Wow that was HARD!

The burn is unreal!

So I did it! I went to the gym for the first time in years. I'm pretty sure I drove as slowly as possible, trying to maximize the time before I actually walk in, but I did it, we got there for just after 9pm. The Pure Gym app has this really cool feature that tells you how many people are in the gym, and it told us that there were about 90 people in, 90 people aaargh! In reality, though, it was much less.  After composing myself in the car for 10 minutes, we finally went in and in all honesty, it was mostly fine. You could tell that we had no idea where anything was because we spent about 5 minutes just looking around like lost sheep. First thing I did was buy a padlock, why are those things so bloody complicated? It took me about 15 minutes to figure out how to change the code, not user-friendly at all. I was sat in the changing rooms for a little longer than I think was needed, again composing myself to actually go out and get something done. I did feel a bit intimidated as there were several lads in the changing rooms in close proximity, the best way to describe them is to say that they were chavs, Nuff said. One of them who happened to be really slender said 'Here man, I'm so fat', I'm not really sure if that was a blatant dig at the fat man sitting in the corner (me) or if he genuinely thought he was fat, my guess is the former. Anyway, I know this is bad but this is a sign of how unconfident I am, I waited until they left before I left the room, Kirsty was slightly annoyed for making her stand around like a lemon for ages #SozPet. 

First Impressions...

So there was certainly a lot of equipment, there are plenty of Treadmills, Cross-Trainers, Bikes, Ellipticals, Steppers, rowing machines, etc. They are all evenly spaced out and there would be plenty of choice for a busy gym. The gym is split into two parts, Cardio is in one section, with weights being in another, as far as I can see for the weights section, it pretty much has everything you could need, including monkey bars, free weights, benches I don't even know what half of the stuff is, but it all looks well maintained and there's plenty of it. There's a small cycle studio and another studio, for some of the classes that are carried out, like step aerobics or something like that, there's also a couple of sections where you can rest, accessible water and vending machines, etc. The water isn't the best, it's room temperature at best, and it's a water fountain rather so it's awkward to fill up bottles, almost makes me feel like they deliberately don't have chilled water and make it as awkward as possible so you use the vending machines, but I'm not spending £1.50 a time on a bottle of water, so it's something I'll just have to put up with. 

The Workout (if you would call it that)...

Going from having basically zero activity to trying to complete a full workout is theoretically hard, but in practice, it's even bloody harder. My Pure Gym app has a couple of walkthrough programs, and the first is an introductory one, it starts you off with a 20-minute exercise, 5 minutes of walking on the treadmill with an incline of 4-10%, then 5 minutes on a bike at level 6-12, then 5 minutes on the Cross Trainer between levels 8-15 finished off with another walk on the treadmill for 5 minutes again on an incline of 4-10%. It's pretty easy to change incline/resistance level, it's just one tap of a button either on the handlebars or on the display on the front of the machine. Soooo... I started off on the treadmill as advised, and I was like yeaaaah this is fine, oh how wrong was I, I changed the incline to 4 after a few seconds, and my legs felt like they were trudging through 50cm of mud climbing up the steepest hill in the world, you might think that's an exaggeration, but it wasn't. I did manage to hold on for the full 5 minutes, in fact, I managed around 7, other people around me were like running full pelt for 20 minutes straight... how in the world. So legs like jelly it was time to move onto the bikes. Due to a broken hip, I've had pins in it since early 2006, so I naturally have restricted movement, I am also flat-footed and have one leg shorter than the other, so I feel the pinch probably a bit more than others, for this reason, I can't manage the upright bikes (just yet), so I opted for the ones where you extend your legs, I managed around 5 minutes on this, but only at a level 3 difficulty, half of what the 'Beginner' course expects you to do. Cross trainer time yay! When I went to the gym back in like the pre-historic days, I was an absolute beast on the cross-trainer, I could easily go full pelt for 5 minutes on a fairly difficult resistance. So I step onto it and my brain has an instant meltdown and I can't figure out how to go clockwise instead of anti-clockwise, so I kind of end up just looking like a bit of a muppet trying to find my feet, but I get there and I can only manage 2 minutes, the burn in my legs are unreal, 2 minutes at a slow-steady pace and then the machine beeps at me and says 'Please Pedal Faster' it's at this point that I know I'm done, I could barely even step of the thing my legs were wobbling like Mr. Blobby rolling on the floor, but with a bit more wobble, sit down time it is. Workout over. I suppose for a first time back at the gym and being a bit on the large side you could classify it as good, but naturally, I was disappointed, for the first time I realise how unfit I am and in that moment, I can't see it improving, but I know these things take time. The app told me I should aim for 'Moderate' activity level, which is the equivalent of being able to ask a question but not hold a conversation, let me tell you I couldn't even let out a squeak, so it was full intensity all the way and the sweat, oh the sweat! After resting and being blasted by the Air-Con in the car, I felt amazing, as small as it is the accomplishment and the feeling is just something else, it's worth doing it for that alone, definitely something I want to continue, but I'd be lying if I told you that I didn't ache.

So that's day one done of exercise at least, I want to develop my confidence at the gym before I go full pelt with the diet changes as well, we are still being careful with what we eat, but I just want to get a feel for it and try to develop a routine, so I know I'll stick to it. 

Anyway, I'm sure you're sick of my waffle, so here's to tomorrow! 

Flabs Away!

First Day, Gearing up for the Gym...

