31 Thoughts I have in the Gym | Health

Now I have joined the gym again I thought I would do a little fun post about 31 random thoughts I have whilst I work out..

1. I need all of the weights

2. Do I have enough space?

3. When did my thighs get so big???

4. Is that ANOTHER chin I see forming?

5. Man I'm soooo unfit

6. Oh god don't face the mirror, I definitely don't need to see what I look like when I squat

7. Why are my legs **shaking** after 2 lunges? Man up! 

8. My thighs better ache tomorrow 

9. Oh shit, I've lost count? Just do an extra rep for luck

10. Only another set left...I think...

11. I like her leggings...

12. She is lifting more than me - need to up my game

13. Ooo that exercise looks good, I'm gonna try that

14. I wish I had her butt

15. Ya know, underneath the flab - I'm not THAT bad

16. I have potential!!! 

17. Oh god don't look in the mirror - you look like a sweaty potato

18. Stairmaster now

19. Why am I paying to walk on a machine when I could just walk up and down my steps at home?

20. Step, step, step

21. Must look where I am stepping otherwise I will trip...again!

22. Water! I need water!

23. Never knew the back of my hand could sweat - fab!

24. Am I panting too loudly? I can't hear myself because of my music

25. Oooo this is my jam though

26. God! How have I only done 5 minutes on this flippin' stairmaster

27. I need to vom - why is my body punishing me for trying to make it better

28. 26 flights of stairs - I don't care how it's calculated it sounds like a lot

29. Never ending flights of stairs this is a form of torture surely?

30. Finished! Woooo! 

31. Oh no my legs have turned to jelly!

Tell me one random thought you have when working out? 

I joined a Gym | Lifestyle

Oh yes, I have only gone and joined a gym again after having a full year away from my workouts! Some of you will know I went through quite a big transformation and dropped a lot of weight in 2015 however I moved to Italy and that's when things started to change. 

When I moved to Italy, I actually lost weight! Shock! Horror! I know, in the land of carbs how they hell did that happen? I have narrowed it down to two main reasons reasons, the first being loss of muscle mass, like I was doing weights 5 times a week, a lot of legs and butt work outs too so I got kinda flabby which I found really hard. The second reason I believe is the lack of processed food, the quality of the food in Italy is fantastic so even if I was eating pasta every day, I didn't really snack and I wasn't having processed food like I do back home. I made the conscious decision not to join a gym when I moved there purely because I didn't want my memories to just be of a gym, I wanted to experience life. 

However in the last 3 months I have gained a lot of weight in a short amount of time, it's disgusting and I'm frickin' gutted! That being said, the quick weight gain doesn't scare me too much because I don't feel like it's real, I have to work hard but it WILL come off again. This means I have joined a gym and I've joined the Xercise4less in my town and have started getting my butt into gear! This isn't gonna be easy, I know that but I know my own mental strength and I will sort myself out there is no doubt. 

I'm currently working from home which means I want to eat EVERYTHING in the cupboards so I have a meal plan written down so I know what I am having each day and my body knows what to burn etc. However, I will allow myself one cheat meal a week, whether that's going out for dinner with my geek or dinner with a pal and I have already cut back on the amount of chocolate I eat.

My aim is to go at least 4 times a week but ideally I want to go 5 times a week, this actually fits with my schedule fine so it's definitely achievable. I'm back to using my beloved kettle bell weight even if I walk like a cowboy for 2 days after and I need to start upping my cardio which I am doing in the form of the stairmaster. I love the gym, I always have and I think having a positive attitude will help you to achieve most things so I just need to keep focused. 

Are you a fan of the gym or prefer to workout at home?

Month Three Update | Lifestyle

That's right it's months 3 already and am I any better looking? Damn right I am! In all seriousness, everything is going incredibly well. I'm still absolutely loving my new lifestyle and my routine. So for this months update I thought I would share with you my workout routine. 

I must admit I'm definitely one of those people who does everything to the extreme, if I say I'm going to go to the gym and change my lifestyle, I throw myself into it. That's just how I am, it's a gift and a curse. Right so down to the nitty gritty... 

I go to the gym 8 times a week Monday - Friday, which even I admit sounds like a lot but it fits in well with my work schedule and my life in general. Three times a week I go in the morning and evening so I thought I would break down exactly what I am doing at the moment. I do change things up a little when I feel like I've stopped progressing which is an incredibly important thing to do. If my muscles no longer ache then I'm not working hard enough and it's time to change things up.

