In search of swan dives

Another long day at work. Very busy indeed. Good busy though.

Pilates in the evening at the end of the day (in-house). Only the second time I’ve gone. The instructor is lovely – like something straight out of Saturday Night Fever. Tall, blonde, middle-aged, long blonde curly hair, leotard, Alice-band, leg-warmers, big smile and amazingly lithe. She’s also got big, pendulous boobies – like ripe melons (am I allowed to say that on my own blog?). I may be as queer as a three dollar bill – but I say what I see and they’re hard to take your eyes off.

Anyway. I find pilates much harder than I ever thought I would. I go to the gym – often. But I’m not supple and never have been. I did a 4 mile run last Sunday morning (on the treadmill I should add), plus the rowing machine, the bike, the weight machines; it’s no big deal. But I’ve never had flexibility, can’t touch toes, etc. So pilates is good in this regard as it’s really making me stretch and exercise ‘core’ parts of the body that don’t get that at the gym.

I find many of the moves difficult. The ‘full swan dive’ is a case in point. Lying prostrate on the mat, you roll your head forward (“imagine a marble under your nose and you’re rolling it away”) – then out go your arms – raised – and then you raise your legs!! Not at all easy.

The instructor is terribly good (and patient with me as I was the only bloke tonight – though usually there are a couple of other guys) – and she knows I lack suppleness. I have only been once, three weeks ago, yet she remembers my name and a bit about me.

It’s invariably a memorable experience. Four women in the session tonight, plus me. One is what society might call ‘big boned’ or ‘stout’ and she was on the mat next to mine. A supple thing – but she lets out little piggy squeals when doing the ‘rolls’ (you basically have to do controlled half forward and backward roles) and these little squeals tend to make me laugh as I’ve always been prone to inappropriate laughter. But then – I have a habit of exhaling loudly and grunting – so she’s not the only one. There’s a shared intimacy about the thing (has to be when you’re doing these kinds of embarrassing exercises with colleagues!) which isn’t a bad thing. I’m glad I go, anyway.

I then went to the gym and ran, rowed and cycled – plus a few weights. ‘Dinner’ was ultra-low fat probiotic yoghurt plus a chopped apple plus a handful of sultanas plus a handful of mixed nuts plus a glass of pineapple juice. A virtuous day and as is readily apparent from this blog – I tend to yoyo between monastic abstinence and pure gluttony; it’s always been this way.

My weight is steady at 11 3/4 stone (75 kgs) and my target weight is 11 1/2 stone (73 kgs / 161 lbs) so we’ll see.