August 9, 2010, Check-In

[muck_a_luck]

Hey, EED community!

Here is your daily check-in post! Hope everyone is having a great day!

If you are posting for the first time, or new to the community, please review the community's standards, below.


1. Mod (that's me!) will post a Daily Check In post, for those who prefer to note their daily activities in response to a prompt. Please only place exercise comments here.

2. All members are encouraged to post daily independent posts about their activities, if they prefer that to a prompt.

3. Please place any NON-EXERCISE comments in independent update posts and behind a cut. Some people are sensitive to discussion of diet and nutrition. That is integral to many people's exercise activities, so I want members to be able to discuss that, but for those who are here strictly to log exercise, I would like them to be able to avert their eyes.

4. Everyone is encouraged to introduce themselves, discuss their exercise goals, and post updates on their activities. "I finally made it to running a mile!" or "I kicked up into handstand today!" are updates that we all want to hear about and share! Please put long posts and entries involving diet and nutrition behind a cut, though.

5. Aside from intro posts and injury announcements, please try to include an exercise update in every post.

Comments

[just_ann_now]

Mornin', all!

35 minutes on elliptical machine followed by stretches and whatnot.

I'm looking at a 10 hour day today, probably a particularly busy one as Mondays tend to be. I feel my smile muscles straining already. Good times. Y'all enjoy your exercising today! Hold a pose or a pushup for me!

[shanaqui]

Good luck with the busy day!

[just_ann_now]

Thanks! One down, nine to go!

[shanaqui]

Did some yoga, have done day one of week three of the pushups. Found it completely exhausting and feel over my head with it, but of course, I did my exhaustion test yesterday, so I'm probably still tired.

Considering doing more yoga now in a minute. I really need to focus only on the present and on doing something right now. Yay, anxiety. Ugh.

[muck_a_luck]

Those pushups are serious strength training! You should be giving yourself rest days between to give your muscles time to rebound! *shakes finger* :p Hope doing something right now helped yesterday.

[shanaqui]

Yes, I know, but I'm also really bad at sticking to something if I ever deviate from my plan, so I just had to stick it out.

It did, I did something focusing on backbends and discovered that I'm rather good with those, so it was a confidence boost and something to occupy my mind, all in one!

[muck_a_luck]

If you can get your hands on Shiva Rea's Daily Energy, you would probably love the Heart-Air sequence on there. 20 minutes of the best backbend practice EVER. :)

[shanaqui]

Oooh, that sounds good. Thank you for the suggestion!

[nicolakgreen]

I couldn't get it together this morning so I just did 10 minutes of yoga off the top of my head - didn't even play the podcast, just did the poses I could remember that I felt like doing.
I am going to the gym after work, but commenting now (from work) because dreamwidth is not loading for me at home at the moment.
I am hoping to do day 2 of week 2 of the 100 pushups/squats/sit ups programs, but that'll depend how I'm feeling after the gym. They are supposed to be done 3 times a week, but I am finding that I forget, so I am going to experiment with doing every day twice, so I do it every day. I'm hoping that won't be too much, and it'll help me be consistent.

I am also thinking that I ought to add swimming to the mix - my surfing trip is in 3 weeks and I haven't been swimming for years. I am currently trying to get my head round the idea of being seen in public wearing so little - even on the hottest days this summer I haven't managed to wear less than jeans and a t-shirt with an oversized henley over it - shorts and or a t-shirt make me feel indecent - like I am naked in public. I am having real anxiety at the thought of the walk from the changing rooms to the pool in just a bikini. Anyone got any advice about how to get through it?

[shanaqui]

Good luck with pushups/situps/squats. Doing them all at once, huh? Wow. I got into the three-days-a-week habit with the situps, and always have a daily to do list anyway, so it wasn't too hard to get used to doing it like that. Doing it every day sounds tiiiiring to me, but I hope it goes well!

