CYCLE TWO: vintage Nokia and the power of the hypnotic voice

In Cycle Two, you have to alternative HIIT with German Volume Training (GVT) which is the fancy name for doing weights. I know. It sounds like some Austro-Hungarian psychoanalytical experiment. 

Joe Wicks is the Derren Brown of Exercise and Diet

Joe Wick's wide boy voice is very persuasive and hypnotic. Without his constant chat I would have given up long ago. I don't want to listen to any music let alone pounding music. But the chitchat actually helps me get through the gruelling sessions and before I know it, it's all over. Phew! What a relief! 

I remember that my driving instructor who helped me pass after five failed tests. He was Chinese and his name was Cam but I can't remember if his surname was Chan or Wong. But he had the strong broad South London accent which I find very motivating and encouraging. Whatever a wide boy says I just believe it. I don't know why. I passed my sixth test after two lessons from Cam. 

If I ever need a coach - writing, personal training, makeup, any kind of coach - I require the South London touch. It is magic. You have never experienced it until you have experienced it. Joe Wicks is the Derren Brown of Exercise and Diet. He is the new Jamie Oliver. He makes exercise possible and teaches easy meals that I can do it 20 minutes (because I am not as quick or young as him). I should be able to do it 15 minutes as per his catchphrase, but I cannot. I am a middle-aged mum. My mind is slow and my hands even slower.

How to figure out the interval timing

Because you have to do 10 minutes of the first HIIT followed by 10 minutes of the first GVT, followed by 10 minutes of the second HIIT and lastly 10 minutes of the second GVT, I could not keep track of the timing. There are also two rest periods of 2 minutes each following each HIIT. There also has to be a 45 second rest between each rep of the GVT. Confused? Me too.

What about apps?

I don't actually want or need anymore apps on my phone. I need my iPhone on the left to watch HIIT sessions on Youtube. 

Vintage phone

So with great excitement I brought out my old Nokia, on the right. Young people would probably never have seen such a monstrosity. Yes it is one of the first cute little Nokias and it actually has a stopwatch. It has alarms and useful stuff like changing ring tones. But what more do you want? It can even call and text! The best thing is the battery life. I haven't charged it for three months and it's still going. Old technology.

Writing down reps

I just mark off the reps I do in the GVT like a prisoner would number his days. You have to do ten sets of ten reps so I mark off one stroke every time I finish ten reps. Each of the lines represents a set. When I mark it off, I also set the Nokia phone stopwatch to time the 45 second rest.

I have now done one session so far, as I have only just started Cycle Two.Wednesday is my day of doing legs. Each of the four training days will focus on different area of the body. But what I have done is actually plan it out so that I don't have to think about it each time.