Bootcamp… Buttcamp

You guys know all about Jane’s workout routine and I thought I would stick to the theme by sharing my workout stuffs with you. I am an in no way one of THOSE!!! Oh you know what type I am talking about. Seriously, type WOD into the search of WordPress and see what comes up. Yeah… anymahoo.

I wish my computer screen was longer… The list is endless.

I do bootcamp twice a week for one hour at a time at a private type gym that is fully kitted out for crossfit. This gym is close to Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens in Ruimsig. Hopefully I will be able to bootcamp 3 times a week as I used to play action netball as well but have had to stop for this year. In my mind bootcamp is the retarded younger sister of Crossfit. Anyone that has actually done Crossfit would probably agree. I USED to think this until I spoke to some other people about wanting to start on Crossfit and they all advised me against it, as you put way too much strain on your body and there are quite a few Crossfit related injuries out there so I am just sticking to bootcamp for now.

What I think it would be like…

There is not much to say about bootcamp apart from DEATH BY BURPEES!!! Oh you haven’t heard of burpees? Well say hello to my little friend.

Loads of rowing and skipping, kettlebell exercises, push-ups, sit ups, squats, lunges and varieties of each of these. Bootcamp is part of this HIIT thing. High Intensity Interval Training which keeps your heart rate in that fat burning zone by mixing up cardio with weight training. I can see you ladies cringing… Believe you me I am not a Hellga lookalike (YET) and I have been at bootcamp for a year now. If you study up on some weight training you will see that when you do weight training then your muscles burn fat WHILE YOU ARE SITTING DOING NOTHING!!! Talk about muscles working hard. I don’t know about you but I like that idea.

HELLGA!!!! She is quite big…

If you are really interested in what I do at bootcamp, I do have some extensive moaning sessions on my blog… visit here.

How do you burn them fatsies?

SUNfit Classes at Monte Casino!

Oh to be fit!

I’m not much a fitness freak. If you’ve been following the TweeGirls then you might remember that I (Jane) have tried to enter this world before. It didn’t go so well (read about the disaster here).

In spite of this, when a friend told me about the SUNfit classes hosted by Crosse & Blackwell Trim and their ambassador Lisa Raleigh, I decided to join in the fun! After all, there are supposedly many a benefit to exercising outdoors – the least of which are fresh air.

A cut out of the lady with a dream to see SA fitter & healthier!

 

Ok, cards on the table, I heard there were going to be breakfast treats. But I did have fun!

Joined by around 80 other ladies, we gathered in eager anticipation in a secluded area of Monte Casino (near the Piazzo). The day was (mercifully) overcast, the variety of workout t-shirts astonishing, and the energy overwhelming. We knew we were in for a treat when a strong-looking woman stepped up on stage, welcomed us, and asked the DJ (yes there was a DJ!) for track 4.

Zumba!

We swiveled, dipped, and danced our way through a scintillating hour, orchestrated by our fearless leader. She didn’t allow the energy levels to drop, coordinating with the DJ to play the beat for what she had in store for us.

Our fearless Zumba leader showing us how to shake it!

I have to say that the fresh air, the chance to meet and network with ladies from all walks of life (pregnant, old, young, fit, unfit), and the fact that I didn’t feel as tired as I usually would on a treadmill all combined to make this an event to be repeated! I even saw some of the ladies make friends and stop off at the Mugg ‘n Bean for a glass of freshly squeezed juice, which is not something I’ve ever experienced at my local Virgin Active…

I’d suggest the SUNfit classes to anyone that wants to get fit but can’t handle the confinement of a gym. Here’s a snapshot of the classes 🙂

Check out which classes you want to join!

Wat soek jy?

Wel hier is ons nou in 2014 (vrek, amper aan die einde van die eerste maand, SLOW DOWN THERE BESSIE!!!), en soos ALTYD is daar die vraag, wat is jou verwagtinge vir die jaar. Wat soek jy uit die jaar? Dan dink ek, nee hel, my verwagtinge vir die jaar is om net lewendig by 2015 uit te kom. Hoe boring is dit nie? Van als wat ek kon sê, lewendig by 2015? Rerig? Siestog, fooitog, fork!! Ek is nog nooit een vir “new year’s resolutions” maak nie, en die ding van vooruitkyk na positiewe dinge was groot op my lys gewees… tot 2013 gebeur het.

Nou ek hou nie van moan nie en ek sal my bes prober om die so moan-free as moontlik te maak, maar 2013 was die ERGSTE jaar van my lewe. As jy moes vra hoekom, sou ek nie kon pin-point presies hoekom nie, ek weet net diep in my binneste, dit was kak. Sure, daar was natuurlik goeie tye in die mengsel van hel en donkerte, maar sien ek dit raak? Sien mens ooit die goeie in die midde van die chaos raak? Kyk mens ooit daarvoor?

