Thursday 31 October 2013

Trying to find the right balance

I have heard a lot of people complain about 24 hrs not being enough I find 7 days not enough :). My problem is deciding a good workout plan, I don’t feel like giving up on any of my workouts and this results in me working-out minimum 6 days a week. Which OK but sometimes I get really tired, my poor muscles are sore if I skip one of my workouts then I am in more trouble because somehow my mind doesn’t let me skip a workout I have this need to cover up my missed workout by adding that workout to some other day. This way either I lose out on my rest day or more often than less I do an extra work out on one of the other days and the cycle of tired muscles continues
I feel like I want it all, I want to improve my strength, I want to  become a runner, I want to try new classes and I am not willing to give up on any of my classes, I have already stopped zumba because I can’t fit it in my schedule any more. 

My week looks like this (most of my sessions are 45 minutes)
Running (2 runs at normal speed, 1 interval training and 1 long run)
Spin/RPM (twice a week: Tuesday and Thursday)
Circuit/Body pump (once a week: Saturday)
20-30 minutes Hill training (once a week: Saturday)
Weights: 3 time a week (excluding body pump/circuit)
One day Rest

There are some new classes in the gym that I want to try without giving up on my above schedule, doesn’t seem possible, so I am looking at creating a better and more productive plan. Somebody suggested instead of weekly plans I should spread all my workouts over two weeks..
What do you all do? Do any of you go through this or am I the only weird one?
Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 

Tanvee

Monday 28 October 2013

People and their concerns

Have people ever asked you these questions?
"When will you eat, after you become old you will anyways have restrictions..eat now"
"When will you give up this craziness"
The other day I was discussing my fitness goals with a very close friend of mine, she has known me for a long time and this is what she said to me ' Tanvee for how long will you live like this? For long will you suffer? You are still not satisfied with yourself...it's taking so much time for you to get to your goal!!! for how long will you give up on things?? And she said all this because I said no to ice cream!!!!
(somehow a lot of people feel just because I choose to workout and say no to certain food I am suffering) This was my response :
" I am not suffering nor am I giving up on things, I know I am never satisfied but that is because my goals keep changing and I want them to keep changing that's how I improve. I started with a goal to just fit in certain clothes...aiming at just less 30 pounds weightloss now I have gone way past that mark, I have lost close to 70 pounds, I no longer focus on my weight as much as I focus on becoming stronger,  I have changed from being scared of running to joining a running club so I am more than happy because these things matter a lot more to me than ice-cream. I do have times when I wish I had better toned legs but now I believe in myself and I know I will get what I want if I work. I am not willing to give up on myself."
Trust me the only reason I could say all this was because I am proud of where I stand. I am proud of the effort I take and the choices I make everyday.
Even if you haven't reached your ideal weight or even if it is taking longer than what you expect, it's very important to be proud of the effort you put in and to believe in yourself.
Small things like not adding sugar or skipping dessert is an effort, going for a workout when everyone at home is stretched out on the couch is an effort worth appreciating and this effort at some point take you beyond your initial goal..
Personally I have noticed a lot people who are not on the same journey looking at me with pity, talking to me like I am missing out on life, expecting to become perfect in a few months..but I feel I am doing a lot more in life. I don't care if anyone questions my healthy eating or my exercising because this is what I want and I am happy!!!! My priorities have changed, being able to challenge myself is what I like. I might be in pain when I workout  but when I find myself doing something I had never imagined I could ever do I really really feel happy :)
If you have ever come across people who make you doubt yourself,  look at how far you have come, don't doubt yourself just because people don't understand your journey instead appreciate your hardwork no one can take that away from you :)
what  do you think?
Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 
Tanvee

Thursday 24 October 2013

Circuit Training


I just started an outdoor circuit training class, I do it on alternate Saturdays, alternating between body pump and circuit training. So this post is all about Circuit training, basically everything I understood about this form of training by attending two classes and doing a little bit of reading.

Circuit training is doing one exercise for a particular period of time before moving to the next.Usually the time for each exercise varies from 30 seconds to a few minutes. In my class we do every exercise for 1 minute.
When you go for a circuit training class you have a number of exercise stations and you are expected to workout at each station for a given time. It does get challenging depending on your fitness level, for example in my circuit class the stations that focus on lower body are easier for me (1 minute is not challenging enough for me) but the upper body stations like pushups or plank to push ups kill me in 1 minute.
From what I have noticed a circuit workout usually covers whole body workouts, in my class every circuit has 3 exercises.
Circuit =  1 upper body and core + 1 lower body + 1 cardio + 1 compound (strength with cardio). 

