some photos with you to show you how I'm getting along here xD

I've been trying for a little while to get into a crab pose, but it's been a struggle to be honest. Either I didn't have the strength/flexibility or I couldn't work out how to actually move myself into the pose, but whilst trying to explain what I was wanting to achieve to Tom at the gym the other day, I just popped into the pose! Magic!!

Now, this is what I've got....

If we compare it to a "proper" crab pose, there are still loads of improvements to be made, like straightening the arms for example - at the moment I think I'm closer to reverse table pose, but I'm pleased. I'll be keeping an eye on that to show you as it progresses - that photo was taken on my second attempt and two days later I'm already finding that straightening the arms is becoming easier :D

I've also been working on "crane" pose.

I got really excited today, because I managed to stay in the pose for the longest I've managed so far. Upon calling Simon over, excitedly telling him to "watch this, watch this" I managed to get into the pose, hold it for about 2 seconds and then land flat on my face.

Ouch.

I scraped my nose on the carpet *whimper* Apparently it looked funny enough to laugh at me though, hmppph!

This is a photo I managed to capture a couple of days ago before I hit the floor ;)

Courtesy of emilyyoga.com

Anyway, I have to move those knees up a bit. I've heard that crow pose (straightening the arms from the crane pose) is a little easier on the body, so I'll give that a go once my nose (and my pride) has recovered sufficiently! (If anyone has any experience with crow VS crane I'd love to know whether it is easier :) ).

I have also been working on the splits - the photos below were taken about a month apart, the one on the left was taken on 9th July and the photo on the right was taken today.

I've not made quite as much progress as I'd have hoped in a month, but I'm definitely closer to the floor, so I'll take that as a victory.

That front leg is also laying flatter on the floor - I have my ankle and calf resting on the floor in the latter photo, whereas the former is barely with my heel on the floor.

Hopefully in another 30 days we'll see more progress towards the floor!!

So, I'm pretty pleased - I know they look like a series of photos that need work, but that's always the nature of these things xD To keep going I've been looking for different sequences and things to try; looking round the web I've found some great little 20 minute sequences that are easy for anyone to pick up.

For example, if you're looking for a gentle stretching routine have a go at this - stretching is so important for athletes to maintain flexibility and range of motion, so it's really something you should have a go at. You might also find the "inner peace" I've been on about xD

Or if you're looking for something a little more active and advanced, have a pop at this!

My favourite pose of those has to be downward dog. Or cat pose. Oh, or maybe cow pose. Which is ironic given how I feel about cows.

Do you have any favourite yoga sequences (or poses?)? Or do you know of any good 20 minute sequence generators? I'd love to keep adding variety to my daily practice!

Well, with all of that said I really do think it's time for a shower....and just fyi, I still don't smell. Honest....

More stuff to keep you entertained :)

If you liked this, check out my most popular blog posts here: 10 most popular blog posts

Or, if you're looking for something slightly different, there's a range of fitness funny memes, fitspo and cool crafts - check them out here: most popular links

Also: Don't forget to sign up for the newest blog posts straight to your email inbox!

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Friday Feature: Ten Reasons I Think You Should Try Pole Dancing

22/8/2014

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I initially talked about this in a guest blog for another blogger. I thought long and hard about what I'd write about for her and likewise, this week I wondered what my "Friday Feature" would be. As with the guest blog, I decided to write to my strengths...

You see, I have a passion. Most of my regular readers know it's something that I deeply enjoy and it's something I love with every (bruised) muscle in my body. It's something I can't get enough of and it's something that is largely underrepresented but growing exponentially.

It's pole dancing.

6 months ago I went to a lesson - since then I have been irrevocably hooked - but what is it about pole that has caught my attention, when other things are in my routine simply from habit or for more "logical" reasons?

I talk a lot about pole. I'm sure you'll have noticed, but it gets a lot more airtime than anything else I do.I mean, I swim, I lift, I run - but my main passion, the thing most of my fitness posts revolve around is pole.

Why?

I realised today that for a long time I've not been explicit with the reasons I pole dance. I mean, I KNOW you guys know I love it but I've never been able to explain why - or why you should give it a go yourself!!

So, here goes.

My Top Ten Reasons To Give Pole A Go...

One: You get STRONG.

Ok, bear with me here. The picture on the right there is 6 months of progress from pole. The muscles are coming through, they're defined and they're getting bigger.

