plum swings! a diary

Ahh it's nice they offer a choice. I think in our little town there's one class a week... 'somewhere'. :)

Better than mine which is a kettlebell desert!

Week 6 cardio today. Did everything with 7.5kg and am begining to see strength build up. Did one arm presses and core rowers although still can't get legs in the air. Am finding that I can do the over head extension in the cool down with ease now - previously I had to rest the bell on my head.

Slowly, slowly.....
 
Better than mine which is a kettlebell desert!

Week 6 cardio today. Did everything with 7.5kg and am begining to see strength build up. Did one arm presses and core rowers although still can't get legs in the air. Am finding that I can do the over head extension in the cool down with ease now - previously I had to rest the bell on my head.

Slowly, slowly.....

Great progress!
 
A bit low energy today! Didn't quite feel up to kettleworx today so did some Pilates instead. It incorporated the fitness ball which I always find incredibly tricky!
 
Xbox kinect zen workout (tai chi/yoga) yesterday, Pilates today. Will hope for some kw core on Thursday, am trying to find a new weekly routine that will hopefully be manageable when I start my new job. This will be less intense but more frequent - I def want to keep kw core in as it's been very beneficial for my lower back.
 
Wow it's a long time since I updated here.

I took my 5kg bell to NZ with me and did some with it there but not as regularly as I should have done, and I definitely felt it in my back. Funny that the checked suitcase with the bell in it was inspected for each flight, I guess it does kind of look like a bomb with handles. :)

Started my new job last week and it's going ok, I haven't felt too low energy so Saturday I did core week 1 (level 1) and today core week 1 (level 2). I think for the time being this will be hardcore enough for me so I'm just going to try for once or twice a week with core only with the aim being to prevent back pain. Once I've really settled into my job and increased hours then I'll re-evaluate. I'm also still trying to do stretching a couple of times a week and also sit on my wobble cushion or fitness ball when I can, but I'm not being too hard on myself; my priority at the moment is to settle into the new routine and not have an M.E. flareup. It would be nice also not to lose too much fitness but for now that is a secondary priority!

Must say I had forgotten how hard some of the moves in the level 2 discs are! Those sideways mermaid tail sit-ups, yeouch!

The one mistake I made on Saturday was not having my protein shake afterwards; I had forgotten how much it helps my muscles recover and I was sore for 3 days. Had one today but with only 1/2 scoop of the protein as it can tend to affect my digestion. Depending on how it goes I might do the same next time!
 
Wow it's a long time since I updated here.

I took my 5kg bell to NZ with me and did some with it there but not as regularly as I should have done, and I definitely felt it in my back. Funny that the checked suitcase with the bell in it was inspected for each flight, I guess it does kind of look like a bomb with handles. :)

Started my new job last week and it's going ok, I haven't felt too low energy so Saturday I did core week 1 (level 1) and today core week 1 (level 2). I think for the time being this will be hardcore enough for me so I'm just going to try for once or twice a week with core only with the aim being to prevent back pain. Once I've really settled into my job and increased hours then I'll re-evaluate. I'm also still trying to do stretching a couple of times a week and also sit on my wobble cushion or fitness ball when I can, but I'm not being too hard on myself; my priority at the moment is to settle into the new routine and not have an M.E. flareup. It would be nice also not to lose too much fitness but for now that is a secondary priority!

Must say I had forgotten how hard some of the moves in the level 2 discs are! Those sideways mermaid tail sit-ups, yeouch!

The one mistake I made on Saturday was not having my protein shake afterwards; I had forgotten how much it helps my muscles recover and I was sore for 3 days. Had one today but with only 1/2 scoop of the protein as it can tend to affect my digestion. Depending on how it goes I might do the same next time!

Welcome back to the UK! Admirable of you to take the bell with you to NZ, I'm not sure I would have been willing to give up luggage space. Hope you had a good time.
It sounds a good idea to take things slowly but try to do something every other day. I always feel so much better after a session.

Glad the new job is going well.
 
Quick question - how do you measure your body fat? Just asking as the gym I weigh at has tanita scales and when the girl inputs the info she puts my age, height and then body type "average" - last month I was about 33.5% down 2% on the previous. This time she used the body type "athletic" (her choice not mine) and now my bodyfat is down to 22%.
I'm not sure either figure is correct and I'm prob between the two! Wondered if there was a better way or where to have it done.
thanks.
 
Quick question - how do you measure your body fat? Just asking as the gym I weigh at has tanita scales and when the girl inputs the info she puts my age, height and then body type "average" - last month I was about 33.5% down 2% on the previous. This time she used the body type "athletic" (her choice not mine) and now my bodyfat is down to 22%.
I'm not sure either figure is correct and I'm prob between the two! Wondered if there was a better way or where to have it done.
thanks.