I haven't managed to so much as wear a t-shirt so far this summer, aside from when I'm running, though that's because I have acne and eczema on my arms and either alone would make them look awful, never mind both. When I do go out running, I just focus on the running and not on the clothing -- as I'm walking out of the house I try and mentally blot people out and just focus on where I'm going to run, how long for, etc. Probably not very helpful advice, I'm afraid...

[nicolakgreen]

I don't find doing them all together to be any more tiring than just doing one of them, so it seems logical to me. I'm trying it this week and I'll see how I feel, I can always come up with a new plan next week!

No, that's helpful. I think I do need to worry less about everyone looking at me, and more about what I am doing. Maybe I am focussing on the fear to convince myself I can't do it, and that's the old me. New me is determined to do it, despite the fear.

[muck_a_luck]

One thing to remember at the pool. Even if you are indecent, so is everyone else, and that's the standard! :D You're *supposed* to be indecent. That's not really helpful, is it? Or maybe it could be. Reminding yourself that you are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing, exactly what everyone else is doing. Also reminding yourself that yes, a few people might glance your way, but for the most part, nobody cares what you are doing or what you are wearing. They're going about their own swimming business. You are going about your own swimming business. Also, it totally gets easier with practice, as you get acclimatized to doing it.

[nicolakgreen]

It is helpful to hear, although it's not helping if that makes sense?
Yeah, I am hoping the first time will be the worst and it will get easier the more I do it. I just have to get that first time over with.

[green]

Doing it every day sounds tiring. Don't forget to get some rest days in there somewhere. Maybe you could alternate with what you do on a day? Like, one day do pushups, one day do squats, one day do situps, then repeat? Write it down on a calendar if you think you'll get them mixed up. :D?

[nicolakgreen]

I was too tired to do it after the gym last night.
In general though, I don't find doing all three any more tiring than doing just one - they use different muscles so doing the sit ups rests my arms after the press ups, doing the squats works my legs, you know?
I should get a calendar though, I have spent so long never doing anything I haven't bothered having one for years, but now I am actually doing stuff it would be handy.

[rydra_wong]

I am having real anxiety at the thought of the walk from the changing rooms to the pool in just a bikini.

On a practical note -- does it have to be a bikini? I'm not comfortable exposing huge amounts of skin, so I have one of those old-fashioned swimsuits where the legs go halfway down the thigh.

Lots of people seem to surf in surf shorts and "rash guards" (those t-shirt things), and there's an increasing amount of "modest swimwear" made for people who have religious modesty requirements. So you might find some options which would at least be more tolerable for you than a bikini.

[nicolakgreen]

On the website for the surfing they only talk about bikinis, so I am assuming they are easier to move in, but I should email them and check. For the actual surfing we will be wearing a wetsuit over the top, so I am not to bothered about that. I haven't swum in years, so I wasn't going to buy both, but if a swimsuit actually gets me swimming it might be worth the investment. I will head back to bravissimo at lunch and try one one, see whether it's less intimidating.
I get locked into one option and forget that there are others, so thanks for the reminder!

[seleneheart]

Walked the dog, and tried the inversion that muck_a_luck mentioned. Having floor/wall space issues. Decided that the inversion I was going to start with is harder than it looks.

[rydra_wong]

Having floor/wall space issues.

If it's any use, I've found that a locked door will substitute for a wall quite nicely.

It was halasana you were starting with, right? It depends on what aspects you're finding difficult, but you might find half-shoulderstand a bit easier (like shoulderstand, but with your hips leaning back into your hands and your knees bent) -- you sort of have to go through it on the way to halasana anyway.

[rydra_wong]

Woke up with a nasty headache, so morning yoga was rather free-form, and I was wondering about taking the day off, but the painkillers kicked in in time for Iyengar class.

[carolyn_claire]

Spent the last two days with the youngest, who was home from school for the weekend, and there was a lot of cleaning and picking up groceries and then running around shopping with her and looking for things and getting things done, like hours of cooking (food for her to take back with her.) That was pretty much all the activity I got, all weekend, but it was a lot, and it sure feels like it, today, so just stretching and PT for the next few days.