No pain, no gain!

Even though it’s raining and the average temperature in London has dropped to 10°C
I feel totally pumped. Why? Because I’m on yet another mission: to get bikini ready before heading home for Christmas.

I’ve always been a crammer. Rote learning is my specialty. So while other people give up hope faced with the reality that your body cannot undergo a complete metamorphosis in only 2 weeks, I take it as a challenge. Without the aid of medications (diet drugs are bad, n’kay) and with no funds to allow for lipo, gastric-bypass or plastic surgery, I have taken to the pavement and taken to ‘the bed’ – Pilates bed, that is.

But this is not news. If you read your daily Feedblitz you’ll know of my current Pilates-faddiction and even my attempt at a mini marathon – what is news is that I’m not the only crazy-cat out there. In my Pilates class this morning, I discussed with the four other attendees the nature of our obvious masochism. How else can you describe people who voluntarily get up at ungodly hours – in the freezing cold – to stretch and contort their bodies to the point where their muscles burn and they are at serious risk of throwing up or fainting, and then break into fits of laughter when their instructor orders another 10 reps?!

I remember when I was about 12 and I started jogging in the mornings with my Dad, I used to sing the mantra, “Your body doesn’t stop until your brain tells it to” (sung in 4/4 time with a lilt at the end!). And for the years that I practiced Bikram Yoga – 90 minutes of sustained torture in a 34°C heated-room – I used to deliberately push through painful positions by focussing on impressing my teacher with my endurance. Now I wonder if I sound a little mad.

At least I can take solace in the fact that there are a bunch of other ladies who are similarly obsessive and likewise fickle in their exercise pursuits – because sure enough (although I truly hope I keep this one up) I will be singing the praises of a technique one day and rejecting it the next… Go on then, call me crazy.