Notes by Nectar

I went to the gym on Sunday morning. I started with a 5-minute warmup on the cross-trainer and then moved over to the treadmill. I did Week 2 Day 1 of the 10k Runner app:

• Warmup x 5 min
• Run x 1.5 min, walk x 2 min (x 4)
• Run x 1 min, walk x 1 min (x 2)
• Cooldown x 5 min

Again, I alternated between 6 km/h and 8 km/h. I did Week 4 Day 1 of the Great Butt and Great Abs apps after that, followed by some stretches. I was done!

Pete sent me a text on Monday morning, asking how I was and telling me that today he’d be taking me to Egypt. ‘Pyramids?’ I replied. I assumed it was some kind of pyramid workout he had up his sleeve. And I was right.

I started with a 10-minute warmup on the treadmill, starting with an incline of 1% and gradually increasing it by 1% every minute until I was at 10% in the last minute. I did some stretches after that and then he rattled off a list of nine exercises:

1. Bulgarian squats x 5 on each side
2. Combined knee-up and twist x 10 on each side
3. Tricep dips x 10
4. Combined squat/upright row x 10 (10-lb weights)
5. Bicep curls x 10 (10-lb weights)
6. Situps x 10
7. Mountain climbers x 10 on each side
8. Overhead tricep extensions x 10 (10-lb weight)
9. Split squats x 10

He explained that I was going to do that circuit nine times, without any breaks. If I wanted to stop for water, that would be fine, but there would be no ‘official’ breaks. He said each set would start with 1 minute on the cross-trainer (no resistance, speed 7-8 km/h). I thought he’d gone mad. He then explained that after every set, the top exercise would be removed. So in the first set, I did 1 minute on the cross-trainer and all nine exercises. In the second set, I did 1 minute on the cross-trainer, skipped the Bulgarian squats and started with the combined knee-up and twist. In the third set, I did 1 minute on the cross-trainer, skipped the first two exercises and started with the tricep dips. And so on, until the last set which consisted of 1 minute on the cross-trainer and just split squats. It was exhausting. I was sweating. And I’d only had three short water breaks.

The hardest part for me was going straight from the combined squat/upright row to the bicep curls. By the time I got to the bicep curls I really struggled with the 10-lb weights. In the fifth round, when I started with the bicep curls, I could do them without any trouble! I found the split squats tough too – and by the end of nine rounds of that, I’d done 90 split squats. I knew my legs would be aching the next day.

I did some stretches after that and went home. I was so tired the rest of the day – I just wanted to go to sleep!

My quads and glutes were in so much pain the following morning! I went back to the gym and did Week 2 Day 2 of the 10k Runner app. It was the same as Week 2 Day 1, but I took it a little easier. I walked at 6 km/h and ran at 7-8 km/h, depending on how I was feeling. After that I did Week 4 Day 2 of the Great Butt and Great Abs apps.

I was still aching on Wednesday. Pete said the session would consist of ‘easy’ cardio and abs. It didn’t sound too bad. I began with a 10-minute uphill walk on the treadmill at 5.5 km/h, starting with an incline of 1% and increasing it every minute until I was at 10% in the last minute.

I did the usual stretching routine after that and then went back on the treadmill for 4 minutes, alternating 30 s of walking and 30 s of running.

The first abs circuit consisted of:

• Plank with side step out x 30 s
• Rest x 30 s
• Single leg lowering x 30 s
• Rest x 30 s
• Situps x 30 s
• Rest x 30 s
• Plank x 30 s

After that I did 4 minutes on the cross-trainer, alternating 20 s of sprints with 10 s of an easy glide. Then came another abs circuit:

• Alternate hand to foot situp x 30 s
• Rest x 30 s
• Straight arm alternating side plank x 30 s
• Rest x 30 s
• Double crunch x 30 s
• Rest x 30 s
• Boxing situps x 30 s (no weights)
• Rest

I then did another 4 minutes on the treadmill, alternating 90 s of walking and 30 s of running. After that I did another abs circuit:

• Wood chopper x 30 s (10-lb weight, on one side)
• Rest x 30 s
• Knee in/out x 30 s
• Rest x 30 s
• Wood chopper x 30 s (the other side)
• Rest x 30 s
• Kneeling side bends x 30 s

Rest

I had another 4 minutes on the cross-trainer, alternating 30 s of an easy pace and 30 s of an easy sprint. I did some stretches after that and was done for the day!

I went to the Hatha Flow class at Eco Yoga Sanctuary on Thursday morning. Thankfully, there was no sign of the teacher I’d had the week before – it was the same teacher I’d had two weeks earlier. I was the only person in the class again – it was a good class and she’s a really good teacher.

I didn’t work out on Friday. I was tired on Saturday morning and didn’t go to the gym but that evening a friend and I decided to walk on the running track at Jumeira Open Beach. She picked me up at 5pm and we got there at around 5.15. I’d never been there before but it was so nice to be outside in the fresh air and the lovely sea breeze and walking while the sun was setting.

We walked and talked and managed to do 5.55 km in 58:28. Hopefully this will become a regular thing while the weather is like this, and hopefully we’ll walk more and talk less next time!

Low point of the week? I can’t think of anything… I did have my first drink(s) on Friday night after three weeks of no booze – not because I was consciously abstaining but because I had so much work to do I didn’t really have time to go out and meet anyone…

High point of the week? Doing six workouts again this week, including the 1-hour walk on the beach!

Weight loss? I thought my weight would carry on dropping this week but it stayed more or less steady throughout the week.

Read more updates here.