Notes by Nectar

After almost a week of not doing any exercise, I had a session with Trevor on Sunday morning. I did my 5-minute warm-up on the bike and then was on the treadmill for 15 minutes:

• 1 min at 5 km/h
• 1 min at 7 km/h
• 1 min at 5 km/h with a 0.5% incline
• 1 min at 7 km/h with a 0.5% incline
• And so on, increasing the incline by 0.5% every 2 minutes until I got to 15 minutes

Then I did the following circuit:

• Shoulder press (with 3-kg weights) x 20
• Wide squats x 20
• Bent over row (with 10-lb weights) x 20
• Single leg deadlifts (with a 3-kg weight) x 20 (10 on each side)
• Abdominal in and outs x 20
• Mountain climbers x 20
• Treadmill x 5 min at a 5% incline

I did that twice and was done! The session seemed to go by really fast – in fact, I was expecting to have to do the circuit a third time but ended up with some stretches.

I bought some new Nike trainers on Sunday evening. I’d been wearing the pair I bought in Bali for over 2 years and it was time to move on.

Yes, they are very blue!

On Monday I went to the gym and did 20 minutes on the treadmill (walking/running) and just one round of the circuit. I’d planned to do three rounds of it but the maintenance guys came into the gym and started tinkering around (and staring) so I left.

My regular yoga teacher told me that he was very busy and asked whether we’d like to take classes with his wife who is also a yoga teacher. We agreed and on Tuesday we waited for her to show up. I didn’t have her number (or even know her name, for that matter) so I texted my regular teacher and he was surprised she hadn’t arrived yet. She eventually showed up 20 minutes late, looking like a complete mess, without a yoga mat and I’m guessing without deodorant. Hmm, not a great first impression. She asked if I had a spare mat (luckily I do) but then decided the space we’d been having our classes in all this time was too small so I suggested we all move to my room which is big enough for three mats. She asked us what we’d been doing so far (honestly, don’t married people talk to each other at all??) and then we began the class. As the class went on I forgot about all the things that initially bothered me about her – perhaps I’d started to focus inwards as we went on? She had a more hands-on approach than her husband and I think she pushed us harder than he did. Or perhaps we wanted to make a good impression on someone new? Anyway, we decided we’d try her out for a while and agreed to another lesson next week.

I was up before dawn on Wednesday. I’d been sleeping so early and waking up early that I was up at some ridiculous hour. By 6am I wondered if there was any point going back to sleep as Trevor was coming at 8.30am. At 6.30am he texted to say he couldn’t make it as he wasn’t feeling well. I was relieved – and thought I’d be able to sleep for a while as now I didn’t have to get up. Not so. I eventually gave up trying to sleep and went to the gym anyway. I did 20 minutes on the treadmill (walking/running) and then did three rounds of the circuit. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

I was out on Wednesday night – it wasn’t a particularly heavy or late night but I woke up with a splitting headache on Thursday. And this headache went on until Saturday. I just couldn’t get rid of it. The only time it disappeared was when I had a massage on Friday evening – but soon after I was done it came back! I couldn’t figure out why I had it. I hadn’t mixed drinks or even had that much to drink. Alcohol combined with lack of sleep? No idea… I didn’t work out over the weekend because I felt so rubbish.

Low point of the week? Feeling awful for most of the weekend.

High point of the week? Managing to do three rounds of that circuit and working out four times in the week.

Weight loss? None.

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