This week, as I start Level 1 of the Paleo Diet properly I'm also looking to stretch myself a bit more on the exercise front.

Generally my level of activity is quite good - I usually do three Taekwon-do training sessions per week for a weekly total of 5 1/2 hours (usually on Weds/Thurs/Fri evenings), and intermittently practice Hatha/Iyengar Yoga.

The plan is to keep going with the Taekwon-do, but to make the yoga a no-excuses-daily-thing.

The main reason I want to get get more serious with my Yoga practice is to improve my flexibility - if I ever hope to get my Black Belt  this is a must!

With this in mind I recently purchased Tara Fraser's 'Easy Yoga Workbook' CD and book set from Amazon and used it for the first time this morning. 

I'm hoping using the CD will keep me motivated and interested as well as encouraging me to push myself and hold those poses just a little bit longer! - The first run through seems to suggest this will be the case which is great.  It also takes about 50 minutes to get through all the poses on the CD, which is a great improvement on the 25-30 minutes I've generally done per session!

As with my food journal I will try to report back regularly, maybe with a weekly check-in of the week's exercise and how it's made me feel. 

In the 'Paleo Diet' Cordain devotes a whole chapter to Exercise, but I came away feeling I hadn't really learnt anything new - from what I can remember it was all pretty basic stuff, and as I feel have my exercise 'sorted' for now I didn't really take it in - I'll check on this again today and report back!

I've got 'Paleo for Athletes' waiting to be read at Home, and I hope this will offer up some ideas and suggestions - This is the area I'm particularly interested in.  Although I could do with losing a few more pounds, and would love to clear my Eczema, for me the primary reason to try out this WoE is to improve my fitness and energy levels, particularly in relation to Taekwon-do training.  These days I'm quite serious about wanting to get my Black Belt and to be able to keep training through my forties and beyond, and improving - not just 'hanging on in there' (something I've sometimes felt was happening during the last year or so!).

However I feel I want to wait a week or so before I begin reading this - I want a bit of time to settle into this WoE before I had anymore theory into the equation!!

Exercise Report for last week (Mon 12 May - Sun 18 May)

Last weeks planned exercise ran smoothly and I completed everything that I'd pencilled in to do:

Yoga:  I used Tara Fraser's 'Easy Yoga Workbook' CD, which offers a 45 minutes session of 22 poses, every day.  Other than Sunday I did my session in the morning before setting off for work.  On Sunday I did it in the evening when I returned from work!

Taekwon-do: Three training sessions on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings for a total of 5 1/2 hours training this week.

Overall I didn't feel as energised or positive as the previous week, and I think there are several reasons as to why this could be -

1.  This was my first proper week following a Paleo WoE and my body is still adjusting to the change.

2.  In the week building up to my grading there was a lot of excitement and adrenalin, last week with the grading done and dusted this had gone.

3.  In recent weeks I'd only been doing 25-30 minutes yoga on a semi-regular basis, last week I did 45 every day, plus with the CD to encourage me I noticed I am often holding poses for longer and stretching myself a little bit more!

I will monitor how I feel through this week and see what happens.

The plan for this week is just to keep going with the same plan.

Exercise report - w/c Monday 26 May 2008

Although things went off the rails foodwise this week, I managed to keep the exercise running fairly much as planned - Often with me dietary indiscretions go hand in hand with an 'I can't be bothered' attitude towards exercise as well!

I'm still doing the same 45 minute yoga routine every day  ....

....But I only managed one Taekwon-do training session  .

I had only ever planned on doing two sessions last week as during school holidays one of my usual classes is cancelled due to it being held at a school - however circumstances and a lack of motivation meant I only trained on Thursday night!

Last week was a really busy one so I didn't get time to update my journals 

...but here is a report of the last fortnights exercise to bring things up to date!

Exercise-wise everything is going really well.  I've continued to do the same CD led yoga routine every day, usually in the morning, and have done three Taekwon-do training sessions on each of the last two weeks. 

I am pleased I kept everything on track last week when things were really busy and I went all wonky diet wise again!

I intend to keep the same yoga routine going for several more weeks after which I intend to drop the CD for a while and replace my current routine with another one of a similar length from Tara Fraser's Total Yoga book.

On the Taekwon-do front I want to keep training three times a week when possible, with a view to being ready for my next grading before the end of the year - probably around November time.

Next year, if I can get my fitness levels good enough I would like to enter the English Championships.  I thought about doing it this year, but decided I wasn't ready yet - my fitness and flexibility needs improving and I'm carrying too many niggles and knocks (my left knee and right shoulder have been stiff for a couple of months, and my right hip joint hasn't been functioning properly since I pulled something in there in February! ) to have a realistic chance of coming away with a medal.

Exercise Report w/c 30 June 2008

45 minutes of yoga using the CD every morning  .

4 Taekwon-do training sessions on Weds, Thurs, Fri and Sun  .  This was the first time I'd done more than three in a week since the week of my blue belt grading a couple of months ago.  Part of me would like to aim for four sessions a week on a regular basis, but I'm not sure my body could handle it  - It's probably wiser to stick to three, with an extra one thrown in here and there!

I've decided I'm really serious about aiming for the grading on 6 September, and will do all I can to be ready for it.....

Exercise Report w/c 7 July 2008

Pretty much the same as last week -

45 minutes yoga each morning.

Taekwon-do training on Weds, Thurs, Fri and Sun evenings, plus a Taekwon-do 'Application of Technique' seminar for 2 hours on Sunday morning.

Found I coped with the 4 Taekwon-do training sessions okay, although I was pretty tired by Sunday night!  The seminar wasn't particularly demanding, at least on a physical level, so I coped with that fairly well, although I was rather stiff and struggled to get my kicks anywhere near high enough on occasion!

Now I'm back on track with this WoE I hope it will have a positive effect on my fitness, particularly my flexibility and speed of recovery between sessions!

Exercise Report for w/c 21 July and 28 July 2008

This is my reporting in for the previous two weeks - Life and work seems to have been very busy lately and I've not really had much time to update stuff like this!

However despite the demands on my time and energy I've managed to keep things on track exercise wise over this period.

For both weeks I've managed 45 minutes of yoga every morning and done Taekwon-do training three times the first week (I missed a session due to going up to London for the British Motor Show and to see Alice Cooper on Thurs 24 July) and four times last week on Weds, Thurs, Fri and Sun evenings.

My body is still adjusting to the increased Taekwon-do training and is consequently quite stiff and tired a lot of the time.  This should pass in a few more weeks.  It's not been helped by a lot of the sessions being in very hot and humid conditions - something I find very draining in itself!

I'm not sure whether I'll be ready for the grading on 6 September.  Unless I've adjusted and my flexibility improves I doubt my instructor will put me forward for it!

However, on the bright side of things it looks highly likely that my son will be ready to take his Blue Belt on that date, even if I'm not!