I had less of a hangover than the night before in fact I was quite strong today relatively speaking.

I had a very hard 60 minutes on the Elliptical Stepper it was great. The harder the better.My ears are still ringing from my Music blaring for an hour .zzzzzzzzzzz The core Pilates class is definitely one of my regulars now. The teacher is great.

 I have not had the time to do as much as I want this week so far. I am hoping that Thursday and Friday will be longer and quality sessions. Time has been a pain in the ass.

Johnnie Walker Gold Label - Calories Well Worth It

Just a quickie got no time to chat. I was suffering from a mini hangover today . I am on the way out to getting a giant one now. The Gold Label is the most delicious out of the Johnny range in my opinion.Thank you Gershy!

 I managed yesterday to squeeze in another very fast 30 minute run and burn off 2\3 scotches.  Today was also pretty intense 2 hours straight cardio with a hard spinning class. I must say the Spinning at Holmes Place is way harder than the Spinning was at Winlife .

This week I am going to devote almost all of my workouts to doing Cardio. I have a panel\committee next Sunday who decide whether my medical insurance will cover the cost of the abdominoplasty. I would like to be at least 1.5kg lighter. Not that it makes that much difference but I hope have not put on too much weight for them to decide in the negative. We are talking here of around 3kg which is nothing in the big scheme of things but you never know.  I have for the last 6-10 months being trying not to diet\starve too much in order to gain lean muscle mass and also I have been eating more to sustain the amount of sport that I do.

This morning I was surprised to see how full the gym was at Holmes Place for morning time. Main thing was I had a place in the pool and I had a great swim. I had a little disaster on the elliptical machine because my MP3 player would not work and this really affects the workout. Without pumping music in my ears I cannot train as hard. It is my engine for Cardio. My bruising under my foot does not feel that great either and maybe I am pushing a little hard and should rest it a few days but I don’t think I can with the committee next week deciding on my fate. I will just push through the pain as best as I can. I need to put in at least 2 hours of Cardio workout everyday this week.

I am quite disappointed with the professionalism\organization at Holmes  Place .When I joined they talked me into buying what they call a “Success Package”(ערכת הצלחה) which included 1 hour with a personal Trainer to build me a program, 2 coaching sessions,1 meeting with the dietician(I don’t really need this ), “Present\Matana” of a pair of sports shoes. The only reason I bought into this was because I was told I would only get a 20 minute explanation at the reception with a workout card built for me and if I  wished to get some more input I should take this package. Well I went into the office last week to ask when someone would be in touch to set up my meetings. I was told someone would call me. Yeah right…. They were very quick to take my money but as is unfortunately the case with Israeli’s they don’t fulfill their commitments. 8 days have passed no one has called. No one has shown me around the gym. No one has even asked me for a Medical certificate stating I am fit to train in the gym. To add to all this irony the woman who sold me the deal was surprised at how many questions and scenarios I posed to her before signing on the dotted line. She said stop being so negative Holmes Place is a chain and they are not going to screw me. I answered her that I have been living here for more than 14 years and it makes no difference who you are in fact the opposite is true and big chains will screw you even more……

Anyways I am going to call them today and try get my money back. I am willing up my strength to fight on the phone. This is like the umpteenth time since I came to live here that I need to stand up and fight for my rights. I am getting a little weary in my old age of trying to educate Israelis in basic service and basic rights. It’s been a long 14 years in this respect. One day we can only hope that things will get better and I will still have the strength to argue with them.

I just don’t think Holmes place deserves the money for that and I am willing to take on a private instructor to build me a program myself but I don’t want their favours.

Shit that was a long Blog post for a Sunday morning!!!!!As you can see I am steaming a little.I hate fighting with Israelis…..

Shavua Tov

Spring in Nature reserve this morning

Overall great week I think considering. The run today was great at Wingate. . It was hard in the hills and I am not conditioned as I used to be . It really tough but the weather was great the flowers are blossoming in the nature reserve. It was good to see the people and instructors again at Winlife. I do think I made the right decision to broaden the horizons a little and try something new and keep it fresh.

Trail run this morning at Wingate - Endorphin Heaven

I then went off to Holmes Place . Pilates today was one of the hardest I have done in a while too. I was sweating buckets and almost out of breath but it was a good lesson and I am enjoying the new teacher. My swim was great too. The pool was surprisingly empty and if it’s always  like that on the a Friday morning that’s great for me .I may be more in the pool next week because my foot is hurting in the arch after running and I think it needs a good few days rest

Mr. Jack Daniels and Pepsi Max are on the Mix this Friday afternoon. The coming week sees visitors from South Africa bearing gifts of Biltong (Pure Protein) and some forms of Malt whiskey to restock the supply. It also means there are going to be some heavy nights next week and my exercise will take a little hangover delay but it’s worth it once in a while. There has to be reward for all the hard work I put in.

Shabbat Shalom to all.

My foot is still a little bruised in the arch and I am refraining from running for now. It’s a little upsetting. I hope it be able to get a run in by Friday in the Dunes at Wingate. I have missed them and running regularly . For now I will take it a little easier.

