Saturday 13 September 2014

Fitness and Me

Let’s talk fitness today. I want to share my experience with you, and hear about yours!

Fitness and Me

I’ve been going to the gym, on and off, for a discrete number of years now. And I’ve experienced a few different approaches to exercise too, discovering which one is my favourite so far.

After a few years of a indefinite cross between contemporary and jazz dance from 7 to 11, I stopped doing anything for a few years. I wish I didn’t stop as I always loved it, but I had started playing piano at the conservatory and fitting in all the classes was beginning to be a nightmare. It was fine for a while, but then my total lack of physical activity started to show.

I started going to the gym, taking group classes. Well, I seriously think nothing changed. There was a serious lack of details in how to perform the exercises, and if it wasn’t for me trying my best to copy the teacher I could have done it all completely wrong.
It wasn’t until I found a special class that was more bodyweight exercises mixed in with serious training (running with ankle weights, well explained and executed lunges and squats) that I started seeing a difference.

When I started to go to a different gym, after a few months of break from exercising again, I started taking classes again and another time the results were so little and the progress so slow, even though I was really putting everything into it, that I stopped again. I approached the cardio/weights room, and since it was my first time there and I was a girl… They put me on every cardio machine known to man and that was meant to be my training. I bet you are starting to see where I’m going now…

Cardio only = a couple of kg less and stop. And that’s when I stopped exercising again, this time for a bit longer. Until a year and a half ago, when looking for something to do at home I discovered FitnessBlender on YouTube. Well, it’s been a revelation for me. Every type of training, every kind of necessity in time and intensity has an answer in their huge collection of videos. I started doing something every day, choosing a different style of training in a different day of the week, and the difference was huge. I was improving at an impressive rate. And that progress gave me the motivation to eat better too: I kinda knew what was good for me and what wasn’t, I just needed something to stick to.

With the confidence that improvement gave me last summer I decided to join a gym, and to ask specifically for weight training. Well, I didn’t even need to. It was what they taught me to do the first time I went there, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done for my body. I quick achieved the best shape of my life and I was dramatically improving every single day. I found the best thing for my, and I think everyone’s, body. A little bit of cardio once a week, and two or three sessions of weight training.

But unfortunately there’s not a happy ending yet. Because I was so used to stop after a while, exactly like I always did with eating “well”, at the beginning of this year I started going to the gym less and less. And after all the weight lost in a perfect way, I kept eating fairly well but with less… Structure. I know what’s good for me: a good diet of fruit, vegetables and protein with a little bit of daily carbs and a weekly meal or two of anything-I-want. And so without training and eating discipline all the progress I made slowly started to fade.

Luckily, at the beginning of the summer I started going to the gym again. I have to start being more consistent (I have to add at least a day of cardio a week, and I’d like to add another session on weight training too) and start to eat like I know I should again. It’s a bit hard to fit it all in, but I know I can. I want that “best shape of my life” back!

This is a little tale about my fitness journey and at the same time a little promise, like a spur for me to stick what I know it’s the best thing I can do for my body. I would like to hear your experiences too!

What’s your experience with exercise and “diet”? Have you found the perfect formula for you yet?

Parliamo di fitness oggi. Voglio condividere la mia esperienza con voi, e ascoltare la vostra!

Vado in palestra, un po’ sì e un po’ no, da un discreto numero di anni ormai. È ho sperimentato diversi approvi all’attività fisica, scoprendo qual’è il mio preferito finora.

Dopo qualche anno di un’indefinito incrocio tra danza contemporanea e jazz dai 7 agli 11 anni, smisi di fare qualunque attività per qualche anno. Mi dispiace di aver smesso perché mi é sempre piaciuto, ma avevo cominciato a studiare pianoforte al conservatorio e incastrare tutte le lezioni era diventato un incubo. Per un po’ andò tutto bene, ma ad un certo punto la mia totale mancanza di attività fisica iniziò a essere evidente.

Cominciai ad andare in palestra, facendo lezioni di gruppo. Bene, onestamente penso che non abbiano avuto nessun effetto. C’era una notevole mancanza di dettagli su come eseguire gli esercizi, e se non fosse stato per il mio tentativo di copiare al meglio l’insegnante avrei potuto fare tutto completamente sbagliato. Questo finché non trovai una lezione particolare in cui si eseguivano esercizi a corpo libero insieme a esercizi più “seri” (corsa con le cavigliere, affondi e squat ben spiegati e fatti eseguire correttamente) che mi permise di vedere una differenza.

Quando cambiai palestra, dopo qualche mese di pausa, cominciai a seguire di nuovo i corsi e di nuovo i risultati furono così piccoli e il progresso così lento, nonostante io mi impegnassi al massimo, che smisi di nuovo. Mi interessai alla sala cardio e pesi, e visto che per me era la prima volta ed ero una ragazza… Mi dissero di fare ogni attrezzo cardio conosciuto e quello sarebbe dovuto essere il mio allenamento. Scommetto che cominciate a capire dove voglio arrivare…

Solo attività cardio = un paio di chili in meno e basta. E fu lì che smisi di nuovo di fare una qualsiasi attività, questa volta per un bel po’. Fino ad un anno e mezzo fa, quando cercando qualcosa da fare a casa scoprii FitnessBlender su Youtube. Beh, per me è stata una rivelazione. Ogni tipo di allenamento, ogni tipo di necessità in tempo e intensità ha una risposta nella loro immensa selezione di video. Iniziai a fare qualcosa ogni giorno, scegliendo un diverso tipo di allenamento in un giorno diverso della settimana, e la differenza fu immensa. Miglioravo a una velocità incredibile. E quel progresso mi diede la motivazione di cui avevo bisogno anche per mangiare meglio: sapevo più o meno che cosa era giusto per me e che cosa no, avevo solo bisogno di qualcosa che mi facesse essere costante.

