Jumping back on the saddle

It became apparent to me recently that I had maybe lost my way a bit over the last couple of years. Without wanting to sound too cliche, I felt like I'd lost the real me and become one of those women who are simply someone's Mum.

Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate what a complete privilege it is to be somebody's Mum and I adore my children and being a Mum. However, since having my first born in 2016 I have forgotten to think about me and been focused on bringing up our children - particularly since we went from a family of 3 to a family of 5 last year!

After a few rather self pitying moments and honest messages and chats with close friends I came to realise I had to start doing something for me again. In particular, making the effort to actually stick to looking after me and not making excuses to avoid it!

Those of you who have followed my blog for a long time will know I used to enjoy a few things before becoming a Mum - never anything too exciting hobby wise admittedly, but I had a few interests and one of those was spinning.

There has been a gym local to our house for quite a while now and I've never really properly looked into it, but after my recent realisation I decided to bite the bullet and make some enquiries.

Fast forward to this week and I found myself signing up to a spinning class.

It's so funny how times change, as I was getting my gym gear on - my old, trusty padded-bum cycling trousers included - I felt a little buzz of excitment. After helping bath the twins and put them to bed I left my fiance to sort our eldest and impatiently waited to make a move round to the local gym.

I was part nervous as to whether I'd be able to keep up and if I'd enjoy the class and then pretty excited I have to admit. How sad - the excitement at leaving the house without kids and being such a little rebel doing something for me!!

As I got in the gym and walked up to the small studio (the fact the gym is ladies only, local, teeny tiny and the spin class works like a silent disco setup all helped no end) I found my confidence return and I started chatting away to the friendly instructor and some other ladies there to take part.

The music began and that was it, I went straight back to my previous spinning classes and felt a huge surge of adrenaline and sensed a great big smile spread across my face - I bet the others thought I was crazy and in need to get out more, hmmm...

These classes are just 30 minutes so it was a great way to get me back into it, I tried to push myself as hard I felt able and not too much that I'd collapse - put it this way I felt sick a few times during the session!

My poor fiance when I got back, I was definitely on some sort of post workout high and I didn't stop talking when I got in. And then it hit - my body went into a bit of a shock I think from the exercise - I felt all wobbly legged and a bit light headed. Lots of water and some dinner and I was fine though and so pleased I'd taken the first step to get back into something I enjoy and try make time for me.

Needless to say I've put my name down for another class and can't wait (bar the achey bum the next day!)

It's lucky I need to find someone to watch the kids in order to go, as I fear my little obsession (three classes a week and having a 'favourite' bike and so on) would soon become the norm again!

Before

 After...

Fitness favouritism

I've mentioned before about my pet hates in the gym and the etiquette most people follow.

Recently I've rediscovered my love for spinning and have attended a few classes. I'm actually hoping to get back into my old routine of 3 classes a week.

Last night reminded me of 2 things. 

1. The power of the instructor and music and their influence on your class experience

2. Gym posers still exist 

It's fair to say I am quite a creature of habit and nobody will agree moreso than my partner when it comes to spinning!

He already got a telling off last night for just picking any old bike, after strict instructions to 'test them out' first.

Anybody whose done spin before will get my point, particularly in Fitness First Romford where it's often a case of bike roulette in the studio. 

You want to make sure you haven't got:

A wobbly bike

A bike where the resistance doesn't adjust properly

A bike where the pedal straps don't tighten or stay done up 

A bike where any of the height adjusters are too tight to change 

All of these points can make your class painful, frustrating or even cause injury.

Anyway, being an old 'veteran' of the classes I knew Thursday nights were run by a lady called Carmel. But as I got into the studio, met by my fiancé standing next to a wobbly bike (god forbid!) I realised there was a cover teacher.

Sometimes this can be a good thing as they challenge you more and teach you new routines.

To be fair this teacher did that. However, until quite near the end I found the class painful and admittedly rather boring.

The music in the main wasn't my sort of thing and it was so quiet. The instructor was very mumbled and so you couldn't really tell what she was saying. She also had this rather interesting approach to getting us to a standing position on the bike - whistling at us like herding some sheep (a reference I owe to my partner!)

Yet again my taking things a bit too far approach kicked in as I also found it annoying the way she kept referring to adding a gear. Most instructors refer to 'turns' and you add either a full turn, quarter or half.

