Spinning

Can we please take a moment to talking about indoor cycling? It's been about 4 days since my last spin class and I'm 87% sure I've broken my vagina. As a woman I find those seats uncomfortable AF... so how on earth do men manage? Firstly, the seat is hard as a rock. Second, when you have to lean forward, the front end of the saddle is digging into your bits like some sort of medieval torture... and this is something people willing do for 45 minutes?

I used to think spin class was boring. I mean really, you're just sitting in the same place staring at the wall for an hour. Then I went to a class that actually had a fantastic instructor. There I am sweating buckets, feeling like I'm at max resistance and he says "that's the end of the warm up". To my great horror, I realise that only 5 minutes has passed. Cycling is a whole other level of cardiovascular fitness.

However, you have to wade through all the crap instructors to finally find a good one. One instructor I know has the musical taste of a 60 year old woman. He played DISCO INFERNO when we were meant to sprint and go our fastest. Do you know how difficult it is trying to ride fast to VH1 classics 70s disco boogie? Very. It's very difficult.

Some spinning studios try to make the experience "cool". I love (I say love, but what I really mean is I sarcastically laugh at) how they turn down the lights and have almost UV blue club type of lighting. What with the blue lighting and the disco jams, I felt like I was at a Mix FM decades party.

Blogger Sheryl Kraft came to a brilliant conclusion about spin class lighting:

3. They keep the room so dark because:
a). you can’t see if your neighbor is dead or alive
b). your neighbor can’t see you grimacing in pain from the fire you feel in your thighs
c). if you want to leave class early, you can’t, because you can’t find your way out.

I must say I agree... but for some bewildering unnatural reason, I'm keen for another spot of torture next week.

Gym Ball Adventures

Every time.

Annoying things people say #5

So I'm walking out the gym after pilates and a swim, and the receptionist stops me.

Receptionist: Can I ask you something... you've lost a lot of weight, right?

Me: Yeah

Receptionist: So, how did you do it?

Me: Umm... well I'm here every day...

Receptionist: That's all?

Me: I've been eating healthier as well.

Receptionist: So no pills or anything??

You WORK at the gym, crazy lady. You know I'm here EVERY day. Why on earth would I be gyming my butt off if I were taking pills? Exercise and healthy eating - the commandments of weight loss - why would you believe otherwise?

Fitness Goals

Yesterday I had my third fitness assessment and I am so so happy with the results. Some things haven't changed much - my arm size went from 11 inches to 10. Yup, still got those jiggly Oprah arms. However, some things have changed...

My body fat percentage went from 39.1 to 27.5. My resting heart rate went from 80 to 60. My water percentage went from 43.4 to 50.9. These are massive amazing changes that you can't see when you look at the exterior. Setting fitness goals has taught me that it's really not about the number on the scale or even the centimeters lost. It's about getting fitter, faster, stronger, and loving how it makes you feel.

Click the pic to expand

At my very first session 8 months ago, my trainer Daniella told me to set goals to work towards - goals that have absolutely nothing to do with the scale. Perhaps you want to fit into that dress you bought three years ago and never wore again. Perhaps you want to run a half marathon. Find something to work towards that doesn't involve you hopping on the scale every morning praying the numbers go down.

Fitness goals are about slow and steady progress. Getting stronger one day at a time.

When does it end?

I dropped two kilos this week, but I don't see it as a victory.

I practiced mindful eating, and it was amazing because I got full so quickly, but it was also horrible because it forced me to be alone with my thoughts. I'm realising that one of the main reasons I (and so many others) eat in front of the telly or PC, is because it distracts you from loneliness. For almost every meal this weekend, I laid out the table, sat alone, and slowly ate my food. It got to a point that I didn't even want to eat because I didn't want to experience that soul-crushing sense of emptiness. By Sunday, I had half a brownie for dinner and went straight to bed.

It makes me wonder... when will this journey be over? I've enjoyed a lot of it, but there are moments such as this where I wish I could just switch it off and be normal again. This weekend, for whatever reason, I pushed myself way too hard at gym. I was sore and broken and I kept on going. Is this to be my life forever? Constantly pushing harder and harder trying to reach an unattainable goal? Most of the time I'm so happy and content with my progress... and then I see not one, but TWO girls at gym with crop tops and perfectly sculpted abs. (Seriously, bitch? Stop flaunting your perfect body in front of me) I look at how much time and effort it's going to take me to get to that level and it feels impossible.

Early Sunday morning, as I was putting on a load of laundry and doing other household chores, my room mate arrived back from a night of partying. I stopped drinking because they're empty calories, I don't stay out too late so that I can gym the next morning, I turn down events because I feel out of place, and I wonder if it is all worth it.

The Joys of Adulthood

Sometimes being an adult is hard.

For instance, when you have to come home to let the plumber in because your damn geyser is leaking. And of course, you're home now, there's no way you're going to get back in the car and brave Sandton traffic to go to gym. So instead, you put on a sports bra and short shorts (you're at home, ain't nobody looking at that muffin top now) and flip through the 4 channels that local tv has to offer.

You land on Days Of Our Lives and realise that ABSOLUTELY NOTHING has changed in the plot in the last 10 years. Hope and John are once again imprisoned by diabolical Stefano Dimera (I mean, really? You're freaking cops, how do you manage to get captured so many times?!). For a moment you contemplate how sad your life is for knowing all these characters and their backstories... but you shrug it off and continue to work out in front of the telly - doing bicep curls and shoulder presses with little weights.
And then it dawns on you... that you have mutated... into a desperate housewife.

To be fair, when I conveyed this story to a friend, he said I could only be labelled a desperate housewife if I had started hitting on the plumber.

Getting out of a workout rut

We've all been there... dragged your butt to the gym for the fourth day in a row and staring at that infernal treadmill with burning hatred in your eyes.

I often get in a rut of going to gym and doing the same workout day after day without any real enthusiasm. Last week I had the flu and couldn't go to gym for a whole week. When I finally got back into it, I had a renewed excitement for my workout routine. I could push myself harder because my body had had time to fully recover.

I'm not saying ditch the gym and stuff your face on the couch, I'm saying mix up your routine and let yourself recover. Take a long walk, go swimming, or go to a stretching class on your rest days.