Christie's Fitness Diary

[ChristieK]

Rest day, probably...have a lot of work to do this morning plus taking Sammy back to vet this afternoon for more of a checkup. His blood came back ok except for one liver enzyme is slightly elevated, prob nothing to worry about but got to watch him. He's still picky eating, I had to feed him by hand this morning! Not exactly a cardio exercise, but def an exercise in patience!

If I have time @ lunch I"ll go to gym for some lower intensity treadmill time.

 

[ChristieK]

Took Friday off as well, did a bunch of running around and a bit of sightseeing too!

But went back to gym this morning...

Sat - 1hr 45 mins cardio...puff, puff... and 30 mins very-well-deserved stretching!

I was drenched, but it was good! Will go for a shorter workout tomorrow morning, then holiday-type-stuff.

 

[ChristieK]

Forgot to post Easter Sunday; went to gym, had a great session, then for a walk in the park, and then dinner with family. Lovely day!

Sun - 90 mins cardio *puff, puff*, 20 mins stretching

Off Mon/Tues

Wed - 75 mins cardio, 20 mins stretching

:happy036:

 

[ChristieK]

Thurs - 75 mins cardio, 20 mins stretching

Upped the incline on the treadmill to get a bit more intensity, so now I'm setting it at 12.5, fairly steep. I can walk at a steady 4mph (or a little more) and do a good sweat. Can feel my thighs quivering a bit, lol, and it feels great to stretch out quads and hamstrings afterwards!

I've really worked on keeping the intensity of my cardio fairly high since my FitFarms adventure last November. They showed us a scale of 1 to 10, with one being a totally slow stroll where you could talk normally to 10 being so out of breath you couldn't talk. (Easier to figure things this way than having to wear a heart rate monitor!) Best target zone for maximum burn and fitness is 7-8-9, where you're really puffing hard, can speak in chopped sentences, but just. So I check myself periodically during my cardio, to keep at the upper end of that 7-8-9 scale so I can keep my heart rate up as much as I can. I know I get a great sweat on, shirt is drenched and hair as well, so a great feeling when done. Since I'm serious about maintaining my fitness level and weight/body fat, this is working for me. I do see a lot of folks in gym who are working at a very low intensity level, would be interested to know what their goals are and if they are working a plan, but don't want to be nosey!

 

[nexangelus]

I do see a lot of folks in gym who are working at a very low intensity level, would be interested to know what their goals are and if they are working a plan, but don't want to be nosey!

I don't tend to ask, as I always maintain that if you aren't sweating or feeling out of breath, then absolutely nothing (or hardly anything at all worth mentioning) is being achieved...I mean you have to hit a certain heart rate to burn fat, right? Sorry that is the cynic in me...

 

[ChristieK]

Yeah, I've got to agree with you. I mean, moving at all is better than nothing (unless you're eating a pie and chips at the same time ), but I don't think there's any real aerobic benefit to real easy bike riding at the gym. In fact, I think it can be deceptive (as can the false calorie-burn indicators on most of the cardio machines), in that it can lead you to think you're getting more out of it than you are. For me, I know it's been best when I've kept my intensity fairly high.

Fri - 75+ mins cardio (talk about sweaty!!), 20 mins stretching.

I just finished editing a newsletter for work and watching through the window to see if the sun will come out today (as BBC and GMTV promised!). so far, still overcast and windy.

 

[ChristieK]

Had a day off yesterday, OH and I went out of town (supposedly part of my Xmas prezzie) to go to a particular art gallery, and he was a pain in the butt the whole time. :sigh:
Might as well have stayed home and worked!

Anyhow...am kind of stoked today! I did a long workout at the gym and started my gentle jogging program. To rehash some history, I had terrible shin splints and stress fractures many years ago when I first went into the military (very bad shoes, plus not used to running), so that has really put me off jogging or running all these years. I normally do very brisk walking, 4.2 or so mph, 12.5 incline, so I get a good workout from it. I did some jogging/running in November at FitFarms and ended up with very sore knees. As a result, my chiropodist "diagnosed" me with one leg slightly longer than the other, and so my GP has referred me to physiologist...however it's taking several months for my appointment *sigh* which isn't until mid-May.

I decided to give it a go, doing the 3-4 min brisk walk and 1 min jog alternating (have seen that beginner program many places). I've been a bit chicken, but after my majority of cardio this morning, I thought, what the heck. And it was great ! I did it for about 30 mins, walk 4 mins @ 4.2 mph, then jog for 1.5 min @ 5-5.3 mph. Was a little sore to start, but that went after first "round". I really feel a great sense of accomplishment!

