Grit Summer Games - To puke or not to puke that is the question

So, today our gym held a nice little event called Grit Summer Games. I've been talking about Grit before, Les Mills' own HIIT-series with focus on either basic strength, explosive strength or cardio. I was a little nervous beforehand, because we weren't told what exercises were awaiting us at the gym. All we knew was that there'd be 9 different exercises and we'd have 45sec per exercise during which we had to perform as many reps as possible. Then 15sec rest and on to the next exercise. 

The exercises were: 1. Clean-and-press (20kg for women, 30kg for men), 2. sumo jumps from a step-board, 3. burpees (of course there were burpees...), 4. bent over rows (again 20kg women, 30kg men), 5. lateral jumps across a step board, 6. c-crunches with a plate (5kg women, 10kg men), 7. squat to overhead press with a 5kg plate, 8. push-ups and finally 9. my least favourite exercise in the history of ever: the jumping lunge. I even prefer burpees to the jumping lunges, which is mostly because my legs are about to give out 3 reps in on a good day.

Today was not a good day, I might add. Firstly, I am still sore from all the stuff I've done all week, especially grappling on Friday and Pump+Combat on Saturday (yeah, I know, I should have rested, had I taken this seriously. But this was for fun). And secondly, well, just try doing jumping lunges after already being so far beyond your lactate threshold that all you want to do is hug your toilet bowl close and your triceps' have already failed you and your quads are burning. 

What I want to convey: it felt great, even more than great afterwards (as most HIITs), but during the thing, I wanted to quit, scream, puke, quit again, throw myself onto the ground and cry. I did nothing, but go on. I tried to think of nothing but the next rep. Clean-and-presses are one of my favourite exercises, and I got 17 of those, already feeling slightly winded, and there was a little burn already, because normally I half-ass them with 15kg (I never realised I half-assed them until today). The sumo jumps are usually not my kind of thing, I like them, but - as with the jump lunges - my legs don't really like 'em, meaning I start strong and after 15sec my legs are on fire. But the competitor across from me and I pushed each other through this and I got 39 of those, too. Severly winded it was burpee time. And cue the sickness. I'm quite good with exercising at a high intensity, but as soon as we take it to the ground, I get really sick and a little dizzy. Something about lactate acid, I was told. Halfway through the bent over rows, my left triceps failed, but I tried to do as much as possible with my back. Still, the last few reps where a bit lopsided. The lateral jumps were a whole other thing, because you need some kind of coordination to land on the step board and at that point, I was already so tired that this seemed a Mission Impossible. Again, my heart rate soared and it was down to the ground. Serious retching going on. But the crunches went fine. Not well, but okay. Then the squat jumps in itself were okay, but then again, almost none of us did them with the right technique or movement range in the beginning and that made them a loooot meaner. Thank goodness, my triceps recovered at least a little until it was time to do push-ups, but I still did those ten at a time, short stretch into child's pose. I actually got quite far with this technique. 39 push-ups in 45sec is not too bad. But yeah, the lunge jumps were horrific. I only did 29 of those and all the time I was afraid my legs would give out any second. 

Still, this was a fun and interesting experience and I know where I have to push a little more. Next time I'm doing something like this, I will get at least 45 push-ups in those 45 seconds. And I will work on my burpees. I got to have some goal now, because moving tomorrow (effectively the day after tomorrow), I have to switch gyms and one of the reasons I never had to think about going to the gym was that I knew certain instructors' classes would be fun and missing them would be a pity. Now I need some internal motivation again, until I know the who's who of my new gym. So, yeah. (I also have to lose about 8kg before the competition season for MMA starts...but that's a whole other story)

Anyhow, I believe the Grit Summer Games have been A) an incredible success, B) fun, C) a possibility to overcome oneself and get out of this comfort zone nobody likes these days and D) a great way to wrap up summer and effectively my membership at Gogo. I'll still be pretending that it doesn't end tomorrow, as I'm going to take one last class with one of my favourite instructors. After that I got about half an hour to get to my train to the airport, so that hopefully realisation only hits when I'm sitting on this train. 

