last night i completed 250 kettle bell swings, doing 5 x 30 sets followed by 4 x 25. My thighs were burning by the end but i felt good. This morning i was out again at 5.45am for another short running session. I am going to stick to the same routine until i start to notice a difference. At the moment I am still breathing out my arse by the end of it!!

Last Week

Last week wasn't so good, pulled my back and struggled with any fitness. Picked Aisha up without bending my knees and felt stiff at the base of my spine. Went out for a run on Wednesday and didn't feel good, felt heavy round the bottom of my back like i was pounding on it. Kept off it the rest of the week.
Weighed myself this morning and still the same, 97kg. No surprise there. Went out at 5.45am for a run and felt much better in the back, i can now get back into the kettlebell/press up routine. there's something good about being out that early, no one around, music playing on the ipod, still half asleep.
This week i plan to run in the mornings and alternate evenings with the kettlebell and press ups. I wont combine them in a routine but do them separate to ensure I do both correct, better to get the technique right at this stage.
Last week was very busy on three fronts, work, Mum and Aisha. I need to get out whats in my head about these, to try some self therapy in a way. Last week my head was muddled, and i didn't know to cry and scream. This week i am more focused on what i need to do. More to come through the week.

This weekend was quiet, i was on call with work and the weather, especially Saturday was terrible. I managed to complete my kettlebells quota for the week but little else. This morning I weighed myself and i am down to 97 kilos. I felt a bit disappointed. I know that 1 kilo loss is good, and moving in the right direction, but I don't feel any fitter/healthier/livelier. This is probably the main reason why people struggle to lose weight, It takes so bloody long.
Anyway onwards and upwards, This week will see more kettlebells and press ups, maybe done differently, but more focus on running now the streets are clean. Time to try and build my stamina.

Last night i went through the same routine as Tuesday, alternating kettlebell swings and press ups. I found it just as hard this time, especially the press ups, i just don't have the strength in my arms yet. But it will come.
This weekend i need to keep my activities up, this is the biggest test so far, as this is usually where i fall down!

Tuesday night i went out for a run/walk interval training. The pavements were still iced over which made it hard. I really felt the extra weight i carry when i ran, and my legs became heavy really quickly. I also have quite low stamina which i will need to build up, it cant all be about weight loss!
Wednesday was a rest day, more because I was busy with other things more than anything else. Today i had route-canal treatment this morning. Amazing to think ten years ago this would have been a daunting prospect, yet now with the advance of medicine practices i didn't feel a thing, not even the injection as they rubbed the gum with anaesthetic before the injection. It made me think, for all those that have a fear of needles and injections, why don't they rub some anaesthetic onto their arm/thigh/arse before injecting them taking away the pain?
Tonight i am back on the kettlebell swings/press ups routine. Surprisingly i don't feel sore today after Tuesdays routine, I expected to be really stiff today.

really pushed myself last night. Split my 200 kettlebell swings into 10 sets of 20. In between each set i done a set of push ups. the full set is listed below. I struggled with the alternative shuffle press up as two reps are classed as one push up so didn't reach the 10 in them, and the diamond press up was completed but i know the proper technique wasn't used. But i will get better.
Tonight the snow has been replaced by rain so i will head out for some running interval training. If i have the energy i will then complete more kettlebell swings.

20 kettelbell swings
10 x wide press ups
20 kettelbell swings
10 x wide press ups
20 kettelbell swings
10 x wide press ups
20 kettelbell swings
10 x alternative shuffle press up
20 kettelbell swings
10 x alternative shuffle press up
20 kettelbell swings
10 x alternative shuffle press up
20 kettelbell swings
10 x diamond press up
20 kettelbell swings
10 x diamond press up
20 kettelbell swings
10 x diamond press up
20 kettelbell swings

Last week i forgot to weigh myself at the start of the week. I also miscalculated how many swings i had done, and came up 200 short!! This week i have weighed myself early Monday morning and come in at 98kgs. I have also drafted a spreadsheet so i can catalogue correctly what i am completing and how i am progressing. I tried to do it electronically but there is just something in me that finds it easier to hand write it out.
I visited my mum on Saturday to clear her path. She had 15 inches of snow in her front garden. Clearing a path was hard work, and i couldn't get down to the path, i left a good 3 inches of ice at the bottom. Warmer weather is predicted for the end of this week and i am sure everyone will be glad to see it gone. Well maybe not the skiers!!
Mum's been finding things tough lately, the weather prevents her from getting out, she is also off her anti-depressants, and cane be a bit short with me. I spoke to her carers who are also concerned, and have agreed to keep an eye on things!
I went to the football on Saturday, my first game for a while. Aberdeen easily won 2-0 and have unearthed two gems in Fraser Fyvie and Peter Pawlett. My prediction is both these will be in the Premiership by the time they are 21. There combined transfer value could clear Aberdeen's total debt if handled correctly by the club!
Things continue to be strained at home. Before Christmas we discovered Aisha had been tested for Autism while at nursery, but we were never informed of this. the results showed she was in the middle of the Autism spectrum but the lack of communication made it impossible for the test to be conclusive. The same test was done again, ironically by the same teacher and the results showed she was still within the Spectrum. As the letter from the Doctor stated, Aisha is a complex wee girl!! Kim was beside herself when she found out about the first test, as she had suspected for years Aisha was autistic but was reluctant to say.
Aisha still wets herself and Kim is finding this very hard to deal with. In fact its safe to say she is finding the whole issue hard to deal with. Not the fact Aisha has problems, but how to deal with them. It also has a knock on effect on our marriage which is being put under strain because of this. Differences of opinions before would be dealt with, now they are hard to deal with. Nothing we wont be able to see through, but still makes life hard. I plan to speak to the teacher and the school nurse today to see about getting some additional care, but these changes take time!

last night i went to the garage and done some kettlebell swings and some press ups. The hardest part of the lot? Keeping hold of the kettlebell in sub zero conditions! At least it helped keep my mind away from the burning sensation in my thighs!!

its been nearly a month since my last post. To be honest, not that much has happened, Christmas has came and gone, and a great time has been had by all. Drank too much, ate too much, the usual story really, but glad it is all over. Unfortunately with the weather being so bad, we cant get back to normality.
Over the festive season i wrote myself up a fitness plan. It consists of a variety of activities that i will chart to see my progress. One part of the plan was interval running. I went out on Monday night when the streets were covered in snow and it became clear running wasn't an option. I decided i could still go out for a walk, get the heart rate increased. Off I set into a blizzard. After 20 minutes walking the streets of Bridge of Don I contemplated phoning Mountain Rescue but the shame of it stopped me. By the time I got home I was virtually snow blind, and had the strange sensation of having burning thighs while at the same time they felt like blocks of ice. But it felt good to be out. I had dressed for the occasion so Frost bite wasn't an issue.
The next day I cleared the garage and I started Ray's January Kettlebell challenge, a 1000 kettlebell swings a week, plus a Turkish get up a day adding one rep a day. I still struggle with the Turkish get up, and more so while using my right arm, the weaker of the two, but will persevere to get there. I have also started a push up routine for the next 8 weeks to get rid of the man boobs.
2009 was a shit year, plain and simple, by the end of it my head was fuzzy and couldn't focus properly. Things would stir around my head for days when i should have just batted them off. This year I am feeling much better, thinking clearer. Time to focus on the things that are right, and ignore the rest.