A few days ago I sat up in bed…. And I suddenly realised how easy it is to do just that.
So I wanted to capture this feeling, still relatively new, how certain movements or certain daily activity have become so much easier and how my limbs feel so substantially different.
Almost exactly a year ago, I started the 5-week Strength and Flex programme, so this is kind of my S&F-Anniversary post. 🎊🎉🎈
The day before my S&F journey started, I had proudly finished C25k. I am in my 50s, have had ongoing issues with my health and had started C25k from a very low fitness level. I still run ultra-slow, but I run. Three times a week. My longest run was 10k, but I run regularly rather 4 - 8k distances. But when I was on the C25k journey, there would have been no way for me to do additional workouts like the S&F programme. Doing some substantial exercise like running three times a week seemed daunting enough.
So I started S&F in my consolidation phase, using the 12-week fitness programme to keep me on track ( nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/1... ), replacing the C25k runs with 30min runs which expanded to 60min in the latter stages. (Later on we actually adapted this programme to the consolidation period, link is here healthunlocked.com/strength... )
I carried out S&F in my own garden, first thing in the morning, all through July and August 2020, getting to know the bark of our trees, the lawn and its rickety garden chair for leg stretches, the sitting stone for backward push ups, the smaller trees for half pull ups. Reading back over my posts over at the C25kforum ( healthunlocked.com/couchto5... ) I can almost relive the daily progress I experienced.
Squats getting easier, pulls ups being feasible, and my balance actually improving.
From the 12-week programme I went on to explore various video workouts, moving indoors as the weather got more winter-y, still keeping to 3 workouts per week, 3 runs per week and one rest day. January I embarked on my first daily Yoga routine, taking up the January YWA Challenge BREATH, and from then on a daily Strength and Flexibility session, some short some long, have been part of my daily routine. We also converted a corner of the living room into a workout corner 😊💪🧘🏼♂️🏋️.
So what are the things I have noticed that have changed?
Loads of little things:
- My skin feels different, it wasn’t exactly flabby but it certainly feels even more firm
- My arms feel toned, as do my legs. And I don’t immediately seek out a chair when I stand in the living room telling my husband a lengthy story. It sounds so little, but this is big.
- Recently I had to fetch a book from the top book shelf, and prior to this year I’d have asked my lovely husband to do this for me, as I would have felt unstable on a chair and even experienced pain stepping down from a chair, knowing my knees would have made themselves known. But recently I just did that without thinking, being confident in stepping up as well as stepping down without needing another wall or hold to stabilise me. This is huge.
- And sitting up in bed from a lying position, without needing the leverage of your arms. Simply using your core strengths. I recently sat up in bed and was so conscious of the ease of that movement that I showed off to my amused husband by repeatedly laying down and sitting up. Big! Not small!
- And I can walk for hours now without any back pain, which would have started 15min into any walk in my olden days.
- I can tidy up the kitchen for half a day without any rest, before having to take weight of my legs here and there.
- And I can confidently sit or lie on the floor, knowing there is no problem with quickly and with not too much effort getting up again. Yes, I still have to watch my sensitive knees, but hey….. wow!….
- And oh yeah, I can balance now. I used to sit down whilst putting on trousers…. Not anymore!
And then of course there are all the moves as part of the workout routines, like Child’s poses, Planks or Pigeon.
For those of you who have been fit a long time, all of these things might be perceived so normal, and that to think otherwise might seem unusual. But maybe this story reaffirms how important that fitness to ones’ daily life is.
But for all those who are or were like me before starting this journey, maybe this story will help in staying with it, and to continue with all the daily or regular S&F workouts.
My experience is that it took only one year to improve so many little daily moves that had made me feel really old. It has really stripped off years of my age.
So happy working out everyone! And whatever your workout method, keep on keeping on!
Did my first session of s+f yesterday!
Starting S&F while injured