Hello Ninjarettes.
It appears that the Blog has had almost double the amount of hits as usual today. Gym Ninja thinks it is thanks to the very lovely JAG who has been so sweet to Gym Ninja about her photos from the photo shoot & maybe people were taking a peek to see if the photos were here? How disappointing to only find the photo of Gym Ninja bundled up like Kenny from Southpark at the Car Boot Sale blog. But you all KNOW That GN is a day behind with her blogging remember. In fact the photos of the shoot only came through yesterday evening (surprisingly faster than GN had expected) so you're not THAT far behind...be patient Ninjarettes....
Anyhow...back to yesterday and the gym visit. After all, this is technically supposedly a gym-based blog eh?
After a fair few hours job hunting and errand running yesterday, Gym Ninja packed her bag and headed to the gym. Leg day! Wooohooo! Plus it was the first day back training after the Fondant Fancy Day and also the enforced 5 days of rest that had been pre-planned. GN get's a lot of encouragement from Twitter funnily enough. Sometimes when you are trying to stay motivated with the gym and healthy eating, yet are surrounded by people who do not share your passions (Muggles!), it can be hard going. On Twitter, Gym Ninja has found some fabulous gym addicts and they have become virtual reality chums who motivate GN when she needs a boost (and vice versa of course). Worth looking there and typing in some keywords to find like-minded people to follow.
Anyhow, GN had decided that she is now ready to take her body to the next level. Sounds exciting eh? But what does it mean? Well......GN isn't sure. But it sounds good and it is effectively saying her physique is a 'work in progress' which is true for all of us. Our outside physical body is a reflection of what we eat and drink, how we spend our time (as in if we are active or sedentary) and what we think of ourselves (how groomed or unkempt we are). So rather than have the 'work in progress' go downhill, Gym Ninja wants to keep pushing herself so it continues to improve and get healthier and stronger. Remember that getting older may be inevitable, but getting what is deemed as the 'signs' of getting older that everyone says is due to age (like weight gain, aching joints, dull lifeless skin, lack of energy) is in fact due to how you treat yourself and what you eat/how often you shift yer arse (!) etc.
Okey dokey...back to it. So Gym Ninja got to the gym and sweated her way through a run. Yeh GN does the cardio first. Most people are better off getting their weights session done prior to cardio, however for whatever reason GN doesn't function as well that way around so instead does the cardio THEN weights pattern. Then it was up to work on the legs baby!!!!!
Leg Press. Plates loaded! Concentration face on. GO! Ahhh, leggies LOVE the leg press. Then it was to the womens section to get some space and work the hammies using barbells.
Once in the free weight area, Gym Ninja carefully cleared a space by the mirrors. Dumbbells were moved, a was a bench and some mats. Then GN walked over to get a barbell, turned around and.......
Oh.
A girl had taken the space having watched GN tidy it up. Hmm. Gee thanks! o now GN had to find another space elsewhere, grrr......
As GN was walking to get a heavier bar, a girl spoke to her.....the girl who had stolen GN's previous space. 'Space Thief!'
"Are you using these?" Asked Space Thief, pointing to some bright yellow cotton-bud sized dumbbells about 3 miles into the distance. Gym Ninja looked into the distance at the far-away dumbbells. Gym Ninja then looked down at the barbell in her hands that she WAS using...
".......No...." Answered Gym Ninja, trying to remain anything but sarcastic. Shame she hadn't been so thoughtful when it came to the SPACE eh?
However the workout progressed well, and Gym Ninja was only distracted once more, this time by Trotter. Now Trotter had been in before. She is a proper fidget! Does shoulder presses whilst trotting backwards and forwards like a show pony prancing. Does the same foot shuffle when doing biceps curls too. Freaky to watch. Bizarre even!
After a fantastic 'wakey wakey we're training again' shock to the legs, Gym Ninja stretched out and went home.
Mid evening, as GN was working through a programme for a new client, an email popped up in her inbox....
THE PHOTOS!!!!!!!!!
Eeeek!
Gym Ninja was not expecting them so quickly and was so excited (and nervous) about opening the email...ooohhhhh...so, with a deep breath, the email was opened....
*cue shiny reflective glow from computer screen & angelic chorus music*
Wow.
Gym Ninja was not expecting those. But Gym Ninja wasn't sure. Did she like them? Did she not?
Aesthetically they are so pretty and colourful. However the thing that bugged Gym Ninja was....Gym Ninja! Yep! Gym Ninja's face to be precise! Goddamit Gym Ninja, you HAD To bring your face onto the photos! Why?
Now don't get GN wrong...she lives with her face and it scrubs up ok. However GN CANNOT pout properly unless she does so in the mirror. Without a mirror her face will not obey. Hence the odd sucking lemon pout face that was on the photos...oh that and the fact that GN really should have asked for a darker lipstick. GN is used to seeing her lips and they were pale in the photos.
So...to the body.....the photographer had airbrushed her skintone to a beautiful even glow. Fantastic. But this also meant that GN's muscle tone was not as obvious as it is in everyday life. GN had to wrestle with her feelings about this, as obviously she works hard and needs people to know that when she says she is lifting weights, she IS lifting! Would people think so seeing the pix? Would they think she is shapeless and soft?
But then, a friend messaged Gym Ninja having seen the pictures. The friend said she found them inspirational. That got GN thinking.....the photographer knows what she is doing. She does it all the time & her other work is stunningly beautiful which is why Gym Ninja booked her. (Plus, it's hardly the photographers fault Gym Ninja cannot pose on photos now is it???) The image and style of the photos would not sit right with some 'cut/ripped' look. It is designed to be a beautiful image & if some women saw too much definition they may fear they may end up like that? Not everyone wants that look, and it took this comment from her friend for Gym Ninja to realise that. So, as the evening progressed, Gym Ninja grew to like her photos....she then picked favourites. SHAME ON GYM NINJA! Favourites! Tisk. Good job GN has no children eh?
So with 3 'favourites' picked, she emailed them off to a competition she'd planned on entering. Will GN win? Probably not. But sometimes it's the taking part. Yeh that may sound '*stupid/faffy/heard it all before' (*delete as applicable) but if it gives GN a boost even for a few days then it's worth it. Of course, GN has had a fair few negative comments about the pictures too. To be expected of course. Some have the truth in them and some don't. Some comments were clearly supposed to be nice yet had an undercurrent of nastiness to them. THESE were the troubling ones. If you hate a photo, say so. No need to be nasty about it. Just be truthful. But to pretend it is wonderful and yet so obviously throw in back-handed comments to bring GN down? Please...don't bother! Go and get your own photos done. Get them done and pick holes in your own!
So....Gym Ninja cannot post the photos here. Past episodes of 'Haters' render this impossible. However....if some of you DO want to view the pics and haven't already done so...if you are clever, then maybe there is a 'friendly Blogger' who may be able to send you a link should you wish to peek at them? ;-)
Gym Ninja x