We repeat all our circuits twice and between each circuit we do a set of burpees, mountain climbers and jumping squats. The good thing about circuit training is that you are constantly moving, it is fast paced and I really do push myself while doing few of the exercises. I was used to keeping counts and I would usually stick to 12-15 before changing to the next exercise and coming back to it later but doing an exercise for a minute is a different challenge altogether, usually increases the number to a lot more.
Personally I would prefer doing it maybe once a week when I want to combine my strength and cardio in a limited time. I am going to ask the trainers if it is ok for me to put up the routine we do, if they are ok with it that’s what you will read about next.
Do you do circuit training? What are your circuits like?
Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 
Tanvee

Tuesday 22 October 2013

22nd October a very special day


Today is a very special day for me. On 22nd October T and I started our wonderful journey together. We have been together for so long. We started as friends, then became best friends who would talk for hours about life (student’s life, exams, my weight), We had a few major fights were we did not talk to each other for a bit, then we got back together got to know each other better and finally on 22nd October T asked me out :)
Together we have had our shares of ups and downs. I doubt anybody can go so many years without arguments, we don’t agree on everything nor do we share all our hobbies but somehow we have fun, I play video games with him (though I can never make sense of those, I still play and surprisingly have fun making a fool of myself while playing) he comes shopping with me (if I have no company he comes acting like he knows everything about fashion ;))
I really feel we balance each other very well, he is strong and will stand up for himself without thinking about the consequences, I only think about the consequences and forget standing up...over time he has become milder I have become stronger...he is very practical and I am a dreamer, now we dream and think about how to reach our dreams practically. I love talking he can barely say a word....(I can go on and on..)
I am just glad I found him and I really hope we can continue to be together for as long as I live





A friend of ours has just taken up photography so we were her models for a day :) - https://www.facebook.com/terryliprophotography
Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 
Tanvee


Friday 18 October 2013

just a little venting


(This is not a weight loss/fitness post - so you can skip it if you want)
I have always been on the quieter side, somebody who preferred to remain not seen, I hated conflicts and not once did I ever stand up for myself. I have smile and laughed about comments that hurt me. I have no idea why but I was always used to thinking from other people’s point of view. Though I have a loving family (no strict parents, very loving grandparents, actually all my relationships are very open – if any of them read this they will be surprised) but I still rarely voiced my opinion.  95% of the times I agreed with people because I put myself in their position in the process I have had very few arguments and conflicts in my life. To everybody I was always a happy child and I think I never gave myself the time to think about what I really wanted to do.I always assumed I was not good enough to have my own ideas, everybody else made more sense, everybody else was smarter...
Now suddenly things are changing, I am not sure if it is my weight loss journey or the fact that I have started to live on my own or maybe I am just getting older ;). I am still not as confident as I would like to be but I voice my opinion more often. I have changed from always thinking only about other people’s perspective to paying attention to what I feel and daring to say it aloud.
You would think I am happier but I feel I am in a lot more stress now, when I agreed with everybody there were no arguments it was only fun and I was kind of happy because everybody loved me. There was a time when you could come an hour late to meet me and I would be ok, but now I don't like it,I am very clear about it. I have had people talk crap about my choice of clothes but now if I like it I will wear it.  (though I am feeling guilty most of the times after speaking up)
When I speak up most people are surprised and tell me how much I have changed, some say I have become selfish. I argue a lot more and I still feel the need to give an explanation for everything I do,I still look for approval and try to make everybody happy (never works, if you have different opinions)
I feel like I am hanging in between trying to voice my opinion, being myself without wanting to risk the side effects of having to listen to people’s opinion too. It’s difficult for me because the same people who told me to become independent and strong now tell me I am becoming too strong and selfish without considering them.
I have to choose to either believe in myself and stay strong or just go back to nodding my head to what everybody has to say and make them happy...
what do you think?

Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 
Tanvee

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Comparisons and Competitive Edge

Comparing with others is one of the don’ts of fitness, the main reason being everybody starts at different fitness levels, everybody has different fitness goals. Focusing on your own personal goals always makes more sense than focusing on how somebody else is doing.My brain just doesn’t seem to understand this simple logic. I keep comparing and usually I compare with people who are a lot better than me and who have been working hard for a lot longer, so I am usually nowhere close to their fitness level.
Initially comparing with people would make me depressed because I would constantly be looking at my shortcomings, If I increased my base speed I would always find somebody else whose base speed was much more than mine in the process I would forget my growth. I have a little bit of fighters streak in me so I changed from being depressed to pushing myself more, again this also was not completely correct because I was usually pushing myself more than I should have and then I would be in more pain.
For the past few months I have been thinking of how to make the most of this attitude of mine, here's my conclusion: 

Use your role models as a bench mark and compare with yourself on daily basis.
So now I compare with how I did the last time while moving towards my bench mark which is usually based on somebody I look up to (I have so many different people I admire for different reasons, some have great weight lifting abilities, some run well, some are very flexible). Usually because everybody is working hard on their fitness levels my bench mark constantly moves ahead helping me improve.

