So, just before Christmas I set out five resolutions for the new year in this post.
Now that the new year has been rang in, I'll let you guys know how things are going for me so far. This first post will concentrate on my target of regaining my physical fitness.
I used to play football once a week with some mates and that run about was some great cardiovascular exercise, which I kind of took for granted. For a number of reasons like a busy work schedule, hectic home life with my wife and two boys (three now) and my new found love of blogging on Steemit initially and then Scorum more recently, I found my time was at a premium.
However through writing the post above and verbalising my thoughts, I came to the conclusion that I was actually just making excuses for myself. We all do it at different times, and build things up to be more difficult than they are. In reality, it is actually about being disciplined and scheduling our time more efficiently and once we do that, it is about forming a habit and building our new fitness regime around our life.
PLAN YOUR TIME 🕒 🕙 🕒
in this modern world, many of us are busy juggling many competing priorities, from home life to work life and everything in between. Where can we fit in our fitness regime? It is useful to think about some very successful business people here. Many break their days down not by the hour, but by the minute to get things done. These are often 10 minute blocks. They allow the 10 minutes to get the task done and then move on.
If you are like me and you are struggling to find time, take a look at your daily routine and figure out where you can squeeze in some 10 minute slots. You'll be surprised where you can find time. Here are some examples:
- Get up 30 minutes earlier and exercise then. You could go for a quick run or cycle or you could do some exercises in your home like pushups, situps, jumping jacks, shadow boxing etc.
- Do you live relatively close to work? Why not run or cycle to work? Quick shower when you get there. No shower at work? OK, bring the gear and run home instead.
- How long of a lunch break are you entitled to? Many of us get 30 mins to 1 hour.. Why not exercise for the first half or three quarters and have your lunch right after your shower?
- OK, you're a TV addict. Why not sacrifice one or two of those shows and exercise instead. No way!!? OK then, why don't you incorporate your TV watching with some exercise.. you can easily do sit ups, push ups, jumping jacks etc while having your favorite show on in the background.
- Look through your day and I'm sure there are lots of 10 minute slots where you can squeeze in some push ups or the like. The beauty of these is you can do them anywhere at all which has a flat floor.
GYM, EQUIPMENT OR LACK THEREOF 🏃 🏊
I used to go to the gym back in the day and to be honest I was never a big fan. I found it boring being confined by the four walls and the gym I was a member of wasn't cheap either at €75 per month. That's nearly a grand a year and that was nearly ten years ago so god only knows how much they are gouging out of the general public these days.
Then there was always that guy trying to benchpress a lorry and letting all manner of heaves and hoes and gasps out as he did so. It just wasn't my cup of tea.
I've always preferred to get my exercise outdoors playing various sports or going for a jog or a cycle.
So since engaging my new healthy regime, I haven't joined an extortionate gym and I haven't gone out and bought a load of equipment. Instead I have come up with my own regime, which mainly just involves me and my limbs.
MY EXERCISES
pushups - you can do these anywhere and typically I do then first thing in the morning or last thing at night or I might even squeeze a few in during the day also. You can vary your hand positions to work different muscles in your arms, chest and abs.
Situps - Again this one can be done anywhere at all. I find it good to throw a towel or blanket or something on the ground for this one, as it can get pretty sore on your lower back otherwise. This is another exercise that has many different ways to do it, depending on how you position your legs and body.
Jumping Jacks - once again these can be done anywhere, from your bedroom, on front of the telly or in your hotel room when you travel. They are really easy and if you do enough you get a nice sweat going.
Shadow Boxing - Another member of the can be done anywhere brotherhood of exercises. This is a good cardio workout or a nice warm up exercise.
Dumbell lifts - I have some dumbells that I bought back when Christopher Columbus was discovering the new world. I've dusted these off now and they are part of my new fitness regime. The problem is they are very light at just 9Kg, so my plan is to buy new ones at some stage. For now I just do lots of reps with the light ones, but heavier weights with much fewer reps would be much better for working out. So that's on my to do list.
Jogging - All you need here is a pair of legs and some runners and away you go. I've explained above how to find the time. So stop making excuses and get off your ass :o) I have managed two runs so far since kicking off the exercise part of my resolutions and they were interesting to day the least, especially the first run!!
We stayed down on the family farm this weekend and I was in the middle of kicking off my new healthy buzz, so I wanted to keep things going, so I packed my running gear, which hadn't been donned since time immemorial, well definitely 4 or 5 years anyway. I stuck the gear on and most normal people would ease themselves back in with an easy run. Oh no! I decided to take on a mountain run, now it's only 3 kilometres, but the first 1km is straight up hill and it nearly killed me! By the time I got to the top I could hardly breath or run!! But I did it, just about..
So today when I did run 2, which was a 4km flat run in Dublin's Phoenix park, it was a piece of cake in comparison. It took me 1 km to get my breathing right, buy after that it was no hassle. I feel great after it. I do have a slightly dodgy knee, so I'll have to keep an eye on that as I ramp up the distances in the coming weeks. It's been great though getting back into fitness again and it's all about forming a habit. They say it takes about 1 month to form a habit, so I'll do my best to keep it going and hopefully it will naturally just become part of my routine then.
WORKOUTS SO FAR
Day 1
- 70 x pushups
- 75 x Dumbell curls (9Kg)
- 75 x Dumbell side lifts (9Kg)
Day 2
- 40 x pushups
- 100 x Dumbell curls (9Kg)
- 100 x Dumbell side lifts (9Kg)
- 100 x sit ups
Day 3
- 50 x pushups
- 150 x situps
- 300 x jumping jacks
- Mix of 12.5Kg Kettlebell exercises
Day 4
- 70 push ups
- 150 sit ups
- 2.5Km Mountain run (on our family farm - photo below)
Day 5
- Rest Day
Day 6
- 40 x pushups
- 65 x Dumbell curls (9Kg)
- 65 x Dumbell side lifts (9Kg)
- 100 x sit ups
- 4km flat run (in Dublin's Phoenix Park on my work lunch break - photos below)
Delighted with the week so far, as Day 2 to Day 5 were my holiday to Galway for a few days with my family, but I still managed to squeeze in the exercise. The seed is planted now. Just need to nurture it until the habit is formed.
Thanks as always for reading.
Why not join me on this road to fitness?
Peace Out.
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