Tuesday 19 April 2011

Three bricks of butter

Master's
I've been advised that it's not most brilliant idea to post the topic of an unfinished Master's on the internet in case another sneaky, power-hungry Master's student runs off with it and finishes writing before I do. So if anyone was wondering, perchance, that's why I just refer to it as the Master's. Most of the time.

I made a classic mistake when I started writing the dissertation. I changed my methods. Usually I have a techno peasant notebook in which I happily scribble while I read and then I pick out pieces when I write the chapter. I tried to go all electronic this time. Now I'm back to yea old pen and paper for planning. My eyes seem to like me a lot more suddenly.

Note to self (aka to any Master's readers): do not change what works. Especially not for a (silly) idea.

Project 36
went back to the dietician, Marthie Leach, today. I've been doing the eating plan (nothing that makes you eat that much can be called a diet) for a little less than a week. I'm very pleased with the results of the hobbit lifestyle.

I didn't lose any weight, but I did lose 1,5% body fat. This is apparently the equivalent of three bricks of butter!
Inspiration to keep going

Gym
I actually went to gym yesterday. I skipped my friend, the adducer machine, last time so this time I was drawn to its awkward embrace. To anyone that has the good fortune not to know what these are, a picture:
Thigh adducer

Unlike the exercise balls (Getting the (exercise) ball to stand still and the (metaphorical) ball rolling) there is no attempt to romanticise this particular exercise. It's embarrassing. My gym has the decency to at least have you facing the wall with a photo mounted on it so that you have something to look at while you struggle to bring your thighs together.

  1. Take one short lady (me).
  2. Select your punishment (resistance).
  3. Pull up the lever that brings the stirrups (what else can I call them?) close enough to swing your legs into them.
  4. Sit on the seat.
  5. Lift left leg up and swing it over and on to the stirrup.
  6. Wiggle the derrière and make circles in the air with the right leg until it is in the other stirrup.
  7. Brace yourself in the frog-on-its-back leg position.
  8. Lower the lever that stops the machine from moving.
  9. Slowly bring your knees closer to each other until you achieve the elusive mono thigh.
  10. Slowly relax legs.
  11. Repeat steps eight and nine 30 times in total.
  12. Pull the stirrup lever up.
  13. Elegantly swing a leg out of one stirrup.
  14. Straddle one leg of the machine and hop on one leg until you are free of the machine.
I missed the 30 reps since the machine only put the weight on one leg instead of both. How terrible.

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