In this blog post you will get to understand why Feel Good Fitness has changed my life, why the business is so good and how i went from being really weak, to making a life for myself (:
Also the pictures in this post is a collection from images the gym staff took, England's Finest photography and some of my own took by my friends and edited by me, links will be at the end of this post (:
Its truly amazing how fast a year can fly by but more importantly how much your life can change in that time !!!!!!!
When i left school, which was In Nottingham i was 18, I went to a local leisure center and i became super active, doing football, badminton and basketball every week, after a few months i started to fit gym in once a week as well.
Although i went to the gym, to be honest i never really put a lot of effort into it and half the time did not know what i was doing, so i stopped going.
this is me when i was 19, trying to act cool and a time when i first started wearing jeans lol
I became very weak, which even i laugh at this because i struggled to carry very light weight shopping, my stamina was poor, walking over a hour somewhere made me feel drained, hard to breathe, overall my physical condition needed to change so that is what i did when i joined Feel Good fitness In September 2016, The place being located in the George center In Grantham
A few weeks before I joined I had just started on a Tennis Project at Grantham Tennis club, It was when i was walking through town to get there i noticed a flyer for the gym advertising a discount membership for 12.99 a month !!!!
I went for a introduction to sort paper work out but to also get a feel for the gym and how the equipment worked.
At this point in my life i had no friends, i was very anxious to workout with others being there and for about a month i only used a few machines as i kept forgetting how to use them, and did not want to be a burden on the staff.
In that month i remember mostly doing cardio, and oddly enough the treadmill which i hated in the past due to my feet not moving in the right way, i somehow managed to get on with it and loved using it.
After a few months of Joining i was noticing a very small difference with the strength in my arms and the cardio as well as tennis was really helping with my speed and stamina.
I decided that in order to make the most out of my membership but also make the most of going to gym to improve was to find someone who also went there and could help me.
After searching for nearly a month I managed to find someone who to this today is not only my friend but my best friend (: the incredible Lee Symons
In December my new partner in crime, mentioned he was just starting a new workout pattern that he wanted to get used to for a few weeks and then i would be ok to join him (:
Of course with never sticking to a workout plan because i did not use much equipment, i was not expecting such a long and painful session.
me and lee got on well from the get go, talking about Video games a lot haha and just having fun while he was helping me get to grips with holding things. For the first few times of training using the bench press, max rack and the Cable Machine i started off with no weight as, i have a issue where quite a lot my body does not want to do what my brain is telling it, i can be shown how to do something and understand really well but come to do the thing i need to do and suddenly my body forgets how to.
After a few weeks of slowly starting to add weights on and using other equipment, the muscles started to show and i felt stronger as you can see via the picture below which was towards the end of January 2017
just from one month of working out with lee i could already feel the difference in being able to carry more shopping, i would go home in pain after the session but often still feeling pumped wanting to do more physical activities.
Then i had to have a week off due to a massive pain down my shoulder this is called a tear in your muscles. This is a normal thing as your body is trying to cope with the added weight and also using parts of your body that are weaker or you do not use as much, it will tear and hurt and then re build for it to become stronger (:
In February saw Helen take over as manager for the place and with me now focusing on trying to become stronger but also build my self confidence up, i decided to try and talk to more people around the gym inc the staff who now i have really bonded with and always keep pushing me to achieve more but to also create some amazing experiences that i can look back on.
which i will go into detail more later on !!!
At this point i was going to gym around 3-4 times a week, with having the off day some weeks due to starting a mini course learning about photography at Grantham College.
I had also Joined The tennis club which meant that some days going to the gym in the evening i was pushing less then what i normally do.If you think it hurts when pushing up weights then try as much as possible to never have a week off as you find it will take a few sessions to be able to lift the same amount of weight again !!!
You know you have a awesome friend who can see you really struggling and can see your trying and wants to help out.
My grip has never been great, so when i start using the Lat pull down on very low weight i think around 20-30 it was literary ripping into my hands, i would get these massive lumps at the bottom of my fingers which would take nearly a week to heal.
As you can see from the picture above my friend brought me gloves and i tell you what it shows when you take away the pain how much more you can lift, I returned to the Lap pull downs a few weeks later and was now pushing 40-45kg
This then helped with using the max Rack to do shrugs and swats and oh boy was it a laugh trying to train my body to do them.
next to the max rack you have weight bags as you can see from the image above that are different amounts in weights.
My friend suggested since i could not do swats on the max rack to try with these.
