Gym Gerbil

First up - I must apologise for a lack of posts at the end of last week but I was laid low with the lurgy and part from an update of my current temperature, there wasn't much to report.

So tonight I hauled myself of to the gym for the body balance class. Monday nights are not my favourite time to go but are marginally better than Friday nights, so Mondays it is then. And what a friendly night tonight was!

I arrived and was given the usual cheery greeting from the receptionist.

In the changing rooms I said a 'Bonjour's' to a some of regulars I see.

As I went to wait for the class to start a 'Hey, Charlotte, ça va?' was yelled across the gym floor from Hot Guy.

When the body pump class left the studio I saw one of the 2 people that I also know outside the gym, and had a quick chat.

Once inside the studio I saw the other person I know from outside the gym.

When leaving, I exchanged a couple of friendly 'Bon Nuits'.

When getting on the metro, I saw and 'bise'd' another guy I chat to regularly.

Now what does this all mean?

Has my strategy of slinking into the back of the class and keeping my head down totally failed?
Am I going too often?
Am I turning into (shock, horror) a Gym Bunny?????

This last option is too hard to think about, so I think I'll call myself a Gym Gerbil for a bit and see how that fits....

Improved flexibility

So in body balance on Saturday I was in a Hindi squat and then instructed to sit back on the mat behind me, and I have to admit I misjudged this slightly and landed with a bit of a bump. This caused the instructor to add 'délicatement avec grâce et finesse.' and smile at me. Bastard...

I enjoy body balance. In the dark, murky past I used to do Ashtanga yoga and Pilates and used to be very flexible and strong. I used to be a real flexigirl. The Ashtanga was very dynamic and was hard!

At the gym that I used to go to in the UK the guys on the gym floor were very good at telling all the 'muscle men' to do stretching and advising them to go to stretch classes. So every now and then one of them would appear in a yoga class, looking slightly nervous but at the same time confident that they would find a stretch class easy peasy. A few of them made it beyond the sun salutations, some even made the first half hour. I only remember 1 of them sticking with it and returning week after week.

My gym now doesn't do yoga but does body balance (a mix of tai chi, yoga and pilates) and stretch classes - imaginatively titled Le Stretch.

I've been working away at these and have got most of my flexibility back, isn't muscle memory is amazing. I do feel a lot better after each class, it's good to feel all stretched out. The only thing I have trouble with is my hips, I can do forward bends, and my back bends are pretty good, but my hips.... They always have been difficult, I have never been able to a lotus position for example.

The latest couple of releases have had some tough hip openers, and I began to notice a gradual change, which has been good. Then for the last 3 Sundays the instructors have again concentrated on doing hip opening exercises, and boy have my hips been painful. It has payed off and though painful, I can reach deeper into stretches and feel really pleased. Finally the hard work is playing off.

Still can't do the lotus position though....

Friday weigh-in!

Standing on the scales went well this morning and I've released another half kilo.

At first I was a teensy bit disappointed but then realised that back in my weightwatchers days I would be pleased with half lb and this is a whole lb and a teeny bit.

It's interesting the psychology of having a different unit of measurement. When I was in the UK using units of stones and lbs seemed normal but in terms of a goal weight everyone seemed to be focused on a round number of a stone or half stone.
In the US people again seem to want a round number - a coaching colleague was talking about reaching 180lbs as his goal.
Now I'm in kilos I'm not sure where I'll end up, will the psychology of whole numbers apply? 65 seems to heavy for me and I think I'd have to stave myself to get to 60, so do I end up with a number in the middle?

I am hoping that I get to a point when I look at myself and think 'Yep, that's great!' and decide that that will be my ideal weight. the scales are important to help give me the motivation to get there, but I don't want them to be the be all and end all. My muscle mass is greater than last time I lost weight, so it's a whole new experience this time.

Friday weigh-in 2

Well, it was time to face the scales again today and I wasn't looking forward to it!
I knew I hadn't done well food wise this week - a combination of reasons, I could come up with a whole host of reasons and excuses but at the end of the day it is me that puts the food in my mouth...

So I braved the scales and to my surprise I hadn't put on any weight - I hadn't lost any either, but I was pleased that I hadn't gained any!

After last weeks amazing result, I still am 2 kg through my target loss of 10 kg.
Only 8 to go.
Yipee!!!

I am getting impatient about waiting to see what my new body will look like, and I'm excited at the same time.

(French) Women Don't Sweat!

I had been about to write a funny piece about how a lot of the women in the gym don't put any effort into what they are doing and I really do wonder why they bother going there at all.

Then I read this article and realised that it may be true of a lot more woman than I thought and not just French ones and it made me feel quite sad.
To be sure, at the gym I used to go to in the UK there were a few woman who would turn up, put in minimum effort and leave again, but here it is a huge number.

