Cheating - on my gym?!

Isn't it silly how small things can throw you off? I am contemplating changing gyms and I feel like I'm committing some form of adultery.

Husband wants to do the Ironman next year. If you don't know what that is, it's a triathlon in super size. You swim a stupidly long distance, then get on your bike and ride even further and when that's all done, you then run a marathon. Lovely. The UK event - for it has gone global - is held in Bolton but the cycle course passes within a mile of our house. I think the fact it's so close is tempting the husband.

This means he will need to train. That means hours on a bike or on the road. So far, so good. But then, he also needs to spend time in the pool and some time in the gym working on strength. Currently, he does not have gym membership. Two years ago, he bought family membership for the local public gyms in our area and that was what got me back into Body Pump. It was familiar as I had been a member for a few years before Monkey and Missy Woo landed on this planet.

After a few months, I was the only one using the membership although I did benefit from half price holiday clubs for the children. Come renewal time, I changed my membership to a single one which was limited to the centre where I go to classes. This doesn't have a pool.

When husband told me he was thinking of doing the Ironman, he started looking at the prices of gym memberships. He does get a NHS discount so thought he would consider everything available in the area.

Yesterday afternoon, he came home from work and told me that he wanted to go to see the gym I used to belong to ages ago. I joined it as it opened, which just happened to coincide with my moving into the area. I was a member there a few years but to me, it was just a little too far to encourage me to attend when I had had a long day. I decided to trail along. With the children. This could have been a mistake.

Well, we loved it. In particular, the children. As a non-parent before, I never really appreciated how brilliant the stuff they did for children was - nor how huge the kids area is. Free classes, up to 4 hours in the kids club every day, the pool, everything. The basic layout of the rest of the gym has not changed much but the gym floor is huge, the studios are enormous and most importantly, everywhere is so well equipped. This has been something that has been my major problem with where I go now - a lot of the Body Pump equipment hasn't been replaced in over 10 years, some of it is bent or broken, and in busy classes, they regularly run out of the stuff you need unless you get there 15 minutes early.

Apart from the cost, it should be a no-brainer. I could go to class, relax in the spa, even do some work there (free Wi-Fi) whilst grabbing coffee or lunch. If I went to classes when husband is at work in the evening, the children could go into the club and be occupied. Nearly all their out of school activities could be covered.

But all around the gym, I felt totally torn. Why do I feel so bad? Some of it is guilt, like I'd be cheating on the people I go to class with - some of whom I've known for 10 years. And yet, these people aren't really friends outside of the gym. I might bump into them out and about (usually in the supermarket!) but that's it. I like the teachers who take my classes - but one of them teaches at both places and I'd be able to get to at least one of her classes. Another teacher I'm familiar with already takes another. I know all the staff on reception - most of them know me pretty well and one of them even recognised my voice when I rang up to book a class. The only thing that really annoys me is the state of the equipment and the fact the management won't do very much about it. One of the weekend staff told me once that I was the only person who ever complained about the equipment; with the subtext that I was a moaning Minnie - but I know that even the teachers have complained.

It's convenient (round the corner from school, 5 minutes from home), and it's comfortable, despite its failings. Perhaps it's the suddenness of it all that's thrown me. Perhaps it's the fact that I'm almost part of the furniture there. Perhaps I am not so comfortable with change as I thought I was. Perhaps I'm only happy with changes that I want to make. Perhaps I didn't love the potential new gym enough - as it does have a few downsides around class scheduling.

I don't know what to do. Husband has offered to pay the difference whilst I try it out. I want to give it an extended try whilst not giving up my current membership so I don't have to rejoin if it doesn't work out. In reality, I don't think that's going to happen - husband wants to join, the children want to join (and to take them to activities, I have to be a member too). Guess that means I will be joining too.

How would you react to a situation like this? Would you follow your head or your heart? Having said that, I'm not actually sure which one favours which option! Perhaps I should just get a life...

Tips for starting Body Pump classes

Following on from my post giving tips for starting a New Year fitness regime and then my post giving tips for starting a diet, I thought I would do another post giving tips for starting at Body Pump classes. I love Body Pump and I currently go three times a week. If I can't go to my usual class, I find a way to go to one at a different time. It makes such a difference to my fitness levels and I really work hard without having to jump up and down or have that much coordination. I blogged back in November how I thought strong is sexy (my most viewed post - wonder why?) and it's still true.