I think the most reliable method outside of using a dunk tank is with callipers (done by an experienced person as otherwise the reading will be different every time). Worth asking if they do that at your gym. I just use bathroom scales with the body fat function but it doesn't offer a choice between build types. HTH. :)
 
Welcome back to the UK! Admirable of you to take the bell with you to NZ, I'm not sure I would have been willing to give up luggage space. Hope you had a good time.
It sounds a good idea to take things slowly but try to do something every other day. I always feel so much better after a session.

Glad the new job is going well.

Thank you! Fortunately the kettlebell is small; I wouldn't have taken anything heavier! And if I had it to do over again I'd just plan to do bodyweight exercises while travelling. :)
 
I don't feel I've pinned down a good exercise routine that will work with my new job/increased working hours yet... so just doing what I can at the moment. This seems to be a really random mix of kettlebells, bodyweight exercises, yoga, pilates, yogalates, and general stretching depending on how I feel - and a bit too much of doing nothing at all when I'm really tired. Which doesn't do any good as my muscles and joints all get stiff and sore which makes me more tired. The lovely circle of having M.E., hmph. ;)

I guess as I settle more into the new job I'll have a better idea of what's feasible. I really liked the structure of doing kettleworx twice a week but at the moment I can't always manage it. :(
 
Still haven't settled into a routine yet; I'm exhausted by my new job at the moment. I can't even remember the last time I did anything with the kettlebells although I have been trying to stick to yoga when I can. My muscle tone is going down though and my fat % is up a bit so I wanted to see if I could do a bit more towards strength. So...

Today I'm trying something new; in addition to some yoga I have done some kettlebell exercises but not along with the DVD - I have just done them in my own time and spread them out over the morning so I didn't get too puffed all in one go. I'll see how I feel over the next couple of days to decide if this is maybe a workable way forward. Fingers crossed!
 
My experiment seems to have worked - hooray! Really pleased about that and am going to try the same again later today.
 
Was too tired yesterday but did my three sets of slow-time kettlebell exercises today. It feels good to be back to them!
 
My kettlebells class had lost its fun - the instructor had us doing 3 minute reps which I couldn't do unless I dropped back to a 4/6kg weight. And when you know it's too much, well I am less inclined to try. So I went walking instead this week but I did pick up a genuine 80's callenetics video - all perms and leotards, hoping it will help me with stretching myself out and general suppleness.
KB's are great - I love them but maybe need to just do my own thing with them for a bit as well.
 
My kettlebells class had lost its fun - the instructor had us doing 3 minute reps which I couldn't do unless I dropped back to a 4/6kg weight. And when you know it's too much, well I am less inclined to try. So I went walking instead this week but I did pick up a genuine 80's callenetics video - all perms and leotards, hoping it will help me with stretching myself out and general suppleness.
KB's are great - I love them but maybe need to just do my own thing with them for a bit as well.

Oh dear that's a shame. :( have you asked the instructor why the format has changed?

Loving the 80s video, let us know how you find it! I hope you've got some legwarmers...

If it comes to it, nothing wrong with doing your own thing with the bells - as long as you do it! :D
 
Hi Plum

I've just spent the last couple of hours reading your exercise diary. And i've found it quite inspiring. I was diagnosed with ME (Or CFS as my arrogant Neurologist felt the need to correct me with) a couple of months ago and since then i've been looking into various exercise options. Prior to becoming ill i was an avid race walker and runner and all that has gone. I've been off work for the last 4 months. My job is full time and i live a 70 mile round trip away and i think the reality is setting in that i'm probably not going to be able to return to work full time in the near future. It's so sad and so frustrating - i'm finding my lifestyle change very hard to deal with.

However i've taken some comfort from reading this and knowing that if i can find the right balance i'll be able to enjoy exercise again. Any advice you can give me on good exercise options would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks x
 
Hi Plum

I've just spent the last couple of hours reading your exercise diary. And i've found it quite inspiring. I was diagnosed with ME (Or CFS as my arrogant Neurologist felt the need to correct me with) a couple of months ago and since then i've been looking into various exercise options. Prior to becoming ill i was an avid race walker and runner and all that has gone. I've been off work for the last 4 months. My job is full time and i live a 70 mile round trip away and i think the reality is setting in that i'm probably not going to be able to return to work full time in the near future. It's so sad and so frustrating - i'm finding my lifestyle change very hard to deal with.

