Shock Horror

A leotard was seen at the gym today.
I was so surprised I nearly feel off the cross trainer.
It was blue and worn with blue and white stripy leggings.

This is the worst bit - it looked new.
Yes, new.

Now this lead me to wonder why and here are a few possibilities....

1 - this woman is so bang on trend (I admit I'm not) and she's streets ahead of the rest of us.

2 - she was having an 80's throwback moment (she's in her early 50's, so it's possible.)

3 - she's a mature gymnast and was stopping in at the gym on her way to gymnastics class.

Which do you think?

Why?

Why, why, why, why, oh why did I think it was a good idea to raise the weights for the squat track in body pump today.........

The Staff 1

Time to introduce to some of the staff at the gym, so here goes.

First up are some of the gym instructors.

They do the weekend shifts on rotation, so today we had Cute Guy. Please feel free to blame one of my friends for the naming of the gym guys. She used to do Ju Jitsu here in Lyon and practically all her conversations would start 'So there was this hot guy at the gym...' We used to have code names for them all, in fact it was quite a surprise to occasionally meet one and find out they had a proper name. So this habit continued when I joined my gym and I was finally able to start conversations with 'So when I saw hot guy at the gym...'

Back to Cute Guy. He really is very sweet, has a lovely personality and you do just want to pick him up and put him in your pocket. He is one of the better instructors and is good at explaining correct movements etc and keeping an eye on everyone in the class. I regularly go to his body balance class on a Monday night. He is also honest if he can't do something (unlike one of the other instructors), for instance some of the advanced moves in body balance are a wee bit challenging and he can't make all of them. He moaned bitterly about the Crow Pose saying that on the training videos all the instructors would just pop up into it and he really couldn't do it. It makes the class slightly refreshing.
Cute Guy has also been known to shake things up a bit, like the other week when he changed the order of the body pump to make it more challenging, but I think I moaned commented about that in a previous post, so won't go about that now.
I think he's been on a Stretch course recently as today he had us doing some strange shoulder and arm stretches that I have never come across before and the other week he had us all lying on the floor with our legs up the walls doing bizarre moves to lengthen our hamstrings and glutes.
He does have a reasonable English accent and doesn't sound too bad when singing along to the lyrics of the songs. He does get the correct lyrics too, which is not always the case. I also like him as he will go and switch the aircon on when necessary and not have a great debate with everyone about it. The French seem to have some mortal fear of the aircon and really don't like having it on, but believe you me, when you have 30 people in a small room, all sweating - you need it!

There is also Petite Girly who was on duty last weekend. I only ever do her classes when she has the weekend shift, so don't really see her that often. She is tiny. I also am not sure if she is boarder line anorexic as she doesn't have an ounce of fat on her. She does have a set of abs to die for. She is very quiet and just comes into the studio, does the class and thats that. No chatting and interacting, just does her stuff. In some ways it can be refreshing, in other ways I don't find it very motivating.
She does have the annoying habit of dictating what weights you should be using in body pump and will, for example, frequently say that the women should use a small and medium weight as a maximum for the triceps, as I'm putting on the large weights on the bar (as encouraged to by the other instructors.)
I do feel a little sorry for her, as she has to do the body pump training but she only takes one class every 4 weeks, so the Sunday Morning Regulars always know the routine better than she does. Last Sunday she gave up the pretense and did one of the older releases and actually it was fun to be having a bit of variety, so I hope she does that again.

That's it for now, I'll introduce some more instructors another time! 

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....

Pride commeth before a sore bum!

So after posting the moan the other day about the lack of effort some of the women put in at the gym, it seems that actually I could have been putting more effort in too!

Shortly after publishing that post, I sauntered into my usual body pump class and thought to myself that I needed to up the weights for the squats - so I put two more kilos on the bar and was feeling dead proud of myself when I completed the track with no major incidents.
Then we got to the tricep track and Hot Guy told C (another female who uses similar levels of weights as me) and I to go to 10 kilos. I start shaking my head slowly at him and he nods slowly back saying "Ah yes, Charlotte". As C did, I had to too!
I survived, though the last few chest presses were a little wobbly.

Then Hot Guy tells us to use the 5 kilo weights for the first part of the shoulder track, this was actually quite easy to do and I had been thinking about it being the next set of weights that I increased.

