Diary of a Jewish Girl working out at the Lab
Brigit Grant is the Jewish News Supplements Editor
Now a fully-fledged member of The Laboratory, Brigit Grant is working out – but just how to get there?
I would like to be able to tell you that since I stepped into the limelight as the FIT girl, I now look exactly like the lithe-limbed woman on the website of The Laboratory Spa & Health Club. Or at least the Jewish version. Unfortunately I don’t – at least not yet – but this has nothing to do with the Laboratory gym and spa and everything to do with my hectic work schedule and love of latkes. And not just latkes, as I am partial to an entire range of carbohydrates during the colder months.
But spring is upon us, not to mention Passover, which provides a challah-free window for anyone wanting to look good in the summer.
To see real results, I should really start eating in The Laboratory’s cafe more often, as it has a colourful and tasty range of salad options that outshine any sandwich available on the high street. Perhaps I could ask the chef to move in with us, as my husband, too, is lagging behind, but at least he is on the equipment at the gym twice a week in the evenings.
At least that’s what he says he is doing, although I’ve a feeling the food at the cafe may be more tempting than the crosstrainer, particularly as it now serves salt beef bagels.
For real inspiration, I look to Lab member Katya Wildman, who was overweight after the birth of her daughter, but after joining the BodyPump class and signing up for some personal training sessions, was competing in the Miss Galaxy Universe competition – and in the beach body category, no less.
Katya, owner of the Bombshell fashion label, which sells figure-flattering dresses favoured by Nigella Lawson, discovered that resistance training is just as important for weight loss as cardio, and her fourth place win is proof of the pudding – not that puddings had anything to do with it.
Clearly, to see a change in my wobble, I need to start resistance training, which consists of bodyweight exercises, as well as lifting weights, which you get the hang of when you are under the supervision of a Lab personal trainer – and they have some really good ones.
I have studied the timetable and, as classes start at 7am and continue until 8pm, there really is no excuse for me not to find some to fit into my schedule.
The week starts with the BodyPump class that transformed Katya into a bikini babe and, with its non-stop use of barbells to tone muscles while raising the metabolic rate, it is definitely on my list. Zumba is at 10.15am on Monday as well as on Tuesday evenings and, even though it has fallen out of the top 20 as a fitness trend, moving around to music you would happily listen to while driving the car has to be a good thing.
I’ve no idea what Schwinn cycling is, although I’m assuming it’s a type of bike and feel that, as the former owner of a Raleigh Chopper, this should suit me. I’ve got my husband down for CXWORX, which consists of exercises that isolate and integrate muscles in and around the abs, back and butt, and I think he will thank me for this eventually. He rather likes the idea of Pilates, as he believes there is a lot of lying on a mat and relaxing. So CXWORX it is then. The Jewish fIT girl has spoken.
• For more on The Laboratory Spa and Health Club, call 020 8457 3300 or visit www.labspa.co.uk
The cafe at The Laboratory Spa & Health Club; member Katya Wildman
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