Week 1 ~ July 3-9 ~ This week's focus: A Personal Fitness Plan & Goals

Documentation Method:

I decided to record my activities for my PPL10 course via this blog.  After all, this generation uses more technology than ever before - and it makes things more interesting to use a Blog.  I can add pictures, charts, cartoons and other relevant images!  I use a computer for all my other schoolwork, so why not?

Personal Challenges:

Due to a recent concussion that I suffered, it has really affected my participation in many day-to-day activities as well as sports that I like such as horseback riding, TaeKwonDo and gymnastics.  My asthma also contributes to some outdoor hardships as the weather is abnormally warm right now.

Initial Thoughts:

I will use this week to look at my options available at our local YMCA, perhaps try some new activities and by the end of the week, I should have my course activities selected, making sure that these activities will challenge me physically, but also keep me interested.  I tend to prefer smaller groups as opposed to team sports and with ADHD, I tend to like a lot of variety in my activities to avoid boredom of repetitive activities.

 

Goals:

As such, my focus for my fitness will be two-fold: 
 1.       regain and maintain my flexibility, endurance and strength,
 2.       to avoid the boredom of repetition, I will build in a variety of activities.

 

FLEXIBILITY

- to be able to kick my leg so my kneecap is right next to my ear (like you see gymnasts do all the time).  I’m barely getting over my torso right now.

- do a split (front and back) - Front split, I'm about 8 inches from the ground right now, but by working on my flexibility and stretch, i should be able to do the "splits" by Christmas.

ENDURANCE: ability to do physical activity over time (distance, time and heart rate). 

-To improve my cardio endurance, I will work towards taking four aerobics classes per week and have my Target Heart Rate work at a minimum of 70% at each of those classes.

- I'll start by taking 1 class a week (spinning, aerobics, stepping or any other class that forces me to move around for a minimum of 30-60 minutes. 
Once I feel I can handle it, I will add a 2nd cardio class to my week, and once I feel comfortable, I’ll add a 3rd and so on. 
By the end of August, I will be doing three 30+ minute aerobics classes a week, which will improve my cardiovascular endurance.
By Christmas, I will maintain the 30 minutes 3x/week, and trying to add a 4th class!

STRENGTH:

- I want to be able to do 3 sets of 15 real man push-ups by the end of November!  You see, I live in a neighbourhood full of guys, a brother who is much taller and stronger and a dad who is a fitness nut.  I'm pretty strong, but I want to show them all that girls have power too!  You see, all I have been doing are "girl" push-ups and I don't know why, but doing "guy" push ups seems like the ultimate in strength to me!

DIET:
I've added this component because I think that my diet is also important. It's not perfection, might not be the right choices for you, but it's something that will work for me! 

I am using the Canada Food Guide as my visual.  

I've decided to avoid excess salt and am cutting down on chocolate and chips, but if I do decide to eat something junky, I'll enjoy it and then get right back on track - I won't get all uptight for not being perfect! I don't eat much to start with, so I will limit it to once a week.

To help me with my portion size, I've also downloaded this chart (Canada Food Guide) on the right as it clearly shows me what and how much to eat!

I am lactose intolerant so I have to watch out for foods with this added. For example, did you know that some chicken is injected with lactate to plump them up and give the meat a nicer look?