Rho's Diary

Hey, I regret not taking more pictures either, but like you said you don't really want to see yourself in pictures. I definately didn't want pictures taken of me, which is why I only have the couple pictures from main events ya know? But, what can ya do!

About the sleeping thing, I have the same fear, that my alarm won't go off. I have a reg alarm clock though so I don't have to worry about the whole battery thing. But I still always double check the time, if it's right, if it's AM and if the alarm is actually on, lol. I almost always wake up before my alarm though!
 
Ain't it strange Christina,

By waking up, I ended up getting less sleep than I should have, so I've been somewhat sleepy all day. I even had to have a little nap during lunch. And I've got a cardio session tonight! Ah well..

About the pictures, I can now understand why so many of my skinny friends have so many pictures of themselves. I always considered myself as not vain but I suspect the truth is I just didn't want to see how bloated I was. Once I get closer to my ideal weight, damn... Rhoda's going to be taking pictures of herself every day!
 
You know what, I bet you're going to feel a lot better after your cardio workout, and not just the 'sweet I did my cardio and it's over' but I think you're going to really work those muscles out and loosen up. I so know what you mean about 'hour long' meetings that creep into 2.5 hours so that everyone is just staring at the clock in disbelief and we're all pissed :rotflmao:

I agree with you and Risty about not taking more pictures. But I know why I didn't too and I'm happy to say that we're not going back there anymore so those couple of pictures that we do have are the past and I'm happy that we each have at least one picture of our starting point. I hope you get a good workout in tonight Rho, and after that, I hope you get some good sleep :)
 
Too right Juliette!

Rhoda's going to be posting pictures of herself onto her diary like Christina!! And showing off my extra baggy clothes, and feeling happy with myself!! And strutting about the place showing off my flat belly instead of hiding under long tops!

Thanks Sara, I'm leaving the office now - thanks to Kim I've given myself a target of burning 700 calories in 45 minutes. If I don't feel satisfied after that, I don't know what will satisfy me...

I hope you're feeling much better Sara. Ciao ladies...
 
Thanks Sara,

I was very proud of myself - I did it!! I met my target! In all, I burned just over 720 calories. But I didn't do it in 45 minutes - I did it in 60 minutes. It was just so hard! It's funny how, when writing about it, I can detach myself from the experience, but I remember being really exhausted mentally during the actual workout - I used every last reserve of energy, I think. But it was great, because the long shower afterwards was that much sweeter - there really is nothing like the feeling you get after a good workout. My thighs hurt and felt so heavy, and my butt ached like hell, but I was grinning like a Cheshire cat!

During the workout, I realised that a major part of why I felt so tired wasn't because my body was too tired - it was because I wasn't taking enough oxygen. Basically, I was shallow breathing. I was breathing faster, but not more deeply, if you know what I mean. So I tried taking in deeper breaths, which was really hard to do as my airway muscles were definitely not cooperating, but I think that this was a good thing because I was able to do more work with less breaths. I've been doing some research on breathing during aerobic exercise, and there's so many differing pieces of advice - some say you should inhale solely through your nose and exhale through pursed lips, but this is difficult for me as I'm still recovering from a cold, and I still get blocked up..

So I guess I need to work on my breathing - the body appears to be more willing than the diaphragm muscles! In this case, anyway..

I've got my weight training session tonight, which I'm looking forward to, but a little scared of because I'm still sore from my last workout! Still, I need it. A work colleague just told me she'd noticed I'd lost weight and was everything okay - I could have kissed her!
Anyhow, I'm looking at gym classes for this week. There's an 'urban rebound' class tonight, which I haven't done before, but it's a cardio class, and I think I need all the cardio I can get, so if I can squeeze that in along with my weight training session then great!
I just saw somewhere that 3,500 calories = 1lb of fat. Don't know why, but it's really depressing, considering I burnt only 700 last night. Things like that are very demotivating to me... probably just me..
 
