Monday 26 March 2012

Today's the Day

This was really my first blog post. I wrote it on 9th December 2011. But I didn't have a blog then, so I saved it. It should explain to you why I'm here.

today's the day.

today's the day when you change everything.

Starting this blog required a deep breath and a bit of a leap. putting myself out there and admitting there's something I WANT and I AM GOING TO GET. Not something I'm terribly comfortable with, but I'm finding liberating.

I gave up my job almost 8 years ago, in 2004, to have my family. I'm currently teaching bellydance and being a full time mummy to my two splendid children. When I worked I was a political lobbyist and got a diploma in Public Relations. Now that seems like a whole other world, and one that I really don't miss at all.

But now, my youngest child is starting school in August and the reality of getting myself back in the job market is dawning. The world of politics really doesn't need me back - there have been 2 Scottish Parliament elections since I quit, and I could barely name even a handful of MSPs now, when once I was on first name terms with plenty of them!

I love teaching dance. I enjoy the relationships I have with my students as I watch them grow and improve as dancers. I love health and fitness, and I have a real problem with sitting still - this summer I ran 7 half marathons.

I want to become a personal trainer.

Today was the day I put it out there. Some trainers from a local gym were in attendance at our school Christmas Fair. I asked them about their qualifications and for their recommendations on training to become a personal trainer. They were helpful. Asking for help was, for me, vocalising, and making a positive step towards, something I'd been thinking about for a while now.

There were three trainers. They were helpful and chatty. They were all young men with big bulky biceps and well-toned upper bodies. They reminded me greatly of Geordie Shore. (Let me be clear that I like Geordie Shore.)

But not to put too fine an point on it, if I made an appointment with a personal trainer, and one of them turned up, I'd be intimidated and uneasy. I am not going to make the most of my workout taking direction from someone 15 years my junior with megamuscles. And that made me think, someone like me really should be a personal trainer.

I felt even more sure that wanting this was the RIGHT THING FOR ME TO DO.   

So I'm blogging about it, right from the start. Jillian Michaels made this recommendation to a fan who wanted to become a personal trainer - get a blog, chart your progress, review fitness DVDs. Bore the pants off anyone who'll listen. I've been a diarist since 1986 and I hope I can communicate my journey in a reasonably interesting way!

Thanks for being here at the start of my journey. I want to share what I want, and how I achieve it, as well as the joys, failures, and funny bits of the journey. I hope you get something out of it too!

Yoga Week

This morning I went back to bed instead of working out.

Which means it might seem like an odd day to begin my fitness blog. But in fact it's such a *rare* sort of day that it makes it a very good day for reflection. Y'see, rest days don't come easily to me. I have my fitness routine and I don't like to upset it. It takes a lot for me to sit still when I could be running, dancing, working out, walking, hooping. Going back to bed for an extra hour of sleep (when I woke up feeling far too tired for a Monday) was, I think, my way of looking after myself - prioritising my energy over my desire for an endorphin rush.

I need some rest at the moment. At the start of March I ran my first half marathon of the year, in 1 hour 45 minutes, and I don't feel like I've properly recovered from it. When I run I am lacking stamina and my quads ache after about 5 minutes. On my 10-miler last week I took 4 walking breaks - I didn't take a walking break on any of my long runs all winter, and here I am taking FOUR!  So I need to rest - but I HATE missing my running endorphins.

So I reckon I need a yoga week - no running, no working out, no weights, just some stretching (albeit challenging stretching, that would be fine - I need *some* endorphins, no?!)

So I am well chuffed that this arrived in the post today:
Can't you just see how chuffed I am?! I think Bob Harper's great. I love Pure Burn and Cardio Conditioning from the same series - especially the Pure Burn. I'll ping out of bed tomorrow morning for this, and won't pause to think that I'm not going for my usual Tuesday morning interval training session.

Review to follow!

I did go to my pilates class today - at Portobello Leisure Centre, normally with the lovely Jane Jamieson. I started going to her less than a year ago when I got a spasm in my hip flexor and decided some pilates would be good medicine to stop it happening again. She is very attentive, gives lots of one-to-one attention in class to those who need it, and helps me tailor the class to my own needs - strengthening the area around my hip flexors. It's a really nice class, all ladies, and I don't think any of them would be too offended if I said that I was the youngest there!

Well, today's class wasn't taken by Jane, it was Paula. A totally different style of teaching - much more talking, about twice as many exercises as we're used to, using squidgy balls and stretchy straps. I enjoyed it, even if it was a bit too fast for me - we seemed to fly through the exercises without *really* getting a feel for any of them - but we'll see how I feel tomorrow to find out how hard I really worked! It's the last chance I'll get to go to pilates for a few weeks as the school holidays start next week, so I hope it gave my core a good workout.

See you later - post Bob-Yoga!