One girl just wafts around in the Zumba class and rushes to the changing rooms during a water stop to check her eye make up hasn't smudged. Another woman does the entire body pump class without a barbell or weights (the squats/lunges and abs I can understand - but the other exercises are designed to be used with weights, it's surely a waste of her time?) Her friend also seems to be reducing the amount of weights she uses each week, rather than increasing them. Women on the cardio machines, reading books and never looking out of breath and not a drop of sweat between them.

Actually a large number of women in body pump have stayed at the lightest weights possible and not increased them at all over the last 18 months I have been there. I know everyone is different and has different reasons and perhaps problems but there seem to be an awful lot of them!
In the UK we were actively encouraged to increase the weights and work harder, most of the women in the classes were pumping quite heavy weights but here a couple of the instructors actually dictate what the maximum weight a woman should have on the bar - which is pretty light and most of the women seem quite happy with that.

Reading the article about how young women wanted to be thin and were afraid of bulking up made me feel sad. There is a lot of ignorance out there about exercise and it's benefits. Sports at school are being cut back as they are not considered essential, but also what else is not being taught? I remember learning about the body in biology and learning the difference between anaerobic and aerobic exercise in terms of muscle strength and heart strength and also how hormones played a part and that is why it is incredibly difficult for women to have bulky muscles like a man's.

So it is not only frustrating but also depressing to see so many woman pretending to exercise. Spending money on gym membership and clothes and yet not actually getting much from it.
Thank goodness for those that do make the effort, for the instructors who do encourage us to try a little harder and for the motivation to take it babystep by babystep.

During last Summer's Olympic Games it was refreshing to see so many fit and healthy looking women on TV. These women should be our new role models for young girls, not the anorexic looking, thin, airbrushed models on magazine covers. Looks that are impossible for the average 'normal' person to achieve without taking extreme measures.

Healthy is the new thin. That is easy for anyone, whatever their shape or size to achieve. Anyone else with me on that?

Friday weigh-in...

Whoo hooo, it was weigh in day today and not only did I get my target of releasing 1 kg, I actually smashed it and released 2 kg!! (A shade under 4.5 lbs)

It was amazingly easy this week, I must have hit the sweet spot of eating just enough to lose weight but my body didn't think it was going into starvation mode. After being on a plateau for a few weeks and then not really trying to diet over Christmas, I was also probably experiencing that initial drop in weight you see when you first start a new regime. Anyway, I'm happy about that as all my Christmas weight has gone.

When I went to body pump this morning and picked up one of the 2 kg dumbbells, I realised that it was that amount of weight that had gone, it felt good.

So this week's intention is to release another kg by next Friday.

January Intentions

Christmas, New Year, birthday are officially over and so there are no more excuses in the way of setting my January intentions - so here goes!

I want to release another 10kg of weight. Last year I lost 16kgs and do feel better for it. I plateaued for a while during the last couple of months of the year but that was ok. The last time I lost weight I was incredibly focused and probably lost it too quickly and never really got comfortable with my new, skinny self and the weight slowly crept back on. It took several years to get back to my previous heavy weight, so for the last 8 years I've not had a stable weight. This time round I want that to be different and so it was ok to plateau for a bit and get back into the feeling space of being a bit skinnier.

Now it is time for the final push. I'm looking at releasing a minimum of 2 kg a month, so let's say that I'll have achieved this by the end of April. That will give me the motivation of new Summer wardrobe!

It may not be my final goal weight - this time round I'm doing different activities at the gym, such as body pump and so have a higher muscle mass, so I really don't know what I'll look like, so as I get nearer releasing all of the 10kg, I'll have a better idea of where I want my ideal body and weight to be.

So my first intention is to lose a kg by Friday.

I'll keep you informed...

Sunday Mornings

The advantages of going to the gym on a Sunday morning -
You can feel smug all day
You can do as little as you want for the rest of the day
You can have a guilt free nap in the afternoon
You can eat what you want
It can help you work off a mild hangover

The disadvantages of going to the gym on a Sunday morning -
Getting out of a warm, cosy bed...

The gym I go to is actually open on a Sunday morning, which is quite unusual in France, though I think more gyms are beginning to open as France changes ever so slowly into a 24/7 world. One chain of gyms is completely closed over the whole weekend - LadyFitness obviously aims itself at ladies who lunch, not those who work.

You tend to see the same faces on a Sunday morning - there is definitely a group of regulars supplemented by the groupies of which ever instructor is on duty that weekend. The owner of the gym also does reception duty, so you don't see the normal receptionists. An awful lot of 'bise'ing goes on - the French double kiss, and a general catch up of the weeks news, generally the air is slightly more informal than the rest of week.

Some people seem to turn up really early and are already pounding the treadmills when I get there, there are others, like me, who turn up in time for the 10 o'clock class and others who scoot through the door at 12.30 for a maximum 20 min work out before being kicked off the gym floor at 12.50 as the club closes at 1.00pm prompt, so everyone can go home and eat a huge lunch!

