21DFC Day 5 – Tuning Into Our Inner Self

This is Day 5 of the 21-Day Fitness Challenge held in Feb 2012. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.

Hello and welcome to Day 5 (Feb 7) of the 21-Day Fitness Challenge! :D

The past updates took quite a bit of time to write, so I’m keeping today’s update short. Firstly, check out the updates by participants so far if you haven’t:

Secondly, our lovely participant, Raymond, recorded a video to cheer us on while he was doing his walk on Day 4! Thank you, Raymond! :D I’m sure everyone will get a boost in their 21DFC after seeing how you managed to keep up with your commitment to fitness, despite the cold weather over there in Holland!

My 21DFC Progress, Day 5

I walked for a good 2 hours today, all done while running my errands. Climbed the stairs as usual. :D While it was more activity than my more sedentary days in the past, it wasn’t as much fitness as I would like, especially not in light of 21DFC. Kind of disappointing, to be honest. I definitely look forward to tomorrow (Day 6) to get back into gear.

One thing I noticed is that if I don’t start my day on my desired note, it kinda leaves me with a sour taste for the rest of the day. For example, I wanted to jog in the morning as I had done in the past 4 days, but I didn’t in the end because I woke up later than usual (8+am) from sleeping late yesterday.

Since I didn’t get to jog in the morning, I didn’t feel like jogging in the evening either. A part of me was waiting for the day to end so I could start the next day on a fresh note. I also observed myself eating more than the past few days, probably to offset my dissatisfaction with how the day was turning out – remnants of my emotional eating issues at work. This is obviously a very bad all-or-nothing mindset.

My learnings?

Let go of rigid expectations on how I want the day to unfold, and instead creatively manifest my day based on my highest intentions. For example, I could well have gone to the gym after waking up and gotten my fitness fix for the morning, instead of letting the dissatisfaction of not being able to jog hang at the back of my head and affect me subconsciously.
Less listening to the side of me that imposes/forces, and more connecting with my higher self. Even if the initial steps may seem counter-intuitive, go with the flow and allow them to play out – with no expectations of what they should be (as per #1).
Last but not least, sleep earlier so I can wake up earlier.

For tomorrow, I have my first kickboxing class tomorrow evening, so I can’t wait. :D I hope to get to swim too, as my period just ended. An ideal Day 6 would be if I can manage a jog, a swim AND going to the kickboxing class. XD I’ll see how it goes tomorrow.

On a semi side-note, because my phone was misplaced when I was in the States, I’m looking to buy a new phone now. That was part of my errands today – to check on new phones. I believe they will be handy for achieving my fitness goals (for example, tracking my distance/calorie burnt/time taken during my jogs, music player with podcasts and music to make my jogs even more enjoyable, etc). Will keep you guys posted!

How About YOUR Day 5? Share Your Progress!

How did YOUR 21DFC Day 5 go? Did you get to complete your scheduled activity? Did you achieve any personal victories? Did something unexpected crop up, which made you learn some valuable personal lessons?

Regardless of how your day went, we want to hear it all. 21DFC is not about sharing ‘flawless’ fitness progress, but about sharing everything our journey towards a healthier, fitter life – obstacles and all. Post your day’s journal in the comments section! If you have any images to share, simply upload them to Photo Bucket or Imgur first, then include the link(s) in your reply.

What physical activity did you do (if any), and for how long?
If you didn’t get to do any physical activity, why? And what can you do about it such that the same thing doesn’t happen again?
What physical activity do you plan to do tomorrow?

Check out other participants’ responses and join in the discussions!

Looking forward to Day 6 tomorrow! ;)

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