Lululemon Athletica convert/number one fan

I have just completed a workout at Barry’s Bootcamp London in what can only described as a leg and bum wonderbra.

I think it has finally twigged that Lululemon Athletica gym wear is not just about looking stylish, it’s about feeling awe to the some.

I picked up this pair at Equinox gym in High St Kensington, but the yoga brand’s busy flagship store in Covent Garden boasts a more extensive range, and some tasty pics of one of their ambassadors Faisal Abdalla.

I’ve always loved gym gear and, if I’m honest, my investment has always been in that rather than the hours actually spent exercising it.

I’ve tried to slum it in H and M which is fine if you don’t mind stopping to hike your leggings up mid-tread session. I do enjoy a Barry’s Bootcamp vest too, purely for the tube journey there and the nods of, “She must be fit if she works out there.” Don’t burst my bubble, in my mind this happens.

I’m a fan of Nike designs too, and until now thought they were all I needed. But everything changed when I slipped on my Lululemon bad boys.

You will only understand when you try them for yourself. Everything was sucked in and supported in all the right places and, for once, my booty was pointing in the right direction. Always a plus.

They’re thick enough to hide the VPL and sweat, yet breathable enough to not pass out as you try and keep up with the other bootcampers.

Just brilliant brilliant BRILLIANT. Only downside is, I can’t just keep washing the same pair so I will need to go buy some more.

These cost £75. They’re not cheap, and I’m not rich. But my God I’m rocking it.

Whack it on the credit card baby. Hit. Me. Up.

A spot of wedding body training at Barry’s Bootcamp London

I’ve been hitting Barry’s Bootcamp London since it opened last year. It’s a love hate relationship, as in I hate how much I love it.

Until Barry’s, my exercise consisted of a single ab crunch to reach the remote and the occasional bicep curl using a spoon laden with my best pals Ben and Jerry.

I can’t put my finger on what makes Barry’s so successful, and I suppose if it was that easy to sum up then everybody would be doing it. What I do know is it’s a great place to make friends and take friends.

The other day I took my bridesmaid, a Barry’s virgin, and introduced her to what I call the torture chamber. The last time we exercised together we were wearing training bras and netball skirts during a school PE lesson. Oh to be 16 again!

In an added wedding twist, our trainer and task master that day was Faisal, who is also my lovely groom, so I suppose we made a bit of effort.

I’ve done countess workouts at the UK’s flagship Euston branch, but having my old school friend and bridesmaid puffing away next to me made this HIIT session extra special.

I fully recommend future brides and their wedding parties to get down there and kick some ass together. There’s something twisted but also special about sharing an entire hour together, believing you are one incline away from a cardiac arrest. I would kick off my hen party there if I wasn’t so keen on my hens actually talking to me again.

Hobbling out like a pair of tomatoes after the hour-long session, we vowed to return again the following week for more wedding sculpting.

As we left, I asked my bridesmaid what she thought. She summed it up perfectly by saying, “It’s so weird. Everyone is really nice. People actually smile at each other.”

Maybe that’s why I love it. It’s like a little family.

So all you brides, grooms, bridesmaids and best men, get your arses down there for some pre-wedding workouts and come and join the little sweaty family!

Testosterone overload at Tough Mudder

This weekend I realised what separates men and women….Tough Mudder.

Both sexes take part in the run/obstacle/mud fest, but men take it to another level.

Massive respect to all the men and women that sacrifice themselves to take part, but the testosterone around the start line is palpable.

It literally drips out of the competitors’ muddied Under Armour.

As I stood watching 500 of the first wave huddled into a pen before the start line, it was like being transported back to Neanderthal times.

My partner is a trainer at Barry’s Bootcamp London and obsessed with fitness and winning pretty much everything, so maybe he’s an extreme case. Even so, as I watched him and the other men chanting with a crazed look in their eyes during the countdown to the race, I could almost see him holding a club in one hand and a bison leg in the other.

As the smoke bombs went off and they began running, my partner emerged like a man on a mission. As he ran towards me screaming, I felt like a little lamb about to be torn to pieces by a hungry lion.

Mental.

Barry’s Bootcamp London and Lululemon Athletica ambassador Faisal Abdalla

Being the dedicated wifey that I am, I followed the hungry lion through the course, fighting off the yawns caused by the 4.30am alarm that morning.

As I watched him hurl himself into 40 tonnes of ice, squeeze himself through terrifyingly claustrophobic tunnels, and voluntarily subject himself to a series of painful electrocution, I realised my choice of life partner was in fact MENTAL.

Scratched, battered, and bruised, and with mud in places you never knew it could go, the chanting and hoo-rahing never stopped, even as he dragged his body up near vertical hills.

I witnessed first-hand the power of PMA, which is something that will be rammed down your throat if you ever do one of Faisal Abdalla’s Barry’s Bootcamp classes. I also witnessed what it would be like if cavemen time-travelled to modern times.

As we made our way back to the car, he whispered to me, “Baby, I could do that all again right now. I’m a warrior. War-ri-or.”

It led me to conclude that while the crazy chanting is fun for spectators to watch, all you actually need to survive Tough Mudder is a load of PMA and a warrior mindset. Where do I sign up?

With fellow trainer Alex Castro