I have now established a reasonable change and am going for daily walks and paying greater attention to what I am eating. This start to my lifestyle transformation has now expanded to some added activities and investments.
First of these is that I am participating in the 1 Million Kilo Challenge. This is a 10 week challenge that is aimed at promoting a healthier lifestyle. Basically on the challenge I will receive free advice on health, nutrition, and exercise through regular e-mail and a website. In reality I will be continuing to do what I have started. However, will look at the plan suggestions and where it makes sense adopt them into my routine.
The next expansion is in the investment in a range of exercise equipment. This investment is in our lives together, and it is time to get serious.
Fitness Investment 1
The first of these was a Hyper Extension weight set. The set consists of 2 dumbbells (plus spin locks) and 4 x 1.25kg plates. The set was bought at K-Mart for $41 and can be expanded as I require for a rather humble price. Presently lifting the 4 x plates on one dumbbell in sets of 20 on the right arm, my dominant side, pretty comfortably. The left arm is another matter, and due to its inherent weakness my technique breaks down quite quickly. As a result I currently have a very mild case of tennis elbow. After a couple of days rest I lifted with it earlier today, however the pain has returned. So will lay off of it for a few more days.
Fitness Investment 2
The second piece of equipment is an old school cross trainer. It is an old Guthy Renker dial-a-deal special, however it is still pretty effective. I used this last evening for the first time and it worked areas of my legs that my daily walks do not. This is a very good thing and will help me build strength in other areas of the leg, and gives me a real cardio option on those days where it is too wet/hot to venture out in the wider world. Today for instance could be one of those days (33° Celsius and 47% Humidity).
Fitness Investment 3
The final piece of equipment is an exercise bike. The bike is pretty basic, but is definitely effective as I can attest after having used the bike for 11 minutes, maintaining 14kph+ on the readouts, I can tell it works my hamstrings over. I got off with a weird sensation of where are my legs. That said it is another option for cardio on a crappy day. We were lucky to pick the cross trainer and bike up for $60 on a Facebook buy/swap/sell page. Was a good and cheap purchase that will add variety to our workouts and stave off boredom.
Now the trick will be to turn this small investment into a profitable lifestyle change.
