Strenua's World» Strenua’s Challenge

Making Every Step Count with Fitbug

Strenua — Wed, 26 May 2010 09:01:20 +0000

It’s been 10 days since I started my Fitbug challenge. I have religiously worn my bug all day everyday and I can see how it can be motivational as you become addicted to clocking up the steps. Through also wearing my GPS sports watch I soon discovered that around 2,200 of my steps are equal to about a mile. A mile that is of walking.

I normally walk 3.2miles to work which was clocking around 7,000 steps but one day I was late so had to jog the last mile. As I looked at my bug I was distraught to see I had only added 6,000 steps. I know that the bug only counts steps and as I was jogging my steps would have been longer and fewer, but I was disappointed that putting in more effort meant that I had less recorded steps.

Over the lovely sunny weekend I wore dresses where I couldn’t attach my bug to my waist band so I carried the bug in my shoulder bag but then forgot to put it on my clothes when I got to work. I was annoyed with myself when I realised I missed recording another 2,000 steps, but when I got home found I had the expected number of steps as if I had worn the bug all day. Obviously letting the bug bounce around in my bag wasn’t as accurate as wearing it on my waist so I will have to be careful about accepting the counts if it’s in my bag all day.

Although there are community challenges on the website to record the highest number of step count, ultimately the bug is there as motivation to keep me active and tone up so there is no point in trying to trick the bug as I would only be cheating myself. I will have to experiment this week though to see if jogging with the bug in my bag equals each other out and I end up with the same number of steps if I walked wearing it.

As this was my first week I didn’t have any goals I just had to eat as normal and record everything on the website. Unfortunately I got tonsillitis and for two and a half days I couldn’t swallow or eat or drink anything so I had nothing to update my profile with. Then on Sunday I get a text message saying ‘Don’t be a slug…Update your bug!’. Looking back it was nice to get the reminder text and know that Fitbug was still supporting and motivating me, although at the time I did want to text back ‘Leave me alone I’M ILL.’

In spite of my incomplete first week profile, Fitbug was able to make some recommendations of:

Step Target 19,500
Aerobic Step Target 6,600
Calories consumed 2,000

I’ll let you know if I manage to reach the targets next week. If you have already a Fitbug member then don’t forget I have set up a league for Strenua’s World and I hope readers will join the league for some friendly rivalry and motivation.

If you wish to join me Fitbug.com are offering a 25% Discount to all new customers, simply enter this promotional code ‘SPRING10’ in the appropriate section which is valid until 30th June 2010.

Will catching the Fitbug keep me motivated?

Strenua — Sun, 16 May 2010 14:06:13 +0000

Whilst it is easy to decide to start being more active it is hard to keep motivated after the initial enthusiasm has worn off. Fitbug is a web based service which aims to keep you motivated to keep moving. Described as ‘a personal health and well-being coach’, Fitbug is a unique system that’s been designed to help individuals to achieve their weight, fitness and health goals within their everyday routine.

This week I received my Fitbug ‘bug’ which I am going to trial for the next 3 months. Fitbug.com is a place where you can record your nutritional intake, connect with the fitbug community through its forum and take part in activity challenges. You also have a ‘bug’, a more sophisticated type of pedometer which then talks to fitbug.com to update how active you have been.

Day one was just the ‘getting to know you’ phase. For the first week the program likes to get to know your normal activity level, what you normally eat and what your goals are. I had to complete the online questionnaire, admitting to my poor diet and as my goal is to tone up I had to record my hips, thighs, waist, chest and arm measurements.

I also have to record what I eat for at least 3 days in the nutritional area. This is an area that took quick a while to complete, although that I imagine it will get quicker as you develop your favourite food tab. The nutritional information for nearly 18,000 food products are already listed to select: 6,000 from Tesco, 3,000 from Somerfield and 4,600 from ASDA with 1,400 non branded food such as fruit and vegetables. However, I had to personally fill in the nutritional information from my Sainsbury’s Pizza and my Mars Bar (I admit my diet is bad) had more calories than were written on the packet. I presume this is down to brands shrinking the size of their products rather than the fitbug data being entered incorrectly so I will have to check the calories are correct when I add new foods to my nutritional diary.

