Nike Drifit...for a fiver!

My rooting abilities and nose for a good bargain came up trumps today when I hawked a nike drifit exercise top in TK Maxx for $5! Wahoo!

I totally think that as unflattering as they may be, if you are a sweater like me, the sweat absorbing clothing are just the way to go. And if you are not sure whether you are a sweater or not, then you are not a sweater! Im talking soaked to the skin after a session!

So imagine my utter delight at finding a funky white racer back top for the low low price of a fiver. Naturally I did have to route through racks and racks to find it, and it was marked the wrong size which was probably why it was never actually sold off (at least I hope it was the wrong size...or else I am a size 18 , tear!!!) and it is also white which, in hindsight is probably totally unpractical seeing as I often head to the gym in the morning post application of fake tan only to find little beads of brown fake tan stained sweat seeping into my clothes. But for a fiver, who is complaining?!

step it...down?!

How embarrassing.
So I decided to widen my horizons and check out some of the classes in my local gym which are very conveniently pay as you go. I had gone to a couple in the past and really enjoyed them but found it hard to find the time to go to them during term time.
But with my new found free time, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to check them out.
So I downloaded the timetable and picked out the ones I would like to try. First on the list was step it up...a step aerobics class. Deffo thought it would be worth a try.
I arrived and followed suit as the others set up their steps and even obeyed the teacher when she asked new people (there were2of us) to head up to the front of the class so that we could see better. A minor inconvenience seeing as I prefer to hover at the back as invisible as possible!!
So a step class, just stepping up and down on a step...right?! WRONG.
The steps were used as a platform to twist and turn and spring using rhythmical movements and choreography without a basic stepping up and down in sight. My total lack of coordination aside, I looked on in awe as the exceedingly advanced steppers around me moved around the steps as if they were an extension of their own bodies. 1/2 way through the class, I realised that I was totally incapable of following a 10step sequence which the teacher belted out and the others mimicked with ease. So I just stepped...up and down..up and down, in front of everyone as they whirled and twirled around me.
At least I rode it (or stepped it!) out. The other beginner, sick with shame, bolted 1/2 way through.
Perhaps advertising the fact that it was an ADVANCED class may have helped me?!
Oh the shame

All Spun.... out

I have a total love hate relationship with spinning. I would love to love it because its a fab workout but I just cannot. Spasming leg muscles are just not that much fun really!!

Its a workout I tend to do sporadically, totally dreading it but feel great after it. I was forced to go to a spin class today just because I had already signed up for a different class which was cancelled last minute and seeing as I was there and all at the gym I decided to do the spin class instead. And boy do my legs ache now!!

I remember well my first spinning class about 2 years ago that rendered me crippled with pain in muscles I didn't even know existed . But this was my own fault really. One morning I woke up and was like, today I have decided to not be sedentary any more..I am going to try and go to the gym. So I went and worked out for a bit and seriously, it must have been an endorphin fueled moment of stupidity whereby I decided to go to this spinning class after my first ever workout. And omg the pain...I will never forget it.

It does not hurt as much these days thank goodness but I still cant bring myself to love it.

detox....attempt 2

And you said it could never be done...!!


Today I (restarted) my detox...not that I ever actually started the last time round.


What is it about Monday that makes you want to start stuff.


On Monday I will start studying....


On Monday I will tidy my room....


On Monday I will update my blog.....


Monday, Monday, Monday.


So taking the cliche that it is I decided that Monday was the day.


Last week there was just too many BBQs and post exam celebrations and trips away to possibly avoid the bad stuff.


Needless to say, despite all my good plans the only thing I kept up with was this:

My detox tea.

So I restarted today. I figured I am back at work, free from the temptations of sugar and spice and all things that are nice.

I actually managed fabulously well, despite the minor set back of forgetting my yummy cilantro salad for lunch and having to make do with cafeteria food.

So Day 1 down and Im doing well..

....of course did I mention that this is a modified Detox?! one that allows chocolate?! lol

The SIMS....3!!

Im not big on gaming...although admittedly this may not be that obvious due to the fact that my last post was all about the Wii! However when I saw that the sims had a cubed version I just had to rush out and buy it . However else would I make it through the summer?! I must say that I am enjoying it so far. I feel it is somewhat more realistic than the other versions with tasks taking the actual amount of times that it takes us mortals to do them. The main difference really is that the Sims get to visit other neighbourhood locations such as stores, parks and restaurants. Naturally me being me, I customised my household to be a biggest loser style family with lifetime ambitions to become super skinny superstars. It was fun to watch my "contestants" pump iron in the virtual gym and fall off the treadmill. Hmmm at last a computer game where the characters need to work out in order to stop getting fatter!!....however it is ironically the most addictive game ever invented demonstrated by the fact that I stayed up til the wee hours of this morning playing it, not even noticing the time flying by. It is certainly fun to play for some down time but whether or not it will get a message across to kids that real people need to work out too remains to be seen!!

