Before Christmas I completed "Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred". I developed a strange love/hate relationship with it. I felt the benefits and was pleased to have done it although it really pushed me. I did however feel that I wanted to do it on the harder level.
The shred is really well designed, it is broken into 3 levels. Each level has 3 6-minute circuits which are broken down into 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs work. There is a decent warm up which is effective and gets your heart rate up without wasting time and then there's a good cool down afterwards that allows you to stretch. It is only 20 minutes but it really pushes you. Jillian demonstrates the moves and has two girls behind her, one doing the harder level and the second doing easier modifications. This is good as it allows you to do the full workout even at the beginning but also gives you something to work towards and keeps you motivated. Some of the moves require hand weights, and this allows a second level of challenge as you can increase the weight size. I am still using small weights but would consider increasing the size of them in the future.
I made the decision to complete 10 days at each level. I worry that I would struggle to consider myself happy enough to move up a level, so the 10 days made me push myself. I found the first circuit of level one the hardest. This was good as once that part was done I knew the rest would be better, however it was difficult to throw yourself into. I really struggled with full press-ups last year, so I did it on my knees but I was determined this time to do full press-ups. I had managed this by workout 6 but at the the detriment of the next move. It took until workout 10 to get all of the harder moves to come together. I think that the yoga helped my strength a lot and all of the chaturanga push ups have helped with the standard push ups.
I feel that the first level is a little 'jumping jack' heavy, saying that they are simple effective cardio and easy to follow. She explains that there is no easy modification for jumping jacks as she "has 400lb people who can do jumping jacks".
The music is nothing special but then I find that I am so involved with the workout I don't pay that much attention. Jillian is pushy and has some amazing sayings including "don't phone it in". She pushes you to exercise arms and legs together to burn more calories. Despite the fact that I often find myself muttering expletives she makes you complete the workout. She is strangely encouraging despite sayings such as "if you think you are going to die, follow Anita".
The frequent changes in exercise keep you on your toes and make the workouts go quicker. It is very hard and by the end I was sweating and shattered but it does start to feel good. You feel that your muscles have been worked and that you have gotten out of breath. She encourages you to work through the difficult parts as that is when change happens. This is a message that comes across in the couch to 5K podcasts as well.
Tuesday, 18 March 2014
Sunday, 16 March 2014
Having a Whale of a Time
My Mum has always sewn and I think that is where some of my passion/obsession comes from. This makes her the best and worst person to sew for. She knows the time and effort that goes in so appreciates it, however there is always something in my head that says that I cannot just "bodge" it. I like to make different and fun things. She likes humpback whales so when I saw a humpback whale made out of jeans I knew I was going to have to give it a go. Many patterns for soft toy whales are quite "cartoony", I loved the face that this one had definite humpback whale features, I am not saying it is anatomically correct but it gives the right effect.
I found the pattern on an excellent blog. The blog states that "if you love tidy and neat sewing then please monitor your blood pressure". This is a great disclaimer. There is no pdf or printable template with these instructions. The photos and instructions are really clear, as are the relative size and shape of the pieces. I think it would be difficult to give specific sizes as people will be using different jeans made of different types of denim. I decided to make the top and bottom pieces fit on an A4 piece of paper. I found half way through this that it was too small to get good seams. Part of my problem was that the jeans I was using were slightly elasticated so the stretch made them more susceptible to fraying, which resulted in holes at the seams. I drew up a bigger pattern with an extra 3cm all round, this would allow bigger seams and I made the throat area a little deeper. I love the detail in the throat, I made it a little deeper just so I could have a bigger seam in the creases. The pattern itself explains that you should take in and adjust as you go, so if in doubt it is best to err on the side of caution and take in. I love the details in this design with the top stitching and details on the fluke being in the coloured thread that you get on a pair of jeans.
I stuffed the whale and used a ladder stitch to close the turning gap. I used a button instead of fabric for the eye because I liked the sewing/recycled connection. I added the eye after stuffing which is a tip I got from Melly and Me as it allows you to add details after seeing the "face" shape.
