Monday, May 30, 2011

33 mins workout

Today I did a 33 mins workout with stretches, pushups, crunches, squats, supermans and leg-lifts. It was much easier than I expected as I had taken a 2 day break to recover from my 10km run. Maybe my body had rebuilt itself during those 2 days and I had more energy to do the workout. However, 2 day breaks are not going to happen again if I can help it; even if I do a 10km run. Hopefully the next run will be longer and I will get more prepared for my 21km run that I wan to do this year.

Friday, May 27, 2011

10km in 55mins 21sec

I finally managed to do a 10km. Unfortunately it wasn't at an official race. I just measured the distance around my campus using google maps and ran the route. Unlike in official events, there were no cheerleaders or water stations along the route. This made it tough to complete the course. However, I guess my workouts have been making me really fit and I completed it in 55mins 21 secs. This is my best time for a 10km ever. I'm still recovering from it as I just completed the run an hour ago. I don't feel very tired though and I think that I can run farther for an official event in the near future.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

40 mins run + 15 mins workout

Today I ran for 40 mins cos I hadn't run for a while and needed a cardio workout. I didn't really calculate the distance that I ran because I wanted to run for a long time. So I'm guessing the distance is around 6.5km based on my average speed. I also managed to do a 15 min workout with pushups, supermans and crunches. It wasn't a long workout, but I was feeling a little tired so I decided to stop while I was ahead. I also found this website about increasing flexibility and it does seem worth a try.

30 mins Workout

Today I did a 30 mins workout with stretches, pushups, crunches, squats, supermans and leg-lifts. I delayed my workout and finally did it late at night which is not a good thing. But, I still did it, despite it being late in the night. So I'm glad that I managed it. It felt good, but the downside of doing the workout at night is that my metabolism is so high that I'm not able to sleep. So here's to hoping that I get some sleep today. Also...This website gives some basic information about home exercises that I will probably include into my routine in the future. My current exercises are getting a little boring.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

30 mins Workout

Today I did a 30 mins workout with stretches, pushups, squats, crunches, plank, supermans, and leg-lifts. I really didn't have the motivation to workout today, so I watched one of the new videos uploaded by bodyrock.tv today and immediately had the inspiration to workout. I know that motivation is one of the key reasons for my visiting bodyrock.tv and today's video was very inspirational. In the video, Zuzana talks only about her diet problems and how she also has problems coping with proper nutrition by over-eating etc. It's great that she told us viewers this. NONE of the other instructors in other websites ever confess their problems to us normal folk just trying to reduce weight and get a great body. This video had no workouts but truly inspired me to do a killer workout. Truly inspiring...

Friday, May 20, 2011

30 mins workout

Today I did a 30 mins workout with stretches, pushups, squats, crunches, leg-lifts and supermans. The progress has been good the last week and the results are becoming more visible daily. I will be doing more cardio to improve my fat burn which I think is the major limiting factor at my current state. In the meantime, I need to make sure that I eat right. Snacks like those mentioned at www.coreperformance.com are really useful when suddenly craving something to eat. At least they are nutritious and are not junk food.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

6.8km in 40 mins + 20 mins workout

Today I decided to do cardio + a workout. The run was much faster than my previous one and I managed to do 6.8km in 40 mins which make my rate 5.88mins/km. I'm sure that I can reduce that to 5.55 for my 10km run in 1 month's time. I also did a 20 min workout with pushups, crunches, leg-lifts, lunges and stretches. I'm not doing enough cardio for my own good. I suppose its because I need to get new shoes. I have been using New Balance so far and am very happy with it. I wonder if I should stick to it or buy a new brand. I heard that mizuno and asics are the best for running. But I've not tried them and I'm not sure if I should go for a new brand.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

30 mins workout yesterday

Yesterday I did another 30 mins workout with stretches, pushups, situps, crunches, leg-lifts, and plank. I also tried walking lunges for the first time and they seem to be a really good exercise. I will probably make them a routine exercise in the future. Trying to get cardio into my routine is difficult as it was raining again today. What the hell is wrong with the cold rainy English weather. Can't wait to get back to tropical climates so that I can do my cardio properly. Again for inspiration I came across Glenda's story on on livestrong.com