Safe to say I wasn't overwhelmed by the experience and am hoping the regular lady is back next time.

The difference compared to the recent two classes I've done was huge. My legs didn't seem to want to go very fast at all, I found myself tiring more quickly and I seemed to take a long time to feel the effects in the right places (with other classes I can feel the ache in my quads, abs, arms etc straightaway).

As for the gym posers, well, I'll come back to them in another post - they need a blog of their own! 

The class last night made me think though. 

Do you get more out a class where you know the instructor and their methods?

Do you actually hold positions in the correct way if you know the teacher? And as a result get more benefit?

Or is a 'stranger' key to giving your body a shock and actually working different muscles and working you harder? 

Should you in fact go to other classes to break habit and stop your body getting too used to things? 

I'd love to know your thoughts, whether you go spinning or classes, or just generally are into fitness in some way. 

Comment below... 

Spinning: a year on

Sitting on my sofa on a Friday night in my PJs, hungover and having stuffed my face with enough junk food to feed a family for a week, I am about as far away as you can get from a spinning session. However, today marks the day of my 'spinning anniversary', yes it's been a whole year since I discovered spinning.

I remember going to my first class and now I've got familiar with the various instructors and classes at my gym I know I picked a good session to start with. The Thursday night class is a lot calmer and you have more opportunity to go at your own pace if needed. In some of them the instructors are personal trainers and they are like army sergeants!

As I am such a spinaholic now, I thought I'd share a bit about my favourite fitness hobby - why I like it and what it actually involves.

What happens in a spinning class?
Randomly a few people have actually thought spinning is as the name suggests and you spin round and round in a class. No you don't spin round in circles. Spinning is based on stationary bikes that are specially created to allow participants to do the various positions/moves on them - standing, squatting, hill climbs, sprints and so on. At my gym there is a separate room/studio in which around 25-30 bikes are set out in a semi circle featured around the instructor's bike so everyone can see them wherever they are placed in the studio. A spinning class varies from 45 minutes to 60 minutes and can only be called spinning if the instructor is qualified, else it gets referred to as 'RPM'. The class is based around loud, pumping music with a strong beat which you move along to and you can do the class in a dark room or with UV lights or even flashing lights - as if you are in a nightclub! You will find it hard to walk after your first few sessions, particularly the next day and your bum will ache I won't lie! My boyfriend reliably tells me it's quite uncomfortable for men and their bits and pieces too!

On the bike you need to adjust it to suit you, you adjust the height of the handlebars, the height of the saddle, how close the saddle is to the handlebars and of course the resistance once the class starts.

The instructor will shout out the position to get into and often count you down into them and will advise on resistance whether to do a turn up or down and whether it is a full, quarter or half a turn.

How the class runs depends on the instructor, so in classes I've been in there have been exercises/moves such as:

Squats - either actually doing a squat whilst standing, but stopped on the bike or holding in your abs and lowering your legs so the tension is on your quads and you continue to pedal
Spin/sprint - whether off the saddle or seated you have to pedal as fast as you can
Hover position (off the saddle, leaning forward with your bottom just over the seat)
'Position 4' standing upright with your abs in
Seating upright
Seated leaning forward
Seated arm push ups (with arms out for biceps and in for triceps)
Standing arm push ups (with arms out for biceps and in for triceps)
One armed cycling
One leg focused pedalling
Super slow pedalling
Hill climbs (very very high resistance)
Various circuits

Some classes include a variety of moves and constant changes stand up/sit down/stand up/sit down, whilst others focus on blocks of set moves. All these sessions will be hard, but some instructors take a bootcamp approach to running the class, some walk round and turn up your resistance and shout at you to go faster, some are more concerned about technique, some really get into their own spin experience and shout or scream.

A key part to the spinning session is the music - it's got to be fast and bassy enough. I for one am a fan of those classes that feature garage, house, old school clubbing tunes and R&B. When it's dark you can often catch me having a bit of a sing along to some of the songs and if I get songs I like I go so much faster, I get some sort of hidden super boost to my speed!

The last five minutes are used to do stretches - the instructor will take you through a set of appropriate ones and show you how to do them.