If you don't know what Body Pump is, it's a workout with weights to music. For most of the class, you are using a barbell with adjustable weights. Occasionally, you might use dumbbells. The routine is done in a specific order, working one or two muscle groups at a time. You are usually stood up or lying down with no dance steps to learn. Only certain gyms or leisure centres do classes - the instructors have to do special training which is quite rigorous and they have to attend regular workshops to learn new routines. Routines with new music are released quarterly.

Photo credit: tome213

Before you start, don't even think about starting if you have any major joint or muscle injury. This is particularly true of knee injuries so you might want to get medical advice before you start - although you might be able to modify some of the exercises. I'd also be wary of back injuries.

This set of tips comes with the usual proviso that this is written by me and I'm not a qualified fitness instructor. I did Body Pump for about 3 years before children, then on and off for a while, and I've been back regularly for about 8 months. I've been to classes by a whole range of instructors and have probably been there and done that. So, here we go.

1. Don't be intimidated by the class. Just because you think it's full of lots of fit people, you might think it's not for you until you're fit like them. The class is like that because it makes you fit. Everyone can work at their own level at Body Pump - it is one of its great strengths - and seriously, no-one cares if you're using the tiniest weights or the biggest weights. Take the plunge and give it a go.

2. Make sure you start by learning the techniques. Most places run a clinic or technique class about 15 mins before the actual class starts. Make time to get there for that and introduce yourself as new to the instructor. They will take you through the correct techniques, show you how to change weights, that sort of thing. If your centre doesn't offer these classes, be proactive - get to your first class early and tell the instructor that you're new. It's all about the technique - getting it right will reduce the risk of injuries and ensure you're working the parts you're meant to be working! Whatever you do, don't turn up late to your first class.

3. Position yourself where you can see the instructor easily at your first few classes. You don't have to be right at the front but don't take a gamble on the person in front of you having good technique or staying in time. There are always people who may do a particular move incorrectly or do everything too fast. You want to concentrate on the instructor(they may have another person at the front with the instructor sometimes, they'll be fine to follow too). Remember you will be lying down for some of the time and you'll still need to be able to see them.

4. If you've been doing weights in the gym, don't fool yourself into thinking you can use the same ones for Body Pump. Most people do weights for short sets with breaks in between. Body Pump tracks last between 3 and 5 minutes, and maybe one or two short breaks. You'll need a smaller weight for Body Pump. Trust me.

5. Don't worry about using light weights at first. It may take you a few classes to work out what is right for you. You want to be able to complete the track with good technique but the last few should feel hard (and probably hurt, but in a good way). If it feels too easy, try to make a mental note to use more weight the next time. Or you could be really nerdy and write them down so you know but you soon get a grasp of what weights are right for each track.

6. Use the mirrors if you have them. I know that a lot of people don't like looking at themselves in the mirror but it's really useful to check that you're doing the moves the right way. Personally, I don't think it's any coincidence that you see more people with bad technique at classes in halls where there are no mirrors.

7. Listen to the teaching points. They are given for a reason. Sometimes, the instructor is just giving out general points for you to check your technique. Sometimes, without actually saying, they'll be saying it because they have seen one or more doing it wrong. Always assume it's you until you've checked what they're saying. Some instructors will walk around a class to check technique and speak to you individually. Don't be embarrassed - they want you to get it right.

8. Leading on from points 1, 4 and 5, don't compete with the other participants in the class. This is one trap a lot of men fall into - they see a woman stack weight on for a track and think they have to do more, then can't complete the track. Remember it's about you and what you can do, not whether you're lifting the same weights as someone else. We are all different and have different strengths and weaknesses- literally. If you do go regularly, you will improve and most men progress more quickly than women.And don't do the routines faster because your weight is too heavy - just take some weight off, goddammit!

Photo credit - ayeyah

9. And if you do put too much weight on, don't be afraid to take some weight off in the middle of a track. It's better to finish a track with less weight on than have to give up.

10. Do what works for you. Just because everyone else is doing it, it doesn't mean you have to too. Most people lie on a step for the lying down tracks; I have to lie on a mat on the floor. There is more than one way to hold the bar for squats and lunges(I cannot for the life of me do lunges with the bar on my back - and I need to put my back leg up against a wall). If it doesn't feel right, speak to the instructor or watch to see what others do. If you're scared about changing weights between tracks, and there is ample equipment, you can always have two bars ready to avoid this.

11. Listen to your body. I won't lie - it will hurt as a track progresses if you're doing the exercises correctly, but in a "feel the burn" kind of way. Any sharp, sudden pain should not be ignored. And if it really hurts too much, do stop.

