Challenge: Exercise! Charity: Cancer Research Total £ Accrued: £20 Status: It’s working!
The Fifth Challenge: To Exercise
As the month draws to a close, I’ve realised that I am stronger than I was before and my stamina has increased. Exercise is still not one of my favourite things to do but I am starting to see the appeal (in that it can start to be addictive as you realise that you are getting better and better).
Time
The biggest challenge for me, especially with planning for my travels, has been time! I don’t seem to have enough hours in the day for anything – work spilling into overtime, organising consuming my every moment, socialising being put on the back burner whilst trying to balance the obligatory “let me just show my face” with the exhaustion that sets in.
When I try to extend my days, waking up earlier or going to bed later, it seems that sleep just overpowers me (a problem I am sure many wish they had), but seriously – I am literally dragged into sleep by my body no matter what I try to do to stay awake! It’s a real problem guys! But on that note – I am starting to believe those that say the cure for insomnia is exercise because it really does knock it out of you.
So, my suggestion is, if you are finding yourself short of time to do exercise, try splitting your 30 minutes into three 10 minute sessions.
Routine
As promised, I have put together my favourite 30 minute all-rounder routine that you could do daily. So without further ado…
Mary’s 30 Minutes of Simple Living Workout… Fun!
Pre-workout: Stretch (I don’t want anyone complaining to me about injuries) 2x 25 Squats 2x 25 Mountain Climbers 1 Minute Plank (can break this up by going into yoga down dog position half way through) 1 Minute Side Plank each side (can break this up by going into plank half way through) 2x 20 Bird Dogs 2x 25 Cycling Cross Crunches 20 Leg Lifts 20 Scissor Kicks 3x 10 Torso Lifts 20 Press-ups 2x 20 Knee Ups 1 Minute Jog on the Spot Post Workout: Stretch
I know it’s not fancy, and I had to look up the official names for some of these but it got me through and I definitely felt it!
Motivation
The point is, there is always a reason to push yourself harder and you always have the strength within you to do it. You just have to force that strength to the forefront and focus on each step in front of you.
Tip: What works for me when I am doing a 60 second plank is start counting in 10s when I start to feel like I can’t carry on. Because you can always do an extra 10 seconds of anything, can’t you?
The Conclusion
Success rate: 87.1% (4 days failed out of 31) Cost per fail: £5 Money raised for charity: £20
Overall, it was difficult (especially the 30 minutes a day) but worth it. I don’t have an eight pack yet but I do feel more in shape and I think I look more in shape. Have felt able to wake up earlier but do also want to sleep much earlier, also sleep like a log now!
Will I carry on? I would like to, but I know I will struggle with motivation. I will definitely try to incorporate more “surprise exercise” in my day to day activities.
Good luck to Elsa as she completes her own Pretty Muddy 5k challenge on 25th June! X