Original link: https://blog.shuiba.co/big-thanks-to-my-friends-who-keep-exercising
I started skipping rope in mid-January this year. After various explorations, I steadily skipped ten or twenty minutes every day after get off work until mid-June, which is almost five months. One rope was eliminated, one was broken, and three more ropes were supplied from all over the country, one for daily use, one for fancy and one for racing. The result was not very useful, because I started body weight training in mid-June. I have developed lower limbs and weak upper limbs since I was a child, but when I grew up, I realized that muscles can be trained. I have been to the gym before, and I also know some fitness knowledge, but it seems that I have not been able to usher in a qualitative leap. Otherwise, if I say 30 years old, it is different, don’t you think it will come! With the foundation of exercise habits laid by skipping rope, it is not difficult to change the track. But after all, it was my first time to challenge training in the true sense, so it was a little cramped at the beginning, because it needed a new round of adjustment and adaptation. Here I would like to mention the difference between training and exercise. In the past, I was more inclined to exercise, and its function was to get my body moving and keep my body and mind healthy. What I need to improve the strength of my upper body is training. It achieves the effect of muscle building through repeated and superimposed stimulation. In fact, I am also tired of skipping rope, and my weight has returned to before giving birth (although my belly is still there), so I want to change to a new way to see if I can make a bigger breakthrough. As for my finding that heavy training for people with average body fat burns fat better than aerobics alone, that’s another story.
With a clear goal (strengthening the upper body), I started scouring the calisthenics menu, focusing on the upper body. Later, I learned that muscle growth requires time to rest, so I divided several major muscle groups and trained them alternately. There is a park next to Popo Nursery that has a climbing frame, and people often do pull-ups there, so I drew on local materials and developed my own fitness menu. At the beginning, I wanted everything, but I found that my body couldn’t handle it, and some “floor movements” were not easy to do outdoors, so I simplified the menu and led back to skipping rope to continue to lose fat. After practicing for a while, I still feel too tired. Maybe my body is still not used to it, and I feel that there is not enough breathing space. In addition, I have learned about the natural antagonistic properties of building muscle and reducing fat, so I decided to keep it simple and only train the upper body every other day. After all My legs are already thick and I should lose fat instead of gaining muscle. Now the training plan is stable on one, three, five, chest, back, and arms, and two or four rest and enjoy me-time. It was just right. Due to the visa, my working hours had to be greatly reduced, so after negotiating with the company, it was adjusted to leave work one hour earlier on 135, and rest on 24, so I recently reworked my fitness plan and wanted to take advantage of the early get off work. For the extra hour, I also want to make good use of the new public gymnasium near the company. But to be honest, because it has been changing all the time, it can be a bit frustrating and uninspiring at times. But the amazing thing is that at these times, I almost overcame inertia and started to move. Maybe I already have a movement clock in my body, or maybe I have a lot of skills in persuading myself now – don’t think about it, it’s over! It is also possible that some of my friends around me started to move one after another. Seeing their efforts, I was also motivated.
| Calisthenics menu | |
|---|---|
| first edition | Tired enough, unsustainable |
| Monday/Thursday: Chest, Back, Arms Tuesday/Friday: Abdomen (Core) Wednesday: Legs |
8 reps x 4 sets Chest: Push-ups Back: Pull-ups
Daily routine: |
| second edition | Still tired, decided to focus on the upper body first |
| Monday/Thursday: Upper Body Tuesday/Friday: Lower Body Wednesday: Cardio | 10 times × 5 groups (depending on the situation) Push-ups, hanging horizontal bars, arm flexion and hanging leg lifts, squats, lunges, back squats, jump ropes |
| third edition | Start to pay attention to your diet |
| Monday/Wednesday/Friday: Upper body Tuesday/Thursday: Recuperation | 10 times × 5 groups (depending on the situation) Kneeling push-ups, hanging horizontal bars, arm bends |
Oh my goodness finally hit the point! At first, it was a high school classmate who got up to lose belly after having a second child. At that time, I was only envious. Later, I found out that my cousin Daiyu, who didn’t like sports, started to find a personal trainer for fitness, and she was still tanning her abdominal muscles in the circle of friends. Later, my friend Xiao F started to lose fat seriously and lost eight pounds in a month. I got great encouragement and started skipping rope. Later, my cousin who was constantly “swelling” after giving birth to a baby also moved, and came to hear her thoughts – “from aunt to girl” “it turns out that the world is so friendly to thin people” – what reason do I have for not working hard! But I still keep the rhythm of not pushing myself. It so happens that I need to push myself to gain muscle, and then I push myself, which is exhausting for me, so let’s focus on sustainable development. On the other hand, the new skipping rope and new running shoes that I promised myself are all arranged, and the sports bracelet finally started in early August – Xiaomi Mi Band 7. I’m almost used to it now, and I’m still very motivated to watch the calories go up while exercising. That’s why I found that heavy training can really burn fat because the heartbeat is fast. In short, in terms of data, skipping rope lost about 4kg in five months, and body fat decreased by 2.6%. Overall, it seems that it has returned to the level before giving birth, and it is no longer necessary to deliberately shrink the abdomen after lunch like last summer. After two and a half months of bodyweight training, the body weight decreased by 0.5kg and the body fat decreased by 1.6%, so does it mean that I have gained some muscles?
