As you know I have two favourite instructors at my gym, Chris and Emma, but there was another brilliant instructor who sadly left but has set up his own personal training company, Jack, and after hearing glowing reviews from friends that had attended his class on Thursday night I booked myself on.
I was to meet with friends on my single speed bike and head to the park where the class is held. One problem – my single speed still had a puncture from when I last used it to ride to the gym for circuit class. I have never changed my own puncture but decided that Thursday before leaving I would do so. Clearly I underestimated how useless I am. After having a meltdown of massive proportions (totally out of character for me of course) when I found it impossible to get the tyre off the wheel and get the levers under the tyre at all, I decided with only 10 minutes to get changed and round to Sophie and Hugh that I would just ride my road bike so went to get changed and came back down to find my son had changed the inner tube and was inflating the tyre – bless him. And of course shame on me!
Off to the park we set and the class was amazing! This was us loving it!
Jack is brilliant and turned up with all sorts of equipment, so we warmed up then paired off and started on the stations completing 100 reps between the pairs. There were the following stations:
- abs – crunches and v crunches
- sprints
- burpees
- deadlifts
- sandbag squat and throwing
- battle ropes and squats
- boxing
- kettlebell swings
- hitting the tyre with the sledgehammer
The battle ropes and sledgehammer on the tyre were by far my favourites – so much fun even if i did, on a couple of occasions, manage somehow to miss the tyre – honestly its a wonder I didn’t injure myself of whack Sophie when swinging that thing around!
And so when it was time to go to the burpee station (as you know I loathe burpees but Sophie loves them) we moved on all smiles. Mine were false smiles.
Although I did not get to the full 50 burpees I did 44 and Sophie did 56 but to be fair (to me) that is so good for me as usually I will go to plank instead but I didn’t! I still hate them with a passion though.
At the end with 5 mins to go we ended up planking (this I can do) which ended with Sophie and Lisa planking and Minnie and I crawling underneath them and then Sophie, Lisa and I planking and Minnie crawling under Lisa, over me and then under Sophie – who said exercise can’t be fun?!
Had a lovely 40 mile bike ride yesterday with another friend, Lisa, who after the ride decided I should change my own puncture and before I know it the tyre was deflated and off the bike and I was giving it a go. Job done. I am making it sound more simple than it was as the tyre was practically welded on and so Lisa did share my pain with my meltdown earlier in the week. When I got home I explained this to him indoors who was fairly confident that he could change it in a flash but then found out we were right and it turned out the tyre was stuck but with a bit of his chromo strength was changed again.
This morning started with a morning run with Sophie, Brett and April dog. This was my first run since my off on the bike and although my leg is still bruised and painful it is miles better and I managed the 5k park loop. I would like to say it was effortless but running requires all of my effort. We must have looked like the 3 most unsociable people running in silence. Cannot talk, breathe and run at the same time it takes all my effort to run without dying – I’m beginning to think my workouts are tailored more toward not dying than squeezing into a swimming costume this summer. New sports bra on and all good after some slight strap adjustments in the park (could have looked a tad bit dodgy) and as per usual women will understand this getting out of the thing post run when all sweaty is about the same level of difficulty as Ross in Friends getting his leather pants back up!
It never gets easier! You just get stronger! Off to the farm shop for me for more fruit and veg and to juice this afternoon!
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