Day 365 – Week 52 – 52 mins (52)
And so it is done! I have to admit, there was many a time I thought this day would never arrive.
I finished off with a proper 52 minute session – warm up – five sprints – jog – warm down and stretch, and can’t believe I actually managed 4 or 5 full 52 minutes for this slightly extended week.
Time to have a look at the whole experience and decide whether I achieved what I wanted….
1) Did I set up a regular exercise habit? God, I hope so. You would think that a year of exercising nearly every single day would convince your body that this is the way to go in the future – but I suspect it is not my body, but my mind which needs most of the convincing. And that is going to mean being constantly on guard against major slippage. If I find myself missing several days in a row, I hope the ‘just one minute’ philosophy will get me back on track.
2) Did I lose weight? No. I am exactly the same weight as when I started. BUT I have got a lot more muscle, so the experts assure me that means I would have lost some body fat. In fact, just this last week I have FELT that there has been a slight change in my body shape. I am hoping this is something to do with the sprinting I have added to my runs (which I intend to continue) rather than the fact I have been doing 52 minutes (which I do NOT intend to continue). Another factor to consider in all this, is that I suspect my alcohol consumption has increased quite a lot over the last year (I cannot be sure that relates to doing more exercise!) so if my weight has stayed the same, then the exercise must surely have been doing some good.
3) Do I feel healthier? Well – I never really felt unhealthy, but I certainly think there is some benefit to just having that blood run around your body a few times a week and I certainly like the feeling of having some muscles in my arms and legs.
4) Can I fit into my skinny jeans? No. I tried them this morning even though I was pretty sure I wouldn’t make it. I can actually do them up, but they are not at all comfortable – and I can’t quite fathom how they ever were. But to be fair, I did buy them at a time of great angst in my life and was probably unnaturally slender as a result.
SO WHAT NOW???
Well, I AM going to give myself a few guilt free days off as a small reward. But come Monday I aim to settle in to a routine of two runs and two strength and stretching days a week, and then some kind of physical activity (bike ride, hula hooping etc) on the weekends. I will be cutting down the time to around 30-45 minutes, but I will now start trying to increase the intensity – some faster running, and some ankle weights etc. I am also planning on going back to doing some dance classes, but at the moment my work hours conflict with class times, so it is going to have to wait for some expected changes to my shifts in a few months time.
I will no longer be blogging daily – I think that both you AND I have probably had enough of that – but will post each weekend with a quick run down of what I did manage to do for the week. I have no doubt that it is your accountability which kept me going during the past year and a bit, and I am hugely grateful for knowing that you are out there keeping an eye on me. I can only hope you stick around for a bit to keep me on the straight and narrow.
So while I am much relieved to have come to the end of this experiment, I highly recommend it for anyone who really can’t get into the habit of exercise. If I made it – then believe me you can. The trick is not to be too hard on yourself if you don’t do your full minutes – that is not the aim of the game. All you are trying to do really is regularly get out there and do something. I am now heading to the next stage – and if that is successful, then perhaps I can move on to the ultimate physical challenge…..
….pole dancing!
Thanks to you all,
Suzi
Workout Breakdown
About this time you might be wondering where exactly you are heading with your workout – far off into the distant future.
We have discussed that this first five minutes will essentially be the warm up stage of your eventual routine, but what else will you have, and when are you going to do what bits?
I have thought about this at length – as I imagine myself floating effortlessly though 52 minutes a day, with barely a beaded brow. I have decided my eventual routine will be something like this:
5 mins of warm up
35 mins of cardio or strength training (alternative days)
5 mins of cool down
7 mins of stretching
But the thing is – I think the stretching part is pretty important quite early on. So my plan is to add a couple of minutes of stretching in the next two weeks, BEFORE starting to do the main body of the exercise. Then I’ll add a bit of cooldown, a bit more of the stretching and then more of the main bit. I like to think of it as Mix and Match Exercise! It may seem that I’m putting off doing the real grunt work for as long as possible, but that is only partly true I promise! It is also that I don’t want to be in a situation where I go flat out for twenty minutes, but haven’t incorporated any of the cool down/stretching that is essential to any well-balanced exercise routine.
You must of course make your own decisions – but I thought I’d let you know where my thinking lies at this stage. I’m actually really looking forward to the stretching. There was a time in the far off past when I could do the splits. Now if I managed to do that again by year’s end, I’d be well-chuffed!