Generally, I find that it is worth the effort to get up and go to the gym on a Sunday - I like my little routine there body pump, stretch class, swim and then a relax in the steam room. It can help work off a mild hangover, though is not recommended for a heavy one! On the way home I can buy a few things at the market before settling into an afternoon of guilt free whatever. 

Pet Peeves

I was slightly late to the body pump class today so wasn't in my normal spot and instead was at the back of the class amongst 'les experts' - the people who put loads of weights on the bar and generally try to look impressive and intimidating. Ok, I exaggerate, but they do put loads of weights on the bar, which leads to one of my pet peeves....

They have so much weight that they cannot do the moves properly!!!!!

What's the point in doing a squat, if the bar is so heavy on your back that you are only doing half a squat, or missing out parts of the routine??? Even worse - doing both???
I was about to ask if it was some sort of macho thing, as it's normally guys that do it, but today there was a girly doing it.

Despite the instructor really going into detail about how the moves should be, they just ignore him and do their own thing. It can't be good for the muscles and probably is a stepping stone to injury. They are straining to lift the weights,  contorting their whole bodies to do bicep curls, instead of just using the arms etc. Just drop a couple of kilos and do the exercise properly! It's far better to work up the weights slowly and steadily.

However at the other end of the scale are those who put no effort in whatsoever and never break into a sweat. They use the lowest weights possible and don't seem to have progressed at all over the last year or so.

Not sure which I find more annoying, I'll get back to you on that...

The Unintentional 10k

Over Christmas I unintentionally run a 10k, quite a surprising feat and if someone had said to me before hand that I would have done it, I would have laughed. And then laughed some more!

I am not a runner - I don't really have the physique for it. I have tried bouts of jogging in the past because I've read that it's good for you, others have told me how much they enjoyed it blah, blah, blah. Each of these attempts have been short lived, long enough to see some improvement but I've never had the motivation to keep it up. For some reason I prefer the gym. I am one of those who will go regularly and use the membership.

This year I went back to the UK for the holidays and so going to the gym wasn't going to happen. I did want to continue exercising though and so packed my trainers as jogging is the easiest form of exercise to do when traveling.

I got to see the fields and very muddy lanes of Essex, the towpath of the Grand Union Canal through West London (jogging round the puddles), the damp and muddy lanes of rural Cornwall and the damp looking housing developments of East Sussex (it rained a lot during my trip).

In Cornwall my Bro-in-Law (BiL) got the map out and showed me a route I could do that took him about 20 minutes on a bike. So on Boxing Day morning I got up and out I went, past the fish and chip shop, the the pawn shop, past the village school and out into the countryside. And I went on and on, then on some more, and a bit more, and then some more, begining to think to myself 'He must be bloody fast if this takes him 20 mins on a bike.' and finally saw a sign saying it was a mile to the next village, which I new wasn't on the route.

Being boxing day morning, the village was really quiet but fortunately I did find someone who gave me directions and so on I went and on some more. I was very relieved to see the church spire and know I was on the back. By this point I was doing interval training and walking up the hills and jogging the flat and the downhill and whenever a car came past.

There were times when I was thinking I was going to get lost and die in the Cornish countryside, other points when I thought that if I was reasonably coping with this type of distance maybe I could train properly and do a 10k.

When I got back to my sister's I collapsed on the chair, well normally my jogs last for about 30 mins not 1hr and 20 mins. BiL got the map out and it appeared that I'd missed a turning just out of the village and actually came back along the road I should have gone out on. The perils of reading a map when slightly unsober on Christmas Night!

That evening we went round to some of their friends and BiL was telling them about my run that morning and they said that it actually was the route of the village 10k. I was impressed with myself - a 10k with no training, well done girl!

For a couple more days I entertained the thought of training for a 10k, and getting the time down to an hour. Then I got back to France and have been going to the gym again and the motivation to go out in the cold and the rain and pound the pavements just isn't there.

Hello and welcome

This is just a short introduction and explanation as to why I'm writing this blog.

Last year I managed to lose over 16kg of weight and felt really pleased with myself. It was a mixture of changing my diet and incorporating more exercise into my life.

Some of the things that I see at the gym amuse me greatly and I have shared them with my friends but would also like to share them with more people, some of the stories are to good not to share!
Whilst telling some of these stories during a recent trip back home over Christmas, a couple of friends encouraged me to blog about them. I was also asked a lot about how I have lost the weight so these two points, combined with the fact that I still have some more weight to lose (not helped by Christmas!) helped me decide to start this new blog.

My aim is to write a couple of times a week about the different weight loss tips, motivational tips etc that I find helpful as well as throwing in some of the amusing anecdotes I see at the gym.

Although the gym I go to is in France, I'm sure that many of the stories are pretty universal.

I hope you enjoy reading these!