Day 11 ! MMA Circuits

Mondays are pants. So why people take holiday and return to work on a Monday is beyond me. If you go on holiday, Wednesday is the best day to return to work. Returning on Friday is a waste (it’s usually the most fun workday there is), Thursday is borderline rude (like you planned to come back and do minimal work before the most fun workday), Tuesday leaves too much of the working week left whereas Wednesday is a compromise – it gives you enough time to catch up on emails and get back into work but with the happy knowledge that it’s not long before the weekend arrives.  But Mondays, most people dislike Mondays as it is so add on the fact that you’ve just come back from a lovely break and have the whole week of work to go, well, it’s just bad self-mood management. People already put so much pressure on Mondays – diets start on Monday, new projects start on Mondays, people will stop smoking on Mondays. There's no need to add any more Monday stress.

A surefire way to overcome any Monday stress is to get some exercise endorphins bust-a-moving before work on a Monday. Easier said that done (I know) but it's a guaranteed mood lifter-upper. Because you know that whatever you have to deal with for the rest of the week, it’s started off right and like James Brown, you’ll feel good.

So Monday morning 7am Mixed Martial Arts circuits class – grr! It just sounded aggressive. Grr! And I’m sure it would’ve been. Had it not been cancelled. After I turned up at the gym. And waited 10 minutes. Like a plonker. I arrive, at 06.55am to the sight of 4 sweaty sweaty guys already mid-circuit and another guy getting 1-1 Muay Thai training in the ring. Turns out that these circuits were just an unofficial training thing organised between themselves so I waited and watched. Watched as one guy repeatedly bashed a big hammer against a giant rubber tyre and another guy pedalled furiously on an exercise bike that I assume is from at least 2 decades ago (we're talking no gears, clips, racer handles - just a good old' fashioned frame with 2 pedals, 2 bars to hold onto and, astonishingly, a resistance dial). Oh, and he was wearing a gas mask. Yep, a gas mask. On his face. I didn't ask. I didn’t take pictures. I just sat and waited.

After they finished, sweaty guy 1, who looked a bit like Nolan from Revenge (the only thing to look forward to on Mondays), broke the news to me and the other poor soul who turned up for circuits that, because there was an interclub fight last night, circuits was probably cancelled today. Based on the fact the teacher had not turned up yet. But, all was not lost as Friendly Nolan and sweaty guy no. 2 (who was topless, ripped and seemed more a steely silent type) were going to keep training so we were welcome to stay and Friendly Nolan could set up circuits for us to do after. Such a kind (and unnecessary) offer, of course we accepted and 5 rounds of 3 minutes on the bags (with Friendly Nolan giving some tips and suggestions in between rounds) later, it didn't feel like such a wasted trip. True to his word, Friendly Nolan set up circuits for us- 30seconds on six stations twice - no gas mask but the tyre was involved (jumping in and out of and on and off the tyre). As were two large ropes, tied to one corner of the room while you stand on the other and alternate rippling them. Like a Chinese ribbon dance made for the Incredible Hulk. There were some kettlebells, jumping exercises and the final station which was Bear Crawl- basically running around the room on hands and feet, without sticking your rear in the air. If Friendly Nolan didn't do that station with us, I would've been a bit suspicious that this was more of a circuits-for-gullible-fools than MMA circuits. Plus, as topless ripped man mentioned - "that's fun for about 5 seconds and then it starts to burn." A man of few words but those words were pretty accurate.

So my thanks go to Friendly Nolan for taking pity on us and not letting that Monday morning go to waste. If it weren't for him doing that, I wouldn't consider going back to try the "official" MMA Circuits class. And thanks also go to topless ripped man for being ripped and topless.

The Need To Know:

- Where: Diesel Gym

- Nearest Station: Limehouse DLR  (4mins – same building block as Pole Dancing incidentally)

- When: Mon, Wed, Fri mornings 7-8am for MMA Circuits

- How Much: Drop-in of £10 or weekly/monthly passes available

  

The Want to Know:

- Who’s it For: For those who want to release some anger in a sweat pit (in a good way). This is not a fluffy, fancy gym.

- Sweat Scale: 8/10

- Strength / Cardio / Flexi / Tone: Cardio and strength

- Complexity: 5/10 A little coordination needed for some circuit exercises

- Fun Factor: 8/10 I imagine with a group, it’s grr-eat!

- Changing Facilities: Ladies changing room with a shower. Toilet in the building.

- Instructor Inspiration: n/a (No instructor this time)

The Stats:

- Total Time: 35mins

- Calories Burnt: 181 (Same as Sauce-less Aerobics in 20mins less)

- Average Heart Rate: 141bpm

- Max Heart Rate: 166bpm

5 rounds of 3 mins then high-intensity circuits. the HR Chart doesn't lie!