So now, why don’t you start thinking about what your ideal routine would look like, and then you too can get on with doing it, one minute at a time….
Suzi
10 favourite excuses not to exercise and how we are going to beat them.
There is no doubt that throughout this experience, you are going to come up with every excuse under the sun not to do your one minute+ on any given morning. Believe me, if there’s an excuse I’ve found it. I can literally spend hours crafting, contriving and convincing myself of all the reasons why I don’t have to drag myself out of bed and exercise on any particular day. But the beauty of the ‘One Goal One Minute’ system is that those excuses just don’t hold water. Have a look!
1 – I don’t have time
Well, this just doesn’t work when we are talking about only doing one minute of exercise a day. That’s right. Just one minute on any day. Even if we’re in week 7, and our aim is to be doing 7 minutes – the only thing we are committed to doing is one minute. If you do your one minute, you get a tick in your box and the day is successful. Now, I’m pretty sure that you will actually go on and do your 7 minutes, but if you don’t, you still get your tick. Now go on – try as hard as you might, you just can’t convince yourself you don’t have time for just ONE MINUTE of jigging about on the spot. (In extreme circumstances, like your alarm didn’t go off and you are already half an hour late for work, I will accept that you do your one minute when you get home in the evening, but in every other case I don’t believe you can’t find that one minute somewhere).
2 – It’s dark/it’s raining
If you live in London, like me, this is true! For a good chunk of the year it is going to be either dark or raining, or both. And you are not going to see me being all tough and going out for a run in the rain. This has often been a very handy excuse for me, which I’ve used for years on end, but I finally decided that despite the fact I live in a one bedroom flat with a tiny living room, there still must be some kind of exercise I could do indoors. And I do believe I’ve found it. I use a bosu to jump around and get my heart-rate up for my cardio days, and for my ‘other stuff’ days, I have a resistance strap, mini medicine ball and the floor. There is no way we have room for a treadmill or exercise bike, but even this tiny little flat can find room for a bosu.
3 – But I deserve a sleep in on a Sunday.
Yes indeed, I’m sure you do. I’m not saying you can’t have your sleep in, I’m just saying when you do finally drag yourself out of that big comfy bed, even if it is two o’clock in the afternoon, the first thing you are going to do is get into your workout gear and DO YOUR EXERCISE! My favourite day to lie in bed is a Saturday. I like to make a cup of tea (or preferably have one delivered to me by my lovely fella!) and read the weekend papers for hours on end. That to me, is a perfect Saturday morning. So how can I enjoy doing that when I know I have to get up an exercise? Easy. I get up as soon as I wake up. I get into my workout gear, and I go do my one minute+ thing, I have a shower, make myself a cup of tea, grab the newspaper off the doorstep – and then I get back into bed!! And boy, does that feel good. Because I know I have already done the one and only thing I absolutely MUST do for the day. And you know, several cups of tea later, I have been known to still be in that bed at two o’clock in the afternoon. But do I feel guilty? Not on your life. I feel positively virtuous!
4 – I have been so good lately, I deserve a day off.
This is probably my favourite. But man, how many times have I fallen for this one and then found those days happening more often than not, and before long I haven’t exercised for three weeks. And then it is back to square one. But with this system, you get NO DAYS OFF, not one, for a whole year. And do you know why? Because you don’t need a day off when you are doing only one minute of exercise. Believe me, every single day, you can get yourself up, get dressed, and jig about for one minute. That is all you HAVE to do. Of course, if it is week 23, then you really want to be doing 23 minutes – but if the one thing that is stopping you getting up and getting started is that you think you need a day off, just remind yourself you only need to do ONE minute, and you’ll get your tick.
5 – I don’t feel very well
OK. Sometimes this is a legitimite excuse, and you’ll have to decide if you are really so unwell you can’t do your one minute+. For me, the slightest trace of a headache and I’d be telling myself I really shouldn’t exercise. Now, I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know. But as far as I’m aware, there’s actually plenty of evidence that says some gentle exercise can actually be beneficial in such circumstances. I’d say in most cases, it’s worth getting yourself into your workout gear and having a go at your one minute+, even if it is just some stretching. The buzz you’ll get from ticking that box will make you feel a whole lot better. Of course, if you are seriously ill or acting on the advice of your doctor, then that is a different situation. But if it is just a slight hangover…well….I’m sure you can manage just one minute.
