Body Pumping My Way To Mental Fitness

I’ve been going to body pump now for 8 weeks since my PARiS referral began.  It was the first exercise class that I had taken in about 10 years, and I started with guidance from my friend on which weights to use and an encouraging grin from the instructor.  I began by using  2 x 2.5kg weights on my bar and kept it that way for the entire class.  Later that day I had trouble standing up from the sofa (it was actually the toilet, but I didn’t want to make it sound like body pump had given me the trots – it was purely the muscle ache!).  The morning after I had to bump down the stairs on my bottom as my legs weren’t working.  Mr TDF shook with laughter.  I probably would have done too, but shaking would have hurt too much.

The following Wednesday, a glutton for punishment, I returned.  I kept the weights the same, and on the whole, kept up with the class.  I’d even go as far as to say I enjoyed it.  On Sunday, my friend dragged me along to the morning class.  Why not?!

Feeling confident on the following Wednesday, I grabbed a couple of extra weights – not much, just 3.5kg on either side, but bloody hell I noticed the difference.  I decided that every 4th session I was going to try and raise the weights slightly until I was using similar weights to the regulars in the class.

Last Sunday, my friend gave me impressed raised eyebrows when I put 7.5lb on each side for the legs track, and 5kg on each for my chest, and today, one of the regulars came up and said how well I was doing increasing my weights.

It made me feel proud.  My fitness has certainly improved, even if my weight hasn’t reduced.  My friend says she has noticed a difference in my shape, though I can’t say that I have yet, but makes me really chuft to have stuck to something that I found so hard 8 weeks ago, and not only stuck to it, but got better at it, even though it still makes me shake with achy muscles from about 4 minutes in.

I’m not really feeling good about myself at the moment, but when a stranger comes up to me in a class that I am still the largest woman by far and compliments me on my improvement, then I feel a little spark of pride, and a little more motivated to keep making that change.