My Gym Buddies

At least four days a week (usually five) I go to the gym. It usually depends on Noah and if he is well and whether he is going to school or staying at home and how busy I am with appointments for him. I drop the boys at school and then do the 9.15am class each morning. They have free childcare which is great as Harri gets to go and play for an hour or so with other kids his age, while I am sweating it out. It is cute when we are in town or out somewhere and he sees one of the kids from the gym - he gets very excited. This morning when we got out of the car at the gym he goes 'Look Mum - Annabell!' and was so excited to see her.

Three mornings a week I do Pump (weights class) and the other days I do Body Combat, Body Step and sometimes I do RPM ( very rarely though as I'm not a big fan of RPM - unlike Simone!). Other times I do Fitball, or Body Jam (or fat burner as it is known at Theogenes) and every now and then I do Aqua Fitness. My favourite class is Pump and I also like Step, Body Attack and also Aqua Fitness if I can be bothered to get in the pool. When I first joined I used to just use the equipment such as the treadmills, steppers, cross trainers and bikes but that got VERY boring after a while and I switched over to doing the classes. They are so much more fun and I know that once I am in there and start the class there is no stopping until it is finished!

I was excited today as I knew that both of my gym buddies - Bonnie and Simone were going to be there for Pump today. It isn't that often that we are there all together as Bonnie has to work a lot. Whoever gets there first usually sets up everyone's gear next to each other so that we can chat throughout the class. Often Simone and I are getting into trouble for talking too much and not paying attention! We have been threatened many times by the instructor that we will have to do an extra 25 push ups!

Last week I arrived later than usual to Step, so there was no room to set up both Simone's and my step next to each other. I was very mean and I set up my step towards the back of the class, while I set Simone right up the front - right in front of the instructor! Everyone thought it was a great joke - especially the instructor Casey, who kept making comments about Simone being up the front and how she did a better job up front. On the way out of class he then asked if Simone had done something to offend me as he wondered why she was right up the front and away from me.

We have heaps of fun together. I hate the days when I am there on my own. I have been going to the same gym now for eighteen months so I have gotten to know a few different people, but its not the same as Bonnie or Simone being there.

It is great being able to do something for myself. Before this year I haven't really been able to do very much as Noah has needed a lot of care, but with him being at school full time and his health being a lot better, I now have a lot of free time during the day that I have never had before. I have been thinking lately how 'easy' it is for most people to just be able to do what they want, when they want, as I had taken that for granted before Noah was born. This week I was stuck at home for two days as Noah wasn't well and I remembered what it was like before he started school.

It is nice feeling fit again and even though half the time I wonder why I go to be put through torture, I love the feeling that you have when you have finished a class. People joke that I am a gym junkie, but I'm not really. I love eating chocolate too much and going to the gym lets me eat chocolate and other yummy things and not put on too much weight! If only it didn't taste so good! It is also a great stress release.