The new exercise class that will near kill you, but keep you coming back for more!

This class is called Les Mills Grit series. It is apparently based around the Insanity Workout (you may have seen the late night/ early morning adverts for Insanity?) and it is tough, so so tough!

 As you can see, I used the picture for Grit rather than a picture of myself actually doing this class. This is solely because they look a lot more glamorous than I do during a Grit class. I'm usually bright red and sweating profusely within about 5mins and I really don't think anyone wants or needs to see that really! So I thought it would be best to show it with all these lovely beautiful people that look like they are having much more fun than I do mid-Grit...!

There are 3 different classes for Grit - Plyo, Strength and Burn. So far I have only done 2 Strength classes (the only ones they have run on a Thursday morning at my gym over the last 2 weeks as I have only just braved going to one) so I can only really comment on that class for now, but hopefully over the next couple of weeks I'll get to do the other two also. Strength involves a quick warm up which includes burpies (a lot of them), low rows with a weight bar, squats with weights and push presses. These are done at high repetitions over 2 minute intervals and it definitely warms you up, I am usually looking a delightful shade of beetroot after just the first 2 minutes of burpies, lovely. In case you aren't sure what a burpie is, you do a squat down then put your hands on the floor and jump back and do a press up then jump your feet back in and stand.

The main body of the Strength class is doing a lot of high repetition toning exercises, so a lot of squats, jumping lunges (are they called scissor lunges?), low rows etc but at quick bursts of high reps. I thought this didn't sound too difficult, especially as it is only a 30 minute class, but it is by far the hardest I've ever done. I have never so genuinely felt that I was going to puke and pass out at the same time! But I absolutely loved it.

The great thing about Grit is that it has such fast results. Doing high intensity training does give you fast results anyway, but this has been the best work out for me. I did a class yesterday morning and already this morning I could feel aches in muscles I never thought I had. Aches are good! Ok, so i struggled to lift my arms to wash my hair this morning but that's a small price to pay....!

In all honesty though, it is an excellent new class to try if you're thinking about changing up your routine slightly. Don't worry about struggling in it because EVERYONE is struggling, that's just how it is. I would definitely recommend it, or at least look in to it. It is slightly addictive as well, once you have been once you want to keep going back because you just know it is doing wonders for your fitness, despite the fact it feels like torture for that half hour you're in there!

Have any of you tried this class yet? Do you have places locally that are offering it and you have been considering going? All comments are welcome :)

My Weight Loss Challenge - update #2

Start weight = 10stone 5lbs
Target weight = 9stone
Current weight = 9stone 13lbs

I had a bad week...a really bad week! I think the achievement of doing so well the previous week meant I was a bit slack this week and I am actually really surprised that I still lost a pound rather than put on a couple. I shall try to get properly back in to it this week and have a slightly better loss by next Monday.

So Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty good. I ate well and went to the gym every day and so was really on target with it but then Thursday I had to miss the gym as I was going to pick up my new car (which is gorgeous by the way!). I went to spinning Friday morning before work as usual but I forgot to pack myself a lunch and by the time it got to lunch time I was so hungry and feeling grumpy about the crappy weather that I gave in to my stomach and had a bacon and cheese pasty and wedges from the Cornish Pasty Shop...very very bad indeed. Of course it taste amazing but I did find that for a few hours I felt really sluggish and bloated and I really don't think it was worth it. Silly me!

Then Saturday morning my boyfriend wanted to go for a fried breakfast and so I went with all intentions of just having scrambled egg on toast, but the smell of bacon tempted me in and I ended up having a fry up too! It did leave me really full for most of the rest of the day though so I was pretty good after that but it wasn't the best way to start the day. We did spend a good few hours gutting out the old upstairs bathroom though and so that must have counted as some form of exercise? I'm going to say yes... And then I had a glass of wine in the evening, it was just sat 2/3's empty in the fridge and I was worried about it going off :/ (yes, I am aware it doesn't but that was the excuse in my head at the time).

Sunday I tried really hard to not be tempted in by anything unhealthy. We went to Blackbushe market to have a look around and I wasn't tempted in by any of the greasy burger vans that they have in there, even when Ryan went and got a massive portion of chips. I even got some fruit from the fruit stall in there so that we could have fruit salad later on. But then Ryan's family did a MASSIVE roast dinner (their dinners are the best) and it would have been rude for me to have said no to it...and vienetta icecream. I'm rubbish when food is there available to me! If I'm sorting my own food out I'm fine because I'll stick to what I've restricted myself to but if someone else has cooked for me I can't help but eat it all! But I did play a couple of games of badminton in the garden because the weather was so nice so I guess I worked at least some of it off!

And with all that, I'm very surprised that I had any weight loss at all last week! So this week I am getting properly back in to it, no excuses. I'll keep you informed of how well I do next week, hopefully it will be a vast improvement!

As always, your comments are very welcome :)

My weight loss challenge - update #1

Start weight = 10stone 5lbs
Target weight = 9stone
Current weight = 10stone

What a beautiful weekend we have just had! I hope you were all able to make the most of the sunshine, I live quite near the beach and the traffic was pretty much at a stand still where everyone drives down to the beach to soak up the sun, thank god for my bike!

So, back to the current topic. I weighed myself this morning and was shocked to see that I seem to have lost 5 whole pounds in one week! I use the same scales whenever I weigh myself so I know it's not just the difference between different scales, but I was really shocked to see I had lost 5lbs so quickly. I was expecting to struggle to lose 2lbs a week. At this rate I'll reach target within 3 weeks! Fingers crossed for that.

