February 2009 Archives

So, it's the morning after the Step class at Highgrove and I'm shattered. I had a really big lunch yesterday as well so I was shattered even before I got to the class. I probably wouldn't have gone if it wasn't for this blog and the fact I had already paid for the class.

For some reason I thought the class would be similar to the Legs, bums and tums and Aerobics class. It never actually occurred to me that it would be based around an actual step. Why I thought that I do not know.

As I was setting up my step (I used two rather than one because I obviously thought I could take it) the instructor came over to me and asked if I had ever been to the class before. I of course said I hadn't and when I said I had never even been to any sort of step class before she looked quite shocked. She told me the class was in week six out of eight and so it was quite advanced. My heart sank. She then took my extra step off of me. Embarrassing!

As I have said in a previous blog, I am not very good at choreographed dances - especially the advanced type.

However, reassuringly, she told me to go at my own pace and not to worry about what everyone else was doing. She also said no one else would be looking at what I was doing. I didn't believe that though.

We started off with some basic steps on and off the step and also on the floor, and I found this confusing enough. I had a huge mirror in front of me but I tried not to look in it because I didn't want to look at myself making a fool of myself - I left that up to everyone else.

After a little bit of stretching we really started to get into the swing of things. We started with one move and carried on adding another until there was a long sequence of moves.

I managed to get the hang of it (a bit) towards the end but there were still a few moves I just couldn't get. Considering I started in week six, rather than week one like any other normal person would do, I think I did okay.

It was really quite fun actually and I did work up a bit of a sweat. My calves were killing me for two days after the class. I'd definitely consider going back, even if it was just to better my coordination.

It was also the first fitness class I had seen two men in. Amazing.

My next challenge is Stretch and tone at Highgrove.

RESIDENTS say they are being forced to choose between the lesser of two evils as they bid to iron out problems in their busy road.

Yellow lines and residents only parking bays are being proposed in Warren Road, Ickenham to put a stop to the traffic problems which have built up over the last year.

A combination of parents dropping their kids off at school, sixth formers leaving their cars all day, and demand for popular car boot sales at Vyners School, located on the road, has been making life increasingly difficult.

Gerald Mitchell, 66, who lives on Warren Road, said: "We've felt for a year of so the parking is getting to a stage where it is dangerous.

"Schoolkids park their cars here during the day, and it is only a narrow road, if anyone parks on the north side then nobody can get down."

"We've raised the petition to have restricted parking, there are people who don't agree with it and they think it will detract from the road, its the lesser of two evils.

"People don't want yellow lines, but its either that or the parking, we've got conflicting choices."

On Tuesday (24/2) there was an additional problem for the residents, as a school coach parked up in the road early in the morning, blocking people in their driveways.

A resident who asked not to be named, said: "The traffic in this road is close to breaking point, it was chaotic with the coaches, I was delayed getting to work.

"It is all down to the sheer number of parents dropping their kids off, often I have trouble getting out of my drive, they should make them walk to school.

"I shudder to think what would happen if a fire engine or ambulance needs to go down the road.

"I don't particularly want yellow lines, but it is better than having no parking restrictions, the school should take more responsibility."

Sue Gould, headteacher of Vyners School said: "I'm aware of the issues and I am building relationships with many of the residents and if people have a particular issue they know where we are.

"In relation to the coaches, we have an agreement with the company that they should come onto our site but they came when the students were arriving and it was too dangerous to back up in the street.

"We are working out measures for the coaches to come earlier to avoid this happening again."

A CALL for fresh faces has saved a long standing society from folding.

Last November the Ickenham and Swakeley's Horticultural Society issued a plea for new members for its committee, after long serving members decided it was time to step down.

It was worried that without any new committee members the society would be forced to scale down or even shut down entirely.

But thanks to the response and call to arms, the vacant positions have been filled by existing members of the society.

The society meet at the Trading Hut in Swakeley's Drive on Sunday mornings and Wednesday afternoons, and new members are always welcome.

To join, which costs just £3 per year, call Claire Buckland on 01895 232611.

