Keeva Day 5/31

Armageddon, ‘the last battle between good and evil…’. Not sure if the main battle was getting out of bed on a Sunday morning or last nights burger & chips vs sprints, but I’ll let you know the winner if I’m still in one piece tomorrow! I’m always surprised to see how many people are up & moving early on a weekend, probably because I’ve spent so many of them in bed with a hangover! But as much as I could have stayed in mine this morning, by the end of the class the adrenaline was pumping and I was so glad I went.

I’ve never been to Armgeddon before but it came recommended. I’m not great at going to new things, age hasn’t made much difference to the nerves I get at the idea of a new event or class and had it not been for RedJanuary I can pretty much guarantee I would have bailed on this one. But I turned up, chatted to a couple of other people waiting at the start of the class and found I wasn’t the only new face. Then a friendly face appeared in the crowd as my sister came to keep me company – or maybe test out my stamina… thats the best thing about these classes, you can do them at your own level, and if you need a bit of a push you just need to pick a person to try to keep up with!

So, for those of you wondering whether to take on the battle, this is the Armageddon overview….
Warm up: ~5min constantly moving in a circle with a mix of running, skipping & jumping followed by some dynamic stretch moves.
Main section: ~30 min split in 3 rounds. Each round has 4 exercises and for each exercise you do 3 * 20 sec moving, 10 sec rest.
1) 3 x sprint
2) 3 x weight / body weight exercise
Round 1 = Pike press
Round 2 = Biceps Curl to Overhead Press       
Round 3 = Overhead Press to Tricep extension
3) 3 x sprint
4) 3 x weight / body weight exercise
Round 1 = Weighted ball
Round 2 = Lunge switch
Round 3 = Tuck jumps
Cool down: ~5 min stretching

I normally do three classes a week as part of my routine so since the holidays have disrupted it a bit it was really nice to try this one out today. I regularly go first thing in the morning and love a class specifically because someone else is doing all the thinking for me, I just have to follow along …generally a requirement by the time I get half way through it! And by the end, I’m fully awake, feeling great and a little smug that I’ve finished my exercise for the day 😁

Keeva Day 4/31

Theres nothing I love more than being a big kid & how better to do it than with some little ones! With the intentions of going for a bit of a kick around & a training session on the ‘big boy’ bike, 2 hours later we’d had a ball! We all took on the hill on the ‘big boy’ bike …cycling back up on little pedals with big legs is no small feat!, tumbled round the monkey bars & squeezed down the slide together.

And as if inspired by RedJanuary we came across these adorable carvings in the trees by some inspirational characters! 😉

Keeva Day 3/31

A week or so of holidays and the stupidity of thinking I can just walk out of the gym like my 17 year old nephew = ouch! Ouch when I sit, ouch when I stand, ouch when I walk up the step, ouch going down… think you get the picture! Worst bit is, I know better! I normally take care to stretch out after workouts but I guess my ego took over that one! Well now its in writing I have no excuse next time!

As I was feeling sorry for myself, I decided a less strenuous walk to keep the DOMs at bay would do. I was out & about visiting friends close to Stormont, somewhere I’ve driven past but never stopped to wander round, so took the opportunity. It was a beautiful fresh evening, very picturesque & a great way to clear the head. Plus theres a bit of a hill to raise the heart rate!
Stormont estate & Stormont trail maps

And you can always rely on something to make you smile when you’re out for a walk…

Keeva Day 2/31

Being home for the holidays I’m away from my usual routine so I asked my 17 year old nephew if I could join him at the gym …he gleefully told me he’d saved leg day specially for me! Apparently its really uncool to have your aunt take pics at the gym, so this is the only pic of us both I got. We did a 45 min session which included treadmill sprint warm up, weighted squats, lunges, single leg squats & leg curls. You know its a good work out when you get a little leg wobble along the way & even more so when walking down the stairs later catches you by surprise!

Keeva’s day 1/31…

Day one of REDJanuary kicked off with a Parkrun. I’m home for the holidays so the beautiful Antrim town run it was (pics attached!). The very considerate people organising my local run arranged a slightly later 11am start for new years day, supposedly to allow the enthusiastic touring Parkrun people to do another at 9.30am as well, although I think the great turnout shows the later Antrim run might have facilitated the hangover crew too! After a refreshing 5k run entertained by the gorgeous scenery and other runners, the lovely people of Lough Neagh Rescue provided refreshments …the best end to any run, tea & cake!

Parkruns are great events that happen (normally) on saturday mornings across the UK (& further afield! map) and are accessible to everyone for free. They come in all sorts of flavours, you can walk, run, walk/run(!), push a pram, bring a dog and even bring the kids along to a Junior Parkrun! There are also lots of ‘Couch to 5k’ groups to help those who are more wary of a 5k run build up stamina & fitness, often culminating in a Parkrun finale. Theres lots of options out there, a quick search will reveal everything in your area.