You're not going to turn into the hulk - your body isn't made that way (for most women anyway) but you will see that your body shape changes, even if the scale isn't moving (or in my case, it went UP for a while!) your clothes fit better and you will start seeing muscle definition.

And my guns are TINY compared to my instructor's....

Two: Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. That means it needs energy to maintain it.

Fat is NOT metabolically active - in fact it's a STORE of energy.

Where muscle requires energy to keep it going, it means your BMR (your basal metabolic rate) will increase just from having that tissue in your body. Automatically you need more calories to maintain your mass.

If you have trouble losing weight (or more specifically fat) this could be your kind of work out. I currently lose weight (actually in the form of fat, NOT by metabolising healthy muscle) eating 1900-2400 calories daily....does that sound like a horrid low-calorie diet to you?

Additionally, by increasing the amount of resistance training you do whilst you're losing weight you'll also retain more of your "lean" body mass (muscle) which means when you get to goal you won't be "skinny-fat", rather, you'll be slim and well shaped. Often when people cut calories out of their diet (especially when they cut too many calories out) you'll end up metabolising your muscle and not your fat - kind of defeats the object don't you think?!

You know what this means? MORE FOOD ;)

Three: Resistance training leads to increased muscle density (MacDougall. J et al).

As you get older your bones will get less dense. It's one of the things we have to look forward to as we age, but several studies now show that the more resistance training you include in your routine (especially for women) the more bone density you'll retain as you age, leading to less occurrences of osteoporosis in women that have had significant weight training time in their lives (CDC.com).

Four: Get RIPPED.

Pole is an amazing core workout. It works your back, your stomach, your chest, your shoulders....every part of your body you'll ever need ;)

Core work is especially important in a routine as it allows you to improve your posture, your gait, your form on other exercise. Furthermore it's been shown that having a strong set of core muscles will make it easier to bear and give birth to children (for those of you out there who are interested in doing such a thing!).

Long term effects can't be argued!

Five: It's a GREAT cardiovascular workout.

Pole burns as many calories as a moderate to intense session of cardiovascular activity (pol'er bear).

Yeah, it's not a universal number, but it's effective at getting your heart pumping, your lungs working and your muscles going.

I personally burn between 300-500 calories per session (measured by heart rate monitor). As it's not steady state cardio the HRM isn't totally accurate, but it's a good ball-park figure for you.

There are a million more reasons to try pole and I could go on forever, but since my own sister has banned me from talking about it I guess that's not a very popular thing to do!!

All I'm going to say is it does help burn fat, shape your body, increase your fitness and boost your confidence SKY HIGH. What more can I say ;)

You also get a lot of COOL photos!

Six: CONFIDENCE .

Pole fitness has made me consider who I am, what scares me and what I'll do to achieve my goals. My confidence has sky-rocketed. I KNOW I'm strong, healthy and flexible - this has had a huge impact on everything I do - from being able to wear hotpants to the gym, to being more confident with what I wear in general, to being able to handle myself more confidently in the workplace/"real life".

I even made my first attempt at haggling the other day. Get me.

Seven: Deal with STRESS.

Moderate physical exercise has been shown to lower the levels of stress hormones in people's blood (Lovett et al). In fact, it's been found that teachers and doctors who incorporate moderate cardiovascular and resistance training into their routines have less sick days, less illness generally and lower stress levels (Lovett).

So, get your workout in!!

Eight: It's a great "cure" for depression/self-esteem/body image.

As you doubtlessly know, I've suffered with depression a few times in my life. Once it left me housebound. These days I manage my moods and my mind-set using exercise.

I exercise daily because of this, and I've never felt more amazing. Pole really was the crux of the matter for me. You see, the thing about pole is that it's FUN - you get to twirl around a pole, test your strength, feel sexy and get some AMAZING photos that give you something to talk about.

The feeling of strength and confidence, of overcoming your fears and doubts is a tonic like no other. Pole keeps me happy. It allows me to express that side of myself that might otherwise remain hidden - the part of me that likes to feel FREE.

There is no word of a lie there - pole dancing makes you feel like you're flying. I spoke about freedom when running the other day, but this is different. It's like you leave everything that troubles you behind you and it's just you, and the pole.

Nothing gets in the way, nothing matters because pole is DEMANDING not only of your body, but of your attention.

It raises your self-esteem and cripples your body image doubts - hotpants are the most logical choice for poling, simply because when you have less cloth in the way, you get more hold on the pole with your skin. Likewise, roll your top up and get that stomach onto the pole. It becomes a practicality rather than worrying about how you look.