I found this week pretty easy to stick to from Monday to Friday but then really struggled over the weekend. Where I was taking a packed lunch to work with me it meant that I didn't give myself any opportunities to eat 'bad' food and so it was really easy to stick to my healthy eating plan. Also on Friday's I go for lunch at a local deli with my friend and instead of ordering my usual pulled pork and heaps of coleslaw bap (LOVE) I managed to stick to having a crayfish and mixed salad baguette. I enjoyed it actually, nowhere near as much as the pulled pork alternative but it was really nice all  the same.

I made sure I went to the gym 4 times last week as well, doing 2 spin classes and 2 body pump classes. I think this is what really made me lose the weight as I did really push myself in classes last week. I believe weight loss comes from a combination of the two, exercise and diet, so I made sure I dragged myself there even on the days when I really didn't want to!

But then the weekend came, and with it far too much temptation! I was pretty good most of Saturday as I got up early to go buy myself a new car (an absolutely gorgeous one!) with my mum and so took her to lunch at Slug and Lettuce to say thank you. I had Italian Chicken which is quite good in the sense that it is just chicken breast, roasted vegetables and potato wedges but the small amount of sauce probably wasn't very healthy. But I had been on my feet all day and really good during the week plus I wasn't  planning on having a big dinner.... Then I remembered it was my friends husband's little birthday get together Saturday evening... I made sure that I was the one driving so I had an excuse not to drink but I did have a couple of slices of pizza....I can't resist pizza!

Then Sunday I was doing well up until my boyfriend suggested shake-aways... We were sitting in the park, relaxing soaking up the sun when he said that he was really craving one, so then I couldn't get it out of my head! So I just bit the bullet and got myself a lovely brownie, boost and flake milkshake! But I did have a healthy chicken pasta dinner so I guess it evened it out slightly.

So there you go, that's week 1 for you. I did a lot better than I expected and it has made me think that maybe the odd treat here and there actually won't do you any harm, so long as it is only a small treat once or twice a week, don't let yourself slip up too much!

Now on to the next week, hopefully I will be able to have another really good week but I think I'd be very lucky to lose more than 2-3lbs again. Here goes!

All comments are always welcome :)

Fitness Outdoors - Why I Love Where I Live

I always find getting exercise in to your daily routine is so much easier when you can be outside in the fresh air, especially now the weather seems to be picking up! I know a lot of people hate being stuck in a gym, which is understandable really. It's not exactly the most attractive of places with all the equipment everywhere and being at what is possibly your most unattractive (if you're like me sweaty and glowing red!) whilst stuck in a room full of strangers doesn't exactly sound appealing. So take your exercise outside whilst you have the gorgeous sunny weather as a back drop!

What is so great about where I live is that at the end of my garden is a canal which takes you straight to the centre of town one way or the local marina the other. This is great for me cycling in to work in town as it is just a quick 20 minute cycle each way but is a great little burst of exercise twice a day. Also you can rent boats (or we tend to take our kayak) to take along the canal which is great fun in the summer, with the added bonus of you get a great tan from the sun reflecting of the water! There are always joggers along the canal as well as it is so much safer than running on the road and is so much more attractive visually.

So if you are losing motivation to exercise because the thought of being stuck in a gym when the weather is so lush then take your exercise outdoors! There is always plenty of things you could do depending on where you are. Maybe you have already been doing this and have suggestions of other activities? Please comment and share what you have been up to!

Fitness - exercise routine

I've been trying to get in to an exercise routine the last couple of months. It started off as just trying to get in shape for the wedding and make sure I still fit in my bridesmaid dress (I got fitted for it a year ago when I first returned from living abroad and was nice and slim). But now that I have been sticking to my routine for a while, I really feel much better in myself and have loads more energy so am keen to stick to it and incorporate other exercises in to it.

When I first started I was just doing my own work-out in the gym and was finding it difficult to stay motivated, then I discovered spinning classes (mentioned in my earlier blog post here). Through this I realised how much more effort I put in when in a group than on my own, my competitive streak made me push myself harder to keep up with everyone else. So I then branched out to other classes as well. So here is my current weekly exercise routine:

Monday evening - 45 minute spinning
Tuesday evening - 1 hour body pump
Wednesday morning - 45 minute spinning
Thursday night - 1 hour body pump
Friday morning - 45 minute spinning.
Saturday - rest
Sunday - rest

Spinning is an excellent cardio work out whereas body pump is based around weights and resistance training. I like to balance these two as the cardio helps burn calories whereas body pump helps tone my muscles (any that I may have!). I think it's good to get a balance of the two in order to get the most out of your weekly routine. It's also really important to get at least one rest day a week for your body to recover, allowing your muscles to repair.

In order to keep things new and changing, I also bought myself a yoga mat to do some floor exercises at home. I know this may seem really depressing to most people but I was so excited to get this!!

I read recently (I think in Cosmo) that you burn nearly twice as many calories in your sleep if you do light exercise before bed than if you don't so my main reason for getting this was so that I could do some floor exercises at home before I went to bed. I'm also going to get some light hand-weights so that I can do some of the routines I learnt in body pump at home also.

So that's my routine! I try to keep changing it up every now and then so that my body doesn't get used to it and continues getting the most out of my exercises. Do you have a routine that you stick to? Or maybe you like to just do your own thing? All comments are welcome!