Wednesday 16-02-17 Body Pump

Jesus. Why anyone would put themselves through that voluntarily is beyond me. And apparently they go back for more, as well.
Of course I am talking about Body Pump, the exercise class which is quite popular these days.  TW had booked in with a friend but then, inexplicably, the friend dropped out (I joke,  of course - having been to the class it was entirely explicable why she would drop out) and TW asked if I would join her.
Well,  I had heard a lot about this Body Pump phenomenon, mostly from her,  so I was keen to see what it entailed. I was a bit reluctant to go when the actual time came, because I was tired after work, but I was also aware that I hadn't exercised in months and it was "now or never". So I popped upstairs and slid into my running gear, which hadn't seen the light of day since the last open day at Worthing Leisure Centre, and we set off for Splashpoint.
As we walked in TW greeted all her friends and acquaintances and told them that this was my first Pump class, and the reaction was almost uniform - "oh, good luck, you'll feel it in the morning!" and we went in. We had to get mats and bars and weights, and Jo the instructor told me to take it easy.
We did the first section of the class, which I found quite difficult, and then TW told me that was the warm-up - which worried me somewhat. How was I supposed to endure another 50 minutes of that? To be honest though,  there wasn't much time to think after that. I was too busy trying to keep up with the moves and the "dead rows" and "dead lifts"  and "two-two" moves to worry about dying of exhaustion.
I did actually enjoy it, and I'm not feeling that bad today, although the day has only just started. If I get the chance, I will go again. I am aware that I don't exercise and I do need to get out there and run or push myself somehow. If we can get a babysitter maybe TW & I can become exercise buddies too, who knows?
TTFN

Tuesday 16-02-09 The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am Not Afraid To Die @ The Haunt

Just wanted to pen a few words, I went to see a new band tonight, the name is above, I am going to call them TWIABP for short. I got there in time to see the support band, Me Without You, who were quite good, and they had some good songs. I might buy some of their stuff in the future.

I must just say that The Haunt is a really bad place to see bands when the venue is sold out, especially for a 5'8" fella like myself.

Me Without You were able to harness the noisy bit of their songs, which allowed the crowd to go a bit mental;it did strike me at one point that these bands were a bit metal, and a fleeting thought was to compare these bands to those who might appear at Download, for instance; I wonder how they would compare? But I guess these bands, although they were noisy, would be too emotional for a rock festival...

By the end of Me Without You's set, I was at the toilet door, there was no way to get anywhere else. However, when they finished, everyone who was at the front streamed to the back, either to use the toilet or (possibly) to leave. Anyway, that gave me the opportunity to get down to the front and enjoy the band up close.

TWIABP are a seven-piece band, there is a drummer, a bassist, a keyboardist, and then there must be three guitarists and a vocalist. They work very well together; the quiet bits are quiet, and the noisy bits are noisy. They kind of remind me of an early Mercury Rev, who I once saw at King Tut's in Glasgow. They would build up to a crescendo and then just go apocalytic - not as epically as MBV, perhaps, or as creatively, but it was still cathartic.

I do plan to buy an album, probably the current album, by TWIABP, and I look forward to playing it to the children - let's see what they make of it! :)

All in all, it was a good night, and I should gamble on unknown bands more often - I might be pleasantly surprised (again)...

TTFN