I come from a massively sporty family. So naturally, as a child and a teenager, I was involved in lots of team sports, such as camogie, basketball, hockey, etc. I was also big into athletics, mainly long-distance cross-country, and swimming. Once I got to college, I decided to quit the team sports and the only thing I really kept up was swimming. I swam a few times a week and also taught swimming to kids - which I loved! When I qualified as a primary teacher and began to work 9-3, I let most activity slip and got drawn into the routine of heading out the weekends, drinking a lot, eating crappy food and getting little or no exercise, like a lot of people my age - it's only natural. I met Mark shortly after I qualified and began working, and they always say you put on weight with the start of a new relationship - all the (fancy!) meals out, cinema dates, date nights and drinks - so ya, I blame him!!!! (Obviously messing!) | By August 2014, I decided enough was enough. After having some minor health problems, I got a slight shock to the system. I had been taking my health for granted for so long. I was abusing my body, filling it with shite, not moving enough, and it was only right that my body had a bit of a meltdown and told me enough was enough!!! I decided to join the gym, as a therapy (mentally!) and drag myself out of the rut I had gotten myself in. I began a programme in Fit4Less, Tallaght, and loved the buzz I got from exercise. It was a place for me to take my mind off reality and focus on something else for an hour a day, even if it was just going on the treadmill or cross-trainer and a quick little Pilates session. Very quickly, I was hooked! |
I loved my gym time and in January 2015, I really began to take it more seriously. I started going to gym classes, such as Kai Bho, Kettlebells, TRX, Circuits, etc and by the time my birthday came around in April, I was very happy with how my body looked and felt. I went to Portugal over Easter and never felt better.
That was, until I began to start incorporating weights into my exercise regime properly in May. I would be in the gym almost every day. My nutrition was almost 90% clean. I could not believe the difference in my body shape. I became more lean and muscular. I became strong and fit. And I loved it!! Some women may be afraid of weight and the fear of 'looking like a man', which is understandable. But the science speaks for itself - Women do not have the ability to put on muscle like men do. So, that's personally not a fear for me. |
During the summer of 2015, I began to relax a little and wasn't in the gym every day. I had a life to live too!! I began Yoga at home and was doing lots more cardio - running and walking. I found I was getting fitter - in that I could run for longer, but I also felt I lost definition that I had built up through using weights. During the summer, I hadn't much motivation or 'want' to be strong and in the gym a lot, which was fine. I had worked very hard for almost a year to achieve what I had, and my body needed some down time. I relaxed my schedule, took some well-earned rest, which was brilliant for my both my physical and mental health. I met friends for lunches, dinners, coffee, afternoon tea, spent time with family and really just took my foot off the pedal, hoping I could prepare myself for the craziness that is September. I knew changing schools was going to be tough. And lo and behold, it was! I took some time out, just going running and walking when I felt I could. October, I began to ease myself back into things with some home workouts, etc. and since November, I am back in the gym full time (four+ times a week) and have gotten my 'mojo' back!
These pictures were taken in November when I started in Westpark Fitness. As you can see, there was a noticeable difference in my shape here, as to my shape above in July. The toned, defined look had gone - the result of not lifting weights. I hadn't put on extra weight, as such. All the muscle I had build had turned into fat stores and thus, making me feel fluffier and heavier. But I still wasn't totally unhappy with how I looked. I wasn't in bad shape, considering!
These pictures were taken in November when I started in Westpark Fitness. As you can see, there was a noticeable difference in my shape here, as to my shape above in July. The toned, defined look had gone - the result of not lifting weights. I hadn't put on extra weight, as such. All the muscle I had build had turned into fat stores and thus, making me feel fluffier and heavier. But I still wasn't totally unhappy with how I looked. I wasn't in bad shape, considering!
Fast forward to March/April 2016, now, and I've been working hard under the watchful eye of the Westpark Fitness lads, and I've definitely regained my muscles! I feel strong again, I can see muscle groups pumped when I'm training, I have lots of definition, in all the right places. Things are going in the right direction, being lifted and firmed, defined and I feel healthy, I feel happy! The two most important things to me - health and happiness. Not abs, not glutes, not macros, not counting calories, not obsessing over what I eat, not guilting myself over a couple of Lidl cookies, not over-training because I had some pizza yesterday.
Am I healthy? Yes! Am I happy? Hell yes!!!
And I have to admit, even if it does sound like I'm blowing my own trumpet - I reckon I look fairly good! For somebody who trains at least five times a week, eats well the majority of the time, eats chocolate most days, has a good balanced lifestyle, has a healthy attitude towards health and fitness (without being obsessive or neurotic about it!) and has a positive outlook on life - I reckon I'm doing pretty well :)
Am I healthy? Yes! Am I happy? Hell yes!!!
And I have to admit, even if it does sound like I'm blowing my own trumpet - I reckon I look fairly good! For somebody who trains at least five times a week, eats well the majority of the time, eats chocolate most days, has a good balanced lifestyle, has a healthy attitude towards health and fitness (without being obsessive or neurotic about it!) and has a positive outlook on life - I reckon I'm doing pretty well :)