I got to the gym for my usual Sunday session and started my warm-up on the bike. Ten minutes later there was still no sign of Trevor so I texted him. ‘Are you on your way?’ I decided to continue on the treadmill. I started walking/running but soon got bored as I didn’t have my iPod. Ten minutes later I stopped, looked at my phone (no response) and went back to the bike. After 10 minutes on the bike I decided I just wasn’t in the mood and went home. Still, that’s 30 minutes of cardio! And still no response from Trevor.
He texted me later that day to say he was sorry for not showing up, but he’d been really ill and thought he’d need to go to hospital. Yikes.
I didn’t go to the gym on Monday. I had to go to Standard Chartered in Bur Dubai (worst bank ever) and deal with more of their rubbish. I also had a lot of work come in on Monday, including several hours’ worth for a new client so I just put my head down and got on with it.
My cousin and I had our usual yoga class on Tuesday morning – she’s started staying for breakfast after we’re done with yoga and we have egg white masala omelettes. What a great start to the day!
On Tuesday evening I texted Trevor to find out how he was feeling and whether we’d have our Wednesday morning session. He said he’d be at the gym at 8.30am and would fill me in on what happened.
While I was doing my warm-up on the bike, Trevor told me that he’d gone out with a friend on Saturday evening and is convinced their drinks were spiked. After three or four glasses of wine, he and his friend couldn’t remember leaving the place and he woke up on his kitchen floor! Very strange. It’s a bar I go to all the time as well, so it was a bit concerning.
After my warm-up I got on the treadmill for 12 minutes:
- 1 min at 5 km/h
- 1 min at 5 km/h with a 7% incline
- 1 min at 7 km/h with a 7% incline
- Repeat four times
I then did the following circuit:
- Combined reverse lunge/forward kick x 20 (alternating, 10 on each side)
- Tricep dips x 20
- Wide squats (3-kg weights) x 20
- Mountain climbers x 20
- Deadlifts (10-lb weights) x 20
- Treadmill (30 s on, 20 s off) x 3
- Rest and repeat two more times
During the treadmill exercise, I had to use it without the power on so it was my own energy making the conveyor belt move. It was tough. I actually felt like I was pushing a cart or something and then read the following on Wikipedia:
A treadmill is a device generally for walking or running while staying in the same place. Treadmills were introduced before the development of powered machines, to harness the power of animals or humans to do work, often a type of mill that was operated by a person or animal treading steps of a treadwheel to grind grain. In later times treadmills were used as punishment devices for people sentenced to hard labour in prisons. The terms treadmill and treadwheel were used interchangeably for the power and punishment mechanisms.
I did a few stretches after that and then was done. I was also drenched in sweat.
I didn’t work out again in the week. A combination of too much work, visitors in town and laziness is never a good thing.
Low point of the week? I had friends in town so was out for lunch on Tuesday, lunch and dinner on Wednesday, lunch on Thursday, dinner on Friday and drinks on Saturday – all with different people! It’s great to have visitors but after this week I felt bloated and just wanted a bowl of dal and rice.
High point of the week? I’ve definitely noticed that my body is a lot stronger than it was a couple of months ago. It’s most noticeable during the balancing poses in my yoga class, so I feel like I’m getting somewhere!
Weight loss? None.
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Notes by Nectar 