Cutting the fat - step 1

Like I said last time, I'm trying to get fit.

The first step to getting my fabulous physique back?  A killer exercise regime.

It turns out that coming up with a workout schedule is a whole lot more fun that actually doing it, but whatever.

I’ve tried to come up with some exercises to target different parts of my body.  Apart from aesthetics, getting stronger, particularly in my core and lower body, would make life a lot easier.

Like many people on the spectrum I have issues developing and maintaining basic muscle tone.  Many gym exercises are damaging to me because I don’t have the strength to support myself so other parts of my body try to compensate.  If I’m going to do this, I’ve got to be informed.  I unearthed some of my old exercise sheets from my physio and have come up with the following for strengthening my back.

-          superman hold – 30 seconds

-          reverse leg raises – lie on stomach, lift one leg behind without moving hips, hold for 5 seconds, place back down.  Repeat 15 times on each side.

That’s the back.  Now, for the core…I don’t carry a lot of weight around my midsection so I consider it one of my best features.  It’s popped out a little of late, so even though it’s not really a problem area, it’s the one that’s got me the most freaked out.  My stomach muscles are hardier than my non existent back, so I’m tempted to do 500 crunches but that’s no good for my back.  But I will still be brutal.  Here is my proposed ab routine –

-          40 sit ups, fingers to knees

-          40 crunches

-          40 side crunches, 20 on each side

-          5 V ups (that’s all I can do – will be looking to increases that.)

-          Dish hold – 30 secs

-          50 dish rocks (optional, depending on how my back feels)

As for upper body – there's no benefit for me really – I just love toned arms!  My goals are to accomplish ONE pullup and chin up and to be able to do 40 ‘man’ pushups.  So far I can do about 15, but I’ll do as many as I can and make up the rest of the 40 with ‘girl’ pushups.  Then I can increase the number of ‘man’ pushups every few weeks.  A major concern also is what can only be described as my congenital lack of tricep muscles.  I’ll definitely be looking to develop those.

-          40 pushups

-          20 tricep pushups (on knees)

-          20 diamond pushups (on knees)

-          20 tricep dips

-          5 hand stands held as long as possible

-          2 30 sec tuck handstand hold on bed

So that’s it, my conditioning regime.  I’ll aim to do that 5 times a week. 

Cardio is going to be harder because my right knee is threatening to cave in.  This means no running, and biking is out as I don’t own one and I don’t have a gym membership.  I have however been learning how to skate recently, and as my physio technically didn’t say I couldn’t do that, I’ll settle for 3 practice skate sessions a week.

That’s the plan, anyway.  Time will tell if I stick with it, but I have a good feeling.

Happy travels,

Voyager

Cutting the fat

I, Voyager, am going to get fit.

There, I said it.  Now I can be held accountable by the power of teh interwebz.

I’ve mentioned before that I have weight issues, and how it causes me all manner of problems. Yet I’ve been struggling with it for over a year now, so what’s changed?  Why am I suddenly so driven to tighten up and what makes it different from all the other times I’ve vowed to lose weight?

It’s not just aesthetics.  Oh don’t get me wrong, I hate the way I look, but I always have.  When I was a teen doing dance and gymnastics I felt like an elephant even as I would strut around the gym in my shortie shorts and crop top.  I felt my early appearing breasts and shapely hips meant that I was overweight compared to the willowy, long waisted girls in my gym and dance classes.  I thought that these girls were healthier just because they appeared thinner.  Of course, this wasn’t true.  .As an insecure teenage girl I felt like any different body shape to mine was better.  Even so,  I was taking care of my self with my exercise and eating right.  And you know what I see now, looking back? 

My body when I am fit is, dare I say, nice. 

I have hips, a round butt and large breasts but now I know those things aren’t bad for you.  My comparatively tiny waist and flat tummy compliment them quite nicely.  Unfortunately, due to the layers of fat  I’ve laid down, I can’t appreciate my shape anymore.  I’m not getting the most out of my body, and that has to change.

Yes, this body of mine is a god given gift.  Looking fly would be awesome, but several things have been going on for me recently which have convinced me that I have to start treating this body like the gift it is.  I had an accident last month which resulted in a broken wrist, broken ankle and a concussion.  I was bed bound for awhile, and of course I couldn’t do any exercise at all.  Now that scared me.  I was already overweight, and now I can’t walk?  Dragging myself around was a real pain, and I couldn’t help wondering, when I started hobbling around again, if supporting my ample weight was slowing the healing process.  Luckily I didn’t really have a net weight gain – not walking meant I couldn’t visit the fridge whenever I felt like it!  As a result, my fitness is at floor level, and I’ve noticed the difference.  I need more to get me through the day.

My goal out of this is to lose 30 kilos.  It’s a lot – almost a whole person, but this is best case scenario.  If I lose 25, I’ll be at the upper end of the healthy weight range.  Anything between 20-30kg will have me feeling like my old slammin’ self again.  It’ll be a long hard journey but, as blogger handle suggests, I’m ok with pushing into difficult territory to reach my goals.

Thinking those strong, beautiful thoughts!

Voyager