Lets just say i spent more time laughing with my friend because i could not do it.
Another idea was to train my body to swat by having a bench behind me so when i get to the bottom of the swat i can get my body to be straight again to push the weight back up.
Over time this worked and now i can do swats no problem (:
Often if the staff are doing there best to help and have a laugh with you, they are working hard on their own training, which makes working out just a lot less painful because you can relax and just talk about your day but also you have targets to aim for because in your head your like well if the staff can push hard and get results then so can i !!!
In march I was completely overwhelmed, One day while i was working out with Lee, Kinga who you can see in the picture above, came over and said we all think you have done an amazing job to be where you are now, you train hard and that is what we like to see, so here is your very own My Zone belt !!!!
I can tell you that this belt has changed my life, made me break records and really give me strength that i did not know, all this from a belt, how!!! ??? well i explain a bit about it right now and later on (:
When you put it on it will bleep to say its on, you cant really see it but behind me in the picture is a live board, while you workout you can see how well your pushing.
Its not just to use while at the gym, if you download the app, you can use it on the go (:
so once you have done a session, you will get a email letting you know your results, or you can sign into the website to check there as well.
As you can see from the picture above this was the results of using the belt for the first time, i did a bit of cardio but mostly the session was using weights.
you will find that your overall effort is not something to really worry about unless your doing a lot of cardio, Its common sense that if your not running that your average will be low.
So as well as working out, there are often challenges on the wall each month with the winner getting a prize (:
The gym had just got a new set of equipment called watt bikes, and the challenge of the month was who could get the fastest speed in just 6 seconds,
I challenged my friend to it who aced it while i was struggling to get my feet to stay in the pedals and did not do great.
I do not have a picture of me doing the challenge so here is a picture of my friend working out from around 5 months a go.
I have a annoying habit that i love taking photos, even of myself but if someone else wants to take my picture i get all shy and try to escape haha, i never know how to pose, yet i am such a poser when taking pictures of myself, odd that isn't it (:
I noticed a post that the gym had posted on social media about a Watt bike class as every week they have different classes on, from doing workouts with weights, circuits and much more.
A lovely happy bunch after one of the classes (:
The session was based using the belt to track what zone you had to be in, so in a 30 Minute session on a selected workout you would be given around 2-3 minutes to warm up on the bike, and then aiming to hit the yellow and red sections, each workout session being different as some can be your in the red for 2 minutes, then yellow, now to black which is slow down and recover and then back up to yellow etc.
The first few times of using the bikes i hated, i was struggling to hit the red zone, i would leave before the session had ended due to the seat hurting my bum haha.
as with most things, you just have to wear it in and get used to it, and soon became addicted to going on even more watt bikes classes.
One day while i was working out by myself i noticed England's finest photography taking photos of the gym, and i have to say came out with incredible results as seen above
so a few weeks later i had a chat with Helen as i wanted to take some of my own, this was good timing as they was about to create leaflets with a limited time offer of a discounted price to join.
Helen took most of the pictures and then i edited them, and i love how this photo turned out, which looked even better when it was on the leaflet (:
This was the result of the first time i did just the watt bike and nothing else my stats were not great but hey what do you expect when your not used to it haha
Another issue i had which was funny at the time was the using the dip assist Machine
as seen in the picture you have a seat where you grab onto the handles above put your knees on the seat, and use your body to push down and back to the top,
I believe with this machine the weights are reversed so the lower the weight the more it adds on (;
It was on 60 and i kept getting stuck at the bottom not being able to have the strength to push back up.
It caused a lot of pain, because i could not use it, i gave up trying.
That was until months of pushing my weights up i decided to give it another go and did it with easy and now i push with the weight sometimes at 45-50 (:
Before i carry on, toward the end of the post i will be showing you a comparison of what my weights were when i first started using machines to what i can push now (:
Now that i was used to pushing my own weight, i decided to take on another of the gyms monthly challenges
https://www.facebook.com/FeelgoodGrantham/videos/10155137804165569/
I did not do to bad but again first time doing it and its more a brain game then anything, trying to push your pain barrier up to keep hanging on !!!
The winner got some fitness scales as seen in the picture above as no i dont believe it was the staff that won them haha this picture was mainly a post advertising the challenge.
Again i had to have another week off training as this time i had recently Joined Grantham Running club, and with doing tennis, running and gym, i had pulled something all done one leg.
The harder you train you will always have that risk factor as well, like a few days a go on twitter it was mentioning about Andy Murray having to take time off to rest, we all do it our body can not survive everything we throw at it !!!