So, unsurprisingly, studio cycling was very different to my previous two classes.

It took me a while just to work out how to use the bike, but luckily the other people in the class were very friendly so I didn't have to make a fool of myself for too long.

After lowering my seat to the right level and adjusting the resistance to what I thought it should be I jumped on. That first second on the bike made me realised how much pain I was going to be in the next day....and I was.

It wasn't like any other moving or stationary bike I had ever been on. There were no buttons to press and the seat was a lot more painful. Fortunately I bumped into a friend (she does five fitness classes a week!) so I got to have a little chat in the breaks.

The class wasn't too full - probably because it started at 6.15pm on a Friday - but don't let that fool you. It was still pretty hard.

I stupidly sat right next to the speaker so I had loud dance music pumping into my ears the whole way through the class, which was very annoying.

The 45-minute session basically involved everyone following the instructor and turning their resistance dials up, but occasionally down - fortunately.

We alternated between sitting, standing, hovering (basically that means standing but not moving your top half) and normal cycling but without actually having your bum on the seat. It was mainly two minutes of hard cycling - pretending you were cycling up a hill - and then a short water break. However, towards the end of the class we had to do eight minutes with no rest. That almost killed me.

Most of the time I ended up just watching my stomach hoping it would get smaller by the end of the class, but funnily enough, there was no change.

As I haven't exercised in a while I decided not to push myself too much because I was actually quite scared I would faint. Don't get me wrong, I did sweat a fair amount, but my legs weren't aching the next day - a clear sign I hadn't working hard enough.

I was horribly sweaty by the end of the class, but I didn't exactly find it fun.

I think my next challenge will be Step at Highgrove

OVER 400 cannabis plants with an estimated street value of £50,000 were discovered by police when they raided a house in Ickenham.

The haul was seized by officers at a house in Edinburgh Drive, Ickenham at 4.30pm on Thursday (12/2) when they searched the property.

Three rooms inside the house has been converted to grow cannabis, with most plants fully grown and in the process of being cut ready for supply.

A large amount of cultivating equipment was also present, and all plants have now been seized and destroyed.

The raid came after concerned residents had made a tip-off to Ickenham Safer Neighbourhood Team who obtained a search warrant for the rented property.

PC Andy Kirkland of the Ickenham Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: "Early intervention by the police has prevented the plants from being converted to the herbal form of cannabis and did not make its way onto our streets.

"This is a prime example of the local community working alongside the local police in an effort to combat crime in our neighbourhoods.

"We are here to improve the quality of life of the local communities and these sort of activities will not be tolerated."

So far no arrests have been made but police are continuing their enquiries in trying to track down the suspects who were responsible for the cannabis factory.

Police have issued a list of warning signs for residents who fear a neighbouring property may be being used as a cannabis factory.

They include irregular attendance at an address, often by a single occupant, blocked out windows with curtains permanently drawn, short term renting of a property, and no frost being seen on a roof at this time of year because of heat coming from the house.

So, here it goes, my second blog...

This week I chose the legs, bums and tums class at Queensmead.

I had already convinced myself the class would be almost, if not exactly the same as the aerobics class I did last week. I have never been to Queensmead Gym before so that was a new experience on its own.

Instead of a nice new studio room the class was in a school sports hall. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, it just meant the instructor had to use a microphone, but I couldn't understand a word she was saying. Therefore, I just tried my best to follow her moves, which seemed to be on fast forward compared to last week's class.

I managed to drag my mum along to the class with me again (I don't think this will last long though) and considering she hasn't exercised in about 15 years she does pretty well.

Like the aerobics class, there was not one man. But, then again, legs, bums and tums doesn't really conjure up thoughts of men in tight lycra pants bouncing around to dance music.

It was quite a good atmosphere in the class - everyone clearly had the same goal and were sticking to their New Years resolutions.

We did about 40 minutes standing. It was very fast paced and I did work up a little bit of a sweat. I tried not to show that I was getting warn out though (I still consider myself a fitness guru - yeah right).

