Progress over perfection

BetaCorvi

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Mage from Belgium
Pronouns: She/her
Posts: 614
OCTOBER 31
:v: Hero's Journey, day 7, level 1
:v: Yoga for Bone Health
:v: 2 min bicep extensions

NOVEMBER 1: Cardio
:v: Power punch, day 1
:v: Hero's Journey day 6 + bow
:v: EoD
:v: C25K, W3D1
:v: YWA: 10 min meditation


NOVEMBER 2
:v: Power punch, day 2
:v: EoD
:v: Hero's journey day 6, hammer
:v: Hero's Journey day 8
:x: Taekwondo

NOVEMBER 3: Run
:x: Run
:v: Power punch, day 3
:x: Hero's Journey day 9

My throat has been really sore & bugging me, so I am taking an extra rest day. Hero's journey & normal scheduling will resume when I'm feeling better. Luckily I'm not really coughing or anything, just the sore throat, poor sleep, and loads upon loads of tea

Current workout streak: 142



OCTOBER CHECK-IN

Taekwondo

:v: Yellow-Green belt
:v: more training & sparring training at home.

Running:
:x: 5K
:x: 2 runs per week

Weights:
:v:/:x: Get comfortable with 8 kg
:x: Knee strengthening

Yoga:
:v: 3x per week yoga

Weight:
:v: Read up on more appropriate nutrition/diet

To be honest, I haven't kept track of my weight all that much. I didn't gain weight, probably also didn't lose it. Weight is a bit of a trigger, and I'll get there when I can control more of my meals. I have been able to include more nutritious lunches/brunches - more protein, more fruit, more homecooked, less sugar. I have really been enjoying trying to cook for myself more and trying new dishes my parents wouldn't eat, especially asian cuisine.

My own revised routine seems to be working for me, and keeping it somewhat consistent.


Still need to reevaluate my goals for November, switched around a running day because I was finding saturdays don't work well for running for me, so new schedule:

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday
CardioTaekwondoRunTaekwondoRunTaekwondo
StrengthLower impact full body workoutLower Bodyabs/Core StrengthUpper body
OtherYogaYogaYogaYogaYoga, stretching, recoveryYogaYoga
 

BetaCorvi

Well-known member
Mage from Belgium
Pronouns: She/her
Posts: 614
A very belated thank you, @JohnStrong @Laura Rainbow Dragon, @motionaction, & @JCU!



Okay, admittedly I'm sitting here looking at my excel sheet, and realising that with all those days I though 'eh, I'll fill it in tomorrow, I'm sure I'll remember what I did', and not only did I not remember, I most certainly didn't fill it in. While I worked out every day, and did the dailies, I did not write out what those Exercises of the Day were or what I did beyond that. On the positive side - I feel properly, fully better now and ready to tackle what I can.

So... What I remember:

NOVEMBER
:v: Power Punch, day 4 - 15
:v: EoD, all days.
:v: 90 days of Action, day 1 - 6

NOVEMBER 16
:v: 90 days of Action day 8, level 2 (couldn't do cardio today, stuck at an upper floor. Switched days)
:v: Power punch, day 16
:v: EoD (60 seconds step-up lunges, EC)
:v: MovementbyDavid lower body flexibility routine, roughly 18 minutes
:v: 12 Min Yoga For Brain Power | Yoga With Adriene

Current workout streak: 155
 
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BetaCorvi

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Mage from Belgium
Pronouns: She/her
Posts: 614
Thanks guys :love:

NOVEMBER 18: Flexibility/Stretching
Dailies:

:v: Power Punch, day 17.
:v: EoD: 40 raised leg circles, in one go

Programs/Workouts:
:v: 90 days of Action, day 9, Level 1
:v: 10 minute flexibility routine (MovementbyDavid)
:x: Yoga


Realized I'd done Power Punch day 18 on the 17th, so switching out the dates. Working on building my own stretching routine, both a longer version for Tuesdays and Fridays, and a shorter ten minute one I can repeat every day. I am already pretty flexible, but there are some areas I have noticed that I am still lacking in - i.e. I have very limited flexibility in pancake stretch, and I can get very close to middle splits, but I can only do that with my hands to the floor. If I keep my body up, I overstretch because my feet slide wider and I cannot really keep them in place (and I have definitely had some issues with that in the past after taekwondo practice). Maybe I should also be focussing on strengthening my legs?

Thinking of trying the Zombies Run C25K program today, but the 10 minute free run at the end of it seems a little daunting, and I am not sure where to restart as it uses other intervals. Just go back to square one? Or at least the end of week 1? I've been using the Zenlabs/NHS versions so far.