Tips
* You definitely need a towel - you sweat profusely
* You definitely need a bottle of water (a big one)
* Get a saddle cover or padded trousers or both (the saddles hurt!)
* Some people wear cycling gloves to allow grip on the handlebars (you slip a lot where so sweaty and some bike handlebars are
made from a rougher material so can hurt your hands)
* Try find out what the classes are like at the gym you go to so you can try out a 'calmer' version of the class. If you go to a
more extreme one the first time round it might put you off!
* Go at your own pace and build up (speed and resistance wise)
* Keep your focus on technique - shoulders relaxed and abs tight (you will feel the pain/after-burn more and see better results)
* Make sure you have short or tight fitted bottoms on so nothing can get caught up in the pedals or wheels
* Some people have special cycling footwear which can be 'clipped in' to the pedals to help them feel more secure and be able to
go even quicker
* Keep an eye on the instructors legs/speed to get an idea if your resistance is too high/low
* If you're a girl and have long hair, pull it back, it will get in your face and you will sweat and want to keep cool

What are the benefits?
1. It's great fun
2. I've really found since I've been going it's helped me in my weight loss (you can burn an average 400-700 calories per session)
3. Great for sculpting your body shape - biggest change I've seen in my body shape from doing spin overall (particular my bottom, legs and arms)
4. It takes your mind off things, good stress-buster
5. Great for strengthening your core
6. Great for developing your fitness
7. Focused session which really pushes you, achieve a lot in not a huge amount of time, I realised how I hadn't properly pushed
myself in gym sessions over the years once I started these classes
8. Even if you are tired or fed up it's great because the music and high energy of the class boosts your mood and pushes you on


I could go on about this class and how much I love it, but you'll be pleased to know I'm now going to come to a stop. A year on I still thoroughly enjoy this form of exercise and would recommend it to everyone - we get all shapes, sizes and ages in our class and if you have any injuries you can advise the teacher before and they'll advise what you can/can't do. At times of late just when I've started to feel I might be getting a tad bored with the class then suddenly they seem to get updated/amended! And to be fair I do go to up to 5 classes a week!

On that note I'm off to enjoy my lazy relaxing evening for a bit before tomorrow morning's next spinning session!

Sunbed saving syndrome

Wow. Nearly two weeks since I last blogged. Even then it was a book review.

I've been pretty busy of late. What with work, social life and diet/fitness!

To be honest the blog has gone at the bottom of the pile (well it's not even made the pile if I'm honest!) That is until the last day or so when various people - whether friends, family or work colleagues/friends - have all commented on the fact the blog has gone so quiet.

Nothing like a reminder people actually do like what you do (well at least read it) to give you a much needed kick up the backside!

So here I am. I'm hurriedly typing away on my iPhone on the train home after rushing out the office to make sure I left on time and attempted to get an earlier train back. The reason being? Spinning.

My diet/exercise/weight journey has been somewhat mixed of late, due mostly to my stress levels being increased and my personal time being decreased. End result? Default reaction of being lazy and stuffing my face with food and booze of course.

I've had the usual confusion, doing less exercise one week and not being as strict with healthy eating then seeing a big weight loss. Or this week's fascinating result after two days of exercise only and five days of bad food and booze, resulting in no weight gained at all! How does that work??

Today I have been walking a tad duck-like and wincing as I walk, all thanks to one reason. Yesterday I went for a 5k run outside. I've not done this for over a month and don't get me wrong it was nice to do for a change and to be in the fresh air.

However the reason I went for a run, well HAD to go for a run does not amuse me.

Readers, followers, friends, let me introduce you to Sunbed Saving Syndrome.

You know those annoying people when you're on a typical package holiday who get up at the crack of dawn, chuck their garish towel over a sunlounger round the pool and then sod off for half the morning elsewhere?

Irritated already at the thought? Me too.

Well, how great to find the same thing is now happening at spinning, with the bikes.

Granted, people used to put a towel or bottle on a bike to save it just before a class, or the odd annoying person would leave something of theirs over a bike and come back in the studio mere minutes before spinning began, but it was a minority.

Now it seems every bloody muppet is doing it! Meaning you have to get to a class earlier and earlier and if like me you dare to have a job and can't get there early you are left with one of the (ever increasing) bikes that wobbles, squeaks, has a resistance dial that doesn't work etc.

This was already causing me to rant. We all know I love a good moan.

Yesterday however was the final straw for me. I got up early on a Sunday morning, I got to the class about 20 minutes early and there were NO BIKES.

Every single bike was covered in a towel, water bottle or blue roll. And there was not one single person to be seen.

