Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Get Fit, Feel Epic - Week 1

Goals, goals, goals!

I'm a bit behind in joining the Get Fit, Feel Epic challenge - but I guess it's never too late to rethink your goals and come up with strategies to achieve them. This challenge is being hosted by Rebecca over at Weight Wars.

So, here are my five goals to work on over the next eight weeks.

1. Complete the C25K program




I have already started the C25K program, and I'm at Week 4 at the moment. I haven't run in ages now, and I'm still taking it easy because of my bronchitis. However, I do want to finish the program within this 8 weeks. If I pick up at week 4 from next week and work on it consistently, then I should technically be able to start the bridge to 10 K program, but let's see how it goes. For now, my target for the 8 weeks is to complete the C25K program.


2. Start my Fitness Nutrition Certificate studies and complete 4 chapters





I have always had an unhealthy relationship with food. At first, I hated eating and would go through binge/purge cycles. Then, I cut my calories in order to lose weight. I was successful, but then I realized that what I was eating may have been low in calories, but it wasn't healthy food. This brings me to where I am now - managing both my calories and tracking my nutrition. I have gone from not wanting to eat any food to being interested in food and fascinated by how it fuels our bodies. It is this fascination that led me to register for a Specialist in Fitness Nutrition course run by the International Sports Sciences Association. There are two components of the course. I'd like to finish the first four chapters in the 1st component within these 8 weeks. There's a lot of science stuff in those chapters so I don't want to take on too much at once. If I can do more, of course I'll keep on going. For now, it's just about getting started. {By the way, I'm super impressed with the service at ISSA. They had my materials to me in Kuwait (from the States) within 72 hours of registering for the course!}


3. Work on increasing my core strength every single day



I've never had a strong core, and I think that it was weakened even more after last year's surgery. I'm so much weaker than I was before. I need to change that. I don't know how much internal damage has been done, but regardless of that, I know that if I want to improve my core strength, then I've got to do the work. I've come up with a daily routine that focuses on different core exercises - e.g. plank pose, prone jackknives, and bicycle crunches. I'm keeping it simple to ensure that I do them daily.


4. Do a minimum of two yoga/pilates/Body Balance session per week




I've missed yoga/pilates/Body Balance. I think I've lost a lot of flexibility. I'm sure that getting back to these classes will help me regain that flexibility and also improve my balance, which I think is really important as I lift heavier and heavier weights.


5. Complete my 4 week Gleason's boxing training program



It feels like ages since I had a boxing workout. I really need to get back into the swing of things. I've got a set 4-week training program that I'd like to complete over the next 8 weeks. I know that 4 weeks is only half the time, but I've got to figure out how to schedule my boxing with CrossFit. Plus, after I'm done I can always move on to other things.


So there you have it - my goals for the next 8 weeks.

I didn't put any food/nutrition goals because I'll be participating in the Whole Life Challenge starting from Sept. 15th. Getting through that will be tough enough! I also didn't put any 'I want to lose x number of kg by the end of 8 weeks.' I honestly don't know what that number should be. I just want to keep losing weight each week and make sure my daily habits are such that lead me in that direction.

The biggest trick will be in the planning. I've got to get my scheduling right so that I can get it all done.
Fingers crossed!

The added task for Week 1 is to do something that makes you feel amazing ...

Well, exercising and eating healthy makes me feel amazing. Each day it's getting easier and easier. One of the toughest things to cope with was that although D has always been supportive of my efforts, he wasn't on the same page as me in terms of daily exercise and watching my calories/types of foods etc. However, that has recently changed and I tell you, it feels AMAZING.

He's joined a gym; he'd rather have homemade lunches than prepackaged stuff. He's so much more interested and involved. This has prompted quite a big change in our household. We're investing a bit more in our health - buying fresher ingredients, being very cautious about processed stuff ... and hopefully ultimately this will lead to us using healthier tools (e.g. cutting boards, bowls, saucepans etc.) to make the most of our food. This transition started today with the arrival of my massive monster fridge. We chose it two days ago and it arrived today - I am super excited to fill it up with tons and tons of fresh produce.

This recent change has definitely been amazing :)

Me and my monster fridge :)


I'm in love ;)



7 comments:

  1. OMG I love that fridge it's amazing! I love boxing too, off to investigate that plan of yours.

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    1. I'm in love with it too :)
      Yes, check out the boxing plan and let me know what you think. I hope to start next week.

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  2. That is one big fridge!

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    1. LOL yes it is! Just glad it made it through the kitchen door :)

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  3. LOL @ your fridge pics!! Too funny.

    I'm glad your hubby has gotten on board with you and the healthy habits. It makes it so much easier when you feel like you are in it with your partner.

    As always, your goals are amazing & I don't know how you find the time to fit everything in!! Between this and the WLC, you are gonna see HUGE results. Gonna be awesome!!

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  4. I think its great that you haven't set a goal that's a number because they usually are the ones that end up getting broken and hardest to not keep to. good luck for these 8 weeks!

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  5. Love your fridge! Good tools are so important - with a family of four (plus an extra roommate now!) we have TWO fridges, and they are both chock full of fresh, healthy food. :)

    Great goals. I look forward to your blogging about the nutrition course - I'm currently studying for certification from the Canadian body (CanFit Pro) for the exact same course. The materials are full of great information.

    As for C25K, you can own this one, I know you can!

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Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! I can use all the support I can get :)