kickboxing

February 17: Day four of the Fitness Blender Challenge

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Writing every day makes it feel like time is moving quickly – or IS it just going really fast? Soon enough, we’ll be one-sixth of the way through the fitfor15in15 year. Yikes!

Right now, we’re at the six-and-a-half-week mark (sounds like a movie!) and I’m definitely feeling changes … I’m using less body moisturiser. (Joking!) We don’t own a set of scales, so I have no idea how much I weigh and don’t care! All that matters at the moment is my belt does up one hole tighter and there’s a hint of some muscle about the places; there’s a little less hail damage on the outside of my thighs and my ‘toodles’, the wobbly bits at the back of the arms, sway less in the breeze – all great incentives to keep going. Maybe when I’m feeling at my peak (December 31) I’ll post some ‘before and after’ photos. *how embarrassment*

This morning, I finally wrote my review of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo, so have a read if you fancy. Over the past few weeks, I’ve used the KonMari Method to lighten the clothes and books load, sort out my cupboards and drawers, and it prompted me to clean my desk too. Now I just have to go through 18-months worth of papers from my German classes so the office will be clean and organised … on my side. (Ha! Just testing to see if Leo is reading this?!)

At lunchtime, I met the friend (Leonie) of a mutual friend (Kim) in Bern, which was great. It was nice to hear Leonie’s Aussie accent and talk about life in Switzerland. My neighbour lent me his car for the quick trip, in return for buying him a loaf of Basler Brot! A very fair trade.

And now, I’ve just finished day four of the “Fitness Blender 5 Day Workout Challenge to Burn Fat & Build Lean Muscle.” My arms are really feeling it! There were quite a lot of push ups, downward dogs and punching. This workout focused on kickboxing and yoga moves and was totally enjoyable – Daniel and Kelli mix up the exercises to keep it fun, even while your arms are shaking and sweat runs in your eyes. They’ve found a really good balance of exercises, and also, for me, it’s nice working out with professionals because you feel it’s going to pay dividends. (Maybe this is also a sign I should stop exercising on my own so much, because today I found myself laughing along with their couple banter and saying thanks at the end of the session :-/ … )

Tomorrow is the last day of the challenge, and they’ve promised we’re going out with a bang, so I’m going to take it a bit easier on Thursday and include a special guest post from Nat Gauld, a fitness instructor who may give you the push you need to start your fitfor15in15 challenge. Just because it’s halfway through February doesn’t mean you can’t start now!

Wishing you a wonderful day.

February 7: No kicks from kickboxing

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Adding yoga to my morning routine today has really boosted my energy levels (and appetite!). I did 15 minutes of meditation this morning, upping it for the first time from the normal 10, then five minutes of stretching. Straight after that, I did the fantastic morning yoga routine from Sadie Nardini from Thursday’s workout. But instead of making this my workout for today, I’ve stuck with the plan to make it part of my morning routine, and will do it every Monday morning from now on. What a way to start the week!

I’m still looking for things to add to my morning routine, say on Wednesdays and Fridays, so if you see any other great 15-30 minute morning workouts, please let me know! And if I find any, I’ll let you know too, of course.

Figuring I was already in my exercise gear, I took a little break and then did my fitfor15in15 workout for today – a 25-minute kickboxing class I found through Net Fit using the digital box attached to our television. You can find it here on YouTube, if you’re interested in also trying it, but before you get too excited, like me, please keep reading.

Several hundred years ago, a friend Valli and I went to kickboxing classes after work once a week to bash out some frustration and feel fitter. After realising we didn’t enjoy kicking each other in the shins, we called it a day. But I’ve always liked the idea of kickboxing (with a bag) and can’t believe it’s taken me so long to think about adding it to fitfor15in15. Finding this routine made my heart flutter a bit. And then it started …

Instructor Becky gets 10 out of 10 for enthusiasm and technique, but the routine was – I feel so mean saying this – terribly boring. I really don’t want to write that, as Becky was totally into it, but the workout, the music and possibly her high-fiving enthusiasm had me smirking, groaning and rolling my eyes. This workout was not worthy of high-fives!

The urge to stop was strong, but I persevered, hoping it would get better. I hardly broke a sweat, despite doing the squats and punches as over-enthusiastically as Becky. Another bug-bear was the camera work, which occasionally missed the change of exercise while focussing on the back-up people, who, like the viewer, were also clueless as to what was going on. It all came across as very amateurish.

My search for another kickboxing workout with better music, some better exercises and a lot less cheese will continue. Everything I find/try can’t be a winner, so I shouldn’t be too disappointed, but this is the first one I’ve started without checking what happens (which I do when I watch workouts on my computer, to see if they hold my attention). Others have been vetoed and never attempted – I want to bring you the good stuff!

And on that note, I wish you a wonderful rest of the weekend (while I will probably be struck by lightning for being horrible about someone’s pride and joy).

Here are some articles, videos and images I found interesting this week:

Another article that came along at the right time, about food affecting our energy levels.

Don’t want to go to the gym? Here’s a simple article about getting fit without four walls.

Mum found this one! I like to dance, but have no style, unlike Bob Hope and James Cagney who look like they had a ball making this clip.

Something funny to watch for people who love New York, want to go to New York, have been to New York, or never want to go to New York. I love NY, accents and puppets too, so it’s a total laugh-out-loud winner.

And last but not least, I’ve been giggling for days about this picture. Thanks Shailesh!