Kicking it up a notch

Having discovered for myself that all the hype around the supposed 'weight-loss miracle', Garcinia Cambogia, really is just that - nothing but a bunch of hyped-up blah-blah (and the Raspberry Ketone supplement I was promised weeks ago still hasn't arrived) - I've made a concentrated effort to pump up my workouts in an attempt to combat the defiantly-upward-creeping needle on the weigh-scales and the ever-tightening bum and waistline (and rising hem) of the majority of my clothes. I was going to say I've only made small changes to my regular workout routine, but I guess I've actually upped it by about 30% and I'm pleased to report some definite signs of progress already - in just 2 weeks.

At the (ladies only) gym I go to, some of the machines are weighted in pounds and others in kilos, so I'm never quite sure how much weight I'm using (pounds I assume), though my focus has never really been on how much weight I lift but rather the number of reps/sets I do and maintaining good, controlled form and breathing - exhaling on the effort, holding briefly at the optimum position (without locking elbows or knees etc.) before inhaling while slowly lowering the weight back to the starting point again, and repeat.

I'll be the first to admit that, when I first ever started working out with weight-machines, many moons ago, I made the rookie mistake of thinking you had to lift pretty heavy weights for maximum effect and, because I'm naturally quite strong (and years of figure-skating had given me solid thigh muscles too) I basically started by loading up the weight and swinging things around like a demented Russian shot-putter. Of course, it didn't help any that I attended to a co-ed gym back then, so naturally the last thing I wanted was to look like some insipid girly simply tickling the weight machines for fear of breaking a nail, especially in front of a bunch of grunting, snorting males, oozing testosterone-fuelled machismo from every sweaty pore. And so, I confess, I totally over-compensated and soon discovered - much to my chagrin - that, not only did my clothes begin to feel tighter (particularly around my thighs - which actually became wider from the chunkier/stockier muscle I was unwittingly creating), but also I began gaining weight. Not realizing at that time that muscle weighs heavier than fat, plus it was so much easier to immediately beat myself up for being useless and overweight (I was about 40lbs heavier), I became so horribly demoralized that, in a fit of sheer frustration, I abandoned the whole idea - for about the next two years.

Enter Alan, my super-fit, avid runner + cyclist firefighter ex-boyfriend, whom I actually met at a swimming pool in Kettering (where?) - having successfully lost about 15lbs already from taking up swimming lengths twice a day during my university work-placement in Bordeaux, France. Alan taught me about muscle versus fat, about reps and sets, and creating long, lean muscles as opposed to going for the heavier weights and building shorter, chunky muscles (which is obviously what I'd been doing a couple of years earlier). In retrospect my sister, Victoria, had already been telling me all the same things long before that, based upon her own experiences of going to the gym, but I felt so hideously blobby, chunky and ugly at that time (especially next to her new fitter and slimmer figure), that her words fell on deaf (read: defiant) ears. I kept telling myself that I would have to lose a few pounds before I even felt good enough to start going to a gym again - which became a totally vicious circle within which I stagnated for quite some time. (Poor Vicky, I know she must have been exasperated trying to give me support and advice, over and over, to which I would simply respond with a whiney 'yeaahhh, you're right', only to continue doing sod all about it.)

Anyhooo, Alan finally took me to a sports store and kitted me out to get back at the gym. He taught me not get so obsessed with the scales as a measure of my success (something Vicky had been telling me too) and I joined a gym where the attending fitness instructors actually did their job - they watched, advised and taught me good form and breathing. Heck, I remember one instructor, an older lady built like an iron bar, who would blatantly (and loudly) tell you off if she saw you doing something less than perfect. To be honest she scared me with her strict school-mistress demeanour, I half expected her to pull out a cane and beat me with it. But, even though she made me nervous, I still have to credit her for teaching me well. Heaven knows I see the instructors at the gym I go to, blatantly ignoring bad form as they show potential new members around the gym. I'm astonished they don't actually advise or correct anyone - be they new or regular members. I've frequently seen women throw their limbs and far-too-heavy weights around in frighteningly awkward and reckless form or similarly locking their elbows, knees, slumping their shoulders, sitting too high/too low/awkwardly - or even backwards - on the machines, to the extent I'm amazed they can even move afterwards. And yet the 'instructors' pay no attention. Gooo figure! I've long suspected they must have an underhanded contra-deal with local chiropractors an physiotherapists ;-)

So, to get back to my original point - I've made a conscious effort to amplify my workouts the past couple of weeks and, while my weight has dropped only 2lbs (I'm still sitting at 136lbs as opposed to my usual 130-134), I'm definitely feeling fitter, stronger and my clothes aren't about to burst open at the seams any more. I've even lost about half an inch on each thigh. Phew - just in the nick of time!

What am I doing differently? Not an awful lot really but I'm definitely working harder, which is kind of annoying in that I hoped I could maintain or (ideally) tone down my workouts as I get older - not have to work even flippin' harder:

• I start with 35mins on the cross-trainer rather than 45-50, but still relatively high impact. I read recently that going longer doesn't necessarily make much difference.
• I've increased my weights by about 5lb on each machine and also upped my reps to two sets of 20 per machine (I was doing 2 x 15 reps before)
• After completing the weights circuit, I've now added a 15-20 min run on the treadmill, at a steady pace of about 6.5mph (9km/h) followed by several minutes of walking at around 4mph. I haven't worked back up to the average 8.5mph at which I used to run, but maybe I'll get there. Although I have to say, while running at 6.5mph I feel incredibly relaxed. I find it a great way to wind down my workout and will often extend the running time simply because I'm enjoying the comfortable, relaxed pace.
• I follow the cool-down run with my usual lunges, bends, stretches and such. 
• My workouts are still about 80-90 mins total but I'm getting much more 'work' done in that time.

I wouldn't necessarily call myself an expert on weight-training and cardio workouts but I do have a pretty good idea, was given a fairly solid foundation and think carefully about my form, breathing, load, joints/muscles etc. as I go through the exercises - aiming for a decent amount of effort but for longer, lean muscles, hence I don't go nuts on piling up the weights, and not least because I once dislocated my shoulder on a shoulder press (long story). Aside from that, I'm eating a little less and have generally been less hungry, I've reduced my alcohol intake and make a conscious effort drink at least 8-10 glasses of water a day.

I'm hoping that the running time might increase to the extent I can run outdoors again this summer without my ongoing hamstring/glute issue kicking in, which is the reason I had to completely give up running - even on the treadmill - for the past couple of years.

I guess we'll just see how things continue to go from here.

Wow, this really has to be the most boring post I've ever written for this blog.