Ultimate Gym Free Workshop

Wow that was an awesome day I had on Saturday…. Just in case you have no idea what I am referring to…. I attended Stuart Amory’s and Mark Raynsford’s Ultimate Gym Free Workshop

After spending the whole day on Friday worrying about what to pack in my lunchbox… I finally settled down to sleep but I was so excited and worried that I would miss my train I woke up at 1:30am… Great only a few more hours then I will be getting up…….4:40 arrives and I am up and ready to rumbbbbbbbllllllleeeeeee…. I have my breakfast then I have to call my mum to wake her up to give me a lift to the train station as I can’t drive at the moment cos my leg is still a bit dodgy… OMG… the reality has just sank in… I can’t drive a mile down the road in my car but I still want to run 26.2 miles…. OOOPPSS but I still have 28 days to make that final decision… not quite ready to make it even though I know what I should be doing.

5:32 and I am on the train to London…. Wahoo…. I am finally on my way… How on earth can I be soooo excited at stupid 0’clock in the morning…. I could have taken a later train but I wasn’t going to risk being late as it would have meant I would have arrived just on time… if I was lucky.

Some of my mate’s are like why on earth are you getting up so early to travel ALL the way into London for a workshop… whereas others are really supportive and know that this is what I really want to do. Well the reasons for me doing it is obvious in my eyes… sometimes you have to travel the distance to make the difference… especially if you want to train with the best… can’t comment on Mark until I have met him but going on my PT sessions with Stu….this was more than enough motivation for me to get up at 4:40 with a dodgy leg. Just putting my trainers on; I am already in pain and that is without negotiating any steps that I have to make on my journey …. But I know once I get to London everything will be OK.

Kim (leccybird) arrives…. Wahoo… the nervous giggling starts….. Loving Kim’s workout kit… with her killer heels… I so hope she has remember to pack her trainers in her bag.. Others arrive too….. such an awesome buzz of meeting fellow gym free attendees… Keep getting told off for laughing…. As it’s too early and the neighbours are probably in bed!! 

Kim's Killer Heels and new hair do and nails!!

A few others arrive…. And I recognise Ruth who messaged me on Twitter and was also sharing the nerves of attending the group.

Introductions are given by Stu and Mark as to where they have come from and their motivation and reasons for wanting to motivate all those attending the workshops to get fit and healthy. I already knew Stu’s background as I had checked him out big style before I made one of the best decisions in my life to take him on aboard my little road trip to completing the London Marathon in 2011… but that’s a different story altogether! It was good to see not only was Stu human so was Mark with his previous lifestyle.. but he can tell you all about that when you attend the workshops.

Then it is time for some action… wahoooo… everyone is on their feet but not for long loads of different exercises to warm us up… and I am thinking this is just the warm-up you have to be kidding me… surely it’s part of the workout itself!! Pulse is going ten to the dozen and I am loving it… It was such a buzz not to have a care in the world and leaving all work related stuff behind for 8 hours.

I can’t remember the order of ‘play’ for the workshop I am afraid but we were shown some amazing bodyweight exercises. Now if you are having doubts that you cannot do something… you really need to get those negative thoughts out of your head. Due to my injury I was not able to do some of the ‘planned’ exercises but both Stu and Mark came up with alternative exercises for me to complete so that I was still able to work just as hard as the others but within my limitations. I was aware that Stuart was keeping a watchful eye on me to make sure that I didn’t do exercises that would cause me more pain to my leg but I was sensible anyway not to attempt them but use some of the exercises I was shown and to ‘mix them up'.

