Jab-Jab Hook!

I've got my groove on!
                I’ve got my groove on!

I’m just loving it!

For those of you who think I’ve lost the plot… perhaps I have.

I am just loving my weekly ‘Body Combat’ class… which is a version of the ‘Kick boxing’ from the 90’s!  Ooops… just gave up my age!

Many of you have heard me go on about Yoga for so many years and on how I just love every minute of my Yoga classes for various reasons – toning, stretching, escaping, meditational, remedial, therapeutic…etc… While I was in recovery from a broken hip, then a surgery to remove the rods, then a twin pregnancy that immediately followed which lead me to an episiotomy and a C-section (now that’s a story for another long afternoon), Yoga was my ‘go-to’ to keep healing and to keep stretching AND to keep my sanity!  It was also my go-to because I did not have long enough gaps post surgery recoveries to be able to do anything high-impact.  I then just fell in to a comfort zone.

While slooowlllyyy trying to break out of this comfort zone I had a personal trainer chart out a work out for me to increase my cardio (well… start some cardio) and do some strength training I would watch these high impact classes – Body Pump, Body Combat and watch the Grid classes on the gym floor and actually get intimidated.  I made all sorts of excuses – hmmm… not ready yet… hmmm… I’ll be flat on my face before I even begin… hmmm… let me do a bit of TRX and rowing instead…

Finally this year I had enough! (of my own dialogue) and decided to try these classes out …. and after the first week of doing a Pump and Combat class…. I’ve got my mojo back baby!

I’ve been religiously going every week for these two classes for the last 4 weeks and boy I can’t even begin to tell you how I feel after that ‘combat’ class.  (It’s a shame we aren’t wearing boxing gloves, not hitting a bag, or a pad!).  The repetition and speed of each blow – jabs, hooks, under cuts, cross jab, kicks, combined with all the jumping jacks,  lunges and squats makes me feel so damn good after each session.  It just gives me the mental, emotional and physical power to face the world and it’s challenges… oh! AND the mirror!

Yoga who?? what???

I can’t explain the ‘high’ I feel after throwing those blows in the air, keeping the heart beat up and walking out of that class full of energy and strength.  This is definitely my ‘new’ meditational, remedial and therapeutic ‘fix’ next to long hikes at the heath (woods) when the weather is great.

The cherry on top – you can clock up to at least 5000+ steps in that 1 hour!

Jab Jab Hook!

 

Aunty at the gym

woodchopper, middle-age, fit lady

So I was working out at the gym with a friend last week.  I was working on the ‘wood chopper’ and got a little lax while ‘chatting’ with my friend.

There was a sweet-faced, Indian lady, perhaps in her late 50’s or early 60’s (oooh… I hate guessing ages) working out just behind me.

I got tapped on the back, and this lovely lady just said, ‘would you mind if I said something?’, and I just knew…. my elbows were bent and they were meant to be straight through the entire action of pulling the resistance handle across.  I looked at her sheepishly and said, ‘it’s my elbows right?’.  She smiled and nodded and carried on to watch how I did it again and then corrected my posture and asked me, ‘did you feel the difference?’

I have to admit at being very impressed with this lady.  I have observed her regularly at the gym, sometimes with a personal trainer, sometimes on her own fitness regime.

Another role model, another standard set.

Aunty at the gym… you rock!