All the bikes had been 'saved' like aforementioned sunloungers by people that weren't even there.

So we had to leave the studio without spinning.

The gym has the option to have a sign up system but currently only does this on one of the six classes on offer.

I'm now off to attempt tonight's class and the gym staff be warned if I don't get in tonight I will not be simply leaving the gym and taking this lying down. Oh no, true British tourist loudmouth behaviour will be well in force!

Be warned!

First gym session of 2013 done!

I'm sitting here relaxing watching 'Celebrity' Big Brother. So far only two people have gone in jockey Frankie Dettori and X Factor Essex boy Rylan Clark. I'll see who else comes in as I carry on writing this blog post.

So after another four day break, lots of booze on New Years Eve and a three course Italian meal last night I decided today enough was enough.

I kept to a healthy diet today, tried to drink lots of water and packed my bag this morning ready for spinning.

I've been tired since this year started - January blues I guess - and so I wasn't as eager to get to the spin studio as usual.

Lo and behold yet again where I've planned to ease myself back in with the 'easy' class on a Thursday, the teacher wasn't there.

Tonight's class was covered by a great cover instructor (I've only had one class with him before), but oh my goodness it was tough. So tough I couldn't stop sweating and had sweat in my eyes and at one lovely point dripping into my mouth!

We did a host of tough routines, including a few non-stop fast as you can spins for the whole of the track. In addition, we had to endure a long track split into 30 second sprints and 10 second recovery breaks in between.

My legs felt like jelly and I felt fit to drop by the time the class was over. I could just about manage the stretches at the end if I'm honest.

Okay Celebrity Big Brother update - Paula Hamilton (former supermodel) and now Tricia Penrose (used to be on Heartbeat). Hm...

Rylan and Frankie have to decide who goes in the grotty basement and who goes in the house. To be honest so far the program is already grating on me!

Anyway back to spinning. So the class was tough and it was due to be 45 minutes long but ended up lasting nearly an hour!

I've stuck to my healthy eating tonight and yes as I'm on Dry January I've not had any alcohol either. Three days and counting!

Before yesterday's visit to the ballet we went for a meal and I was shocked how I did feel it was an effort not to drink - wine glasses on the table, my boyfriend teasing me about drinking and (something I hadn't considered) lots of the dishes were cooked in or included a sauce which involved red or white wine!)

I made it safely through you'll be pleased to know. However I can tell people will need a lot more convincing before believing I will be successful in this challenge. Still not even one donation on my page!

Time now to sit back and zone out to this reality TV junk and then I'm off to bed this no drinking is an exhuasting business you know!

Week Three: Hard work pays off

Here I am, two weeks down and beginning my third week of healthy eating and exercise. Last week I achieved a five pound weight loss which I was so happy about.

Admittedly I was nervous about this morning's weigh in, after such a big drop last week I wondered if there'd be no loss today. Also the epic pork belly lunch which left me stuffed for hours was sure to be sitting on my hips!

I got on the scales and hooray! Another loss. This week I'd lost two pounds and my body fat is going down too, so it's good weight loss.

It felt great, I've lost seven pounds, half a stone, in the last two weeks. Seeing results really keeps me motivated and want to push on.

I also realised I've not had alcohol for two weeks. Much to my boyfriend's humour I'm actually quite proud of this fact! And as a girl who loves her vino this is quite a shocker! I feel great for it.

Of course all good things must come to an end, I'm off out with the girls on Saturday night and I'm not planning to go without booze then. I just hope that as by then it'll have been a three week break from alcohol I don't actually drunkenly fall on the floor after one glass!

I won't lie for some reason I felt exhausted tonight and I really was on the verge of not going to the gym tonight. I'd had a break yesterday though and as I know I definitely can't go Wednesday and I'll be boozing on Saturday I decided I had to at least try.

It was tough. For some reason I had no energy, but then eventually I got in 'the zone' as people say and I managed to do my planned 5k.

I wasn't too impressed with the long wait for the bus in the freezing cold winds and heavy rain. However, now sitting here in my PJs cosy in my flat that is long forgotten.

Oh and I've put my name down for spinning tomorrow so I better snap out of this lazy mood, it's the strict instructor tomorrow...

Spinners Anonymous

I love spinning. We all know this. In fact I'm probably a little addicted I admit.

However tonight tested me somewhat.

