Triathlon is currently the fastest growing sport in this country....seems to be attracting an older market too, I am wondering why? Hours of pounding the streets at the crack of dawn in an attempt to get your body used to doing ridiculous amounts of activity...
I see all of these runners and cyclists with expressions of sheer determination and pain....no one looks like they are enjoying it, but the commitment oozes out of them quicker than the blood, sweat and tears seeps into their lycra! Given that I have started to actually enjoy 'regular' running - using enjoy loosely - as in seeing the benefits of running every few days and noticing the impact it has on my mood....it makes me think why?? Endorphins aside, are we running and pushing through as we are committed to improve ourselves or have we suddenly stumbled upon a neat way to escape the daily mind grind?
Running to complete the challenge, beat the time, win the prize or running to escape everything that traps us in our existing life... There is something very therapeutic about putting one foot in front of the other and entering that mental vacuum where thoughts are suspended and time freezes....similar to driving; whilst you are on the road you are physically going somewhere but mentally going nowhere - bliss!
I always loved running... it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs - Jesse Owens
Sunday 28 August 2011
Wednesday 10 August 2011
Iron Maiden baby...
After spending his life keeping fit with football and squash, combined with more recent attempts to do this at home with a treadmill, home gym thing and 'perfect press up' machine...my dad has bitten the bullet and joined a gym. This was news to me, as a somewhat hectic life has meant large time spans between visits home, so a lot tends to happen in my absence; gym joining being one of them!
So, rather than go for a leisurely jog round the block, I find myself tagging along to this local gym, excited about what was in store! A large warehouse jam packed with enough steel and free weights to sink a ship and lots of men....yep, that was pretty much the view on arrival. Don't get me wrong, this was my kinda gym, no frills, no faddy machines that are so efficient you don't actually do any exercise when using them and best of all, no gym bunnies! Just steel, a few bits of CV kit (clearly hidden in a back room for the elderly and big girls like me) and lots and lots of men - most of whom had the torso of Vin Diesel and the legs of Frankie Detorri!
Dad went about his mini action man programme - glad he is keeping it real and with it his body proportions and I hit the girly treadmill - good times! At the end of my solitary workout (not sure it was the CV kit or me acting as a man repellent?!)...I picked up the smallest free weights I could find and then proceeded to bust out some moves, trying not to show any signs of straining and avoiding muscle tear at the same time - I could have done smaller weights but refused to pick up the pink girly dumb bells from the box labelled 'WOMEN'!
Within 60 minutes it was all over...and what a fantastic experience it was; no gym bunnies, no fluffy machines and to top it off, I had the biggest leg muscles in the whole building...self-esteem through the roof! I vote for more gyms like this! Never again will I step back into the domain of the gym bunny - no more outfit judgement, no more panicking about sweat levels, no more feeling manly for actually wanting to use free weights! Metal, muscle and lots of men - the perfect combination for a happy workout!
The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said, 'If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it jumping up and down!' - Rita Rudner
So, rather than go for a leisurely jog round the block, I find myself tagging along to this local gym, excited about what was in store! A large warehouse jam packed with enough steel and free weights to sink a ship and lots of men....yep, that was pretty much the view on arrival. Don't get me wrong, this was my kinda gym, no frills, no faddy machines that are so efficient you don't actually do any exercise when using them and best of all, no gym bunnies! Just steel, a few bits of CV kit (clearly hidden in a back room for the elderly and big girls like me) and lots and lots of men - most of whom had the torso of Vin Diesel and the legs of Frankie Detorri!
Dad went about his mini action man programme - glad he is keeping it real and with it his body proportions and I hit the girly treadmill - good times! At the end of my solitary workout (not sure it was the CV kit or me acting as a man repellent?!)...I picked up the smallest free weights I could find and then proceeded to bust out some moves, trying not to show any signs of straining and avoiding muscle tear at the same time - I could have done smaller weights but refused to pick up the pink girly dumb bells from the box labelled 'WOMEN'!
Within 60 minutes it was all over...and what a fantastic experience it was; no gym bunnies, no fluffy machines and to top it off, I had the biggest leg muscles in the whole building...self-esteem through the roof! I vote for more gyms like this! Never again will I step back into the domain of the gym bunny - no more outfit judgement, no more panicking about sweat levels, no more feeling manly for actually wanting to use free weights! Metal, muscle and lots of men - the perfect combination for a happy workout!
The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said, 'If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it jumping up and down!' - Rita Rudner
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