Goal Setting and chunking was awesome given by Stu.. This was a major key part for myself as my goal is to run the London Marathon 2011.. not 2012 but this year. So goal number 1 was the London Marathon 2011… Unfortunately when it came down to the daily tasks as to what I had to do to achieve this goal.. I knew there was a 90% chance of it not happening as using that good old thing SMART… it wasn’t!! Realistic?? Potentially it is if…. And yes I know it is a very big IF… my leg is fixed in time. I have had this injury now for 3 weeks and there appears to be no let up in it… but if I get to that start line… I was cross that finishing line no matter what.. (wrong attitude to have.. I know)… but like I said I am 90% there to saying ‘pull out’ rather than ‘you are quitting!’.. which is better than Wednesday as I was doing it 100% no matter what. This week I am looking at giving myself some new goals to achieve but at the moment if I am totally honest I have no idea what these are going to be but I am sure I will get there… I know I should really get off this emotional rollercoaster ride and pull out by the weekend… I have gone online so many times to fill in the withdrawal form but I can’t quite bring myself to doing it as that means it is final… I am definitely out of the game for 2011. Deep down I know I HAVE to but I am hoping there is just some slim chance that I might be able to make this goal this year.

Mark gives a talk about nutrition and sleep… Now this guy certainly knows what he is talking about! I have already introduced Spelt pasta rather than normal pasta into my diet and I have certainly noticed the difference, as it is so much lighter. I need to make a few other changes but I am getting there. Good-bye Rosemary Conely (not though I follow it 100%) and hello Mark Raynsford!! There was soooo much information to take in and I am sure Mark could have run a workshop just on it’s own about nutrition and supplements. I am not 100% sure if I buy into the supplement thing yet but that’s my choice and opinion at the moment but I will probably try bits of it gradually over a period of time… I mean after all I tried that disgusting Green Tea (s^!$)… It was nice at 6am when I was half asleep but come 3pm… yuck gross thanks but no thanks! However, I may try something else.. who knows.. mind you I hardly drink tea or coffee anyway. I know that I will be using the information I received during this part of the day to look at my food intake (not diet!!) in more detail and make some changes to it. I am going to get myself organised and follow the food plan and recipes and stick to it as it seems so much easier to do than counting points and thinking is that less than 5% fat!! Haha You will know what I am referring to you know… when you attend!!!

Wahoo then it was my good old friend the KETTLEBELL!! Since I have started training with Stu, the kettlebell has become one of my best friends….. Pressure was on… cos I am thinking OMG… if I don’t do this 100% I am soooo in trouble!! I have already had 2 kettlebell sessions with Stu and I was rubbish the first time…. But I am getting better at it and more importantly I love working out with them. Stu is brilliant at explaining and demonstrating the correct technique and kept a watchful eye on us all to make sure we were snapping the string with our thumbs to our bums and thumbs to the sky… all we become clear! There are so many things that you can do with a kettlebell… I learnt new swings and snatches and jerks,,, figure of 8 and loads loads more!! Please make sure you use the correct technique to pick up and put down the kettlebell… I learnt the hard way to do this as I failed to do it once.. and I have had to run to trees and carry the heavier kettlebell back to the car. On the more serious side.. think of the long-term damage you are doing to your back.

There was plenty of time for Q & A throughout the day and lunch… but there was also a time slot for this to happen….

Finally we finish with the good old DIRTY THIRTY!!! OMG… it was awesome… I am afraid we have all signed the Stuart Amory and Mark Raynsford Official Dirty Thirty Secrets Act 2011… so there is only one way of finding out what this is all about! However….. I would like to say I ran 32.75 miles (in one go) last year and the Dirty Thirty was more knackering than that! The added bonus was it was a lot less HOURS, less physical pain on my knee and 100% enjoyable without any tears..

I know I am bias as I train with Stu but I wouldn’t try to sell something to my friends if I didn’t believe it in 100%. If you have any doubts about whether you should attend this workshop or not.. YOU SHOULD!! Forget things that maybe going through your head… am I too old? Am I too fat? I’m not fit enough to attend! I won’t be able to do the exercises because of x y or z…. I had my doubts as to whether I should attend the workshop due to my dodgy leg.. I had a good old chat with Stu and exercises were adapted so that I could fully participate. If you have any concerns… email either Stuart or Mark as they are both really approachable guys that would be willing to genuinely spend the time with you that you deserve to alleviate your fears.

Then it was down the pub to celebrate our awesome day together... see I told you they were both human!!