This week, I started my workout by speed walking for around 25 minutes. I was going fast enough to get my heart rate up.

Then, I followed a couple of Zumba videos and danced for 35 minutes.

Finally, I stretched for five to ten minutes focusing on my legs which was the part I worked the most.

Questions:

a) What will motivate me to continue being active in the future is the positive effects of exercising such as having a better mood and relieving stress.

b) I see myself living an active lifestyle by having 2 exercising sessions per week (dancing, going to the gym) and overall being more active (walking my dog every morning and evening, doing chores in my house, etc.)

c) 3 benefits:

1- It releases endorphins which boost your mood.

2- Improved quality of sleep.

3- Longer life expectancy

d) 3 possible consequences:

1- High blood sugar levels (Diabetes)

2- Coronary heart disease.

3- Anxiety and depression.

e) Avocados and dark chocolate.

f) I was most successful in focusing more on cardio. This helped me be less tired while doing everyday things such as going up the stairs.

g) The aspect I was the least successful in achieving was working setting a workout schedule to ensure I worked out frequently and consistently. I was not successful because I did not stick to the schedule and stopped doing one halfway into the program.

h) My diet did not change much. A big change my family made is that now we buy healthier pastas (quinoa pasta, beet pasta, etc.) instead of the traditional one. Also, I stopped eating chips and salsa every night.

i) I learned that my physical capabilities go well beyond what I expect from myself and I can achieve great things if I just have a little more confidence. 🙂

For this week’s workout, I exercised on the elliptical machine for 35 minutes on resistance 6. (Cardio)

Then, I did some leg lifts, toe touches, fire hydrants, inner thigh lifts and planks among othere for an undetermined number of sets. (Resistance training)

Finally, I stretched my quadriceps, glutes, inner thigs, abdomen and calves. (Stretching)

a) The point of a warm up is to raise the body temperature to prevent injury and prepare the muscles for vigorous activity.

b)A cool down is important to gradually lower your heartbeat until you have brought it to its natural rate. It helps avoid soreness and rid the body of lactic acid.

c) Dynamic stretching should be done during the warm up because it warms the muscles to their working temperature and stretches them, improving their performance during the workout.

Static stretching is important for the cool down because they lengthen the muscle thereby avoiding soreness and cramps, increasing range of motion and preventing injuries.

Overall, stretching is important to prevent injuries.

d) I should be getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Most nights, I am getting sufficient sleep but for those nights where I sleep less than 7 hours, I could sleep more just by putting my phone far from my bedside table so I do not get distracted.

e) Chronic sleep deprivation increases the risks of suffering from high blood pressure, heart attack, obesity and diabetes. It also decreases the effectiveness of your immune system.

f) While studying, I could snack on some nuts (cashews, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, etc.) or on some chopped fruit (apple, banana, watermelon, pineapple, etc.).

This week, I decided to do vinyasa yoga for about 40 minutes, following a YouTube video. It included many poses from the Sun salutation routine.

Then, I did ab exercices such as leg circles and plank twists as well as inner thigh exercices such as leg lifts. (Total: 15 minutes)

Finally, I stretched my legs and my abs to avoid being sore the next day. (Total: 5 minutes)

Considering the frequency and intensity of my workouts the past 6 weeks, I do think my goal is still realistic and can be achieved. I am in better shape than I was 6 weeks ago.

Doing exercises that I like is really working for me instead of just doing what I am told. I also enjoy working out alone.

However, I need to make a schedule so I can plan ahead my workouts and increase my chances of getting it done.

I should eat 5 servings of vegetables each day. Most days, I do not get 5 servings so in order to change that, I can bring some veggie snacks to school or maybe even eat a salad for lunch.

My three favorite vegetables are peppers, spinach and lettuce.

This week, I decided to exercise on the elliptical machine again because it combines cardio and resistance on top of being fun. I did it for around 40 minutes on resistance level 7.

Then, I moved on to muscular strengthening exercises (10-15 mins) I did multiple exercises and I did 30 reps for each. I did crunches, toe touches, the plank, spider climbers, sumo squats, donkey kicks and arm circles among others.

Finally, I stretched (5-10 mins). I mostly focused on my glutes because it is a part of my body that I am not used to train so I wanted to prevent soring. I also stretched my quadriceps, my calves, my abs, my triceps and my biceps.

Out of all of the things noted in the question (better self-confidence,better sleep, more energy, better mood), I only experienced better sleep which has been great. Although some nights I get less sleep, I still feel more rested than usual.

The activity plan is forcing me to have more discipline because my workout cannot be done the night before at 11 o’clock, it needs planning, discipline and consistency, all skills I have been working on. Other than that, the workout plan is having a positive effect on my body. I feel my muscles less contracted.

My major barrier has been my dog because I always try to workout with him by my side but he starts walking all over me when I am doing any exercise on the floor so now I make sure someone else is at home so I can ask them to the watch him while I workout. Another barrier has been homework but I make sure I plan to workout on nights I am not too overwhelmed with homework.

Before tackling the same muscle group again during a workout, you should rest 24 to 48 hours, depending on your experience and level of soreness. If you do not rest enough, you risk injuring yourself. Also, if you work the same muscle group too often without resting enough in between, you might slow down the muscle building process. For cardio, you just need to listen to your body and be attentive about what it needs. If your cardio session was of moderate intensity, you should be fine working out the next day. However, if you do very intense cardio daily, you might drop weight too quickly, exhaust your body and risk getting injured.

