A lot of my energy is absorbed by a hard match course that I take at the uni so I don’t really “feel” like working out at the moment. But I do and I’m really proud of myself for that. That I stick with it even though it’s not all that fun all the time. I’m sure that the intensity will get better and the routines will get more varied once this class has finished. Then I’ll hopefully be able to think of something else than linear Diophantine equations and stuff like that.

Exercise:

• 4 circuits of the following
• 4 minutes – Alternating knee lifts (190, 210, 240, 257) Total of: 897 knee lifts
• 1 minute – Crunches (29, 32, 30, 30) Total of: 121 crunches
• 3*10 Push ups from the knees
• 6*10 sec Plank (elbow to toes)
• 3*10 Hip lifts/bridge (crossing hands under back during lift)

I didn’t feel that well last week so I took some time off. I wanted to get back on track today but it wasn’t that easy. I just didn’t feel like it. So after some debating with myself the “good” side of me won and I did get my exercise done. I did a very simplistic routine that I found over at BodyRock.tv.

I set myself a time limit of 15 minutes where I were to perform as many circuits as  possible. I managed to perform 18 sets within that time frame. My upper body strength is pretty bad so even though I did (heavily) assisted push ups my arms got a really good workout. But considering that I managed a total of 180 reps I don’t mind they being assisted. Soon enough I’ll be able to work my way up to more advanced versions.

Exercise:

• 18 sets/circuits in 15 minutes
• 10 * Jumping jacks
• 10 * Assisted push ups

I found this book, The Official British Army Fitness Guide, on Amazon a few weeks back when I was searching for fitness books in general. I read the reviews and even though they were pretty good and the book itself wasn’t that expensive I didn’t buy it because I was turned off by the title. While I think exercise and fitness is fun I’m definitely not very macho. So when I came across this at a local book shop for £5 I thought, why not. If I can get one idea from the book that would be worth a fiver.

When I came home I pretty much read the whole book, cover to cover. It’s a quick read at only 175 pages that contains lots of pictures. And I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. It’s not very macho at all. It’s actually a pretty nice read.

The book is split into three parts – The basics, The programmes and The practicalities.

Part 1 – The basics

Although it’s called the basics it’s actually pretty comprehensive. This part starts with aerobic fitness. It walks you through, with clear pictures, how to run properly and how to improve your running technique. At the end it gives you a 4-week aerobic fitness start-up programme that you can follow if you’re not used to any aerobic exercising before embarking on the more demanding programs.

It then continues with strength training. This is my favourite part of the book as this is where all the nice exercises are – push ups, squats and crunches to name a few. There are 15 exercises in total and they are shown with clear pictures and descriptions of how to do them. Many of them also have different versions in order to make them easier or harder depending on how fit you are. And at the end of the strength-chapter there is a 4-week strength start-up programme that will prepare you for the programs later on in the book.

The first part of the book ends with chapters on how to stretch and how to perform a proper warm up and cool down.

Part 2 – The programmes

This part of the books starts with a a series of tests to help you assess your fitness level. The tests include a two minute press-up test, a two minute sit-up test, a 1 1/2 mile run test and a sit-and-reach test. The book provides clear tables to see how you scored in each test. The result then determines which programme that is suitable for you to start with.

The book provides three programmes with progressively harder difficulty levels. Each program runs over 12 weeks with 4 days of exercise and 3 days of rest per week. Once you’ve finished one program you can go on to the following one. This will allow you to progressively work your way up to a better fitness level and harder exercises.

Part 3 – The practicalities

This is the smallest of the three parts but it might be the most important one. This part of the book covers how to stay healthy and how to avoid injuries. It talks about what a healthy diet is, no fad diets or anything like that but a good, basic, healthy way of eating. It also discusses how to stay motivated and how to set goals. Something that can vastly improve once motivation.

My verdict

I think this book is really good for what it is. It’s a down to earth book about how to get fit. It’s not about fancy equipment or being hip. It offers solid techniques and advice that has been tried and tested and proved to work. The book doesn’t offer any revolutionising new information so a lot of it is pretty obvious but none the less it’s information worth repeating.

I like that it is so clearly laid out with full colour pictures + text explaining in detail how to do each exercise. Personally I really liked the parts that covered warm up and cool down including stretching as this is something I tend to rush through when I’m exercising.

Getting fit doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. To get fit you have to put in consistent work and this book gives you all the tools you need to get fit, really fit. Regardless of your current fitness level this book will provide you with a program that you can, pretty much, do anywhere.

