The gym characters

So I've been meaning to blog about the different people at my gym. Yes, it's been just over 6 months since I joined my current gym and never have I been so fitness-crazy. It's a lovely gym, airy, large with plenty of young people mostly in their 20-30s. The previous gym I was at had lots of older people or students and plenty of taxi drivers. Whereas the gym car park here is filled with Mercs, BMWs, Porsches, and even a GTR!

As with any club, there were the usual cliques and small groups of people, the gym fanatics who went everyday or every other day without fail. They seemed to know everyone, from the other gym-goers to the fitness instructors.

I've met a few nice people and met only two people I really can't stand, but that's another story for later.

Let's see, new nicknames are now required. There's a Madonna equivalent. She's probably the fittest girl bar one in the entire gym. She's a hard core Body Combat fanatic and thinks nothing of doing three back to back group fitness classes in a row. Her weights in Body Pump are as heavy as the boys. Phenomenal. Plus she has a fabulous butt! Grin. But the weights take their toll and show on her muscular arms and shoulders, something I must be careful to stay away from! She's always in the gym!!

Then there's a scary-looking (but she's actually quite nice) Hilary Swank equivalent, whom I shall nickname Hilary, who is also a Body Combat fanatic and shouts and yells all the punches in the class. She's the one vying for the title, fittest gal in the gym! When she's not there, the class is mysteriously, almost sadly quiet! She packs a mean punch but don't see much of her apart from in Combat.

In terms of boys, there are few and only 2-3 in Combat whereas the girls are probably 20-30! But there's Joaquin, a Mexican guy, who's quite sweet and he attends Combat and has recently got me going to Body Balance! He's lovely and quite separate from the other cliques which is nice.

Then there's Blue, the only other guy in Combat. He's been there since the gym opened and he is also a regular gym-goer. He knows all the girls in the clique and was the most approachable one. We'd smile and say hi but somehow started talking and through him I'm slowly getting to know the rest of the clique even though I still prefer talking to Joaquin. I never liked being part of a clique.

That's it for now! And lh, I will find a suitable picture to post up! Haven't actually had any photographs taken since my gym phase started because my social life has dwindled tremendously! x

Gym

I've been burning the candle at both ends. Since I moved hospitals in August, I've slowly been slacking. I've been getting comfortable and the consultants are rarely around, when they are, they liaise with the registrars so there is little expectation for me to be in complete charge of the ward round and the patients.

In the meantime, I've been slowly increasing my gym activity up to 7-8 group classes a week. That's 7-8 hours a week not including the extra time I spend stretching and doing floor exercises. I'm now addicted to that level of activity and any less makes me feel sluggish and fat. Interestingly enough, I haven't lost any weight, though that wasn't the reason I started increasing my gym activities, rather, I wanted to be fit.

But I've been plagued by a lot of lower limb aches and pain, Achilles tendinitis and now knee pain, the worst possible thing when I love body combat, the kicks, the jumps and the punches....

You would think that people go to the gym in order to exercise and improve their fitness level, perhaps lose some weight. But there exist a category of people who go their to either socialise or to show off and parade like a peacock. You have the guys who parade in their sleeveless shirts and grunt each time they lift a weight. They will inevitably try to outdo whatever I am doing on the mat with either more reps or more apparent effort. Then they will walk back and forth in front of me, and seriously, what's the point?

And you have the girls who come in groups in full make-up, with their leg warmers and pink towels, hair long behind their back making little effort other than to walk on the treadmill or attempt a few machines.

The people who keep me motivated are the hard core gym fanatics. The ones that I've learnt to recognise by virtue of the fact they are there everyday or every other day. The ones who think nothing of running on the treadmill, then following that up with two consecutive fitness classes without showing much strain. The ones whose muscles are clearly in great shape.

Both girls and guys but there are a handful of girls in the gym who aren't muscle-men but are in fantastic shape and are actually able to lift weights but just look toned. That's what I'm aiming for.

But at the moment I'm exhausted and the only think I can think about is going to sleep and taking the day off tomorrow even though I'm meant to be at work..... Maybe I really am burning the candle at both ends...

More body combat...

It's been almost a month now since my last post. I've been busy, at work, at the gym and at home. Yes, my social life has taken a big hit. Since the last doctors' mess party during which I washed my hands off WT, I've turned into a big fitness freak and a gym bunny.

I've channeled all my inclination for obsession into my gym work. Luckily I've chosen something healthy. Previous obsessions have included a need for speed, flapjacks and over-socialising or even cyber-stalking.

I've been doing a series of day on-calls and most recently, night on-calls during which I stayed awake for 31 hours and silly me, I even included a body combat class at the 24 hour mark. I decided (wisely) against following that with a body pump class!

I'm really enjoying the group fitness classes. The gym is like a second home to me now. I see more and more familiar faces each time. I have my own "spot" in the front row and I almost get aggressive when some one attempts to usurp my spot. Normally I'll just be right next to them and once we start moving around with body combat, I'll easily reclaim my spot. Grin.

I'm eating more because of all the extra calories I'm burning off. My arms are toned and there's ever so slightly the hint of a six pack (a very feminine one of course!) I don't have bulging muscles and I never intend to! But I remember how tired and sore I was after a single body combat class when I first started.