I found the pattern on an excellent blog. The blog states that "if you love tidy and neat sewing then please monitor your blood pressure". This is a great disclaimer. There is no pdf or printable template with these instructions. The photos and instructions are really clear, as are the relative size and shape of the pieces. I think it would be difficult to give specific sizes as people will be using different jeans made of different types of denim. I decided to make the top and bottom pieces fit on an A4 piece of paper. I found half way through this that it was too small to get good seams. Part of my problem was that the jeans I was using were slightly elasticated so the stretch made them more susceptible to fraying, which resulted in holes at the seams. I drew up a bigger pattern with an extra 3cm all round, this would allow bigger seams and I made the throat area a little deeper. I love the detail in the throat, I made it a little deeper just so I could have a bigger seam in the creases. The pattern itself explains that you should take in and adjust as you go, so if in doubt it is best to err on the side of caution and take in. I love the details in this design with the top stitching and details on the fluke being in the coloured thread that you get on a pair of jeans.
I stuffed the whale and used a ladder stitch to close the turning gap. I used a button instead of fabric for the eye because I liked the sewing/recycled connection. I added the eye after stuffing which is a tip I got from Melly and Me as it allows you to add details after seeing the "face" shape.
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| My denim whale, pattern by Mevrouw Walvis |
Couch to 5K - Week 5
Week 5 is a really important week, as it goes from three identical runs to three different runs. This is where you make a lot of progress and get slightly anxious. For me this is also where my route got longer, as initially I was using a 4.3Km route as I was jogging for less time, but from week 5 I tried the full 5K route, walking whatever was left over at the end.
The first run starts with a 5 minute warm up walk, followed by 5 minutes jogging-3 minutes walking twice, followed by another 5 minute jog. This is a minute less than week four but only has 3 runs. Again this pushes you to run for longer with a shorter recovery period. This jog was fine and I found I had some energy left at the end of it which gave me hope for the next run. Doing the programme for the second time is a blessing and a curse, as I know it works and I can do it but I also remember how hard I found it and how heavy my legs can get. A lot of the podcast talks about pacing and in the later levels it is very important. I had more issues with the weather again this week with it raining so hard the water was dripping off my eyelashes and I was struggling to see. It is at times like this that pushing on makes you feel better in the end.
The second jog is 5 minute warm up walk then 8 minutes jogging, 5 minutes walking and 8 minutes jogging. I was feeling good about it and managed to push harder on both jogs. 5 minutes is a generous recovery time and by this point I am finding that I need less and less recovery. Despite being quite windy at least it was dry! Keeping a steady pace really pays off. The podcast also gives time updates and in many ways it is good to just not worry about the time. I think I would be more tense if I had to think about it.
The third run of week 5 is where it gets serious with a 5 minutes warm up walk followed by a 20 minute jog. On paper this seems like a really big jump and is over twice as long as any previous jog. This is where the podcast really helps. It is very reassuring that you have done the preparation and need to just keep going and pace yourself. Had I been trying to plan my own jogs I would have never taken such a big step up but it works. I kept a steady pace and got through it. The podcast says that it is a mental as well as a physical challenge which is very true. I think it is at this point that the 5K seems achievable.
The first run starts with a 5 minute warm up walk, followed by 5 minutes jogging-3 minutes walking twice, followed by another 5 minute jog. This is a minute less than week four but only has 3 runs. Again this pushes you to run for longer with a shorter recovery period. This jog was fine and I found I had some energy left at the end of it which gave me hope for the next run. Doing the programme for the second time is a blessing and a curse, as I know it works and I can do it but I also remember how hard I found it and how heavy my legs can get. A lot of the podcast talks about pacing and in the later levels it is very important. I had more issues with the weather again this week with it raining so hard the water was dripping off my eyelashes and I was struggling to see. It is at times like this that pushing on makes you feel better in the end.
The second jog is 5 minute warm up walk then 8 minutes jogging, 5 minutes walking and 8 minutes jogging. I was feeling good about it and managed to push harder on both jogs. 5 minutes is a generous recovery time and by this point I am finding that I need less and less recovery. Despite being quite windy at least it was dry! Keeping a steady pace really pays off. The podcast also gives time updates and in many ways it is good to just not worry about the time. I think I would be more tense if I had to think about it.
