ShapeMag

I’m such a girl. I went to a single-sex convent school that was so small that there were only first and second sports teams, so everyone got to play. This was great for morale and self-esteem, and so unlike some of those massive state schools where you get lost in the fray. Moulded by the [...]

There’s a well-known gym chain close to my office and this is where I go twice a week for my non-SSISA sessions. Well, the actual programme I follow is set by my SSISA trainer, Jessica, but I am left to my own devices to follow it. Which, as I will sketch to you, is providing [...]

This is not a blog. This is a survival note. I rode my fourth Argus on Sunday. In 41 degree temperatures. Yes, you heard correctly. FOURTY ONE! I did not win, in case you were wondering. I did not even improve on my time from last year. In fact, I was three minutes slower. And [...]

Want to know what the most soul-destroying, teeth-gnashing fact is about following a fitness regime? Before I reveal all, let me tell you about a conversation I had the other day with Jessica, my personal trainer at SSISA. It went something like this.   Jessica: “How’s the diet going?” Me: “Um… I haven’t started yet.” Jessica: [...]

So, after seemingly endless assessments and fitness tests (undignified, I might add! There is nowhere to hide extra kgs, underdeveloped lung capacity, tight-as-fishing-gut hamstrings…), I can put a tick next to Week 1 of my GO-4-IT programme at the Sport Science Institute of SA. As I sit here, shower-to-office fresh after an early-morning training session, [...]

I’ve had an epiphany about healthy living. It’s not new but it’s new to me. And as my good friend B always says of me: “If you haven’t heard of it, it doesn’t exist.” Well. Anyway. My realization is this: It is ridiculously easy to follow a healthy lifestyle from the comfort of your own [...]

I woke up this morning feeling like I’d slept with my head in a brace. Or a medieval torture device. Or on a bed of nails….Okay, I exaggerate – but it was pretty bad. You see, I GAVE UP COFFEE TWO DAYS AGO. I’ve been feeling a little tired and sluggish of late, and well, [...]

I have a confession to make. I have not exercised in two months. There. I said it. I have dreaded admitting it. Please don’t judge me. I have been so busy with my new job that I have simply not had the time. I know, I know. This is not a valid excuse. I should [...]