Tag Archives: progress

Boot Camp: Fitness Testing & Progress!

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After a week’s break, the April boot camp sessions kicked off this morning. With more fitness testing!

My very first session as testing too – I wrote about it here. And I’m glad I noted my results, because it gives me a standard platform to compare my progress.

Progress indeed!

  • Beep test results: still ‘good’ (above average) per the normative data based on age and gender, but my specific score was a touch better than last time.
  • Push ups results: from ‘very poor’ (lowest score) to ‘average’ – an increase of ~10 push ups!
  • Lower body wall squats results: from ‘above average’, almost excellent, to ‘excellent’
  • Sit up test results: from ‘above average’ to ‘excellent’… by a fair bit.
  • Plank test results: ‘average’ – right in the middle of the ‘average’ band – no change.

After the last test, I mentioned that I was going to focus on my upper body and core. And I certainly feel like I’ve improved – though my planking results don’t show it.

Next focus will be on my mental stamina: got to improve those planking and wall-sits times! Maybe crack 60 sit-ups, too?

Thirteen New Experiences for 2013: Update

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We’re almost two whole months through 2013 already. The year is flying by, and I’m really enjoying it so far. A lot has happened!

And there’s steady progress being made with the ‘Thirteen New Experiences for 2013‘ I set out for myself last year. Two down, 11 to go.

  1. Run my first race
  2. Try a mixed martial arts class
  3. Try a pole fitness class
  4. Try a spin class
  5. Go skydiving
  6. Try a beginners/intro crossfit course
  7. Try a yoga class
  8. Try a pilates class
  9. Go bungy jumping
  10. Try indoor rock climbing
  11. Buy a bike
  12. Sign up for boot-camp style group training
  13. Try an aqua/pool-based fitness class

“1. Run my first race”

Completed this last Sunday with a 7km run ‘Round the Bays’ with a friend of mine from work. Our official time was 50:32 – not fantastic, but we’re happy with it! And we had fun which is the main thing.

As ‘Nev’ from never2late4 puts it, I’ve caught ‘the bug‘ and I’ll definitely be doing more races.

Another friend and I are signed up for the Round the Vines race next month (the day after the dragonboating competition…so it might be another slow one). Our packs arrived in the post yesterday.

And the Wellington Marathon is coming up in June – I’ll be signing up for the 10km run once our work team entries open.

“8. Try a pilates class”

I did this one a little while ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Sadly, I haven’t been back since despite raving after the class that I would.

It was a well-paced beginners class held at the gym and I felt that I took a lot away from it.

And I certainly felt it in my core for the next couple of days – Pilates: It’s not for chumps!

So… What next?

Plans are in place to hit up a spin class next week (my legs are already crying), and I’m currently investigating bikes to buy (though I won’t be getting anything too fancy until I learn how to ride one!).

Bungy jumping is currently in the pipelines for May, and I’m waiting to hear back about possible dates for sky-diving.

I’ll make sure to keep y’all updated!

How are your goals progressing?
What have you got lined up for the next month or so? Anything exciting?

Lazy Mountain Climber

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We’ve been so lucky with weather in Wellington lately. We rarely have this many good days so close together (even in summer)! It’s true what the proverbial ‘they’ say – you really can’t beat Wellington in a good day.

So a friend and I ran (/walked) up Mt Victoria to the lookout over the city and surrounding bays. The sky was relatively clear, and the wind was only really noticeable at the top.
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Having been up to the look out hundreds of times in my lifetime, but never running, it was a great new experience – and right on my doorstep!

Like so many of you mentioned last week, running with a friend is a completely different ball-game to running alone. If I’m being honest, I push myself much harder when I’m on the treadmill and can see my speed and distance in all it’s green digital display evilness goodness. But today was so much more fun!

Unfortunately, though, there were photos. The kind that you look at, ask if that’s really what you look like, then go off to cry. Photos taken from behind, and at unflattering angles. You know the sort – right?

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: My Arse (running up a hill)
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But it okay – I’m embracing the photos. Afterall, I really enjoyed myself out there, and these photos are just further proof of the continued progress!

Thanks Kristin!

That’s got to be worth celebrating with an over zealous, uncoordinated dance on top of one of the highest points in the city…
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What are you getting up to this weekend?

First Race: Round the Bays, February 2013

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I registered for my first (running) race this afternoon. The 7km run/walk as part of the Wellington Round the Bays in February next year.

This will be the first point that I can cross off my “Thirteen new experiences for 2013“. Exciting!

The most I have ever run at one time was 5km, and it wasn’t particularly pretty, so I’m not going to set myself a goal time or berate myself if I end up walking half of it (though I hope not!). Just finishing is my goal.

Besides, I’ll be running with workmates so I don’t want to be dead at the finish line. They’ll remind me of it for weeks afterwards. And again for the race in 2014.

Then again, maybe that’s what I need to boost me into super-Amy-goes-all-out mode. Who knows?

Weight Loss & the New Pencil Skirt

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I’ve been putting off buying new clothes for a while – a combination of not knowing if I’ll be losing much more weight, and wanting to be able to go new-wardrobe-crazy in the States next month.

But enough was enough. I really needed a new skirt that I could wear to a client meeting without hanging my head in shame. My previous favourite high-waisted skirt is a little, erm, loose.
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Turns out trying to find a nice, professional, fitted skirt when you’re between sizes and only have half an hour left on your lunch break isn’t easy. Put simply, it’s freakin’ hard.

Three shops and six skirts later, I found one. Still a little tight across the top of the thighs, it feels comfortable. And it fits well enough around the waist and hips. WIN!
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The shopping itch has been satisfied for now, and I can head into work tomorrow with a well-hugged (albeit professional) butt.

Credit card’s next stop: New York.

It’s Just A Number

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It’s take a while for my accountant-brain to figure it out, but the number on the scale is just one measure.  One quantitative measure.  Like the number of cm/inches lost.

But it’s not just the quantitative that matters – the qualitative factors count just as much (if not more!).

What do I mean?  If you can record it with a number, it’s quantitative.  You can quantify it.

If it’s harder to measure, like the mood boost after exercise, it’s qualitative.  From my experience, it’s these things that make these life changes worthwhile.