I always have to rush to the gym in order to get to the class in time. What makes it worse is that people 'reserve' a bike for themselves. Often they do this way in advance of the class and what drives me insane is that they then turn up last minute or late to the session!

This annoys me usually, but today after getting hot and bothered on the train it was bound to get to me even more tonight.

What made it worse today is that on the Tuesday class you have to put your name down and reserve your place. Which I always do.

Off I rush to the studio today, thankful for the cold air con in the gym. I get in the studio, it's boiling and every bike has people's towels/bottles etc on them, those that don't have the dreaded blue roll on it.

I've gone regularly to the class the last few weeks and always put my name down and turned up. Apparently this means absolutely nothing.

I could not seem to find one spinning bike that was free and the instructor wasn't in the room yet. Off I went downstairs to reception where a really helpful member of staff told me if my name is down ignore the blue roll and pick a bike. End of.

I returned upstairs happy and swiftly moved over to a bike, noticing the instructor was now there...and he was watching me.

"Er that bikes taken"

I hastily told him about my visit downstairs and what they said (and note this was a few minutes before class starts and said bike 'owner' was still not there). I even mentioned how often I go to the class and always make sure I put my name down.

"But this one's taken. Sorry"

At this point my blood was starting to boil. Believe me the way I feel lately I am not in the mood to have people mess me about.

Thankfully - for my insanity and moreso the safety of the instructor - there was one lone bike spare at the back, which he encouraged me towards.

I shot him a dirty look, huffed a bit and then set myself up on this spinning bicycle.

It took me a good ten minutes into the session to stop shooting him angry looks (its in the dark so this was a tad pointless, but it made me feel better!) Eventually I did calm down and made the most of the session.

I just hope that next week it doesn't happen again.

Yes that's right I'm going back next week, I put my name down and I'm going to grace this instructor with my presence again.

The honest reason being because quite frankly I love this man's class, it's fun and he pushes you hard, but in an enjoyable way. Plus Thailand is coming up and I don't have long left to get in shape, there aren't many classes left.

I truly am a sucker for spinning.

Treadmill tunes

Something happened to me today. I woke up and then spent an hour reading in bed, before falling back to sleep. As a result I felt quite lethargic when it came to getting up and must admit I was expecting to find today's gym workout pretty hard going.

We didn't get to the gym until midday, which in a way was nice as it wasn't too busy. I'd only had one weetabix and a cup of coffee (I normally have two before the gym, but there was only one left).

So we set out on the treadmill, on day 13 now of this healthy eating/exercise. My boyfriend informed me he was going for 40 minutes or so on there, but I expected to do around 20 minutes or so.

Anyways, as I said something happened to me. After a five minute warm up walk I then went into a run. Around ten minutes into the running I felt my triband starting to hurt and I was tiring (I normally only do about 15 minutes running). However, I decided to push on with it and managed a 20 minute run - thanks to The Saturdays, Maroon 5 and Rihanna!

I then went for a brisk steep hill walk and rather than feeling tired out I actually felt another bit of energy coming back. So I switched on the Foo's Pretender and managed to do more running and at a faster speed. I felt great.

I therefore ended up with a 45 minute session on the treadmill, then moved on to the bike. Again I seemed to get a huge burst of energy return, which increased once I had some garage tunes playing in my ears. After 20 minutes I did a brief 5 minutes on the rower but again managed to push myself harder and faster there too.

The power of music in exercise truly is amazing. I've had this before though and at one point found a couple of new Take That songs made me run faster (odd I know!)

However, I have never had such bursts of energy like I did today. I don't know am I just getting fitter, did that extra bit of sleep help me out or was it just a new selection of music? I'm back in the gym again tomorrow, so we shall see.

The weird thing is that I'm also always starving after a gym session, today though I didn't feel hungry. I've had a low fat soup and ryvitas and don't get me wrong it was nice, but I still didn't feel that hungry or that I needed it.

I really don't know what's come over me. Fingers crossed I'm getting fitter and getting used to eating less. Either that or music is even more powerful than I thought and helps curb your appetite too!!

Should it always be fitness first?

Why is it so easy to put on weight and become lethargic, yet so hard to shift it and get motivated? A couple of years ago I decided enough was enough and was determined to get myself in shape. I did this through a variety of means – going to the gym, boxercise, swimming and eating more healthily. I managed to lose nearly three stone in weight and dropped 2-3 dress sizes. I felt much healthier and happier with myself and found myself disgusted when I looked at old photos of myself.

