Back at the Gym

You may see this post a few times on the this blog, but we’ve started back at the gym recently and after 4 visits I’m feeling good and excited for our new routine.

We’re starting with 3 days a week, Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday. Eventually we want to increase this but don’t want to make it too much to start with.

I think every time we’ve joined a gym we’ve said we will go early before work. Has this ever happened? No.

However, we made it to the gym on Wednesday and I felt amazing for it. We even made it into work slightly earlier than usual. I felt a sense of accomplishment that I’d been and worked out already. It really set me up for the day and somehow I was full of energy, until I got cosy on the sofa when I got home that is.

I think before I’ve always worried I won’t be able to get ready, I’ll look a mess or I’ll be rushed, but that wasn’t the case at all. We went at the weekend before and tried out getting ready and wondered what all my fuss had been about, it was perfectly fine and I think I look decent and not like a hot mess.

I’m going to put in my best and continue with my gym journey.

A Yoga Update

Recently I’ve started to notice big changes from when I first started yoga and even just a few months ago. I’ve never really noticed too much until now, I’ve always thought I’m not progressing much and that was because I’m not putting in a lot of time.

However that isn’t the case at all. I may not be practicing every day or for hours (or even 1 hour) when I do practice but I can see a difference in my body and the postures I’m now able to do or get deeper in now.

When I first started I couldn’t touch the floor or my toes without bending my legs, my leg flexibility wasn’t the best at all. I can now easily touch my toes and even place my hands on the floor without having to do lots of stretches to warm up. I was amazed at this, I never thought I’d soon be getting my chest to my legs or be able to hold behind my legs for the extra stretch, but I can.

I’ve also noticed even though I find my back and shoulders still ache a lot that they’re becoming more open too. Spinal twists are one of my favourites as they feel a-maz-ing.

I’ve started trying to do one power yoga flow each week to bring my strength up, which I feel fits well with my two BJJ sessions each week. I then fit in some nice stretchy flows when I can. The day after BJJ is perfect for a good stretchy flow to ease my aches.

I’m so glad yoga and BJJ compliment each other so well, flexibility and strength are important for both. I’m also so happy to see the difference in my body, I just want to keep pushing on with more confidence that I’ll one day reach those splits or handstand.

BJJ – One Month In

I can’t believe it’s been a whole month since we started out BJJ classes. In someways it feels like it’s been so long and in others it feels like no time at all.

I feel so comfortable turning up to classes, getting into my Gi and warming up with some shrimps across the mat. I’ve actually nailed getting the correct leg for the all of the lengths in last 3-4 sessions, I was either starting wrong or getting muddled up in the middle. Yeh I’m easily confused with my left and right so it takes some thinking about.

We’ve gone through a range of moves to get around different setups but it’s going to be a long while before I have those mastered. Which is why it feels like I’ve not been doing it long at all.

One thing I love is that we can fully spar at the end of a session and try things out in a more real situation, I’ve discovered my boney elbows are actually very useful for getting out of someone’s guard.

I can see why people say that BJJ is learning to be calm in a difficult situation, which is something I need to work on as I do panic when I’m being squashed and can’t fully breathe.

I’m sure it will all come with more experience and confidence. I’m looking forward to my next session after finished my last one only a couple of hours ago.

The start of BJJ – Aching like a B….

Me and Si have been discussing starting a martial art for a while now and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) has been at the top of the list. We found a nice and down to earth local club and discovered that a member of the club offers private sessions at a really good price. This was all we needed to finally take the plunge and we setup our first private class for last Saturday.

We decided to start with private classes to gain fitness and some confidence before heading to the regular sessions. I was quite nervous starting a martial art as I’m not exactly the fighter type, I can say I’ve never been in a fight and I know I’d be terrible. I think this is why the grappling side appealed to me over punching and kicking, I also like the thought that goes into the fights around your position and moves. I’ll be able to use my small nimbleness to my advantage and move quickly before my opponent figures out what I’m doing. Well that’s the thought anyway, but it’s going to be a loooong while before I get to that level.

