Fitness

When I think about my 'fitness' past, I have never been the person who hits to exercise which I know is an excellent starting place. I hated PE at school, I hated it mainly because I hated outdoor activities mainly running. It was the bane of my life, and I had no intention of ever trying as to me it was pointless. As a child I went to swimming and since the age of 3 I attended dance lessons. I thoroughly enjoy dancing, and since being back home from university I have gone back to my old dance school doing a class of ballet a week and I have been loving it. There is no doubt of the impact which ballet can have on your body, with the strength and technique which is requires. However, I wanted to take things up a notch further rather than it just being one hours sessions a week. I joined the gym at uni and with one of my friends who is really into fitness we started to go a few times a week. However, I did not sustain it and I quickly fell back into my old routine.

I am now more than ever wanting to actually go the gym on a regular basis. If you read my recent new year's resolutions post, you will know one of them was to join the gym and go. I did take the first plunge by actually joining the gym last week, I had been saying I was going to do it for ages but I never got round to it. It has been a massive help that two of my close friends already go the gym I have joined. I am always much more encouraged to actually go and attend a gym class or a session if I have made plans to. It's nice to have someone there you know for moral support especially when you are brand new to it. I want to join in mixture of classes and going to the actual gym. I have looked online at their classes timetable and jotted down in my diary the classes which I fancy, the days and times around what I am working. I want to participate in a number of different classes to see which ones I enjoy the most. I think it is important to do a variety to see what I liked the best at the start, so then I have an idea when I think about when I can go each week.

This week I attended my first class which was bodyattack. I was not expecting it to be as intense as it was, but even though I came out in a big, sweaty mess after the session I felt as though I hard worked hard and it is definitely a great cardio workout. I made the mistake of booking my gym induction the day after. I woke up the next morning with aching legs, but I think when your body aches it shows that you worked hard. I thought I was going to a gym induction which would just be showing me how the machines work. How very wrong was I, it turned into an hours personal training session. Considering my lack of exercise history previous to this, I was not prepared in the slightest! When I say I thought my body was literally going to give way on the last set of crunches, I was not exaggerating. I made the error of informing the trainer I wanted to tone up, especially my stomach and legs. Let's just say I was waddling like a penguin the next day, I have never felt a burn quite like it. Saying that, I found the induction really useful as I now don't feel as though the gym will be too daunting next time I go on my own, as I now know how to use the equipment properly to actually get something out of it. He also went through lots of floor exercises with me which I found the most useful as I can also do these at home for days when I don't have time to go but I still want to do some sort of exercise. 

I am not jumping into this thinking I am going to be some sort of Victoria Secrets model in no time, but I am doing this for myself to tone up and feel better in myself ultimately improving my own self confidence. I am going to make it my goal to attend three times a week whether it be a class or a gym session. I am quite lucky in with my job I have 3 or 4 days off a week so I am pretty much aiming on going on all of my days off for the first few weeks to see how it goes. Alongside this I am also trying to eat more healthy. I do not eat 'unhealthy' anyway, but as everyone does I make bad choices and I never feel good in myself after. I am going to try and eat the best I can as I think I think it is vital alongside weightloss and toning up. I have seen quite a few bloggers do a series of fitness updates and I always enjoy reading them. I was wondering whether to do them monthly or just as and when? I think I will see how I get on and will go from there.

Lucy
xoxo