Use persistance as your competitive edge
My fitness journey has made me a little competitive. I realised the one thing I can completely control is my persistance for living healthy. I can be as persistant as my role model. It does not depend on my physical capability it depends on how much I want to improve and how much effort I am willing to put. The one thing I can always rely on is my ability to get my workouts done. I know I might not be the fastest, I might not be able to do enough push ups but the one thing I can guarantee myself is that I will be there when my muscles are sore, I will be there when the weather is bad, I will be there when I am in a bad mood, I will be the one you will know as the ‘persistent one’
What do you think?

Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 
Tanvee

Thursday 10 October 2013

Protein Pancake

It's been a while since I posted a recipe, I actually got a request for healthy recipes so here goes..
(this is one of  my all time favourite weekend breakfast!!)

Ingredients
1 egg
1/2 scoop whey protein (I use chocolate)
1 scoop ground flax seed
water (decide depending on the consistency you like)

Method
1. Mix all ingredients
2. Use a non-stick pan or a pan spray
3. Put the batter on the pan

your pancakes are ready..I also love the banana pancake.

Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 
Tanvee
(I found this recipe here http://www.blogilates.com/recipe-index/)


Tuesday 8 October 2013

First race - points to remember for the second race

By now all of you know I ran my first ever race a week back and now I plan on running a lot more. I am listing a few things to remember for my next race. I am sure after every race I will have to keep adding to this list
Training - make sure your training is relevant
 If you plan to run a race you need to train there is no way around it and most of us know this. The important thing about training is to decide your training based on your event. If you have a race outside it's always good to include outdoor runs in your training. 
I was always on the treadmill, I had built a decent stamina for 5-6 k on the treadmill but running outside was different, the first time I did run outside I had to stop a number of times whereas on the treadmill I usually managed the same distance comfortably. I personally think all training should be done outside but if you can't manage that at least 50% training should be outdoors
Choose a Training plan based on your fitness level: 
Before narrowing down my training plan I went out for a run just to see my fitness level, don't make assumptions. There are lots of training plans available freely on the Internet when you are selecting one make sure you select something that you can relate to. So first check your fitness level then decide a plan that you can stick to. Usually you can decide this either based on the distance or speed. Look at the starting week, look at how many runs are included in a week and if you can comfortably manage the shortest run.
Check your diet
Along with the actual running the next most important thing is your diet, I started including a few more good carbohydrates, I had more oats, more sweet potato it helped especially for my long runs. Over time I realised what helped me in my runs and what caused stitch, water is also very important, during my training I realised I drink very little water during the day and that resulted in getting tired faster. This was one thing that definitely improved in my training. 
Check the race course before the race
One mistake I made was I trained along the same course the entire time, my surface was mostly flat and the race had lots of hills, next time I will make sure I know the course and train accordingly.
Make sure to include at least one or two runs at the same time as your race :
I trained either early in the morning or later on the evening but my race was at 10 am so I was a little confused about eating, because I was used to waking up eating a banana and going for my run but on the race day I had to wait till 10 so I knew I could not survive on 1 banana. I woke up really early had a good breakfast and then ate 1 banana about an 1hr before the race, that was good but I was really worried about either getting tired or feeling uncomfortable.
On the race day:
First race is always scary, especially if you are running alone, the best thing I did that day was reach a little early and talk to people who would be running the race. First things first, go register then look around smile at people, ask them if they have done a race before if they have tell them it's your first time and most of the times people will encourage you and give you very good advice...if it is their  first time, you have a company
If you have trained you know your speed, you know how long it takes for you finish 1 mile so stick to that, if you want to finish faster try increasing your speed towards the end, so most of your run is comfortable
Don't look back during the race: this is something that helped me a lot, I was really worried about coming in last I knew if I looked behind and saw nobody behind me I would either give up or increase my pace and get tired soon instead I just continued without looking behind till I finished I finished comfortably and in a decent time for me
Use time or miles as your markers, during my training I used land marks as my milestones and because I knew the path I always knew how much I had left to finish my run but for my race I did not know any landmarks, instead I used my Nike plus app to make sure I was maintaining my pace and tim, it's always nice to know how much distance you have covered
Hope you find these useful, I am sure I will have another list after the next one

Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 
Tanvee