My Favorite saying is what breaks us only makes us stronger and time after time i prove that with beating targets.
I think around July time I decided to come up with a silly rap song as i love making music, about its all about that fitness and the protein (:
When you walk into the gym they have a wonderful display of proteins, shakes, protein bars in all kinds of very yummy flavors. I think the whole time i have been at the gym, i have only brought one thing, whoops !!! For me i do eat to much junk food and chocolate, what can i say i have a extreme case of a sweet tooth (:
I can lift a fair bit of weight but i know if i sorted my diet out and had more protein in my system that i would be able to recover faster and build more muscle but hey that is just me haha.
I dont go to get a six pack or get ripped as the saying goes, but just so i can have more strength and become faster, which as i carry on writing you will see that !!!
Thanks to everyone helping me gain more confidence i was now starting to create some kind of routine to my week to fit everything in, this meant some days i trained by myself.
I am now able to push more weight on my own then when i first started but i am still unable to push as hard as when i am training with my friends, its amazing how much more weight or even more reps you can push when you have a spotter but more importantly someone that knows you can push more with that little encouragement (:
Speaking of friends, in the last few months i have managed to make even more a lovely chap by the name of Adam who can be cruel to be kind, again doing different workouts to what lee was doing.
like with everything in life we all train in different ways and its nice to mix things up every now and then event if your friends are trying to kill you haha.
when going to the gym, its now a whole different experience i have trained with a few different people, but more then training its creating those awesome bonds that when you open the door to enter the gym, people want to chat to you, which is the best feeling in the world !!!
Its the fun memories that you cherish the most, and these next ones will never be forgotten !!!
Thats right its challenge time once again, this time being how fast can you get to 500 meters with the rowing machine, competition only fuels my desire to do well so of course i challenged my friend again (:
Its show you have a good connection with the staff when only the one and only Helen wanted to also join in, and well i think she did not expect me and lee to push so hard, i think the picture speaks how she felt at the end haha !!!
if you would like to see a small clip of us in action then copy this link (:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWIqq1CBx_b/?taken-by=granthamfeelgood
If you think the good times stop there you will be mistaken !!!!
as it was time for round 2 to aim to beat lee with him again being faster then me even though he says he hates the rowing, seem to do a pretty fast pace lee !!!!!
what happened in round 2 got me and Kinga laughing so much, she was keeping track of time and well keep tracking off lee from taking off into space (:
as soon as we started his machine was moving so much, what did you eat that day buddy (: so poor kinga how to hold the bottom of it to keep it still and even then it was moving.
I could not stop laughing and watching what was going off that i completely fell off mine
I had one leg on the seat my body all lob sided and could not move, i felt so embarrassed, i just laughed my socks off, got back on and we all rest and restarted, yet again it started moving, and i just did not have the patience to focus on my own machine because of still gigging, that is how you create memories !!!!!
Continuing on what makes a gym more then a gym is the nice surprises staff give to each other.
It was Kinga's Birthday and while being there to train, Helen and other staff was hiding a cake and getting things ready, music went off, happy birthday song came on and out came the most yummy and cool cake i have ever seen, its just nice to see that the staff look after each other in style (:
Getting back to the weights, and slowly coming to a end of this blog as i could write and write just so many good times and memories (:
Training with Adam one day and man did i feel it the next day, one of the workouts was to lift out a high weight and then without no rest, keeping dropping the weights down and down.
You would think well that sounds easy as your lifting a lot less, if you think its easy your doing something wrong haha.
I can not really explain what it does to your body, but suddenly because you done lets say 10 reps at a high weight you have given everything you got, and although the first 3-4 reps of the low weight may be so easy, you then suddenly get a lot of pain and just can not push its madness !!!
Now we are in the last few weeks of August i knew i wanted to write this post but to also have awesome pictures of me working out to show, but also again to create memories
I do not know if its mainly a male trait but whenever there is a need to showcase what i can do i push even harder so it can show in the pictures haha, i got the lovely Adam and lee to take pictures with my camera and then i went through and edited them, and i am over the moon how they turned out (:
Here is a few pictures of my friends since they was helping out i wanted to catch them hard at work (:
Both of my friends also push each other, and i egg them on as well its just a bit of fun to make it hurt a lot less !!!