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 

Morning:- 

• Leg Press - 3 sets of 20
• Lat Pull down - 3 sets of 12
• Seated Row - 3 sets of 12
• Chest Press - 3 sets of 12
• 15 mins of cardio

Evening:- 

• 50 mins of cardio - most of the time it's on the cross trainer but other times I will split the 50 mins up by doing 10 minutes on the bike or jogging

Tuesday and Thursdays

Evenings:- 

• 50 mins of cardio 

OR

• 40 mins of cardio
• Russian Twists - 3 sets of 20 
• Sit ups - 3 sets of 20
• Kettle bell shoulder pull up - 3 sets of 15
• Kettle bell bicep curl - 3 sets of 15 

These are just my workouts and what actually works for me, I haven't mentioned what size weights I lift but if you'd like to know just let me know. I think it's great because I'm starting to feel some muscle definition coming through my flab, my body is changing and it's looking so much better than what it was even a month ago let alone 2 months ago. But this is coupled with my diet as well, I wouldn't be able to go to the gym as much or progress my workout if I wasn't fueling my body with the right foods. 

What are your favourite workouts?

What's in my gym bag | Lifestyle

Today I thought I would share with you what's inside my gym bag. I mean I have literally been living out of this bag for the last 3 months, I don't even take a handbag into work with me anymore. 

I have very fixed gym routine and 3 times a week I go to the gym twice in one day so morning and night this means I have to carry quite a lot with me. I would love to have like one of those small, cute, girly gym bags but I just can't fit half of what I need in it so I have to settle with my bulky Nike bag, but I love it anyway!  

I haven't included my trainers in this bag because they are always on my feet unless I'm in the office, then I change into shoes or boots. My gym bag must haves are:- 

• Gym clothes
• Bath sheet 
• Hand towel  
• Hair brush
• Deodorant
• Make up bag
• Rail card 
• Card holder
• Headphones  
• Umbrella

I must admit I have excluded some extra bits such as my work fob, apples, work clothes because that just a little boring but as you can see I actually carry quite a lot on me. I also forgot to take a picture of my shampoo and shower gel - dumb dumb!

I was recently told that my gym was closing down in my town which was a little heartbreaking I'm not gonna lie and the way Virgin Active handled it was pretty bad actually. This means however I'll be joining a Fitness First gym in London which will probably work out a little better for me in the sense that my workouts in the morning will be a little longer. 

What do you carry in your gym bag that you think I'm missing?

Fitness | Lifestyle

Today I'm going to share with you my fitness plan for this year, but none of this "new year, new me" crap, no! I just need to get my butt into gear. 

I know there is a lot of Nike stuff here but it's just my favourite brand for gym wear. 

I'll give you a bit of back ground, I used to be incredibly fit about 2-3 years ago I was a regular gym member and went 2 times a day 5-6 times a week, I loved it. However when I started working in London I found it very hard to keep up with attending the gym and found that memberships in London were more expensive than what I was currently paying so I didn't want to swap my gym. So obviously the less I went to the gym the fatter I got and I became actually quite unfit and I cancelled my membership, it was just embarrassing to turn up at the gym in the state I am in quite frankly. 

Don't get me wrong I have on numerous occasions tried to increase my fitness even last year I was running regularly but I just found it very hard to keep up with, because once the dark nights started drawing in or it was raining I just didn't want to go back outside.  This year I've decided I would join the gym again and you know what, I didn't realise how much I had actually missed it. As soon as I walked into my local Virgin Active gym, I smelled the chlorine of the pool and felt the warmth of the heaters and oh my god, I missed all of it, I felt so happy to be there again. 

Knowing that I can be incredibly committed, I have to literally throw myself back into it again, which means getting to the gym at 6AM to get a morning work out and on my way back home getting into the gym about 7:30PM to get my evening work out. I need to go twice a day for a while just to develop my routine and to fully get back into the swing of things. Of course I will be changing my diet along with this but that will all fall into place once I have my gym routine. I will be focusing my workouts so that I do my weights in the morning when it is quietest and do cardio after work.

I'm not going to be shouting about it with my pals or work colleague because I always find that the more you talk about it the harder it is to commit, if I just keep my head down and focus on what I want to do then I will do it. Once you start telling everyone, people want to talk and want to give you advice and some are actually waiting for you to fail. So I'll keep doing what I'm doing and hopefully by the end of this year I'll be happier with my physique. I'm not looking for a quick short term fix, I don't care if it takes me all year to feel good as long as everyday I'm getting one step closer that's all that matters. 

 What are your health/fitness plans this year?