A boy named Luke.

Post work on Friday and I’m in the changing rooms prepping myself for boot camp. I’ve become a ‘regular’ at this class and I’m actually a huge fan of both the instructor and fellow gym goers – just such a shame that it is on a Friday evening (I had to have a little moan, didn’t I?) 

Unlike a number of my friends, I’ve never been hugely fussed about children in the changing rooms. Since Friday however, I’ve changed my mind. 

Why? A boy named Luke.

A boy named Luke, approximately 7 or 8, is excitedly telling his mother about Julius Ceaser and is giggling as he repeats his teacher’s ‘hilarious’ joke on the subject. Having already expressed his contentment with blow drying his hair, I can tell his mother is getting a little exasperated by the length of time he has been getting changed. I hear his mother mutter something about how if he can’t talk whilst getting dressed then he should stop talking.

Mother is obviously keen to get on her way but experience tells her to encourage her little boy to use the bathroom before hopping on the tube. Luke defiant at being asked to go, or so I thought, declares that he doesn’t need to. Mother does what mother’s do best- nag! Exasperated by her persistence, Luke says

‘Muuumm, I already went when I was in the shower’. 

My hair tying halts and my eye catches his mother’s in the mirror. Evidently mortified by the whole situation, Luke is ‘tugged’ out by the hood of his jacket whilst I’m shot an apologetic smile.

 Suddenly, I’m in agreement with my friends- Families need their own changing room.

Ever turned up your music to mask the sound of yourself passing wind?

Sorry, this isn’t a confession.

Yesterday evening I was enjoying a run on the treadmill at my fantastically pleasurable gym (read previous post to understand sarcasm). A huge muscular man jumped on the machine beside me and started to run at a really respectable pace for a man his size. I kind of thought he’d struggle to move that amount of mass so quickly!
His body was obviously his passion and he sported some very fashionable headphones. I was jealous. I’d left my headphones at home and was faced with reading the badly typed subtitles on the screen in front. Five minutes into his workout, this dude’s music started to crank up and I could start enjoying his beat..UNTIL…he started to add in his own beat. Every fourth step and this man just let one rip. I kid you not, he farted so much and so loudly. I kept on looking at him and all I wanted to say was: ‘Dude, I can hear you even if you can’t hear yourself’ but he was just pretending it wasn’t him and carried on. I won’t disgust you by conjuring up smell equivalents but needless to say, I was forced to move down a few machines.

A rocky introduction to a London gym..

Ignoring my ever obvious need to grow a back bone and stick up for myself, here is me, moaning about my new gym:

After almost a month of settling in to my new role in London, I decided to join the gym that my company generously subsidises for me. The first 3 times I used the gym, I really enjoyed it. It was ram packed with people enthusiastic about fitness or fulfilling the 2013 new year resolution to get ‘fit’. People seemed genuinely focused and the Personal Trainers (PT) were at their busiest- only occasionally breaking their silence to warn you if you were performing an exercise incorrectly. The memberships on offer are £99 a month for 12 months or £49.50 a month for 15 months so most people using the gym have made a lengthy commitment. 

As we get further into February and the New Year resolutions have been stowed away with the Christmas decorations or the newbie has learnt enough from their training sessions, we suddenly get an influx of work hungry PTs. Having never been a part of one of these large chains, I wasn’t aware that they’d use the gym as their sales floor and had assumed you’d just go to reception to book your training session. I appreciate that all they are doing is earning themselves a living but I do resent being constantly pestered- one of them did a sales pitch to me whilst I was using the treadmill for interval training. I feigned interest and remained polite despite the fact he had just thrown my 1 min jog, run, sprint routine out of kilter. One PT decided that she’d try offending me into signing up with her, a Polish lady old enough to be my Grandma but more muscular than Jodie Marsh decided her opening pitch line would be ‘You are new to here and unfit, I can show you how to look better, £45 an hour, you can book with me right now’. This dampened my high spirits after I’d proudly completed 8 km on the treadmill and then climbed 100 floors on the stepper. 