We started the session practicing the shrimp move, which felt so very weird and wrong when we started but I can see how useful it will be to move out of the way of an opponent. We have also learnt a few moves and have started to look at how we would get past a persons guard. I’m really enjoying doing these moves with Si and find myself laughing quite often. The size difference can make things a little more challenging but still so much fun. I had worried that being that close with random people would be strange, especially as I’m not a touchy person, but I got past that thought so quickly.

I’ve really enjoyed the first couple of classes and I actually thought ‘oh Sunday is now so far away’ after the last class on Tuesday. Although the rest is welcomed, as after both classes I’ve ached all over my body like a b….

I’ll keep the blog posted as we progress and for now I’ll keep looking forward to Sunday morning.

Why I do Yoga

Over the last year yoga has become a staple in my daily routine. I’ve tried yoga on and off for many years but this time it’s stuck for good.

I started practicing yoga for the body benefits as I’ve struggled with a painful hip for many years now, which the physio put down to it being weak. I therefore wanted to use yoga as a way to strengthen my body and give me more suppleness.

During my yoga journey I’ve discovered that along with the body benefits yoga gives me my own head space. When practicing yoga I’m able to get out of my head and clear my thoughts. If I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed, which is often since I’m a super worrier, I’ll head to my mat. When looking for stress relief I tend to go with a slow relaxing flow, however yoga gives me the flexibility to work around how I feel which means I can pick out a flow for specific body areas or for strengthening if I want a good workout.

I’ve found some amazing YouTube channels including Journey Junkie, Yoga with Adriene and Cat Meffan. Cat’s videos are my go to and I’d highly recommend checking out her Channel, Blog and Instagram.

I like to get a 10-15 minute flow in as soon as I wake up in the week, this helps wake me up, stretch out any aches and sets me up for the day. At the weekends I’ll increase this to 30-60 minutes. The great thing with yoga is that I can fit it in when I want and I can pretty much do it anywhere and anytime.

Right now I’m trying to focus on strengthening my body as I want to one day be able to do some amazing inversions, however these will probably be a while away yet.

The Gym – 6 weeks in

Around 6 weeks ago myself, my husband and a friend joined a local gym with the hopes of getting our bodies to where we want them to be. We all have different goals and are at different stages of our body journeys but it’s great to have awesome gym buddies who will push you when you need it.

Whilst on holiday at the start of May we used the lovely little gym that they had onsite and this gave us the boost we needed to carry on when we got home. It was also where I started adding weights to my workout which I’ve never felt too comfortable with before. This was because I felt like I didn’t know what to do and thought that I wouldn’t be able to do it. I think the fact that we had the weights room to ourselves helped me overcome the worry as I knew there was no one else around watching me.  Now since joining the gym I’ve tried so many other new thing, including squats on a squat rack which I never thought my weak little legs could do!

Previously I’ve struggled to stick at the gym and never found the love that so many other people mention, I thought it was just not for me and that I’d never find that passion for exercise. I was so wrong, you just need to find the thing that works for you, for some this is cardio but for me it’s weights. I’ve discovered that I personally find cardio boring after 10 minutes and that it doesn’t give me the same feeling of strength and accomplishment as weights do.

I actually look forward to going to the gym and miss it when it’s rest day, which unfortunately due to illness been the last week. However I’m still keen and ready to go next week (which I was worried I wouldn’t be after such a break). I’m learning how to balance the gym with the rest of my life and ensure I don’t get burnt out. The most difficult thing for me is stopping and resting when I should because I want to do everything all the time and struggle to relax and sit still for more than 5 minutes!

My husband has been amazing support and has really helped build my confidence with weights. He has been planning our sessions and showing us the correct ways to do each exercise. This has dispelled any worry I had and I’ve learnt so much from him in the last 6 weeks, I now have the confidence to put together my own sessions and know I’m doing things correctly.

As well as this I’ve found online to be a great source of information on routines, exercises, motivation and tutorials (it’s always good to ensure you do weights correctly). Recently I’ve been watching and following a few people who I’d highly recommend  – The Lean Machines, Carly Rowena & The Buff Dudes.

This is only the start of my journey to health, fitness, strength, confidence and loving my body. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me!