In The Company of (rude) Friends?

I have just read JAG's blog and feel I have to post on mine my response to her post that a few of her friends/colleagues had made negative remarks about her 'new shape'.

What is the phenomena of friends, colleagues, associates, people you don't really know that well etc etc thinking it is perfectly ok, once you start to loose weight/change body shape, to make really quite personal comments. I've had:-
"oh, poor your, you've lost your boobs"
"don't you think you've done enough now"
"you're beginning to look like Dot Cotton" (this was an 'ex-husband' comment JEALOUS:-))
"honestly, you look so skinny you look awful" - can you BELIEVE this one.

Now my question is - would they say the equivalent negative comments to someone who had gained weight. e.g. "oh, poor you, your boobs are massive" or "Don't you think you've put on enough weight now".

Just a tip for these people - don't be so RUDE and as my mother would say - if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

JAG - you look amazing and most of all I bet you feel amazing and that is what counts - go girl!

Must also share a funny conversation I had with a colleague on Thursday. She was asking me why I was still 'bothering' (she was the one that made the boob comment above). I told her that I may have lost weight but I want to be strong and healthy into my old age and that resistance training is particularly beneficial for women (I happen to know she is just beginning to go through the menapouse). She said to me, "oh, there is no need for me to do that - I have massive muscles". Now, I don't wish to be rude (see above) but maybe she has, you just can't see them as they are covered by a layer of fat - she obviously does a lot of dusting as according to her the housework she has to do is the reason she can't exercise :-)

Saturday Satisfaction and Very Sore Thighs!

I knew before I went that going to the gym Friday night and then again on Saturday morning was a bit silly but I don't like my routine going off track and so I went Saturday anyway. I knew it would be nice and quiet in the free weights section and wanted to try some new exercises (and make a fool of myself in private!). I went on to ExRx.Net and looked up the 'Muscle Directroy' to find muscles to target my thighs - my target muscle group 'of the moment'. I had no idea there were so many versions of the squat and lunge:
Barbell front squat
Full squat
Barbell hack squat
Safety squat
Barbell single let squat
Barbell lunge
Barbell rear lunge
Side lunge
and more........................

So in my enthusiasm I tried a few! A FEW! am I mad. My thighs were so sore afterwards I could barely walk down the stairs - still, I have to admit - don't you just love that burn :-)

I woken this morning (Sunday) and everything seems back to normal so I'm off to the gym again to practice some new moves :-) This afternoon I'm off to buy a lovely dress for 'Speech Day' on Friday - I'm very excited as shopping now is such a pleasurable experience as I'm a standard size and can fit into anything I want to - even if it looks blinking stupid on me :-)

A Quiet Friday at the Gym

Great gym session tonight. I don't usually go on a Friday but missed out yesterday as i was in Birmingham with youngest daughter looking at the University for next year. The gym was so quiet I did my usual thing and started looking at other machines and trying new things. I decided, as I am not pleased with the progress on my legs, to do some lunges along with my squats and I'm off in a mo to look it up on the webiste.

I have been very tired and thought I was struggling with my squats and then noticed that I had accidentally upped the weights without realising it so I'm pleased with that. I also found that my shoulder press was easier and I could actually complete the whole set of 3 x 10 reps without having to resort to mini reps to get me through.

All in all a good session - I am pleased :-)

Thought I'd upload this pic from yesterday - just because it is a rare one of me I actually like and it is showing my progress to date:

Fred Perry Sweat Patches and White Van Man

Great gym workout last night. All weights and exercises stayed the same but it just felt sooooo good. It might have been the gym bunny music mix I had made for my ipod - nothing like Run DMC 'It's like that' for getting you pumping those bars! Might also have been my delivery from 'My Protein' that arrived yesterday. I had a choc/nut shake before my weights and a vanilla after (before cardio) and I really felt the benefits. Eldest daughter's BF said I'd ordered enough to last for 80 days - he obviously thought I was mad, but you have to have an assortment of flavours don't you?

Grunt

I also think I might have done my first GRUNT whilst doing a shoulder press - WHAT HORROR. I couldn't actually hear myself because I was listening to 'Buttons' at the time by the Pussy Cat Dolls but I definately felt vibration in my throat. Nobody looked over but probably because they were all grunting louder than me!

When doing my cardio stuff I was behind a woman who had sweated a patch on her shirt that was exactly the same as the Fred Perry logo - no joke. I tried to take a photo on my mobile but was jiggling around to much and it was blurry so I thought I'd post this instead and you can imagine!

5am Run

Nothing much to report on the 'nature watch' of my 5am run this morning though I did observe some common creatures - WHITE VAN MAN - they were everywhere this morning. I think a lot of these guys leave their homes at 5.30am because proportionately there were more of them than cars on the road today.