For this week, I decided to do spinning for the cardio component. I did it for around 30-40 minutes on medium resistance.

Then, I moved on to strength training for around 20-30 minutes. The only time I added weight was for the inner and outer thigh machine (10 kg). The exercises I did included crunches, toe touches, plank, leg lifts, squats, burpees and jumping jacks among others. I did not count the reps, I did each exercise until it pushed me further into my discomfort zone.

Finally, I stretched for around 10 minutes. I really focused on my thighs since I worked them a lot during spinning.

I do not really have a consistent workout schedule yet. I hope that by the end of this semester, I will have achieved that goal of mine. Right now, I find it hard to make the time to workout. It is difficult to balance school, work, my dog and my family. However, I do know that by having a little bit more discipline, I can prioritize exercise because it is truly important.

Before working out, I feel a lot more anxious and stressed but once it is over, I feel so much better. Not only because I am proud of what I acomplished, but also because of endorphins. Exercise is a great mood lifter.

I started off my workout by using the elliptical machine for 30 minutes on resistance 6.

The next day, I followed some YouTube workout videos. First, I did 6 minutes of intense cardio. It included exercises such as plie squat jumps, mountain climbers, plank jacks, etc. Second, I did 10 minutes of abs workout(crunches, russian twists, side planks, plank twists, among others). Each exercise was performed for 30 seconds, no breaks in between. Then, I did 10 minutes of butt workout (squats for one minute, 30 seconds fire hydrants on each leg, etc.) followed by a quick inner thigh workout (30 inner thigh lifts on each side). Finally, I stretched every muscle I used during the workout (glutes, abs, quads, etc.)

a) ACSM guidelines for cardiovascular exercise:

– warming up and cooling down are a must. It should be done at a certain intensity so that you can have a conversation throughout it. (5-15 minutes)

-30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise at least 5 times per week.

OR

-Vigorous-intensity workout for 20-25 minutes at least 3 timea per week.

-For weight loss, 300 minutes per week of moderate exercise is recommended.

Frequency: minimum 3 to 5 times per week.

Intensity: if moderate, 40-60% of HRR(heart rate reserve)

If vigorous, 60-85% of HRR

If very deconditioned for exercise, 30-40% of HRR

Duration: 20-60+ minutes per session.

Type: Aerobic.

If you want to improve, do not increase intensity and duration during the same workout session. Work on improving one at a time:

Increase duration before increasing intensity. If you show no signs of fatigue after 2 weeks of performing a higher duration, then increase intensity.

If you do not train consistently, gains in fitness experience a regression of around 50% after 4-12 weeks.

Source: http://www.straightforwardfitness.com/acsm-cardio-guidelines.html

b) a cardio session should be 30 to 60 minutes long of moderate intensity (40-60% of HRR), five times per week.

Cardio exercise example: distance running.

Bad cardio exercise example: push ups.

c) You should drink at least 8 8-oumce glasses of water per day, dor a total of 2 liters.

d) pogressive overload: it is to gradually increase the load of exercise per workout and allowing your body to adapt. It is done over the course of months. Some exapmles:

1- increase weight lifted

2- increase number of reps and sets.

3- increase frequency of workouts

4- increase number of exercises you do.

etc.

Source: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n7YU0-nuNSA&feature=youtu.be

For this week, I had to attend a class. Thankfully, a sportswear store near my house called hyba was giving a free class Sunday at 9 in the morning.

https://www.reitmans.com/en/hyba-activewear

This store does not give classes on a consistent schedule but they often give classes Sundays. For instance, October 14th they are giving a pound class and October 28th they are giving a yoga class (I am already signed up for both).

I attended a yoga class with my mother. Before the class, I felt very tired (9 am is early for a Sunday!). During the class, I gradually started to feel more awake and in control of my body. Finally, after leaving, I felt energetic and super ready to tackle the rest of the day.

In this class, I learnt that yoga can be a lot more challenging than holding weird poses and doing breathing exercises. It really made me work my quadriceps and my endurance since many poses were really difficult to hold. I really liked the fact that we were no more than six people in the class which allowed the Yoga teacher to be able to help each person individually. I disliked some of the poses because they were quite uncomfortable.

In the end, I was really glad that I went. I felt great for the rest of the day and thr class in general was really fun! I would recommend it to anu friend looking for a not too challenging and intense workout.

With an exercise program, I would like to improve my cardiovascular endurance. I want to run 10 km non stop. What would motivate me:

1- Getting workout clothes that I like.

2- Working out with a friend.

3- Attending a gym to get in the mood.

What excuses I could use:

1- I want to hang with my dog all the time.

2- I have to study.

3- I lack sleep.

I really enjoy dancing, pilates and team sports. I prefer going to the gym because there are too many distractions at my house. During the remaining weeks of this program, I could see myself working out in my basement (until I get a gym membership), dancing and following pilates videos on YouTube.

For the reaminder of my life, I see myself attending dancing classes a couple of times per week!

My fitness SMART goals for the program:

I want to reduce my super loop time from 15 minutes 34 seconds to 15 minutes by November 7th. I will achieve it by doing cardiovascular exercise twice a week for 30 minutes.

 “ A champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall.” 

-Serena Williams

 

Inspirational video

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton