The Body Holiday - Part 2
Action Packed Day 2
6.45am - Alarm
Yep, I know what you must be thinking. "That's not normal - 6.45am on holiday?!"
Trust me though - it was worth it. And it's a suitable temperature to get things done, especially as we didn't plan to do a lot after brekky!
7am - Spin
This took place at the Tree House Studio. Yes, a studio in a tree house - pretty cool huh?! A sweat-fest led by a female trainer, whose name escapes me - all I remember is her sadistic grin. You know, the typical spinning scenario for those of you who do spinning.... turn it up....another turn...turn it....crank it! Ultimately spinning is as hard as you wanna make it. Of course, as we’d just arrived, we were both keen to put in maximal effort so resistance cranked up + quads on fire = a very messy bike and floor by the end! Yes, it's safe to say. we'd left our mark.
8am - Beginners yoga
What better way to 'cool off' than a spot of yoga in the main studio, just a short stroll away. We used yoga blocks to help us open our hips in the positions - a great active stretch before breakfast.
9am - Breakfast & recovery smoothie
My eyes were definitely bigger than my tummy after all that exercise, but I decided to taste the entire week's menu anyway - just to find my fave bits! Ever wondered how many ways you can cook eggs? Well, I loaded my plate with poached, fried, scrambled, hard boiled, soft boiled, and omelette...and I couldn't resist a *small* portion of Kedgeree, salmon and some spirulina yoghurt with fruit. (Spirulina is an edible algae containing calcium, niacin, potassium, magnesium, B vitamins and iron - not to mention essential amino acids that are the building blocks of protein. Read more about it here.
Washed down with a 'Swoosh' smoothie of banana, peanut butter, soya, cinnamon and cocoa powder (designed to improve muscular performance) - I'd very much over eaten, but it was worth it!
10am - Catching some rays
Passing out on a sun lounger, with no sun cream, was a big mistake! Getting a tad burnt on day 2 was definitely not part of the plan. But hey, that's a typical Brit body for you. Only seeing sunshine for 1-2 months of the year, and clearly not suited to the boiling temperatures of the Caribbean. You know the kind... temperatures that mean you need to run/dance your way across the beach so your feet don't burn on the sand. Yes - it really was that hot!
11am - Iced latte in the sea
Picture this. Floating out to sea, in the glorious sunshine, on what can only be described as a cross between a rubber ring and a trampoline bed. Talk about lazing around! And then a guy swims out and asks us if we want a drink - now that's service! Unfortunately, the one thing they can't control is the weather. Shouldn't complain though really - this little tropical rain storm lasted only 10 minutes or so and the sun was back before we knew it!
12pm - Lunch
Stir Fry (small portion!!) - all fresh ingredients - mmmmm noises all round! Luckily I also managed to find space for a gluten free peanut butter cookie and a couple of healthy juices:
· V8 (to rehydrate) - Celery, parsley, spinach, organic beetroot, cucumber, carrot, golden apple and ginger.
· Coconut Cleanser (to detox and wake you up) - Lime, ginger, coconut water, cayenne pepper, organic beetroot, tomato and radish.
4pm - Time to hit the gym
I’d booked myself in for a PT session to see what the St Lucia trainers had up their sleeves (check out the arena of pain here.) I gave Hylee my brief: 'legs for triathlon bike' and his eyes lit up! He knew what needed to be done!
Warm up: 3 mins rower & a few body weight squats
3 sets:
Squats in squat rack (60kg) 15 reps
vs
Step ups on to box with knee raise (30kg) 15reps
3 sets:
Straight leg deadlifts (40kg) 15 reps
vs
Sitting Hamstring curls (weight ?) 15 reps
2 sets:
Single leg hip flexion standing (8kg) 10 reps
vs
Single leg hamstring curl ball 10 reps
Adductors and abductor drills using Techno gym cable machine 10 reps x 2 each drill
6pm - Massage
After that my legs were on fire, not to mention the DOMS - which started almost as soon as I entered the arena of pain! Thank god we’d pre booked a full body sizzler massage each. Was my slightly sizzled skin up to it? Well, I would've preferred some sort of aloe wrap at this point, but I managed to man up - and I'm so glad I did.
First things first - a free skin assessment. My predicted age was 34 - two years older than I actually am!! Our Boots moisturiser got a slating - apparently anti aging cream is where it's at. Next the hour's luxury treatment - so amazing that I think I drifted off for a short time, until what resembled the hundred hand slap from E Honda Street Fighter commenced!! A little dazed, but definitely relaxed, we made our way back to our room via the beach bar for a cheeky beer to enjoy the last of the sun.
8pm - Evening
We don’t usually have holiday romances (haha!) but we did meet a cool couple that we'll definitely stay in touch with. Happy, like minded people that are always up for a laugh. The four of us headed to one of the restaurants overlooking the beach. Very hungry at this point, we weren't entirely sure about the eating arrangements (we'd missed our chance to chat to the holiday rep - ooops!), so we just grabbed something from the buffet. After that we just chilled out and chatted to our new found holiday friends, before retiring to our room for an early night. Believe it or not we were shattered - up early, maybe a tad jet lagged, all that sun and activity, plus a few beers, it's enough to tire anyone out - even a UTS-er!