When I first had to roll my top up for Gemini I said to Karen "but....I have fat everywhere".

All I got back was "yep, we all do - you just have to deal with it" (that's why I love her, no mincing of words xD).

And you know what. I did deal with it. These days all I care about is getting the cloth out of the way so I can execute the pose.

Nine: It forces you to actually deal with the things you fear.

Everyone gets nervous at pole. I wrote a PoleFreaks article recently about tackling the "fear". It happens to everyone - I managed to overcome mine by realising that it would make my life easier if I just got on with it, but some people hang on to it for longer, some people brush it off quickly.

Whichever way you are, it forces you to find something that makes you nervous and do it anyway. Once you realise that fear can't actually hold you back if you want to achieve something, you'll remember that the next time you come across something that makes you nervous and you'll know that actually, yes, you can handle anything you put your mind to thank you very much.

Don't let YOU hold yourself back.

Ten: You join a community.

Maybe that's what encapsulates pole for me. Maybe I like to be a little bit of a rebel. Maybe I like to stand out. My first car was a mini with pink spots on. I now drive a bright pink motorcycle and I enjoy being one of the only women in the weights room.

But you see, there's a secret. With all of these things, communities form - because you're rebelling against stereotypes with other people. So bonds form - you get congratulated on moves you execute and photos you post. Slowly but surely you make friends with your pole community. Over the past 6 months I've had the amazing chance to get to know my instructors and my pole brothers and sisters - it's something special.

People in pole lessons are open and friendly, the instructors I've met have always been supportive and understanding. Our instructor knows when to push us, she knows when to hold back and she knows EXACTLY what we can achieve.

That's all very well but I can't support my own weight...

See, totally cool photo!

Number one reason people give me for not trying pole - "I can't do it, I have like, NO upper body strength".

No, maybe you don't. On the other hand maybe you'll surprise yourself.

People aren't (usually) born with the skills to just pick something up straight away. Sometimes you have an affinity for something, but EVERYTHING takes practice. I'm still on my journey to do unassisted pull-ups, but that has never got in the way of my ability to pole!

If you find exercise a bit boring, or you want to branch out some - you won't go wrong with a pole session.

Ok ok, enough - where can I find out more?

If an increase in metabolism, increase in fat loss, decrease of stress, increase of confidence, increase in strength and cardiovascular capability didn't convince you, I don't know what would!

There are loads of great places around the world that offer pole dance classes, if you're in the UK you can check out 'pole pages UK'. Googling "pole dancing lessons" will also get you localised results.

I've also written a series of blogs about poling - ranging from my first session to recently, which you can find here.

In the end, all we are are the things we did. You never know - this could be one of the things you did, and one of the things you loved. Don't let that pass!

References

http://www.babycenter.com/0_why-and-how-to-strengthen-your-core-for-pregnancy_10317257.bc
http://www.cbass.com/METABOLI.HTM
http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/growingstronger/why/
http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/158694
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Calories-burned-in-30-minutes-of-leisure-and-routine-activities.htm
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-unexpected-health-benefits-pole-dancing.html
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12243/11-things-i-wish-everyone-knew-about-pole-dancing.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007165.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2845587/
http://www.pulsegym.com/2012/01/17/muscle-the-most-metabolically-active-tissue/
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/exercise.htm
http://www.webmd.com/arthritis/caring-your-joints
http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/exercise/workouts/pole-dancing.htm

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It's A Really Short Blog, But It's For YOU!

21/8/2014

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Tonight is pole night. Well, this week anyway. I know, I know - it's confusing when things get moved around! My whole week has been extended as I measure the week by "pole night" these days ;)

Anyway, as I'm sure you can trust, I'm going to tell you ALL about pole - but not this evening. This evening, I'm going to nurse my bruises and eat FOOOOOOD.

You know why?

Because I don't have a poorly tummy any more (I am currently crossing my fingers) xD

Whoooo!

Anyway, I thought I'd leave you with this....

Ouch! (Yep, more armpit holds xD)

I know it's self-inflicted but I still like showing them off :p

And this....

I came across this on my Facebook page (come and say hey - gimme a like, whatever xD) the other day and I thought just how apt it was for so many people in my life right now.

Remember, we only have the moment - everything else comes with it! Make the most of your moments xD

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The One With The "Upper's" Gym Session: You Know You've Been Here...!