So I'm off to the gym... 

So I have my gym membership sorted and my chosen one is Pure Gym, primarily because it's cheap, cheerful and has some pretty decent reviews. It also happens to be located within a Tesco so that's massively convenient, for picking up the quick snack...oh right yeah, maybe not. This will be my first time in the gym since 2008, that's pretty shocking. Now we are heading to the gym around 9pm this evening, to try and avoid the bulk of the people (If you pardon the pun). It goes without saying, I am incredibly nervous, I'm frightened and every bone in my body is trying everything to put me off the idea. I feel like I'm heading to a Job Interview and there's still several hours to go before we actually leave, I am physically shaking at the thought of walking in the gym, and getting judged instantly, but I know this is something I need to overcome, everyone is there for the same reason (I hope), but if I even get one innocent look from anyone, I would probably have a cardiac arrest on the spot, that's not even an exaggeration, so I hope they have a wall-mounted defibrator. Breathing exercises are absolute bull and don't do an actual thing, how the hell can one take a deep breath for like 30 seconds, for the average fat person, this is like only having one slice of cake...it just can't happen.

P.S. if you click the Pure Gym link above, as it's my referral link I may win a free prize, hopefully, it's not a cake, that would be a bit of a bummer. 

Cost and Equipment

So the cost for the actual Gym Membership was £10.99 with a £10.00 joining fee, which means you have to pay £20.99 on the spot instantly for your first month, this is a monthly recurring subscription and will come out of our account on the 28th of the month. (this may vary). Other Subscriptions vary, however, we purchased the 'Off-Peak' subscription, meaning we are only allowed access to the gym between 9pm-6am Monday-Friday, but at any time on weekends, other subscriptions (which are typically more expensive) are available and include any time access, multiple gym access and a 'Bring a Friend' scheme for example. 

The second thing we bought was a water bottle, we opted for a 500ml bottle, for the convenience of it being able to fit in cup holders, it has a lockable flip lid, with a carry strap for ease of use. It also has a water measurement indicator on the back, so you can keep track of your water intake during workouts, it's a pretty sturdy water bottle and has been going strong for pre-gym use anyway. The cost of this was £8.99 and was bought from Amazon, the particular bottle we opted for was this one.

The third thing we bought (which is completely optional) was a quick access fob to the gym, this cost £6.00, this is to save us from having to type in a long pin code every time we access and leave the gym, you simply hold your fob against the access point and...voila you're in!

You also need some sort of bag, to carry your gym stuff in, if you want a change of clothes or to swap into a different pair of trainers/shoes or something like that, then it's the perfect thing to carry them in. We already had a couple of gym bags that we bought a few years ago with the intention of using...HA! that happened. But they can be picked up for about £4.00 or even less if you look in the right place. If you don't have the budget then a bag for life or even one of those extortionate 5p plastic carrier bags will do, I mean you might look like a bit of a muppet if you take in your giant Lidl bag for life, but very effective all the same. 

We also plan on buying a padlock when we get to the gym, for storing bags, coats, and keys etc. These can be bought from the Pure Gym vending machines for £5.00 and there's a choice of colours woohoo. 

You are also going to want to take some form of towel or wipe(s), this is to wipe down gym equipment once you've used it, to remove any sweat (and from me, there'll be bucket loads), there's nothing worse (I would imagine) than sitting in someone else's bodily fluids, like ew. 

I would also strongly recommend investing in a fitness tracker, I'm lucky enough to have an Apple Watch, which is an amazing activity/fitness tracker, but expensive all the same. You mainly just want something to track your heart rate, calorie burn and it will also give you a sense of achievement. These can be picked up for as little as £10.00-£15.00, or even less if you come across a bargain, if you want something with more features or you love a brand, I've owned a Fitbit Blaze a Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro and most recently an Apple Watch Series 3. I've found both the Fitbit and the Apple Watch to be most accurate for step counting at least, as well as heart rate. However, you can never go wrong with a Fitbit and some of them have amazing features now such as onboard music and contactless payments etc. 

If you want to listen to some banging tunes, when you're heading to the gym, then I would obviously take some headphones or earphones, whatever your preference. I currently have some BeatsX headphones, they have awesome sound quality, pretty decent noise cancelling and get around 7-8 hours of wireless play from a full charge, they also connect both to my watch and my phone, so it's a win win, of course, there are cheaper wired and wireless headphones available, so whatever tickles your pickle. 

Final thoughts...

So I'm absolutely S*itting myself, as much as typing this blog post has been therapeutic, I know it's nearly now, if you have any ideas of how to get rid of pre-gym nerves, then please let me know, Aside from hibernating, hiding or faking my own death I'm completely out of ideas. I hope I can one day build the confidence to walk into that gym with my head held high because that would just be the best feeling. Thanks for listening and thanks for your support if you've made it this far. 

Flabs Away!

Welcome...

Whale hello there...

Hello and a huge fat welcome to my brand new blog, if you're new here (and you probably are because this is the 1st post), you should check out this page. This will give you a broad oversight into what I am trying to achieve with my blog.

I wanted to start off by saying that this is an incredibly personal and challenging thing to start and there will be ups, downs, moans and possibly some rants, I'll try and keep it as friendly as possible. This blog and the process that I'm going to follow is massively out of my comfort zone, and I honestly don't know how it will go, I don't like the way things are right now and things need to change, that's my goal. 

So sit back, relax and follow me on this journey. 

Flabs Away!