Breaking news! I’m getting old(er)

comments 25
Life

I am seriously doubting my age at the moment. I’m in my late twenties and yet, come 9pm during the week (and sometimes weekends) it is highly likely that you’ll find me curled up in a blanket, on my sofa, fast asleep. I am not kidding.

Isn’t this something ‘old’ people do? Am I now one of said ‘old’ people?

I’ll admit, this is a fairly recent happening with me. When my parents were visiting my dad bought an exercise bike. They don’t live in this country and yet my dad felt like he needed something indoor-exercise related for him when he’s over. Enter the bike.

I figured, I may as well use it. It’s just there. And I’ve been told that exercise bike workouts are good for you.

So for the past month, or so, I’ve been getting on the bike for half an hour every other day. (I’ve also been told, rest days are important for you. Without rest days your body gets used the exercise.)

The last month, or so, is the exact time period I’ve been doing my best old-person routine of falling asleep in front of the telly by 9pm. Turns out exercise makes me tired! Or rather the old person side of me gets really tired by the addition of just a little bit of exercise. So much so that 9pm really is my limit on a weekday.

And that is your breaking news of the day.

25 Comments

  1. I’ve been curling up in front of the TV by 9pm every night since I was about 22. I don’t usually fall asleep – mam does – but there’s always a duvet and then I don’t move for three hours. I love it.

    • I’m actually properly asleep though! I’m under a blanket and asleep asleep. I usually end up sleeping until about 10:30pm. After that point I don’t think i’d have the energy to actually get off the sofa, switch the TV off and get ready for bed. It’s my cut-off point!

      • I used to do that too… though that was mostly when I was at the Travelodge so my sleep pattern was knacked.

        Actually though, I did go to sleep for three hours on Thursday last week. It was my day off so I didn’t even have the excuse of being tired from an early start – got into bed to watch Ringer about 4pm and woke up 3 hours later having missed Pointless.

  2. Nothing wrong with snuggling – it’s an underrated hobby.

    That said, I’ve been doing Wii Zumba almost every day which sometimes leaves me unable to actually move.

    • I’ve got an HMV voucher and I was thinking of buying Wii Zumba with it, since all the DVDs are ridiculously expensive in HMV to the point where I can’t face buying anything there even with free money! Is Wii Zumba worth getting?

      *takes over Jaina’s blog with questions*

      • Feel free!

        I haven’t touched my Wii in ages. Well, I did plenty of Just Dance 3, but now, it’s gone back to its usual function – gathering dust.

        • Just Dance 3 was my other “maybe I’ll get that with my voucher” thing.

          I just keep looking for things in the preowned section hoping I’ll get a bargain, but nopers. I Wii Fitted a few times a couple of months ago but gave up on that after about a day, so mine’s more or less gathering dust too.

          I want an X Box. I want Kinect!

          • Me too. That was what my big treat to myself was going to be for Christmas, but then I thought (and was informed!) that they’d be better New Years bargains on them. But it was all lies! Prices went up in the New Year and I consoled myself by buying a new lens. Which has proven to be very good. But that’s not the point.

            I want Kinect!

  3. It’s an odd thing really. They say if you exercise more, you’ll have more energy, and yet I haven’t found that to be the case at all! Kudos to the bike though, Jaina. I tried using one a while back but I always got bored around the 15 minute mark. That said, I’m the same with anything like that. I’m back to using the treadmill at the moment and I need to have a long playlist on my ipod to keep me going.

    • I’ve been told that exercise is meant to regulate your sleeping and etc etc. So maybe, my body’s telling me that I need to sleep earlier. God.. that’s boring.

      If I didn’t have the TV in front of me whilst on the bike, I don’t think I’d last that long on it. Though, half an hour and my butt hurts! Bike seats are not comfy!

      • God, I forgot about the seats. Ouch! I had a tiny little pillow thing on top of mine to lessen that discomfort, though not by enough if you ask me. Getting off the damn thing after 40 minutes was not a pretty sight lol.

        I had no idea exercise was good for regulating sleep. Makes sense. Have you tried HIIT?

          • It’s High Intensity Interval Training, and i won’t lie, it’s a bitch! There are variations but the gist of it is that you got all out for a minute, then rest for a couple minutes, then repeat that cycle for a total 15 – 20 minutes, so it’s a short workout but it’s intense. For that minute you’re working out to your max potential, you’re getting your heart rate right up, and then the short rest after brings it back down. Apparently the benefit lies in the afterburn, where your body continues to burn calories at a slightly higher rate when in rest mode hours later.

            Or something like that. I get fuzzy on the details 😉

            • The TV answered my question as soon as I asked you! I was watching Horizon: The Truth About Exercise and literally after I hit submit on my reply, they started talking about HIIT!

              What they showed in the program though wasn’t nearly as much. All he was doing was three 20 second sprints on an exercise bike, three times a week. Apparently that’s enough. Hmm… Not so sure.

              It’s definitely about getting your metabolic rate up to a higher level, so you’re burning calories throughout the day, rather than just after exercise. Though, I don’t think there are any easy ways to get to that point. Even though in the show, they were claiming that genetics has something to do with it. Sure, it probably does. But I can imagine people using it for an excuse… which I will admit to have done in the past!

              • Congrats on incorporating exercise to your daily routine.
                Variation is the key in exercise so your body doesn’t get too used to the same workouts. You could add variation if you like any way you want. For example, you could add sprints during your bike (HIT: high intensity training or interval training) or simply quicker shorter routine vs longer & slower on other days. There’s much info online to help in the fitness realm. Furthermore, you could add weight training; simple lightweight dumbells add tremendously to overall health. Healthy eating with nutrient dense food also helps and very little or no junk food. Sleep is key too; keep the same wakeup time and simply make your sleep time earlier by 15min increments until you find what works for you. I’m sure you know all this or can search it; just wanted to encourage your discovery into overall health for renewed energy. Congrats again and may the force be with you.

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