Day 44 – Week 7 – 7 mins
This is a dangerous time.
This morning, I got bored. Getting up, getting changed, going in the living room to do my arm exercises – it all felt very routine.
See – that is the problem – I want a routine, I don’t want a routine, I do want a routine – and then I suddenly get bored.
And so it is dangerous. Because this is when you can decide you’d rather be doing something else. You think you’ll give yourself a day off, you’ll just stay in bed instead, because you can’t face the routine.
I don’t know the answers – other than to do something radically different tomorrow, and to remind myself that there is only ONE thing I have to be doing right now, only ONE thing I have to commit to – and that is doing my minutes. And the rewards will come. I will feel healthier, more energetic, and more downright gorgeous if I stick to this routine!!
So tomorrow – instead of going on the bosu – I’m planning to go outside for a light jog for five mins. It will feel a bit silly going out the front door for such a short amount of time – but hey, I’ll jog down the street, pretend I’ve forgotton something, and then jog right back! No-one will wonder what that crazy woman is doing, will they? That should be my five mins, and then just need to do my couple of minutes of stretching when I get back inside.
Have just checked the weather forecast for the morning – wouldn’t you know it – it says “a wet, windy, morning for most”. I may have to stick with the routine for just another day or two!
Suzi
Day 43 – Week 7 – 7 mins
Still rather saddle-sore after the bike ride yesterday, but not enough to stop me getting on that bosu this morning. I’ve added an extra minute of stretching for week 7 – so now it is five mins warm up and two minutes of stretching. Next week will see the start of heartrate raising movement proper. One more week before we really get going!
If you’ve been on the journey with me – take a moment to congratulate yourself on getting this far. You may not realise it, but the hardest work has been done. You have started a routine that should be becoming more automatic each day. If you have got yourself used to getting out of bed each morning and getting into those exercise clothes, then there’s no turning back.
Suzi
Day 42 – Week 6 – 6 mins
I have just got back from a bike ride along the river, which was interrupted by a few hours in our local riverside pub.
What you need to keep in mind is that it is very, very, many years since I have ridden a bicycle, which therefore involved using muscles that I believe have lain dormant for all of that time.
This is evident by the fact that after a one hour bike ride, then a long, lazy stop off at said gorgeous little pub where we met up with some friends, I was physically incapable of sitting back on the bike for the final little spurt home. There are obviously muscles in your buttocks that have no other purpose in life other than to sit you down on a bicycle – why else would they protest so loudly when suddenly forced into use! It’s going to be interesting to see how I feel in the morning.
The bike ride was in addition to the five mins arm warm up and one minute stretching this morning, so am well pleased with my level of activity for the day. Now, if only I could have a day off on the ‘morrow……..
Suzi
Day 41 – Week 6 – 6 mins
Things were at great risk of going wrong this morning. We had a drastic change of routine. My fella woke up before I did!
I can’t tell you how much this threw me. Normally I sneak out of bed while he’s fast asleep, do my minutes, have a shower, then jump back into bed with a cup of tea for us both.
That’s what is supposed to happen!
But no – he’s slightly jetlagged, so was wide awake before I was. And when I woke up, he’s already got the kettle on, and is chatting away. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GET OUT OF BED, WHEN A GORGEOUS MAN WANTS TO BRING ME TEA IN BED???
It took massive willpower I tell you. I told him the tea would have to wait until the minutes were done, and off I went….
Five mins on the bosu, and one minute of stretching…
And then I most definitely enjoyed that cup of tea…..
Suzi
The Slight Edge
One of the first things I read that really got me thinking about taking small,
Click on this one if you live in the UK
consistent steps towards change was Jeff Olson’s The Slight Edge. Now this was a man who spoke to me in language I could understand. He was telling me I didn’t need to do BIG things, but the stuff I did do, I needed to do all the time. And one day I would see the results I was looking for.
As you guessed from the title, he calls this The Slight Edge. He talks about the thousands of small and sometimes insignificant things we do, that over time, contribute to our success. But there’s a trick with these things. They might be small, they might be simple, but just as it is easy to do them, it’s just as easy NOT to do them.
Olson says the Slight Edge is always working for you or
And this one if you live in the U.S.
against you, every day, every hour, every minute – depending on what steps you are taking. It’s a choice you face each and every moment – and isn’t is oh so easy to make the choice to worry about doing your exercise tomorrow instead of today?
But, we brave followers of one minute+, know how to have some of those moments working in our favour – by getting up and doing our small, simple steps every morning! And that way, we have The Slight Edge on our side. Yay!!
One other interesting point from Olson is that when you make the right choice, you WON’T see results. At least, not immediately. It’s a process and something you experience over time. By the time you get the feedback (i.e. that gorgeous fit body we’re all working towards), the hard work is already done.
I found this book an inspiration, and often dip back into it to remind me why I do some of the things I do. When you think you are getting nowhere, this soon gets you back on track.
May the Slight Edge be with you…..(apologies to George Lucas!)
Suzi
