Exercise routines, tips and chatter?

[paradise lost]

Hi!

I've been eyeballing the couch-5km thread over in weightloss and wishing i could join in, but i already run so i figured i'd start a thread out here for anyone who exercises/d and wants to chat about it. Thought maybe we could share routines, hints or tips or whathaveyou...?

I am really excited today as last night i found my exact trainers (Asics Gel 1120's) which i paid ?70 for last year for ?30 online! I ordered a pair plus a pair of shorts, a pair of running tights (like leggings for those of you who don't know) and a new water bottle. ?50 all in, including postage! Now i just have to wait the next 5-9 days til i get it all....lol.

I exercise to feel good (endorphins lol) and to maintain weight (which i could do without exercise but i like food too much ). I'm not trying to gain or lose weight but if i gain or lose 3kg i'll still be in this clothes size so i'm cool with either.

My exercise routines ideally look like this:

Monday: buggy run (running with DD in her buggy) 3.66-4.76k
Tuesday: 1km swim, 60minute Bodypump class
Wednesday: OFF!
Thursday: 5-7k run, no buggy
Friday: OFF!
Saturday: buggy run 4.76k
Sunday: OFF!

Today (monday) i am not running however as it is pouring with rain and DD hates having her rain cover down and running for 40 minutes pushing moany mcmoaner is no fun! I hadn't taken her out in a while in fact and i took her on Saturday and it was SO HARD! SHe is 11kg and the buggy is 6kg and the rolling resistance is crazy because it's not a jogger, just a Graco mosaic stroller. It's steady enough to run with and i'm in a park on smooth pavement so no problems with bumps etc., but BOY is it HEAVY. My friend was with us and had her heartrate monitor on and was reading a 140bpm, then took the buggy from me for about 250m up a slight incline and it jumped to 210bmp! Which is above what her maximum should even BE. LOL.

Please talk to me, tell me about your exercise routines, however big or small, and we can all egg each other on to greater/faster/funner things

Bx

[Feathertop]

Hi Hoobley, I haven't got a routine going yet but I'm trying to get back into running. Am a bit challenged at present because of the heat here! Also, I live in a very hilly area so I have to run up steep hills no matter what unless I drive into town and run around a small unshaded track. But I'm trying to get there! I plan to also try to get into the gym again too - just weights, we don't have any classes here.

I'll try to tune in and update things when I find a routine!

[Bloom]

My IDEAL exercise routine looks like this:
Monday - Body Step
Tuesday - Body pump or Pilates
Wednesday - Interval running on the treadmill (couch to 5km) plus weights
Thursday - Free style step class
Friday - Body pump
Saturday - Interval running on the treadmill plus weights
Sunday - very occaisionally I'll do a pump or core class but more likely to be veging!

I will pretty much miss at least one or more classes a week but try to go at least 4 times. As you can see my exercise is very gym based so I'm thinking ahead and hoping to be able to branch out eventually into running outdoors and then (God willing) running with a pram like Hoobley can! I'm also thinking about buying a pilates DVD as well.

[Beach Mama]

Oh Bec - great motivation!
Ive just started running again! I used to run 5-6 kms about 3-4 times a week but got pg and stopped.
Now Im getting back into it I do about 3.5 kms and I have to walk some of that, our area is REALLY hilly so its quite challenging - 9mths of doing just aqua aerobics, and 8mths of nothing have really taken their toll! Im trying to go at least 3 times a week right now, and I go the second DH walks in the door!

I LOVE it though, I feel so good when I go out even if I dont feel like it, and because I havent gone for ages Im reaquainting myself with my iPod and all my fav running tunes!
When I get home I do some tummy crunches but thats it, I really should put on my pilates or yoga dvd and stretch and do that but I usually get home and start cooking dinner.
I need to lose about 6-8 kgs, but mainly tone up - my belly is disgusting so Im hoping running will help melt the fat left there, Ive always had a flat tum so I hate what I look like right now.

[paradise lost]

Tan - Yeah my tum is still saggy post-DD and actually i am starting to think the next time it'll be firm i'll be 5 months PG again. It's not just fat but skin, and the looseness of the skin means that the fat is wobbly rather than firm. Luckily i used to be quite chubby so i don't really mind, as it's all a vast imrovement anyway.

I did manage a run on Monday afterall, in a gap in the rain. Of course the gap was 15 minutes and the run was nearly 40 (4.8k with the buggy - she is 13kg now!) but she dealt with it pretty well, no crying until we'd fed the ducks (after the run) and then i started to push her home and it dawned on her that i wasn't going to let her out to run about in the rain. LOL.

