Ok, it is Monday, it is 5 days before pay-day and life has gone into hectic mode. Knackered after a hard day’s work being stuck in a stuffy office, the only thing on any sane persons mind would be to head home, jump in the shower then chill for the evening. I sat on an overcrowded, hothouse of a bus tonight thinking just that, planning how, after my chat with Julie at Western Health and Racquets Club, I could sneak out without GymGuyMark seeing me. But escape plans were foiled so it was downstairs to the squash court for Metafit time.
Tonight’s routine was Caught in the Rip, which I believe is a surfing term. A rip is a strong channel of water flowing seaward from near the shore and typically through the surf line. In other words it is a strong little current that flows faster than any swimmer so you need to be aware of them. The same could well be said for this routine, it is a bit different from the others (more about that in another Blog) and with slightly different reps. However one thing remains the same, like a drowning man you are left gasping for breath or in my case, wondering how quick you can call 999 for some oxygen as your lungs are about to decorate the walls of the squash court.
This whole mad Metfit thing is taking me right back to the beginning again. I have never attempted anything like this before; it is so intensely physical and really pushes you to your absolute limits. Although you can take it at your own pace, and adapt some of the movements to suit, when you hear the guy counting down towards the end, something inside says “come on, try one more”. The whole session exhausts, your muscles hate you and your lungs just pack in eventually. The wee breaks between sets of exercises are just enough to try to grab a breath and then it is time to start all over again. Good grief I am exhausted just typing this! So why do it? Why jump and down like an idiot for five minutes, then collapse on the floor at your fifth attempt to do a plank? Why try to persuade your knees that they can reach your elbows? Or why grit your teeth and not chuck your water bottle at GymGuyMark when he tells us we are not squatting properly or bending our knees far enough? It is simple, this blinking thing like any other good workout, works! It burns for about 24 hours then it is Wednesday and time to start again. Time to turn bright red and collapse in a heap on the floor, with that very attractive drip of sweat running off your nose!
Now it is time for an admission. The last few days have not been easy ones for me; I am trying out new patterns of thinking and new ways to deal with any hang ups or anxieties I may have about myself. I really struggled at Metafit last Monday and my self-confidence took a bit of a crash so I decided to take a look back at my old Blogs, something I very rarely do, and try to focus on how far I have come. But what dawned on me is that, yes I made it so far down this hard slog to fitness but it is a very hard climb up the next hill. Accepting that for every valley there will be a mountain, for every loch there will be a sea with many rip currents to swim against is all part of this ongoing change I have decided to make to my life. To have the confidence in my own abilities to even attempt new regimes or to lift heavier weights is paramount because as I keep saying to others, if I can do it anyone can.
GymGuyMark once said to me when I commented on the fact I was enjoying a particular exercise “Good, it is time to change it then” and he handed me a heavier Kettlebell. So the challenges keep coming and perhaps it is time to believe my own mantra and enjoy the swim against the tide!
