It started with an Instagram*.
A little over one month ago I agreed to join a beloved friend at next April’s Tough Mudder when we ventured out on a muddy run in the woods. Because 12-mile obstacle courses are a sensible challenge to accept for someone who primarily dances and shops for exercise.
A week after ‘training’ started (read: running myself exhausted and berating myself for doing lady pushups), I bit the bullet and signed up for the Summer Body Blast at Nordic Balance.
Located in the luxurious side-streets of Piccadilly Circus, Nordic Balance was not only an unavoidable stop for my Soho-based meeting days but a beautiful one. The building used to be home to the Earl of Kent but now hosts fully equipped weights and cardio rooms, a swimming pool with jet-stream technology, a jacuzzi, sauna, treatment room, stretching area, and the oldest squash court in London.
For Summer Body Blast, my initial 360 degree assessment used medical grade testing equipment to measure key metrics like hydration, water retention, muscle mass, fat mass, metabolism, and stress levels to assist in personalised goal-setting.
The next three weeks of training – with the scrupulous but delightful Alessandro – were a muscle-flinching blur. For the first time ever, I knew I was being pushed to my physical limits; the high intensity sessions (45 minutes, three times a week) were challenging in the most literal sense.
Then again, I got out what I was forced to put in. With the programme’s added bonus of a weekly sports massage, I started to feel fit. Really fit. Fit enough to jump a rope without a bounce jump, fit enough to run up the stairs at Leicester Square, and fit enough to crush a set of proper pushups.
This may only be the beginning but I imagine I’ll look back at this blog come Tough Mudder with extreme gratitude towards Nordic Balance’s expert building blocks.
Tough Mudder training has taken a literal turn. ?? A photo posted by Lela London (@lelalondon) on