Fitness Fellowship 2023: Week One Check-in

[sylvanwitch]

We've made it one week into the new year, and I hope that that week has been a decent one for you.

Please let us know how your week went, fitness-wise and/or otherwise. What was one thing this week that made you happy about your fitness journey? Were there any things you struggled with? Please share if you're feeling able to.



I didn't gain or lose any weight this week, though I had seen a slightly downward trend on the scale mid-week. I'm not sure why that is because I really did focus on eating clean and even made it a point not to binge for my "splurge meal" last night. Each day, my tracked calories came in under what I'd earned through exercise, but perhaps it was the quality of the exercise that was the culprit. I did NOT exercise for at least thirty minutes on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. I did *some* exercise--ten or fifteen minutes--but my ankle was bothering me and I was sleep deprived, and all of that made it difficult for me. Those sound like excuses, but I'm doing my best.

Perhaps the lack of weight loss was also because my sleep was fractured, not because I went to bed late--I kept my bedtime goal pretty well this week--but because I either couldn't fall asleep or I couldn't stay asleep. I have both CBD oil and melatonin gummies, so it may be I have to try those again. We'll see. Anyway, lack of regular sleep might have contributed.

I did get enough water, so go me!

I didn't meditate even once, but I *did* take a walk and focus on my breathing and on the sounds of nature around me, so that's a start. I do like a good walking meditation (or a labyrinth--one of my garden goals is to build one one of these seasons). I don't know why I have such a block about this; it used to be a pretty regular practice for me, and I *know* the many positives I gain from it. Urgh. I'll try again this week to do it at least once.

So, I'm going to call the week a net gain if only for the change in my eating habits. Maybe this week will be better. The only way to find out is to go into it with every intention of finding out! :-)


I'm sending you all the fitness vibes I can spare, my friends!

Comments

[kaiz]

I did NOT exercise for at least thirty minutes on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. I did *some* exercise--ten or fifteen minutes--but my ankle was bothering me and I was sleep deprived, and all of that made it difficult for me. Those sound like excuses, but I'm doing my best.

Hey, it's the Tour de France, not a sprint or a marathon. Many days, multiple stages, just because your performance is off on Day 3 doesn't mean you won't catch up and do a personal best on Day 6! :)

For my part, I surprised myself by hitting a (very arcane) fitness milestone.

Due to chronic health problems, I follow the Maffetone heartrate method in my workouts. Kind of like making BBQ, you keep it low and slow to build a base, keeping fast/hard workouts to a minimum.

Earlier this week, I hit a milestone during my 10k steady state workout: I completed 10k in less than an hour with 99% in heartrate zone 2 and 1% in zone 1, with a max of only 128bpm. This is pretty huge for me and indicates that my base cardio fitness level has really improved. This gives me the confidence to push harder in future workouts without risking a relapse. So, yay for weird milestones! LOL

[sylvanwitch]

Congratulations on hitting a new milestone! That is SO exciting! I remember you talking about this method before, and it is so heartening to hear that you have kept at it and made such progress!

It’s a good example for me to follow because, as you note, it’s a long-term process, not a sudden change.

Yay! 🎉🎉🎉

[kaiz]

Thanks! I try not to compare my progress to other folks who post on the rowing sub because...since I'm so...small, there is no way in hell I will ever come close to the performance of a 24 yr old 6'5" 230lb dude. But. With enough consistent data, I can at least see fitness improvement nonetheless. And, gotta say, the heartrate method is really helpful when deciding how hard to push during a workout. It's also super clear how much effect poor sleep has on my heartrate.

Anyway, slow and steady gives results...eventually! :)