My legs started to ache a tad but again I pushed myself, and even though I was convinced my shoulders would be aching the next day they weren't at all.

There were a lot of different moves involved in the leg exercises and, not being the most coordinated person at choreographed dances, I did feel a little stupid trying, but failing, to keep up.

At last we were allowed to lay down and do some 'tums' work. I was glad for the rest, but I soon realised my 'tum' wasn't.

After a huge amount of stretching the class finished and I felt pretty satisfied. It wasn't as challenging as I'm used to (back in my kickboxing days) but the work out did me good. I think my mum coped better than me, but I won't let her beat me.

So on to my next challenge at Highgrove: Studio cycling

A SHOW based on all the big West End musicals is being performed by a group of talented youngsters.

Starlight Youth Theatre Company are performing Defying Gravity - a show based on musicals including Wicked, Hairspray, High School Musical and Grease.

The group, which is made up of 10 to 18-year-olds, specialise in all aspects of musical theatre and rehearse at Grangewood School, in Fore Street, Eastcote, on Tuesdays.

Tickets for Defying Gravity, which is being performed at the Compass Theatre, in Glebe Avenue, Ickenham, from Tuesday (17) to February 21 are £12 and £8 for students and the over 60s.

Call the Box Office on 020 8572 0475 or email showsboxoffice@aol.com.

In April the group is holding open auditions for Annie, which is being performed in December, and they are also starting Mini Starlight's in April - a new group for five to 10 year olds.

Go to www.starlightmusicservices.moonfruit.com for more information.

I know it's a bit late for New Year's resolutions, but I've never written a blog before and I'm in desperate need of exercise, so here it goes.

Over the next few months I will be testing out all the evening and weekend fitness class at Highgrove Gym and Queensmead Sports Centre and uploading my blog on to this site every Friday.

I am not usually the 'fitness class' type, having done kickboxing for four years, but considering I gave that up over a year ago and I haven't done any exercise in about three months, I thought it was about time to do something.

I went to my first class on Wednesday at Highgrove: Aerobics.

As I entered the gym and walked up to the third floor I started to get butterflies in my stomach. I had no idea what to expect and I thought I would end up as a heap on the floor by the end of the hour-long class.

I had already heard one of the receptionists turn down a woman who wanted to do the class because it was already full up, so that was a good sign.

When I reached the studio there were already quite a few women sitting around waiting for the class to start. I'm only 21 years old and the majority of women there were older than me, and a few were a lot older than me. This at first relaxed me because I assumed the class would be easy, but then it hit me that it might not be easy and they were just a lot fitter than me. This made me quite nervous of course.

To make matters worse when we entered the room I saw that the instructor was also a fair bit older than me. That second I knew I was going to end up making a fool of myself, but I still hoped I wouldn't.

To my surprise and delight the instructor was really friendly and helpful. She asked if there were any new people to the class and when about 10 hands shot up in the air she ushered us towards her and reassured us that we could take everything at out own pace. This really relaxed me and I even started to look forward to the exercise.

First of all we did quite a vigorous warm up, lots of stretching, jogging and bouncing around in general. It almost felt like dancing. I found that bit quite fun. You also had the choice of using small weights to make it a little harder on yourself.

If my memory serves me correct we then did a bit of running before going into 'stretch band' work (I'm not sure on the technical name of them). This required a lot of pulling to tone up the arm muscles and I did find this quite challenging.

We then got out the mats and did a lot of abdominal work - by far the hardest part of the class. We did a huge range of exercises to tone the abs and towards the end I was struggling to keep going, but as I expected the instructor made it look easy.

After the short cool down it was the end of the class and I must admit I did really enjoy it. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be but I felt like I had done a proper work out and the next day the only part of me that was aching was my neck from all the stomach crunches.

I wouldn't go back to the same class every week for ever because my body would start getting used to it and it wouldn't be a challenge anymore.

However, I would definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn't done any exercise in a while and wants to tone up and get fit.

I'm already looking forward to my next challenge at Queensmead: Legs, bums and tums.