6 – I missed a day, so there’s no point in carrying on.
For me, this is a very persuasive arguement. I’ve just said there are no days off – but what if, heaven forbid, I do miss a day! Well – doesn’t that mean the whole thing has failed? That I’M a failure? That once again I’ve just shown I am not capable of seeing anything through…..now I’m just going to have to start all over again, or maybe I won’t, because I’m obviously no good at this. Recognise that? Who is that vicious little inner voice that talks to you like that? Where does she get off? Tell her to relax and get over herself. So yes, you mucked it up, but you know what – nobody died. Sweep it under the carpet, pretend it didn’t happen and get on with the next day. Maybe punish yourself by saying you are not allowed to have a glass of wine that night at dinner, consider yourself suitably whipped, and then move on…..
7 – I don’t have anything to wear
I don’t have the right shoes. My jogging gear is in the wash. What are you waiting for – go out there and buy them. Really – what does it cost for a couple of cheap tracksuits, a sports bra and a decent pair of exercise shoes? Certainly less than that gym membership you used to have and never used! The shoes don’t have to be the latest design, they just have to pass the test of what is good for your feet. Pick up last year’s model at a great price and do it BEFORE you start this programme.
And then have them ready every night before you go to bed, so you just CANNOT use that excuse as you lie in bed, trying to think of reasons not to get up!
8 – I don’t have any fitness equipment
Truthfully, you don’t need any. It’s nice to have a few things to help you along and to relieve any boredom, but it is not necessary. You can go for a run in the park, you can jig about in the living room to Flashdance, you can do some push-ups and sit ups – all without equipment. Be creative, look on websites and YouTube, there’s lots of information on what you can do with a pair of running shoes and a can of beans, for just one minute+.
9 – I’m on holiday in a little cottage in Cornwall with a group of friends, and I just can’t get up and jig about in the living room for one minute, they’ll think I’m crazy
This is true. They will think you are crazy. Especially if you’ll all been up the night before drinking and playing silly board games. They will not for the life of them understand why you would want to get up and exercise when you are supposed to be on holiday. But you are going to have to ignore them. Or get up much earlier than them (which is probably not hard) do your thing, shower and get back into bed with a cup of tea – that way they may not even know. Hopefully it’s not raining and you can go outside for a quick run, but if it is, well – you are just going to have to be creative. But you will do it! It is only ONE MINUTE. And if they do find out, just tell them you are part of an international experiment and direct them to this blog. Who knows, you might convert them. Chances are they will just shake their heads and tease you mercilessly, but you won’t care, because you will know that really, they are just jealous that you have far better will power than they have.
10 – What’s the point? What good will one minute do?
There is no doubt you are going to throw this one up at yourself from time to time. Most probably as a follow on from any of the excuses above. And to tell you the truth, doing one minute of physical movement is unlikely to do you much physical good at all. But this system isn’t really about the physical benefits. The physical benefits of exercise have been evident to you from the first day you discovered you could no longer squeeze into your skinny jeans – but that didn’t help you implement a long-lasting exercise regime. This programme is about the mental benefits. If you can get yourself up and out of bed, change into your workout gear, and do some level of exercise each day for 365 days, then you are combatting all that resistance that has held you back for years. That’s what it is about – not how much muscle you’ve toned or how many calories you’ve burned – it’s about convincing yourself to do it, which has always been, and will always be, a massive hurdle when it comes to exercise. Don’t ever talk yourself into believing that doing one minute is not doing you any good – what you are doing is building new pathways in your brain that need to be reinforced every single day so that you can free your inner Fitness Warrior and let her fly! Get up, get changed, do your one minute+ and tick that box! That’s one more day in the can…..
So there we have it. Those are my favourite excuses – how about yours? I’d love to hear them as well as your suggestions on how to vaporize them with a burst of logic. Let me know what they are and we’ll blitz them together….and maybe print these out and put them near your bed, just in case you forget the antidote to your excuses as you lie there tomorrow morning in bed.
Here we go again….but this time it’s different!
I hate exercise.
