APRIL FITNESS UPDATE

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Trying to get my health in check is one of the few things that is keeping me sane during social distancing . If you read my March update, then you know the goals I had outlined for April . So let’s see I how it went.

Fitness

I did 2 days of strength training , 2 days of HIIT and 1 day of mobility and flexibility every week.

Mobility  

Joint mobility seems underrated when people who aren’t fitness professionals talk about their fitness routines . Mobility is the ability of a joint to move freely through a given range of motion without restriction from surrounding tissues. It prevents injuries, fixes muscle imbalances and improves your quality of life by reducing day to day pain .

I found this fun and easy routine by Kieara Lashae that’s been my go to this month. 

Flexibility

Flexibility is a whole other ballgame . I searched through YouTube for SIMPLE routines and tested out a bunch of them . Either I am beyond redemption or most of them are not beginner friendly . I’ll go with the latter. Eventually , I found this routine . I definitely struggled even with this one but I’m sure I’ll get better at it over time . 

Both routines add up to under 25 minutes so I did them both once a week . 

Strength training 

I picked four simple exercises : squats , plank, pushups and wall sits. 

My main objective was to develop proper form when doing them. I did wall push-ups and elevated planks as modifications because I could not do the “original” techniques. I work with time based intervals instead of repetitions . 

I have very little functional strength but that makes me excited because it’s only uphill from here. This was definitely the most challenging aspect of my routine but it was equally rewarding. 

HIIT

I stuck to my jump-rope routine but only twice a week . This is my favorite workout and it really kicks my butt. 

My workouts last 23 minutes excluding the 5 minute dynamic warm up and 5 minute cool down .

Warming up and cooling down makes the world of a difference when it comes to my recovery . 

I noticed that my endurance with jump rope has gone down since I’ve been doing it less frequently and with the days further apart. Maybe doing it twice a week isn’t enough. Not for the purpose of fat loss but for getting better at jump rope in general . I also experienced a significant decline in my willpower to get my workout down if I didn’t do it FIRST thing in the morning. 

Nutrition 

Replacing fruit juice with real fruit was so easy to do. I don’t miss it at all and I’ve been really enjoying getting in more fruit into my diet. My favorite ones have been pineapples and grapes . 

Intermittent Fasting has been harder on some days more than others. Honestly, I haven’t been disciplined with it. Additionally , since it started raining more and getting colder , I’ve been eating A LOT more than I need to .

Observations I’ve made

1. I experience(d) a burst of nervous energy especially after HIIT workouts . This energy lasts hours after. It could be the endorphins from exercising but I also think that Ms.Rona has a role to play in this. 
2. I am more adaptable with workouts than I am with nutrition. It’ll definitely take a lot more discipline and willpower to follow a healthier nutrition plan.
3. I can jump a bit longer than I could when I started and I have developed some rhythm to it . #PuffPuffGains
4. I am the only one in this house who successfully lifted and pushed the bed in the guest room . It’s safe to say that the strength workouts are paying off. #MyKenyanBuff

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May plans 

Mitchelle Adagala launched some fitness programs on May 1st 2020. I purchased her ‘Begin’  program. I started the program on May 4th and will be doing it to completion .

It has both a nutrition and workout guide. To maintain the “integrity” of the program, I will follow it without making many adjustments. According to the guide I’ll be working out 3 times a week . 

So in addition to the program , I’ll be doing the following :

• Eat slowly . I’m a fast eater. Mostly because I like my food hot, feel like prolonging the activity is a waste of time and I’m always eating while doing something else. Eating fast for me often means eating more and ignoring my satiety signals . I want to mindfully savour each bite and enjoying the social aspect of it with family.
• Taking a break from IF. I will no longer be doing Intermittent fasting intentionally. The nutrition guide is a significant change in my eating habits so I want to focus on nailing that down. I will stick to having my last meal 3 hours before bedtime in order to give me a natural 12-14 hour fasting period as recommended in the program.
• Do all my workouts FIRST thing in the morning whenever possible.
• Since I’ll be working out thrice a week ,I’ll do mobility and/or some light stretches in between.
• Meditation : I will be doing at least 10 minutes of meditation daily after my workouts. That way I get my endorphins and some zen energy to start my day right.

Actionable step(s) for you 

If there’s one thing I’d recommend you start doing daily is to work on your mobility and flexibility by doing some light stretches. 

People of all ages, shapes and sizes should do it and it only takes as little as 10 minutes a day. That’ll make a huge difference in the long run. Don’t wait to get arthritis when stretching will be part of your prescription. Prevention is better than cure!

To reduce your potential resistance, I’ve created a public YouTube playlist with a few videos I’ve come across. I will be updating it as regularly as I can . I haven’t tried all the videos but they might help you out . (I have to throw in a disclaimer that I’m not a certified personal trainer so please don’t break something on my account).

I want to hear from you 

How are you doing? Have you been staying active in any way? Are you trying to eat more mindfully? Has the weather got you eating more like me? Let’s chat in the comments down below.

I hope this post was beneficial to you. I share my journey for documentation purposes but I also hope that I inspire you to take care of your physical health. Starting from scratch can be hard and intimidating but as Micheal Jackson sang, ” You are not alone. I am here with you.” We’ve got this ! 

Thanks for stopping by .

“Always remember that your hair is your crown and your body is a temple; embrace it , love it and take care of it.”

God bless you all. 

P.S

 I’m consciously spending less and less time on social media. Soo…

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