What Happened When I Tried Being a Fitness Blogger For A Day

Just to clarify something right now: I am far from being a fitness blogger. I don’t have a gym membership, nor an Instagram account and although my food is usually tasty, it rarely looks great on pictures (and it probably contains far too much cheese). So, of course I had to challenge myself and find out if I could turn myself into the next fitspiration!

Getting started

Since I don’t go to the gym, my gym clothes don’t get used that often (that’s the understatement of the year). But I did manage to dig them up from the depths of my wardrobe. After getting into my gym gear and making sure I had my water bottle and a change of clothes with me, I left for the gym. It was a nice autumn day and I felt super motivated to ace H.I.I.T. (high-intensity interval training). Really sounds like something I should probably stay away from, but I was intrigued and looking for a real challenge.

Thank goodness they still fit me after all these years!

So I left my flat feeling nervous and happy and even made sure to leave early so I would get there with plenty of time to spare before class. However, my motivation was quickly crushed when I got there and was informed that the class was already fully booked, as was the one afterwards. So these classes were far more popular than anticipated. I decided to book the next available class that evening: a cycle class. Why not, I thought, sounds like it won’t be too intense. I had no idea.

Lunch time!

Since my first attempt at attending a gym class didn’t go that well, I decided to treat myself with some lunch to make up for the disappointment. But in true fitness blogger fashion I had to make sure that it wasn’t only healthy, but a treat to look at as well. I made a quick stir-fry with some broccoli, kale and peppers and had that with some veggie sausages. And I can honestly say that everything was delicious!

Vegetarian sausages and a green stir-fry – not just pretty but also tasty (really!)

Now here comes the part where I failed a little bit… because I took a nap after lunch. A two-hour nap. Seems like my 30-minute walk back from uni was more exhausting than initially anticipated. Taking the bus there AND back had just been out of the question during my challenge. On the bright side, I felt quite refreshed after my nap and had some grapes as a healthy afternoon snack to keep me going.

Grapes are actually a great afternoon snack: sweet, bite-sized and healthy

Facing my fear

At 6:30 pm it was finally time for my class and I realised very quickly that I was super unprepared for it. I should really have done some research before my first spin class, but hey, that made just it more interesting. I started questioning my decision to show up when I entered the room and already started sweating. Next, almost everyone else walked in holding towels and that’s when my heart dropped. Whoops, looks like this might be more intense than what I had hoped for.

I was busy pedalling, so this is the only picture that proves I actually attended the class

It was definitely far, far more exhausting than I had imagined it to be. 45 minutes seem like a very, very long time when you’re frantically cycling and I still have the instructor’s “ADD ONE MORE GEAR, COME ONE YOU CAN DO IT!!” ringing in my ears. But I definitely needed to hear that. It’s hard to just give up and leave when you have someone cheering you on, so I somehow managed to struggle through – despite the INTENSE sweating and breathlessness.

So, did I succeed in my endeavour to become the next fitness blogger in one day? Maybe not, but I am proud of getting up and trying. It was a fun experience, but I am not going to lie, it was extremely intense. There is also a reason why there is no picture of my dinner. Let’s just say it wasn’t the healthiest food ever and definitely not worth a picture.

I do urge everyone to give this challenge a try though, there are so many exercise classes offered at the university gym. No matter if you want to sweat out the stress, go for a swim or take it slow, you will find something. So now it’s your turn to challenge yourself!

Disclaimer: All pictures were taken by the author.