Readers’ Workouts — January 29
Welcome to Readers’ Workouts, our weekly gathering of bookish folks doing active things. How was exercise for you in the past week? What are your plans for the coming week? Link your post below (feel free to grab the logo) or tell your story in the comments. Don’t forget to visit the links to offer encouragement and support to other participants!
My strained muscle from last week healed quickly, but my exercise mojo didn’t return as fast. I’m working on a plan to get it going again in February. One piece of that plan is the 12K Challenge on Team Kickin’ It run by Sheila of Book Journey. The idea is to go (run, walk, elliptical, whatever) 1 kilometer in February, 2 kilometers in March, working up to 12K in January 2014. She has some variations for people who need less or more.
I probably fall in the “more” category since even this month when my exercise isn’t nearly meeting my goals, I rarely miss walking at least 30 minutes. Still, 12K is a good distance for me as a long-term goal. So, rather than take the “more” option, I’m going to play a slightly different game with myself for the first few months while the challenge is too easy for me.
The Game On Diet that I reviewed over the weekend (Book Review: The Game On Diet by Krista Vernoff and Az Ferguson) had material about High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) including a method for doing it on the treadmill. So, for February, once a week, I’ll do a 3K walk with the middle 1K as a HIIT workout. In March, I’ll make it 4K with 2K of HIIT in the middle and in April, I’ll move up to 5K with 3K of HIIT in the middle. That might be as much as I need so I’ll probably stick at that level. By then I could start a separate workout on the treadmill that is about distance and will increase with the rest of the group doing the 12K Challenge.
Are any of you doing the 12K Challenge? How is your exercise this week?
Awesome! I cant wait to get started. I am going to start with a 5k in February and add a K a month. 🙂 I was going to put a post up this morning but instead went to the gym and took in a very early class at 5:40 am, this morning. Felt good though.
Sorry to hear about the muscle but glad you are on the mend. I didn’t have a great week last week but it was due to life getting in the way (I have a long post this week with updates).
I’m getting VERY close to being able to share my next life adventure…. I might actually cry today (with glee).
Have an awesome week Joy!
I’m taking it slow this week, the calf-strain I got on my brown belt test a week and a half ago is definitely healing, but I’m not at full fitness yet.
Happily my instructor is teaching me staff kata, which involves standing still and whirling a 54″ broomstick analogue around. I may try a karate group class on Friday if the leg feels good.
Staff kata sounds like fun! Baton-twirling, Quidditch, and martial arts in one!
I signed up for the 12 K Challenge as well, although I’m still thinking through the logistics of what I’ll be doing for it.
I had a pretty good week overall, though I had to take a couple of days off for an injury.
Oh, that exercise mojo. The bane of my existence!! Good luck to you. Sounds like you’ve got a good plan of attack.
I managed all four of my workouts last week. I seem to have found the perfect workout routine for myself right now. I had to change the order slightly this week due to work hours, but the amount of exercise is the same:
Tuesday – 60 min. gym workout
Wednesday – 90 min. jazz dance class
Friday – 60 min. gym workout
Sunday – 20 min. Pilates workout
Good job getting them in even when you had to shift things around to make it happen!
Hi Joy,
I’m going to hop over to Sheila’s to check out her 12K Challenge. I already run 5K twice a week between biking and fitness classes at the gym the other days, and can run 8K (5 mi) if I want to (LOL!) without difficulty, but maybe it’s time to bump my runs up a notch and go for longer than that.. especially now that I have the freedom to put more time on the trails during the week.
Good luck with your HIIT workouts! My favorite instructors (two of them) at the gym incorporate that premise into their classes all the time–it’s great for boosting endurance and speed!
Still working out 6 days a week, but we haven’t been out cycling on the road since mid December since we could only ride weekends and the roads either had snow or ice on them OR it was just too cold! 32 F is my limit.
My goal for next week is get in an 8K run!
I lost a little of my mojo last week too. I’m trying to get it to come out of hiding, but it’s hard!
I’m so excited to do the 12K! It’s just what I needed.
Glad you’re on the mend!
I was all proud of myself b/c I had completed a 7-mile hike about a week ago, then a few days ago I slipped on the wet kitchen floor and broke a toe. Anybody got any ideas for exercises where you don’t have to use your feet?
There are some dance videos out there called chair dancing — or you could just do it on your own with some good music. Punches are particularly effective at raising the heart rate and releasing frustration over injuries.
Can you tape the broken toe to the neighboring ones? That might be enough support to allow swimming, walking on softer surfaces like a sandy beach or a treadmill, or cycling.