My change...

To say I was a founder member of Fitness First would be a bit of an overstatement. Yes, I joined Fitness First Mona Vale before the doors had even opened but could I say I went for the first 12 months? If I said yes, I would be lying!

I had been a member of Health Land in Dee Why in 2001 (now Fitness First) when I was 16 and I think my parents paid for my membership to try to get my off my bum and out the house. I had just moved here from the UK, had no friends, no job, refused to go to school and was in a pretty miserable place. Safe to say this membership did not stick around for long.

The catalyst for my "fitness obsession" was an awful, soul shattering break up. You know, the one you hope to have only once in your life? The one that you never think you will recover from? He left me, sad, lonely and with a bigger bum than I would have liked. I had always been that tall, skinny girl growing up and at school refused to ever wear a skirt as my legs were so skinny the boys used to call me skinny bitch. So why, at 21 did I have cellulite, why did I have muffin top, why did I have bits hanging over my bra straps? Don't get my wrong, I was not fat and to look at, people did, and still do, continually tell me I'm not fat, but God I was miserable!

To say that exercise saved me and helped me keep myself together could be seen to be a slight exaggeration but I truly don't feel that this is an over the top statement. A long time ago I remember looking in to this after noticing a huge difference in my mental state and well being and finally feeling that I was moving on from my "x".

When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain. Endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine. For example, the feeling that follows a run or workout is often described as "euphoric." That feeling, known as a "runner's high," can be accompanied by a positive and energizing outlook on life.

Endorphins act as analgesics, which means they diminish the perception of pain.
They also act as sedatives. They are manufactured in your brain, spinal cord, and many other parts of your body and are released in response to brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.

Not such an over the top statement now when you realise there is a physiological reason why we feel so good after a seriously awesome work out.

My first experience at Fitness First Mona Vale was literally sickening! And I mean literally in that I was a little bit sick behind my car in the car park! Body Attack was from then on the new love of my life! The changes in my body did not go unnoticed by myself or others and acted as a huge motivation to keep me going back for more. Fifty five minutes of high impact, high intensity aerobic style moves and I was completely wrecked. And completely and utterly hooked!

For me I find the cardio based classes a lot easier to get through than say 45 minutes spent on the cross trainer or treadmill. I like organisation, structure and consistency in my life and this does definitely translate in to the cardio side of my training.

Attack was a great place for me to start and eight years later I still enjoy every class I do. The instructors give you various low, medium and high impact options which you can choose and progress through as your ability improves. Les Mils have new releases every three months giving you new music, moves and combinations which gives the work out a bit of a shake up, keeping it fresh and interesting as well as challenging.

It is fun, it is hard, it is loud and can be intimidating but more than anything Body Attack will get you fit and you will notice changes in your body. It is for this reason I would recommend this class to beginners. Give it a go! Start at the back of the class if you need to, it will get easier as you learn the moves and their names but the changes you notice will keep you coming back for more, like they did and still do for me.

They say Body Attack burns roughly 735 calories per class which I don't find hard to believe. If you see me after a Body Attack class I feel for you. Red, puffing, sweaty, are a few words I would use to describe myself following 55 minutes in that studio! But I do come out with a massive smile on my face every time, what more could you ask for from your work out?

Enjoy your runner's high!