Maar dan aan die ander kant dink ek, “Hey, wees bietjie positief.” Dan dink ek, jislaaik, die Here is rerig baie goed vir ‘n mens, en dinge kon baie erger wees. Sover het ek nie die beste begin van n jaar gehad nie, maar so what? Is God nie in beheer nie, is ek nie sy kind nie, daars n paar versies wat by my opkom: Matthew 6:26 – “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they”? Matthew 7:9-11 – “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

En dan dink ek ook aan die 2 liedjies…

So kan lewe RERIG so erg wees? Kan ek as n dogter van die Almagtige Here rerig net lewendig deur n jaar wil kom? Ek is klaar met cope, ek gaan iets beters vir myself maak. God can steer a moving ship.

Wat soek jy? Dink mooi!

Memories with Liezel

I saw that Liezel posted a Memories with Jane piece and thought, ‘Well hey I can do one of those!’ And BAM, all the good times came tumbling into mind and out onto this page.

When I first met Liezel, she didn’t like me. There was a little lady who had befriended me but in spite of pursuing a friendship with me, told others that I wasn’t all that great. Weird.

Thankfully Liezel saw the light, spent some time with me, and low and behold a sisterhood was born! We even went on to live with each other.

Which brings me to the first of many memories that have made my life brighter, which I’m dying to share with you!

The Knife in the Shower

There was this one time (at band camp) when Liezel was in the shower (this ain’t about to get dirty, so keep reading), singing along to herself, getting all clean and whatnot… it occurred to me that all the major scary teen movies include a blonde in the shower scenario. Well, I had a blonde in the shower… All that was needed was some person with a shiny knife.

So I took our largest and most shiniest of knives and snuck into the bathroom, where I proceeded to wrench open the shower curtain (side note: can you wrench open a curtain?), raise the knife threateningly, and laugh maniacally.

Cue scream.

Never in my life have I laughed that hysterically before. Nor have I ever come that close to wetting myself. It was the single greatest scare joke thing that I have ever successfully performed.

Obviously it took Liezel a while to trust me again, but what you gonna do? Sometimes it’s just worth it.

xxx Jane

Waldeinsamkeit

Surely the strangest word that I’ve come across in some time… but its meaning is so sweet that I couldn’t NOT share!

Simply, this German word means, “the feeling of being alone in the woods”.

It resonated with me, because when has any of us ever NOT felt alone in their metaphorical woods? Exactly my point. That being said, it’s not the sad, emo, drippy type of being alone that struck me when I saw this word and its meaning. Rather, I felt happy.

Being alone isn’t a sad thing. It can be joyous, although not necessarily in an active outworking. Quietly joyous. Quietly peaceful. Quite magical.

I’m off to find some woods to be alone in, to find a bit of woodland solitude, to experience my own waldeinsamkeit.

Oh look! A little waldeinsamkeit area!

 

 

Ta, Germany, ta very much!

xxx Becs / Jane / waldeinsamkeit-enthusiast

 

 

Fat

Just the most powerful poem by an incredible woman that I once knew. She has a true voice, a new voice, a voice that speaks to me.

Memories with Jane!

Well hello there tweegirls readers, I have the honour to guest write as a rent-a-tweede-girl on this amazing blog, Thank you Jane.

I was thinking what I should write in my debut post on this here blog and I thought I would give a little back ground. You may call me Lee, Jane does so it makes sense. I am Afrikaans (so you can expect some mother tongue, heavenly language posts on here soon) and I have known Jane for a whirlwind of 4 years. We lived together for a year and it was an amazing time of my life… Ooh ooh, I do believe I shall share a story or 2.

Hmmm, lets see, the best one I can remember now was when we decided to go to Kokstad (about a 7 hour drive) for the long weekend around the 16^th of December 2011. But, being 2 young and slightly insane females we decided that we shall not sleep before hitting the groot trek. So we packed our bags, placed the suitcases at the door (which mostly remained unlocked – seriously Jane… what were we thinking?!) prettied up and went to our local watering hole, where we rarely drank but went to shoot some serious pool. (You laugh, but we were pretty good)

 

You Stack I Break!!!

We stayed there till about midnight, then went to a semi-nearby (VERY CROWDED) club to shake some bootay. We had decided to be on our merry way to Kokstad by 2 am, so at around 1:30 am we headed home, got our suitcases and the laptop with our mutual love – Dylan Moran – and headed to the first Maccy D’s.  Oh oh, did I mention it was raining? Yeah it rained and I drove the first bit. It was slightly nerve wrecking as I had only had my driver’s license for about 2 months at that stage and I did a lot of key holing between 18 wheelers. Jane enjoys showing people my freak out face when driving between these 2 with the rain beating down and the lights and, ooooooh it was sooo awesome! We had Dylan talking about potholing in Croatia (whilst dodging potholes in South Africa) and we had our Mac D’s, life was good, until we got to the actual farm where we would stay and we realized we kinda need a 4×4 for the road and it looked a lot like a remix between The Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn. We eventually got to the farm and our suitcases were soaked, cos it somehow rained into my car’s boot. (Please do yourself a favour and go read my blog post about the car I had then… it’s also my very first post on my own blog – Yeah I am doing advertising… Don’t judge)

All in all, that is one of my fondest memories of living with Jane.