However, what with this year having been one where there have been a few issues to deal with, my healthy regime slacked somewhat and I have quickly piled the pounds back on. What is the key to keeping healthy and dealing with what life has to throw at you, and in turn maintaining a good social life?

I know so many women who like me find they are constantly unhappy with their size. Is it just we are never happy whatever our bodies look like? Or are some of us just destined to be on a diet or some kind of plan all our lives?

Why is it some of us get stressed and can’t eat, yet the rest get down and get the munchies? How comes some people don’t really get much enjoyment out of food and just see eating as a chore, whilst others use eating as a social experience? Or what about those lucky souls who seem to eat what they like and don’t pile on the pounds?

I wonder what age do you get to when you feel satisfied with how you look? Or do you ever reach that point? Are us ladies just hard on ourselves (and perhaps men too) and spend our whole life judging how we look – not developed enough when young, too fat, too thin, and then when old too wrinkled, too grey?

If I set aside the time I have a variety of fitness options at my fingertips – the gym, Wii Fit, Zumba workout (I’ve had a Wii game since August and still not tried it), classes at the gym, a running club where I live, swimming, boxercise indoors with my boyfriend (he used to PT), when the weather is warm I live right near a park and fields so could go for long walks/runs. Why does it always seem we don’t have enough time?

Do we in fact always have enough time and make excuses all the time in reality? One thing I find hard is when to push myself more and when to perhaps take a break when the rest of my life is a bit manic. If I have a hard day at work should I push myself to go to the gym and relieve any tension with a workout? Or should I give myself time to relax and go when I am not so tired? I really do find it hard recognising if I am being lazy or if my body is legitimately tired out and needs a break.

So, I guess, if anybody is out there who has found some exercise plan they have stuck to, someone who manages to find time always to get their fitness regime to work and has achieved a good balance between going out, having fun and keeping their weight in check, please give me a shout! Any tips are much welcomed!

I worry about classes as my coordination is bad, I’m not sure whether to join a running club as each time I go to the gym my running abilities seem to vary. Is there something ideal out there for me? Am I just making excuses? What do you think?

I am in need of some fitness friends and some workout wonders please!.... Well after I pig out for a week in Morocco first, of course...

Gym etiquette

So, after four days of gyming it last week (and a day off due to a hangover on Sunday), I decided today I would go for the workout DVD instead. Rather than my usual 1hour+ I ended up doing half hour on it – the warm up and dance section, still it got me sweating and it was better than nothing so I was relatively okay with my efforts.

That is until I discovered that my boyfriend’s laptop is still not working and I had the ‘bright’ idea to go over to my Mum’s and use her computer (where I am now), but that I should walk here. Admittedly it took less time than I imagined and I walked it in just over half an hour, but I was in flipflops and now I am a bit hot and bothered and adorned with four lovely blisters (two on each foot). Just what I wanted!

I’ve just recently started getting back in to my whole healthy eating and exercise regime, after a bout of being a bit lazy really. It’s funny how quickly you get out of shape just from even the shortest break away and I hated how I was feeling so now I’m trying to stay on track and get myself sorted again.

Last week on one of my many gym visits though I found myself in a right panic as I realised I’d left my towel at home – not one I use to shower with (I tend to go home and get washed after a workout there), but a small towel I use for when I get a bit sweaty on the machines etc. I really did feel lost without it and having to use that horrible blue coloured paper stuff was just not the same.

As I stepped into the gym and started to press all the treadmill buttons to get my workout started I noticed on looking around me that quite a lot of people don’t take a towel with them at all. Obviously a lot of people choose to use said tissue provided in the gym, but many it seems just don’t bother at all and let themselves sweat all over everything and well basically just leave it and move on to the next machine. This is something, amongst many other things in the gym, which really does wind me up.

To me, there are a few rules you should stick to – gym etiquette as it were – in order to have a good gym experience and ensure those around you get the same.

Be dressed appropriately

Now, obviously if you wear the wrong type of footwear and injure yourself that’s down to you and it doesn’t affect me if your trendy ‘boat shoes’ or pretty little pumps don’t support your feet and ankles properly. However, I think people that turn up in their jeans, inappropriate footwear and the like are just plain rude and show a bit of a lack of respect when they enter the gym.