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RhoRho said:
So I guess I need to work on my breathing - the body appears to be more willing than the diaphragm muscles! In this case, anyway..
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Hey there, Rho!
Your breathing is only partly dependent on your diaphragm, which is only one big muscle, a bit like a pancake, situated (also like a pancake) between your abdominal and the chest cavities.Thoracic diaphragm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia When diaphraghm is relaxed it's like a round bread, when it contracts, it flattens to the bottom of the chest cavity.
Inhalation is driven primarily by the diaphragm. When the diaphragm contracts, the ribcage expands and the contents of the abdomen are moved downward. This results in a larger thoracic volume, which in turn causes a decrease in intrathoracic pressure. As the pressure in the chest falls, air moves into the conducting zone. Here, the air is filtered, warmed, and humidified as it flows to the lungs.
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Exhalation is generally a passive process, however active or forced exhalation is achieved by the abdominal and the internal intercostal muscles.
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More at Respiratory system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In order to take deep breaths you need to RELAX YOUR ABS when breathing in and if needed, use them to blow out air when breathing out.
Shallow breaths are the result of contracted abdominal and other core muscles. There's just no room for the contents of the abdomen to move downward (as above is explained), if the abs are tight. Also, you can't intensify the exhaling, because muscles only contract to a certain length.
Knowing all the above through my work (I'm a musician, I play the oboe and sing for a living) I'm quite surprised when aerobics etc. instructors often tell you to both keep your abs tight and breath deeply. It's simply not possible.
How does this explanation sound to you? Any helpful ideas?
:)
Julie
 
That's a good point you've raised Juliette,

I was told by my personal trainer to keep my abs tight (her words exactly) while doing cardio - the reason she gave for this was so that my abs could be worked out at the same time.

I think that I've shallow breathed for such a long time (in an effort to hold in my stomach) that the muscles used for deep breathing have not been worked. So it hurt yesterday when deep breathing during my workout. I wonder if there's any way of developing my deep breathing ability... I do think that if I regulate my breathing better I'll be able to do much better workouts. But I'm not sure how exactly to go about actually doing it..

Off to weight training session now so will have to update later..
 
The breathing is mostly controlled by your involuntary system and messing with that is never a good idea.
The best thing is, if you don't think about the breathing at all.
Only in the case you feel difficulty breathing, concentrate on letting the abs relax thoroughly during inhaling.
When I teach my own wind instrument or singing, I only address breathing if necessary. Everybody knows how to breath, otherwise we wouldn't be alive.. ;)
Julie
 
I get confused sometimes with the breathing aspect too, as in I focus too hard, and then I think "I'm just breathing, this really shouldn't be so hard, COME ON!" Especially in the Pilates class, she makes a really big deal out of the breathing rhthym. I'm getting better at it, but I know what you mean about inefficient breathing. When I'm by myself working out on the elliptical I find that I do that shallow breathing as well, but then I force myself to time my breathing and slow it down and I find that I feel better. Today my instructor caught me not breathing during a painful leg lift ordeal, and she said "Inhale through the nose, Exhale through the mouth, force out the CO2" So when I thought about exhaling gas I really made it a forceful breath, which I think is what we're supposed to do. Anyways.

Great job on burning all of those cals!!! You went longer, you burned tons of cals, and your body is all sore. I think you should go to the class! I'm trying to make myself go to a new class tomorrow too, but I don't know. I hope you have a great weight lifting session tonight and stretch lots after, have a wonderful day Rho!
 
Hey Juliette,

I know that breathing should be a natural thing, but when exercising I think the situation changes. Do you breathe in through your nose, or your mouth, or both? Breathing out isn't the problem - it's getting the air in in the first place..

Sara, you just said exactly what I had in mind - I also have that problem - I usually get extremely breathless before realising that my breathing's the problem, and then I start to focus on it. But it's really hard!

I couldn't make it to the class - got there too late, so I ended up doing a weight training session and then burning 400 calories on the bike (the one with the back support - I couldn't do anything too strenuous). My thighs really hurt though, and I feel like I'm sliding back towards illness. I woke up during the night with a burning throat and blocked nose and it took me a couple of hours to drift back to sleep. That scared me, so I've decided to take today (and possibly tomorrow) off from the gym. I need to be fit for the 10K on Sunday! I really hate that I'm not shaking off this cold as well as I should - usually I use sheer willpower to get over my illnesses as I hate feeling weak and ill. But this time, it's definitely got on top of me, and I can't just wish it away. So it's straight to bed for me today after work...only 8 hours to go *sigh*

Enjoy your day guys..
 
Currently at work. In a lot of pain. My thighs especially. I wonder whether this was due to the squats, or the half hour on the bike at level 10.. If it's the squats, then hmmnn, because after my last WT session, it was more the sides of my thighs (the outside) that ached badly. This time it's the tops of the actual thighs. Every step I make shows me a different level of pain. Even in my diseased state, I love the pain. It's a welcome change from feeling so phlegmed up and ill. Could I be getting addicted to the gym, and to weight training?

I've also been thinking, weirdly enough, about whether or not breathing in through the mouth during my workouts has contributed to my current sore throat...I don't know... we weren't made to breathe through the mouth, were we? surely that's what the nose and nostrils were made for?

Oh I don't know... This cold's addled my brain.. Plus I'm distancing myself from my ex, which is further messing me up emotionally. Heck.
 
