Between when I was 17 to 34, I used to do 100 sit-ups before going to bed (it sounds a lot, but once you are used to it, it’s a piece of cake!) – however over the years, I found sit-ups can injure my lower back, so I started going to the gym instead. My daily workout routine was typically fast-walking on the treadmill for 45mins at a speed of 6.8km/hr, and I do 10 mins of stretching after that.
Life-changing experience started since the lockdown, I had to start working out from home, on a mat, and I had to started googling all those workout videos that I never thought I would ever tap into – they look hardcore!! Yet 2 days in, I found a whole new world that gym equipment is not the essentials to achieve our workout goals.
Currently on the 49th day of homework, I would say, the biggest change to my body is strengthened core, more stability when working on my arms, back and legs, with a total of 1.1kg of weight gain.
Here’s something I’ve researched that will help you to understand why you have been gaining weight when starting a new workout routine, in brief:
“A new exercise regimen puts stress on your muscle fibers. This causes small micro tears, also known as micro trauma, and some inflammation. Those two conditions in your muscle fibers are the reasons you may gain some water weight, your body retains fluid there to try to heal it. The water weight reduces in 6-8 weeks after starting a new exercise program, and gaining weight in the new lean muscle mass.”
Last but not the least, ever so grateful that Google search led me to Emi Wong’s workout videos, as more than 95% of the workout I followed was Emi’s program, I love how her workout combines yoga poses, focuses on firming the muscles without building them up in bulks, and my friends have been loving them too!
MCO Wellness Challenge is a workout journal since March 22nd.
J x
a little twist. 