 When I increase the weights I normally put them up for one set of muscles, then see how it goes for a couple of weeks, then when I'm comfortable with that, will think about increasing the weights for another set of muscles. So uping the weights in three sets of muscles on one day was a big a thing.

Two days later, on the Sunday, I amble into the class thinking to myself "It's Petite Girly today, so I'll try the new weights but if I get tired, I'll go back to my normal weights for the shoulder tracks."

But to my surprise Hot Guy is there instead of PG, so I can't wimp down can I?
Then he gives us the 'option' to increase the weights for the back muscles - and calls out my name as one of 'Les Experts' who he expects to see with increased weights.

I ached all week, finally feeling better after a good stretch in body balance on Saturday.

Then yesterday, just as my friend and I are gossiping before the class starts, Cute Guy announces that he changing the running order of the body pump class to make it more challenging. Not what I wanted to hear.
He put the lunges straight after the squats (no time for the legs to recover) Then strung all of the upper body ones together (again no time to recover) and had a new, tougher tricep track. It was a challenge.

Despite a session in the steam room, I ached all afternoon, especially my arms and as for my bum.... I raided my medicine drawer and though I didn't have any ibuprofen, found relief in some paracetamol and codeine tablets (really can't remember what I was given them for.)

Despite all the bitching and the achy body, it does feel achy in a good way - I know that I've worked hard and tested my muscles. However I would like to keep these weights for a little while before any more 'challenges' arrive.

The Coven

I feel it is time to introduce you to some of the people at the gym.

First up is the group of women that I call the Coven. This is in my mind, I haven't yet done it to their faces but there may well be a day soon... Don't get too excited by the name, this is the last group of women you'd expect to see dancing naked through the woods at midnight, I call them that because they cackle very loudly and rather too often.

They go to the gym everyday in the mid afternoon, do as little 'working out' as they can possibly get away with, talk very loudly, take over the changing rooms and then leave.

Sometimes I can laugh at them, other days I want to punch them.

They are all middle aged ladies who instead of lunching, go and annoy everyone at the gym. There about 7 of them but fortunately they don't all turn up at once but, boy do they have the capacity to talk.

There they are on the treadmills at a slow walking pace with a slight incline - chatting to each other.

There they are in body pump, using 1kg weights, (or even no weights or bar) - chatting to each other.

There they are strolling along in the swimming pool - chatting to each other.

I do find them annoying, fortunately I don't go often at the same time as them, so don't often see them. There seems to be a ringleader and it reminds me of the school gang, and the others try and keep up with her. She talks the loudest and the others follow. I really am tempted to point out to them that as they are standing so close to each other they don't have to shout, but then I'll just be the nasty teacher and they'll try and get back at me.

They have decided that the best way to dry themselves after a shower is to go into the sauna. Really annoying if you are relaxing in there. One will bang the door open and come in, then the others will follow 1 at a time (so lowering the temperature) squeeze into a tiny space, all trying to dry themselves at the same time, so elbows are going everywhere, then all leave separately - lowering the temperature even more.
Recently they have discovered that the most annoying way they can dry their feet is to use the hairdryers, so sit in a row - blocking the bit between the showers and the changing area, chatting loudly over the noise of the hairdryers.
Whatever happened to drying yourself with a towel?

Of course they can't get their hair wet - so they don't swim in the pool, they amble up and down it really, really slowly for 20 mins and tut at you if you get in their way by wanting to swim. I mean, who ever heard of actually swimming in a swimming pool?!?!

They flirt with the men in the class (who I don't think really like them) and swoon over the instructor S, who is the most unswoonable guy ever. Really! He's the worst instructor and gives you no motivation whatsoever, they like him as he calls out their names during the class which makes them all giggle. Fortunately he doesn't know my name. Even more fortunately he has started alternating his class with one of the female gym staff (who makes you work hard) and on those weeks the Coven all discover that they have an injury of one sort or another and so stay in the cardio area. Relief!

For the Coven the gym is a place to meet up and chat, and I guess there's nothing wrong in that, I just wish they weren't so loud and were a little more considerate of others. Also, though they are doing very little exercise, at least they are doing something which is better than nothing.

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!