Eager to escape further insults and harassment, I booked myself into one of the classes. The gym prides itself on running a number of classes throughout the day included in the price of your membership. I booked myself into a body conditioning class and was intrigued to see if they were as fun and energetic as described in the brochure. I arrived to my class 5 minutes early and followed my fellow class-goers by picking up weights and a mat. Immediately, the trainer came to me and told me this was a body conditioning class and I had to pre-sign up to take part. I explained I had done just that and I was meant to be here. She looked disappointed and explained that she has the same people in her class each week and she only had two weeks left at the club. Sorry love, but that was not on the website. She decided that I would be unable to lift the 15kg weight bar I’d chosen, despite me telling her the weight would be fine, and removed 5kg sending me on my way. I found myself a space and stood patiently behind my mat much like everyone else. In walked two women who explained to the trainer that they hadn’t been able to book on because the class was full. Staring daggers at me, she said they could take part anyway. Equipped with their weights and mat, one of the ladies tells me that I was standing in her normal ‘spot’ and I was to move to the left. Taken aback by her audacity (and scolding myself for my stereotypical British politeness), I moved to the side beside the door, away from any mirrors and amongst all the stray weights. Looking around the room before we started the warm-up, I counted 24 bodies + the trainer. The class only has 20 slots so there must have been another 2 slip ins that I didn’t notice. 45 minutes later and barely out of breath as it was difficult to move a great distance because the class was too full, coupled with an infuriating amount of water breaks, I felt rather pissed off that I’d wasted one of my precious gym sessions doing it. 

I am hoping that my experience is a rarity in the London fitness world and I’m chuffed that my membership can be resigned at any time as I expect that as soon as I know where my permanent address will be, I’ll be ending my relationship with this chain and looking for alternatives. I am missing  my gym partners, trainers and classes from Abu Dhabi right now!

Me, the wine connoisseur…

Okay, wine connoisseur might be a little exaggeration:

Wine has been my choice beverage since I became of drinking age (if you can call 14 drinking age, *hangs head in shame*). Drinking, for many of my peers, was an activity itself much like playing football or going shopping. At school age, we would pinch a bottle from our parents and gather in a friend’s room getting ready for our evening of dancing and more drinking. At University, the only thing that changed was I could no longer pinch from my parent’s stash and was instead forced to buy my own; this resulted in the purchase of Hop Inn’s two bottles for £5 deal which was more often than not diluted and sweetened with lemonade, just to make it drinkable. My immediate post-University years saw a marked improvement in the price of wine purchased but my knowledge of what I was picking or why I was picking it, was limited. I had a standard response of dry white wine, Sauvignon Blanc please. If the waiter ever said we only have Chardonnay, I’d just chirp ‘That’s fine’. I didn’t really know what I was drinking and began to accept the fact that I’d enjoy glass number 2 more than 1 anyway.

Now, as a young professional and having recently arrived back in London, I’m looking forward to enhancing my knowledge and re-shaping my attitude towards drinking wine.*

First stop, I took my lovely and oldest friend (in friendship duration not age!) to Vinopolis in London Bridge as her Christmas present. Having been away so long, I wanted to choose something that we could do together whilst catching up on past months. Vinopolis provided the best platform in which to do this, it starts with a 10 minute introduction on how to taste wine and the rest of the tour is self-guided – giving you the opportunity to either whizz through or go at a leisurely pace. If you’re more of a leisurely person then make sure you leave yourself ample of tasting time as the experience closes at 21:30.

So, in the first ten minutes we learnt to slurp, taste, splash, smell and look at wine.  The next 2 and a half hour we travelled through the wine rooms and tried over 12 different types of wine, champagne and spirits. We both took the interactive taste test and despite each having a different answer for every question, both came out as 9/20 and we were recommended to stick with the dry and crisp or the aromatic and fruity selection of wines. It was also noted that we’d both prefer warm region wines over cold.

Equipped with our new taste knowledge, we put it to the test and picked wine that we wouldn’t normally have considered. I steered myself away from my normal New Zealand and Southern Chile choice (considered cold region wine or maritime climate) and instead opted for Italian, Australian, Greek and Californian grape (considered warm region wine or Mediterranean climate). As a general rule, it worked and I did enjoy the wines from the warmer climates but I wouldn’t replace my NZ Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc with an Italian Pinot Grigio…yet.

I also used this experience as an occasion to satiate my newly found penchant for red wine. Knowing already that I enjoy a Rioja and a Pinot Noir, I tried out some stronger, full bodied varieties. I particularly like the Charles Smith Cabernet Sauvignon which had an earthy, blackcurrant smell and taste to it. This was tasted out of mere excitement that we had a friend with the same name but it didn’t disappoint. I also tried a red Georgian wine. The introductory lady urged us to give it a go as winemaking originates from Georgia over 7,000 years ago. Unfortunately, my unsophisticated taste buds were not up for the challenge and instead I felt like the wine itself was 7,000 years old.

Right, I won’t go on as it is already clear to you all that I am no wine connoisseur but I would encourage anyone wanting to learn a little more to go to Vinopolis to give it a go. If you already count yourself as a bit of an expert, then I’d avoid Vinopolis and instead hunt out a more personable wine tasting experience where a sommelier can guide you based on your individuality.