The interesting part of the fitbug program is the ‘bug’. I’ve called it a pedometer but it is more sophisticated than just a step counter. It records what time you achieved the steps as well as if they were aerobic steps such as going for a brisk walk, or if they were just walking around the house. After 24 hours I had accumulated 23,000 steps with 16,000 being aerobic steps. This was achieved by my 3.2mile walk to work that took around 7,200 steps each way and 3 hours of teaching swimming that involved 5,000 steps. It does however highlight when you have been lazy or sitting down as I was on Saturday watching the F1 qualifying and then the FA cup final on TV. It clearly shows I didn’t do much between 1-5pm. But luckily I don’t have to feel too guilty this week as the program just likes to record a baseline of your average daily activity, although all the steps do count towards the community challenges. These include the Mount Everest Challenge and the Fantasy Footfall where your total monthly steps can pit you against other people from your country or county. You can also set up a mini league for your friends or Family so I have set up a league for Stenua’s World and I hope readers will join the league for some friendly rivalry and motivation.

I’m planning on reporting back on how I get on with the Fitbug program over the next few months and will let you know how I have got on after my first assessment week. If you wish to join me Fitbug.com are offering a 25% discount to all new customers, simply enter this promotional code ‘SPRING10’ in the appropriate section which is valid until 30th June 2010.

Strenua’s Stroll in a Summer Storm

Strenua — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:50:15 +0000

After being away for the past four days and over indulging too much, I decided enjoy a walk in the countryside this afternoon. As a result I’m too cold and wet to write much today so I’ll leave you with a brief photo story of the afternoon, the moral of the story being ‘Don’t forget to check the severe weather warnings in your area before going for walk’.

Watching a honey bee on a thistle flower in the sun.

Admiring the rainbow colours of maize in the sun

Failling to notice the imminent grey clouds

Grey clouds turn to rain...

Leading to 40 minutes of constant rain, thunder and lightning.

Incidentally if you were wondering what to do if you get caught in a thunderstorm, I’ve done some reading and apparently you shouldn’t do what I did, shelter under a tree and ring a friend for advice.

If you get caught outside in a thunderstorm things you SHOULD NOT do are:

Use a mobile phone or radio
Put up an umbrella
Stand near trees, fences and poles
Stand in high lying places or in open fields.
Lie on the ground.
Hide under tents or outdoor pavilions

If your skin tingles and your hair stands on end, lightning is about to strike so you SHOULD:

Crouch down
Balance on balls of your feet
Place hands on knees with your head between them
Make yourself the smallest target possible
Minimise contact with the ground
If in a group spread at least 20 feet apart
Avoid water such as swimming pools or lakes
Remove jewellery , watches or metal belts
Stand on plastic sheet or rucksack to minimise conductivity

It is also advised to stay in your shelter for 30 minutes after the last flash before going outside as half of lightning deaths occur after the thunderstorm has passed. Apparently it is also a myth that lightning never strikes in the same place twice. The first rule of advice from all the official sources are to plan ahead and avoid being outside if a storm is expected, but if you get caught out like I did today at least we know now what we should do.

Start Swimming to Shape up for Summer

Strenua — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:55:57 +0000

With the great weather we have been having all week, I’m encouraged to get out and do some water sports this weekend. Whether you want to hire a rowing boat on a local lake, kayak down the river or just go for a walk by the sea, it is important that you know how to swim for your own personal safety. As a swimming teacher I encourage people to swim as it’s a great exercise to keep fit.

Swimming works the whole body including arms, legs, back, stomach, bum and shoulders without straining your joints and muscles. But aside from it being an essential survival skill and a form of exercise in its own right, being able to swim allows you to participate in many more exciting activities. Waterskiing, white water rafting, scuba diving, windsurfing, canoeing, sailing and aqua aerobics are just some of the sports available to you once you can swim.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been swimming about 3 times a week, yet in the last 2 weeks I have lost 1 pound in weight. I have although, lost half an inch from round my waist and hips so I think swimming has been helping me to tone up. Swimming burns around 3 calories a mile (1600m) per pound of body weight, so if at 130lbs I swim 1000m I work off around 244 calories. Not the highest calorie burning activity. After swimming I often feel hungry after I have finished and I have to be careful that I don’t over compensate for the energy I have just used up by eating too much. This is because after swimming your body temperature is maintained and your metabolism stabilised unlike outdoor sports such as running which increases your body temperature, reducing the immediate desire to eat, whilst increasing your metabolism for up to 18 hours.

The buoyancy of water reduces your body weight by 90%, so whilst swimming is not the best exercise for weight loss or building muscle, it is a great activity to recover from injury as muscles are supported by the water. If you participate in other sporting activities, swimming is great as a form of cross training to regular work outs or help as a cool down moving blood through body to help it recover. Swimming should be combined with other training as it does not prevent osteoporosis because it is not weight bearing.

