Circuit Class

I have been alternating my body pump class with outdoor circuit class every Saturday this post is all about that class.

The circuit class I attend was started by two trainers (Michelle and Janwary) from my gym. This was the first time I was doing an outdoor class and as usual I was nervous but when does that ever stop me from trying??

For this class we had to work out in pairs and cover around 15 stations.1 minute per station after completing one circuit the trainers usually make us do some compound exercises and then we are back to our circuits. The trainers plan to change the exercises every few weeks this is how the first few weeks looked like

Push–up / crunches with weighted medicine ball/jumping lunges/planks/skip/high jumps/plank-pushup/squat walks/crunch & punch/bench dips/rope battling (I can barely move the ropes)/high knee jumps/ladder jumps & squats/

 

What I love about this class:

I loved the idea of working out in pairs. My partner always pushed me more than I would when I am doing the same exercises on my own. Even if I want to stop I look at my training partner going on so I push myself and that extra push matters.

Repeating each exercise for 1 complete minute is another things I had not really done, I am usually somebody who counts my exercises specially anything to do with upper body my counts usually don’t exceed 10 (I am used to more reps but with rest in between) so when I started doing 1 minute per station it was really difficult for me. My muscles are usually sore for at least 2 days after the workout.

The last thing I really enjoy about this class is the fact that is outdoors. I think by doing an outdoor class I have become a little more confident. I would have never thought I would be comfortable working out in a park when people are sipping there morning coffee or just walking by looking at us. I always assumed I would feel very uncomfortable but surprisingly once you get into the working out mode you forget everything, I don’t care if you are having coffee or staring at me all I care about is getting my workout done. The other thing about outdoors is you do get mentally stronger.  I feel happy about finishing a work out in the rain or when it is cold, I feel stronger J

What do you think? Do you enjoy outdoor exercising?
Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 
Tanvee

Carbohydrates -- second session on food

In the post about ‘Basics of food’ we discussed all 3 micro nutrients,  This post we will focus on only one of them ‘Carbohydrates’

A little recap 

•  Carbohydrates are made up of Sugar, Fibre and Starch
• Carbohydrates are broken down by our body to give us energy 
•  We all  have both good and bad carbohydrates available to us, making the right choice is very important

Food as a fuel

For me personally if I look at food as fuel it is easier for me to make the right choices, So most days I will make sure what I eat is something that helps me improve my life either by giving me more energy during the day or by helping me for my workouts but it should not be something that takes away from my day. I am not saying I manage this all the time but I try to.

• Fuel is something that keeps you moving ahead.
• Carbohydrates as fuel should give you the energy to work out and lead a more active life
• Try this if you don’t believe --> for lunch have a big meal of burger and French fries, tell me how you feel about half hour after your meal, do you feel you can think clearly? Or do you feel you a need to nap? Next day for lunch have a healthy meal with grilled vegetables and meat, now how do you feel? Do you even need a coffee?? When I was reading about all this I did try it out and trust me I was feeling sleepy during my meal :D

Understanding how the body works

(As usual this is very basic, no big terms. I have tried to make it as simple as I could, no information overload)

• Carbohydrates at some point are converted to glucose by our body; this is usually travels in our blood and is used by our tissues and cells. A balance needs to be maintained, too much or too little of anything can be bad.
• Body breaks carbohydrates to sugar (chew on your bread for sometime it becomes sweet) . If you eat the bad carbohydrates the body will break that into sugar very fast, so in a short time you will have more sugar in your blood. To balance this the body produces insulin. Insulin will rapidly work to clear you blood sugar levels and usually takes you back to the state where you started before eating. So you feel tired and eat again to cope (Did I make it simple?)

How does insulin balance your blood sugar?

The level of insulin produced depends on how much is needed to get your body back to a balanced state.So more bad carbohydrate will lead to more sugar in your blood and that will lead to more insulin produced.

To balance the blood sugar level insulin does two things :
1. Forces excess sugar to your muscles :
Muscles have insulin receptors these decide keep track of how much insulin is produced by your body to decide how much sugar should be taken in by your muscles  
2. Stops fat burning.

Till the insulin levels are high our body will try to balance things by using the glucose in our blood stream rather than using any fuel from stored fat

Bad carbohydrates ---> higher blood sugar levels ---> higher levels of insulin --> turn causes excess sugar in your muscles and no fat burn (all this balancing your body is trying to do takes away energy in the long run)

 

How do I select good carbohydrates?

(Simple answer: a good carbohydrate will take time to break down)

Higher fibre content is usually considered to be sign of a good carbohydrate

Why?