If you’re in London and part of a wine club or you’ve been on many tasting sessions, then leave a comment telling me where to go or alternatively let me know your favourite wine so I can continue ‘my education’.

*Please note that any newly acquired attitude towards and knowledge of wine can change dramatically depending on how many glasses I’ve drunk.

Return from an impromptu departure

I abandoned my blogging ship 10 days prior to getting married and never really found the momentum to return. Unlike most brides, I didn’t get the post wedding blues and I didn’t find myself in an odd position not having the wedding to plan, instead I had a mini-moon to go on, a honeymoon to plan and take, a new job to wangle and I moved house, city, country and continent!! Now, I’m beginning to feel a little settled, I’ve decided to jump right back on the blogging wagon (encouraged by a few fellow bloggers- thank you for your messages). What will I blog about? Nothing life changing, but from the top of my head- doing good for the world, no longer being an expat, health and fitness, living in London, buying a house, being a wife and knitting.

Write soon.

Girls Night In

I am a firm believer of if you are going to do something, you may as well do something right.

This evening I present to you my ‘Girls Night In’.

The UAE weekend starts on a Thursday and I plan to start it naughtily. I’ll be avoiding the scales until this is worked off but nothing will stop me enjoying this whilst chitchatting with my oldest Abu Dhabi girlfriend and listening to greats such as Rod Stewart.

The candles are lit and the music is playing. French Comte, Brie, Danish Mozzarella, Apricot Stilton and a herb infused Gouda served with a crisp white wine and a side of Gummy Bears. 

 

Pre-Wedding Detox

Day One- Saying No to Junk Food

There is only 90 days to go until Sam and I put ourselves on display for 150 friends and family. All eyes will be on us. Do we look our best? More to the point, do we feel our best?

Since September 2011, my health, well more like my fitness, has crawled to the top of my priority list. My fitness reached a new peak in April when I embarked on the 40 hour challenge for the United Nations World Food Programme.

I have successfully broken away from my gym obsessed work outs and even now, in mid-June with highs of 110°F, 43°C and lows of 78°F/25°C, enjoy training in the park and using my surroundings for inspiration. I have bought dumbbells, a skipping rope, a boxing kit  and an exercise mat to help me on my way and I am having a lot of fun tracking my runs using my new Nike + app on my iPod Nano.

Still, with the 40 hour challenge over, I can no longer excuse myself from social activities and doing my daily chores. Sam was supportive for the month of April but any longer and I’m just selfish.  I now have to fit my workout into my life rather than have my life revolve around my workout.

At the weekend, I reflected on how this was going. It turns out, not very well. I’ve continued to eat in the same pattern as I did in April but have reduced my workouts by almost 50%. Weight wise, I’ve stayed exactly the same but I’m definitely losing muscle. I’m pining to feel the way I did in April. Things were tighter 6 weeks ago.

A few moans to Sam and we’re ready to attack this issue together. We decided to stop stocking crisps, chocolate and gummy bears in our house (devastated) and have reinvented our lunch boxes from ham rolls and a packet of monster munch to a low-carb equivalent. No junk food. Nada.

Blogging spurred me on in my workout challenge so I am hoping my detox diary will also make me watch what I eat.

	Normal Day	Detox Day One
Morning	Bowl of Cheerios	Peach yoghurt and a Peach
Lunch	Ham Sandwich. Monster Munch and Apple	Grilled Chicken salad, orange + nuts
Dinner	Spicy sausage pasta	Chicken and vegetable stir fry
Snack	Gummy bears	Oatmeal biscuit +Apple

Does anyone have great low carb breakfast and lunch ideas to share? Lunch has to be portable and preferably served cold, if so, please leave a comment.

Stand Up Paddle Boarding

For the last three Thursdays, I’ve gone to the Yas Marina Circuit for Stand Up Paddle Boarding. I admire people who are confident on the water as I don’t have any water based talents. In fact, I’m not even able to sit on a boat without feeling terribly sick.

So why Stand Up Paddle board you may ask?

Well, not only does Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit open up the coolest back drop and marina for free on a Thursday evening, they are also kind enough to lend boards and instructors for free too. What’s more, do not worry if you forget drinking water, they’ve got that covered. Why wouldn’t you give Paddle Boarding a go with all that on offer?

After 10 minutes spent on my knees trying to navigate the choppy marina, I’m confident enough to stand. Everyone is super friendly and helpful and 30 minutes in, I’m asking questions such as how can you do tricks on this board or do people race on these?

On the third Thursday, when asked if I was a beginner, I proudly said no. They gave me the carbon race board. Needless to say, the thinner and lighter version of a paddle board soon brought me down a few notches and next Thursday, I’ll be saying YES, I am!