30 min workout yesterday

Yesterday I did a 30 mins workout with stretches, pushups, situps, crunches, leg-lifts, and plank. Keeping up with the workouts is getting really hard with energy levels and motivations being low whenever I plan for the exercise. The stupid English rainy weather also doesn't help at all with my cardio routine. Have to wait for a dry day to do the cardio...which may be never in England. For motivation I rely on scooby a lot. His success story page is very inspirational and his new list uploaded today on his new domain getfit4free.org is good inspiration for my next few workouts.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

30 mins workout

Today I did a 30 mins workout with stretches, pushups, situps, crunches, leg-lifts, and plank. It was an intense workout because I really was motivated just before the workout. I realise that it's important to get motivation before a workout and will be looking out for motivation tips for future workouts. In the meantime, websites like www.simplyshredded.com is a good motivational site for me.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Rest Day + 30 mins workout

Took a rest day yesterday, but managed to do a complete 30 min workout today. The workout comprised of stretches, pushups, situps, crunches, supermans, planks, bicycle-kicks and leg-lifts.

Most people think that in order to workout you have to go to a gym. I have been doing all my workouts at home with just an exercise mat; and the results are phenomenal. While some minor equipment would be useful, it is not necessary in order to get a great workout. Your body has enough weight to challenge you, and even doing simple pushups can be challenging for seasoned trainers. This website is an example of the 30 mins workouts available out there that can give you the training you need without going to the gym.

Monday, May 9, 2011

5.13km in 32 mins + Workout

Today I tried a new route which was 5.13km which I managed to do in 32 mins. It was a little slow. But that was because I slowed down at different junctions to get my bearings. Anyway, I still came back and did 15 mins of pushups, crunches, leg-lifts supermans and plank. It was a good combination of running and workouts. I think I will make this combination every time I run. It felt good.

One way I measure how far I have run is by using the distance measurement tool in google maps. This should be enabled in the labs settings of the maps and allows distances to be measured very accurately. This is a great tool for calculating distances that you have run.

25 mins workout

Sorry I didn't post for the past 5 days, I was on really low energy while lectures started as well. The combination did not give me an opportunity to work out. Anyway I did work out today for 25 mins with stretches, pushups, situps, crunches, plank and supermans. I'm gonna try to be more consistent and not have such a long break again. It probably undid at least 1 week of my workouts - which is not good. I also found this good site called www.simplyshredded.com which had some really good tips about working out. I hope it helps.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

6.6km in 38mins 41sec

Yesterday I ran 6.6km in 38mins 41sec. This equates to about 5.87 mins/km which is ok. However, I believe that if I run a full 10km, that time will drop to around 5.5 mins/km. I will sign up for a proper 10km race soon. It's been a while since I've done a 10k and I think it's time that I find a race to try it again. On the whole I ran more than expected today and I think I will increase the distance for the next run as well. I also may need to get new running shoes as the mileage on my current shoes seem to have run out. In the meantime, please read this article by scooby on why cardio is important.

Monday, May 2, 2011

33 min workout

Yesterday I managed to increase my workout time by 3 mins. In my 33 mins I managed to do stretches, pushups, situps, crunches, planks, supermans, leg-lifts and scissor-legs. Some of these exercises are actually not easy for beginners. This video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa5Li3edwl4) shows how to do the plank with proper technique and is for more advanced trainers. However I usually do a simple plank by just holding in the plank position for about 1 min...like in this video(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHQmRINu4jU).

Sunday, May 1, 2011

30 mins workout

Yesterday I did a 30 mins workout with stretches, pushups, situps, crunches, leg-lifts, planks and supermans. The motivation is difficult, but one of the ways that I motivate myself is by watching episodes of the Biggest Loser. The huge weight losses by the contestants is a real inspiration for those of us trying to get in shape. This is perhaps one of the greatest inspirations out there. If they can do it, so can we.