But you know – I’m full of good intentions. The beginning of the year, the beginning of the month, even the beginning of the week, there I am all fired up and thinking “This time I’m going to get an exercise programme in place, and this time I’m going to make it stick”. And sometimes I do – for a week, for a month, and once or twice I’ve even done it for several months. I’m out there, jogging my little heart out, all active and keen, and I even start seeing results.
But inevitably, somewhere along the line, it all goes wrong. I miss a day here or there, then it is a week, and then I go on holiday, and before you know it, months have gone passed and I’m back where I started.
So – having done some reading, I’m trying something new this time.
I’ve figured out that I am always trying to do too many things at one time. I start the year with a load of goals I want to achieve – I’m going to get fit, I’m going to learn Spanish, I’m going to make my own bread and I’m going to write that novel. And that’s just to start….just wait until I get going. I can do all this and hold down a full time job, and start an internet business and remember all my friends’ birthdays – just you watch me! I’m superwoman. Only I’m not. And I’m sure you know the end of the story. I do a bit of all of them, quite a bit on some of them, but come the end of the year, I’m not really that much further along than when I started. And more importantly, I haven’t actually fully achieved any ONE of those things, which would be all I need to do to make me believe I can keep going and may one day manage the rest.
So, I’m testing a new theory, and I’m hoping you will join me as I do it. Inspired by a the ‘little bit and often’ theory, over the next year, I’m going to achieve one goal, one minute at a time.
Let’s break that down.
One goal. I’m not going to stop having lots of goals, and I’m not going to stop working on lots of goals. I am far too impatient for that. So I will merrily go on my way, writing bits of that novel, learning a bit of Spanish etc – but there is only one goal that I MUST achieve over the next year, and that is my first priority every day – and that is this goal – to exercise every day until I have a routine that involves 52 minutes of exercise every day. Anything else I manage to achieve this year is a bonus. But by hook or by crook, I will reach my ONE GRAND GOAL by April 12, 2010. If I want to give it up after that, so be it, but I will get there first.
One Minute That’s right. I’m going to spend one minute a day on my goal. And then the next week, I’m going to add a minute more. And so on, and so on, until at the end of the year, I am exercising for 52 minutes a day. And that is plenty in my book! No need to go overboard!! “What can you possibly achieve in one minute?” I hear you say. Not a lot – in terms of actual physical improvement. But I have finally figured out, this is not about the body – this is about the mind, and my absolute inability to stick at any kind of exercise routine for the longterm. And it is the mind I am intending to trick with One Goal One Minute.
Here’s how it is going to work – there are three rules!
- Rule Number One - One Minute+ On day one, I am going to do one minute of exercise. This will continue for a week. On the first day of week 2 (Day 8), I will aim to do two minutes of exercise, but if I can only do one minute, that is fine. I just have to do AT LEAST one minute. If I do that, then I get to put a tick in the box and the day is a success. Week 3 I am aiming for three minutes, and so it continues. But the main thing is that I do at least one minute, so that I get into the habit of exercising, no matter how small an amount. I am calling this system ‘One Minute+’
- Rule Number Two – Every Day. This is an experiment in 365 parts. One part each day for a year. That means I am going to be partaking in this experiment EVERY DAY for one year. Weekends, holidays, birthdays, rain, snow, sleet – the experiment doesn’t stop.
- Rule Number Three – First thing in the morning. I don’t want to have that dreaded “I must do my exercise” feeling every day. There’s nothing worse than feeling guilty all day because you haven’t yet got round to doing that exercise you know you need to do. Instead, I want to have that virtuous, holier-than-thou, I am SO much better than everyone else feeling for as much of the day as possible. And that means doing my one minute+ FIRST THING in the morning. Out of bed, get dressed, heart rate up and exercise. Then in the shower and back into bed with a cup of tea….but it will be done! And I can enjoy the rest of the day in peace.
So there we have it. I start tomorrow, Monday April 13th. I will weigh myself tomorrow morning, and we’ll see what kind of progress we make on that over the year. I eat a reasonably healthy diet, but enjoy a glass of wine or two most nights, and am particularly prone to good cheese. I’m not planning on changing any of that as part of this experiment, so if you are coming along on the ride with me, you can breath a sigh of relief! Maybe we’ll tackle excessively healthy eating as a goal for another year!
I’m working tomorrow and leaving the house at 7.00am, so will set my alarm for 6.00 am – with my exercise clothes all laid out and ready for that one minute goal. Surely I can manage just one minute…………
Suzi
