3 Gym Tips For Those Who've Never Been

I feel like a bit of a fraud writing this post considering I haven't been to the gym since way before Christmas, and I could come at you with a whole heap of excuses, but let's be real here, I've just been a bit (very) lazy. That being said, I did spend quite a lot of time at the gym last year and hence feel as if I can share a few tips for gym newbies.

YOU LOOK GREAT, DON'T WORRY.

During my first 'sesh' (am I a proper gym lad now? lol) I was so worried that everyone else was watching me and laughing at my feeble attempts at exercise. Nope, oh how wrong I was, no one cared, and still, no one cares. Everyone sorta does their own thing, and just gets on with it. So, go on, you do you while they do them. 

LISTEN AT YOUR INDUCTION.

Yep, this is one I really should have done. Don't get me wrong I listened to start of with, but as the instructor got to the 46387th weight machine I did sorta switch off. I thought I'd never use them and I was eager to get started and have a go on 'fun' stuff myself. Don't do that. Listen. Especially if they recommend techniques and what weight to use per set, it'll help when you attempt it for the first time yourself.

DON'T OVERDO IT.

The second we were released into the gym I felt I should have a go at everything, and see how long I could run for before feeling like death etc. Again, learn from my mistakes, don't do that, especially if you're not use to that level of exercise. My legs were a little (extremely) sore the next day, but what was I expecting having spent far too long on the leg press, doing weights that my spindle-legs certainly aren't used to...

What do you think of the gym?
How was your first ever session?
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Exercise

In one of my recent posts I mentioned that I'm currently trying to eat more healthily and do more exercise. Also in that post I explained the reason; climbing a flight of stairs had me panting at the top. Okay, so maybe I wasn't panting, but you can probably see the issue here, I'm just lazy. 

But recently I've been trying to sort that out. I've been doing the 30 day ab challenge, which is a free app, and essentially it just tells you how many of each exercise to do each day. The four on this app are; sit ups, crunches, leg raises and the plank. I tend to just turn some loud music on and just power through them. I found it painful to begin with, but now that I'm used to it it's not an issue. 

I've also been doing a couple of Blogilates workouts recently. We have a Chromecast downstairs, so I tend to put my gym gear on and follow along in the lounge. The two main ones I've been doing are the Summer Sweatfest and the Lowe Belly Flattener. Another Youtube video I wanted to mention is the Zumba version of Waka Waka - I like to do that as a warmup.

Last summer I used to love going out running, but I'm yet to venture outside in my gym gear this year. I mean, it's cold, rainy and gloomy - where's the fun in that?

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Skinny Shaming

'Ewww, you're so fat. Perhaps try eating less, fatty.'

'Eugh, you're far too skinny. Do you even eat? Go and get a McDonalds.'

Woah, this is the 500th blog post I've published, and rather than doing a little round up post of my blogging experiences or a cake recipe, I thought I'd address something that's been on my mind recently. (Typical upbeat, chatty, posts will resume in the next couple of days - but for now I'd like to address something a little more serious.)

Skinny-shaming. Reverse body shaming. Anti-feminism. Call it what you want, but whatever it is seems to be becoming more and more apparent in today's society.

 If you're still unsure as to what I mean, I'm sure this will help you out; 'only real women have curves, nobody wants a bag of bones.' I thought we'd finally cracked this whole body image issue, and decided that accepting people (whatever their size) for who they are was the most important thing. Well clearly not. Turn on the radio and what are you bound to hear; Anaconda and 'that' Meghan Trainor song, which both feature the fabulous lyric; 'skinny bitches.'

What happened to 'everyone is beautiful.' It seems to be more like 'everyone is beautiful*' (*unless you're skinny, because then everyone will constantly mention it and hate you for it.)

Recently I've seen a lot of posts on Facebook comparing VS Angels to 'real women.' Firstly, are the former not 'real women'? I appreciate that society is trying to promote all body sizes as beautiful - but shaming slim people doesn't seem the best way to go about it?

Also, being skinny doesn't always correlate with fitness. I hate the stigma around skinny girls going to the gym. Why can't somebody thin, go and workout? Just because someone is skinny it doesn't mean that they can run cross country or swim 100 lengths of a pool. So why should it be so bad for somebody thin to want to improve their general fitness?

There's a very big difference between someone who is healthy and skinny, and somebody who is unhealthy and skinny, and I think more people need to think about this before they add their two cents.

Personally, I'm 5'8" and I eat like a horse. Yet, not a week goes by where somebody hasn't told me I'm too skinny and I need to eat more. Yes, I know I'm slim, I don't particularly like my body, but telling me to 'watch out, as my twig ankles might snap' isn't exactly empathetic is it? Yet, if it was aimed at somebody plus size, it would be considered absolutely outrageous...

This is the stigma we need to change.

I'd love to hear your opinion on this, what seems to be infinite, battle of body image.

Race For Life - Blackheath

On Sunday, my Dad and I took the coach up to London. It was actually my first trip to the capital this year, and I'd honestly forgotten how much I love it there. Plus my tube knowledge is surprisingly good - you can ask my Dad, especially considering how poor my sense of direction is.

Anyway, the reason we woke up at 6, and I wore gym clothes around Chelsea... I was invited to attend the 5k Race For Life in Blackheath. I was very kindly sponsored by Scottish Power, so if you're reading this - thank you! They're also running a great campaign called the High 5 Wave, so if you can, I'd definitely recommend you get involved!

I'd planned on doing lots of training and practice runs, but let's just say the Kurt Geigers I wore to prom the previous week, absolutely ruined my feet. With blister plasters applied, thankfully my feet absolutely fine on the day. Hooray.

So, how did I do? I completed the run in 30 minutes 38 seconds, which isn't my personal best by any means... But I'm not going to beat myself up about it, obviously. For me, the best part of the entire experience was the camaraderie. Everybody was there for eachother, and the support from the onlookers was amazing. 

On our summer bucket list is 'do something for charity', I can now well and truly tick that one off... If you would like to sponsor me (which would be lovely), you can do so here. (Obviously you don't have to and I'm not expecting you to, it's just there if you'd like to have a look.)

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NEW: Becca's Fitness and Life

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I went for a run this week. Not only that, I also enjoyed it. Fast forward about an hour later and Becca's Fitness and Life was born. I wanted to create a blog, not only to remind myself of my progress, but hopefully to motivate others!

Now, I feel like I should explain myself a bit. I'm not trying any crazy diets nor am I buying any all inclusive, private gym, memberships. I'm just going to try to: snack less, do more exercise and just choose healthier food options. 

Anyway, enough rambling. I'd love it if you'd follow my new blog on Bloglovin' here.

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