So...seeing as I'm a lazy SOB I thought I'd start a training log. Basically an online conscience that should help kick my ass into gear. Especially if you lot read it. No real goals at the moment beyond just getting back to some level of fitness and activity as I slide into middle age. Aiming to do something, however little, everyday. Day 1: Weds, 27/6/12 Activity: Morning run. 5 minutes light warm up jog to the local footy pitch then 3 circuits around the pitches alternating body weight exercises in the kiddies playground, jogging and sprints. Woefully out of shape. 5 minutes hobble back home. Bit of stretching. Right knee still twinging after a 10 mile walk on the weekend. Grub: Brekkie - Bowl of cornflakes, yogurt, OJ, 'nana and a coffee (all coffee de-caf but I have lots of sugar in it). Midmorning - Apple and another coffee. Lunch - Vanilla milkshake, Chicken sandwich on wholemeal bread, packet of crisps. Afternoon - Packet of foam shrimps (naughty, naughty) and another coffee. Dinner - Pasta carbonara (and another coffee!)
And if the thought of that doesn't get you running, then nothing we can do here will motivate you... :Angel:
*starts running again...can be heard to whimper "not the dungeon" as he disappears into the distance.....*
What you need, PA, to keep you motivated is someone to ride thier bike next to you and shout encouragement through a mega phone You know...keep those knees up, feel the burn,your pathetic, my nan can do more pressups than that...etc
Man...weighed myself this morning. 14 stone 1 pound. Heaviest I've ever been. And I ain't exactly a muscular chap. I think I've put on half a stone in about 6 months. Inactivity and sweeties. Seems I've more work to do than I thought. At least now I know why I'm finding press-ups and chins much harder to do.
I'd seriously suggest trying the Paleo Diet. I was hugely sceptical about it, but some of MAP's finest recommended it in another thread. I was intrigued so gave it a bash. I've dropped a couple pounds and 1% body fat in a little under 10 days (which is remarkable when you consider most people lose an average 1% a month). Since cutting dairy and grains my guts feel fantastic. I was already eating a ton of veg so had pretty regular bowel movements, but since cutting out grains I've been crapping like a trooper. And you know what? It feels marvellous. Here's a good site with some basic pointers: http://www.modernpaleo.com/principles.html
Thanks for the suggestion but just skimming through those 30 points...not a chance mate. I wanna stay active and maybe drop a pound or two not give up everything that is nice to eat and live like a caveman.
Day 2: Thurs, 28/6/12 Activity: 30 mins of Yoga and floor mobility/flow stuff (shrimping, bridges, sit throughs, rolls etc) in the morning. Love this sort "exercise". Not too taxing but works the mind as well as the body. Grub: Brekkie - Coffee, Porridge, Yogurt Midmorning - Banana, crisps. Lunch - Sushi, Yogurt, OJ, Satsuma, Mini-cheddars and a small trifle. Afternoon - Dolly mixtures (naughty again) Dinner - Cod in Tomato and rosemary sauce, brocolli and new potatoes. ______________________________ Day 3: Fri, 29/6/12 Activity: 20 minute bagwork using Iain Abernethy's free MP3 download. Finished off with some foam roller (back and legs) and some stretching. Was going to go to Taekwon-do in the evening but got caught in traffic so went home and vegged on the settee instead. Grub: Brekkie - Coffee, glass of milk, jam on toast, Yogurt Midmorning - Banana Lunch - Pub lunch. Chicken burger, chips and salad. Pint of lager shandy. Afternoon - Apple and some grapes Dinner - Fish and chips! ______________________________ Day 4: Sat, 30/6/12 Activity: Evening run. Interval sprints round the footy pitches. Bodyweight stuff in the kiddies playground (in a circuit of various press up variations, chin ups, dips etc. Back home for some foam roller, stretching and then finish by going through some TKD patterns. Grub: Brekkie - Coffee, jam on toast. Midmorning - N/A Lunch - Scrambled egg on toast. Afternoon - Bag of candy sticks and as strawberry milkshake Dinner - Garlic bread and spag-bol (with carrots and extra toms). Really seeing here that I eat a lot of sweets and not enough veggies. Must try and change that I think.
Day 5: Sun, 1/7/12 Activity: Watching football counts as activity right? Other than that...nada, zilch. Walked round a zoo. Grub: Brekkie - Coffee, cornflakes Midmorning - N/A Lunch - Picnic lunch. Cheese sandwiches, crisps, apple, banana Afternoon - Icecream cone! Dinner - Pork, wedges and mixed veg. Evening - Daughter made some fairy cakes! Probably not my best day that. Good for the family though ____________________________________________ Day 6: Mon, 2/7/12 Activity: Evening run. Mix of sprint circuits round the footy pitches and body weight circuit in the playground. Finding some new variations on the equipment (hanging rows tonight) Right knee still twinging but then I was pegging it around. Grub: Brekkie - Coffee, Porridge Midmorning - Wispa bar Lunch - Dirty McDonalds. Burger, fries and a shake. I was busy. Needed something quick. Afternoon - Apple, Banana, grapes Dinner - Pie and mash with cauli, brocc and carrots. Power smoothie (milk, juice, berries, 'nana, yogurt, whey)
Day 7: Tues, 3/7/12 Activity: Finally did some martial arts! Hour and a half of TKD. Mix of shuttle runs, body weight stuff and pretty high energy line work to warm up. Some grab defences and then 20 mins of sparring to finish. Literally the last reverse turning kick I threw twinged my right knee again. Grub: Brekkie - Coffee, cornflakes Midmorning - N/A Lunch - Sushi, milkshake, mini rolls, apple, grapes. Afternoon - Egg and cress sammidge before training. Dinner - N/A Evening - Steamed veg, potatoes and a smoothie (milk, yog, 'nana, berries, whey, OJ).
Damn, damn, damn. After a few days doing pretty well (more sprints, loads of bodyweight stuff), I've woken up this morning in agony. My weak, dodgy lower back has flared up again. Combination of the exercises and doing some DIY I think. Did a load of lugging of furniture and painting skirting boards and I think the squating and low sitting hasn't helped. Painkillers and a morning in bed off work so far. Will update when I'm back mobile again.
I sympathise deeply with you. My lower back issues are a pain and keep ruining my training. Hope it clears up soon!
So....not done any training for a month while I went on holiday and got referred to a physio about my back. Seems I have a number of issues. One is that the core muscles are weak and I lack stability. I'm flexible but need more support. So I'm currently regularly tensing my core muscles (like trying to hold in a trump or wee-wee ) and standing on alternate legs. I've set an alarm on my PC so I get up regularly and walk about and do my exercises. Also really watching my posture a lot more. I also have to reset my CNS to get over the long term pain so I'm having some mobility massage and utrasound with the physio. On top of that it seems I damaged a facet joint in my lower back, which is what the painful flare up was a few weeks back. Trying some alternate hot and cold with that as well as the physio stuff. Slowly, slowly. I think when I get relatively pain free I need to do some weights or something to really hit that stability and joint strength issue.
Oh man another lower back issue, what is it with us humans. I think we were built to walk on all fours. My back has always given me problems, and it's been messed up since January. I'm trying to get back into training just going to take it easy as well and hope to strengthen my core. Good Luck!
can you do planks? they're pretty much THE most basic compound core strengthener. if you can hold a plank for about one minute with proper posture (abs and glutes tight to straighten out the spine), you should be good to go.
I can but they've always felt like I was straining and never really done them regularly enough. One of my problems is, I think, that my core is weak and I've overcompensated with my back muscles and overloaded them when lifting things (a child mostly).