I went to a spin class this morning as I was cold and figured this would warm me up. Well it did, but God was it hard.

It is not cast in stone as it very much depends on your body weight and how strong you are taking it but it is thought that spin can help your body burn 450 calories within 45 minutes- so defo a great workout. A lot of it depends on the instructor too, I noticed: Carol was encouraging, but definitely pushing it quite far, and demonstrating everything.

So I had that spin class, a good stretch, and balanced this lower-body workout by doing a few weights, including biceps curls and triceps dips, and 15 minutes of rowing.

I mean, the fact that my arms are aching doesn’t make my legs ache any less, but at least upper and lower body will look about even! 

Monday – 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer, highest level I can manage + 5 minutes cooldown, easy level

30 minutes on the bike, higest level I can manage + 5 minutes cooldown, easy level

5 minutes on the rowing machine, fast enough to burn the equivalent of 600 calories per hour, to finish

Tuesday - Boxing for an hour and a half, including warm up and cool down or

Rowing club – Rowing either open air or on the machine for an hour and a half

Wednesday - 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer one level higher than the highest level I think I can manage + a 1-hour body conditioning class with weights

Thursday - 40 minutes on the elliptical trainer at the highest level I can manage + 20 minutes rowing on the machine

Friday - A one-hour legs, bums and tums class + 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer one level higher than the highest level I think I can manage

Saturday - A 1.5 hour Ashantga yoga class + an easy 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer

Sunday - A 30 minutes stretching class + 30 minutes on elliptical trainer + 30 minutes on the bike + 20 minutes on the rowing machine

+ a Sunday TREAT!!! Either sauna, Jacuzzi or sunbed!

I also walk to and from work every day, and hardly ever take public transport at all.

If you think that’s unmanageable, or that you are too busy for this, think again… I do it, have done since July, and am the average, busy working girl! It only means that if you’re going to see friend in the evening, you’ll meet up with them later than you normally would (hence drink less and feel like a flower in the morning), or wake up earlier in the mornings!

Perfectly manageable.

But the idea here is that once you t yourself in the swing of things, you manage it without even thinking. You might want to just go half an hour every day, which is fine, as long as you get yourself moving, you’ll feel better for it!

 

Mid November. This time of the year again. Time to start shopping for Christmas, booking tickets to go and see the family, planning New Year’s party, joining the gym.

Yes, you heard me right, I said “joining the gym”. In November.

What can I say? I’m an “all or nothing” girl. I go through phases where I go to the gym all the time, and others when I don’t go at all for weeks, or only do yoga classes. But generally speaking, I like to keep myself fit. So November is a good month to start getting fit, as is any other month. But there are also specific reasons why starting exercising before Christmas rather than after, is a good thing.

1. Avoid the crowds

First of all, if you join in January, there will be hundreds of people joining at the same time as you, you might not get access to the machines you want to work on as easily, and hence lose motivation, and stop going. Same if you’re planning to attend classes. You don’t want to find yourself in a ram-packed salsa class coming 2 inches to the mirror every time you do a mambo. In November, it’s quiet. You can access all the machines you want, spend more time on them, and if you’re a bit conscious of what you’re doing, there are not as many people surrounding you.

2. Get some momentum going

Secondly, you need to get some momentum in the build-up to Christmas. There will be pre-Christmas drinks, there will be pre-Christmas dinners and lunches. At work. With friends. With your old colleagues. You are going to stuff your face, and you are going to drink, there is no escaping that. So you need to start looking early at how to deal with all these toxins. That’s where November and December workouts come into play. You need to eliminate rather than accumulate.

3. Your body knows best

Thirdly, you might be “an all or nothing” girl too. Once you get the momentum going, you’ll just be exercising all the time without even thinking about it. I started going to the gym everyday in July this year and have only missed about 10 days since then. Gym is an integral part of my daily schedule, as is work, so I don’t even think about whether to go or not. Plus, exercise makes your brain release the so called ‘feel-good hormone’ serotonin, which helps combat depression, which is why, once it’s started exercising regularly, your body naturally knows that it wants more!

So for Christmas I’m going back to France to see my family but I’ve started researching gyms around where my mum lives and will certainly join one. Christmas holiday is actually quite an ideal time for me to exercise. I’ll be with my family, will probably go out in the evenings, but the days will be quite long, and I’ll be aching to do things. That’ll be lovely to be able to wake up late-ish, have breakfast, go exercise for an hour or so, have a sauna, a long shower, take time to do my hair and make-up, and come home for lunch all dolled up and energised!

Bear in mind that the order of the day is: MOTIVATION!

• If you are tight on budget, check out university gyms, which are often open to the public, and have all the facilities which other gyms have, minus the price tag. They have nothing fancy about them, the changing rooms are a bit shit, sometimes there are not enough lockers and you need to wait a bit to put your stuff away, rubbish music but hey, £35 a month in central London, totally flexible, no-subscription attendance, with all classes free, access to gym and weight areas + saunas, you can’t really argue with that. I go to the Saddlers Sports Centre which is the gym used by City University students and staff, and that does the job fine.

• Always check that the Pilates and Yoga classes are included in your subscription. Same as swimming pool, steam room, etc., otherwise you’ll end up paying lots of extra.

• Think about motivation first and foremost. Sure, going with a good mate will be more fun and you’ll be able to have a chat when swapping machines etc., but will this not distract you from your workout?

• Check that the machines have a TV screen. Especially if motivation is running low, it helps to go at times when your favourite programme is screened, it makes it all less tedious. It’s like exercising while watching TV rather than watching TV while exercising.

• Every now and again, treat yourself to a personal training session, as the instructor will usually show you how to put your usual exercise regime up one level – you’ll end up doing more next time you’re on your own too, or trying out new things.

• If you like exercising in groups, make sure that the gym you are planning to go to has a variety of classes, a variety of instructors, and times when you can do them (not the instructors, the classes…). Then try out as many classes as you can. I’ve always found that the instructor made a huge difference to how much you enjoy or get out of a class so you should check this out.