Bodypump was good but hard, that was the first full class i've done since the relaunch, the relaunch class was only 45 minutes so they skipped lunges and shoulders. Next week i'm upping my squats and back (4.5kg each end) to 5kg each end as it's about time. I might also up my lunges from 3.5 to 4.5, though my balance isn't All That and i'm a bit worried i'll topple over. LOL. SO stupid since it's only an extra kilo on the bar but it's psychological really isn't it. This is my second "block" doing it so i really want to start building my weights.

Ruth - WOW. I cannot exercise everyday. Each time i try (usually because i'm doing things i don't want to drop so i try to add instead) i start to get ill, constant colds and so on. Even when i was training for the half marathon, more than 4 runs a week and i couldn't cope, and it makes no difference if i do 5k or 20k each time, it's the rest days that seem to make a difference. I can do 2 days back to back but that's it and even when i used to do 2 on and 1 off it made me ill after a fortnight. Bummer...

I love running outdoors. Running on a treadmill is crazy - it MOVES your feet for you. I've only done it once, when i was training for the half, did 7k on an incline and wasn't out of breath yet so i gave up and went outside My next run is thursday, and will an easy 6 or 7k i should think, running with my mate. She is a legend and brought me her too-big (but fit me great) running bras last night.

Bx

[Nadine216]

Hi :wave: I wanna join and throw in my 10 cents worth

Monday: Step & Weight Training Class
Thuesday: off
Wednesday: Exercise Ball Class
Thursday: Advanced Step Class (Blood, Sweat and Tears!!)
Friday: Exercise Ball Class
Sat & Sun: Home Cleaning, Fishing, Walking the Mall, but no REAL exercise

As you can see I am a learner Don't ask me to stick to something on my own, I need to be in a class situations to keep me motivated. My goal for this year is to get my arse to firm up (I am a pear and have always had trouble with my legs and butt) and to get my tummy in a six pack I am one of the lucky girls that does not have ANY flabby tummy skin (my bubba came early, I carried very, very small and did not have lots of fluid) but I still want to consentrate on my abs. I love ab-work. Never thought I would. I was the type that thought exercise was for everyone but me, but I fell in love with it about two years back. I currently weigh 70ish (give or take 500g) and that is two kilo's lighter than before my pg, but two kilo's heavier than my lowest ever. My goal are 66kg and a nice toned body. THAT IS ONLY FOUR KILO's. I know that firming up may lead to me putting on some muscle mass, but that would not bother me. I have a healthy relationship with my scale. AS IF!!! Ok it would not bother me too much

I don't like running at all My boobs always botherd me while jogging, even in a very tight sport's bra. They are smaller now than before pg, but still, don't like them bouncing up and down while jogging.

I'm sick this week - GD sinusses or summer flu or what ever the heck is going on in my nasal cavity, ears and tonsils. But from next week I am putting in again. What are your feelings on suplements? I am starting a USN Fat burner and muscle toner suplement on Monday and wanted to know if anyone has used it before. I am not going to use it for weight loss exclusively, just want to know if it would help me tone easier????

[Loqua]

You're all very inspiring, ladies! I'm just trying to get myself back into walking a few times a week, before I start trying to run again.

I used to have a great routine, doing sets of exercises (sit-ups and the like) each morning, running about 3 times pw, and swimming at least 2 times pw... but sad to say I haven't done that for a while. Hopefully starting slow is the way for me to go.

[paradise lost]

Hmmm, the only supplements i've taken are fish oils and EPO, 1g a day of each, and glucosamine sulphate when i was running 35 miles/week and calcium when i had my stress fracture. How do the fat burners work? I found the oils made a big difference to me (for lubricating and protecting my joints), but the glucosamine (to help my cartilage repair faster) only helped during the final weeks, when i was running 10-12 miles a time.

What size are your boobs? Mine don't move an inch in my sports bra and they're a 34E-F, i wear 1 size too small in sports bra (32F's or 34DD's depending on the cut) as my bra-fitter told me to. It makes a huge difference, especially the week before AF.

Lucky you on the tummy! I gained ALL of my PG weight after the 34th week! And don't say "6kg in 6 weeks!?" like my friends do, because it was nearly 8 weeks by the time she decided to come out (41+4!). LOL. Still, i was 18kg heavier before i got PG, so things are pretty good just now. Does anyone else use BMI as their useful scale? I like to be 23-24 as i'm tall and big-framed, so less than 22.5 or so and i look quite gaunt and obviously i don't wanna go back into "overweight" after getting into "normal" I think i weigh myself about once every 6 months! I used to weigh regularly but i found i was caring too much about stuff that didn't matter, like i can easily gain or lose 2kg in a day, or 3kg around my AF and it doesn't mean anything. And i gained 3kg when i was training, which bothered me and eventually i thought "Do you want a light body or a strong body?" and decided i'd rather be able to run 13 miles than care about a number. So now i just go by my clothes.