The third run of week 5 is where it gets serious with a 5 minutes warm up walk followed by a 20 minute jog. On paper this seems like a really big jump and is over twice as long as any previous jog. This is where the podcast really helps. It is very reassuring that you have done the preparation and need to just keep going and pace yourself. Had I been trying to plan my own jogs I would have never taken such a big step up but it works. I kept a steady pace and got through it. The podcast says that it is a mental as well as a physical challenge which is very true. I think it is at this point that the 5K seems achievable.
Wednesday, 5 March 2014
Couch to 5K - Week 4
I have just finished week four of Couch to 5K . This week consists of three runs all of which start with a 5 minute warm up walk followed by two repetitions of 3 minutes running - 90 seconds walking and 5 minutes running - 2.5 minutes walking. This is significant for a few reasons; the first is that total running time goes from 9 minutes to 16 minutes, which is a big step up, and also because the overall 'recovery time' is less than the running time. Although both of these factors seem quite daunting it is fine once you get into it.
The pacing that has been talked about in the first few weeks really comes into play. I find the first 5 minute run the hardest, I am not sure why this is but it could be either; a) I want to subconsciously hold something back, b) I feel better when it is out of the way as I know I am half way there or c) I am not warming up adequately.
The weather here has been really windy for these three jogs with some hail thrown in for good measure. When I made the decision to jog outside in Shetland I knew that I could not worry too much about the weather. Wind is tough to deal with but it feels good when you change direction and get a bit of rest-bite from it. I also struggle to jog when it is too hot so I find the motivation of getting out of the wind good!
I have been given a few tips that have helped and also found out some of my own. I am guilty of not moving my arms enough when jogging so I find wiggling my fingers a little when jogging prompts bigger arm movement and it is becoming habitual now. If I mouth words to a song it can sometimes help me breath as I can get too caught up on breathing 'correctly'. It also makes me smile which, as much of a cliché it sounds, really does help!
The pacing that has been talked about in the first few weeks really comes into play. I find the first 5 minute run the hardest, I am not sure why this is but it could be either; a) I want to subconsciously hold something back, b) I feel better when it is out of the way as I know I am half way there or c) I am not warming up adequately.
The weather here has been really windy for these three jogs with some hail thrown in for good measure. When I made the decision to jog outside in Shetland I knew that I could not worry too much about the weather. Wind is tough to deal with but it feels good when you change direction and get a bit of rest-bite from it. I also struggle to jog when it is too hot so I find the motivation of getting out of the wind good!
I have been given a few tips that have helped and also found out some of my own. I am guilty of not moving my arms enough when jogging so I find wiggling my fingers a little when jogging prompts bigger arm movement and it is becoming habitual now. If I mouth words to a song it can sometimes help me breath as I can get too caught up on breathing 'correctly'. It also makes me smile which, as much of a cliché it sounds, really does help!
Monday, 3 March 2014
Bashera is My Daddy - Apparently!
After being unwell and having a cough that slowed my exercise to a halt I have finally completed the next set of Level One workouts on 'Jilian Michaels Yoga Meltdown' DVD. I am not as impressed by this DVD as I am the '30 Day Shred'. I love the theory but there is too much contrast between yoga and high intensity work-outs to combine them comfortably. There is the usual injection of sayings with "Who's your Daddy? Bashera is your Daddy" being up there. Bashera is there to demonstrate the more difficult moves and it is nice to see her getting credit for this albeit in a rather cheesy catchphrase. I will be doing Level Two as I am curious and it seems fair to fully review the complete plan. I did not find it as compelling to do as the '30 Day Shred'.
It is effective, I am more flexible than I was and I managed to do the "camel" pose even if I do struggle with holding chaturanga for the full time. When I was feeling too ill to do the DVD I went back to the Wii Fit Yoga. On the Wii I have a profile from a few years ago and a profile that I set up after having my daughter. I was impressed that I managed to beat my personal best on both profiles in the yoga session. This was despite some of the moves being very different and me feeling out of practice on the Wii. I think the most noticeable difference was on the 'sun salutation' pose. This makes sense as it is very dynamic and even though it is different to the yoga meltdown it follows the principles. I would like to do a more traditional yoga DVD and see how it compares, for now I am eager to get back on the 30 day shred.