Moreover, are the people who think they are there to show everyone every last inch of themselves – not good. I admit, this is mostly limited to women – apart from those men who don’t quite seem to understand that loose and very short shorts reveal way too much about them and constant squatting or sitting with their legs akimbo on a weights machine really does leave nothing to the imagination. Ew... Some girls don’t get me wrong look amazing and if I was as toned and in shape as them I too would want to wear a crop top and roll the top of my jogging bottoms down – although perhaps not so far that I start to reveal the top of my thong?! One of the classic sights in my gym though is a rather shall we say elderly lady who comes to the gym with a thick sweatband on and usually some sort of shorts or cropped trousers. However the band on her head probably covers up more than what she wears on top – a bra. No, not a sports bra or a crop top, but a full-on granny style bra, add to that a nice wrinkly muffin top and you get the picture. Now I am not one to judge in a gym, I spent the first few months of my membership hiding in a side room as I was convinced people were laughing at me and all sorts. But honestly, is this sort of attire really necessary, who is it benefiting??

Wipe down the equipment

So, everyone sweats in the gym, it’s a fact of life and necessary and those people who go to the gym and don’t sweat, well quite frankly work a bit harder! However, if you find as you run some sweat drips from your hairline onto the treadmill, you sit on the rowing machine and leave a bit of a sweat patch on the seat, or sitting on a weights machine you leave lines of sweat on the back of the seat then for goodness sake please just wipe it up!

The number of people who leave machines drenched in their sweat is ridiculous and it’s not nice for the next person waiting to go on – some machines may be the only one available in your gym, or in busy periods you just need to get on whatever you can, so you can’t be picky if a machine presents itself sweaty or not. So what do you do? Am I expected to wipe up someone else’s sweat, or worse still do these people think we should use our towels to wipe up somebody’s else’s mess? Yuck, no thank you.

Keep things tidy

I go to the gym armed with towel, water bottle, mp3 player, asthma inhaler and my membership card but I appreciate some people prefer to travel light and use the facilities there. Fine. But, if you use the blue paper towel to wipe something up throw it in the bins, do not leave it in the pockets of the machine meant to house the next person’s water bottle. If you buy an energy drink from the vending machines when you’ve drunk it do not leave it on the machine or the floor, put it in the bin! The other day in fact my Mum went to go and sit on the bike and someone had just used some paper towel and left it scrunched up on the seat, lovely. Seriously, how hard can it be?

Muscle meatheads

Don’t get me wrong I appreciate the form of men who work out and put in all that effort to look so ‘buff’, but if they come in the shape of dumbbell dropping, grunting, arrogant morons then I am not a fan. Why do gyms always seem to get those guys who have to show just how big and strong they are by making all sorts of unimaginable noises as loud of possible. Yes, I can see you’re lifting a weight, yes I can see it’s very heavy and you have big, strong arms, but no I am not impressed with your grunts echoing around the room and putting me off my session.

Or the best is when you’re somewhere near those guys lifting weights who are such ‘hard’ men that they don’t put weights back, oh no, not for them they just drop them. On the floor which makes the area near it vibrate, or in most cases makes people around you jump out their skin. To me dropping it like that makes guys look more weak as if they had to drop the weight suddenly as it got too much for them surely?

A few months back my gym had a bit of a revamp and got some new machines in, most of the ones they replaced were actually better in my humble opinion but anyway...What I then found much to my dislike, was that the meatheads then decided this area – a bit like ‘muscle beach’ (you know the bit I mean!) – should also belong to them and they would hog the machines. So now, when I want to go on the lat pulldown or the leg press for instance I normally have to wait for some gym obsessive to finish his set (which seems to mostly consist of staring and then flexing his muscles, rather than any weight lifting) before I can get started. Before the old equipment area was deemed ‘for girls’ and they left well alone, but because it’s all shiny and new they want a piece of it.

Anyway I should really be concentrating more on getting in the gym and sorting my body out, rather than whingeing about the behaviour in it. For now I’ll step around the dropped dumbbells and avoid the sweaty bits on the machines, I’ll only use one hole of the machine storage area and make sure I clean up after myself. Perhaps one day one of these people will slip on the mess or drop the barbell on their foot and then we’ll all have a break from them for a while. One can only dream as I enter my gym tomorrow and endure the sweat pouring out of me as yet again they decide they can’t really be bothered to switch the aircon on or turn the music to an appropriate volume or upbeat channel.