12. Afterwards. Yes, you will be sore the day after and probably a couple of days after that. If you start to go to Body Pump regularly, it will stop happening. If you're suffering from DOMS, baths often help. (As do a couple of painkillers!). More exercise may also help too - but again, listen to your body on that one. Some people say stretching helps with this but I think the jury is out on whether they actually make any difference. By all means, do any stretches the instructor suggests between tracks and during the cooldown at the end.

13. Expect to progress (by increasing your weights) about every 4-6 weeks at first. However, if the routine changes in that time, this might throw you off as some tracks are harder than others in different releases. There is no shame in moving back down or taking weight off mid-track if it's suddenly too hard - or even if you're just having a bad day which we all have occasionally. You will know when it's time to go up - it will suddenly feel a ton easier. Do it track by track - there is no point putting up your weights for all of the tracks if only one routine suddenly feels easier.

14. Finally, enjoy it. Don't give up if it feels like too much after one class. Give it a few weeks; you'll probably start to see some results after about 3 weeks.

I have probably mentioned technique a lot in this post, but please don't be fazed by it. Body Pump is all about the technique, but the moves are not hard to learn. It's just worth spending a bit of time learning the right way to do it when you're starting out.

A final point  - if you really want results, you'll still need to watch what you're eating. It won't make up for you eating too much!

Do give it a go, won't you? If you have any questions about Body Pump, feel free to ask me and I'll try to answer them as best I can.

A bit further along the road - still some way to go!

Six months ago, I wrote that I was halfway along the road on my weight loss journey. Being as that was six months since I started, that should mean I'm there by now, right? Right? Wrong! Is that a bad thing? No!

So what happened? I think the answer is that I have a life to lead. By no means have I not made any progress - I can tell that my clothes are looser, or fit better - I even wear a belt on my jeans now to keep them up and the belt doesn't cut in half so much as it used to. But I also know I still have a way to go to reach the goal that I've set myself, which is to be able to fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes.

Big chunks of life have got in the way. In November, I went away to a family wedding. And there was Christmas too. Actually, I don't think I did too badly then as I was ill just after and I didn't eat properly for a few days. I overate on Christmas Day but hey, that's what you do on feast days, don't you? And I had a birthday with an amazing 10 course tasting menu experience. I'm not going to begrudge any of that because I enjoyed every minute of those times. And every time, I've got back into healthy eating afterwards.

Something slightly more crucial might have hampered my progress. I stopped being quite so careful about recording my food intake. I find, for me, that it's the best way of keeping things in check. I always used to use Food Focus for this but I've recently discovered My Fitness Pal which is very good, and it has phone apps so I can enter my food intake when out and about. So, for the last few weeks, I've got back into that again and because I find the site easier to use, I'm keeping on top of it again. It really helps to make good food choices too. But before that time, I hadn't regularly kept properly on top of things and it's so easy to have an extra few calories here and there which hamper your attempts to lose weight. And it's the food intake you need to be wary of - it has a much bigger effect on your success than anything other than the most punishing of exercise regimes.

Talking of which, my new exercise regime is probably the thing that has gone really well. In October, we got a family membership to the local sports centre and I started going to classes again. In particular, Body Pump which I really love - perhaps even more than I ever did before - as I noted in my post a few weeks after I started back. I go to 2 or 3 classes of that each week, coupled with maybe the odd Combat class. I've had problems with that class recently, in that I was getting backache afterwards which, on talking to the lovely Wendy, appeared to be related to not engaging my core muscles properly when doing lots of side kicks. So, I've had to ease up and that's made me enjoy Combat much less - which upsets me in a way, because when I exercised before, I loved Combat way more than Body Pump. When I've not felt up to that, I have gone back to my old favourite - an EA Sports Active workout on the Wii. My back's a lot better now, and I'm spending a lot more time working with the core muscles.

I probably need to turn my progress into numbers but I don't weigh myself; I'll perhaps cover why in another post. I always used to measure myself to record my progress. Occasionally, I check key measurements and I know that they still mostly equate to the measurements I took when I was six months pregnant with Monkey. I can't help feeling that's quite shocking - and that maybe, my starting point was further from my goal than I first thought.

My only other way to do this is to compare my picture from August to me today, wearing the same clothes and everything. Here we go...


What do you think? I think I can see a difference and I definitely have more "shape". Editing the photos and putting them side by side may change the proportions too! I am not where I want to be yet, but I'm definitely getting there. There's no going back now. Please comment and tell me what you think - I have a fairly distorted self-image sometimes and find it really hard to make comparisons.