Current workout streak: 157
 
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TopNotch

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Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,610
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
When I started ZR 5k, I did find the first lot of ten minutes a bit daunting. I think I ran for about 4 or 5 minutes, walked for 1 or 2 and then ran again. Knowing I 'was allowed' to walk kind of forced me not to because I reckoned I could give it a good go, which I did and after the first lot, once I'd got into the swing of things, I ran. Slowly, but that doesn't matter. The intention is to run, even if it is the same pace as someone's walk! And you might be surprised at how much you can run, especially if you DON'T start by thinking you can't do it!!
 

BetaCorvi

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Mage from Belgium
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Posts: 614
@Montserrat @TopNotch Ohh, thank you for the clarification. That feels a lot more doable than how I saw it!

NOVEMBER 19: Cardio & Abs
:v: ZR C25K, Intro mission (elliptical)
:v: Power Punch, day 19
:v: Master of Abs
:v: 90 days of Action, day 10
:v: Yoga For Lower Back Pain | Yoga With Adriene (Lower body felt tight)
:v: Stretching (pancake stretch, runners lunge)


Decided to follow through the introductory mission on my elliptical, as it wasn't entirely a running mission either way, and it was raining a bit too hard to take a twenty minute walk. Have decided that I will start from Week 1, so I can properly experience the story, and starting with lower running intervals never really hurt anyone.

Haven't entirely figured out the stretching routine yet - just did what I felt like doing/where I felt tight.



NOVEMBER 20: Taekwondo
:v: Taekwondo practice
:v: 90 Days of Action, Day 11, Level 1
:v: Power Punch, day 20 (250 punches, ish)
:v: Yoga + Pranayama for the Spine - Yoga With Adriene
:v: Short stretching (active front to side leg raises, & side leg raises - the rest felt pretty balanced after stretching in Taekwondo & in the yoga session)

Current workout streak: 159
 
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BetaCorvi

Well-known member
Mage from Belgium
Pronouns: She/her
Posts: 614
NOVEMBER 21: Taekwondo
:x: Taekwondo
:x: Yoga
:v: Power Punch, day 21
:v: 90 days of Action, day 12
:v: Very light stretching

NOVEMBER 22: Run & full body workout
:v: ZR 5K Training, W1D1
:v: Post-run stretching: runners lunge, hamstring stretches.
:x: EoD (20 Jump squats) - my knees def don't like that
:v: 90 Days of Action, day 13, Level 1
:v: Power Punch, day 22
:v: 20 min flexibility routine
:v: Yoga For Transitions | Yoga With Adriene
:v: Work Of Art workout, Level 1, 6 kg weights

It definitely felt a little strange to have my running intervals only be 15 seconds, but it is encouraging at the same time.
I am having some trouble with the YWA calendar, because there are just too many meditation days, and I don't do meditation very well. May just switch over to one of her older calendars for the rest of the month, hoping December will be less meditation and more Yoga. It is really nice when the choice of which Yoga workout to do is taken away from me.

Current workout streak: 161
 
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BetaCorvi

Well-known member
Mage from Belgium
Pronouns: She/her
Posts: 614
NOVEMBER 23: Taekwondo
:v:
90 Days of Action, day 15
:v:
Power Punch, day 23
:v:
Yoga For Climbers | Flexibility & Balance | Yoga With Adriene
:v: Poomsae practice, 1-3.
:v: Taekwondo practice
:x: EoD (60 seconds raised leg hold - completely forgot about it when I got home)


It has been so gloomy and rainy lately, hoping I'll get to taekwondo practice without getting all soaked. Definitely looking forward to practice - it feels like ages since I've been on Wednesday - it is the only day where classes are 12+, so they always seem to be a little higher gear, and a little more advanced.

Edit, on the morning after
And they were! Some more complex kicking combinations, which were good practice for sure as we don't often do stuff this complicated. Gave me a good list of things to work on at home, mostly in correcting my technique.
While we went up to pal jang, my poomsae didn't feel good today. I felt like a lot of my techniques were very clumsy. More work, more work. We haven't been going consistently in a while, maybe it is that.


Current workout streak: 162
 
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BetaCorvi

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Mage from Belgium
Pronouns: She/her
Posts: 614
NOVEMBER 24: Run + lower body
p50X6nc.png

:v: ZR! 5K trainer, W1D2
:v: 90 Days of Action, day 14
:v: EoD: 100 side shoulder taps, in one go
:v: No Burpees (Trust me) workout, level 1
:v: Yesterday's EoD: 60 sec raised leg hold, one go

Still to do

Reporting in halfway through the day, because if I don't I probably won't actually do my lower body workout. But now it's chosen, it is on the to-do list, so I have to do it. It's dumb, but it'll help me actually get on.

Additionally, there's only so far you can postpone doing 80 burpees, so tackled that one today. Spread them out in sets of 5 to 10 over an hour or so, which made them very doable.

