60 Things To Do In 2015: Get fit

When I said at the beginning of the year that I wanted to get fit, I don't believe I was very specific with this. I didn't mean I wanted to only lose weight. I mean that would have been nice but what I actually meant was I wanted to be able to run at a decent pace over a certain period of time without feeling the need to stop or slow down to a walking pace to catch my breathe after less than a minute. I wanted build muscle through my whole body. I wanted more strength.

I feel my fitness has really improved throughout the year, in both my cardio and in my strength. My workouts are a lot more varied and I'm not sticking to the same sort of things. In my opinion, I feel I have archived this.

I can now run for solid 5/10 minutes at a pace of 11.2kph. I aim for this pace over this time so that I can move on to sprints. My quickest sprint has reached 15kpm over a one minute period. I tend to do my sprints for 30 seconds before walking for 30 seconds over a five or ten minute period. I have also been for a few road runs which I have never done before. This was in aid of training for the Santa Fun Run.

I also really like to row. I usally row for any time time between 5 and 15 minutes as my attention span tends to run out and I start to get a bit bored of doing the same thing for too long. The rowing machines that they have at the gyms I use have a scale from one to ten along the side which you can adjust depending on how heavy you want your row to be. I always put it on 10 as I feel I get a better workout from it. 

Skipping has also recently made its way into my cardio sessions. Only since the beginning of this month have I been getting into my skipping. It seems so simple yet feels quite effective. I don't know it's taken me so long to get into.

Now let's talk weights and muscle gains. 

Looking back over the year, I can really see a massive improvement in my strength. At the start of the year, I struggled to bench press 5kg and now I can do triple. What was once a 30kg squat is now double. I have to say, my leg press has seen the biggest improvement from starting at half of my body weight to now being an extra 10kgs to my body weight. Just last weekend I set a new personal best of a 70kg deadlift. Previously I'd only gotten to 50kg but thanks to my friend and colleague, Jamie, I managed an extra 20kg, despite only doing one rep at that weight. 

The only noticeable difference I can see is the definition in my arms when I tense. I can't see any other noticeable change. However, although there's no difference to the eye, on paper (according to my Body Composition Tests done throughout the year) there has been a lot of change.

I had planned to share all of the Body Composition Tests that I've had throughout the year but due to a problem with the Body Comp computer, I currently only have access to my most recent test until it gets fixed in the New Year. 

So from my Body Comp (pictured above) you can see my results. Jamie (my colleague) and I put the increase in Fat Mass down to Christmas as this test was done just two days after Santa came to visit. Of course, I still need to work on reducing the amount of fat I have despite the Christmas binge. Other than that, everything else is 'normal' or 'close to the norm'. According to technology..

I intend to continue my 'get fit' way into the New Year. Going by working in a gym both full time and now part time, I've noticed how busy it is come January and then by February/March sort of time, the 'New Year, New Me' rubbish fades into the background and things start to die down. And no, I'm determined not to be apart of that stereotype! Enjoy your New Year's Eve with whatever you have planned!

Charlotte.