Wii EA sports active...tempting

I was in the gym the other day watching Ellen as it happens and I saw this part of the show:

Firstly I just have to comment on how fab Allison Sweeney is looking despite only recently giving birth especially given the fact that she returned to shooting the biggest looser in some crazily short time after giving birth ( I think something like a week or something I read somewhere but dont quote me on that.
Also I am very excited about this new EA sports active game. It actually looks like it could be a potentially good workout. And the concept of challenging others online is a super fab one that I would enjoy (partially cos I would clearly win every time...cough cough!!)
I toyed with buying a Wii last Christmas but reasoned that if I bought a Wii, then the only reason I would really be buying it for would be to use it with the Wii fit and after trawling through tons of blogs, critical reviews and websites as well as talking to friends who actually have the Wii fit, I concluded that it may just be that little bit too easy for my level of fitness. Then plus the cost would add up to an entire year of gym membership for me. And given my short attention span I know that the Wii would be played non stop for the first 3 days and then....nada, an expensive paper weight gathering dust in the corner.
But this new game actually has resparked my interest in the Wii all over again. I was watching it while boredly running on the treadmill and thought to myself, wow perhaps my workouts could actually be slightly more interesting?! I would love to try before I buy. Hopefully a friend will invest soon so I will be able to give it a go!!

10 years younger...captured

I have always been big on sunscreen. I cant tan anyway and personally I think that real tans are over-rated. I know, lets all bake ourselves stupid so as to avoid slapping on St Tropez for a WHOLE 2 WEEKS?!wow! So I slap on sunscreen on my face on a daily basis. Factor 85 to be exact. (now I will admit that this is a bit extreme but it just so happens that a non comedermogenic sunscreen is hard to find!!) I am conducting an experiment on myself, I plan to compare myself to my sun worshiper friends in about 10years and see if this extreme measure has rendered me with fewer wrinkles and crows feet! Lancet here I come, watch this space!
But I have soft evidence to believe that this is already working. The most recent event happened just the other day when I was mistaken for my sister, who is 10 years my junior. In the past I have been mistaken for anything from between 5-8 years younger than I actually am but 10 is the best so far. When I was 19 years old a horrible woman marched up to me at a function and sneered at me when I told her that I was 19 and snorted that I looked about 13. I took comfort in the fact that she was probably comparing me to her daughter, who was also at the function and who, at 15 was tatooed, pierced and make-uped to within an inch of her life. Give me looking 6 years younger any day!!
So clearly none of this has anything to do with genes, environment etc, it is all to do with sunscreen....feel like applying it anyone?!

Determined to detox...tomorrow??!!

And indeed the explosion has happened. After a month of solid study for exams relying on highly caffeinated products to keep me awake during the day and "sleep aids" to put me to sleep for an average of 4 hours a night, I feel, well frankly, tired!!

The ironic thing is that I promised myself that I would not touch coffee until I really needed it ( I was thinking that this would be my first year actually working) but these exams just forced me to cave.

When I fell into a trance-like coma last evening after a very non challenging day at the beach, I realised I need to fix myself. So a detox it has to be!

The ironic thing about "detoxing" is that it doesnt really exist according to the facinating book , Bad Science, which I got last Christmas. It is just an entire myth made up by the beauty industry to make a quick buck. Think about it, what exactly do they mean by "toxins"?! Bad science did analysis of the urine of subjects on a detox and failed to find any difference between them and the control group. So in short a diet of water and cabbage for a week does nothing for me except perhaps make me faint!

Perhaps I should have realised that before purchasing this??!! I really am a marketing managers dream! Oh well, either way it is a yummy herbal tea, with aniseed, fennel and licorice. It tastes good whether or not it happens to get rid of those mythical toxins.

So what I really need to do is clean up my diet to give me more energy and vitality!! I rarely eat processed foods anyway and so far I have eliminated caffeine. Now all that needs to go is the mountains of chocolate I became accustomed to consuming on a daily basis along with the litres of diet coke. So I will give these up.....tomorrow??!!

Welcome!

Many thanks for stopping by!
I am new at this so you are going to have to bear with me as I attempt to get the hang of this. So its the start of the summer holz...my last ever holz as a poor student so what better time to take up a new hobby. Im not really sure how this is going to go yet. My friend piney suggest that I start this and talk about what interests me...so here it goes! I can often be found gymming it and testing out every fitness trend that pops up!
So keep reading