Paddle boarding is a great alternative to hitting the gym and whilst you think you’re not doing much at the time, as soon as you jump back onto dry land you realise you’ve just spent the last hour pulling your body weight across a strong current whilst in a squat position.

To learn more about paddle boarding- check this link out: http://www.livestrong.com/article/11450-need-paddleboarding/

If you’re in the UAE here is where you can find out more:
http://standuppaddleuae.blogspot.com/2011/03/stand-up-paddle-yas-marina-abu-dhabi.html

 

Photographs- Hour 40

Hour 40 of the 40 Hour in April challenge for the World Food Programme – www.justgiving.com/celeidh-morrison

After doing 1km sprints and stair drills, Claire and I used the stadium steps to do all sorts of exercises.

SUPERMANS

This is great for the bottom and thighs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOX JUMPS

I learned to love box jumps. They are a challenge, especially at this height  but I like the fact you need to give 100% to ensure a safe landing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DIPS

I go through phases with dips/press ups. Currently I prefer them to free weights but I’m sure I’ll change my mind again soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SIDE PLANK WITH LEG LIFT

Claire suggested we do this one which sure did hurt me this morning. Laughing was sore as was general out of bed, into car movements. Another reason I love working out with a partner- you learn new moves. I thought I was beyond sore this month.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SMILES AND HUGS

Everyone has been really supportive of the 40 Hour challenge. Claire got me through the last week. Accompanying me to Khalifa Park on three occasions to ensure I keep up the intensity and feel motivated to continue. Thanking you, Claire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CELEBRATIONS

It was a toss-up between the fist pump or a lap like Phoebe in friends. Surprisingly, fist pumping required less effort and I was already ten minutes over my 40 hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BATH

No, that was quite enough skin for one day.

Khalifa Park is definitely the new place to be in Abu Dhabi for working out. Summer is coming though which means temperatures can soar as high as 50 degrees celsius.

What should I challenge myself to next?

40 Hours in April Completed (almost)

First things first, a big thank you to all my sponsors Claire and Jon, Julie, Naomi, Lindsey, Kelly, Heather, Becky, Karen (aka Mother), Tiffany, Katie and Trevor, Hannah, Anna, Lucy and Iain.

My 40 Hour in April Challenge for the World Food Programme (www.justgiving.com/celeidh-morrison) is almost over! Well, the exercise part and not the fundraising part! Since the row and skip, I challenged myself to complete the rest of the 40 hours by working out without a gym membership. Sound easy? It wasn’t. I suddenly had to occupy myself instead of sitting on a treadmill and watch the time tick by, I had to use my brain and my body.

Sunday 22nd April arrived and I didn’t quite know what to do with myself. I was suffering gym withdrawals and lacked inspiration due to my monotonous routine. I drove to the gym, got changed, but didn’t enter the gym… Instead, I used the rugby fields, park benches and running track to my advantage. By day three, whilst no-one explicitly told me not to use Zayed Sports City grounds, I did feel a little bit cheeky. Here I was, preaching to the blogosphere about doing park workouts when really I’m heading to an open space in a leisure centre using the moves I’d previously been taught in a Haddin’s gym class or watched people doing before. Cheating much? I thought so.

I moved on to the Davina Fit Workout DVD whilst wearing my Zaggora HotPants. I took a stab at the Yoga Classes on my 5 Day Fit workout DVD and a friend who recently qualified as a Pilates instructor lent me a Stott Pilates DVD too. These were all really great workouts that could be done early morning or late evening in the comfort of my own home. I felt as if my body was both exercising as well as repairing.

Particularly fond of building up a sweat, I ventured with a friend to a park close to my work. A charge of AED 1 (15 pence) to enter is a small price to pay when it is amazingly clean and well managed. Friday morning at 9:30am we were jogging round fountains, punching the air and bear crawling on hills. Struggling after 40 minutes due to the 36 C heat we retired to a shaded area to do aerobic exercises taken from Davina’s DVD and stomach crunches. To end our morning, despite having a collective age of 53 between us, we lay on our backs and rolled down the hill until we felt positively sick. Good times.

Since then, Khalifa Park has become our hangout. A gladiator style workout last night and a final intense burst tonight to end the 40 Hours in April Challenge. When I’m low on ideas,  I think a Phoebe running lap is in order to celebrate the completion of my challenge.

 I’ll be home to a hot bath and a glass of white whilst Mr. S screams at the TV during tonight’s Derby clash between Manchester City and Manchester United.  

Pictures will be posted tomorrow (of the final workout not me sipping wine in a bath).