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

A Celebratory Post For You: September Goal One - COMPLETE!

6/9/2014

Gold Star!!

I don't normally post on a Saturday, but I felt this deserved just a little bit of celebration...

It took seven months.

Actually, I have a confession to make. It's been longer than that.

I started counting from January as that's when I fully committed to the concept, but the goal has been there for well over a year.

And it's finally happened.

A full pull-up :D

Coming back down from the top!!

This is my first goal to have completed from my five goals set on the 1st September (blog post: Monday Motivation: The One With(Out) The Cookies).

Now, for me, there is no such thing as "completed". Once you hit a goal, I believe you need to celebrate for a little bit and then reset it so you can continue progressing.

So, as my tradition dictates, I will re-set goal one: in the month of September, I aim to build up to completing 2 pull-ups in succession, with full range of motion.

Some of you may wonder why I'm keeping the number so low, but goals should be attainable and manageable. My first pull-up took 7 months to complete, I'm expecting that the next couple will come a bit quicker and then I'll have to work to meet goals like 5-10 pull-ups in a row!

Anyway - I'm going to have a little happy dance and some food to placate my aching muscles. Upper day today was AWESOME. I dropped my bench weight to 40kg to get full range of motion (down from 50kg) and have had two sessions in a row now with max reps/set where r.o.m is bang on! Time to start putting that weight back on! (the bar. Not on me. I can't take any more weight on me - it might drive me mad!!).

Tomorrow is legs day....it's going to be good ;) Do you have any specific workout plans for the weekend? Have you attained any of your goals (or come close!!) for September yet?

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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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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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Today Is The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life

4/8/2014

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And this is how I look right now!

I'm back baby yeah.

I decided to lay low for a week, eat and sleep my way to being as strong as "usual" and then get back on the wagon in style.

Today marks the day I feel fully alive again. It's a strange sort of feeling, one I'd never have realised was possible before I started working out, but it felt like I'd been suffocating all week. It's one that some of you will nod your head in acknowledgement of and some of you will quirk your head to one side and pass it off as part of my madness, but living without workouts is like living without air.

Ok, so that's being *slightly* melodramatic, but for me workouts represent something very important. As you know I've battled with depression during the course of my life and working out is a very real way of keeping myself alive, happy and functioning. They may as well be air - they're a lifeline to actually being alive.

Last week I initially spent thinking "oh yes, time to eat ALL THE THINGS and relax", but by Wednesday my mood had taken a nosedive and Sunday I was positively dangerous. I spent most of the week feeling like I was meant to be doing something, like I had missed something. I was restless and hugely irritable. I felt lethargic, bloated and very, very unhappy.

It was when I threw a mini tantrum trying to find a sock earlier today that I knew it was time to work my way back to the gym. I'm going to be honest, but running isn't going to happen just yet on account of a HUGE blister on my big toe that squelches every time I put my foot down (yummeh) but the weight room was calling and who am I to turn it down?

Having uncovered my FitBit that had been washed for the second time in as many months (it's still working thank goodness) and found two socks (not matching of course) I headed out to the gym to meet Tom for our usual kick-ass weight session.

The gym kicked my bottom. I'm not going to lie. I struggled through weights that I usually don't have quite as much trouble with, but I did it. I persevered and finished all of my sets, even upping the weight on my flyes and doing three sets of decline push-ups (which strangely I find easier than normal push-ups....). I even managed half a pull-up. Get me.

My arms are sort of shaky now. And I'm starving

Now one of my amazing #sweatpink sisters has been asking for people to try out her 4 week fitness plan, so on account of my #sweatpink sister Angelena I will be trying out her "4 week Shape Up Plan" for the next four weeks. (You can find out more about Angelena here at her blog "On Fire Fitness"). The shape up plan calls for a quite drastic change in the way I'm going to be eating and feeling about food, which should be interesting - as you all know I'm very much an IIFYM kind of girl (I talk about that in depth here) so trying out the Paelo diet will be interesting. I'm especially excited about weaning myself off of sugar and processed sugars - I went to the dentist recently and got told I need a filling. Fillings do not make me happy. Therefore, sugar does not make me happy! (Given I don't drink, smoke, drink fizzy drinks or eat tons of sweeties and I brush and floss my teeth 2-3 times a day with an electric toothbrush the only "real" culprit is the amount of processed sugars in my diet). It's funny that the final straw on the sugar train has been my teeth - but hey, they have to last a lot longer, so we'll have to keep them in good nick!).