However i've taken some comfort from reading this and knowing that if i can find the right balance i'll be able to enjoy exercise again. Any advice you can give me on good exercise options would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks x

I'm glad if it's helped you! I don't know why doctors have to be so unhelpful sometimes. I must admit I haven't been to my doctor very often in the last few years as there is usually nothing they can do to help me and I wind up feeling bad about myself afterwards.

It is funny (not funny 'haha' though, lol) how many people who have CFS/ME after being very active before. I found much the same; that it made things very frustrating and hard to cope with sometimes. The most important thing I have learned is that it's a very difficult balance to strike between being kind to yourself (ie it's ok that right now you can't do everything you'd like to, it's unfair but that's the situation) and flipping over into 'well there's no point in even trying'. What you don't want to do is try to force yourself to be well. I think one of the reasons I have been unwell for so long is because after I recovered from my initial virus I immediately went back to work full time and started back at the gym in order to build myself up again (or so I thought). This definitely did not do me any favours.

What has worked for me, which may help others (I hope!):

- whatever exercise you do must be realistic for your current condition. it's no good saying 'I want to walk 5000 steps per day' if you can only walk 500 without feeling rubbish. sometimes all I could do was gentle stretching on the floor, or yoga especially for chronic fatigue (there's a great DVD and book on this subject available on Amazon by Fiona Agomar, which has variations for lying down, sitting in a chair or standing up so you can do as much or as little as you can). if you go backwards or don't progress, don't let yourself dwell on it. you are still doing amazing things for your health by doing the best you can.

- the best 'gadget' I have bought for my health is a fitbit. this or any similar device (I now want an UP by Jawbone, lol) can really help with pacing. You can relate how you're feeling to how active you've been and how well you're sleeping, and it gives you good indication of when you should just rest and not exercise - if you've had a busy day the day before or not slept well, for instance.

- make sure you eat enough food to fuel your exercise! people without this condition can have quite a drastic deficit but we can't. our bodies have enough to cope with without trying to recover from exercise on rock-bottom calories. when I was feeling my best I was eating a 15% deficit and eating all my exercise calories back.

- look into supplements. the suggestions in 'from fatigued to fantastic' helped me tremendously although I don't recommend buying the branded range named after the book. especially d-ribose can help with energy and things like vegEPA help with inflammation and soreness.

- allow plenty of recovery time. I was only doing kettlebells twice a week at my peak as I needed to be completely free from any aches before doing them again.

- avoid cardio! For me this also includes the more cardio-intensive kettlebell exercises. Yoga and pilates (and yogalates, heh) are great as they provide flexibility and strength without creating an inflammatory response in the body (which you definitely want to avoid). The kettlebell and bodyweight exercises I'm doing now are mostly core strength ones and as you'll have seen I am doing them veeery slowly so as not to get puffed. Sometimes it's hard to go that slow but it does seem to work. For instance, the routine I've been doing this week spreads 6 exercises over 10 minutes, I rest 10 minutes, and then repeat.

- core strength - for some reason, having a strong core seems to make everything easier. now I can walk without getting so much back pain, so I walk more, as one example.

- start slow; only increase your effort slowly once you've stabilised in your current routine. I started with 4lb kettlebell weights and finished at 6kg at my peak but this was not a fast process! And sometimes I had to drop back to lower weights. Right now, I'm still struggling to get to grips with an increase in my working hours so I've not been able to do as much as I'd like. But again, whatever you can do within your limits will be better than doing nothing. :)

- be flexible and kind to yourself. I know I've said it before, but if on Tuesday you really wanted to do kettlebells but are only up to 'lying on the floor' yoga, then do the yoga and don't beat yourself up about it. stressing will not help your health at all and indeed will probably be detrimental.

Good grief, I've waffled on a bit, and most of this is general guidelines from my own experience and not specific suggestions - sorry about that! I hope you are able to sort something out with your employer as they are required by law to consider whether they can make any reasonable adjustments to allow you to carry on in your job. I was lucky that mine let me work part-time and also from home if I needed to. I think that staying in work really helped me not fall into a complete funk about the whole thing (although I still have my days, lol).
 
Wow, thank you for such a comprehensive reply Plum!

I've copied and pasted it to a word document so i can look though it at various points. I bought myself a copy of the Yoga for CFS dvd and hoping to get a Fitbit in the very near future.

Thanks again x x x x
 
This was a comment in response to an article about salt intake :)

Interesting article and very timely. I have ME (CFS) and recently attended a talk by a Dr Vallings from NZ who says that most ME sufferers need additional salt in their diets. I think this is to help cope with the post exertional malaise aspect of the condition. So perhaps my salt cravings are not so mad after all! Salt on my dinner now... always! Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/salt-what-is-it-good-for/#ixzz2WM4AD1jp

following primal blueprint and 5:2 /4:3 fasting plan
 
Back
Top