As i was pushing so hard with everything i again pulled something on my arm, so i went into the gym after playing tennis to have a word with Sam, who is a personal trainer, but works on physical therapy, often creating videos on tips how to help ease pain on areas, he also helps with dieting as well. he showed me some different stretches with a kind of band thing to work on pulling the top of my chest and my shoulders so what ever the pain was it would help it go away (:
It shows how much more i can keep going when i beat record after record every week in the watt bike class
As i mentioned way above yes this post has been that long i am so sorry lol, i like to aim to always improve, the week before September started i managed to reach a peak heart rate of 188 and reached 100 percent in the zone for the first time ever.
On 6th September it was my birthday i chose to spend it doing what i loved which was playing tennis, i really enjoyed myself, had a nice rest and a meal and then off it was for the watt bike class.
As i was waiting to start the class i knew kinga was up to something by the way she acted and talked haha, no one can ever surprise me when it comes to giving me something, ok they might surprise me with what it is but i also know when something is going off (:
I was given a paper with me using the watt bikes, with happy birthday from the team !!!
to some that may seem small but its the little things that you often appreciate more and of course i loved it, the surprises did not stop there though.
One of things i love while i am at the gym and even more say when doing the classes is the killer selection of music, because i love making music and listen to it way to much, it always puts me in the mood and i always achieve higher results working out to music !!!
so when a killer remix of a dance version of happy birthday comes on and Kinga mentioned it was my birthday i tried to hide the blushing haha and just felt even more pumped.
yes you are seeing that right 190 heart rate !!!!!!! i was on fire i loved the class so much i only went and booked to go again the next day as well, i not only reached 190 again but 2 times and 100 percent 3 times, although after ever class it takes nearly half a hour for the adrenaline in my system to go, which often leaves me feeling dizzy and hardly talking but that is what happens when you have the drive to keep pushing and wanting to aim higher and higher.
Kinga is tough on me just like my friends but its the right kind of tough, with working out, the battle is mostly in your brain, your body is so strong and until you get your mind on the same track you will never be able to get results, so because of them its how i have managed to change my life in just the space of a year !!!!! its madness how fast it goes but how much you grow as a person in confidence without even knowing it.
Oh gosh i suppose i better wrap things up, with the biggest thank you in the world to everyone at the gym, who has helped me, people say Grantham is a rubbish place, i say it may be small but it has the nicest people in the world and its because of that why my life is just that great !!!
Even though i was super active when i left school, i was never strong, now i am even more active then i was then and i have the strength to match !!!!!
It may not be a 24 hour gym like a lot of gyms now days but it does not need to be, i feel the bigger a company tries to be or have tons of outlets in different places to me it loses what matters which is the experience of making friends and having a blast while getting stronger !!!!
I hope this blog understands that results will not come straight away but find the right gym, the right people and a willingness to do great and your at a winner (:
Below will be a list of where i started on different weights to where i am now i will not be putting everything down because there a lot to list, this then will be followed by social links to the gym, and others bit, again thank you for reading !!!!!!
- Bicep curl started on 10kg can push to 60 on my own and 90kg with friends
- plate loaded shoulder press started recently and can do 15kg
- seated row started on 15kg can now do 60 on my own and when pushed can reach 105kg
- chest press started on 15kg on own can do 45kg and when pushed do 60kg
- cable machine started on no weight due to my arms not keeping straight and now can do 20kg i only do this with someone is there
- max rack, shrugs started on 5kg now can do 20kg, i do not use the max rack on my own.
- max rack swats started on nothing, now can do 15kg
- lat pulled down was the thing that ripped my hands, now i do not even use my gloves for anything and can lift 60kg on my own, when pushed 90kg
- seated leg press started on 75 on my own and when pushed can do 155
- leg extensions hurt a lot, started on 30kg and now push 90kg on my own, when pushed 120kg
- dumbbells doing what i call a eagle stretching your arms out and back, started on 2.5kg on my own can do 7.5kg and when pushed 10kg
- plate loaded lap down can do 40kg with mates as started recently
Feel good Fitness Social Links !!!
https://www.facebook.com/FeelgoodGrantham/
https://www.instagram.com/granthamfeelgood/
England's finest photography social links
https://www.efpics.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/EnglandsPics
https://www.facebook.com/englandsfinestpics/
My social links
https://www.facebook.com/dmpphotographyuk/
https://twitter.com/DanMediaP
https://twitter.com/DMPWORLDMUSIC
https://twitter.com/DanielMVlogs
https://www.instagram.com/dmpadventures/
http://dannytheexplorer.tumblr.com/
http://dmpuk.weebly.com/
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