Red31

Pole Dancing

Ruby and Keeva Day 12/31

I spent all day writing a finance assignment so today’s activity was a pleasant change of pace.

One of Great Shelford’s best kept secrets is Bodywork Therapy. It is a small studio that offers beginners pole programs and also more advanced sessions for those who know what they are doing.

I have absolutely no core strength so I knew this would be a challenge. Another concern for me was I get very sweaty hands. Gross but true. Not ideal for gripping a pole. Predictably Keeva was much better than me, but we both had a lot of fun.

Luckily our instructor was really encouraging (even when I clearly had no idea what I was doing) and we got to try some very cool moves, including hanging upside down. I used muscles I didn’t know I had and I’m certain I will struggle with stairs tomorrow.

Keeva tried pole about 10 years ago and was looking forward to getting back into it. As she has done pole before Keeva is now this blogs expert on pole dancing. Keeva said “I’m amazed at all the moves you can attempt without experience. Our instructor was great, she broke down the moves so simply …which was helpful when you are trying to work out left from right, and arm from leg all at once to do a move!”

My main take away from the class is I need to start planking. Also, I need to find a way to stop my hands sweating.

*Edit: Also, now I’ve seen the photos it may be time to consider fake tanning my legs.

LRG Sawston

Ruby’s Day 11/31

Saturday came round fast! I got up extra early this week (I’m incredibly tired – not really sure what possessed me) and agreed to meet some other ladies for an extra run at 7am before the group 5km.

As usual I agreed to this on a Friday night not thinking it through until I was in the Greyhound carpark in the dark at 7am wishing I was still asleep.

I ended up doing 8 miles in total before 8.30am. Despite me regularly complaining about getting up early, I actually really enjoy getting exercise out of the way for the day. Although If I’m being honest, the first thing I do when I get home is get back into bed with a cup of tea. Then wake my boyfriend up so I can complain to him about how tired I am. Lucky him.

Everyone has been very supportive of our REDJanuary efforts and it is nice people are genuinely interested! So thanks to all who have taken an interest. Thanks to all the lovely Sawston ladies who have given me ideas of all the local activities I can take part in.

I promise I will try ice skating … just at the end of the month. So when I inevitably injure myself I don’t ruin REDJanuary.

10,000 steps…

Keeva Day 11/31

Its Saturday & my big sis is visiting for the weekend for the first time. I debated getting up early this morning to do something active but it was the first week back to work and the late nights over the break have messed up my sleep patterns so I’m tired and just don’t want to! Being active definitely has to be balanced with sleep for me, I am most definitely a petulant child if I haven’t had my sleep!

So I slept, woke up naturally & then we did the Cambridge tourist thing. My sister has the flu too so we took it easy, we strolled for the most part …to lunch …to the sites …to dinner.

Whether Manpo-Kei (the apparent origin of 10,000 steps per day) was just a catchy name for a pedometer or not, I’m pretty happy the ~15,0000 steps and apparent 8.6 miles Garmin is telling me we walked!

MAUL

Ruby & Keeva Day 10/31

Social media can be a great place to find new activities. We came across an advert for MAUL Taekwondo, a volunteer-run, not-for-profit club for women in Cambridge on Facebook. Since a new session for beginners was starting today, it seemed like the perfect activity to try out!

There was a group of about ten newbies and it was very relaxed. A big thank you to our two instructors who took us through some of the basic stances, kicks and punches, mastering the beginning of our first “form” by the end of the class. If you’re interested, this video shows some pros doing the complete form. I would love to say we looked remotely that cool but will settle for us not falling over! Next task, to learn to count in Korean… hana, dhul, sehtt, nehtt, da-seot, yeo-seot, il-gop, yuh-deol, ah-hop, yeol!

It’s Raining It’s Pouring …

Ruby & Keeva Day 9/31

That moment where you realise the half marathon is fast approaching and there isn’t enough miles in the legs yet…

Why do we sign up for these things?! It always seems like a great idea until you are trudging around in the wind and rain. At least we looked great with matching lights and snoods…

Both of us were tired, feeling the effects of REDJanuary and also being back at work, but it was a really relaxed run. When you are a “runner” (I use that term loosely) people assume you need to get a PB every single time you run. Sometimes it’s an achievement just to leave the house.