Bx

[Nadine216]

Good question ... how does the fat burners work would have to actually read the back of the label then hey??? I'll check when I get home and post tomorrow. I have heard that flaxseed oil are GREAT for mucsle and are good for you body. I was thinking of getting me some of that too.

I am a size 36B now - I KNOW!!!!! Not that big, I was a 36C - I KNOW !!!!! Not that much bigger!!! Maybe I am just very aware of them when jogging, kwim. Them being up in my face?? Maybe I should try some jogging now, seeing that after pg they are mostly just saggy skin ... if I trow them in a nice tight sports bra ... with a hidden support top over that ... hmmmm - think I would still not like jogging ... maybe I used my bb's as an excuse all those years ... hmmmmm .. ouch - thinking to much!!

I use the BMI scale thingy. Currently I am *checking to make sure if it's 23 or 24* ah-ha 23.4. I like that. If - NO WHEN - I reach my goal weight my BMI would be 22.1

***** have to go - bbl

[paradise lost]

Go get a 34B sports bra, impact level 4, and i promise you, you'll look like a guy! There will be NOTHING moving Even mine are flattened to the point that i look like i have barely any in a sports bra.

I buy seeded bread with flax seed in it, it's amazin toasted

Bx

[Nadine216]

I'll have a look in the shops over the weekend. Thanks for the tip. I would love to incorporate some jogging in my exercise regime. DH loved jogging when he was younger and he has started exercising this year (after 10 years of doing NOTHING) so maybe we could go jogging together as soon as he has lost some of his weight.

I hear you on "do you want a light body or a strong body" Just before I got pg I was 72kg and fit as I have ever been in my life. (when i was in hossie my resting heartrate was around 45/50 - the nurses was totally amazed, because I don't look like someone that is suppose to have that kind of resting heartrate) I fit in a nr 14 denim, so I am big-hipped, but you would not say that then just looking at me. That is what I want. I want to LOOK thin and toned and strong, even if it means I weigh a bit more. I would LOVE to weigh 66kg AND be toned and strong (because then I am buying myself a pair of Levi jeans), but like my dad always say: You can't turn a bulldog into a poodle, but you can be a fit and strong and lean bulldog. Sometime's his analogies sucks, but it's sooooo true!! I am a bulldog

I get on the scale EVERY morning, I found it keeps my focus ... sometimes

[paradise lost]

Geez, i reckon i'd get depressed on the scales every day, especially if i wasn't satisfied with the number...

It's funny you mention rhr, mine's about 54 now, but when i was hypothyroid (and still under-medicated) and training for the half it was 37! The doctor nearly had a fit when he saw the numbers. LOL. It was much harder to get out of bed in those days!

And lol on this too because i know it's a mental thing and not really a reality thing, but i never jog, i RUN! LOL. I read somewhere once that 0-4mph is walking, 4-6mph is jogging, 6+mph is running and it is biomechanically better to walk anything under 6mph as if you jog at 4.5-5mph you just increase wear and tear on your joints but don't get any cardio-vascular benefit. Think it was online somewhere but in an article rather than a blog or whatever. For this reason i only allow "jog" speed with DD (and only then because when i "run" with the pram i want to vomit my own heart as it's SO hard) and push myself the rest of the time.

Enjoy the bra shopping. To make sure you're good with it, try it on, fasten it as tight in the back as it'll go and tight enough in the straps that every part of the fabric is touching your skin, then jump vigorously up and down. If anything moves go down another size. It does feel tighter round the chest than you'll be used to, so go for one with a nice wide band under the BB's. Also, is it possible you're not really a 36? MOst women wear the wrong bra size and i've been measured wrong by so-called professionals a lot of times. A bra that fits shouldn't ride up at the front or the back, the bra and/or wires (if it has wires) should be in contact with your ribs all the way round, including between the BB's, and all your boobie should be in the cup, with no bits escaping out of the bottom or bulging out the top. If you stand sideways and look in the mirror it should be level all the way round and not sit higher at the front or the back.

If it doesn't sit level go down a back size, if you bulge out of the cups go up a cup size. If the cup size seems fine but the back size is riding up at the back go up a cup size and down a back size. If you're bulgin over the tops of cups and the wires aren't touching your ribcage at the front between the boobs go down a backsize and up TWO cup sizes.

