Core Exercise

So how has it been, my diet and my workout. I have to admit they are not as I have planned. I go to the gym but not as often as I do since I have to attend to a lot of things at home and outside the home. Mid-December up to today, I've been to the gym thrice only. I also cannot seem to manage my food intake. I am making the merry month of December an excuse to eat. I still don't eat much rice, a few times I do, but I have to admit I eat so much sweets and carbohydrates.

Having said all these, I am still bent on achieving the elusive 112 lbs. I will never surrender, haha. All I need is DISCIPLINE which I was able to do two years ago which I intend to do again at the start of 2012. I will forgive myself this last week of December from having cakes and loads of pasta but 2012, I will be strict again with my diet.

Yesterday I was the gym and did my own core exercises. It was intense! I am actually having sore muscles today. I incorporated new core exercises which proved to be effective. I did the first exercise featured in this video. It was not easy, it took some effort but I can feel my ab muscles contract.


I can't wait to go back to my normal gym schedule which is like four to five times a week. In the mean time, let me do my best in my workouts even at home.

Prologue: The 28 Day Challenge

What exactly is this about?

It's my 28-Day Challenge of no rice, no sweets (cake, chocolates, for example), no chips. I will do a low-carb diet again. Why? The obvious answer is I gained a few pounds. I am now 124.4 lbs, still in my ideal weight but I am focused on maintaining 112 lbs to 115 lbs. My fat mass is 1.2% over my ideal fat mass of 27%. I am focused on going back to my 23% - 24% level. These are non-negotiable now.

Am I crazy and unrealistic that I will do this challenge on the month of December? Maybe. But portion control and balanced diet do not need to be month-specific. I CAN DO THIS. It's not like I will not eat nor will I starve myself. I never did that when I was still losing weight, how much more now that I am in maintenance mode.

And so starting tomorrow I will plan what I eat and will chronicle my progress both in my diet and in my exercises. I have been loyal to my exercises but it's the diet again that I oftentimes slip. Again, DISCIPLINE.

This is one of the major things I will focus on the last month of 2011. I CAN DO THIS. WILL POWER. DISCIPLINE. EYE ON THE GOAL. So help me, God.

Zumba

I heard of Zumba months ago (but reading about it, it actually started early 2000). It was (and I guess still is) popular among people who love to exercise through dancing. I was not to keen on this one. I don't know. I did join retro dancing group in my gym when I was just starting with my workout at the gym. I was heavy then at 165 pounds thereabouts. I cannot do much exercises back then. Or maybe more like I do not want to. I was a gym newbie.

So anyway when I finally decided that I need and want to lose weight I am going to be strict with my diet and will try different workouts my body just need to lose fat and develop muscles. It worked for me. I explored weights and high intensity cardiovascular exercises like body pump an body combat. I enjoyed them immensely.

When I got leaner and leaner I became more daring with my exercises. I had the courage to do increase weights. I checked the internet for more workouts which can steadily tone my muscles.

In other words I forgot all about dancing. That's not anymore what my body needs. I may sound mean but when I take a look at Latin dancing group exercise now as well as retro, I see heavier women as well as older people. Wait, I do not discriminate. I was just thinking I have passed that stage in my gym life. I need more resistance training, more toning exercises.

As in any other new "in" thing, a lot of people were talking about Zumba when the world discovered it. As I have said, I was not interested. I need muscles. And I don't think I can get it from dancing.

BUT I have to admit though that I was curious to try it when my gym finally (as in after 48 years) launched it two weeks ago. I want to try and see how it will fit me.

I had a chance to try Zumba yesterday afternoon. The room was full to the brim! At the start I was telling myself "oh no, this is not for me". It started slow plus I was thinking the instructor was not that good.

I was wrong! Totally. The mood picked up a few minutes, maybe 10 minutes, after it started. I love it! I love Zumba not just because it's a good cardiovascular exercise but because I FEEL SEXY DOING THE DANCE MOVES. What can beat that? Know what? This particular dance is great to do with friends along. It's fun! I had fun. I know I will join Zumba class again, and again. My gym shirt was soaking with sweat like I dipped it in a bucket of water. It was great that I thought of taking with me another shirt.

Oh well, my curiosity paid off. Joining Zumba is one good experience in my gym life. :)

I'm excited to note that there are several kinds of Zumba offered to cater to a participant's needs and wants. I explored their website and learned that there are Zumba Gold, Zumba Toning, Aqua Zumba, Zumba in the Cirtuit, etc. There's even Zumba for kids - Zumbatomic. I wish Zumba Toning and Zumba in the Circuit will be offered in my gym. I have to ask that.

