The Exercise Motivation Thread - 2016

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Winchester

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Thanks, Barbara! 
 I hope you feel better, too, with that cold. I read about you and your hubby losing some pounds. Good job!

What an absolutely gorgeous day outside today. We are well into the mid-60s and I'm sure we'll hit 70 by late afternoon. The sun is shining and it's just beautiful.

3.5 miles walked outside today, so that gives me 6 miles for the day.
 
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Norachan

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Hi 


I haven't posted on this thread all week. I was hoping to get back to my usual routine now that my fence is repaired and all the kitties are home again but I caught a cold. That's what comes of standing around in the snow with your fence fixing gear, I guess.

The only energetic things I've done this week are clean the house and have a few coughing fits.

Yesterday I decided to buy some new running shoes, so as soon as I'm over my cold I'm going to start running again.

Keep going guys, you're all doing so well
 

tammat

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Everyone is doing so well :clap:
It was warm this morning now it's raining and the temperature is dropping. I trained with Rohan this morning. Chest and biceps.
 

Winchester

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3 miles on the treadmill this morning. I'm taking a vacation day from work today and am planning on ripping through the house. That should get me some more steps, even though they won't be "exercise" steps.
 

eck1kaylie

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I've already been slacking off big time.
I'm realizing more and more how little motivation and energy I have.
Today, mostly out of irritation towards myself, I ended up working out more than normal. I didn't think to count, but I did squats, calf-raises, lunges, push-ups, crunches, reverse crunches, and a bit of planking.
I've noticed a huge, very frustrating difference between my upper and lower body. When I do leg exercises, I keep going until they start to hurt just a little, and I end up with a very familiar, satisfying post-workout ache (you know that ache, when you know you've pushed your muscles just far enough). But when I work my arms, I go until they start shaking and collapse. No ache. Five minutes after I stop working out, they feel just like they did before. I feel like I'll never make any progress with them and I'll have noodle arms forever.
Anywho. Rant over. This 30-day challenge idea didn't work out too well. I think I need to rethink my plan. And maybe find a workout buddy to keep me going.
 

Norachan

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I've already been slacking off big time.
I'm realizing more and more how little motivation and energy I have.
Today, mostly out of irritation towards myself, I ended up working out more than normal. I didn't think to count, but I did squats, calf-raises, lunges, push-ups, crunches, reverse crunches, and a bit of planking.
I've noticed a huge, very frustrating difference between my upper and lower body. When I do leg exercises, I keep going until they start to hurt just a little, and I end up with a very familiar, satisfying post-workout ache (you know that ache, when you know you've pushed your muscles just far enough). But when I work my arms, I go until they start shaking and collapse. No ache. Five minutes after I stop working out, they feel just like they did before. I feel like I'll never make any progress with them and I'll have noodle arms forever.
Anywho. Rant over. This 30-day challenge idea didn't work out too well. I think I need to rethink my plan. And maybe find a workout buddy to keep me going.
Maybe you need to find something that is more fun to do, rather than something you feel you have to force yourself into.

How about taking up a new sport, joining a class at a gym, volunteering to walk dogs for your local shelter, horse riding, a dance class?

I went for a 90 minute walk today. It's still cold and foggy here, but it felt good to get out of the house for a bit. I'm still coughing too much for a run. My new running shoes look so pretty though. 
 

eck1kaylie

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Maybe you need to find something that is more fun to do, rather than something you feel you have to force yourself into.

How about taking up a new sport, joining a class at a gym, volunteering to walk dogs for your local shelter, horse riding, a dance class?

I went for a 90 minute walk today. It's still cold and foggy here, but it felt good to get out of the house for a bit. I'm still coughing too much for a run. My new running shoes look so pretty though. :happy2:
I actually really like working out once I get into it, it's just hard to get going.
I don't have much extra time during the day. I usually work out at night after work (well, when I actually work out, that is...).
And I don't have the money for any sort of classes.
 
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tammat

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I did my back and shoulders today. That makes up for Monday but I didn't do any cardio so I'll have to make that up tomorrow.
Keep going everybody :clap:
 

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I actually really like working out once I get into it, it's just hard to get going.
I don't have much extra time during the day. I usually work out at night after work (well, when I actually work out, that is...).
And I don't have the money for any sort of classes.
If you are not getting that ache feeling in your arms=add weights. Take a can of soup or gallon of milk or anything that is easy to hold and curl. then pretend they are dumbbells. hold the gallon milk and do squats. I have had to duct tape large wrenches together and use this. keep up the good work.
 

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got another half hour workout. Upped the weights on my arms to another 5  lbs. didnt burn as bad as I expected but if I go too fast too high with weights then two days later it hurts like the dickens. I did 3 hours of yardwork yesterday=I was going to blow off the workout but I wasnt as sore as I expected. I did 10 minutes of cardio running in place, jump jacks and general bounce around dance moves then three sets of a ton of arm exercises:

curls with wrists in,

curls with wrists facing out

deadman pullup or something like this

did rows with my back at a 90 degree angle.

pulled up my weight bar in ^^ position-works the back and shoulders as well as biceps.

shoulder press with calf rise at the same time

squats

used a video on youtube called the 6 exercises for a small waist-there were acouple of them that I dont need to lay down to do-

Good job everyone!
 

eck1kaylie

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If you are not getting that ache feeling in your arms=add weights. Take a can of soup or gallon of milk or anything that is easy to hold and curl. then pretend they are dumbbells. hold the gallon milk and do squats. I have had to duct tape large wrenches together and use this. keep up the good work.
Thanks for the suggestion,I'll look around for something to use :)
We've got one set of dumbells, but they're Nick's. I can barely move them. :lol3:
 

catlover19

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I used to fill my son's baby bottles with water and use them as dumbells. Then my friend lent me some to use but I need to get heavier ones now.
 

foxxycat

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Thanks for the suggestion,I'll look around for something to use

We've got one set of dumbells, but they're Nick's. I can barely move them.
Do you have any tools? Believe it or not=I started by using adjustable wrenches. I now tape two 24" adjustables together-which is i think 15 or 20lbs. I started with 12" adjustable-about 3 lbs. 18" adj is about 5-6 pounds-I wore thin work gloves and they dont slip out of my hands. This was perfect for getting my hands used to grabbing objects without dropping them.