My running distance is a bit off on the app, as I'd forgotten to change it back to GPS mode over steps, and it does seem to be syncing twice to Runkeeper (need to figure out how to fix that). Enjoyed this run a lot! Much more than Tuesday's - no blue hands this time.
After syncing, Runkeeper informed me that since I started running (a few walks thrown in) last year in March I've covered a total of 200.3 km! Woo! That number really did take me by surprise, especially with how inconsistent I have been with running, and how short most of those runs were.

Current workout streak: 163
 
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BetaCorvi

Well-known member
Mage from Belgium
Pronouns: She/her
Posts: 614
NOVEMBER 25: Rest day
:v: 20 min self-guided yoga.
:v: Power Punch, day 25

NOVEMBER 26: Run + abs
C6cb05w.png

:v: ZR! 5K trainer, W1D3
:v: 1.5 km walk afterwards to head home
:v: 90 days of Action, day 17, level 2
:v: Power punch, day 26

Maybe still to do: Yoga

My knees were hurting on Friday, so I decided to take it extra quietly on my rest day. Luckily, no issues today and for my run. Made it through week 1, and really enjoying running at the moment. Kind of want to go on another run tomorrow... hmm. I know I'll need the rest days, but it is very early in the program.

Tomorrow's & Monday's taekwondo practices won't be attended because my friend's schedule doesn't work for it, and Wednesday's class will be iffy because there is another rail strike coming up. Yay. I'll be practicing my poomsae at home, and working on what I can. But it is iffy at best to know where to improve, and what I'm doing wrong. I guess practice never hurts

Current workout streak: 165
 
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TopNotch

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Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,610
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
Stick with the rest days. The first time I did the ZR training, I did Mon, Wed and Fri, but I always noticed on Wednesday, Maxine would say something like "see you in two days' time", so the next time I did it, I did Mon,Wed and Sat and that seemed to work with what the programme said. :)
 

BetaCorvi

Well-known member
Mage from Belgium
Pronouns: She/her
Posts: 614
NOVEMBER 27: Taekwondo
:x: Taekwondo practice
:v: Power punch, day 27
:v: 90 Days of Action, day 16
:v: EoD: 40 Split Lunges, in a single set
:v: Poomsae practice


NOVEMBER 28: Taekwondo
:x: Taekwondo practice
:v: Power punch, day 28
:v: 90 Days of Action, day 18
:v: EoD: 10 burpees, in a single set

Notes
Meant to do poomsae practice on the 27th, but that was intended for after DnD. Our session ran 1.5 hours late - which was perfect for finishing the combat encounter we'd started at the end of the previous session, but not so perfect for still finding the time and energy for poomsae practice.

Did decide to take @TopNotch's advice to stick with the rest days - thank you for that! I don't have much leeway with when I run, because I cannot combine taekwondo and running days, but I could skip a run day this week.. Did you find it really beneficial to place the extra rest day where the program wants you to over placing the extra rest day between weeks?

Current workout streak: 167
 
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TopNotch

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Ranger from Australia
Posts: 1,610
"Motivation is temporary. Discipline is forever."
@BetaCorvi First time I did the programme was during a Covid lockdown, so it didn't really matter when I did the runs. I didn't really pay attention, though, and missed the two-day break between D2 and D3 until a few weeks in and then I just decided to keep it the way it was. The second time, I was doing quite a lot of Taekwondo training, and D2 happened on a Wednesday which was a training day and that made training a bit harder, so I was happy not to run on Friday (another training day) but leave it to Saturday.
So, having done the programme both 'ways', I think I prefer the 'correct' way. It could have just been imagination, but I felt I did better on that third day when there was a greater break.
 

BetaCorvi

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Mage from Belgium
Pronouns: She/her
Posts: 614
NOVEMBER 29: Running & full body workout
:v: Runner's Strength, upperbody & lower body workouts
:v: Power punch, day 29
:v: 90 Days of Action, day 19, level 2
:v: 50 Push-ups in one go challenge, day 1
:v: Poomsae practice, going over all the ones I know
:x: Run

Notes
No run today so I can have my two day break where it is more useful. A little bit of extra break never hurts, and this way I should be able to get some long-sleeve running shirts before my run, cause with the colder weather my hands and chest have been freezing even during my run. Maybe also pick up some thin gloves that let me control my watch (I use my fitbit to mark laps and pace, because it is more accurate than my phone's GPS).

I had been finding that with push-ups, I'd been more insecure about form, and thus have been dreading them whenever they're in a workout for a while. Even just 10 seems to be daunting lately. So, time to fix that! Working up to 50 push-ups again, this time paying a hyper focus on my form. The issue I'm trying to address is that my hands tend to drift closer to upper shoulder height and are a little too wide.

