Browsing Tag

fitness

What was I thinking? My Hyrox journey begins…

In a moment of what I can only describe as utter madness, I’ve signed up for Hyrox Barcelona, which takes place at the end of April. For those who don’t know, Hyrox is a gruelling fitness competition combining functional strength and endurance exercises, with a lot of running thrown in. Yep, running – a thing I’m currently terrible at and, let’s be honest, largely avoiding. And with only four months to go, I’m already questioning my life choices.

I only started going to the gym regularly in April 2024. Up until then, the idea of exercising willingly wasn’t something I really entertained. But small group personal training sessions with a focus on functional strength training changed everything. Somewhere along the way, I stopped dreading it and actually started to enjoy it- love it, even (most of the time). The routine, the sense of accomplishment, feeling strong. Who knew?

But Hyrox isn’t just a gym session. It’s a beast. And I’m doing the mixed doubles category with Madge, my partner in this insanity. He is fitter and stronger than me, which is both comforting and terrifying. Comforting because I know he’ll pick up some of the slack, and terrifying because I don’t want to let him down. The running, in particular, is my Achilles’ heel. We’re talking 8 kilometers (yes, 8 kilometers) of running, interspersed with all kinds of functional torture. And right now? My running game is non-existent.

I’ve written myself a plan, with the best of intentions. There’s cardio, strength, running, and regular sessions with a physio to help manage my piriformis syndrome (tight hips and an achy glute that refuses to cooperate). The cardio class I’ve added is a small step in the right direction, but the weather is currently scuppering my running plans, so I’m going to need to get day passes to a local gym with a treadmill.

So, have I taken on too much? Honestly, yes. I am quietly panicking about how much work lies ahead and whether I can rise to the challenge. But then I remind myself why I signed up in the first place. To push myself. To see what I’m capable of. To prove that it’s never too late to tackle something new and scary.

Four months is not a lot of time. But it’s enough to make meaningful progress. Enough to show up and give it my all, even if that means running slower or modifying along the way. I have to remember it’s not about perfection – it’s about showing up and trying. The goal is just to finish.

Barcelona, here we come. Ready or not.

Have you ever signed up for something that felt way out of your league? How did you tackle it? Let me know – I could use all the advice I can get!

10th January 2025

Live

Beach to 5k

167 days since I first laced up my old gym trainers and attempted a run, I’ve hit my 5k target.

We were in Spain on Christmas Eve when I decided to strap on my old gym trainers, download Couch to 5k and go for a jog along the seafront. I’ve never run before, or been remotely interested in running before. But I had decided that I needed to get fitter and 2019 was going to be the year for it.

I’ve struggled to stick to anything fitness-wise since I gave up martial arts in my twenties. Since then I’ve had random spurts of joining and going to a gym or going to random classes but nothing has ever really stuck. That lack of motivation, combined with the 3-hour commute each day means that having no time to exercise is an excellent convenient excuse not to do it. So I realised I need something that is easy to do wherever you are, that doesn’t involve getting home and having to drive somewhere else and something that I can do at my own pace.

That first ‘run’ lasted just under 15 minutes. And nearly killed me.

But I went out again that week while we were in Spain, and since then I have either been out most weeks or gone for a run in the gym. I’ve run in Marbella and Malaga. I’ve run in Sussex and around Smithfield in London. I’ve run in the evenings and in the mornings, in the cold and in the warm. I’ve dumped the old trainers and bought shiny new lightweight ones, and a ridiculously bright pink jacket; and I’ve even bought a couple of copies of running magazines. My Mum and Dad have joined in by buying me some gloves to keep my hands warm and Madge regularly buys me fun socks that make me smile whenever I put them on. I’ve stopped using the the Couch to 5k and app and started listening to podcasts and I’ve had oodles of encouragement from friends – in person and virtually – and every single bit of it is utterly, totally appreciated.

Looking back on the last 6 months makes me very happy – and a little bit proud of myself that I’ve stuck to it. According to Strava I’ve run 94.78km!

The biggest revelation hasn’t been that, yes I am a bit fitter, and yes I look a bit slimmer – the biggest revelation has been how good I feel when I’m regularly running. How much it helps my head. A quick run at the end of the day is the perfect way to offload work-day stresses, which at some points in the last 6 months have felt almost overwhelming. Mid-way through, around Easter time while we were in Spain (again) I read ‘Eat, Drink, Run‘ by Bryony Gordon. It tells her journey to help tame her anxiety through running – how running saved her mental health and how through it, she set up her mental health support group ‘Mental Health Mates‘. Even if you don’t fancy donning your trainers and going out, I’d recommend it as a pretty inspirational, honest and heartfelt story.

I’m not making any big plans or ambitious goals for the next 6 months. I’m just going to keep on keeping on, running because I enjoy it and maybe adding some other activities to it a bit more regularly. I talked about the difficulty of finding time to do it with my coach, and he reminded me that if I don’t put myself first, no one else will. It’s up to me to stop prioritising other things (mostly work) above the things I want, or need, to do – like exercise. So keeping that in mind, I’m going to crack on and see if I can beat my 5k time over the next 6 months.