I have also become a road side 'bouncer'. I always thought joggers who couldn't just stand still whilst waiting to cross the road were rather silly - and now I do it. This morning I had to do it 3 times and all 3 times the cars waved me across - bless them!!!

New Jogging Buddy and shall I buy him a cup?

Ok, so he's not really a buddy but I have a new jogger that I have started 'nodding' to in the morning. Though not a word is said I think we all have a kinship of being the mad morning runners who truly revel in this beautiful time of the day. I might try smiling on Wednesday - if I'm brave enough.

Nature watch

Nature watching so far I have seen, on my early morning runs, a deer, many foxes, 2 kingfishers and this morning a duck. Ok, so ducks are two a penny but this one was walking down a residential street without a drop of water in sight - I wonder if she was lost?

Car safety and a coffee dilemma

Everyday, at the same time, in the same road a blue cinquecento car. I first noticed it because the 2 men in the front are rather large and for those than know the cinquecento is a VERY small car. I digress from my main point. The driver always has a cup of coffee in his hand - a proper one, white china with a handle and I can't help being concerned for his, and his passenger's safety. I am thinking of buying him a proper 'car' coffee mug and flagging him down one morning to give it to him - do you think I should tie a ribbon around it?

Adding a bit to my 'Abs' workout.

I tried to move my weight schedule on a bit this weekend. I upped a few of my weights but also - shame, shame - had to decrease the weights for my shoulder press - I just couldn't lift it without seriously loosing form and arching my back. I was about to give it up, on Thursday, and go home v disappointed (I HATE not completing things) when Trainer Terry arrived - I didn't even let him get his jacket off and I hot footed it over to the 'coach stand' and asked him to help. He said I should bring the weights down, even use a 'naked' bar and then build up. I felt better and decided to have a go at the weenkend.

Its been a funny old weekend. I couldn't do my Saturday weights session due to work so I had to do it on Sunday. Being such an 'anally retentive' person, I felt 'all over the place'. Used Saturday as a rest day instead, as I don't get enough of these. The gym was empty at 7.30 on Sunday morning so I took the opportunity to try out a couple of new exercises. My routine went as follows:

Warm Up
Cross trainer - 15 minutes forwards
Weights
Squats - 25kg bar - 1 set (3 x 10 reps)
Flat dumb bell press - 10kg dumb bells - 1 set (3 x 10 reps)
Deadlift - 22kg bar - 1 set (3 x 10 reps)
Shoulder press - 5kg bar - 1 set (6 x 5 reps)
Crunch/Leg raises - body weight - 1 set (3 x 10 reps)
Bicep Curl - 6kg dumb bells - 1 set (6 x 5 reps)
Inclined situp - body weight - 1 set (3 x 10 reps) *new*
Lat pull down - 30kg - 1 set (6 x 5 reps)
Leg raises - body weight - 1 set (3 x 5 reps) *new*
(Lat pull down and leg raises done as a mini-circuit)
Seated cable row - 22kg - 1 set (3 x 10 reps)
Tricep pull down - 5kg - 1 set (6 x 5 reps)
Push ups (lady) - 1 set (3 x 10 reps) *new*
Cardio
Treadmill - 20 mins - 15 incline (heart rate 70%-80%)
Stairmaster - 20 mins - level 7 (heart rate 70%-80%)
Treadmaster - 20 mins - 4.5 (heart rate 70%-80%)

Leaping into the Lion's Laire

I have never felt less like going to the gym as I did last night. I arrived home from work and found every excuse under the sun NOT to get my gear on and go. I was just suffering from the fear of going where only the brave female has been before - the free weights section of the gym. In the end I gave myself a swift talking to and before I could find one more 'essential' job to do at home I jumped in the car and drove off.

O M Gosh - the gym was packed. Nothing was free in the weights section and there were so many grunts and groans I could practically taste the testosterone. Intimidated is an understatement of how I was feeling. I warmed up for 15 mins on the cross trainer hopefully scanning the room for a lull in activity. I spotted Terry and went over and asked him if it was essential that I do the weights in order and he said no so I went for the easy ones first - basically the weights I could pick up and move to the quiet corner (and you thought they only had those at primary school!). As I moved through the programme the weights section quietened down and my confidence grew. The biggest error was on the seated row. I couldn't remember the correct handle to attach and the whole exercise felt a little uncomfortable. It was only when I spotted someone later on doing it properly that I realised I hadn't set up my mat and foot support correctly and noted for Thursday the correct handle to use!

The hardest exercise to complete from the shoulder press with the 17kg bar. I really struggled and my face pulling was so off putting in the mirror I think I shall wear a terrorists scarf type face cover next Thursday or a balaclava Les Dawson had nothing on me. Does anyone else find that they can't control the muscles of their face when straining - I was horrified :-)

Thursday's gym outfit!