So, having failed to complete my previous target of finishing the Brighton Half Marathon, the past month or so has been all about what’s next. I have certainly enjoyed the running and its regularity, but I have missed the gym (words I never thought I would say). With no specific event to train for, I wanted to embrace some structure to help me stay consistent with my training.
Enter Madisons! I am incredibly fortunate to know and work with a number of fantastic local gym owners and personal trainers, including Kirk, one of our Physiotherapists, who is a co-owner of BYS in Burgess Hill, where they offer CrossFit and small group PT. We also work closely with James at Phoenix Performance Centre in Ditchling. All of these are, and would be great options, but given the nature of my working diary, proximity is key, and having worked with Jerome previously, I knew that Madisons would tick all the right boxes for me.
The small group PT set up has been brilliant, the best bit for me is that I don’t have to think, I simply go in and follow the outlined training plan for the day. Combined with the fact that the sessions are scheduled times, which means I can book them into my day and stay consistent!
For the past month, I have been doing 3 days a week, whilst still running a couple of times a week. Sticking to 5-10k per run to keep the base “fitness” ticking over. One of the challenges with the gym has certainly been recognising where I am with my general conditioning compared to years gone by. This has been a great learning curve as it highlights the challenges we all face when returning to training and feeling deflated because we aren’t where we once were. So often, when we are treating it is easy to forget it isn’t just the pain from the injury that is bothering you, but what that pain/injury is preventing you from doing. Going through it personally is a great reminder on the frustration felt and the desire to return to things we enjoy doing as quickly as possible.
Next month, I will be looking into nutrition as part of this training journey to understand what changes can be made to improve my overall outcomes. Until now, I have focussed purely on my activity levels and physical improvements through training and exercises; however, nutrition is a huge part of any success both in terms of overall health and losing excess weight.