So, my plan going forward will be to follow Angelena's plan - which calls for considerable weight training and HIIT cardio training (just my sort of thing). I'm also planning on seeing how long a streak of Yoga I can get. I plan on doing 20 minutes a day, every day for as long as I can in an unbroken streak. I'm currently on half a day.... 0_o I'm also planning on being able to do a full pull-up by the time I go back to school in Sept.....wish me luck xD

I have to go and take my measurements and get some "before" photos for when I do my final write up for Angelena, but I'll keep you all updated on how it's going! Today is chest, triceps and abs and I feel that it's gone very well :D I just have to finish my dreaded planks (yes, I know they're awesome for core strength but I HATE them. Almost as much as I hate burpees. Actually, possibly more. At least with burpees you're DOING something!).

Image courtesy of http://blog.wodshop.com/9-reasons-love-burpees/

See. At least someone out there agrees with me! You're not alone Vanessa Guerrero!!

Ha.

Anyway peeps, I'm off to soak my massive blister (which has taken offence to the shoes I put it in) and take my measurements.

Be good and stay happy - keep working out :D

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Sometimes it's just about surviving today so you can kick ass tomorrow!

16/6/2014

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It was Monday today.

It was Monday today.

Do you know how I know that?

It was nothing to do with the calendar, or the start of the working week. Oh no. Today was Monday in every sense of the word.

As I reached into my fridge today the hinge broke. No big deal right? Except that the fridge door has to weigh a good 20kg and I was now holding the door in my left hand and my breakfast (blueberries, a yoghurt and the milk for my protein shake) in my right hand.

It's daily I thank weight training for making my life easier ;) (yes, things like this happen on a daily occurance, you get used to it). After juggling the fridge door (which I might add had a further 4 pints of milk, several packets of cheese, some chillis and a litre of apple juice in it) I managed to wiggle it back onto the hinge, all the while desperately trying not to drop my breakfast.

It was a hard decision.....do I drop the breakfast or the door? The counter is too far away for me to put the food down, but oh, the door is balanced just so against my shoulder...I chose to drop neither and did a trick worthy of a master magician.

After I left the fridge alone, very carefully replacing what I hadn't eaten I walked to work. Naturally I was late.

I got an email titled "Your Mother-in-law" which is always cause for concern and was informed by someone else that I'm on a trip next week. Ooops. Had forgotten that.

Of course the wind drove everyone crazy and there were kids running around like feral cats on a full moon, zig-zagging and practically climbing the walls. Just another day.

To top it all off it was "uppers" day. I have to admit at this point I have a varied relationship with uppers. As you're trying to bench those last two reps it's like your head is going to explode. Once you've re-racked you could take on the world!

There were some (what I can only describe as) children doing some sort of bizarre initiation ceremony involving the barbells in several weights and bopping up and down in time with each other. I can only assume they were doing calf raises. What I couldn't work out is how the 15kg barbell came into it.

The gym was packed. There was an amazing looking woman there, who is one of my gym-idols! She just looks great and lifts like a beast. Always motivating :D

We lift like beasts to look like foxes, oooh yea.

Tom also decided that I needed to man up. So I got a honorary penis for the session. I walked with a swagger and made good use of the 17.5kg dumbells. I was happy.

That is, I was happy until we decided to do some HIIT. I thought it would be "fun" to subject Tom to Sophie's HIIT pyramid....

I still ache. And my lungs hurt. Thanks Sophie :p

Anyway, in the shower after the gym I discovered that I've swapped the Zombie shuffle for the Zombie grab. You know the one, where your arms won't come above chest level.

Given I'm still bending like an old lady the zombie grab should be fun instilling "fear" into my class tomorrow. Ha. As if. Apparently the thought of me being scary is funny to them. I'll have to do my Yoda impression. That will get them.

Anyway, short and sweet today. I'm starving. I'll leave you with this though.

gym #workout #physical exercise #fitness #you #challenge #fernwood fitness #humour #blog #fitness blog # fitfam #news #bbc news #free weights #resistance training #training #trailwalker #Oxfam #fundraising #money #free #you #donate #charity #charity shop #jewelry #bitch #boobies #girls #funny #weights #bro do you even lift #lift #physical #personal trainer

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A Celebratory Post For You: September Goal One - COMPLETE!

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

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

Cool links and stuff...

Today Is The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life

Sometimes it's just about surviving today so you can kick ass tomorrow!

It was Monday today.

Like What You See?
Buy me a beer! :)

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A Celebratory Post For You: September Goal One - COMPLETE!

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

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

Cool links and stuff...

Today Is The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life

Sometimes it's just about surviving today so you can kick ass tomorrow!

It was Monday today.

Like What You See?Buy me a beer! :)

Author

Archives

Categories

Like What You See?
Buy me a beer! :)