Rob, Rambling - A lot of things interest me...

I appreciate that exercise and going to the gym is about the body, and by extension somewhat to do with its relationship with the world around it, but a word of advice to Fitness First Holborn Circus: Michael Jackson’s Earth Song is not good workout music.

Well, that hurt…

T-minus 37 minutes until my first (and probably only) session with a personal trainer at the gym. I was in there one lunchtime last week, trying to fight off a godawful hangover, when one of the trainers came over and started chatting about what kind of routines/programmes I do, and so on.

I tend to be relatively aimless when I’m at the gym, and am not working towards anything in particular, other than a vague goal to lose some weight around my middle and be a bit healthier. I like programmes such as 200 sit-ups, because they give me concrete targets and numbers to hit each week, which in turn motivates me to get my ass into the gym in the first place.

Without that motivation, it’s far too easy to not go, and then it becomes a cumulative effect, knowing that each time you don’t go, the first one back is harder. Miss a whole week and you really don’t feel like going any time soon.

The session I’m having today is free, which is a bit of a result, but I can’t see myself paying for any further sessions, to be honest. They’re just too expensive for me to really justify it.

I’m hoping to get some ideas, and to get some motivation back into my system. Maybe even some finite targets to achieve. It’s definitely a mental thing for me, because I thoroughly enjoy the act of working out. But getting to the gym seems to be the difficulty that I need to overcome…

Things that got me through my workout at lunchtime today:

• A Prodigy megamix, which may or may not have been The Dirtchamber Sessions.

• The thought of a pulled pork sandwich immediately afterwards (which actually wasn’t particularly brilliant. We need a Brother Jimmy’s over here, stat!).

• The realisation that Tuesday lunchtime is evidently “Ladies Day” in the gym, judging by the ratio of women to men. Hurrah!

I’m starting the 200 sit-ups programme again, and also doing the 100 push-ups system to boot, in an effort to get myself motivated for gym visits and losing weight this year.

When I did the 200 sit-ups programme last summer, it was probably the most dedicated I’ve ever been to going to the gym, and I really looked forward to each session and pushing myself against defined targets.

I find it all too easy to just drift through gym visits, not massively pushing myself or getting into any kind of routine where I can see improvement. And then the lack of visual improvement means an ebbing of motivation, and so the frequency of my gym visits falls. It’s a vicious circle.

Not this time though! (Hopefully)

2nd gym session of the year, a solid 1hr40 of killing myself. Yay me!

I knew it was worth only having a coke in the pub at lunchtime…

A gym session is fucking hard work when you’ve not been for nearly a month.

But at least I went! I was going to go yesterday, but apathy and laziness took hold of me instead. And then four beers in the pub after work also took hold of me, dammit.

I’m determined to lose the gut which has developed in the last few months, and handily the girlfriend is going on some kind of gradual detox diet so I won’t be able to eat unhealthily at home either. I have no problem in giving up certain foods that I eat too much of (bread, cream, chocolate), but it’s going to be a wrench having to avoid cheese…

Now, all I’ve got to do is replace beer with G&Ts, and I’m sorted. I’m not going to kid myself and say that I won’t drink, but at least I can cut down on the calorie content of my alcohol.

Gym Pro-Tip: 350 crunches in one session is too many. My stomach is so sore right now.

On the plus side, I’m getting ever closer to being able to do 200 consecutively, which was the plan from the outset with this 200 sit-ups programme. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get this finished before I go to the US, which is precisely two weeks away.

The 100 press-ups programme isn’t going quite so well as yet. I’m redoing week two, because it was really difficult for me to complete. That’s going to take until Halloween to complete, at this rate, but I think it’ll be more of an achievement because I’ve never been able to really do press-ups, owing to a complete lack of upper body strength.

Maybe I’ll try the 20 pull-ups challenge next. I like/need these targets and programmes to stop me getting bored at the gym, I find.

OK, so the health kick has died a little today: no gym and a big-ass motherfucker of a burrito for lunch.

I maintain that’s still relatively healthy though: rice, chicken, beans, tortilla, spicy sauce. Just ignore the cheese, sour cream and guacamole!

In my defence, I had a salad on each of the previous four days this week, and I’ve done four sessions of exercise already. Add to that a run at least once this weekend, and another session of the sit-ups and press-ups programme, and I call it 6 lots of exercise this week. That’ll do.

And the food side of things has been very good too, if I do say so myself. I was out for dinner last night at a Moroccan place, and even then I managed to choose something pretty respectable: a chicken tagine, which was really good.

Surprisingly, I’ve managed to cut down on the booze front, without really realising it. I tend not to drink during the week, unless I go to the pub at lunchtimes with my co-workers, and that has thankfully been avoided through gym sessions. I had a glass of red wine last night, and a criminally under-strength cocktail, and that’s the sum total of my alcohol this week.

Of course, the weekend usually destroys any good intentions there, and this weekend will probably be no different. A mate’s coming round tomorrow to watch some football and play some Wii, and I’m sure that’ll be beer-fuelled. Then I’m out for dinner with the girlfriend after she’s finished work, which will no doubt involve a bottle or two of wine.

Ah well, I’m allowed to have a blow-out now and again. Maybe I’ll need to run on Sunday to get rid of the hangover!

As much as I don’t want to admit it, that bodyfat assessment thing I did last week has been playing on my mind. I know that I’m carrying some excess weight, particularly around my middle, and it hasn’t shifted despite going to the gym 2-3 times a week for the last couple of years.

A combination of bad diet and a lack of enthusiasm to really burn the weight off has left it attached, which I’m disappointed at because I know both of those things can be easily amended. I don’t eat really badly, but I’m a sucker for a take-away once/twice a week. Also, when we cook at home, the girlfriend and I seem to have massive portions and never think to eat in moderation.

The sheer volume of heavy carbs doesn’t help: pasta, bread, potatoes. I have them at least once a day, and a hefty portion at that. A lot of cooking with cream is also a problem, and no doubt the sheer volume of beer that I get through most weeks is a bit of an issue.

I’ve been good recently at setting myself targets, notably the 200 sit-ups and 100 press-ups programmes. I’m enjoying testing myself each time at the gym against these programmes, and the progress I’m making may not be immediately visible physically, but it is in terms of improvement. When I started, I could only do 34 sit-ups in one go before giving out; today, I did 260 across 5 sets!

I’m determined to change my eating habits, and get on the protein/veg/fruits more often. Less drinking, less complex carbs, and a generally better quality of food going down my throat. The girlfriend’s been moaning about her weight recently, so hopefully she’ll be on board with this too.

And the exercise regime has got to step up too: 2-3 times a week, 45 minutes at a time has been just about enough to maintain my weight (and improve my fitness/strength somewhat), but I need to do more if I want to lose some. Running after work needs to become regular, as a supplement to more targeted exercises at lunchtime in the gym.

With that in mind, I’m going on a run when I get back from work, come hell or high water. My groin/hip should’ve healed itself by now, but I’ll be easing my way back in.

Here’s to turning over a new leaf and shedding that persistent bloody spare tyre!