Had it not been for the pouring rain, there might have been a mile or two more but with the extra 2kg in rain weight we were carrying and the soggy wet trainers, ~10k was just enough!

hotpod!

Ruby & Keeva Day 8/31

Both back in Cambridge, tonight we decided to try Hotpod yoga together. The class was called Hotpod flow and was taken by the very lovely Vic.

It was hot!, like 37oC hot! sweat dripping from every inch of your body while you move from childs pose through downward dog to warrior poses… does it sound like we know what we’re talking about? 😁

Resident Yogi expert Ruby says “…compared to Youtube yoga it was definitely much better! It was a challenge and faster paced, so it kept me engaged. There was no time to get annoyed or bored as I was focusing so much on what I was doing. I still didn’t find it relaxing but I enjoyed it. Does anyone find downward dog relaxing? Also if anyone is grossed out by sweaty people then it’s maybe not for them!”

This was a very different way to exercise but quite an enjoyable one, and once you know all the moves and get used to the heat then relaxation will probably be much easier. It was a great way to stretch out after our first week of activities!

Industrial Estate Run

Ruby’s Day 7/31

Yesterday I really did not want to exercise. I had been at an exhibition all day walking around and talking to customers. Being nice to people all day is pretty tiring. I was also aching from the previous days HITT.

I finished work at 6.45pm and had an online tutorial at 7.30pm. I had to force myself to admit that was enough time for a quick run.

Not really knowing where I was and having a talent for getting lost, I stuck fairly close to the hotel. The hotel was on a small industrial estate. I did 2 miles of running around car parks and down creepy dead end roads.

Here are some nice picturesque photos of the industrial estate just in case you were wondering what it looked like … (went back in the day time, wasn’t going to hang about in the dark)

At least I got to take my Christmas present for a spin …

Belfast bikes

Keeva Day 7/31

I was talking to a friend recently about having a moment to clear your head. She’s a mum to twin toddlers & works full time, which doesn’t leave a lot of ‘me’ time. Her solution is to use a lunch time, get on a ‘Belfast bike’ (other brands do exist…) and go for a short cycle. It’s a bit of head space and exercise rolled into one for a busy mum.

I loved this idea so I thought I’d test out how easy it is to grab a bike in town and go for a spin. After a bit of tyre kicking I picked out the bike I wanted, opened the app, selected the number, adjusted the seat height and off I went. I wasn’t expecting big things I have to admit, a similar experience to Ruby’s grannys bike maybe. It had only 3 gears and I knew there was a hill ahead of me so I set myself off in the hardest gear to get the legs warmed up and hoped it would make the hill feel better when I knocked it to the easiest …lets just say I worked up a sweat in my short 20 min cycle! That said, it was actually quite an enjoyable little trip, comfortable enough and I was probably a little too excited by the turning handle bell (I’m definitely getting one!). I docked the bike at my destination, pressed the button on the app and was charged £1. I will definitely give this a go again!

If its not on Strava, it doesn’t count!

Keeva’s Day 6/31

Strava is like Facebook for sport and as I was reminded this morning, “if its not on Strava, it doesn’t count!”. So, Strava update….

A short & sweet run to finish the first day of work (from home) in 2020, approx 2 miles, 200 calories and 20 mins of Clean Bandit, so quick & easy 🙂
And since it was dark outside I was well prepared…

Ultimate HIIT Workout for People Who Get Bored Easily

Ruby’s Day 6/31

Day six. Send help. And maybe some Pinot Grigio.

Due to being away with work, I missed my Monday night run with LRG Trumpington. I didn’t fancy running solo this evening, so browsing Youtube for inspiration I came across “Ultimate HITT Workout for People Who Get Bored Easily.”

Now despite the fact that I don’t really know what HITT involves, I do get bored easily .

Things I should have done before starting the workout:

Watched the video
Put on a sports bra
Shut the curtains

Had I watched the video first it would have been clear I had no chance of doing most of the moves.

If I don’t have Abbs by February I will be furious.

For anyone who wants to punish themselves/find out what HITT is, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbbZBtdd20U Good luck.