Review: Gymbox

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Today, 24th  September 2018 I tried out my first Gymbox   class. The gym just opened at Cannon Street and I was lucky enough to have a taster of the facilities. See below what I got up to, what I thought of the class and if I would recommend it as a top workout spot in London. What class did I do? I did the BadAss class Who was the instructor? Phoebe What was the class like? Described on their website as 'the next level workout for your derriere', I can confirm that this class certainly does make your booty burn! The class was 30-minutes and consisted of a dynamic, cardio warm-up and then 2 sections of weight-based workout. Squats, lunges, pulses were, as expected, all included in the workout. The 2 sections of workout were made up of 3/4 exercises which you did for 1 minute each before switching, complete all the exercises and then have 30 seconds rest. You then repeated that section through again before moving on to the 2nd section. I definitely struggled
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Review: MyFitnessPal

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In my last post I talked about my relationship with food and my use of MyFitnessPal. See my review below where I talk about the pros and cons of the app and how I think it should be used to aid you in your fitness journey

What is it?

 For anyone who is unfamiliar, MyFitnessPal is an app on your phone that allows you to track calories, macros, exercise, water intake and weight.

How does it work?

 When you first join My Fitness Pal, you will create an account. You get asked to put in your current weight, what sort of lifestyle you lead (sedentary, lightly active etc.) and how much exercise you do. You will then input your goal weight and it will calculate the calories you should be taking in to drop down to that goal weight.

1200kcals - what?!

 For anyone who has used this app before (specifically women) you will find that no matter what weight you put in as your current or your goal, then it will calculate that you need to eat 1200kcals a day to lose weight.

Shock horror. Eating less calories makes you lose weight.

The daily recommended amount of calories for women to eat is 2000kcals. I used to believe this was too high however, now that I have started weightlifting, I am maintaing at around 1700-1800kcals and could not even imagine restricting myself to 1200 - that is nuts.

Eating back your exercise

 I never used MyFitnessPal as an exercise tracker as I didn't really trust it to calculate my own personal calorie burn accurately (which I think is fair enough)

However, I have heard that when you log exercise, it expects you to eat back those calories hence why the initial calorie estimation is so low.

I do find this questionable as the app doesn't really tell you anywhere that this is what you're supposed to do.

Pros

 I do think that there are some big positives to using this app:

  • Tracking - it really gives you a good idea of how many calories are in certain foods and how much you are actually eating in a day. If you're truly honest with yourself when you use it, it might be a shock to some how much (or little) you are actually eating. James Smith (@jamessmithpt) has just done a great video about calorie tracking for fat loss. Check it out.
  • Macros - further to tracking just calorie intake, it also calculates the macros in the foods you are eating. Macros are what make up our foods (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) and it is quite important to know how much of each is in what we eat. For those looking to gain strength and muscle, you want to be eating a fair amount of protein and this app will help you track that
Cons
  • Calorie estimation - I would never trust the calories it estimates for you. There are so many other calculators out there which will calculate your calories AND macros for you in a much more accurate fashion. Personally, I would use IIFYM which will also tell you your BMR (basal metabolic rate, the calories you burn all day while completely at rest) TDEE (total daily energy expenditure, the calories you burn taking exercise into account) and calculate how much protein, carbs, fats you should be eating to reach your goals

If you've never tracked calories/macros before, I do think it is a great place to start and will allow you to become a lot more aware about what you are putting in your body. If you have ever had an eating disorder or find yourself become a bit obsessive with numbers (scales, calories or otherwise) then I would perhaps steer you away from this app.

I personally don't use the app anymore and am trying to stick to more 'intuitive' eating however, I have been tracking for the last 6+ years so have a pretty good idea of what is in the food I am eating.

One thing I would say is that, if you are using the app, then please don't let yourself become guilty about going over your calories or having a pizza - it's all about moderation! Let yourself have a doughnut or a burger every now and again because avoiding all those foods because they're 'bad' is a terrible mindset to have and, at the end of the day, is not sustainable.

I hope this review has been helpful,

CFG x

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