Sun - 95 mins cardio, 20 mins stretching

Sun finally came out, going to walk over to golf course and tell OH when he finishes.

 

[nexangelus]

Way to go on the running!!! I am so hoping I can run through my troubles and keep it up after the end of the year! My right leg is slightly shorter than my left and it is the leg (lower bits only) that I have the most problems with...

 

[ChristieK]

Mon - 75 min cardio (including my 20-min walk/jog intervals), 20 mins stretching

Right knee a tad sore during first jog interval this morning, but was ok the rest of the time. I'm thinking that this is probably burning a bit more fat than my usual fast walk on steep incline, I know intervals can boost up your burn. Am ordering a running book from Zest, get some more info on best ways to approach it. Don't want to burn out, tho!

With me it looks like it might be just the opposite, Nex, left leg slightly shorter. I'm just going to take it easy and see how it goes. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, you mentioned the special socks seemed to be helping.

 

[ChristieK]

Rest day today. Have a lot of work to get sorted, plus my masseuse is back from holidays so go to see him the afternoon (shoulder is screaming, and calves are sore, ought to be a good one!).

 

[ChristieK]

Wed - 75 mins cardio (including 20 mins jogging intervals), 20 mins lower body weights, 20 mins stretching.

Massage was soooooo good, but hurt soooo bad! My calves had some serious knots in them, and I had the old tension in middle back and left trap. I think this is from all the computer work I do. I try to be very conscious of how I sit, etc, but... anyhow, feel better today!

 

[ChristieK]

Whew, knackered today!

Thurs - 80 mins cardio *puff, sweat*, 20 mins stretching. Feel very tired, but really good!

:superwoman:

 

[tashy100]

Wow!

Good for you - feel tired just reading your diary!!!

I run 3 mornings a week and now I feel lazy!!

Go girl

 

[ChristieK]

Fri - 75+ mins cardio (incl 20 mins jogging intervals), 20 mins stretching. TGIF!! Day of tomorrow, yay!

Dang cats were racing around like idiots this morning at 4am, kept waking me up, I could fall asleep in my chair right now! :coffee:

3 mornings a week running is nothing to sneeze at, go for it! I guess we all have to do what we feel is best, this amount of cardio (and at the high intensity level) has really helped me to super-charge my fitness, so blood pressure is terrific, heart rate, body fat percentage (more accurate and important than bmi), cholesterol and lipids, etc. I just felt it was time to stop yapping about it and (in the words of Nike), Just Do It.

 

[nexangelus]

I've been feeling pooped this week, kids back at school and back at the gym again...Tues to Thurs...today had too much to do...but sore all over! Ach! Good on you for keeping going after the Easter break!!!

 

[ChristieK]

I was knackered last night, Nex, that's for sure! Rest day today, they're doing a "health MOT" in town today and the OH actually agreed to go, will wonders never cease, so I'm taking him down there before he changes his mind!

 

[ChristieK]

Did the "health MOT" yesterday, it was great, OH went as well, and his cholesterol is high (as I knew it would be, he eats tons of butter on white bread & smokes), but at least he's only a few kilos overweight. I did notice the vast majority of people at the place weren't very heavy, mostly fairly slim-looking, lots of older people. But it was good, can't beat the price, lol! And I got a free goodie bag with a bunch of small L'Oreal makeup samples in it. Now if I could only do a half decent job of putting makeup on!!

Sun - 90 mins cardio , including 23 mins jogging intervals. completely sweated out! 20 mins stretching. Feel terrific! Going to walk over to golf course and meet OH, then maybe do a bit of gardening this afternoon.

 

[ChristieK]

Mon - 75 mins cardio, 20 mins stretching. Very sore knees (particularly right knee), so a little less intensity today, and wore a wrap on it to warm it up. Still sweated, but didn't do the jogging intervals today.

 

[nexangelus]

Ooh running does takes its toll, unfortunately, for some of us! That health MOT sounds interesting...I have never had my cholesterol, etc measured before...

 

[ChristieK]

Rest day today; knees feeling better, may try to do my intervals tomorrow morning. Have my Tuesday massage this afternoon, can't wait!

I've always had good cholesterol readings, Nex, but it's interesting to see the numbers improve (especially hdl/ldl ratio) when you exercise. You should ask your GP for a BP/heart rate/bloods test and you'll be chuffed at how healthy you are!