I am only wondering because i am 181cm, large-framed, hourglass-shaped and broad across the back and i'm a 34, and by the sounds of it you're probably smaller than me. It's possible you're a 34C or a 32D, rather than a 36B.

Bx

[Nadine216]

I can see your dr's face rhr of 37!!! That is almost dead!!

I heard/read (don't ask where) that it's better for your joints and for fat burning to walk at a brisk pace, rather than jogging or running (I hear you on the mental thing )

And talking of fat burners - I had the bottle in my had last night AND read the lable, but for the love of me I can't remember what I read!!!!! In my defence it was 11:30pm - I'll have to read it again.

Strangely enough I just had a chat yesterday with the girl downstairs about bra sizes. It could be that the UK mesurements are different than South Africa's??? I am definatly a 36B, maybe a sportsbra for me would be a size smaller? I'm 173cm and pearshaped. My cup are also definatly a B now - just two months back I bought my first pair of padded bra's! (little woohoo for me) I always wanted to have padded bra's, but it never fit right - the 36C's. Like you said - riding up at the back, or pinching me under the arm, or popping in the front. And I was a tad selfconsious (ok, prudish) of having C-cups and did not want to attract unessesary attention to them. These I have now fit like a dream - doesn't rid up, fit snug to my ribs in front, PERFECT cup - NO popping AND it looks nice and rounded from the side.

Nothing to do with fittness - but I read an article about how there are no SET guidelines for what size clothes have to be. And women's bodies has changed since so much in the time that clothing started to have numbers, that a 14 is not nessesarily a 14 *getting disorientated* That is why in one range you are a 14 and the next you are a 12. I think they (the clothing and diet industries) are doing it on purpose

[Nadine216]

About the suplement: This is what is on the back of the bottle (my understanding)
Its a naturally nutient (some acid) that inhibits the body to store fat and directs the body use the already stored resorcess (read - lovehandles) for energy. Also helps to reduce cholestrol and build lean mucsle mass

All in all - I don't feel like it's a "drug", just something like vitamins.

[Kazbah]

Nadine - I used to take supplements, but only after I had sorted out my diet and was doing weights work. The supplements I used to take upped my metabolism, so I was drinking /sweating a lot more. I used to also take them a half hour before any exercise / my gym classes. I got great results with them, but then totally fell apart from other stuff.

[Bloom]

Hmmm... I have been slack lately for the past week with the gym. I haven't been this slack in ages! I have walked home twice with DH from work (about 50 minutes at a fair pace) but it does mean I get home much later than usual. Must get back to the gym - going to Step and Pump before Saturday for sure! (see the more often I type it the more likely it is to happen!).

[C~Q]

Hi all!

This is my routine for the week...

Mon - Pump then Step
Tues - Attack
Wed - Combat then Pump
Thurs - Step
Fri - Pump then Step
Sat - Attack

I never used to do anything on Sat but i'm stepping it all up a gear now as i'm going for my Combat workshop in 3 months and I need to get my fitness level up.

In the morning I take Co-Enzyme Q10, Multi-vit, Fish Oil and Gluecosamine (sp?). I also drink a protein shake one hour before and an hour after the gym. I'm supposed to have one before bed but it doesn't mix well with wine lol!

I'm like Bec, I exercise to keep fit, I don't diet at all. I know if I did and cut out booze my body would thank me but I love food and alcohol!

Have to take the kids to school but i'll be bak later

PS love this thread Bec!

[paradise lost]

Hi Rachel,

WOW at you going for your Combat qual! How exciting!

My DP has his personal trainer qual and teaches spin too. You guys are super exercise heroes to me! Look at your scedule! WOW! 2 classes a day!

I went to bodypump last night but i probably shouldn't have as i have a sinus infection. I tried to run through it last week (my rule tends to be neck up= ok to run, below the neck=rest) but it backfired and has now been dragging on for over a week. I'm now not running to give my body a break but i was going mental doing nothing so i went to the pool and pump. Just drifted in the pool, 350m or so, then did bodypump. I felt great until the shoulders track, then i felt dizzy and shaky and sick (all those overhead lifts, lol) and had to scale back my weights. I was annoyed as i want to work on my abs and i felt so weak by then i couldn't. I think i might work some abs exercises into my post-run stretching, to get a bit more done with them. I guess once a week for 5 minute in pump can only make so much difference.

Anyway i am going slowly mental. It is Scotland's one sunny winter day outside and i CAN'T BLOODY RUN.

Bx