This morning the weather was great after all the rain and the smell of the sea was soo good on the ride to Tel Aviv today I almost never went into work. The stretching class is definitely one of the best I  have been too and I am going to have to try make it a regular thing to get to as well. I feel like a new person. I don’t know how I am going to fit in all these classes I like both in the evenings and mornings. So much fun so little time.  The Pilates with this teacher is also great and much better than the Friday class which is a little too full and a little too  rushed I feel.

Safety Comes First !!!!

I have been wearing my MESport bracelet lately when going out on the road running or cycling. A friend of mine has started this company here in Israel which offers a bracelet with all your vital medical information and Contact details in case something happens to me g-d forbid. It’s a great product and service they are offering and anyone who does serious sport outdoors should wear one for safety if you ask me.  Another Tip I have for you people out there if you decide to go for a run\cycle\walk on your own off the beaten track is to tell someone where you planned on going so they will notice if something is amiss if you don’t return. Check out their website here at www.mesport.me . I highly recommend it and will be wearing mine for sure every time I go out.

My Stitches are out and I made it to the pool again after 2 weeks. I had a good swim of 60 minutes and i really enjoyed it . It was a little hard to go the full hour but I managed.I had to wait about 10 minutes for a lane

 The weight training is by far the most boring and depressing exercise there is albeit necessary. It is even worse at nights when the gym at Holmes Place  is at its fullest. I definitely from next week and going to have to plan my routine to do this in the mornings and not when I struggle to get a bench or a machine. I don’t know how people  who are trying to lose weight can stand being on a treadmill everyday or lifting weights. You got to keep it interesting and get some outdoor exercise and  take some classes like spinning,aerobics,Pilates etc. It is a big downer being in the gym what can I tell you..

So far I am 2^nd day into the week and my diet is ok so far. I have to get through Poker tomorrow night but I guess I get a little time off for good behavior.

I almost never went in to Holmes Place today because they were having a Purim party and I thought it would be a balagan . I also wanted to avoid a packed aerobics and a packed audience   In the end I went in and both classes were awesome. The spinning was one of the most intense I have had I burnt off around 1000 calories by the time I cooled down. The aerobics was a tight squeeze but I enjoyed it a lot and I can see myself being a regular there. They were flipping taking pictures for the party and unfortunately there is now evidence out there of me doing aerobics . I hope they don’t appear on the website Anyways the view is great in class. It can be a bit distracting but I should not complain and eventually I will get used to it.

I am hoping for a good week. I have put on a few Kg I think since I left Winlife and I need to get into a permanent routine again  and most of all watch what I eat. I haven’t been eating junk as I don’t do that really,  but I have been adding on a lot of calories the last 2 weekends and it has to stop right now !!! Today I behaved and hopefully the munchies will be kept at bay this week. Its at times like these I need Cigarettes to keep me from eating but I aint going back. I am in my 12^th month Nicotine free and going to keep it that way.

הולמס פלייס הרצליה

Its official I signed on to Holmes Place today. I am quite happy to give it a shot and have outs if I need them.

The last day of sunshine this week was today and I used it to the fullest. I had an awesome run on the beach and in and out of the Marina today. I also increased the run time to an extra 20 minutes or so. It’s been a good week overall. Yesterday was great at Holmes Place. I discovered a great instructor and classes. The 1^st was a stretching class which my body really needed badly. The 2^nd class was a Pilates and Core Strength class. Both were great and the teacher (גלי חן)  was amazing. If I join these classes will be for sure on my regular routine . You need to be able to tell what a good instructor is. A good one goes around the class all the time and makes sure people are doing things the right way. She paid attention to everyone and was very knowledgeable .

Got to run to work now dammit  and join the rat race for the day…..

It was a legendary way to the start the week. 2800 calories in a day……..Its been a while since I hit that.  .

I enjoyed Holmes Place a lot today. I surprised myself and also quite a few other people got s surprise and their eyes almost popped out their head when I came in the class. They for sure must have thought I was in the wrong one.

On the About page of this blog it says the following:

 “What it(Winlife) taught me too was not to be embarrassed about being fat and doing exercise. This was achieved by being in a group that was mostly overweight people exercising together. Not the real world situation of being in a gym with all fit looking people and feeling out of place. Screw the real world gym rats!!! Remember that you are doing it for yourself and try your best not to care what other people are thinking.”

Today that was a little different and new meaning of the about Statement. People tell me I am not fat now(even though I am still a bit :)  ) and I had to enter a class of regular Aerobics people in a Tzfoni\Kugel\JAP Gym Environment. I had a few doubts going in I must tell you it took a lot of Noggins. Once again I was the only Male in the class and I am sure I saw a few eyes pop out of heads thinking what the F..k is a 37 year old Kippa wearing person doing in here ? Anyways I managed the class and enjoyed it. The teacher has a good energy about her and I could get used to it . I can see she has a loyal following of fine looking soldiers.  The class was a little small though in terms of size not people and the A\C needs to be cranked up a lot. All in all I think I grew up a lot today in my journey to real lifelong term Weight loss Maintenance and Sports Addiction in any environment.

Regarding the Gym I think I need to try do all my Weight training in the mornings. There are too many people in the area at night it’s a pain in the ass.