It is effective, I am more flexible than I was and I managed to do the "camel" pose even if I do struggle with holding chaturanga for the full time. When I was feeling too ill to do the DVD I went back to the Wii Fit Yoga. On the Wii I have a profile from a few years ago and a profile that I set up after having my daughter. I was impressed that I managed to beat my personal best on both profiles in the yoga session. This was despite some of the moves being very different and me feeling out of practice on the Wii. I think the most noticeable difference was on the 'sun salutation' pose. This makes sense as it is very dynamic and even though it is different to the yoga meltdown it follows the principles. I would like to do a more traditional yoga DVD and see how it compares, for now I am eager to get back on the 30 day shred.
Orchid card
I am liking all of the oriental inspired cross stitch designs that are about at them moment. I found a lovely library of them in issue 207 of 'The World of Cross-Stitching'. I especially liked the use of pink and turquoise as it gave a softer feel to them. I chose to stitch an orchid for a friend as it was such a pretty design. I also had paper to match from a Craftseller magazine (Issue 33).
The design itself was easy to stitch although I was stitching on some fabric in my stash. I have no idea where it came from but it was an odd evenweave/aieda hybrid. It resulted in a small stitch but was effective as it kept it very compact. I do not like it when the count size is too big and you get gaps in the cross stitch. The only issue with such compact stitches is that it can make the backstitch more "fiddly" I was pleased with the result and only made one small alteration which was to make the stem a little more turquoise so it co-ordinated with the paper.
The design itself was easy to stitch although I was stitching on some fabric in my stash. I have no idea where it came from but it was an odd evenweave/aieda hybrid. It resulted in a small stitch but was effective as it kept it very compact. I do not like it when the count size is too big and you get gaps in the cross stitch. The only issue with such compact stitches is that it can make the backstitch more "fiddly" I was pleased with the result and only made one small alteration which was to make the stem a little more turquoise so it co-ordinated with the paper.
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| Orchid card design |
Sunday, 2 March 2014
Couch to 5k - Week 1 - 3
To learn to run last year I used the NHS 'Couch to 5K' podcast. I found this a fantastic resource so this year after some hibernating and indoor exercise I decided to return to it in order to get back to my 5km distance for the 5x50 challenge at the end of March. It is a nine week plan based around 3 runs a week, although I tend to aim for 4 runs just because it fits better with work. When I did it the first time I stuck strictly to the 3 jogs per week rule and it helped a lot. This time as I am feeling a little more confident so I compressed the first two weeks. I think this is one of the great things about having a set of downloaded podcasts as I have read about people reducing the number of weeks at the start but also people having a few extra runs during a week that they found really challenging. The three runs per week is a good target and really worked for me last year but it is nice to know you can be a little flexible.
I have read that there are a lot of apps for phones that do the same thing. I have a very basic Nokia so it was never going to be an option for me. I found this easy to download and stick on my MP3 player. The obvious benefit being that you don't have to worry about timing yourself and you can just get on and run.
The first week is a 5 minute warm up walk followed by 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. The podcast is narrated by "Laura" who has a wonderfully calm and reassuring voice. I was worried at the start that this would annoy me or make me feel patronised but it didn't. There is just the right amount of talking and the updates on how much time is left are really helpful. She encourages and reminds you to keep a steady pace and that you just want a jog. It also give you somebody to mutter at when it gets hard. The challenge in Week One is that you have the most amount of 'stop-starting' of any week. This is great as it allows you recovery time but if by 'Jog 8' you are finding new leg muscles you really have to push to go again. I found that a minute could feel like a really long time. I completed this and felt a lot better after it than I did a year ago so I was happy to move on to week two.
Week two consists of a 5 minute warm up walk followed by 90 seconds of running and 2 minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. At this stage you still have more time to 'recover' than to 'run' which is reassuring and with less runs in total than week one you can tell yourself there is less stop-starting. There are more tips in the second week, however, the first one they tell you is wrong as she suggest heel striking - which used to be advised but is now out of date. It is now advised to land on the middle of your foot as suggested on the NHS website. There are a lot of good hints and tips on the website as well as in the podcast.
