Exercise at least 3 times a week challenge

mazy_m

jess444 wrote: »

Welcome Mazy. This thread is quite quiet most of the time, but hopefully we can keep each other motivated. You sound like you are really enjoying the gym - what kind of classes have you been going to?

Hey Jess444 and Alizarin thanks for the kind welcome....I love aquafit...i've been a couple of times in the last week and i've been to the gym or swimming every day....I literally had to force myself into the gym today but felt good when I left....lol....only a bit while in there......I want to go back to Zumba too I do love that and I went to bellydancing for a while but that was quite far away....and boxercise but this is really intense and almost knocked me for 6 lol... what classes do you all enjoy? x

PerfectParadox

Hey! count me in! (if thats ok)
just a quick question tho:
instead of going to the gym today I did house work.
lots of house work.
Including hoovering, ironing and scrubbering.... and also because arling Stepfather has done his hand in (all those lectures about saftey with knives does his palm in with a stanley knife) I end up spending an hour chiseling concrete off a paveing slab for him....


does this count as a workout or do I need to go for a run around the block?

Pee

I think you can count housework as long as you throw yourself into it and work up a sweat. My mate counts cleaning the car.

I went swimming Sunday and should go again tomorrow night. I did 24 lengths on Sunday and will aim for 26. I'd like to get to 40 and take an hour from leaving the car to getting back in the car i.e. paying, changing to get in and drying and changing to get out. I think this should be manageable. Then I might look at using a float to work on my arms one length and maybe legs the next. I'd love to hear other people's swimming routine.

Swimming is the only exercise I like but might try to fit in a go on my sister's Wii or a walk.

margaretclare

Pee wrote: »

I think you can count housework as long as you throw yourself into it and work up a sweat. My mate counts cleaning the car.

I went swimming Sunday and should go again tomorrow night. I did 24 lengths on Sunday and will aim for 26. I'd like to get to 40 and take an hour from leaving the car to getting back in the car i.e. paying, changing to get in and drying and changing to get out. I think this should be manageable. Then I might look at using a float to work on my arms one length and maybe legs the next. I'd love to hear other people's swimming routine.

Swimming is the only exercise I like but might try to fit in a go on my sister's Wii or a walk.

Swimming is practically the only exercise I can do, apart from 50+ Stretch and Tone 45 mins Monday mornings. I've just come from my half-hour swimming lesson. I'm making very sloooow progress because I still have that fear and panic in my head and it is taking an incredible time to get over it.

However, I can do back stroke and last week I went to the adult swim and did 150 metres of back stroke. This morning I've been doing front paddle, partly with a woggle and partly not. The point is, even with a woggle my arms and shoulders are getting stronger because of the stretching and pulling, the resistance of the water. And my legs are definitely getting stronger with all that kicking. So, good exercise for every part of the body and cardio as well. Can't be bad.

I intend to go a couple more times this week and do some back stroke as well as front paddle with woggle. This is all very good exercise for toning up all the muscles.

Because of all the hip surgery and all the rest over recent years, my leg muscles had got really weak and flabby. My arms had got so weak that I couldn't even do up my own bra! I'm finding a difference now. I think this may be the case with a lot of older people and it's certainly 'use it or lose it'.

On Monday mornings it's fairly gentle exercise but we do exercise all the muscle groups. One exercise is: sit on the edge of a chair, sit upright with back straight, stretch arms forward and lean back but don't touch the back of the chair. That is excellent for the tummy muscles. Not everyone in the group can do that!!

Pee

I think it's very impressive due to those health problems and with the added difficulty of learning to swim.

SandC

I swim every morning weekdays before work. I can only do breast stroke and I can't believe how much I've improved over the past year. I now do 1 hour solid swimming and in that time I'm now getting over 2,200 metres. That's 110 lengths of a 20 metre swimming pool. I've enjoyed swimming on and off all my life really but haven't done any exercise swims for a few years.

At Feb 2010 when I joined the gym I'm currently at I would do about 40 mins and probably about 60 lengths. The number didn't concern me then, the time did (since years ago a fitness instructor told me swimming was great, but make sure you don't keep stopping as your aim is to get your heart rate up and keep it up). I would swim with my head out of the water, no goggles or anything.