If you never learnt to swim as a child, or you need more water confidence there are many classes an swimming sessions open to adults. At the pool at I teach at we have timid adult sessions, where you can borrow floats and practise on your own with instructors on the side to offer advice if you require it. Most people swim widths without the fear of swimming in the way of the sprinters who normally swim lengths in adult only sessions. For adults who have never swum before adult beginner classes are great, often with an instructor in the water with you. In the classes I teach there is a great support and friendship developing between the other adult swimmers.

Body fat floats better than muscle and bones, which are dense don’t float well, so women, older people and those who are not very muscular often have more fat and may float more easily. Don’t forget that the density of water is important so floating in the sea which contains salt is easier than in a swimming pool.

Here are the benefits of the 4 main strokes:

Breast Stroke-This is the stroke that burns up the least calories but it is a great stroke to train the heart and lungs. Breast stroke works the chest muscles, whilst training the inner thigh, triceps, hamstrings and shoulder. However, using good technique is important as swimming breast stroke with your head above water is bad for your neck and back.

Back Crawl-Burns more calories than breast stroke and is great for toning you abdominals, bum, legs, arms and shoulders. It’s also good for lengthening and stretching your body.

Front Crawl-This is the fastest stroke and a good calorie burner, tones your bum, abdominals and shoulders.

Butterfly-This is the hardest technical stroke, but burns more than double the calories of back crawl and breast stroke. Important to be able to swim other stokes before you attempt butterfly. You can also cause injuries if your technique is poor so get instruction. Once you can swim butterfly it’s great for developing upper body strength and flexibility, whist toning your chest, abdominals, triceps, and back.

For more information on swimming in your area contact your local leisure centre or British Swimming.

Can simply skipping sugar lead to inch loss success?

Strenua — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:41:55 +0000

Restricting food for weight loss isn’t really my thing. Although I need to lose some weight, I think it’s more important to adopt a long term healthy diet than to starve yourself for a few weeks. I started by not having sugar in my coffee, there is around 16 calories in a teaspoon of sugar, which doesn’t sound like much but in 5 cups a day 7 days a week that is around 560 calories. I also cut down my chocolate and ice cream intake. Cutting them out completely wouldn’t have worked for me, I enjoy my daily sugar rush but I cut it down to only one bar or ice cream a day. Two weeks after my first weigh in and measure and I have lost 4lbs and my BMI is now 24.1.

I have lost ¼ inch on each bicep and half an inch across my chest, 1/2 inch at my waist and 3/4 inch across my navel. There were no changes around my hips, bum and lower legs although each thigh lost almost 1.5inches.

My knee still gives me some pain and I’m still doing exercise to strengthen the muscles in my legs with the high reps obviously helping to tone my thighs. I’ve started running a few times a week, so far only 3-4 miles and at marathon pace, so not too fast. My physio says that it is important I don’t tire my legs while they are weak as I may develop poor technique running over longer distances leading to more problems later on.

I’m quite satisfied with my results I have achieved with little effort and I haven’t noticed the missing sugar from my coffee, nor do I really need a second chocolate bar in the evening. Over the next few weeks I’m looking to increase my running and other cardiovascular exercise and hope fully lose some inches from my hips. I’ll let you know how I get on.

Day 1 of my fitness journey

Strenua — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:06:00 +0000

Day 1 so time for my weigh in and measure.

The scientist in me wanted to record my baseline body measurements so if my weight loss plateaus I can hopefully stay motivated with some recordable inch losses.

I chose 9 points to measure on my body which I’ve shown on my photos. Point A is at my biceps and point B across my chest. I’m never sure exactly where to measure for hips and waist so I’m going to measure at the thinnest part of my waist (D), level with my navel (C), across hip bone (E) and widest part of my bum (F). The final points are the widest part of my thighs (G), above my knees (H) and across my calves (J).

I’m also interested in measuring my improvement in fitness not just changes in weight and body inches, so I am also measuring my resting heart rate.

A Bicep 11 1/4 inches (L) 11 1/4 inches (R)
B Chest 36 1/2 inches
C Navel 31 inches
D Waist 28 3/4 inches
E Hips 35 1/4 inches
F Bum 39 inches
G Thigh 23 3/4 inches (L) 23 3/4 inches (R)
H Knee 19 inches (L) 19 inches (R)
J Calf 15 inches (L) 15 1/4 inches (R)
Weight 9 St 10lb (136lbs)
Height 5 ft 2
Body Mass Index (BMI) 24.9
Resting Heart Rate 63 beats per minute (BPM)

Looking at these measurements I’m a bit concerned that my BMI is so close to being overweight and my waist and bum definitely could lose some inches. But my priority is to concentrate with strengthening my right leg so I can move on to more intensive cardiovascular and endurance training.

Hopefully we’ll see some changes in these numbers next few weeks.