I promised myself that 2016 would see more about the 'lifestyle' part of my blog, rather than just the food, so here we are....
Over the last 5 years or so, I had started to observe a number of things about my body:
Over the last 5 years or so, I had started to observe a number of things about my body:
- It was impossible for me to do a correct chaturanga despite doing yoga weekly for 12 years.
- I was getting severe neck pain/dizziness after car and plane trips.
- A steep mountain bike ride or hike, gave me stiff quads for days after, and groin pain.
- I had terrible neck/shoulder posture
- During an afternoon walk up a steep suburban hill, a friend told me that I was unfit, even though I had been doing regular exercise daily for years.
- In doing ashtanga yoga pose Utthita Hasta Padangushthasana D (balance pose), I could not lift my leg higher than about 20cm off the ground.
I had always been an avid exerciser, having done aerobic
exercise 3-4 times a week my whole adult life. So I was confused about why I
seemed to be so much worse than everyone else despite being so fit. I even starting
to give up on many of the exercise activities I loved.
I finally decided that something drastically needed to
change. So in August last year, I set about building my overall body strength. I
started spending 1 hour, 3 times per week, doing a full body strength training
workout, which I developed at home using information on line. It involves 20
reps of about 25 different activities, using 1-2kg weights or my own body
weight.
In the early stages, I was so shattered that I didn’t really
have the energy to do other forms of exercise. I cut down on yoga. I stopped
running. And although I kept biking, I restricted myself to flat/down-hill
rides only. I continued with Zumba ;-)
After about 4 months I started to notice many positive
changes:
- Lifting my bike into the car, and carrying groceries became easier
- Squatting to clean shower walls, and bending down to the dishwasher became easier.
- My shoulders weren’t sagging as much when biking
- Chaturanga was getting a tiny bit easier
- My neck pain / dizziness has gone, and my neck didn’ t feel like it was going to fall off!
- I could sit in the car and couch longer without pain
- I could do ab work without straining my neck
After 6 months the changes have become more pronounced, and
the exercises are becoming a little bit easier. This has enabled me to pick up
light running again. I have become more conscious about how interconnected we
are. For example that shoulder work requires strong abs, and that abs work
requires a strong neck. And I’ve begun to notice more about how other people’s
posture looks.
Over the next few months I plan to further strengthen so
that I can do squats with more than just my body weight, and get to a point
where I can do a chaturanga more confidently. From there I will look to maintain
rather than further strengthen, which will give me more energy for my favourite
exercises.
If only I had worked all this out years ago. But I guess some
of you wise ones will tell me that life is full of eureka moments that take us
from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence, from where we can
build to conscious competence and then unconscious competence!.... so I’m sure
there are many more of these to come!
Here is a copy of the strengthening routine that I have been
doing 3 times per week for the last 6 months. It involves 20 reps of about 25
different activities, using 1-2kg weights, or my own body weight. my-strengthening-workout
I would be interested in comments/thoughts/advice to aid my
further development. x