Friendship is weird, especially when saying goodbye

"I've been here so long, I think that it's time to move
The winter's so cold, summer's over too soon
Let's pack our bags and settle down where palm trees grow

I've got some friends, some that I hardly know
But we've had some times, I wouldn't trade for the world
 We chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go"
(Rise Against - Swing Life Away)



I've got some friends, some that I hardly know
Yesterday was my last real day at work and now it's only ten days until I return to Germany. Well, Berlin. Berlin sounds totally different than Germany, doesn't it? At least to my ears, it has a totally different ring to it. But I might be imagining things.
Yesterday was one of those days that seem like they should suck out loud, but... it didn't. It would be wrong to accuse yesterday of being a bad day. My day at work was okay, and yes, I was still suffering from those last symptoms of my cold and a really lazy brain, but other than that, I was doing quite well. I bumped into a guy I know at the store and while my brain really left me in the lurch when trying to talk to him, it was still nice to see him. Gotta tell him that I'll be missing him. Gotta tell him that I think he's a decent guy and I will most definitely miss him. Why do we only tell people stuff like that when we're leaving or when we're dying? Gosh, that sucks. We talked again today and this time my brain worked well enough to at least answer questions and do the words into sentences putting thing. I don't know if you can tell, but I'll be missing him.

But we've had some times, I wouldn't trade for the world
Then - back to yesterday - I bumped into another guy. Well, not any other guy, but... he's kind of "the one that got away" in the narrative of my life. I've had a major crush on him when we first met (and I've told him that once, when the acute crush was over) and I'd actually written off seeing him again before I leave, but there I was just leaving my flat to get a piece of cake (yes.) when he was just walking by my building. We exchanged a few sentences and while I was looking at him, I noticed with a hint of melancholy that we've changed. Now he's not the one that got away because there's never been anything between us, but because he's not there anymore. Or no, that's unfair. He's changed a little. And I've changed a little. And between the two of us we changed a lot; the things that once build a bridge for us to meet on, they were not there anymore. And there we were, the same two people and still two perfect strangers. But it was a good thing for me to see, because it makes it easier for me to leave. It doesn't feel like there is still something left open. Now there's just another tiny scar that tells a story of what once was. It is gone, but it left a mark. We said that we'd see each other again. And maybe we will.

I've got some friends, some that I hardly know...It's an interesting line, really. Because we always talk about friends like they are those people that know everything about us and that we know everything about. I know him/her inside out. But is that really it? Is knowing that someone has a bigger sister and what their favourite band is and that they don't like asparagus what matters? I have friends like these, but I also have friends like those two above. Because to me, friendship is a feeling. Some sense of kinship. Sometimes not even needing words. I remember telling a girl I've known for ten minutes almost everything about my stalker-ex. She ended up being one of my best friends. Still is, even after ten years. I either like and trust someone or I don't, no matter how much I know about them. If I'm happy to see you or I like to spend time with you? Tough luck, I will consider you my friend. Even if we haven't exchanged phone numbers and I don't know where you live. Chances are that that's not important to the kind of friendship we have. There are different types of friendship and not all require actual factual knowledge about each other. Some are just about having a good time, when you see each other. The only thing that bugs me: am I allowed to hug them goodbye? I don't need to know more about them, right now. And guess what? I have never been asked to take a test on any of my friends.

But here's some random fact about me, you are allowed to quote if need be: I quite dislike socks.

No, really, I don't like socks. I rather go without them nasty little buggers.

Grit Strength, or: I challenge you to focus on your technique

Ugh, please remind me to never half-ass technique during a Grit-class again. Today I decided to concentrate on technique rather than rep count and I got myself so much more exhausted, it's not even funny anymore. Normally, I just do everything as fast as possible and as many reps as possible, sacrificing the right technique and weight. I could easily up the weight on my bar a little if my pride didn't take a hit when I have to take a break or get in less reps than the person next to me. 

But today, I always started out with clean technique and the burn was a whole other. For example: I hate nothing more than burpees, except for jump lunges. I hate those from the bottom of my heart, mostly because whereas my upper body has been responding really well to training and gains and stuff, my lower body just stays as chicken-y as ever. I got chicken-y legs and all the same how much I squat and eat, I don't gain any muscle (or fat) below my knees and even on my thighs, it's mostly fat. So, my legs are my weakness. And I hate regular lunges, because they mostly burn in my quads, not my bum or the back of my thighs, where you supposedly feel them. Most people have a muscle and strength imbalance between the front and the back of their thighs, which is why they tend to push up with their quads rather than their behind, which is why in turn instructors always keep telling you to push through your front heel and pinch your butt cheeks together while pushing up. In my case... both sides are equally weak. But, I noticed already before my short vacation in Germany, that I have much more power and strength and don't tire as fast (on a muscular level) if I actually go deeper and sit into the lunge and go down to that infamous 90° angle. The cardial fitness is another thing all together, because engaging my butt, I get out of breath rather quickly (larger muscle, and the gluteus maximus is one if not the biggest muscle in your body, higher oxygen consumption), but as I said, on a muscular level I don't tire as quickly, because my butt cheeks take much longer getting sore than my quads.