Con la fiducia che quel miglioramento mi diede la scorsa estate decisi di andare di nuovo in palestra e di chiedere specificatamente della sala pesi. Beh, questa volta non ebbi neanche bisogno di chiederlo. Fu la prima cosa che mi spiegarono il primo giorno, ed è la cosa migliore che io abbia mai fatto per il mo fisico. Raggiunsi velocemente la migliore forma della mia vita e il miglioramento era notevole ogni giorno. Trovai la cosa migliore per il mio corpo e credo per quello di chiunque. Un po’ di cardio una volta alla settimana, e due o tre sessioni di allenamento con pesi e macchinari.

Sfortunatamente però non c’è ancora un lieto fine. Essendo così abituata a smettere dopo un po’, esattamente come ero solita fare con il “mangiare bene”, all’inizio di quest’anno cominciai ad andare in palestra sempre di meno. E dopo il peso perso in maniera così esemplare, continuai a mangiare abbastanza bene ma con meno… Struttura. Io so che cosa è giusto per me: una buona dieta di frutta, verdura, proteine e un pochino di carboidrati tutti i giorni, con uno o due pasti alla settimana in cui mangiare quello che voglio. E senza allenamento e disciplina nell’alimentazione tutto il progresso che avevo fatto iniziò a sfumare.

Fortunatamente, all’inizio dell’estate ho cominciato ad andare di nuovo in palestra. Devo cominciare ad essere più costante (devo aggiungere una giornata di cardio alla settimana e mi piacerebbe aggiungerne anche una di allenamento con i pesi) e ricominciare a mangiare di nuovo come so che va bene per me. Voglio quella “forma migliore della mia vita” indietro!

Questo è un piccolo racconto sul mio rapporto con il fitness e allo stesso tempo una piccola promessa che metto qui, come un incentivo per me per fare quello che so essere la cosa migliore per il mio corpo. Mi piacerebbe ascoltare anche le vostre esperienze!

Qual’è la vostra esperienza con l’esercizio fisico e la “dieta”? Avete trovato la formula perfetta per voi?
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12 comments:

  1. Great post. I had the same kind of disappointments about gym and workout,last year, I finally changed the gym and I got a new personal trainer for 8 months, once I realized that workout can't be a short term "project", but it has to be my lifestyle, after that, I started enjoying my workout. Just be consistent, don't be focus on quick results and your consistency will be paid off. Good luck

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  2. Im irregular in my fitness routien ...Means i do yoga or running but i take breaks in between
    I need to be consistence soon :)
    great post Gyudy i agree to you that we all should stick what we like and what we can :)

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  3. I can totally relate with you! I had joined aerobics and dance classes and called it quits. Joined again and gave up. Did take up yoga and gave up! Now I'm enjoying gyming but again too early to comment as it's been few weeks only. I guess fitness needs some kind of focus else it just goes haywire. I was also meaning to do a post on fitness and got all excited when I saw yours. Xx

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  4. You're totally right, it has to be something we enjoy and we fit in our everyday life because it's good for us! I don't know why I stopped months ago, the results were great... I think I got used to the results achieved and thought they'd last, but I was wrong! Definitely getting into it again luckily. Thank you for sharing your experience Nina! :) xx

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  5. It's so hard to stay consistent, but I know it pays off and we should totally do it because it's good for us! Yoga and running are great, they aren't totally for me but every time I've tried them I loved em! Thank you for reading and sharing, it's a very important topic for me! ;) xx

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  6. Great, I love when that happens, it gives me the confidence that a little bit of a different topic is of interest for others too! I find the key is to find something we enjoy, and then stick to it with a bit of self discipline... We can do it! Thank you lovely, and... I'm waiting for your post on fitness too! ;) xx

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  7. Hey Gyudy, so uh, I uh, don't really do any sports for the moment. I know I should start running again, but there are always a million better things to do! I kinda eat what I want though, and for the most part, my weight seems stable.

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  8. Years ago I was a gym fanatic I excercised 3 to 4 hours a day (I have "bad" genes so it takes a lot of excercise to keep fit) but I haven't had a regular routine in a few years. It's so bad, I know I need to get on it!

    Beauty Isles | An Island Girl's Beauty and Lifestyle Blog

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  9. I'm a pretty active person. And I eat healthy too. A lot, but healthy. And I think that's my 'secret' to staying fit and thin.

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  10. Lucky you ;P I know, there are always so many things that distract us from doing a bit of sports! That's why I usually find going to the gym keeps me focused for a while... Working out at home is great and so is running but I give up a lot quicker! ;)

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  11. Yeah, it's the same for me... It took me a lot of attention to everything I ate last year, and a lot of exercise, to achieve a good shape... It's just a few kilograms luckily but I know it takes a lot of effort for me! Well, so many hours a day are a bit impractical for me... But 1,5 hours three times a week would be ideal for me, and I guess for you too ;) xx

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  12. I totally think you're right, I find that eating the right foods and staying active is the key, not starving ourselves! Thank you for reading and sharing your experience! ;) xx

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