Pyjama plank time

Thanks for all the interesting comments for yesterday’s post. I really hope I didn’t offend anyone. That wasn’t my intention. Nor was it to say clean eating was wrong. Clean eating is what you want it to be, in whatever form that might be. Not eating processed food, not eating meat, not eating grains etc. My point was just that I get a bit narked with some of the attitudes around it when people become a bit tunnel versioned and dogmatic about it all. And that eating a bit of rubbish now and again won’t kill you Winking smile

Moving on! Not that I want to brag…but I’m off on holiday in TWO WEEKS time. To Mexico!

But I have a confession. I’m slightly concerned with what I’ll look like in a bikini. Not in the way you might think though. I have some embarrassing tan lines going on at the moment. With all the summer running I’ve been doing and wearing my shorts and vests…well, it ain’t great. Oh I’m going to be a hottie on those first couple of days.

IMG_0778

Oh I look all smiley there, but now I wish I’d run in a bikini…[totally joking]

Every other day I am still doing my usual injury prevention routine (clams, side leg lifts, foam rolling) and have also added core work in because you can never do too much core! I amazed myself by doing a three minute plank the other night. In my pjs…naturally.

PJ plank

No idea where that came from (the plank, not the pj’s– they came from my dresser). I think it was because Ben was watching TV at the time and I could distract myself. And his occasional “come on, keep it up, don’t be lazy” comment helped as well. Love him.

Then last night after running club (a crazy off-road through the countryside run of 8 miles) I spent a lot of time foam rolling my kinks out. My groin still doesn’t feel amazing if I’m honest. But foam rolling is definitely helping.

Foam rolling distraction

Especially will Grease in the background.

Anyway, random story time. I overheard a conversation at the gym last night that made me sad. I was in the toilets just having a final pee before circuits (too much info? I’m setting the scene!) and I overheard two girls talking. One of them said to the other “Right, we are not leaving until both of us do 400 calories. Our target though is 450 calories”.

I’m all for people having targets and it’s great people are excising but I just thought that was a bit sad. Exercise shouldn’t be just about burning a set number of calories. OK, it isn’t going to be a daytrip to the zoo. It’s tough and I hate it sometimes, but there are very frequent moments – a lot in running – where I feel ‘kick ass’. Like I’m doing something amazing and I’m hard core. In reality I’m not, I know that. But I feel good. I know that this isn’t going to be the case for everyone but maybe it’s because they haven’t found their kick ass thing yet? For example, when we were warming down from circuits, Zumba had just started. 90% of the class were smiling. And they had some serious moves. They were kick ass.

What makes you feel ‘kick ass’? Going for a long run or a fast speedy Parkrun makes me feel unstoppable. I love how strong I feel, like I’ve just climbed a mountain.

What strength and core exercises do you do? I like planks, squats and lunges. Pretty standard.

What is your aim when you workout? A specific time, number of calories, goal distance, number of reps, exhaustion…? Winking smile

20 Replies to “Pyjama plank time”

  1. Cycling makes me feel kick ass – especially a long hard cycle, or if I get a new PB on a route 🙂 I don’t do much core exercise, which is bad, but was thinking of adding a couple of abs + strength workouts in on the evenings Mr PoP is out! I workout for enjoyment, and to increase my fitness. Obviously I also aim to lose weight in the long run – but I can’t do that by ‘dieting’ like some people do – not eating enough makes me so grumpy! So because of that, and because I think it’s a more sustainable approach in the long run, I try and eat in moderation and make up the rest with exercise. Have a lovely weekend 🙂

    1. I’d definitely agree your cycling is kick ass! All those miles you cycled is a great achievement!
      I think your approach is the best way. Diets are just rubbish and don’t work long term. You have to be happy with the way you eat and enjoy life otherwise it’ll never last.

  2. Hi Anna! Where are you going in Mexico? I am living in Mexico City at the moment. Sure you will have a great time – I love it!