And just to finish off, I'm going to post a pic I snapped with my phone yesterday. I like it because I think I look happy and healthy in it, even if you can't see the difference so much since August because of what I'm wearing. And looking healthy, that is what matters, isn't it? I'm never ever going to be stick thin. Thanks to why my shape has changed, I don't think I will ever wear some tops that I wore pre-pregnancy, but the rest of me can get there. If I have to drag it there kicking and screaming, I will. Expect further updates - at the very most, in another six months.

(I've not been paid to mention any of the sites I've linked to. I've mentioned them because I like them!)

Strong is sexy

Recently, I've become a member of a gym again, thanks to my husband taking out a year's family membership. It's given me the chance to start going to classes again - something I did regularly for a few years until the children came along. Before I got pregnant, I used to do 4 classes a week. I tried going again between children but never made more than 1-2 classes per week and as the children got older, I tried again a few times more. One of my issues was that one of them would not like being left in a creche.

But now is the time. The children are in school all day and I can make full use of the membership. The same sort of classes I used to do - namely Body Pump and Body Combat - are still offered where we are members, and all I had to do is get back in the habit. For me, it has not been difficult because they are both classes that I used to love.

When I first started going to these classes, I was really unfit and couldn't move for days. Thanks to some home exercising, it has not been like that this time.

In particular, I can feel the progress in Body Pump. For those of you that have never done it, it is a workout using a barbell to music. Each track is designed to target a particular muscle group, and the class is always done in the same order. There is something about me that likes that about this class.

Knowing that overdoing it would only cause injury, I started on the smallest weights possible and decided to listen to my body and how it coped with each track, making a mental note to up it next time if it felt too easy. My first class was 20th October and I've done about 8 classes in total. In that time, I have moved up weights in all the tracks but in some, I have already moved up 3 times, and am ready to go up again for one of those.

In other words, I can feel myself getting stronger. I can see it too. My arms in particular are looking less flabby and more "toned". (It's actually a word I don't like using that much for other reasons but I can't think of a better way of putting it) Bingo wings in particular are much less diminished.

I called this post "Strong is sexy" because I think it is - and I mean in women just as much as men. I know however that lots of people disagree with me. Now, what I am not suggesting that this is the ideal:

Particularly as she has no fat and women look wrong without a small amount of fat to soften their outline. But if you do like that sort of thing, then fine. You go for it.

What I do mean is more like what my friend Jo achieved. Look here for her weight loss pictures. And she achieved that mostly through weight training. Or perhaps this:

I canvassed opinions on twitter the other day and was surprised how negative people were - about women being "strong". Most people felt that a strong woman was a turn off. Most expect strong women to look like the first picture (they don't, that's very rare and I suspect involves taking steroids) or to be stick thin and that's a turn-off.

I don't think it has to be like that. Yes, the woman in the bottom picture has some muscle definition, but she does have a softness to her outline that the body-builder doesn't. Some of that is down to body shape - I am hourglass so always have curves whatever I do. I suspect unless you see a body-builder like in the top picture, you'd never know that a woman does strength training unless she is very thin.

But is it just about the body shape and how a woman looks? Is having physical strength something that men feel threatened by? Certainly, you will find blokes in Body Pump classes the world over loading up the bar because they are damned if they are going to be outlifted by a "mere" woman. The instructor that sometimes teaches me admits he did the same at his first class and nearly did himself a mischief in the process. They seem to forget that Body Pump is about working to your own level - to the level that works you hardest but safely. It damages their ego that a woman could do better. I see blokes struggling or doing downright dangerous things in classes sometimes because of it.

Now, I am a long way from reaching my goals so I'm not about to post pictures of myself in my underwear on this blog. Body Pump is, however, helping me to progress. I like the feeling of getting stronger. It's empowering because it helps me do things. Does it make me feel sexier? I guess it does. All empowerment does and it's just another form of empowerment. I'm not about to take up body-building, spending insane amounts of time in the gym and possibly risking my health by taking steroids. Body Pump makes the building up of bulky muscles almost impossible in women anyway because we don't have the testosterone in the their body. I'll ask to be taken out and shot if I ever do look like the woman in the top picture. If I end up with a figure like the woman in the bottom picture, or Jo, I will be over the moon.  I suspect it might end up being a curvier version of either, thanks to my body shape, but even then, I won't be unhappy. Building some muscle helps to boost your metabolism (because muscle burns calories, even at rest) making it easier to keep the weight off in the longer term. That sounds like a good thing to me too.

So I tell you - strong is sexy. You may disagree with me, and if so, feel free to explain to me in detail how and why it isn't in the comments below because I'd like to know.

This post was linked to the Show-Off Showcase oh The Boy and Me blog for Saturday 19th March 2011. Click the badge below to see more entries.