Gym Virgin Diaries: Seven Days In, Our Guest Writer is Feelin' the Burn

Last week, we met up with our guest writer Simone who was ready to  tackle her lifelong aversion to the gym and report back to us from the fitness front line. She now has completed her first week with her personal trainer and her limbs and commitment have been put to the test.

So how did she go? Is she still aboard the fitness wagon or has she taken a tumble? It's time to find out….

The first week is complete. Seven days and four workouts are under my (weights) belt.

And how am I feeling? GREAT! Seriously - I’ve actually shocked myself.

At my age of, ahem, ‘early’ 30s, I really thought that I knew my body by now.  ‘I’m not the exercising kind’, ‘It’s not for me, it’s only for skinny gym bunnies', ‘I’m more of a walker than a jogger’….all excuses uttered from my own mouth and ok, well that last bit is actually true.

But guess what?  The rest was completely inaccurate.  I love exercise, well, to clarify, I love how I feel afterwards.  And that feeling is what’s making it easier to go back day after day.

So let me fill you in on what’s being going on.

Owen Mulrane, my trainer at Go Gym, is a rock of sense and support. And having him beside me every step of the way has made this experience completely different to any other time I’ve attempted to work out.

Maybe it's because I'm answerable to someone other than myself, maybe it's because I am more committed to the effort I put in knowing that I'll be checked. So my first piece of advice is that I highly recommend booking in with a trainer if, like me, you’re a gym virgin. Sure, it's not free like a run around the park or popping in a DVD at home would be, but gyms are far better value than they ever were before (where I've signed up with Go Gym, their summer offer is €129 for 3 months which works out at just over €10 a week. and I know for a fact that I was spending at least that on sweet treats and coffees).

Owen has changed up my routine in the gym every day so that my body doesn’t have a chance to get used to what’s going on. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s in shock right now and wondering what is going on at all.

As a general outline, the routine involves a little cardio initially on the treadmill and rower (or as I like to call it the torture machine). At which point my heart rate is nice 'n' high and I’m a nice shade of purple. Then we move on to the weights machines or body resistance, followed by mobility exercises to get my joints back in order and finally we finish with core exercises (yes, the dreaded plank) and some cool down stretching.

It’s a complete body workout but we seem to alternate focus between the arms and the legs. The morning he asked me in all seriousness ‘Do you need your legs for anything important over the next couple of days?’ (eh, yes, you know...walking) I knew I was in for it. And sure enough, the next day, even trying to sit on the toilet was a feat of endurance…..

After only four classes I’m already feeling better. I’ve more energy. I’m in better mood.  I’ve started to see some changes in my body shape but as its early days there’s nothing too dramatic. I’m also avoiding weighing myself at home as we’re working off measurements rather than scales, so I’ll have to wait until next week to get my first set of results, which I will also share with you (aaaaaghh).

My once crazy dream of becoming healthy and fit, is suddenly starting to seem attainable. My trainer has set certain targets for me down the road that right now seem impossible to me (dead lift 100kg and complete a pull up or three) but he seems to have faith, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

I’ll leave you with a recipe that I’m finding great to get me going in the morning.  It works well post gym as a recovery drink but is also excellent to have on your way to work to keep you going, if like me you can’t face eating until about 9 or 10am.  I’ll give you more recipes as the weeks go on and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Tropical Breakfast Smoothie (Serves 2)

½ Cup Oats

1½ Cups of frozen Pineapple & Mango

½ Cup Frozen Banana

2 Tsps ground Linseed/Flaxseed

½ Cup Almond/Oat Milk

Add VitaCoco Coconut water until the ingredients are covered and blend well.

You can add a little more frozen fruit or coconut water to get your preferred consistency.

Can you relate to Simone's sore muscles from a first week at the gym? And do you have any recipes or healthy eating tips to share?