With gyms dusting off dumbbells and sanitising down exercise bikes, treadmills and skiergs, I for one couldn't wait to get back blowing oot my arse and feeling like I could throw up at any given minute...
The gym has become a bit of a sanctuary for me; a real passion where I can show up for myself and shut off the outside world for a bit, focusing on the exercise move ahead. I've been part of the Livfit Training Academy family since 2018 and I'm fortunate to say this was my first experience joining a gym, which was positive straight off the bat allowing me to stick ever since. Their ethos is about overall health including wellbeing, nutrition and mental health- not just physique- which is something I fully endorse.
Pre-pandemic I was doing an average of four morning classes a week, daily movement at work and a longer walk at the weekend (gotta make use of those Ayrshire hills). When covid-19 hit and gyms were forced to close, I, like many others, was gutted. Livfit owners Linzi and Ricci have been amazing at keeping everyone motivated throughout all three lockdowns with daily workouts via Zoom and Facebook, creating challenges to keep us on track with daily step goals, water intake and overall diet, and latterly outdoor classes.
I also decided to PT with Linzi towards the end of last year because a global pandemic and a dollop of grief left my confidence at next to nothing. And I'll be honest setting foot in the gym again (for that brief period before Christmas) was really daunting. Livfit have since moved into a bigger premises on Viewfield Road, Ayr, with more challenging equipment including an OCR rig (did somebody say monkey bars and a 14ft rope climb?!) and I was absolutely buzzing to get back at it.
Before we get into a look into my weekly fitness routine, just a quick note to say that if you have, like myself, put on a bit of weight during this past year, please remind yourself this is absolutely OKAY. Your body has gotten you through a *global pandemic* - which included a massive change of routine, being shut off from the outside world and possibly furlough, job losses, grief amongst others. You also do not owe anyone an explanation for weight gain, nor have to 'lose it' or rush to 'burn it off'. Please be kind to your body; it's done good.
Here's how I got on:
Day 1- Glutecamp
My Monday morning outdoor class started bright and early at 6am- and a toasty 4 degrees- with Glutecamp down Prestwick beach, which makes for a rather scenic backdrop to get sweaty to. First was our warm up, starting with some stretches and a light jog. Then it was on to the workout which consisted of three sets of four rounds with each round containing four or five exercises. Each exercise was held for 30 seconds with a 5 second rest in between each move. Exercises included; squats, squat pulses, squat jumps, squat holds (basically all the squats), in and outs, drive through lunges and bunny hops (which, unlike the little mammal they are named after, ain't cute), amongst others. It's amazing how long 30 seconds can feel when you feel like your legs are bleeding but #gains. Linzi then threw a finisher at us which consisted of 50 squats and 100 walking lunges. By lunge 36, I was thinking "how am I not even half way?" But we did it and class finished at 6.45, allowing for plenty of time to shower, get breakfast and squeeze in an episode of Parks and Rec (I am obsessed) before work. For breaky, I even had enough time to cook some sausages and eggs on a MONDAY- what a treat!
Day 2- Individual training
On Tuesday I was keen to get down to the Training Camp for an individual workout and to see the new premises. Linzi, Ricci, and their army of helpers had powered through to make sure it was open for the start of gyms reopening and I was eager to see all the shiny new equipment (okay and cute Instagrammable lights, I admit it). Heading to the gym and not knowing where to start can be daunting for some, which is why Livfit have created workout cards (laminated too so you can wipe down after use) to help you get a good workout in. Each card lists what equipment you'll need and how many reps or sets of each move to complete. It takes the worry away of stepping into the gym and not knowing what to do. My workout card was called 'Ski Lift' which entailed; 30Kcal Ski, 10x single leg deadlift each leg with a weight, 10x frontal raises with a weight, 10x lateral raises with a weight, 10x sandbag clean and squats and 10x single leg glute bridge using bench and weight. The card suggests doing AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) so my bestie and I managed three rounds in around 30 minutes (which may not sound a lot to some but by the third round on that skierg I could practically hear Shayne Ward singing ‘You leave me breathless’...) We also changed up the workout a little, adding in kettlebells and swapping the lateral raises for 20 kettlebell swings, but that’s the beauty of the cards, which can be switched up and adapted if needed.
Day 3- Kettlecamp
Wednesday would usually be my PT session with Linzi but this week was a lie week to let everyone get into the (kettlebell)swing of getting back to the gym, so I opted for an outdoor evening class with Ricci. Right, can someone please tell Ricci we're not training for SAS. His workouts feel like a Navy Seal training session. All joking aside, in true Livfit fashion, Ricci motivates you to get the best out of your workout. The workout consisted of around eight different moves using a kettlebell (mine was 8kg) and repeating them as many times through before a finisher. The moves included squats with overhead press, jumping in and outs, lunges with single arm overhead press, burpees with single arm overhead press. The finisher consisted of 20 kettlebell swings and 10 tuck jumps (who came up with the tuck jump cause I’d like to gee them a slap) for three rounds.
Day 4- Thursday, rest day- very much needed after a rather lower body focused start to the week.
Day 5- Sweat 45
My Friday morning kicked off with a 6am workout outside the training camp with Linzi. The workout was split into two groups; one group completed 12 minutes of skipping (and every time you tripped or stopped you had to do three burpees) and the other was 10 single arm push presses either side with an 8kg kettlebell, 15 kettlebell swings then a short run and repeat. After wiping down the equipment, the groups swapped and completed the other side, equating to 24 mins of work. We then completed an eight minute EMOM (every minute on the minute) finisher of 30 jump squats, meaning by the end of the eight minutes we had completed 240 jump squats. After my workout, I purchased one of Linzi's protein smoothies, Death by Chocolate, which was so delish, a lovely post workout treat and just another of many reasons of why I love Livfit (other perks include cold towels for your post workout cool down and free bananas!)
Day 6/7- Saturday and Sunday- rest days. I took this weekend to chill out and let my body recuperate ahead of next week. On rest days, I still like to get a walk in and/or stretch. Over the past few weeks I’ve slowly been increasing the intensity of my workout schedule by adding in more outdoor Livfit classes after a year of home workouts (where you can’t go totally Pete Tong due to neighbours and attempting to minimise noise level), but I was cautious not to overdo it the first week gyms reopened.
In times gone by, I think I was in dangerous territory of working out solely to lose weight and only seeing the final outcome of a more toned body as success, without enjoying the journey and micro milestones along the way. Friday’s class helped me reflect upon the small successes of getting back into a 'more normal post-pandemic' fitness routine so far, including turning up to a workout class myself and later posting a sweaty selfie on social media. These might seem trivial to some but it struck me that perhaps my confidence is slowly coming back- and a big part of that is the friendly, welcoming and understanding atmosphere at Livfit. Each time you show up, you’re that little bit closer to a personal goal, no matter how big or small that may be- and in the words of Livfit, that's #nobullshit.
Speak soon,
Wee Eb
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