I am exhausted

I cycled to and from work today to avoid the drama of the tube strikes. I knew it would be tough but oh my, my legs were absolutely screaming the entire way there and the entire way back. My tires are a bit flat, despite me trying to pump them up twice, add the weight of my handbag and gym bag to the flattish tires and its fair to say that I felt every single bump on my journey and had to work twice as hard to move the bike. As soon as I got home I did the Shred and I know we are supposed to push ourselves but I don't think I will be doing it again after cycling. My knees were killing me :(

Day 8 of the Shred

I really really really didn't want to the DVD today after work, but I did it anyway. I'm starting to getting a little concerned that Jillian is making me lazy. I didn't go to Spin this morning and I really don't fancy Boxercise tomorrow. I don't even want to cycle. All I want to do is work out for 28 minutes and be done with it. Bleurgh.

Official weigh in day today: 138.5. When I got back from holiday I was 143.75 so that's a loss of 4.5 pounds in 2 weeks. Yep - I'll take that!

Day 7 of the 30 Day Shred

It's day 7 and I'm still going strong! I am a bit nervous about starting level 2 in 3 days but I know I can do it. This week I have enjoyed just doing a daily 28 minute workout but next week I am going to have to suck it up and incorporate some gym time. I think the week long break from the gym has done me a world of good. I had started getting bored of my same ole, same ole routine so I'm looking forward to trying something new next week. I have signed up for my usual Monday morning spinning class but on Tuesday I will be trying Boxercise for the first time :)

On a different note, I suffered from the single worst stomach ache of my life all night and this morning. My food was very simple yesterday - yogurt with berries, egg on toast, fruit, soup - so I think it was down to the cheeky vodka and slimline tonic I had. I noticed that the barmaid was using different brands of vodka depending on the drink ordered, so I reckon I got given the cheapo vodka.

Weigh in day tomorrow, wish me luck!

Zig zagging calories

The general consensus appears to be that one way of getting out of a weight loss plateau is to zig zag your calories, in other words, to eat a different amount of calories each day. This week I have zig zagged my calories :) I have a 3 day rotational system: one day of eating an average amount (1,380 calories), one day of eating a lot (1,700 calories) and another day of eating a little (1,050 calories). This keeps my daily average at about 1,370 calories. I have so far lost 2.75 pounds since Monday but that could be down to last week having been TOM, starting the 30 Day Shred or maybe it's a combination of everything. Either way, I'm pleased to report that, by a whisker, I am back in the 130s. Although I am happy to be at 139.25, I know that the hard work really begins at the 137/138 mark :s

Day 5 of the Shred was alright; it's slowly becoming less of a thing to report back about, which I'm hoping is a good thing.

Powerplate Review

I have the attention span of a gnat. To keep myself interested in working out I have to constantly find new exercises and classes. A quick Google search threw up the Powerplate as an alternative gym workout. According to The Guardian :

"Power-Plate is a machine that gives the body's muscles a high-speed workout by using vibrations to stimulate them to contract and relax. They generally contract once or twice a second, but by standing on the Power-Plate, its vibrations cause an automatic reflex muscle contraction of 30-50 a second. Power-Plate is a great time-saver due to the effectiveness of training and the fact that many muscle groups are activated at the same time. It's claimed that 10 minutes on the Power-Plate will have the same results as 60 minutes of conventional strenuous training."

Sounds great right? Only problem is most Powerplate classes are about £15 to £35 for a 20 minute session, which is a bit steep for me and I imagine most other people. However, the powers that be Google yielded a free trial session at City Powertone Studios in Central London. So last week Wednesday I rocked up to the Studios at the ungodly hour of 7am to try out a free session.

I was impressed. The session was a one to one with an instructor and lasted about 20 minutes. In that time I held 5 or 6 poses/moves for a minute at a time. One of the moves was a standard squat. Doing squats for one minute on a Powerplate felt like the equivalent of doing squats with 20 kg weights for an entire track in a Body Pump class. A bold claim, yes, but entirely true. I was working at the lowest "vibration" level (there are 2 higher levels) without kettle bells so there was clearly scope for a truly punishing workout. My instructor recommended that I do 2 sessions a week for about 8 weeks to see good results. That's £240 over an 8 week period compared with the £80 I would pay in gym membership fees over the same period. Is the Powerplate worth the extra money? I would have to say no for the simple reason that it was a bit boring. I like my workouts to be fun and I like to be part of a decent sized class for motivation and a sense that I'm not alone in wanting to achieve my goals. A larger group is also good for the gym version of peer pressure - if the person next to you in a spinning class can do another standing sprint, so can you. Powerplate sessions tend to be limited to a maximum of 4 people and the atmosphere is more zen-like pilates than let's-kick-@ss-and-sweat. And for that reason, I am out.

Click here to book a free trial at City Powertone Studios.

p.s. I completed day 4 of the Shred this evening after work, it's getting easier again - phew!

Day 3 of the Shred

I don't know if it's in my head or if it's because I'm sick but I'm finding the Shred is getting harder, not easier! I only got round to popping the DVD in at 6.30 pm, the lazy girl that I am. I have achieved the following today: watched Eclipse, trawled about on the internet and napped. I really am making the most of my sick leave! I'm back at work tomorrow so I will have to do the workout in the evening again. I'm about to have a small dinner of tomato and basil soup as today is a low calorie day.

Oooh, before I forget, I have lost 2 pounds since Monday! That puts me back at my pre-holiday weight of 140 pounds. I'm pretty pleased that it only took a week to get rid of those 4 pesky holiday pounds. Weigh in day is Monday so I'll be even more chuffed if I have lost a bit more. Now, I must not weigh myself again until then. I'm telling you, buying my own set of scales was the worst thing I ever did, I was much better off just using the gym scales!

Day 2 of the Shred

I'm still sniffly and I've now got a cough but I forced myself out from under the duvet and off the sofa and did day 2 of the Shred. I was a bit blase about it yesterday but today was a lot harder! I really felt it when I was doing the arm raises and side lunges and the jump rope really hurt. It's been about 30 minutes since I finished and I'm still a bit shaky. I'm now going straight back under my duvet and getting ready for Come Dine With Me later on. Over and out.