Learning to exhale!

Wooo-hooo, I LOVE Mondays, absolutely love'em, because it means I can go to the gym again, and God have I missed it over the weekend.

I never, ever, thought I would hear myself say that.  But I really do miss it over the weekend.  I am only an 'off-peak' member which means I can only use the gym weekdays between 9am and 4pm, although if I am in there before 4pm I can stay all evening.  The gym is literally around the corner from my work so I go straight there when I finish work in the afternoon.  It is also the other side of town from where I live, I know I wouldn't use it in the evenings, even though that is when the classes are, as I wouldn't want to drive back across town again, and I love to spend the weekend with my husband, who has no interest in joining it, so it makes sense to be 'off-peak', and is better financially too.  Plus we normally do a lot of walking at the weekends, but we didn't get a chance this weekend, so that made me feel even more 'antsy'!!

But I do miss it for those two days and am chomping at the bit to get back there come Monday, which is fantastic, keeps me focused and stops the novelty wearing off! 

~BREAKFAST~

 

This is not something I  could have too often for breakfast, not the easiest thing to swallow at 6.30am!  But I introduced my Mum to almond milk smoothies, and she told me she loved almond milk, mango and banana smoothie, so I thought I would try it.  I added oats, chia seeds, roasted coconut and cinnamon to mine to bulk it up a little.

It was nice, a bit 'bananery' really for my taste, although I love bananas, on their own, am not a huge fan of things tasting like bananas if that makes sense, and even though I put a lot of chunks of mango in, the banana was very overpowering.  But it did keep me full till lunchtime so that was a bonus!

~LUNCH~

 

Yesterday I decided to roast off the rainbow of tomatoes I bought at the food festival together with some other tomatoes in the fridge and some red onion, and make a scrummy roasted tomato and basil soup for my lunch today.

So easy to make, you literally just place all the tomatoes and chopped up onion in a roasting tin, drizzle with rapeseed oil and roast in the oven on a low temperature for about an hour or so, so that they slowly release all their lovely juice without drying out.

I then poured them into a large pan, so much juice released I didn't need to add anything else, other than some torn up fresh basil, and gave it a good blitz until smooth.

This morning I roasted off some pumpkin seeds, ladled some soup into a leakproof/microwave safe container and scattered the pumpkin seeds on top with a teaspoon of sundried tomato pesto and some more fresh basil.

Just warmed it through in the microwave at work for 3 minutes, so totally delicious with such little effort.

~DINNER~

 

Well I was meant to have sea bass for dinner this evening with a tomato and fennel stew I put in the slow cooker yesterday, infact was meant to have this last night but didn't feel hungry, and tonight I just didn't fancy it. 

After eating liquid food all day my stomach felt a bit bloated and uncomfortable, and I thought if I added more tomatoes I was really going to suffer!!  So instead, I just really fancied something with a bit of bulk, but nothing too heavy.  So I made myself an avocado, mango and spinach sandwich!!  Didn't even bother to take a picture because it is what it is, simple and delicious and did the job.  (I also nicked a couple of the homemade oil free chips I made my husband to go with his pie that he had!!).

 

I had put the sea bass in a roasting bag with fresh lemon and fresh tarragon ready to roast, but that has now gone into the freezer for another day, along with the stew which I have also put in a freezer bag and froze.

 

Not had a huge appetite the last few days, think it is from overdoing the seeds at the weekend!!

 

~EXERCISE~

 

So, swimming day today, but oh my days was it cold in there!!  No idea why, normally it feels a little chilly as you first get in but your body soon warms up, but I couldn't warm up in there today, just kept shivering!!  I did 40 lengths and then went into the steam room to warm up a little, but it was so busy in there I didn't stay in long!

 

So I went back into the pool, HUGE mistake after the warm steam room, it felt even colder!!  I managed another 20 lengths and that was it.  Although I did feel I swam even faster in the cooler water, maybe it was sub-consciously trying to keep myself warm!

 

I was asking my niece for tips on how to breathe under water at the weekend, and got 'Aunty Jo ... you just take a breath, head down, swim, come up when you need more air, take a breath, head down, swim, it really is very easy'!!!!  Easy for her to say!!!  I practised some more today, but it still panics me and I am determined to conquer it.

 

Reading up on it I can see exactly where I am going wrong.  I take a deep breath before I go under, then just hold my breath until I am desperate for air, come up and exhale.  It makes my body tense up and I panic.

 

Apparently the secret is in the exhalation!  When swimming, you should always be exhaling, either through your mouth, nose or both, in a constant stream of bubbles, do not hold your breath in.  Holding your breath makes your body tense up, and is bad for your swimming technique. 

 

Not only that, holding your breath obviously instantly makes you feel like you need to breath.  The sensation you feel is not a lack of oxygen, it's the build up of CO2. By holding your breath you are keeping the CO2 in your blood stream and lungs - this makes you feel desperate for air.

 

It also makes your chest too buoyant, by over inflating your lungs.  This makes your legs sink and creates extra drag.

 

Most swimmers try and exhale and inhale in the short window when their mouth is above the waterline.  It makes each breath feel snatched and makes you feel panicky, this is what I have been trying to do! It also makes you lift your head too high which again creates drag.

 

 

Blow them bubbles ... it will be the end of your troubles!!!!!

 

It all sounds so simple and easy doesn't it!  But it is recommended that the good old adage learn to sink before you swim is true!  If you practice 'sink-down' exercises first, take a deep breath and then as soon as your head is in the water start exhaling strongly straight away. If you are not exhaling strongly enough, you won't sink, or will only sink a little and then resurface.

 

Keep practising, exhaling strongly, smoothly and constantly.  This should make you sink to the bottom of the pool and stay there, still exhaling,  until you are ready to resurface again.

 

Try to relax whilst sinking, imagine you are falling into a comfy bed, and every muscle in your body should relax and go loose.

 

The emphasis is put on exhaling strongly.

 

Once you have practiced your 'sink-downs', start putting it into your swimming with a few gentle laps of swimming.  Take your time and concentrate on exhaling strongly.  Come up for air every 3 strokes.

 

So, having absorbed all that, will be swimming again after the gym tomorrow, hopefully it won't be too busy an I will get a chance to put this into practice.  Am all excited again!!!

 



Thanks again for reading
Jo
xx