Fitness Report #8

Hi everyone,

It felt like yesterday when I wrote the first Fitness Report. Now, we are at number 8. Two months had passed since my first attempt to Zumba. Time flies when you're having fun, isn't it?

It feels like every time I go to the gym, I learn something new. Last Saturday, I met a new trainer and we prompted to chat. Now, I'm not a chatty kind of person but the trainers in this gym are really nice. Some of them even spend time to get to know me and answer my questions. This trainer asked me about my fitness regimen and I told him I work out 1 hour/day, 5 days a week. He told me in order for me to lose weight, I need to work out a bit longer (1.5 hrs/day, 5 days a week.) He explained to me the type of diet that I should follow (less carb, more fruits, veggies, and lean meat.) Basically, no starvation but exercise a bit longer.

He told me this piece of information that's so crucial I need to share with you:

Remember to stretch.

For the last few weeks, I've had this nagging pain on my right side. Once, it was so severe that another trainer had to pull me out of the stretching machine to manually stretch out my muscles himself. After that, I felt a whole lot better.

According to this trainer, when you exercise, your muscles expand and then coil back together. If you do not stretch, they will remain coiled. In a long run, this will lead to shortening of the muscles, which leads to pain and probably injuries. He advised me to hold the stretches as long as possible and spend more time on stretching than before. The Mayo Clinic has a slideshow of stretches that everyone should follow.

Anyhoo, here is my fitness report on week 8:

Monday: skip
Tuesday: Zumba party + weight training for arms and upper body 1hr 05min
Wednesday: Activate + Flat abs 1 hr
Thursday: Concert + weight training for arms and upper body 1hr 20min
Friday: skip
Saturday: gym with abs training 1hr 05 min
Sunday: Exhilarate + weight training for arms and upper body 1hr 30 min

Total amount of time: 6 hours!

Woo hoo! I've wanted to exercise 6 hours a week but could not quite make it. I was close to it last week and I believed I could reach this landmark. And it was paid off. I lost 1 kg (2.2lbs) this week, yay! Also, I think coupling cardio exercises with weight training helps. For the last 2-3 weeks, the scale almost did not move. I believe I hit plateau then. Upping my workout helps. Therefore, I am going to keep the same intensity this week and see how it goes.

Last but not least, I wanted to do the Concert and Exhilarate DVDs in the Zumba Exhilarate set for a very long time. I tried the later DVD once but could not move pass the first 5 minutes. It was fast and intense. Now, not only could I do one, I finished two and I could not be any prouder.

Again, thank you for showing me your support. I hope you are exercising with me as well. Believe me, if I can do it, so can you.

Last but not least, have you joined my latest skincare giveaway yet?