Next up today is to think up December's goals, try and figure out what is doable, what I want to achieve, and report back!

Thanks for the advice @TopNotch!

Current workout streak: 168
 
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BetaCorvi

Well-known member
Mage from Belgium
Pronouns: She/her
Posts: 614
NOVEMBER 29: Taekwondo
:v: Power punch, day 30
:completed:
:v: 90 Days of Action, day 20
:v: 50 Push-ups in one go challenge, day 2
:x: Poomsae practice
:v: Taekwondo training


Notes:
More poomsae practice before training this evening. I will be going over some of the basics - was noticing a few mistakes in 6-8 that I want to squash before training because they are some very rookie mistakes and I want to be able to focus on the mistakes I don't notice while I am in training.

So far so good for the push-ups, though I am noticing that the sets are definitely more difficult than I was expecting/hoping they would be. That's good though! More to learn/get used to. Gotta be honest, that Fit December program is looking to be very combinable with what I am already doing. Might have to add it on.

Edit:
Poomsae practice didn't end up happening as we had house guests. Training today was brutal for me. Loads of more intensive kicking training with increasingly more difficult variations. I could do the first two somewhat, but then the trainer kept adding and adding and adding onto those, and I was increasingly more and more lost. That and no water breaks was... not fun.
It did make sense - the group we had was a little more advanced and quite a few of them do do sparring competition. But I felt very out of my depth.

Current workout streak: 169
 
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BetaCorvi

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Mage from Belgium
Pronouns: She/her
Posts: 614
DECEMBER 1: Run + Lower body work
:v: ZR 5K trainer, W2D1
knbXeDc.png

:v: 90 Days of Action, day 21
:v: FIT December, day 1
:v: Step-up challenge, day 1
:v: 50 Push-ups in one go challenge, day 3
:x: Lower body workout
:v: Daily stretching routine
:v: YWA: December Calendar: Yoga Breathing | Alternate Nostril Breathing

Current daily stretching routine-ish:
  • 15 per side front & back leg swings
  • 15 per side side leg raises
  • 30 s per side hip flexor stretch
  • 30 seconds per side, kneeling hamstring stretch
  • 15 seconds per side front splits
  • 30 seconds deep side lunge hold per side
  • 30 seconds side split hold
  • Pancake stretch, 30 seconds


Thank you so much guys!

Walked the final 10 minute free-form run/walk today, as my legs weren't feeling super okay after dealing with yesterday's taekwondo practice. Felt it in general in my run today - super sluggish and heavy. The stretching routine was most definitely needed, even though it definitely needs more work. Admittedly, I was not looking forward to this yoga day, but for December I am trying to be more open to new things and things I would ordinarily scoff at before trying. It was... interesting? Not sure where I sit on the breathing side of things.

Would definitely appreciate some input/if anything important feels to be missing, or there are other more vital stretches you feel could be interesting to add.

Current workout streak: 170
 
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BetaCorvi

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Mage from Belgium
Pronouns: She/her
Posts: 614
DECEMBER 2: Rest
:v: 90 Days of Action, day 22
:v: FIT December, day 2
:v: Step-up challenge, day 2
:v: 50 Push-ups in one go challenge, day 4
:x: Stretching
:x: Yoga

DECEMBER 3: Run + Abs
:v: ZR! 5K trainer, W2D2
ULp25Df.jpg

:v: Stretching post run
:v: 90 Days of Action, day 23
----
:v: FIT December, day 3
:v: Step-up challenge, day 3
:v: 50 Push-ups in one go challenge, day 5
:x: YWA: December calendar | Yoga For Relaxation
:x: Daily stretching routine

Notes
Friday ended up being a really bad, and really lonely day. I did my have-tos and my programs, but I just couldn't get myself convinced about stretching. Hoping Saturday is better, hasn't started off super promising. But I have a run to look forward to in my new long sleeve top. I am stupidly excited about that one, like I love the long-sleeves and hole for smartwatch to peep through, and it's a highlighter yellow which while I am usually not a particularly bright person (my other running gear is black & grey) I just fell in love with this color. Curious to see if this will be warm enough for.

One of my favorite knitting podcasters are doing a advent calendar knit along, so today I started knitting the scrooge inspired stocking. I really like doing stuff like this - breaking it up into bite sized pieces of knitting is just so fun, and I love having that bit of mystery every second day.

EDIT:
Ended up just watching a TV series with a friend until very late, while that originally wasn't the plan. Honestly, it was great. But it did mean I had to pick and choose a bit, as it was midnight by the time we stopped watching, I'd only done my run + stretching & 90 days of action, and I do have to be up a lot earlier than the rest of the week for taekwondo.

Current workout streak: 171
 
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