By last summer I persuaded myself to get goggles cos when it was busy I was getting splashed and uncomfortable. I also last Oct got my brother to get me a Poolmate for my birthday. This is a wristwatch like device specifically for swimming in which you enter the pool length and your weight, press go when you start swimming and it counts your lengths, distance, times, calories etc. You simply wear it on the wrist that you use to touch the side (although if you do tumble turns it somehow knows how to count those too!). It's pricey but it helps me monitor how I'm doing. I also gradually increased my times to 45 mins, then 55, then an hour. The wrist device means I know exactly how long I've been swimming as I get there at opening time 6.30am but if I get out at 7.30am by the clock I haven't actually done a whole hour because of getting undressed and stuff put in locker etc. I know that's anal but 5 mins each day over 5 days is 25 more mins of swimming!

Since April I've also worn a cap which often still gets on my nerves but my hair is knackered. I have also watched Utube vids of swimming technique and managed to increase my lengths by taking note of this.

The few occasions I've tried freestyle/crawl I just can't do it. And don't want to waste pool time by practicing.

My advice is to give yourself a time limit to swim non stop for and gradually increase. If you don't put your head under water, give it time to get more confident then get some goggles, get used to wearing them whilst swimming with head out and before long you won't be able to resist putting your head under.

A year ago a lady started swimming and could just do 20 lengths. She is now a goggle wearing, cap adorning, head under swimmer of 70-80 lengths a session. Practice really does make all the difference.

SandC

margaretclare wrote: »

Swimming is practically the only exercise I can do, apart from 50+ Stretch and Tone 45 mins Monday mornings. I've just come from my half-hour swimming lesson. I'm making very sloooow progress because I still have that fear and panic in my head and it is taking an incredible time to get over it.

However, I can do back stroke and last week I went to the adult swim and did 150 metres of back stroke. This morning I've been doing front paddle, partly with a woggle and partly not. The point is, even with a woggle my arms and shoulders are getting stronger because of the stretching and pulling, the resistance of the water. And my legs are definitely getting stronger with all that kicking. So, good exercise for every part of the body and cardio as well. Can't be bad.

I intend to go a couple more times this week and do some back stroke as well as front paddle with woggle. This is all very good exercise for toning up all the muscles.

Because of all the hip surgery and all the rest over recent years, my leg muscles had got really weak and flabby. My arms had got so weak that I couldn't even do up my own bra! I'm finding a difference now. I think this may be the case with a lot of older people and it's certainly 'use it or lose it'.

On Monday mornings it's fairly gentle exercise but we do exercise all the muscle groups. One exercise is: sit on the edge of a chair, sit upright with back straight, stretch arms forward and lean back but don't touch the back of the chair. That is excellent for the tummy muscles. Not everyone in the group can do that!!

We had a local baths close down recently and when they did, some elderly regulars joined my gym for swimming. Three of those who are 70+ can swim for one hour solid - previous to them joining I didn't know of anyone else who would swim that long bar anal me. They are not fast and they don't have fantastic technique but they enjoy it and it is keeping them fit and active - and also not likely to cause any kind of over exertion injury. I hope I am like them when I've advanced a few more years.

So well done you!

MrandMrsB

Gosh, I would love to do this challenge, except that the amount of exercise my lower body can tolerate is seriously limited, so I need ideas please.

Apparently I have a severe form of a condition called Pretibial Myxedema, that worsens when I walk or stand too much - usually even a supermarket shop means that I am laid up for a day or two as I fight an infection in my leg. On the few occasions that I have rested for a week or so, my legs look and feel normal, but I am unable to do so unless I am laid up with flu or something!!

Obviously I desperately need to exercise my upper body to keep my heart strong (I have never been overweight). Any thoughts please? (Swimming in "baths" would not be suitable, and the sea is too cold most of the time, although a friend who lives in a house next to a beach swims everyday!)

margaretclare

Obviously I desperately need to exercise my upper body to keep my heart strong (I have never been overweight). Any thoughts please?

It is possible to do a complete workout from a sitting position. A young woman called Leanne Grose has a leg amputation and she has a DVD of an exercise programme based on her wheelchair.

The coach who takes our class on Mondays also has another one in a neighbouring village and it's all chair-based.

I googled and got several hits: have a look at this http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chair+based+exercise&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=629&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Hl0cTt-dFcK4hAfD0NXBBw&sqi=2&ved=0CFwQsAQ

Thanks for the kind words, BTW!

margaretclare

Just done my 3 times a week, 45 minutes swimming practice. I'm using my swimming teacher's voice in my head to over-ride the fear and panic. I can hear him saying 'Stretch and pull, slow those arms down, stretch right out and pull right back, keep kicking..'

I tell you, when I've practised swimming with face out of water and using the woggle, you don't half feel it in the belly muscles and the ones up the side and the back. Really good for you.