9th June 2019

Live

Best laid plans

Well, it’s fair to say my ‘30 for 90‘ plan didn’t go to…err..plan. I started with really good intentions, but it seems that even 30 minutes of structured exercise a day is too much to fit in, which is a bit sad really.

I’ve learned quite a few things though. I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter how loudly or confidently you state an ambition, that alone doesn’t make it happen! I’ve also learned (been reminded) that I’m really shit at these types of resolutions and I should perhaps be a little more realistic! That said, I’ve also learned that 30 minutes is the perfect exercise length for me, that I actually really enjoy going to the gym straight from work and that even when I haven’t been going to the gym I’ve been more active. This morning, for instance, rather than get the tube I walked from London Bridge station to Farringdon and then up four flights of stairs once I’d got there. I’d never have done that a few months ago, and the stairs didn’t kill me.

So, rather than beat myself up for not sticking to the plan, I’m taking the positives and I’m going to continue to exercise as often as I can. There’s actually still a few weeks to go and I’ve been doing more than I’ve done for years, meaning I’m much more confident to exercise now. I’m definitely going to use the gym on holiday in June. Again, I wouldn’t have even thought that before starting this, so I’m going to build on that. And when I set a huge goal in future, someone remind me that my inner rebel will only stick her oar in and tell me that going to the pub is a much better idea!

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16th May 2016

Live

Lemon wraparound dress

I bought this gorgeous lemon wraparound dress from Get Cutie in Brighton four years ago, and I’ve never been able to comfortably fit into it. This year I’m determined to do so. Not just because it’s a beautiful dress, but it was expensive and I want to wear it drinking Aperol Spritz with my friends on a Summer’s day.

This dress is my inspiration.

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17th March 2016

Live

Day 3: Oh. My. God

Feeling achy but not jet-laggy, finally. My legs hurt walking up the stairs at the station this morning, which was not a good sign considering I’d booked a circuit class for lunchtime.

I was a bit blasé, thinking that a ‘fast 20 minute circuit’ wouldn’t be too hard. Not that I’ve ever done a circuit before, so had no idea what to expect. Let’s just say I’d lulled myself into a false sense of security. It was awful.

There were only 2 of us in the class, so that meant maximum attention from the instructor and absolutely no hiding. There were 6 circuit stations, with 2 exercises for each. Each exercise lasted 20 seconds with a 10 second break between them, and they ranged from such horrors as jumping squats, ‘mountain climbers’, lunges, planks, something I couldn’t pronounce, dips, a press up thing against a box and steps ups onto a step the height of a table. I’m sure there were more, but my memory has blanked them out!

In reality I was definitely not ready for that type of class. I’ve not got enough strength yet in my arms or legs and both were aching from the previous two days of effort. I also don’t really like that being shouted at as encouragement thing that personal trainers do. I’d rather have a nice chat 🙂

Anyway, to keep this up for 90 days I’m going to have to try lots of things for variety, and there will be some I don’t like, or can’t do. I wonder if going on my own today made a difference.

The girls went to another spin class, but I wanted to do something at lunchtime, and it definitely wasn’t so much fun.

Tomorrow is a ‘rest day’ so I’m going to find some yoga or a light workout on YouTube I can do at home for half an hour, and look up some classes at the local council-run fitness centre that might work for Saturday and Sunday.

Daily exercise:     Fast Circuit
Venue:                      City University Gym
Type:                          Mix
Duration:                30 minutes

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17th March 2016

Live

My 30 for 90 challenge

While I was lounging around on the bed in the hotel in New York I watched a dreadful infomercial for a set of exercise DVD’s. The terrible ad went on for about a week, extolling the virtues of a very expensive set of fitness videos – but it did plant a seed of an idea in my head.

I flirt with exercise on and off, I have done for years. But since giving up martial arts I’ve never found anything I could stick with to replace it. I’d like to go back to some form of fighting sport, but I definitely couldn’t keep the pace these days, and my flirtation with other forms of exercise very rarely leads to a second date. I’ve lost count of the number of gyms I’ve joined over the years or the number of false starts. Or the number of excuses I’ve used to to not find a way to fit exercise into my day.

So, my plan is quite simple, though fairly ambitious for me. I’m going to fit in 30 minutes of any type of exercise for 90 days. Ninety days. It seems like quite a long time, but the duration of the experiment isn’t the important bit – it’s saying to myself ‘it’s only 30 minutes, you can make time for it’ that will be the biggest behaviour change. It feels achievable. It feels quick and it feels like something I can stick to. So I’ve joined the gym next door to work, I’ve downloaded My Fitness Pal and Day 1 is done!

Day 1: Body Pump

Daily exercise:        Body Pump
Venue:                         City University Gym
Type:                            Weights/strength
Duration:                   40 minutes

I decided to do a class as the first exercise, and I really enjoyed it. It’s a 40-minute class that they run straight after work. It’s mostly weights-based, with lots of work with a bar. It felt hard, I couldn’t quite do it all and my arms are still like jelly while I’m typing this, but I do feel good for getting started.

Thanks to Lauren and Nikki for taking up the challenge with me. It’s good to have other people to egg you on. Let’s go on this journey together.

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15th March 2016