Way back in April last year I had problems with my car that resulted in me eventually, in July, having to sell it for scrap and purchasing a new one. Well on Saturday the new car wouldn’t start and I had to get the recovery people out. To make a long and EXTREMELY stressful story short it resulted in me being without a car for 5 days, the warranty company not honouring a courtesy car and having to fork out a fortune on a rental.
So as you can imagine I was very stressed on Monday morning having to sort all this out. It resulted in my spending only 1.5hrs in work, petrified of scratching the rental car, very short on money for the rest of the month and downing a can of Carling in record time at dinner. Anyway the rest of the week has been fine, things have ticked along nicely and I have de-stressed through some swimming and meditation and was at an event that I organised for work on Friday night which was a massive success so it rounded the week off nicely.
Due to the problems with the car, on Monday I was so angry it actually helped me do my weights session! Focusing on the problem made me lift heavier weights and concentrate on them more than I usually would. Also I really let rip on Thursday with Thump as I punched like a man possessed! I have not been running for a couple of weeks due to various issues so this week I went for a run again with my friend (I say run…we boxed on Thursday so running on Saturday was more of a hobble as we were aching a lot. After 1.3 miles we gave up as my thighs were on fire!). In fact I’m not sure I will hit my target of 6 miles by the end of June. It’s more realistic to be by the end of July which is fine by me as I have entered a 5 mile trail race in mid-July so I have that to aim for in the meantime.
Food wise, my body fat percentage has begun to drop again after a sudden rise due to being at home for 2 weeks eating rubbish. I always look forward to getting on the scales every other week to get a rough estimate of my BF% and muscle mass, BMI etc. Well, only when it improves that is. I am sticking with the oats cereal for breakfast as it prevents me from nibbling mid-morning (plus some dried or fresh fruit and nuts on top), plenty of chicken, tuna, ham, or beef at lunchtime with salad and a good healthy dinner with plenty of veg too. I’m always hungry after swimming or working out so I eat afterwards too. Thanks to Lee’s recommendation I have gotten a taste for peanut butter but not the sickly sweet stuff, the proper chunky organic stuff from Holland & Barrett.
I am sure we are all tightening our money belts these days and wondering if we really need some things, so I was looking to see if my gym membership was worth keeping or should I simply pay for what I use? With my gym membership at the minute I only really attend swimming as I hate the big gym and ditched the Pilates session. I am paying on top for Thump in a different council area. When I sat down and looked at what was offered on each membership and what I would get out of it, it was quite a shock.
So the upshot is I will be cancelling my gym membership for the place near work and simply pay each time I swim which is usually once a week and it’s not that much cost wise. I am then going to join at the gym where I do Thump (it’s nearer home which is better), as it covers more sports centres, more gyms, more swimming pools, more classes and those extras they add on like a 6 week course in archery, fencing or trampolining. By actually moving around (very much like credit cards), I am saving about £15 a month, £180 per year. Plus the gym where I go to Thump is a nice little gym with free weights and not used all that much so I am far more inclined to go there than the big super swish multi machine gym I ‘use’ at the moment. Try it yourself…look to see what you are using and if there is a better deal out there.
So that’s it really; a busy, stressful, productive, money saving week. I hope yours have been productive and don’t forget if there is something you would like me to talk about in my blog please just say.
Graham.
I'm sorry to hear about your
I'm sorry to hear about your car, but I'm glad it worked out. I'll bet that was a great workout on Monday. I have to drive 30 minutes to the nearest gym, so I got a couple of pieces of equipment and I use them at home.
Sorry to hear about the car
Sorry to hear about the car issues... but as Sandy said, it does help you work out more getting rid of all that stress :)
I think you should be careful with that eating plan. You should want to eat a few small meals a day, not be trying to avoid it so you can eat only 3. You don't want the body to go into a catabolic state and begin burning muscle for energy.
Ouch, yes the cost of the
Ouch, yes the cost of the excess on a hire car is unbelievable. We had £750 excess when we hired a van for a day! Good luck with all your endeavours though. You do seem to be doing something right!
I discovered peanut butter
I discovered peanut butter some time ago. I eat the organic Natural chunky one with no added sugar or salt and it's great! I think you're doing all the right things so keep it up.
In my opinion perfect way to
In my opinion perfect way to release pent up stress is to face a punching bag and just go postal, you will much calmer after and would have had a hell of a session.
It can be easy to be taken in
It can be easy to be taken in by the "glitz" of some facilities, but I think that truth is that only basic facilities are really necessary. (The main ingredient is our will to succeed!)
It's only been recently that
It's only been recently that I am able to get rid of my stress through exercise. Before, I used to find solace in ice cream, or chips, or some other food that was keeping my wieght up.
Stress sucks, but I also find
Stress sucks, but I also find myself working out extra hard when I'm angry, so that's good I suppose.
The new gym you are planning to join sounds like it'll be a better fit for you.
I had dropped my gym
I had dropped my gym membership for awhile but I recently found a good deal for the summer at least. I have gotten rid of all the other little "extras" like lunches and coffee out.
I recently cancelled my gym
I recently cancelled my gym membership. It coincided with changing jobs, having fulfilled my contract and being more inclined to exercise outside for the next several months.