I considered the whole jogging thing again - but in all honesty, I'm not very good at it... I can't run in the cold weather, I don't run very fast and I get lonely without someone to go with, and when you do have someone to go with it starts getting hard work organising it - especially as I work weekends and am free when everyone else is normally at work... Pain in the rear end right??
So, in true bookworm fashion, I had a nosey at the shelves at work and bought a book...
I bought Chloe Madeley's 4-Week Body Blitz! The theory was that it would give me a great boost and then I could keep going after that with the things that I had learned from the book...
Sounded like a great plan - I got it home, read through the intro and all the information at the beginning, then flipped through the exercise section straight to the recipes. Not quite what I'm used to, but I marked all the ones that I liked the sound of, and made a shopping list.
It was all going great - until I started the workouts on Day 1! It turns out that I am a lot less fit that I originally thought I was, which wasn't much anyway, I can tell you... I only completed half of the workout before I had to call it a day; before I actually did myself some damage - but I argued that it was better than what I'd done the day before - which was a whole load of nothing!!
By the end of the day I thought I was dying - too much too soon I think. The meals weren't bad though, and my other half cleared the plate too so it was still edible away from the dieting idea.
The next morning I pulled myself out of bed and got on with the workout for Day 2, proud that I was trying, despite aching everywhere!! I still didn't complete the entire thing, but I did more than the day before, and felt good for getting up and getting on with it. I discovered a few more meals that I liked, (this chicken and egg salad being my favouitie so far) and one I didn't and would not be trying again!By the end of Day 2, I ached in a few more places, and my legs were barely able to hold me upright - but I was still trying - I even went to the pub and just drank water...
Day 3 - the workout was hard now that every part of me hurt, and I struggled to get through half of the workout, but achieved my goal of half way, and felt good for trying. More recipes and more empty plates - not a bad effort - though I was starting to crave something sugary... the small piece of grated chocolate on my breakfast just hadn't cut it.
This morning however - it all started to fall apart... My legs seem to have just about recovered, and my stomach and abs aren't screaming as much as they were yesterday, but I have a stiff neck and a bad shoulder... I didn't do my workout this morning, but did stick to the meal plan. Better than nothing right?? I have also left the car at home twice today and hit the pavement to nip out to the shops.
What have I learned from this brief encounter with physical exercise?? That I am not built for that kind of movement - and I should have stuck with the recommendations of friends; get out and about more! So, despite the niggling part of my brain that is telling me I'm a quitter - I am going to ditch the workout scheme and try it my way (bearing in mind that I do have a lot longer than 4 weeks to achieve my goals) and just stick with using some of the recipes from the book to keep healthy. I have plans for countryside walks, mountain scrambles and maybe some jogging now that the weather has warmed up some!
I will try to keep you posted - for a more up to date account of my attempts and actions feel free to follow me on Instagram where I post reasonably regularly - though not always about fitness... there are books - lots of book related posts!
Vanessa :)
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