Clearing My Head ...!

Bonjour!

I'm working quite a bit of overtime at the moment.  The extra dosh will obviously be appreciated (wait until you see my current wish list!) but also as my job role has changed over the last few months it's better from a training point of view as I'm performing new case types, system routines, calculations and learning about new procedures.  I've done this type of work before I had my children but not since returning from maternity leave (many moons ago!) so the knowledge of certain things takes a back seat and you do forget that you were ever any good at it - you lose your confidence to some degree and it was all rather daunting at first.  Anyway - I'm back in the thick of it now, albeit with a much older brain!  I have to say I leave the office feeling slightly spaced out - from all the stuff that's been rammed into my head and also probably due to the re-cycled air that we're all breathing in!

The only way I can clear my mush is by going down to the gym in the evening (after the kids have been fed and various chores completed!) and blasting something like this out on my IPod ...

Chase and Status - Count On Me ...

Only released last year but it 'had me' from the start ...

This tune is so like the 90s dance music that will always have a place in my heart - probably why it appeals to me so much!  Get on the cross trainer with this one and build up the pace with the crescendo ... it takes me to a different place ... away from those rubbish work type things! In my head I'm now on the dance floor throwing some serious shapes - job done!

It's funny ... my hubby does the morning exercise thing before work and then has a couple of drinks in the evening to wind down but my way is evening gym with loud  'in yer face' music.  Of course I return home ravenous and with a tired body but my head is so much clearer!

Do you like to exercise am or pm? What's your way of winding down after a hectic day?

Jen x

Pumping Up!

Bonjour!

This week I managed to get down to my Body Pump class for the first time this year after a spell of several weeks!  Hubby was working away, then Christmas got in the way and then I couldn't get into the darn class after Christmas - in fact all the classes I usually attend are brimming - funny how people flock to the gym in January!

So ... there I was the other night ... brandishing my bar during the bicep track complete with puny weights to match my equally puny frame, watching my little muscles trying to get a bulge on - remembering the bloomin' pain!  My upper body is not my strongest point when it comes to muscle workout (my abs are pretty useless too actually!) and I have to remember to stand correctly with back straight, shoulders down and relaxed (as much as you can in these situations!) and core strong to support the whole shebang!  I'm reassured by my teacher - who incidentally is tiny, smaller than myself and yet can lift what seems like the weight of an ox - that the burn I feel in the centre of my calves whilst performing our lunges is a good thing ...!

I'm not naturally strong or flexible but despite all the pain/burn malarkey I bloody love it - I do! I love the toning and strengthening that comes with it - although the task of trying to stop my bottom going south at my age is getting increasingly difficult - must do more squats!  Exercise, challenging though it is at times, gives me such a buzz that very often after this class I've told the teacher I'm on such a high I just want to bounce out of the class and go straight onto a club! There's a lot to be said for those old endorphins! Anyway ... as we're on the subject of pumping ...


Technotronic - Pump Up The Jam

Yes I was jumping around to this in smoky nightclubs since it's release in 1989 - and yes I bet some of you weren't even born ...! Good grief doesn't it get you going? Once a pumper always a pumper I guess!

Do you like a bit of Body Pump? What's your favourite exercise?

Jen x