1.       Fibre is difficult to digest --> the body takes time to break it to sugar --> because the process is slow there is no sudden release of sugar in the blood flow --> no peaks and valley in blood sugar level

2.      Fibre is difficult to digest it also keeps you full for longer --> you eat less

 Good/Bad carbohydrates list

  
I would  like to point out I'm no fitness expert these are things I learnt along the way of my weight loss journey by surfing the Internet and talking to trainer.

Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 

Tanvee
Some of the site I found useful are : (http://www.bodybuilding.com , http://goodcarbs.org/, http://www.livestrong.com)

Diwali + Long run (with a fall) + Navata

Diwali

This weekend we celebrated Diwali (Diwali is a festival of lights). I have many wonderful memories of Diwali. Every year on Diwali our entire family comes together, my grandparents, uncles & aunts, cousins everybody under one roof. We light divas (oil lamps), lanterns; my mom makes special Diwali delicacies. The entire house is usually filled with lots of love, laughter and good memories.

Ever since I have moved away I have my own simple Diwali. We put up some tea light candles in the house, bought some Diwali delicacies (I can’t make them, we had to go looking for small packets because it was only two of us), I got dressed up in an Indian outfit (dressing up is one of my favorite parts) called home and had a good time.

My run

I started my Diwali by going for a run. I had planned a 12k (I have never done more than 10k but that was getting comfortable (no stitches and no tight muscles) so I just thought of giving 12k a try. The deal was to complete 12k even if I had to walk the last 2k surprisingly I managed my 12k within my goal time no walking, my running club is really paying off ;)

The highlight of this run was my fall, around my 7k I have no idea how but I tripped suddenly I found myself on the road with lots of people looking at me with concern. Luckily for me other than a bruised knee and torn tracks there was no more harm done. What surprised me the most about this incident was how much I have changed?  If the same thing would have happened to me few years back I would be so embarrassed and I am sure I would be in tears but this time I got up thanked the people around who helped me and I was back on my run, I was only concerned about my knee for a bit and my other concern was finishing my 12k (which I did, yay!!!).

Navata

4th November was my sister’s birthday; most of you know she is my best friend and one of the most important people in my life. I remember as a kid I always wanted a sister, I was worried about having a brother because I did not want to play with cars and wrestle instead I wanted somebody to play ghar ghar (house) with me. I have seen her grow up from a small cute kid to a smart youngster and our equation has changed from just being sisters to being best of friends.

 (This is something I wrote for her)

'My baby sister '


I have watched you grow

From a baby who held on to my hand
To a girl with a confident stand

I have seen you take your first steps
I have heard your first words
Now when I look at you
I smile at how fast time has gone by

From my baby doll
To a partner to visit the mall
Together we have built castles in air
Stood strong, as we have seen them break

I'm glad I have a friend at home
Who listens to me talk
Who, copies my walk
Who talks till I sleep
Who makes me laugh when I weep

I want to tell you
How precious you are to me
A reflection of mine in your eyes I see
Thank you for being such a great friend
Thank you for being such a great sister!!!

Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 

Tanvee

Trying to find the right balance

I have heard a lot of people complain about 24 hrs not being enough I find 7 days not enough :). My problem is deciding a good workout plan, I don’t feel like giving up on any of my workouts and this results in me working-out minimum 6 days a week. Which OK but sometimes I get really tired, my poor muscles are sore if I skip one of my workouts then I am in more trouble because somehow my mind doesn’t let me skip a workout I have this need to cover up my missed workout by adding that workout to some other day. This way either I lose out on my rest day or more often than less I do an extra work out on one of the other days and the cycle of tired muscles continues

I feel like I want it all, I want to improve my strength, I want to  become a runner, I want to try new classes and I am not willing to give up on any of my classes, I have already stopped zumba because I can’t fit it in my schedule any more. 

My week looks like this (most of my sessions are 45 minutes)

Running (2 runs at normal speed, 1 interval training and 1 long run)

Spin/RPM (twice a week: Tuesday and Thursday)

Circuit/Body pump (once a week: Saturday)

20-30 minutes Hill training (once a week: Saturday)

Weights: 3 time a week (excluding body pump/circuit)

One day Rest

There are some new classes in the gym that I want to try without giving up on my above schedule, doesn’t seem possible, so I am looking at creating a better and more productive plan. Somebody suggested instead of weekly plans I should spread all my workouts over two weeks..

What do you all do? Do any of you go through this or am I the only weird one?

Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 

Tanvee

People and their concerns

Have people ever asked you these questions?

"When will you eat, after you become old you will anyways have restrictions..eat now"

"When will you give up this craziness"

The other day I was discussing my fitness goals with a very close friend of mine, she has known me for a long time and this is what she said to me ' Tanvee for how long will you live like this? For long will you suffer? You are still not satisfied with yourself...it's taking so much time for you to get to your goal!!! for how long will you give up on things?? And she said all this because I said no to ice cream!!!!