20/8/2014

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Me when Dave woke me up this afternoon...

So, after laying around for most of the day, playing computer games and snapping at anyone who came within listening range I decided to go to the gym.

As you all know, I've been nursing my bland diet and a developing sense of feeling sorry for myself for the past couple of days, however, today was uppers day....

Today's motto, although it was more like "sleeping is important but...."

So, uppers day...

As you can imagine, uppers day is interesting after you've been on an extremely restricted diet for a few days....

So at first I felt a bit like...

After one set on the bench...

But as I kept at it, adding sets, reducing weight or trying variations of what I'd normally do I started to feel a bit more like...

And eventually, after doing some pretty sweet curls and what definitely could have passed as a pull-up if I wasn't being watched so closely, I left feeling much more like....

Much better :D

So, I'll leave you with a snapshot of what I'm doing now (tummy allowing of course....)

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Five Things You Should Be Grateful For Today...

19/8/2014

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Cake, bowling and tummy bugs...

Coming back from radio silence, it was my birthday on Sunday and although I had a GREAT day I also managed to get a tummy bug.

What a great gift!

But being ill isn't ALL bad. I mean, for one I got to stay in bed as long as I wanted today. And I got away with it after making my eyes really big and some whimpering sounds....

Aside from the enforced confinement and an EXTREMELY bland diet (I snuck some cake last night after thinking I felt better. It was a BAD move. I'm now on diet lock-down).

Anyway, since I'm feeling a little bit sorry for myself I thought I'd look at the things that are really great at the moment whilst I'm not feeling 100% well.

Don't worry - I'm not talking about the serious, mushy stuff that is beyond precious. I'm talking creature comforts ;)

So here are my FIVE things I'm grateful for today:

One: Marmite. I'm going to be honest - I can't really eat much at the moment. Well. It's not so much the eating but the, erm, hanging on to the food. Marmite is currently one of the things that is going down really well - no pun intended (and staying down). Plus, salts since I'm trying to drink as much plain water as possible - good stuff!

Two: Box-series. To be more specific: Bones. I'm well into that TV series at the moment. We ran out of Arrow episodes a couple of weeks ago, and after an appropriately long mourning period we moved on. So, Bones. It's a little on the gross side for me, but the characters are great and it's easy to pick up an episode whenever you like given it's got that "solved in one episode" type format (and David Boreanaz. Yum. I had the biggest crush on him when I was 15 or 16 and he was "Angel" the vamp xD).

Three: Yoga. Running isn't a great idea. Pole is probably not a great idea - although I managed some practice yesterday (better not to ask about that). So long as you go reaaaaally slowly and don't squeeze anything too hard Yoga is a beautiful idea. I'm at the point where my muscles are really tight from being used less than usual - given I've tried staying as still as possible for two days. Yoga is slow, it's loving, it's gentle....it stretches you out and calms you down. I <3 yoga.... (I might get a T-shirt with that on you know).

Four: Computer games. WoW (World of Warcraft) for me in particular. Something to do when you're not feeling great that will at a low level take your mind off of the nasties in your tummy, it doesn't commit you to anything (unless of course you want it to) and you get to hang out with your pals without passing the bug on. What better medium is there?

Five: My kindle. I was always a hardcore book fan. I didn't want a Kindle, I couldn't imagine going without "real" books and I thought the intrusion of the e-readers was a step too far. But when you're hanging out in the bathroom a lot, an e-reader is pretty handy. It's light, easy to hold and you have a choice of books! I'm currently reading through "The Book of Life" by Deborah Harkness (awesome fantasy/history/romance Trilogy - check her out :) ).

Now that I've managed to sit here for about 30 minutes I'm off - but I like thinking of things that are great in life. We're surrounded by so much that makes life happier/simpler/more beautiful - So what are the five things you're grateful for at the moment?

Sign up here and get me straight to your email inbox. How exciting would that be! ;)

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When To Just Get On With it: The Moment You Know You're Being A Whiny B*tch

16/8/2014

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So legs day soreness has passed as predicted on day 3 - I went out for a run today to prove it.

I didn't plan on running. Just a few minutes before my decision I was moaning to my MFPeeps that I'd bought myself a (very expensive) pair of lovely Brookes running shoes with the intention of getting back into the running flow and seeing them sitting there, unused was giving me waves of guilt every time I spotted them.

