Real World Fitness

This post is about fitness. Specifically, my fitness, and what I'm doing about it.  I admit, the last year has not been my best year for fitness consistency. I've had.. challenges. Work, study, family life, travel, gym getting trashed by an earthquake.. just the usual things that life throws your way.

Over the last few months I've retrieved my fitness mojo, eased myself back into something like a routine, and remembered how much better I feel when I make the effort. Exercise is the ultimate stress buster and mood lifter. 

The Gear:

Most of what I use is in the pic above. Yoga mat, dumbbells, swiss ball and medicine ball (7kg). The db's are 1kg and 4kg. I have heavier ones but use them rarely. I usually work out in the office because it has a sound system to rival any nightclub.  The garage is in the process of being turned into a functional gym, but at the moment it's a bit of a mess.

However, stuffed in the corner is this thingy that I use for dips and pullups:

I also have a cycle in the lounge, which moonlights as a clothes horse.

I've got a few DVD's and Wii games:

Zumba and Wii Just Dance are my faves.

There are also a large number of downloads on my computer and iPod from Yogadownload.com, and I use this online tabata timer several times a week - It adds that little something to a workout to finish with a round of applause and the ROWR of a lions roar.

Now and then I pull workouts from either Bodyrock or Crossfit, but mostly I construct them myself so that I can work hard without aggravating any previous injuries.

The Routine:

My specific criteria for exercise:

1. It must be fun
2. It must be time efficient

If it bores me, I just won't do it and hours of training is not compatible with my busy life. Most of my workouts are 20 minutes long, with an occasional 45 minute yoga class or session on the stat. bike.

I exercise 4-7 times a week and mix it up. This generally means 2-3 yoga sessions and 2-4 'other' sessions, at least two of which will be a timed 'circuit' style workout using resistance - bodyweight and actual weights. I choose five exercises - mixing upper and lower body, and work 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off using the tabata timer for 20 minutes. So that would be four circuits. 

I devised one of these three days ago that involved a lot of squats and lunges. It was fun at the time, but had me raiding the Sana L-Glutamine stocks the next day to try and tone down the muscle soreness. 

Whether L-Glutamine has an effect on DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) is a point of contention in the scientific literature, but it does seem to work for me. That is, I notice more muscle soreness when I'm not taking it. However the critical scientist in me would say that I'm usually not taking it because I'm not training regularly (and therefore more likely to get sore when I do). Gawd, what has university done to me?

Tomorrow I'll be back with my training plan for next week, but now, as promised...

Foodcam

Kumara and kale chips.

A spring salad.

Last nights seafood pizza on a fermented crust.