I wouldn’t recommend this book if you’re looking for something to give you new inspiration or something to make your exercise funnier and more interesting. But if you are a beginner who are looking to improve your fitness level in a no nonsense way this book is a very good start.

For me it was definitely worth £5 as even if I haven’t received any new information it gave me a good warm up and cool down routine to add to my workouts.

Still not feeling 100% well so I’ve decided to take the rest of the week off. Not off as in doing nothing butt of as in taking care of myself and not pushing myself when I don’t feel like it. Sometimes I have a hard time giving myself a break and that can work against me when I don’t let my body and mind rest when they tell me they need to. So, no more “work” for the rest of the week.

So right now I’m sitting in the sofa drinking coffee and eating mango. Don’t have any real plans for the rest of the day and that feels a little bit weird. Think that I might start working on a book review that I want to get done.

Not feeling all that well today so I’m taking it a bit easy. I’ve already done my studying for today so I don’t have to think about that any more today. Instead I’m gonna lie here in my sofa eating smarties and get some more work done on my website.

I have lots of ideas that I want to incorporate with my website. The whole website is going to be more geared towards health and fitness as that is something that I find really interesting. I plan to regularly post new recipes and continue to update with my workouts. In the future there might even be a video blog or two I just have to get a little bit more confident first. 

Hopefully I’m feeling better tomorrow as I have planned on going for another photo walk + get some studying done at the library.

I’m in a really good place right now. It feels as if everything is falling into place. Everything starts to make sense again. It’s like I’ve been locked away for a long time and finally I’m free and I can do whatever I want. Breathe freely and allow myself to be me.

I’m really happy and content with my life right now. I feel happier, stronger and more confident than ever!

I didn’t do any studying today as I had finished the assignment early. Instead I decided to hit the shops. I found myself a cute pair of slippers. Even though the flat is carpeted the floor is absolutely freezing. Think they were a bargain at only £5. I also got myself a new mobile phone, hardly worth to mention as it is only for emergencies and didn’t cost more than £4.95 + top up. Even cheaper than the slippers.

I can’t really say that I was in the mood for exercising today. Especially not something heavy on cardio so I decided to do a very slow routine today. No heavy breathing, no racing pulse… just a slow and steady rhythm. That doesn’t mean that it was easy though! Nope, all focus was on the abs today so it got a thorough work through. The rep count alone were 300.

Exercise:

• 5 circuits of
• 1 minute * The plank from the knees
• 20 * Crunches
• 20 * Reversed crunches
• 20 * Russian twists
• 1 minute * Stomach vacuum
• 10 push ups from the knees (not included in the circuit)

After yesterdays basic workout with only two exercises I felt the need for something a little bit more varied. So I created a routine with 6 different exercises with 50 reps of each move. I could definitely feel the burn, especially with my abs being pretty sore from all the crunches yesterday.

Exercise:

• 50 * Hip lift (bridge) with raised leg pump (25 for each leg)
• 50 * Push ups from the knees
• 50 * Plank ups (from elbows up to hands)
• 50 * Sideways plank ups (25 on each side)
• 50 * Sitting triceps dips
• 50 * Donkey kicks (25 on each leg)

The workout today was a lot more intense than yesterdays workout. Even though the previous workout was a bit so-so it did work my legs quite a bit and I did feel a little bit stiff today. That just added to the intensity of what I did today. Today I felt like doing a bit of cardio and to work my abs. I settled on a very simple routine, simple but not easy!

The jumps were basically like rope jumping without the rope. (I really should learn how to jump rope properly as it is a super cardio workout. Maybe I should make that my summer challenge this year?) The next part were crunches, the first 84 crunches were done with bent and raised knees (tuck & crunch) and the last 76 were regular crunches.

Exercise:

• 4 Rounds of the following
• 4 minutes jumping in sets of 30 – a total of 1320 jumps
• 1 minute of crunches – a total of 160 crunches

I didn’t feel like exercising at all to be honest so I’m really pleased that I managed to get it done anyways. Todays workout focused a lot on the legs, got a decent burn in my thighs but it could have been more if I had put more energy into the exercises. Well, well… at least I did something!

Exercise:

• 5 circuits of
• 10 squats
• 20 knee lifts (10 on each leg)
• 10 lunges (5 each leg)
• 10 calf raises
• 10 side lunges with floor touch (5 on each leg)