It is crazy how January just disappears before we even know it. Today was 'one of those days' for me, where everything that could go wrong did go wrong. After being financially and emotionally challenged all bloody day I have retired to bed feeling a bit exhausted and sorry for myself. I am truly and utterly defeated! So in a bid for some sweet dreams and a better day tomorrow I thought it was a good time to remind myself of some nice moments and nice people I've had making me smile this month. Above is a little montage of me on a lazy sunday I had hanging with Ashley. This girl takes the most amazing photographs. But I told her she'll have to get me good and drunk before I let go of my sheepish smile. Ashley has got me shooting on raw and totally manual settings on my SLR. I'll get the hang of it eventually but she has the patience of a saint and promises me practice makes perfect.
Surrounding myself with creative people really gets my inspiration flowing when I feel a bit deflated. As well as Ashley, another super talented person (who I will boast that I also happen to be related to) who I have been in awe of this month is Greig. I went to see his band Skippy Dyes play at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut at the start of the January. I do not have a musical bone in my body, but Greig is an absolute master of the guitar. It is absolutely awesome to watch. Plus he plays the sort of music that I love listening too. The lyrics from this post title are from one of his songs. He actually has such a disgustingly beautiful collection of guitars, that if you saw them you'd never feel guilty for being a shoe or handbag addict for the rest of your life. Turns out boys can be JUST as bad!
I spent a very bright and early saturday morning at the Scottish Ballet HQ in Glasgow, watching some rehearsals for the Nutcracker (which I saw in December) ahead of their tour. Seeing the dancers up close and personal without the big fancy show costumes on showed off their strength and technical skills even more. It was so impressive, and really interesting afterwards when we got to have a q&a session with two of their principal dancers, Sophie Martin and Tama Barry. The passion and commitment they have towards their career is absolutely admirable. They pretty much dedicate their whole life to dancing. So between a photographer, musicians and dancers, I've had quite a few sources so far this year to boost my inspiration levels. I will never be as nimble or toned as one of these amazing dancers, but it did give me a wee kick up the behind to get a plan together addressing my own fitness this year. Groupon kindly gifted me with a £30 voucher and I had been keeping my eye out for something exercise related.
I like Groupon because it always gets your juices flowing with ideas that are a little bit different, or that you wouldn't normally stumble across. I saw some great national deals regarding boot camps (not as scary as it sounds, promise) and it was only a matter of time before a Glasgow based one popped up in my daily deals email.
I feel like the gym bores me and that I have done every available fitness class under the sun, so I was keen to try out these 30 minute long, intense indoor work out sessions. The deal for Fit Body Boot Camp was £27 for 4 weeks. *
*EDIT - My apologies for giving the wrong information above - I found out tonight that my 4 weeks contain UNLIMITED classes! Result :)
After my first session I was SO sore. Could barely walk the next day! Means something must have started working though, right? The trainer Claire who has worked with us so far is amazing. She did my nutritional evaluation with me beforehand too, setting out my goals and different meal plans I should try to work from. It really is as simple as getting the right balance, and everything in moderation.
I have never been given this level of support and advice from any fitness classes or gym I've been to before. Always just a sort of 'here you are, here's how to use this one and that one, now on you go and get on with it!) The owner Riccardo provides you with a range of really helpful documentation to reference to alongside your classes. I am certainly going to continue with the boot camp once my final classes have run out. It will work out a little bit more than what I would be paying for the gym every month - but the personal approach and constant positive motivation Riccardo and his staff give you is something that you can't put a price on. He has a lot of inspirational success stories on the website, and encourages everyone to take a before and after picture. Soooo, there is my before! I am currently 9 stone 11lbs and would love to be 9 stone by my 24th birthday in June. I am fed up of crash diets and stupid fads. I want to take a positive approach and healthy change to my lifestyle as a whole. Eating well, exercising well, and still enjoying an odd afternoon tea at the weekend. I will keep you updated with my progress the further I go on, and finally I have to thank Groupon again for its eternal eclectic-ness, and landing me on such a little hidden gem that I wouldn't have known about otherwise. How do you go about boosting the inspiration/motivation levels in your life?
Ayden x