Fitness Weekend

A group of 12 (11 ladies and 1 husband) got together two weekends ago under the very professional guidance of Shelley and Mike from Tri-Fits-U, a small business specialising in fitness weekends/days and triathlon training.  We had all met through a motivational support group on Facebook - A Big Girls Journey to Lean, headed up by the very inspirational Angela Cox.

I was absolutely delighted to be invited.  The group was mainly made up of the 'admin' team - all the ladies who give up so much of their free time to run the group.  I am not in the admin team but I have been a part of the group since day one and although I tend to dip in and out these days (it is so big now it fills my feed) I have come to consider these ladies good friends.

So at 7.30 am on Saturday I left home to travel to the very lovely Burford Bridge Hotel at Box Hill near Dorking.  Our first 'class' was at 9 am and it was full on all day Saturday and Sunday morning.  Fortunately the rain kept off most of the time!

The weekend included boxing, circuits, swimming, fitness walks, HIIT and stretching.

I learnt new skills and a new confidence.

But actually what I really gained from the weekend was a positive mindset and a willingness to reconsider how I see myself.  As I have said before I have recently been suffering from stress related problems and anxiety.  I also tend to beat myself up rather too much if I am, in my opinion, not perfect with my diet and fitness.

But ... I learnt ...

• That everyone is different - different lifestyles and routines.  And each one is finding a way that works for them.  It is not always perfect but everyone is slowly and steadily improving their fitness and health.  Every 'plan' has to be adapted to suit the individual - there is no one size fits all.  Some do well following instructions absolutely 100% others need much more flexibility. I'm the latter!
• That Instagram (or Facebook) photos really are not a true reflection of reality.  Yeah I know I should know this already but seeing 'transformation' photos and 'food' photos is really just a tiny snapshot that can easily be edited or adapted to show a good moment.
• Actually meeting and chatting to these ladies - all different shapes and sizes but all with one thing in common, a desire to improve their health and fitness through exercise and a healthy diet - meant I was able to properly understand how it works in real life.
• No one was super fit and no one made anyone else feel inadequate.  I loved that! We were all just normal.  Career girls or stay at home mum's, single or married, children or not.
• I wasn't the only one to lack confidence or the only one to stray from the the healthy lifestyle from time to time.  It honestly doesn't need to be 100% and I felt even more belief in the 80/20 educational approach that I have been following. Okay I still need to tweak a few things to keep to that 80% but I am learning.
• There was also a general consensus that The Body Coach SSS Plan is a great place to start.  And it works.  Now a lot of other fitness professionals knock it but I still maintain it gets people started.  It got me and a lot of this group started.
• I also learnt that I really do cope much better in a small group when I can talk to others and not feel too left out or uncomfortable.  I don't tend to push myself forward so will feel a bit lost if I am at a large gathering.

Having had a long summer break where keeping to a routine has been so difficult I always knew that this fitness weekend would be a great springboard and a catalyst for getting back on my health and fitness journey.  It has done just that.  In the next couple of weeks I will be setting up a new home gym in the log cabin, somewhere I can workout alone and where I can leave all my equipment out and ready to use.  That is my first priority.

Boxing class on Saturday morning!

Saturday's fitness walk was up Box Hill Steps.  OMG!  No doubt that I was working at maximum heart rate for that one!  This is me at the top, I think I had just about recovered by then - the view was worth it I think!

Yes despite saying I wouldn't, I did!  Outdoor pool in the UK and I went in it.  The pool was warm, the sun was still on it late afternoon and after a full day of classes and fitness walking it was just what we all needed.

Saturday night we had dinner in the hotel restaurant which was delicious!  Right up my street, tasty and the portions were not too enormous.  I wore my new French Connection Rebound Black Jeans with a previous season Mint Velvet blouse and bag from Boden and new loafers from Moda in Pelle (very comfortable).

What a gorgeous group!

For some reason I decided to pose on one leg which actually looks like I have a leg missing - yes it was hard work but no my leg didn't fall off!

​Thank you everyone for making my weekend such fun.  Looking forward to the next one!
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Love
Michelle xx
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