Then I realised I was being a whiny b**ch and the only person I had to blame for the guilty feeling was me. If I didn't want to feel guilty about spending the money on the shoes I'd have to use them.

So I did.

It felt sort of, kind of, amazing :D

I'd been to the gym already today you see, for uppers. Tom and I managed to bench and do core mat work before the gym closed and I'd joked to him that I'd have to go for a run to finish the workout off.

After the walk, nearly three weeks ago it felt tiring just to move from one room to the other. Now I know I'm back at full power, so the 100mph day-glo girl is back in business.

I hadn't run for about 10 days, I'd gone out for a cheeky run on Simon's birthday but since then I'd avoided moving too quickly. Before the cheeky run 10 days ago I'd last run about 5 weeks before that.

As an asthmatic I fare much better with exercise I'm conditioned to - so picking up running again often leaves me gasping for breath, feeling super unfit and trying to keep going. Not now. The 100km training and my daily yoga, where I've been focusing on breathing has paid dividends. Yes, I wouldn't be able to hold a conversation but no, I wasn't about to keel over whilst sounding like the Hogwarts Express.

I'd started feeling badly towards running. It's easy to forget that actually, when you're well conditioned it's enjoyable, you get a sense of freedom that is like nothing else (not even pole - that's a whole different kettle of freedom fish xD), it has great cardiovascular benefits and the feeling after you complete.....WOW.

You see, I have a love/hate relationship with running. I love running for all of the reasons above and a few more - the feeling of being generally fit is one of the best I've ever felt, but I'm competitive and ambitious and I end up pushing to get faster times (I'd managed a 6 minute mile for a PR - I even blogged about it here) which leaves me feeling less than comfortable with the schedule. Running with other people also brings out the beast in me so I have decided to take this very slowly. I've left everything but my music and HRM watch at home (I like to know my heart isn't about to burst through my throat courtesy of being at 9 million BPM) and gone as slowly as I needed to.

I completed the 5k in 35minutes. Not too bad - I'm not breaking any records but I actually enjoyed the run!

Now I just need to remember all of the good reasons I enjoy running and avoid falling into the pitfalls of not doing it! Do any of you guys and gals have a love/hate exercise like my relationship with running? Do you try and incorporate it into your routine? How do you keep in the habit of love/hate exercise?!

Anyway, after some yoga to stretch out all those icky bits you get from running and gymming I'm now planning on some French Toast. Oh yum :D

I am planning on having LOTS of french toast tomorrow (it's my birthday :D) and then telling everyone it's because it's my birthday I should be allowed it. Honest. Everyone should have french toast on their birthday. With honey...

*drools*

On that note, before my keyboard gets drooled on I'm off ;) Have a good weekend people!

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Friday Feature: How Can You Sustain Success?

15/8/2014

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You can always remember when legs day was according to how well you can move:

After the workout itself: Oh this isn't too bad. I can still sit on the toilet without cringing...

A day after the workout: Do I really need to go to the toilet? I don't think so.

Two days after the workout: I'm never going to be able to go to the toilet again....

Three days after legs day (and onwards): Oh, I can sort of move again.....oh yeah, this is good. Time for legs day again...

I realised yesterday that I need to rearrange my kitchen, you see, I keep the plates on the bottom shelf of the bottom cupboards. To get to the plates you have to bend down. At least the bowls are on the top shelf of the cupboard within arms reach from standing...

I spent most of yesterday eating from bowls.

Anyway, what is today's feature all about? Certainly not my legs (although pheewwwweeee you should see the bruises people...).

Earlier today I was talking to my dear hubs and we were discussing why I think I've plateaued with my weight loss. One of the main factors came down to the fact that I've not been as rigorous or careful about my diet recently. Why is that? I have a goal in mind, I work out regularly, so why not put the requisite attention into my diet?

The factors here were convoluted and hard to explain - I felt confined by restricting calories and logging my food. Ok, but why? I did it for a couple of years with no issues. Well, you know. I don't want to lose the weight anyway.....

Is that true?

No.

So what IS the issue?

After some time and several more trains of thought we'd gone off on a tangent talking about my birthday, which is on Sunday. I'd said to him that I wished people wouldn't make so much of a fuss about it - after all, I don't "deserve" to have people make a fuss of me.

Woah.

What?

And after an hour of talking it became slightly clearer. I don't deserve to work for these things. I don't deserve success.

Do I believe that in my rational mind? No, of course not but deep under a lot of other things is this seething pit of something slightly more sinister - I don't feel like I deserve good things.