  3. PJs are THE dress code for planking!
    I’m having a similar bikini panic, although mine is over my wedding dress next year – this Summer I have a random selection of obvious lines of varying shades all over my shoulders and arms which I think will look rather stupid in my wedding pictures. Not sure how best to cover them up, but I have a year to work that out yet! Yay for the wedding anniversary holiday! Something exciting to look forward to! 🙂
    My aim for working out now tends to be time, and then I aim to get further/complete more reps each time I complete the workout…I like to see progress! I confess; I used to be someone that turned up to burn off ‘x amount’ of calories, but I like to measure by much more than that now and feel pretty kick ass when I am running through fields or have a speedy finish to get a shiny new PB!

    1. I guess you could do some sunbathing during the summer to try and minimalise it? Like a quick 30 mins in the garden with a book hehe.
      Yeah I think most people when they first go to the gym see the numbers and use that as a guide. But it is a bit ridiculous considering how inacurate they are. Also, there is so much more to exercising than calories!

  4. I am with you on the tan lines although I don’t care any more about that! Someone last summer thought I had a tan from a swimming cossie but it was from my sports bra (as it joins on the back of my neck almost so could be seen in a normal top)- and after my holiday I have slightly tanned legs and pale feet as I mostly wore walking trainers- my feet looked strange when I wore leggings and pumps but I don’t mind!
    I love it in pump when you have to lift the bar over your head- although actually I also hate it as it is so tough, but it feels like I am doing some sort of proper strength thing!

    1. Ahh yes the trainer tan line!! I don’t think anyone’s going to really care except me haha. Ben has a lovely t-shirt tan as well so we’ll look silly together hehe.
      Yes! I did an overhead lunge for the first time the other day and felt really cool. It didn’t matter that I was on such a light weight…it just looked cool.

  5. A 3 minute plank is great! I usually hit 1:30 before I max out. I’m working on it, though!
    And your Mexico vacation sounds so nice. Even though it’s still warm here, I could do with that hot Mexican sun. 🙂
    That conversation you overheard sounds interesting but familiar. I used to do something like that, too – aim for a calorie count – but that was in the days that I first started exercising. For me, it was a good goal because it allowed comparison. In other words, I knew that a bowl of cereal was 100 calories, and 10 minutes on the elliptical machine was 100 calories. Thinking like that taught me to be more conscious of my snacking choices, and ultimately helped me lose weight and become healthier.
    That said, I don’t think it’s a good mindset to have for forever. There should be other reasons for us to exercise, like you said – not just the amount of calories we burn!

    1. I just incremented it by 15 seconds each time. It sucks but distractions help.
      Yep I agree that to begin with it is a good thing to mark yourself against and it’s universal with food…I guess it’s just because I love running and would hate to be running just for a set number of calories.

  6. Sometimes when I am running I just start smiling as I appreciate what I am able to do and take in the beautiful outdoors, I love and savour those moments! I do strength training 4-5 times a week, core stuff probs once or twice, planks, crunches, side crunches etc. My goal would usually be time/distance with regard to running, I would never workout with the intention of burning a set number of calories, I think that is really sad. I am rocking awesome tanlines also, I’ve been running in compression socks and shorts all summer, so I have tanned thighs and pasty white calves, it looks ridiculous. Jealous of your Mexico trip

  7. playing soccer makes me feel pretty badass I must say, especially when I leave the field with blood on my knees and dirt under my fingernails. That’s a successful game in my book 🙂

  8. I need to work on my planks. The longest I’ve ever gone was like 1:30 or something. I just start to shake so much. Lol.

    My aim when I work out is to feel sore the next day (if lifting weights that is). I don’t do it very often so if I’m not sore then I know I didn’t try very hard. 🙂

  9. So jealous of your vacation!! You’re going to have SO much fun! And also, I love Grease. Gotta be one of my all time favorite movies. Lastly, I think it’s sad about what those girls said in the bathroom too. It shouldn’t be about just the calories!

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