October - O for Orsome!

OMG, what a week!

Daylight savings, husband on early shift, truly grotty weather, flooding, slips, train crash, recovering from dreaded lurgy, colleagues off work with lurgy, colleague at work sniffling, sister officially single again, blood tests, Big Boss retirement function, Wearable Arts... and tonight, Jones Deviation gig. (does this sound like a Billy Joel song yet?) I'm sorry democracy, I have not done the research I needed to do and once again I have not voted in the local body elections. But at least I did get to the gym a couple of times.

So far so good, September

Now THAT was a workout

Tonight I had time to spare so I did the weights exercises first, and then 30 minutes walking with the heart rate target set to 130. My back complained a little but on the whole it felt really good.

Getting back on the horse

Special thanks to my dear sister for the encouragement after yesterday's post.  I've just been back to the gym, determined to make a proper effort this time, to make up for my rather token efforts during the week.

I extended my walking time to 30 minutes today. I nudged the heart rate limit back down to 126bpm to make sure I would make it through the time without hurting my back, and sure enough, it worked! So hopefully tomorrow I will come back and do it again with more effort.

I also, at last, added in some of the weights exercises and ab crunches that my trainer gave me a week ago.  I don't know how many times a week I'll be able to do this, because it adds another half an hour onto my workout time.

And finally, I'm still very cross with that iPhone app that won't run any more. It was going to be the perfect way to make my progress visible because I could do the data entry immediately after the session and the graphs could be posted here straight away if they were interesting.  I'm contemplating the possibility of upgrading the iPhone to the latest OS version, but I've heard a few horror stories about the performance post-upgrade, and frankly, it isn't exactly lightning quick as it is.  Maybe I should have got a 3GS instead of going for the older less expensive model.

Slacking off a bit

It hasn't been a good week for exercise this week. I ran short of time on Tuesday and Wednesday so only did short sessions, then yesterday I had a really bad day and didn't go at all. And tonight, well the gym closes early on a Friday so it was another short session. I have promised myself I will go in the weekend and get a good workout.

Battling the blues

I don't know if it's the short winter days, lack of sleep, or just because, but the black dog has been hanging around me a bit for the last couple of weeks. That'll be why I haven't blogged much.  I have been keeping up with the exercise though - it's a good thing to do, as the endorphins help a lot.

When it comes to strategies for dealing with depression, getting enough sleep is high on the list. It's hard enough to overcome that "can't be bothered" feeling without adding the opportunity for the "I'm too tired" excuse.

Another thing that helps no end is turning off news programmes - it's mostly bad anyway - and instead listening to music that cheers you up.  Personally, I like Radio Hauraki for this.

And one last thing - avoid looking directly at the mountain of work ahead of you, whatever it might be, and focus on making progress with little tasks. Give yourself a pat on the back, even for the smallest achievements.

Out into the real world again

Today D and I abandoned our existing plans for the day and went for a
walk in the Sanctuary (now known as Zealandia). It was the first time
we've been there together for about two years, and we were soon asking
ourselves why we had left it so long. It wasn't a long walk, but very
relaxing.

The first week of August

Minus 10 points for modern technology

My handy little iPhone app that I used to generate those graphs
doesn't work any more. An update came out, so I updated it, and now it
crashes when I try to run it. Grrrrrrrr!

It's getting easier

I came to work by bus today. The bus was fairly full so I had to stand
most of the way. If I had not started this walking habit, my lower
back would have been giving me hell - but it was fine. My knees, too,
are feeling the benefit of the exercise. When I first started they
were making themselves known by the end of my ten minutes, but today
they are still okay after twenty. Yay!

It seems to be working!

Tonight I extended my walking session to 20 minutes, and it felt no
harder than the first ten-minute session I did three weeks ago.

I have also noticed a difference in the way I feel about walking
generally. I no longer mind the walk if I have to park further away
from work than usual. It costs more, and takes longer to get to work,
but it's now more a nuisance than a big deal. This feels better.

A fresh look

Welcome to my new page layout. Thanks to Blogger's awesome template system, I've rearranged it all without losing any content.

Three weeks in

I'm feeling a bit down today, because I tried a few yoga stretches and realised how badly I'm being affected by the additional bulk of my body. It's all very Catch-22 - I need to get more exercise to reduce my size but my size is getting in the way of the exercise. But I'm determined to make progress. I have to, otherwise I'll just keep going downhill.

Time to focus on the positive. I've just posted my exercise record for the first three weeks. I'm pleased with my 6-day streak last week, and I'm pleased to say it's feeling good to go to the gym after work every weekday. I've averaged five big red ticks a week - let's see if I can get it up to 6 over August.

Establishing a benchmark

Charts such as the ones I've just posted are more useful if the
measurements are taken under consistent conditions. So from now on
I'll take care to set up the treadmill programme the same way each
time I do a session where I'm recording the stats. I'm setting a
target heart rate of 126 bpm, and entering my current weight including
shoes. Starting from the session I've just done, I'm also recording my
normal heart rate before I start exercising (tonight it was 90, which
was lower than I expected.) Benchmark sessions will be Tuesdays and/or
Fridays, since those are the days I'm pushed for time and I'll need to
keep those sessions short. I also want to get my blood pressure
checked about once a month. Am I collecting enough stats yet? I think
that will do for now!

Counting calories

This chart shows the number of calories I'm burning, according to the
treadmill's calculations.

It's a long way to Tipperary

This is the "distance" I'm covering in my 15 minute sessions on the
treadmill.

Starting-again point

I want to post a few words about where I'm starting from this time round, despite misgivings about putting my personal information out the for the whole world to stumble across. I wouldn't want readers thinking I'm trying to elicit sympathy either - my present poor shape is probably about 70% self-inflicted and I take full responsibility for that. It's purely for the record that I'm posting this.

I just calculated my BMI, it came out around 55. I can climb one flight of stairs, but I have to stop and catch my breath at the top. I get lower back pain; if I walk from one end of Lambton Quay to the other, I have to stop and rest my back along the way. My knees are wearing out and I have been diagnosed with "degenerative osteoarthritis" (which I think just means my knees are wearing out). I also have a thyroid condition called Graves' Disease, and I supposedly have polycystic ovarian syndrome (although no actual cysts were found when they looked). I think that covers the main points, and that's quite enough of the depressing stuff for now.

The starting point of my training regime is quite simple. It's ten minutes of walking or more a day, either on flat ground or on a treadmill at the gym. The plan at this stage is to build up from there, and by the time summer comes around I should be able to go back to my hills and nature walks.

I'll be posting a calendar like this every so often. The big red ticks show my first week of activity.

Hello again!

Well, it's been a while, and a few things have changed. I'm in a job that I still think is the best job I've ever had after 4 years. Darren and I moved in together and then got married. No kids though, I'm too old for that lark. I started playing console games (if you can't beat them, join them) and got obsessed with that for a while - then I bought an iPhone and rediscovered Facebook. But some things have not changed. As Garfield allegedly said, "I'm not overweight, I'm undertall." By about 4 feet, I'd say. Somewhere along the way I got out of the walking habit, in fact to be honest I've become almost totally slothful. It's starting to take a toll on my health, and I'm still not getting any younger (dammit!) so it's time to get the motivational toolkit out and start mountaineering up the health/fitness curve again. Since it's freezing cold in the middle of winter, I've joined a gym. I don't think I'll be taking many photos - after all, if you've seen one treadmill you've seen them all. But I'll do my best to keep a record of my progress; hopefully this will be in a positive direction! I may even jot down a few thoughts and insights if I happen to stumble across any worth sharing. Stay tuned for the next exciting episode!