A lot of us get caught up in this undercurrent of thought - we make do with things that simply are NOT acceptable to us, but we believe (for a multitude of reasons) that we have to make do with it, that we have to get by with it, that we deserve something that is LESS than what we expect.

Why?

I don't know and I couldn't give a definitive answer even if I did. I suspect the reasons are legion. Low self-esteem, socialisation protocols, upbringing, morals, learned behaviour, low self-concept could all be factors into why we allow ourselves to settle for second best.

So sisters and brothers - what can we do to improve our celebration of success and maintain our progress?

Firstly: This is my biggest and most important tip. It's kept me on track for a long time and I have been careless to disregard it. Keep a photographic record of the things you do.

Sometimes I just need to look over my photos from the day I started logging my weight loss to the photos taken at the start of this year to remember. I've been slack in taking photos recently, because I felt like I wasn't making any progress - irrespective of how many people telling me I look different. See it for yourself guys, take the photos and take them regularly. Even if you're not changing drastically at least that will let you know you need to change something.

Secondly: Keep a visible reminder of why you're doing what you're doing. Whether you do it to improve your time with your kids, your partner or your cats you have your own internalised reasons. Did you have a previously lower weight - if you have photos of that you could pin one up at your desk. Or maybe a picture of you and your kids together. Just keep it visible.

If you don't have a reason that's all yours - for example, you're doing it ONLY for someone elses opinion of you (e.g. my partner wants me to lose weight because s/he is not happy with the way I look) your long term success may not be as good. Try to find INTERNAL reasons to do what you do (i.e. are YOU happy with the way you look?). This is a process known as internalisation and it's important in accepting the things you need to do and actually doing them. For example: I want to feel more comfortable when I have to run for the bus, I want to FEEL like I look good or I am tired of not being able to climb the stairs to my apartment in one go.

If you're doing it for someone else you're prey to THEIR whims.

Thirdly: Take responsibility for yourself.

It kind of goes hand in hand with the last point but YOU are the only person who can change you and YOU decide whether you're going to be successful or not.

It's not up to anyone else. I always try blaming my hubs for feeding me nice food, but it's MY choice to eat it. Yes, maybe he could help by not feeding me scrummy cakes etc or bringing me chocolate (which he has done since I asked him not to and explained that in the long term THIS will make me happier) but it's ALWAYS your own choice as to whether it goes into your mouth or not. Don't kid yourself otherwise, you're cheating yourself out of acknowledging you're a powerful person.

Fourth(ly...): Don't go so hard on yourself.

Celebrate the things you achieve. Ok, so you didn't lose a pound this month. What did you achieve? Did you manage to get a lower PR for a run? Did you fit back into something you couldn't before? Did you avoid eating something you REALLY wanted to but didn't fit into your plan for the day?

These things are known as non-scale victories (NSVs) and they're just as, if not more important than what the scale says, because we all know the scale is a dirty little liar....

Fifth: Acknowledge your achievements.

Treat yourself - some people put a penny into a pot for every run they complete to buy something with it, some people have set celebrations for when they reach goals - e.g. a massage for completing a marathon.

Make sure you acknowledge the amazing things you do - every step we make, every pitfall, every mislead thought leads us somewhere. And that place is to success. You DESERVE the success you're working towards, keep rewarding yourself for doing the things that make you happy. It might seem counter-intuitive, but even though what you're doing IS to make you happy, rewarding your success and acknowledging your progress is an important step in sustaining your success and mindset.

Writing this out helped me think through the reasons I've allowed myself to fall behind. Yes, my choice, every step of the way, but understanding why we make some choices can lead us to solutions - talking these through with you for example has led me to realise I stopped acknowledging my success in weight loss. I started saying things like "oh well, I'm getting fitter surely my weight doesn't matter?" or "there's no point in setting a weight goal, I won't make it".

I've allowed myself to lose sight of one of the things I tried to achieve. Yes, I'm fitter, yes I'm stronger and more resilient and they're amazing accomplishments on their own but I've lost sight of one of the biggest factors - my lean weight and my body fat.

It's a hard journey and lots of people drop out of it, but we're not going to do that. I won't give up on my dreams - will you?

Do you agree with my five things to sustain success and celebrate yourself? Have I missed anything or do you do something that you think helps? Leave me a comment! :)

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Friday Feature: How Can You Sustain Success?

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