Getting back into Liberte after a holiday is a killer!

Damn holidays!

Bloody over-rated if you ask me. Sure it's nice to have a lay in, not think about work and laze around for a bit, but getting back into Liberte after even the shortest break is a right old killer!

I went last night for the first time in two weeks and boy am I feeling it today.

Since the start of April, when I last had a week off, I've been to pretty much every session in a five-month spell that's seen my fitness rocket.

But after missing five sessions, the last of which was due to a cold, I was back on Wednesday night and the slight fever I was feeling made me sweat like a pig after just five minutes.

The sweat has all dried up now, but the aching today is something I haven't felt in months - and it feels just like it did when I first started some eight months ago.

The old legs and arms feel like lead today and those Cornish Pasties and cream teas are starting to feel like a bad idea.

What have I learned?

I've learnt that I can't wait to get back into it this autumn and as for taking a break from the park, it's just not worth it. It's the first time I've had a cold since I started Liberte and I'm sure the two are connected. Just when I stop training I end up getting ill.

Holidays are for whimps and Liberte is for life!

Jury’s out on whether anti-mozzie bands actually work

Anyone at Liberte Fitness in Bury St Edmunds last night can’t have failed to notice a hint of citronella in the air thanks to my incredibly camp anti-mosquito bands that I picked up from well known sports-insect-deterrent suppliers, er, Poundland.
Yes for a big round pound I got two mozzie repellent bands that are supposed to be reusable and last for up to 21 hours – wow, that could be seven weeks protection for just £1.
First things first, they’re actually quite small so won’t fit around my manly ankles without losing blood circulation which I guess would kind of deter mosquitos in its own way.
So I put one on my wrist which looked like a faded Lance Armstrong band and one kind of on my shoelaces which looked a bit silly.
Ever full of helpful suggestions, Gareth suggested I get a dozen of the bands and tie them together like a daisy chain to make a big gay smelly headband!
They do smell of citronella, a scent I’ve only really experienced when fumbling for a candle on a camping trip when I’ve usually already got legs like a relief map of the Himalayas.
So I got a few bonus points from the ladies for adding a nice aroma to the session, and I don’t think I was bitten at all, so I guess they kind of work, even if I did smell like a fire at a candle warehouse
But then Bury isn’t really the biggest mozzie hangout in Suffolk – so I’ll have to give them a spin in Newmarket and see how they work there.

Simple mosquito solution – for just a pound!

I don’t normally lurk around the shelves of Poundland but somehow I found myself rummaging around the Bury St Edmunds branch earlier today for a solution to the mozzie bites.
I stumbled across a range of products by Xpel specifically for mosquito bites which include roll on repellent and a kind of baby wipe which is more designed for children.
I picked up a couple of spray on pens – you get two in a packet, one is a repellent, one is for bites and I also picked up a couple of bands which go around the wrists or ankles so I’ll be giving them a whirl later tonight.

Newmarket session’s unwanted guests

My second session in Newmarket after last Tuesday’s launch and great to see so many of the trialists of last week again.
Some reported aches, pains and muscle twitches, but whatever the ailment of last week they were soon forgotten as ten members tucked into a great hour-long session.
But towards the end of the session I started to get a little uncomfortable – I could feel my legs starting to itch and after we’d finished exercising and having a bit of chat I noticed I could feel myself being bitten.
Today I woke up with big old mosquito bites on my legs!
While I’ve not really had any problems with mozzies in Bury St Edmunds, it seems the little buggers love The Severals and more importantly my legs.
I guess it’s a hazard of exercising in the park on hot summer nights, I’m on the hunt for a solution.

Picture: Flickr

Three sessions in three nights has given me calves like chicken breasts!

Liberte Fitness sessions make you ache right? Right. Granted it gets easier and easier the more sessions you put in, but what does it feel like after doing three sessions in three nights?
It aches!
When I first went to Liberte back on a Monday night in early January the aches and pains lasted until the following Wednesday. I’ve got to say it’s nowhere near as bad but after attending sessions in Bury St Edmunds on Monday, Newmarket on Tuesday and Bury again last night, I have to report that a certain part of my body is certainly feeling the pain today.
It’s my calves – they’re rock solid and look like a couple of chicken breasts stuck on the back of my legs. All that lunge walking, squat jumping and burpees action has given me a slightly numb feeling on the back of my legs, but I’ve got to say it’s a satisfying ache.

Feeling the burn after five in a row

Liberte’s recent expansion in Bury means there’s now three sessions a week and after a week’s holiday, I found the going incredibly tough last Monday.
From the moment I started the warm up, which always seems to be the hardest bit, I started to struggle and was cursing every idle ice cream-licking moment of my holiday.
The one thing I’ve learnt about Liberte is how tough it is to get back in the swing of things after a short break and that was the case last Monday.
So I decided to make my Saturday debut last weekend and pushed on to attend sessions on Monday and tonight.
How does it feel after five straight sessions in nine days? Well my shins and calves ache more than anything, but nothing that a rest won’t fix.
I can’t make Saturday’s session so think a relaxing swim will be the order of the day.