I love to challenge myself. If I find myself getting into routine I feel the need to break out of it. It sounds like such a positive thing and I do believe that it is a positive thing however in a negative way its like just when I become satisfied I soon become unsatisfied and want to push further. Outgoing is one word for it, annoying is the other. A lot of people say 'You will never be happy will you' but when I actually think about it, I am at my happiest when I am pushing myself, trying something new or finding something tough so the answer is YES, I'm very happy. It just comes across like I always want more... which I do.
Ok so after my deep character evaluation there I will cut to the chase. My recent challenge (a few months ago) was to try 5 new workouts that I had never done before. So far I am on 4 and I aim to get my full 5 in before Christmas. I gave Crossfit a good go which you can find my review on
here. I also tried a power plate workout in JJ Studios in Cheshire. Barry's Bootcamp London and Anti-Gravity yoga at Virgin Active. Any suggestions or ideas for what my number 5 can be please let me know!
1. JJ Studios
I have seen power plates in the gym many times, I've seen people doing all sorts on them but never had the guts to get on one and always wondered what they actually were. JJ studios is a small personal training and group exercise studio in Nantwich, Cheshire and my Auntie attends the classes there on a regular basis. When I first got home from London for summer I decided to give it a go and see what it was all about, they had a free first session so why wouldn't you give it a go?! To start with being on the vibrating power plate was the weirdest feeling and I wasn't sure if I liked it, I even felt like my face was vibrating which is obviously an unnatural feeling. We got up and went to the early class so maybe it was just waking me up properly. Im pretty glad I took my sweat towel because I was certainly sweating after just a few minutes. As an avid gym goer and fitness instructor I like to think I am in a pretty fit condition but it honestly worked some magic, the next day I was sore. We had to do push ups and planks with our hands/arms on the plate which made everything seem so much harder. We did squats, lunges, work with a medicine ball, it was a full body workout. I was upset I didn't get chance to return over the summer but hopefully I can get back there over Christmas and I will be able to take some pictures to upload on the blog too.
Contact JJ Studios
here as they tailor the workout for all abilities so there is no excuse.
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| Photo Credit: JJ Studios |
2. Barry's Bootcamp
The famous Barry's lived up to the reputation. One of my best friends and flat mate is a Barry's fanatic and eventually convinced me that £20 a class is a completely reasonable price to pay for exercise. Now, I still think its a rip off, but its a rip off that makes you feel amazing. Of course it helps that the trainers look like they are photo shopped in real life but the main reason its so great is the treadmill section of the workout. 30 minutes is spend on a treadmill and 30 minutes on a bench focussing on weight training. Yes you heard me right, 30 minutes on a treadmill. It sounds like hell and I HATE the treadmill... except the Barry's treadmill. With constant interval sprints of different formats it never gets easier! The class is held in a basement with essentially no air con so be prepared to sweat out your body weight, if its not dripping off your nose then you have a problem. The motivation that the trainers give you is a new level of tough love, Taylor is the most brutal but will also make you work the hardest. Its called bootcamp for a reason. There are also mirrors directly in front of the treads so all you can see is your own face... in a lot of pain. Luckily the lighting is low and actually pretty good otherwise I think that would be enough to put me off for life, somehow the lighting resembles and Instagram filter. Ive returned a number of times and have loved it every time. Faisal (PT to Ellie Goulding) is also great but slightly more of positive motivator than Taylor MF James. Yes, MF stands for 'Mother fucking' and if you are against swearing I suggest you avoid him. He has that nickname for a reason.
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| Photo Credit: Sweaty Betty |
3. Anti Gravity Yoga
I get so wrapped up in my high intensity, heavy lifting workouts that I sometimes forget to just chill out and that its just as important to stretch and relax as it is to get your heart rate high and super sweaty. Anti Gravity Yoga is where you a swinging in the air in a sheet that is hung like a hammock, that's the only way I can describe it. I originally just did the introduction class for 30 minutes but decided to stay for the full hour afterwards as I was loving it so much. It works your core and muscles so much more than regular yoga as not only are you stretching (which feels great) but you are trying to pull yourself around in the hammock. It also allows you to stretch in ways that you never normally would and massively helps to increase flexibility. It also looks pretty impressive. The only problem I had was that in some positions the material from the swing hurt my skin. When I was hanging upside down and all of my body weight was on the hammock I could feel the material cutting into my leg BUT we just put our sweat towels in between and don't get me wrong, it was really painful or anything. That's the only negative I took from it. I particularly loved the relaxation section at the end where you get to wrap yourself up in the hammock and form a cocoon around yourself and just lie there for a few minutes. I took part in the class at Virgin Active.