In the meantime I will be enjoying Zumba at least twice a week.

Here's one example of Zumba dance steps. I love the energy!

Do Not Overdo It

I forgot exactly when but it was sometime a week ago when I did join three intensive group exercises, one resistance training and two high-powered cardiovascular workouts. One back to back and the other one I had to wait for a few hours before the class started.

I did body pump back to back with body combat. After an hour and a half I joined RPM. I was exhilarated. I loved it!

The next few days I also stretched myself to doing two group exercises. I did body balance on one of those days to stretch my sore muscles.

But I got sick. Well not sick as in I had fever or I needed to just stay on bed. But I developed a terrible cold. It was not like how it was a week ago but I still have cold up to now.

I HAVE LEARNED THE OBVIOUS.
1. Do not overdo your exercises.
2. Change shirt and undergarment for every workout to keep the sweat off your back. My mom told me about this when I was little and even up to now. Why don't I listen.
3. Do rest if your body tells you so and even if it doesn't tell you so. There is such a thing as recovery time.
4. Do not push yourself hard in just one day. Manage your workouts such that in a week all your muscle groups have their fair share of exercises.

I did weights, RPM and core exercises yesterday. I started changing top before going to my next workout. Of course, I feel fresher and more ready to kick, box, jump. Sanitary too. Haha.

I am still not 100% free from cold, in fact I'm coughing a little today, but with enough rest, right food and drink, I'll be good before this short holiday ends.

Strengthening My Core

"Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken." That was by Warren Buffet.

I have to relate that to how I eat the past weeks. I have not been eating mindfully. Let me rephrase that. I have been eating mindfully but always telling myself I will start the no-chips, less-carbo diet tomorrow. That is not good. Let me put discipline before I get startled with my weight. So far I'm still good. BMI is within range. Fat mass had gone down to almost 2 lbs. But lapses in eating junk foods are not good. Once in a while, sure, but it's getting more frequent.

I was asked by one of the trainers at my gym to try their core exercises. I think it's one of the requirements there to ask a client to try their exercise for the day. I obliged since this is for free and I can very well use this. It didn't take long.

I now have new exercises to do to strengthen my core. There's one exercise I found really hard to do and that is the side plank with leg lift. Boy, it was hard for me.


I have also checked youtube.com for more core exercises.


This should be easier for me.



It's a rainy Saturday morning. We will just staying home today. I'll discipline myself with so much eating the bad foods. I will do some of these core exercises for an hour.

Happy weekend!

DISCIPLINE

This will be short and sweet.

DISCIPLINE.

That was the foundation of my success story in managing my weight. I maintained my 117 lb weight for a year now. But I have to say I need 'DISCIPLINE' again to reach my 112 lb goal which I adjusted from end of September to middle of October 2011.

DISCIPLINE.

One way is to plan our meals. And that's what I'm going to do now. So help me, God, plan a healthy menu for me and my family and stick to it.

Spinning

Finally, I had my first try at spinning yesterday. It came off like a sudden decision. I have been meaning to - in fact, I often check the RPM schedule and see if my time at the gym can accommodate it. But I always postpone.

Yesterday was a different story. I just thought about it while doing my pre-work out stretching. Just do it now. And I did! And I am so glad I finally joined the RPM class. Like what I have said in my Facebook status, after three years at the gym, I finally tried cycling. A little pathetic, don't you think? Haha.

Yes, it was not as hard as I thought it would be. I just had a minor blooper when I suddenly sat down without slowing down from biking on a standing position. It hurt a bit on the butt.

Overall I enjoyed spinning. Maybe it's new to me and maybe because it felt really good sweating it all out. It was my second day this morning joining the class. I can say that I put more effort this day and I already used the knob which controls the resistance.

I searched the web for more spinning tips. I am interested if I'm doing it right, the way I sit and stand and the way I set the cycling equipment.

Let me share a few things which will be helpful for beginners like me. From Indoor Cycling, Wikipedia:

The seat position must be right for the participant's height. The height of the seat should be in level with the hip when the participant is standing next to the cycle.

Horizontally the seat should be set in order for the front of the knee to be directly in vertical line with the ball of the foot when the pedal is pointing forward.[6] This results in a position where the knee is slightly bent at an angle between 25% and 35% when the leg is extended with the foot resting flat at the bottom of the pedal stroke.

Handlebar height can be adjusted for comfort; less experienced riders may want to set them higher to ease lower back discomfort. A reasonable reference point is to set it in level with the seat.

Warm up before spinning is very important too. And don't forget to bring your bottle of water and a good sweat absorbing towel. I look forward to my spinning classes. :)