Now I follow combat with body pump and have of late started doing RPM, which is like spin classes, despite my dislike for cycling. I must admit, those hard-core RPM-ers are crazy. I'm half-dead after each class, worse than after a body combat class.

So a weekly schedule for me would be like so:

Tues - Body Combat

Thurs - Body Combat + Body Pump

Sat - Body Combat + Body Pump

Sun - RPM +/- Body Pump

I try and fit in a second session of RPM in the week and never do Body Pump two days running. Obviously this differs according to work and on-call commitments but I am trying to add either Body Balance or some yoga/pilates to balance my workout.

Hence why I have next to no social life. I'm planning my social life around my gym classes now. Hmm... not good.

Off to watch Top Gear now! Will eventually update more about the promised hard-core participants of my Body Combat class. And if you are interested....

Body Combat

Gym, moving on

My latest craze is body combat....

I was going through a rough phase, filled with self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy. The last time I went through such a rut, I tried to recover with lots of social events, nights out dancing and going on dates. It wasn't the best way to rebound as I found out. There were plenty of repercussions from that phase.

This time round, I discovered body combat, thankfully before I could re-enter my rebound phase and go through the same destructive cycle. I had to switch gyms because I'd changed the hospital where I was working and my old gym was neither near home nor the new hospital. Ironically, a big reason why I chose this new gym was because WT was a member there, although I must say that I've only seen him once in all the months I've been a member, and even then it was from a distance as we were both going in opposite directions.

Full of stress and angst, I spotted body combat on the program for group classes and thought I would give it a go. I had been doing a lot of running on the treadmill and was relatively fit so decided that I would try it out. The first time I did body combat, it was an experience. I hadn't a clue what I was doing and was amazed at how the rest of the class seemed to know the routine off by heart.

Midway through the class, I was gasping for breath and my muscles were aching. This was despite my so-called assumption that I was fit with my long runs. But I enjoyed the kicking and punching and the release of aggression. I kept going and after the third time, I truly enjoyed the class and couldn't wait till the next one.

I would wait with eager anticipation and save all my pent up frustration against various people. Then I would think of them as I punched and kicked my way through the class. But unbeknownst to be, I slowly healed inside. Only to find out one day that to my surprise, I was going to body combat because I loved it for itself.

I loved the punching, the kicking, the choreography, the competitive nature of the participants, the fabulous instructor and the good exercise it was. Gone was the aggression, frustration and anger. I punched and kicked because I wanted to, not because I needed to.

Now I am a total convert. I spend all my free time exercising and attend the body combat classes religiously. My schedule revolves around body combat (as sad as that may sound!). I refuse to organise social events on nights when I have my body combat classes.

I walk with an extra bounce to my step, I feel invigorated and my body is more toned than ever. Plus I know that this addiction is a healthy one!

Next: The body combat participants....

Updates

Been battling a nasty flu bug over the past few days. Actually had to take a day off work, quite unprecedented! The last time I took time off work as a result of sickness, I had a temperature of 39.1 degrees Celcius and I was actually sent home.

But, say what you like, I actually persevered and made it to body combat twice this week despite of that. I can't make the next class because of on-call duties so I knew I had to make these ones. The only difference being that I maxed out on calories before the class to make sure I didn't collapse halfway and I made it. Phew. A couple of dizzy spells but alright otherwise. It feels good to really perspire. It's been a while since I was properly drenched and it never feels like a proper workout without that!

More updates soon about my body combat classmates and also about my latest course. Gotta be up in a couple of hours for a weekend on-call!

A new love

I spent the last few weeks trying to clear my head and my heart. WT had been occupying both for way too long. I wanted it to be right. I wanted us to be together and be in a relationship. I realised that I wanted the relationship more than I wanted him. He was the perfect person, at the right place at the right time. I had been weak. Friends were getting engaged and married and I was feeling lonely. I wanted it so much that I willed myself into making believe that something existed when it didn't.

It's been over three weeks now. I haven't had any contact with him. The number's no longer in my phone and I am slowly but surely forgetting him. I am slowly getting back to my life. A girl always needs a distraction to get over something or someone, or at least I do.

I've tried to make it a healthy distraction. No junk food, no fast cars, no late nights and no drinking. Instead I've been killing myself, and my feet especially, in the gym. Having suffered an Achilles tendon injury followed by a suspected stress fracture in one of the bones in my foot in close succession, I have stayed away from running for the moment. I miss pounding away the miles on the treadmil.

Instead I have become a body combat fanatic. I started in late July and whilst it took a while for me to love it, now I can't do without it. I have graduated from the back row to the front row. It is the only thing I look forward to in the week. I no longer try to organise dinners and nights out. Instead, an enjoyable night is one where I'm sweating it out, punching and kicking in the gym.

As a result, I'm in the best shape I've been in a long time. Instead of just being slim, I've got fabulously toned arms and legs. And washboard abs. And I'm loving it.

I don't need WT and I don't need somebody. I love myself and I love being me.

No more I love you's

It took a long while this time round for me to realise what a fool I was with WT. I kept saying that was it and each time I found some little reason to hang on. Anyhow, I've saw him briefly tonight and that will be the last time as far as I am concerned.

No more hoping and no more dreaming. I'm moving on.

I've deleted his phone number off my phone and in a week's time, I will delete him off my facebook. And as anyone knows these days, that really is the final link!