thedeadparrot | (no subject)

This week was really awful. Getting into the details of it is more than I can or want to deal with right now, so I will not do that. It's at the point where I've semi-abandoned my weird experimental fic in favor of stress-writing terrible other fic because other fic is easier to think about and work on. I can just spew words into this document, and it's almost kind of soothing.

But on the other hand, I've started doing cardio, and I think I've found cardio that I don't hate? Zumba wasn't really fun per se, but I enjoyed it more than the other cardio I've done before? I didn't feel like throwing up at any point. My lungs didn't want to crawl out of my chest. There were plenty of breaks where I could stop for water. I was terrible at any of the parts that required actual dancing skill, but I managed to keep up with the footwork for the most part. Or worked really hard at trying to keep up with the footwork, which is pretty much what I'm there for anyway.

I think the key things for cardio and me is that (a) I much prefer working out more than one muscle group when doing it and (b) I need someone else to set the pace for me and guilt/encourage me to get through things. I think I push myself too hard when I try to do things like running, and then I just feel awful at the end of the workout instead of energized. I get side stitches, and I can't breathe, and yeah. Bad place.

I found some home cardio videos that I liked well enough. The first one that I saw offered up low-impact alternatives to the moves they were using, and halfway through, there was a water break. Even though I haven't done cardio in forever, it was still pretty doable. I usually end up gushing sweat at the end of it, which is the goal, I think. I also get a nice pleasant buzz, which I'm guessing is the mystical runners' high that I've heard so much about but have never experienced in association with running. I might go hunting for other videos to see if I like them better, but even if I don't, then I at least have these to fall back on.

I am slightly worried that it's not cardio 'enough' and am tempted to get some sort of heart rate monitor, though I think that's the internet talking and not me. Ugh. I'm not in this to get to my peak physical condition or lose a ton of weight. I'm just in this to maintain a decent amount of mental and physical health. I guess we'll see how I feel about keeping up the routine going forward.

This is on top of the daily yoga that I've been pretty good at maintaining, even when I was sick earlier this week. There are yoga videos for when you are sick, because there are yoga videos for everything. Just finished Day 26 of 30 Days of Yoga, and it's been good. I like the variety that she presents. I've been doing once-a-week classes, which are good for pushing myself harder and also for inducing bile in the back of my throat when I push myself to hard.

So. I guess I'm now someone who does exercise on a regular basis. I'm someone who talks about the exercise I'm doing on a regular basis. Gross.

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I am slightly worried that it's not cardio 'enough' and am tempted to get some sort of heart rate monitor, though I think that's the internet talking and not me.

That is definitely the internet talking - I had to talk myself out of getting a fitbit the other day, so you're not the only one who's feeling it...

I'm glad the exercise is making you feel better! It is definitely one of the reasons I keep my bike around. The pre- and post-work cardio it provides is a major help in de-stressing.

If you are looking for more cardio vids, I am a big fun of Blogilates. My fave is prob the "That's What Makes You Bootyful" One Direction one :D

The internet is so dangerous. I got sucked into reading about the differences between high intensity interval training for cardio and the low intensity stuff, and now I am like, omg, what if I am hurting myself by doing this daily? But whatever. All I'm looking for is decent brain chemistry. I don't need to build a ton of muscle or run a marathon. I'm working myself during my intervals, but I'm not burning myself out, so it's probably not even proper HIIT anyway.

I saw Blogilates going around! I think I'm going to try one of her videos tomorrow and see how it goes.

I gotta admit that I never foresaw the day in which we'd be having a convo about HIIT! I've found that if I'm hurting myself, my body will tell me - there is a difference in the OW OW OW pain of damage and the, well, nicer pain of a good workout.

*HUGS*

Thanks!

D: At least the week is over, y/n? I'm sorry, it sounded rotten, and perhaps there was even more that was rotten about it.

Running = not appealing. I like classes for similar reasons as you, plus if they cost anything [up front for a series or membership], there's another layer of obligation pushing me to go. Interested in hearing about the at-home cardio that works for you.

Edited 2015-07-25 20:20 (UTC)

Yes, it is! And today has already been pretty good and pretty productive.

Yeah, classes are good, but I'm really bad at going out of my way to go to them, so they have to be relatively close to my apartment in order to get me to go consistently. I'm using FitnessBlender's videos right now for at-home cardio. There's a whole lot of them, so it can kind of be intimidating to pick one, but I usually just click on something that looks interesting and go with that. The things I like about them is that they have a little timer at the top-right corner and they do videos that cover warm up/cool downs as well as the actual cardio bits. The calorie meter is nice because it lets you see how far into the video you are, but the actual calorie values are probably useless.

But! I haven't tried videos from anyone else yet, so maybe there are better ones out there. I did see a fun-looking dance workout one by the guy who choreographs for Beyonce, so I might try that out sometime myself.

Thanks! I'm telling myself that it's just going to get better from here.

That sounds impressive! (At least to me. I've turned out to be a great running partner for people who push themselves too hard because the one thing I am least prone to physically is pushing myself hard in any way ever.)

It's weird, because I both push myself too hard and don't push myself hard enough when I'm by myself. Like, I'll push myself too hard for a short amount of time and then give up when I feel shitty about it. The videos both help set the pace and get me to the end and then forgive me when I can't quite keep up with them. Which is nice!

Oh man, videos that forgive you sound like the best of all worlds.

The way I usually look at is, any exercise that you're actually willing to do on a regular basis is better than trying to push yourself into something you hate and will give up on as a result, so whether it's "enough" or not doesn't matter. Doing something is better than doing nothing! ...is what I usually tell myself when I go for a 20 minute stroll rather than a cardio class. :P

I think my anxiety (hahahaha) over it has more to do with the fact that I already do a lot of walking from living in a city and walking into work every day, and maybe it helps and I'd be even more of a basket case than I am right now, but it's not enough? The symptoms still manifest and make me feel shitty and miserable. My doctor recommended cardio, getting the heart rate up higher, so I'm worried that I'm not doing enough to make it distinctly different from the other types of exercise I do (walking and yoga) to make a difference in my mental health?

This has been less than a week, though, so I'm probably worrying over nothing. It has helped calm me down a bit when I'm feeling bad, even if the longer term effects of it can't be seen yet.

Ahh, I see I see... sorry to have misunderstood. :) I'm glad it seems to be helping some!

It's no problem! I've also let the internet get in my head and be like THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO DO CARDIO. IF YOU ARE NOT HITTING YOUR TARGET HEARTRATE YOU ARE A FAILURE. Which is obv ridiculous.