The low winter sun blazes through the window of my train as I somehow connect to the contrary internet connection on board. I half contemplate reaching for my sunglasses as the light temporarily blinds one eye, but decide against the rock star look at 8 in the morning. Those sunglasses have lay alone on a shelf since returning to Ireland. During my days in Madrid, they were my constant companion as I nipped in and out of the shade. Today, once more we come together as we begin our journey to the Spanish capital.
It’s business time as I aim to add a splash of colour to my latest workout videos. Although I have decided that I’m doing this for work purposes, half of me just wants to return to the city that has given me so much, and molded me into a true European citizen.
Facing the Challenge
Madrid has always pushed me. I never really felt fully at ease walking the streets, and it had nothing to do with safety (I can honestly say I’ve never been in a safer city). It’s how different it is. The language, the food and the daily rituals. They drink coffee at a certain time and beer at another throughout the day, and if you creep outside these times, you’re met with odd looks and stares.
That’s the beauty of doing something different to what you’ve grown up with. It forces you to rethink the phrase “That’s just the way it is”. Yes, that’s the way it’s done here, but totally new rules await you in a different culture. Finally, the language comes at you thick and fast so you have to be on guard and ready at all times! The whole experience is a challenge from the moment you land, and that’s the feeling I was looking forward to tasting once more.
Travel Prep
Travelling can be tough on our bodies. We have to fight dehydration, possible sickness from close proximity to people and recirculating cabin air, and lack of sleep. It’s good to begin your travel prep a day or two in advance by eating and resting really well. A packed lunch is a must. Eating your homemade food helps you arrive at your destination much fresher and more energetic. My travel favourites are chicken salad sandwiches, bananas, nuts and dark chocolate!
Snoozes here and there on travel day can help your overall experience but it quite often is that semi-conscious interrupted sleep and can be quite frustrating. I’ve learned to always bring a sleeping mask and ear plugs to give me the best chance of catching some ZZZs.
Lastly, I keep moving! Walking around on a plane is important to stretch your muscles and prevent any pooling of blood in your legs. A clever seat selection allows easy access to some in-air exercise and prevents you from driving your seat buddies crazy as you squeeze past them every half hour.
Go Time!
After surviving the bombardment of the senses that a Ryanair flight offers, it felt great to step on Spanish soil once again. There is a brightness about the place that makes it literally shine. As my skin soaked up the vitamin D it had been lacking, my mind turned to why I was really here, and the selection and planning of our workouts.
Our filming starts early in the morning to avoid a lot of people in the location we choose, and to get the best light of the day. It’s quite intense so I like to try to relax on the days leading up to it. There is both mental and physical stress as we film two workouts back to back in different locations. Sometimes there is a glitch halfway through and we have to begin all over again. You can understand how strenuous that can be!
Calculations
I was attempting a rather complex triple exercise set for my first workout of the day. Often I get requests from people who enjoy my workout videos and some had mentioned they would like a more intense workout to challenge them. I was delighted to oblige so went about creating this full on, max concentration experience for the real fit die-hards.
As I said, there is a lot happening on filming day so adding more brain activity and calculations to the mix really pushed me! Needless to say I had a few warm-up runs (actually I totally messed up the first two takes!). With heart pumping and adrenaline up, I finally crushed the final take and finished happy in the knowledge I had truly created a demanding workout both physically and mentally.
Workout Buds!
After a quick change of location, I once again joined forces with my good friend Polina for the second workout of the day. We had planned a workout in front of the palace in the beautiful Campo del Moro gardens, but were quickly asked to move on by a tired and weary security guard. No filming whatsoever was allowed there.
Disappointed, we had to adjust the plan and move on to the nearby park. Madrid is such a beautiful city that this change didn’t disrupt us too much. We shortly found an equally beautiful spot and filmed there.
This was one of my favourite workouts yet! Polina is in superb shape and really pushed me. She began at a blistering pace before settling into her rhythm. If you ever get a chance to work out with a friend every now and then, take it. The energy you feel from being side by side is great and it certainly gets the best out of both of you.
The Fun Begins
Once our goodbyes were said, I now had a chance to do what I secretly had been waiting for…I was so excited to eat as much of the local food as I could! The Spanish love to boast about how healthy their Mediterranean diet is but I’m really not sure I agree. Yes, they eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and that’s wonderful, but a lot more of their food is fried and high in animal fat.
Delicious dishes like chorizo, chiporones, calamares and salchichón could not be called very nutritious. They are extremely tasty as a treat but shouldn’t be eaten every day. Also, I’ve never seen a nation eat more white bread. Order anything in a Spanish restaurant and it will always be accompanied by a large quantity of fluffy white bread! This is gobbled up without an iota of guilt.
After completing the morning workouts, I treated myself to a night of typical Spanish food and washed it all down with a flat, tart cider from Asturias in the North of Spain. I often don’t allow myself to celebrate my successes and that is certainly something I need to work on. I made sure this time to mark the success of that morning’s filming by doing something fun and enjoyable.
Treat Yourself!
Discipline ninety percent of the time works for me, and I would definitely recommend being as strict and focused as is feasible for your lifestyle, but give yourself some treats. We are all working on something that we want to sustain long term and this means being realistic and clever about managing ourselves. You are going to overdo it sometimes and that’s OK. The key is not to beat yourself up too bad and to take just one more small step in the direction you’re committed to going.
Where Next?
I had a head full of thoughts as I squashed both myself and a bag of belongings into my airplane seat. Workout gear was bursting from my bag as I shoved it under the seat in front of me. A baby was crying two seats up so I grabbed my earplugs.
I didn’t sleep. I just sat there and thought. I contemplated the weekend and where to go from here. We may complain about travelling, but in today’s world it gives us a rare chance to go offline and keep ourselves company. I enjoyed every minute of it as I planned my next move. I had a bus and a train journey to go but I didn’t mind. My weekend workouts would allow many people to exercise for free, both at home and on their travels over the next couple of weeks and months, and that was a great feeling to have.
I turned my head and stared at the burnt coloured fields, as we slowly headed through the clouds to the sunshine above.
The Triple Trouble and Cardio Abs workouts, that were filmed on my trip to Madrid, will be released very soon on the Properly Built YouTube channel. Subscribe here so you don’t miss them!