(somehow a lot of people feel just because I choose to workout and say no to certain food I am suffering) This was my response :

" I am not suffering nor am I giving up on things, I know I am never satisfied but that is because my goals keep changing and I want them to keep changing that's how I improve. I started with a goal to just fit in certain clothes...aiming at just less 30 pounds weightloss now I have gone way past that mark, I have lost close to 70 pounds, I no longer focus on my weight as much as I focus on becoming stronger,  I have changed from being scared of running to joining a running club so I am more than happy because these things matter a lot more to me than ice-cream. I do have times when I wish I had better toned legs but now I believe in myself and I know I will get what I want if I work. I am not willing to give up on myself."

Trust me the only reason I could say all this was because I am proud of where I stand. I am proud of the effort I take and the choices I make everyday.

Even if you haven't reached your ideal weight or even if it is taking longer than what you expect, it's very important to be proud of the effort you put in and to believe in yourself.

Small things like not adding sugar or skipping dessert is an effort, going for a workout when everyone at home is stretched out on the couch is an effort worth appreciating and this effort at some point take you beyond your initial goal..

Personally I have noticed a lot people who are not on the same journey looking at me with pity, talking to me like I am missing out on life, expecting to become perfect in a few months..but I feel I am doing a lot more in life. I don't care if anyone questions my healthy eating or my exercising because this is what I want and I am happy!!!! My priorities have changed, being able to challenge myself is what I like. I might be in pain when I workout  but when I find myself doing something I had never imagined I could ever do I really really feel happy :)

If you have ever come across people who make you doubt yourself,  look at how far you have come, don't doubt yourself just because people don't understand your journey instead appreciate your hardwork no one can take that away from you :)

what  do you think?

Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 

Tanvee

Circuit Training

I just started an outdoor circuit training class, I do it on alternate Saturdays, alternating between body pump and circuit training. So this post is all about Circuit training, basically everything I understood about this form of training by attending two classes and doing a little bit of reading.

Circuit training is doing one exercise for a particular period of time before moving to the next.Usually the time for each exercise varies from 30 seconds to a few minutes. In my class we do every exercise for 1 minute.

When you go for a circuit training class you have a number of exercise stations and you are expected to workout at each station for a given time. It does get challenging depending on your fitness level, for example in my circuit class the stations that focus on lower body are easier for me (1 minute is not challenging enough for me) but the upper body stations like pushups or plank to push ups kill me in 1 minute.

From what I have noticed a circuit workout usually covers whole body workouts, in my class every circuit has 3 exercises.

Circuit =  1 upper body and core + 1 lower body + 1 cardio + 1 compound (strength with cardio). 

We repeat all our circuits twice and between each circuit we do a set of burpees, mountain climbers and jumping squats. The good thing about circuit training is that you are constantly moving, it is fast paced and I really do push myself while doing few of the exercises. I was used to keeping counts and I would usually stick to 12-15 before changing to the next exercise and coming back to it later but doing an exercise for a minute is a different challenge altogether, usually increases the number to a lot more.

Personally I would prefer doing it maybe once a week when I want to combine my strength and cardio in a limited time. I am going to ask the trainers if it is ok for me to put up the routine we do, if they are ok with it that’s what you will read about next.

Do you do circuit training? What are your circuits like?

Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 
Tanvee

22nd October a very special day

Today is a very special day for me. On 22^nd October T and I started our wonderful journey together. We have been together for so long. We started as friends, then became best friends who would talk for hours about life (student’s life, exams, my weight), We had a few major fights were we did not talk to each other for a bit, then we got back together got to know each other better and finally on 22^nd October T asked me out :)

Together we have had our shares of ups and downs. I doubt anybody can go so many years without arguments, we don’t agree on everything nor do we share all our hobbies but somehow we have fun, I play video games with him (though I can never make sense of those, I still play and surprisingly have fun making a fool of myself while playing) he comes shopping with me (if I have no company he comes acting like he knows everything about fashion ;))

I really feel we balance each other very well, he is strong and will stand up for himself without thinking about the consequences, I only think about the consequences and forget standing up...over time he has become milder I have become stronger...he is very practical and I am a dreamer, now we dream and think about how to reach our dreams practically. I love talking he can barely say a word....(I can go on and on..)

I am just glad I found him and I really hope we can continue to be together for as long as I live

A friend of ours has just taken up photography so we were her models for a day :) - https://www.facebook.com/terryliprophotography

Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Keep Reading I will Keep Writing 
Tanvee