Week Three is 5 minutes of warm up walk followed by two repetitions of 90 seconds running-90 seconds walking and 3 minutes running-3 minutes walking. This is the week where the recovery time matches the jogging time. This puts more pressure on to recover but it is doable. I really liked this week as the 90 seconds are feeling a lot easier by now and the 3 minutes are manageable. The timing of tips here helps as by the time she has explained a tip then you have gone from 90 seconds left to 60 seconds which makes it fly by. I did this run 3 times.
The music is well thought out, I did not recognise any of it but found out after using Shazam that quite a few songs are available on Amazon. I don't tend to pay a lot of attention when I am running but it is good to have it there. They pick up the tempo of the music during the runs and slow it back down for the walks. I tend to find I naturally go with this even though I did not consciously register it at first. Doing the three runs from each week helps as you start to associate parts of the music with being near the end. I think if I listened to the podcast sat still my heart rate would speed up and slow down accordingly now after hearing it so may times! There are also some great tongue in cheek lyrics in the songs, my favourites being "I gotta run I gotta go", "I can't do this long distance thing" and "Take a little time, don't you move too fast".
One of the things I will say is that when I started I was incredibly self concious; I am not built like a runner and I had to research how to run but I realised that nobody cared. I find that jogging pink faced in hail and grinning like a Cheshire cat, because I cannot believe I am jogging, is character building. I also find that the dog walkers of Lerwick are especially nice and are also out in all weather. I have had lots of encouraging words from runners but those that do it well have the sense to go to the gym in the hail.
I have read that there are a lot of apps for phones that do the same thing. I have a very basic Nokia so it was never going to be an option for me. I found this easy to download and stick on my MP3 player. The obvious benefit being that you don't have to worry about timing yourself and you can just get on and run.
The first week is a 5 minute warm up walk followed by 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. The podcast is narrated by "Laura" who has a wonderfully calm and reassuring voice. I was worried at the start that this would annoy me or make me feel patronised but it didn't. There is just the right amount of talking and the updates on how much time is left are really helpful. She encourages and reminds you to keep a steady pace and that you just want a jog. It also give you somebody to mutter at when it gets hard. The challenge in Week One is that you have the most amount of 'stop-starting' of any week. This is great as it allows you recovery time but if by 'Jog 8' you are finding new leg muscles you really have to push to go again. I found that a minute could feel like a really long time. I completed this and felt a lot better after it than I did a year ago so I was happy to move on to week two.
Week two consists of a 5 minute warm up walk followed by 90 seconds of running and 2 minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. At this stage you still have more time to 'recover' than to 'run' which is reassuring and with less runs in total than week one you can tell yourself there is less stop-starting. There are more tips in the second week, however, the first one they tell you is wrong as she suggest heel striking - which used to be advised but is now out of date. It is now advised to land on the middle of your foot as suggested on the NHS website. There are a lot of good hints and tips on the website as well as in the podcast.
Week Three is 5 minutes of warm up walk followed by two repetitions of 90 seconds running-90 seconds walking and 3 minutes running-3 minutes walking. This is the week where the recovery time matches the jogging time. This puts more pressure on to recover but it is doable. I really liked this week as the 90 seconds are feeling a lot easier by now and the 3 minutes are manageable. The timing of tips here helps as by the time she has explained a tip then you have gone from 90 seconds left to 60 seconds which makes it fly by. I did this run 3 times.
The music is well thought out, I did not recognise any of it but found out after using Shazam that quite a few songs are available on Amazon. I don't tend to pay a lot of attention when I am running but it is good to have it there. They pick up the tempo of the music during the runs and slow it back down for the walks. I tend to find I naturally go with this even though I did not consciously register it at first. Doing the three runs from each week helps as you start to associate parts of the music with being near the end. I think if I listened to the podcast sat still my heart rate would speed up and slow down accordingly now after hearing it so may times! There are also some great tongue in cheek lyrics in the songs, my favourites being "I gotta run I gotta go", "I can't do this long distance thing" and "Take a little time, don't you move too fast".
One of the things I will say is that when I started I was incredibly self concious; I am not built like a runner and I had to research how to run but I realised that nobody cared. I find that jogging pink faced in hail and grinning like a Cheshire cat, because I cannot believe I am jogging, is character building. I also find that the dog walkers of Lerwick are especially nice and are also out in all weather. I have had lots of encouraging words from runners but those that do it well have the sense to go to the gym in the hail.
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