Did you remember to stretch well after all that biking? It's never too late for that, might ease the pain a bit. I'm sorry to hear that you're still ill, and I really hope you get better soon.
Inhaling is most effective through both your nose and your mouth at the same time. The largest amount of air in the shortest possible time, without any extra effort from your muscles. (You can take a breath only through your nose even when your mouth is open and the other way around, since we have little muscles controlling the airway. Try this, you'll see..)
Exhaling I would do through the mouth.
The advice to inhale through your nose comes probably from the fact that you might keep the muscles in your throat very tense during extreme strain, and so they would "strangle" you, making the airway in your throat a lot smaller. This seldom happens when you inhale through your nose. Since it's possible, however, to breath relaxedly through your mouth as well, and use less energy because of the larger airway, I prefer that. It might take a little getting used to. If your throat starts to hurt during exercise, try to take a few breaths through your nose and feel the throat relax and expand to its normal state (like you were about to yawn). Then try maintaining that feeling when breathing through your mouth again.
I think you're right to try to rest some days and get better. :)
Julie
 
Hi Juliette,

Yes, I never forget to stretch after my workouts, whether cardio or weight training. To be honest it's not the kind of stiff pain where it's difficult to move; it's just that when I do move, I feel like my legs are reminding me that they're there and that I put them some gruelling exercise last night..

You were so right about the strangulation effect!! That's what I've been experiencing! I've been attempting to inhale deeply through the mouth, only to find that my muscles are tensed up and won't let me. I thought that was because I haven't developed the muscles used for deep breathing (if that makes any sense) so I just thought I'd try harder. But obviously that's not the way to look at it. :eek:

I'm definitely going to get some rest - the last couple of workouts have been intense so I definitely need to relax. When I get totally back on track, I think I might have 'off' periods where I don't workout for a whole week so my body can recover from the fatigue on it...

It's really great to speak to someone who knows what they're talking about. Thanks again.
 
Hey Rho! I'm sure your pain is coming from BOTH items. Doing squats and riding on a level 10. You may need to take the level down one and see if that helps a little bit. Also, when you get home, maybe a nice soak in a hot tub will help as well. I always breath through my nose and mouth, just depends on where I'm at in my workout. It's good to alternate and not just breath from one or the other. I'm sure you already knew that. ALSO.... are you drinking a lot of water during and after your workout?? Maybe your not hydrating yourself enough, thus your legs are getting tight and crampy. Just another idea I thought I would throw out there. Well, I'm sure your great workouts are paying off, are you seeing inches lost?? Keep up the good work my friend!!
Kim
 
Hey, good job on the workouts! You're doing awesome. You'll have skinny pics in no time to post on your diary! Reading your workout made me feel SOOOO lazy. I've been sooooo slacking. My incision is good enough now that I can start exercising, I just haven't started :p After 3 weeks of recovering, it's hard to get back into it!

Good luck on the whole breathing thing, I really have no idea how to breathe properly, so hopefully one day I figure it out...lol.
 
The rest is a great idea I think, because I've been doing a lot of reading about the importance of off days and it seems they're just as important as a healthy diet or intense cardio. Your body seems to be telling you something and it's wise to listen. Especially if you feel yourself becoming ill again. What's the weather like in London today? :) :sigh: It's so cool you live there. I agree with Risty, you're going to be seeing changes really soon and I can't wait to see the differences. Keep it up Rho, but make sure to relax a little today.
 
Hi Rho!

Checking in to say "hi!"

excellent job with the workouts!

we have lots of bike riders in my neighborhood and they have the slimmest buns and thighs of anyone!


good luck with the 10k :)
 
RhoRho said:
You were so right about the strangulation effect!! That's what I've been experiencing! I've been attempting to inhale deeply through the mouth, only to find that my muscles are tensed up and won't let me. I thought that was because I haven't developed the muscles used for deep breathing (if that makes any sense) so I just thought I'd try harder. But obviously that's not the way to look at it. :eek:
---
It's really great to speak to someone who knows what they're talking about. Thanks again.
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I think you got it there.. I hope this helps you a bit when you have your next training session. Let me know.. I work on different kinds of issues with breathing with all my students but this is definitely the first time I've tried to teach anybody through the internet. It would be easier to do, if I could actually see and feel your breathing and show you things, but since there are always many things everybody just needs to find and feel in their OWN bodies, this just might do the trick. :D
So I'm glad if I could be of assistance and I'm happy to answer any further questions as well.
I hope your illness goes away permanently and I wish you a wonderful 10k on Sunday!
Julie
 
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