I am so proud of this post! I'm pleased to announce that I completed all of the workouts on my Month 1 walking plan. In my continuing effort to be completely honest about how this is all going, I have to say that I was pretty worried about whether I was able to make this commitment to you but more importantly, to me. But what's interesting is that this month has been more eye opening than I ever expected. A friend who saw my initial post, and recently lost over 75 pounds himself, warned me that there is a lot of self discovery that comes with a fitness overhaul. I thought I understood what he meant at the time. I know now that I didn't have a clue.
So how did this month go? What went well? What went not so well? Here are my lessons learned so far:
- I like exercise: I have a hard time not charging full steam ahead but have found that by easing into this routine I have prevented injuries and am really enjoying and appreciating exercise when I get to do it. Note that I said "get to do it" and not "have to do it." That is really how I feel about it. Really! Even on the stifling hot days up here in Michigan, it never crossed my mind not to go out on my walk. I wasn't always able to bring Olive because of the heat but I still looked forward to being present in my life and enjoying the experience.
- I am tense; yoga is relaxing: So many people have found an inner calm through yoga. I just never experienced that feeling and it led me to question what was wrong with me. Well I figured it out, my negative thoughts and my focus on my lack of flexibility held me back from the mental component of yoga. Without that focus on calming your mind, just doing the poses right is really not going to help much. Anyhow, I liked it so much that I went back to the class this past Sunday. What's interesting is that the regular instructor was back (apparently we had a sub the week before) and it was such a different class. The poses he walked us through were much simpler and the tone of the class was much more oriented toward clearing your mind. I liked both sessions for different reasons. The first session had me so focused on the poses that I couldn't let my mind wander to stressful stuff. Additionally, when I walked out of the first class my muscles were tired from the harder poses but also relaxed from the stretching. At the same time, the second session left me feeling more accomplished because I could keep up better and enjoyed the meditative component. I think the combination of the two classes gave me a more thorough understanding of the facets of yoga. I'm sure there is more to learn and I've decided to get a 10 session package so plan on hearing more about yoga. (Yes, I'm hooked!)
- I feel feelings when I listen to music and exercise: Music can make or break a workout for me. I can't tell you how much time I've spent building just the right walking mix for both my warm-up/cool-down and the faster portion of the walk. The wrong song will totally slow me down, while a really good beat will increase my speed without me even realizing it. In some ways I feel like I built up this hard inner crust that exercise is shaking loose and the right song, a powerful chorus, or even the perfect note during my walk can elicit such strong emotions (good and bad). I was listening to Read My Mind by The Killers the other day and I felt like my heart might burst out of my chest if I didn't start belting it out while walking down the street. Fortunately for the neighborhood I didn't start singing but it was odd because there isn't anything special about that song. It has no sentimental value to me. I guess there is something about the combination of a good song with a good beat while I'm exercising can super pump me up.
- I need help: I can't do this alone. I mean I do go on all my walks on my own, well I bring Olive but you know what I mean. And my commitment to this process has to come from within - not because someone else is pushing me. But sometimes I have questions (ex. what is my target heart rate?) or run into an issue (ex. I have shin splints and they are making moving my left leg really hard) and need someone to help me. I'm lucky because when I have questions, Beth and Go Training have answers. So if you can get a Beth to help you, I recommend that. But you can also search "the Google" or ask friends who are more active for suggestions. I guess the big lesson here for me has been not to just let things go. There are answers to your questions and you shouldn't feel like your questions are dumb. I can almost guarantee someone else has wondered the same thing and it can make a huge difference in how your workout feels if you get help when you need it (Go Training's shin splint advice is crazy helpful and eliminated the issue).
- Things aren't and won't be perfect: I had a rough week last week. There will be rough weeks. I still get frustrated when I can't do something right away. I am working to accept that learning is part of the experience. I have a really hard time staying focused on improving my health and fitness and not just wanting to be thin. I still struggle with unhealthy thinking about food and exercise and my body. When I go walking I don't come home suddenly looking like Jennifer Aniston. Sometimes all I want more than anything on this earth is chocolate. All of that is normal. It is totally okay that I still have those thoughts. I try to focus on the positive steps I'm taking to make changes and stop thinking about all the things that aren't perfect. It would be a lie to say I am able to refocus and suddenly feel like all is right with the world. I don't. It's not. But it's sure a whole lot better than it was when I went on that first walk 5 weeks ago.
So what's next? More exercise and a focus on my eating. This first month I just worked on making fitness a normal part of my routine. I did make some small changes to my eating that I'll tell you more about in detail in a future post. But if you hung out with me at all lately you know that I have a severe dependence on ice cream. I am a Moose Tracks addict. I think the first step is acknowledging I have a problem so that's a good start but now I need to start making changes.
I'm also going to bump up my workouts to four days a week. You can see the plan Beth outlined for me below. I'm actually really looking forward to increasing the number of walks each week! I know, I think that's weird too. But I'm excited.
Lastly, I'm going to visit my brother and Beth out in Portland at the end of the month (I'M SO EXCITED!!!) so expect lots of good exercise and eating pictures late August/early September. It is totally possible I'll get to Portland and decide I'm not coming back so be prepared in case that happens.
If you missed any of my blog posts this month you can either click on Go Training at the top of this page to see all Beth's great posts and just look for the ones with the header "A GOOD YEAR." You can also find them listed below:
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3 Month Walking Program
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Month 2
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Week
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M
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T
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W
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TH
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F
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Sat
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Sun
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Total Weekly minutes
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5
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30 BRISK INTERVALS - 3 min on, 2 minutes off X 4
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20 EASY
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30 INTERVALS
5 min warm up,
2 minutes on, 1 minute recovery
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40 EASY
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120
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6
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35 BRISK INTERVALS - 4 minutes on, 1 minute off X 4
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20 EASY
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30 INTERVALS
2 minutes on, 30 second recovery X 4
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45 EASY
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130
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7
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40 BRISK INTERVALS - 4 minutes on, 2 minutes off X 5
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20 EASY
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30
Hill repeats
5 minute warm up, find a small to medium hill, 4 X up and down, 5 minute cool down.
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50 EASY
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140
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8
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45 BRISK INTERVALS - 3 minutes on, 2 off X 7
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20 EASY
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30 Hill repeats
5 minute warm up, find a small to medium hill, 4 X up and down (each bout about 2.5 minutes?), 5 minute cool down.
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60 EASY
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155
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| Cathy's workout shoes - that are actually being used for working out! |
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