Do it the right way. Also, remember to eat well. My day in four pictures.

The point I meant to make: the cardio part of the workout was driven home much harder (muscles use up oxygen while working, so you don't need to run to get winded) and now my butt hurts. And the rest of my body hurts in exciting new ways or with a new intensity. So, for your health's and your fitness' sake, listen to your instructor even if going down to a 90 degree angle sounds impossible. It's actually easier. Or well, maybe it just hurts differently and in my case less. But yeah, listen to what advice they have to offer. Look at their posture and movement radius. Yes, you can do 20 squats in the time they do 10, but those 20 actually are as useful as 0 if you only quickly pulse between a 0 and 45° angle. So, if you do it, do it right, even if that means you have to swallow your pride when the small chick next to you does 20 more reps than you do. In the end, it's your workout. And while your pride might benefit from keeping up with her half-assing your technique, your body doesn't. 

Product test: Quest Peanut Butter Cups

So, a week ago I bought these awesome looking and sounding Quest Peanut Butter Cups, which I have wanted to try for quite a while now. The idea seems simple enough: take a beloved sweet like the peanut butter cup, which is not exactly healthy, and make a healthy version of it, sell it under the name of "Quest Cravings". In Quest Nutritions case, being concerned with people's protein intake and all, this means loads of protein, low or next to no carbs. 

The nutritional info reads as follows:

Serving Size: 2 cups (one packet contains 2 cups), 50g

Calories: 240

Calories from fat: 150 (well, peanut butter ain't exactly low fat)

Total Fat: 17g (of which 35%, 7g are saturated fats)

Sodium: 240mg 

Potassium: 230mg

Total Carbohydrate: 10g (of which 3g dietary fibre, 1g sugars, 3g Erythritol [well, that sounds healthy])

Protein: 20g

So far, so good. Sounds okay, on the ingredient list the first listed items are protein-supplement mixes (Heraprotein-Isolate and Milkprotein-Isolate, so it's not suited for vegans) and actual peanut butter, plus unsweetened chocolate. Nutritionally, this isn't too bad. But. The taste is gruesome. If you've ever had a real Peanut Butter Cup (Reese's), you will know the second this thing touches your lips that nope, this won't help your cravings. If you have never had one, leave this thing on the shelf and take a real Peanut Butter Cup with you. Might be nutritionally worse, but at least you get some taste for the calories you consume. The chocolate is way too bitter (maybe try stevia for sweetening?) and the consistency of the whole thing is off-putting. It might be due to the fact that obviously the packet I grabbed hadn't been stored correctly, but the chocolate was also covered in this white film chocolate gets when it's getting old. So maybe the taste of the chocolate would have been better, but even that would not have saved the whole thing.

The cup itself. As you can see, the chocolate is already gone off and it doesn't look too attractive.

To put it in a nutshell: Nice idea, but terrible execution. Which is a pity because I usually like Quest's products. But this is the reason why people always frown upon healthy alternatives to sweets and baked goods. 2/5 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. 

It's getting hot, hot, hotter than hell...

There was this song by the Finnish band Reckless Love and it starts becoming the soundtrack to my days here in Berlin. After leaving the limestone cave that was Finnish summer, I arrived in Central Europe, where there's almost sauna-like temperatures. Working out in this heat ain't fun, even in the morning my body feels like a wet cloth. So, working out is like dragging a wet cloth through the gym and back. But still, it's fun.

I don't sweat, I sparkle. Or how did the quote go?

Monday, I went in the morning and did some Body Attack, Tuesday I did some gym routine and incorporated a few moves from the current Grit Strength. Wednesday I went with a friend in the evening and we did something here, something there. And yesterday I first took Body Combat to the next level (Hot Body Combat) and then I showed my baby brother his way around the weight room. Which was incredibly funny, because the dudes back in the free weight zone weren't sure what's happening, since a) the girl describes to the boy what he has to do and b) what exactly is the relationship between those two?!? But yeah, leaving my Finnish home gym GoGo still feels bad, but not as bad, now that I know that Superfit is an okay-option. It's not GoGo, it never will take GoGo!0's place, but it's a nice gym with nice enough members and instructors.

But I didn't go to Berlin to workout (well, or not exclusively), I went to a couple of job interviews and did some official business preparing my move to Berlin. Since yesterday, I'm officially a Berliner again. Feels strange. Okay, but strange. Well, and come September 1st, I'll be living and working here. I hate leaving Tampere, but I do love Berlin as well. I've already found a load of great places here and the possibilities are endless. And it's the best place to be to do the stuff I wanna do. stay tunes ;)