Another one is when we made a Christmas bed (just our 2 mattresses) in the tiny lounge and stayed there for about a week or 2, watching Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Dylan Moran, Mentalist… Oh it was good.

We did go to work and so on but we slept in the lounge. It was messy and fun.

We had fun Jane… we should do it again 😛

Lee xxx

Weigh-Less Contin.

It’s been a while since I last updated ya’ll on how it’s going with Weigh-Less.

The first week of Step 1 was hard. Really hard. Going from 2 GnTs a night and the odd beer here and there, not to mention all the amazing coffee that Husband supplies me with, to total deprivation sucks the big one. I felt empty, nay bereft! of those things for which I feel real love.

As hard as that sounds, though, it was nothing compared to my first Saturday on WL. You see, Husband and I have this amazing weekend ritual. We ALWAYS start our weekend with the most incredible breakfast. Omelettes, or pancakes, french toast, scrambled egg and bacon, smothered with cheese, syrup, basil leaves, haloumi, olive oil, hot sauce, butter…

MAN ALIVE, SATURDAY WAS HARD!

But I survived. I maintained my cool, calm aura of self-control. I did not accidentally spill my caffeine-free, herbal tea all over Husband’s pancakes. Well, not on purpose.

It paid off, though. In my first week I lost 1.8kg. In my second week, I lost 1.2kg, and made it into Step 2! For those that don’t do weigh-less, basically you break down the amount that you need/want to lose over 10 steps in an attempt to not scare the living bejizzles out of you. I presume that it’s a ‘lose the elephant within one step at a time’ type of approach.

I’m still yet to post a picture of my progress, and will get there, I promise! For now though, I’m not so much feeling the difference as I am enjoying the scale’s report. It can be a bit daunting to attend the weigh-in sessions. Even the food is starting to feel a bit more ‘normal’.

Until next time!

xxx Jane

SQUIRREL! A revelation.

Guys… I have such a SQUIRREL mindset. I realised this morning that as soon as I want to do something, I’ll go ahead and get cracking – never fear the consequences.

For instance, I want my hair to be better. BOOM! Enter the Hair Revolution. I book appointments, trim my hair, start using a wide-tooth comb to prevent breakage. And of course, blog about it.

During the same time period a friend decides to become vegetarian. She goes all in, and even starts using cruelty-free products only. Now, there’s nothing on this earth barring God’s audible voice that could make me give up rump. BUT… I can do cruelty-free. So I do. I restock as needed with cruelty-free products. In this case, I didn’t blog about it because I’m still learning and don’t have much to say. I’m doing it for the cows that I eat and hope that in a ‘swings and roundabouts’ kind of way, I’m living as responsibly as I can. I’m sure a blog post will eventually arrive on the topic.

Now… at the same time, I’ve also started Weigh Less. If I’m  going to have modelesque hair, then I need the bod to go with it right? Ja, that’s not exactly why I’m doing it. As some of you might know from my earlier post (because obviously I blogged about it), it was more to do with a very real concern for my health, and only a little bit to do with being trim.

Let’s not forget that 2 months ago (so relatively recently) I also started exercising. Which I’m still doing, BTW. 3 times a week, yo! Momma’s getting all strong and stuff. Actually I’m not sure that I’m seeing a difference, but I reckon everything helps a little. 

So why am I hammering on about all these different things? Because this morning I saw this thing on Pinterest called DIY Sewing, and I thought YAY! I really want to make that hot shirt instead of buy it. Partly because I don’t know where to find the exact same shirt, and partly because I’m sure it’ll be loads of fun to sew my own stuff. Doesn’t seem too hard, right? Exactly! So I’ve already gone and bid on a sweet dressmaker’s doll. I was informed (somewhat sarcastically, I felt) that I might need to purchase a sewing machine first, but they’re expensive and I think that I can borrow my mom’s one for a while until I get going.

That’s when it hit me. I have a SQUIRREL mindset when it comes to my life. I tack on everything and anything that interests me – hang the expense! I mean really… I pay for the gym, for the Weigh Less programme, heaven knows that I’m paying for my hair, and now the sewing! I’m even trying to find sewing lessons!

 

I don’t think this is a problem just yet… but what are your thoughts?

xxx Jane

Layer by layer…

I’m officially looking after my hair. Trivial though it might sound, when your crowning glory looks like something the King of the Dead Men of Dunharrow would wear, it’s time to do something.

I’ve chopped, and slashed, and recoloured. My once splitty mess of regrowth is a bit tamer and displays a myriad of red.

The only problem I really have (and I’m aware that it’s totally a first world problem) is that I struggle to find cruelty free hair products. They seem to be in abundance in the US/UK, but not so much here. If they are avail, then they’re super expensive. I kind of long for the days when Loreal was an option.

If anyone has suggestions for me, that’d be grand!

xxx Jane