What a week! I knew I was being a little over-optimistic to take on 3 hours of workouts on Monday but I wanted to do it to prove to myself that I could. So, I did an hour of resistance training in the morning, then in the evening, I had an hours ballet fitness class followed directly by an hours pole progression class. I LOVED it, but sadly I think my upper body did not as by the end of the evening every joint and muscle in my upper body screamed it's achiness at me! I slathered on the arnica cream and went to bed hoping to wake up and miraculously feel back to normal, but unfortunately, the aching continued and I felt as though I had cracked my neck to boot. However, it was the last class on Tuesday evening of my beginner level 2 pole dancing class which I couldn't bear to miss so off I trotted. By the end of the class, my arms were worse than the night before so I went home to repeat the arnica and rest routine! Wednesday morning was resistance circuit workout time and my lower body was very willing but my upper body had gone on strike, so not wanting to miss a training session, I worked my lower body twice as hard.
Slowly as the week progressed my upper body aches and pains faded; helped by my husband whom I enslaved to massage my aching shoulders, neck and arms and also my religious use of the faithful arnica cream (must put more on my weekly shopping list!).
So, I kept up the exercise all week but in short, I found my upper body limitations. I also gained a personal best at running this week on Saturday with a time of 9.17 mins/mile which I was chuffed to bits with considering I still need to stop and power walk a little on some of the hills (one of them does go on for a whole mile though!). Another breakthrough was with my pole dancing. I learnt two new intermediate/advanced moves. One is an inverted pose called The Butterfly and the other is a move to get to an inverted position called The Shoulder Mount. I also managed to deadlift into an invert..... hence all the upper body discomfort as all of these moves require so much effort on the arms, shoulders etc.
We had 3 or 4 awesome new Zumba dance tracks to learn this week too which helps keep things fresh. I do love dancing! :)
As for diet, I think I keep to the 80/20 rule, but I need to get out my cookbooks to create some new inspirations for sticking to my healthy eating plan - it's good to keep things varied. I am doing something special for Halloween tomorrow evening - I have prepared a special chicken and pumpkin casserole with mushrooms, mixed peppers, tomatoes, peas, sweetcorn, cumin, fennel and vegetable stock which I am planning on slow cooking all day. I will serve with mixed steamed veg for me (and a giant jacket potato for my husband!). I am hoping the kiddies will like it too! Pumpkin is very nutritious and tasty so I am hoping it will turn out ok! The rest of the pumpkin was carved into a ghoulish creature called Freddie by the kids! I roasted the seeds to sprinkle on salads, so there's no waste!
The supplements seem to be going down at a steady pace and I have to keep a check on supplies regularly to make sure I don't run out. I particularly like the Skinny Protein Shakes and the Skinny Water and Fitness Water. I know that the supplements have curbed my appetite and increased my metabolism as I've always been quite in-tune with my body and I try to listen to it as much as possible.
As for weight loss - no lbs lost this week! :( I nearly cried until I got the trusty tape measure out and realised that I had managed to lose 3cm! I must have lost fat and gained muscle in order for my body shape to change but not my weight. I felt slightly better then. I know I've bleated on about my poor arms but I lost 2cm off them this week! (I think it was the last bit of bingo wings!) haha, So many people have complimented me on my changing shape and this alone maintains my motivation. I want to make the very best of this opportunity and so I am trying my best to stick to the plan and to listen to my body. I have a vision of what I want to achieve and I'm not going to stop until I succeed.
How have you all got on over the past week? I do like to read everyone's updates. How is everyone else feeling? Are you still just as motivated? What are you struggling with and what have been your best achievements? Keep it up everyone - we can do this! :)
Slowly as the week progressed my upper body aches and pains faded; helped by my husband whom I enslaved to massage my aching shoulders, neck and arms and also my religious use of the faithful arnica cream (must put more on my weekly shopping list!).
So, I kept up the exercise all week but in short, I found my upper body limitations. I also gained a personal best at running this week on Saturday with a time of 9.17 mins/mile which I was chuffed to bits with considering I still need to stop and power walk a little on some of the hills (one of them does go on for a whole mile though!). Another breakthrough was with my pole dancing. I learnt two new intermediate/advanced moves. One is an inverted pose called The Butterfly and the other is a move to get to an inverted position called The Shoulder Mount. I also managed to deadlift into an invert..... hence all the upper body discomfort as all of these moves require so much effort on the arms, shoulders etc.
We had 3 or 4 awesome new Zumba dance tracks to learn this week too which helps keep things fresh. I do love dancing! :)
As for diet, I think I keep to the 80/20 rule, but I need to get out my cookbooks to create some new inspirations for sticking to my healthy eating plan - it's good to keep things varied. I am doing something special for Halloween tomorrow evening - I have prepared a special chicken and pumpkin casserole with mushrooms, mixed peppers, tomatoes, peas, sweetcorn, cumin, fennel and vegetable stock which I am planning on slow cooking all day. I will serve with mixed steamed veg for me (and a giant jacket potato for my husband!). I am hoping the kiddies will like it too! Pumpkin is very nutritious and tasty so I am hoping it will turn out ok! The rest of the pumpkin was carved into a ghoulish creature called Freddie by the kids! I roasted the seeds to sprinkle on salads, so there's no waste!
The supplements seem to be going down at a steady pace and I have to keep a check on supplies regularly to make sure I don't run out. I particularly like the Skinny Protein Shakes and the Skinny Water and Fitness Water. I know that the supplements have curbed my appetite and increased my metabolism as I've always been quite in-tune with my body and I try to listen to it as much as possible.
As for weight loss - no lbs lost this week! :( I nearly cried until I got the trusty tape measure out and realised that I had managed to lose 3cm! I must have lost fat and gained muscle in order for my body shape to change but not my weight. I felt slightly better then. I know I've bleated on about my poor arms but I lost 2cm off them this week! (I think it was the last bit of bingo wings!) haha, So many people have complimented me on my changing shape and this alone maintains my motivation. I want to make the very best of this opportunity and so I am trying my best to stick to the plan and to listen to my body. I have a vision of what I want to achieve and I'm not going to stop until I succeed.
How have you all got on over the past week? I do like to read everyone's updates. How is everyone else feeling? Are you still just as motivated? What are you struggling with and what have been your best achievements? Keep it up everyone - we can do this! :)