Also you can use a textbook in your hands to do squats and hold the book out arms length and run-this is a really good arm worker-you have to run and hold your arms out=its harder than it looks.


Also there are tools that could work-wrenches taped together till you gain some strength-hammers-pliers-or a waterbottle filled with water-just make sure cap is on tight
 

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Buckets are nice too, they come in different sizes and there are ones with a lid too, you can fill bucket with dirt, water or whatever and just lift it up, it could work as a kettle bell?
 

eck1kaylie

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Do you have any tools? Believe it or not=I started by using adjustable wrenches. I now tape two 24" adjustables together-which is i think 15 or 20lbs. I started with 12" adjustable-about 3 lbs. 18" adj is about 5-6 pounds-I wore thin work gloves and they dont slip out of my hands. This was perfect for getting my hands used to grabbing objects without dropping them.

Also you can use a textbook in your hands to do squats and hold the book out arms length and run-this is a really good arm worker-you have to run and hold your arms out=its harder than it looks. :sigh:

Also there are tools that could work-wrenches taped together till you gain some strength-hammers-pliers-or a waterbottle filled with water-just make sure cap is on tight :lol3:
Pretty low on tools. I think I'm limited to screwdrivers and a little hammer. :lol3:
Books are a good idea! I don't have any textbooks, but I've got plenty of big hefty books!
 

tammat

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Pretty low on tools. I think I'm limited to screwdrivers and a little hammer. :lol3:
Books are a good idea! I don't have any textbooks, but I've got plenty of big hefty books!
Have you got a fat cat? I've seen people use there animals :lol3:

Today is really humid. I found it very hard to train. It's Friday and then end of my week so that probably didn't help. I did my hamstrings and I added 1 kg to them. I did my triceps and I added 2.5 kg to my dips. Rohan has me doing 2 10 sec holds at the end of every muscle group. After triceps today I could have cried. Lastly I did abs. Yay!! That's a 6 week programme complete. Next week will be the same reps ect but the exercises will change.
 

eck1kaylie

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Have you got a fat cat? I've seen people use there animals :lol3:
LOL! No fat cats here, but I'll keep that in mind if I'm ever exercising at my parents house! :lol3:

I gave the book idea a try! I grabbed my heaviest book and held it straight out in front of me with both hands while I did my squats/calf raises, then grabbed a couple more (smaller, but equal to each other in size) and held them out to the sides while I did lunges. I definitely feel my arms more than I did before!
I also did some knee push ups and crunches, threw in some jumping jacks and jogging in place, and pulled a few exercises from Pinterest to try. That was fun, I'll probably do it more. Maybe if I change up my routine more often I'll stay interested longer?

I found a pair of sneakers in my size on clearance while I was working today. I'll probably run and pick those up tomorrow, so that I can start walking (and hopefully, eventually, jogging) when the weather warms up a bit more.
 
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tammat

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It's still Friday and I hadn't done cardio for the week so I had a nap and then went to the local ovals to do 20 mins fartlek running. I forgot my asthma meds and the grass smelled funky so I lasted 10 mins. I'm dissapointed however I'm not going to beat myself up about it. If I drove I would have gone home to get meds but I walked. Next time will be better.
 

foxxycat

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It's still Friday and I hadn't done cardio for the week so I had a nap and then went to the local ovals to do 20 mins fartlek running. I forgot my asthma meds and the grass smelled funky so I lasted 10 mins. I'm dissapointed however I'm not going to beat myself up about it. If I drove I would have gone home to get meds but I walked. Next time will be better.
aww that stinks. got allergies and asthma here too. thats why i started with weights. cant get enough breathe. actually i had to watch some youtube videos teaching me how to breathe during running-i made the mistake of breathing out my mouth-i had to train to not huff and puff-makes my asthma act up-had to keep my mouth shut and breathe in through nose. plus it cuts down on sore throat i get if i keep mouth open. grrr...i would give anything to run in marathons and long distance. i am more of a power lifter or sprints. i dont do well with long distance running. I used to ride my bike in my teens all over the place-I rode at least 60 miles every weekend-now people drive like morons i would be afraid of getting hit.

As far as using other objects for weights-check out your local thrift shop=see if they have any pipe wrenches=those work good. i tend to buy tools because i can always use them-or you can look around for some second hand hand weights. I know that those arm circles with a book in each hand will really make them hurt-tried that yesterday.

@eck1kaylie-I go on youtube and type in "workout full sweat cardio" and select the newest videos from a month ago and over 20 min long-every day I use a new video=I still have my standard moves I use but I found some new things to try-that one where you are in pushup position and pull knee to chest is challengine..then theres the same position where you take the leg and stick it out under your body. i have to find the word for this..i could do 2 then i fell on my belly=it was hard! that plank exercise is hard too!
 
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