This month, I’ve decided to take part in group PT sessions at my local gym, M3 Perform. I’m taking part in a 28-day program, with options to book lessons flexibly for either:
- Perform – strength training
- Condition – HIIT workout
This week, my goals are:
- Take 5,000 steps everyday 🟠
- Drink 1 L of water everyday ✅
- Do 2 sessions this week ✅
My first taster session was for the HIIT training over a month ago, and it was particularly brutal. I had to waddle back and I was aching for about 4 days. However, I realised I felt amazing like I managed to get a natural high.
I started my first morning session for the strength training (7 am!). Now, this is wild for me as I never normally work out in the mornings, based on feeling terrible if I hadn’t eaten before exercise when I was younger. I’m using this month to test out my long-held theories on health such as exercising at certain times, doing certain exercises (e.g. running, which I don’t do) and eating certain foods.
To my surprise, I loved the session and it really woke me up. I felt in a better mind frame for the rest of the day for work, and I’ve signed up for future morning sessions for the strength training. Not sure if I’d like to do the HIIT workouts then just yet though… 😅
I’m already feeling a difference in how I feel day to day whilst doing this program, after just a couple of sessions a week. I’m making more health conscious choices for lunch and buying food in general. This particularly hurts because healthy food is so expensive, especially here in the UK. I’ve had a real conundrum with this, especially with limited lunch options when I work in a workspace. However, I’ve got to remember this for the long term, rather than immediate gratification from sugary foods.
I’ve found the nutrition part the hardest, mostly because of sugary snacks when I’m craving them at work. I’ve got a desk-based office job, and I never realise how much energy I expend from all the thinking and focusing during meetings and work during my day. Despite having breakfast as late as 9:30 am, I’m still absolutely ravenous by 12 pm.
I’ve also learned about my boundaries. I did a HIIT class on Tuesday evening and wanted to do strength training on Wednesday evening. When it got to it, I realised I was just aching too much still from the night before to have made the most of it, or, worse, developing an injury. I realised I don’t want to do sessions one day after another, as my body just needs that time to recover and to do something else like a walk or restorative yoga instead.
I’ve ended this week with my first park run, where it poured down with rain the whole time and I absolutely loved it. I kept a slow jogging place the whole time and didn’t stop once. This meant I was one of the last, but I didn’t mind because it wasn’t a race and managed the 5k in just under 40 minutes. Unfortunately, I did bring back a previous knee injury so I’ve had to rest the next few days to make sure it’s fine for the PT sessions.
Next week, I’m going to try three sessions – let’s see how this goes!
