Consistency is the key

Yup- title says it all. Despite not having time to hit the gym, I have been able to at least do some toning exercises every morning. Well, most every morning anyway. Except that one time (ahem- yesterday) when I convinced myself that my muscles needed rest!! Well, readers can interpret that in any way possible and plausible, but the money is on sure laziness!!! :-)

Trying to kickstart it again this morning seemed particularly tough. This convinces me further that the body, just like the brain, is a pattern following creature. And break in the momentum is potentially dangerous as inertia then sets in very quickly.

Now that's a thought for all of us seeking to lose weight. Consistency. It does not matter if our exercises are simple stretching or doesn't even break a sweat. The key is that if we keep at it long enough, the toning will get done, the aim reached.

Now to work on the most important muscle of all, the brain!

Consistency is paying off

Since restarting the blog some 2 months ago, and blogging about it as an extension of my conscience to stick to the routine, I must say that there has been a noticeable effect.

Recapping previous posts, the consistency has resulted in a stronger core, increased repetitions and control over the muscle. The abdominals are now able to control the posture as well as the waist better, the upper body more profiled.

To illustrate the consistency rule: I started off blogging that I cannot even do 4 pushups after the layoff. Over the weeks, I started with knees-on-ground pushups, from 5 initially up to 20. Then I advanced to regular pushups, starting with 4-5, then slowly, slowly, slowly getting up to 10, then now creeping up to about 15. It has been tough, but the key is consistency and persistency. Of course it helps that I am able to fit into clothes that I wasn't able to to in December 07. And I am able to fill out a tighter shirt with the biceps and triceps showing, including a chest that is now visually bigger than before.

Go ahead, indulge in the visuals of it, its not vanity, but use it rather as motivation to keep plugging away at your own exercise regime

Books for workouts at home

A weight like this shell is probably what I need for my morning ten minute toning exercise! Short of having to buy weights or any accessory, using my own (considerable) weight is probably the next best thing to toning, and dare I hope, adding on to my upper body muscles.

Push ups are now full blown ones, albeit only with 12 reps maximum before muscle fade. But hey, considering that I couldn't even to one 3 weeks ago.. that not half as bad.

The other benefit of working on building muscle is of course, that muscles burn more calories even when at rest. So for anyone thinking of losing weight, it is best to seriously consider adding weights into your regime. And oh, do not be afraid if weight shoots up, muscles weigh much more that fats anyway.

My experience illustrates the phenomenon. Since restarting my weight-loss effort, I have lost about 1-2kgs but feel that I should have lost more. This is because my muscle mass has certaintly gone up, especially with the work on the core muscles in and around the abdomen area, as well as the big femur and glutea groups.

Best news is that Wii Fit should make it into Singapore by mid-May. That should provide an additional incentive, though I suspect not for long as the body will once again get used to it. Read on IGN that there is a lot of focus on the core stability muscle groups and less on aerobic fitness. But heck, I admit that even yoga poses can be useful for exercising. Holding those poses should be hard, especially taxing on the muscles. So, am looking forward to the release soon. Just to add variety, and also give the sig-other a chance to work out at home too.