The end of last year – this August
From a sensory point of view, the waistband of the trousers is loose, and the thighs seem to be a little thinner. Brother Dou also said that I was thin when he saw my belly, but the face was not obvious. I know that the order of fat accumulation is from the core to the limbs, so thinning also means thinning the core first. I created an album of “Postpartum Fitness” on Google Photos, and the first photo I took with courage was taken in June 2019. At that time, Popo was half a year old. My waist was 89cm and my weight was 57kg. During pregnancy, my weight was actually well controlled, but having a baby was too traumatic. My parents and in-laws loved me very much and gave me a grand confinement. Later, because of the hard work of parenting, I completely let go. In fact, I didn’t want to ignore it, but I couldn’t care about it at all. At that time, I found that I no longer wanted to dress up. My mother called me to buy new clothes and I was very resistant. I always wanted to wait until I lost weight. Looking back now, it seems that I couldn’t face my powerless self. But at the same time, I am sure that I will be able to develop a healthier body. After all, I still like sports, but my baby is too young to allow it. When the time is right, I will have a beautiful turnaround! Later, I lay down for a while, and the days gradually stabilized. Po Po went to the nursery school, and I gradually regained some control over my life. In January 2021, Po Po is two years old, my waist is 77cm and my weight is 51kg. At that time, I returned to my self who didn’t let loose and started to consciously reduce my calorie intake, which was still very effective. After starting work in April and earning income, my mind became more active. In April, I found a personal trainer for inner muscle for four months . In December, I learned hip-hop with my teacher for two months . In short, I did a lot of work, and my mentality was improved. I was no longer anxious about my body and weight. I relaxed a lot. Much looser. At the end of 2021, the weight is 54.7kg, which is close to the second trimester, and the body fat has exceeded the 30% mark. I didn’t measure my waist at that time, but the data in July was 81cm, weight 53.8kg, and body fat 29.8%. Compared to half a year ago when I controlled my diet, my body weight and body fat had improved a little bit. I think the waistline at the end of the year only increased a lot, and it was the cold winter and the twelfth lunar month, so all kinds of delicious food were lazy. So I fought with a carp, and in January 2022, I used the skipping rope to throw out the first flag of the new year-give me thin! In April 2022, after jumping for three months, the waist circumference is 76cm, the weight is 52.5kg, and the body fat is 28.5%, which is gratifying.
| date | waistline | weight | body fat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019.6 | 89cm | 57kg | – |
| 2021.1 | 77cm | 51kg | – |
| 2021.7 | 81cm | 53.8kg | 29.8% |
| 2021.12 | – | 54.7kg | 30.3% |
| 2022.4 | 76cm | 52.5kg | 28.5% |
| 2022.8 | 71cm | 49.9kg | 26.1% |
After two and a half months of bodyweight training, I felt a more significant change than when I skipped rope to lose fat. At the beginning, my muscles were weak, and I could not hang on the horizontal bar for more than three seconds. Later, because my palms were too painful, I bought a fitness glove that lasted a little longer, but it was only five seconds. Looking back on my primary school days when I was the most physically fit, I barely managed to cross the ladder. Compared with my classmates who swayed three bars like a monkey, it was a little difficult for me to move slowly. In high school, he lost this skill directly, resulting in “blooded hands”, and since then, the ladder has been sealed. In the past, I always liked to climb high, but later I didn’t dare to. I wondered that my fear of heights had not changed. Now I realize that I am not afraid of heights, but that I can’t hold them. Because of this, I want to get rid of the plaque that says “upper body strength is not enough”, and I am determined to complete my first pull-up as an adult (it seemed like I could do half a hold when I was in elementary school). After searching the Internet, I realized that many people have this trouble, because there are too few opportunities to exercise the upper body in daily life, and walking and running can exercise the legs, and it is no wonder that my thighs are strong. After watching a few popular science videos, I started to “die” the horizontal bar dangling. In the initial state for five seconds, after two weeks of practice, it is obvious that the arm has strength, and I am not afraid to climb high, and I can grasp it. So this is the confidence brought by absolute strength! Although the progress is slower than expected, it has been improving all the time, and often a major breakthrough is made on the Monday after a good rest. The time soared all at once, from five seconds to ten seconds, ten seconds to fifteen seconds, and now it can hang for twenty seconds. . Not only does the hanging time get longer, but the original passive hanging feeling has also changed into an active lifting, and the arms can be slightly bent to pull the body up a little. I recently bought a grip machine and bungee cords, so I’m well prepared for the next step. Next, I plan to gradually train the back and arms according to the method introduced in the video. I believe that one day I will be able to make a pull-up! Then two! Then three!
This article is reprinted from: https://blog.shuiba.co/big-thanks-to-my-friends-who-keep-exercising
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