Let's go pound for pound

Moving to Korea is a life change. New country, new jobs, new friends - new lifestyle! Coming here I had it in mind that the entire lifestyle change would include a fitness change.

When Jean-Marc and I met last summer, we were both in much different shape. I was training for my first 10km race, so I was running 2-3 times a week and playing ultimate frisbee 3 nights a week .. plus the occasional softball game. I was feeling fit. Jean-Marc had spent a good deal of time playing tennis that summer and was also fit. When winter hit, we weren't working out as much and, well, I wrote a thesis. That comes with a lot of stress, emotional eating, boredom eating, top that with heavy Christmas food, and voila!  A recipe for disaster. With JM's slim body type, he lost weight because he wasn't working out (frig) and I packed on the pounds.

So last week we decided to shake things up a bit. We made a bet: pound for pound, whoever loses/gains the most by Christmas Day 2012 wins, and the other person has to pay for their Christmas vacation.

This weekend I joined a fitness group to start winning this bet. Flipside Fitness is an all girls group run by a fabulous lady from Ontario (I know - what are the chances?!) who puts her heart and soul into getting us in shape. She runs boxercise classes (read: intense butt kicking workouts) on the weekend and organizes events centered around health and being active throughout the month. I've only been a member a few days and already I feel empowered to take control of my life. Amy posts motivational quotes and information about eating well, as well as weekly fitness challenges and even a newsletter. It is a very active Facebook group.

I went to my first boxercise class on Saturday and what an intense workout it was. I don't think I've ever sweat that much in my life. Combining boxing with circuit training (yes, I put on a pair of boxing gloves for the first time in my life!), and you get a full body workout. It felt so great to exercise again.

Watch out ... we are pretty tough!

So there you have it. The bet is officially posted online. We'll keep you updated as to who is winning and what we are up to to achieve our goals. For now I'm going to go back to researching 5-star resorts in Tahiti for Christmas vacation. he he.

Looks good right?