It's been so long since I've been to the gym! I completely forgot how incredible it is to walk in and just focus on improving yourself physically. It was about 5pm on a Sunday and the gym was practically empty, so getting back into the flow of it was so easy.


I think the last time I rowed on an ergometer must've been during a high school gym class! Sitting down and trying to figure out the menu and damper took a couple of minutes, but after a bumpy start I just got into the 'I'm a viking bitches!' mindset and started rowing.

Not going to lie, I was worried about my back being able to handle the constant pressure the rowing position would put on it. After a couple of minutes I did feel a bit of a sting in my lower back, but supporting my back by tensing my entire core fixed the issue and I could carry on like normal. I was originally going to go for a 40 minute stint, but figured that I have plenty of time to practice and stopped after half an hour.

First of probably thousands of gym selfies!

And just because 45 minutes at the gym wasn't enough, I went on a Pokemon hunt as well for over an hour! I swear this game has made me love walking, according to the game I've already walked 58,5km since it launched. I've struggled to find motivation to go for a walk (even though the weather has been incredible the past few weeks!), so being able to be a complete nerd and relive my childhood whilst getting fitter is so amazing!

Preparing for this competiton has also given me another reason to stick to a healthier diet. I mean I cook pretty healthy most nights, but lately I've had a few too many takeaways for dinner *oops*. Tonight I whipped up turkey meatballs in a tomato sauce with sweet potato mash and peas & sweetcorn, and our fridge is full of healthy ingredients and snacks again.

Lots of fishy plates earlier this week: basa fillet with pasta and veg, tuna with noodles and runner beans & salmon with noodles and beans again.

This is going to be a great summer!

I have done something nuts and agreed to take part in the annual rowing competition, Sulkavan Suursoudut, in my home town next summer. My family had a team for it this summer for the first time ever, and it went so smoothly that people seem really keen on doing it again next summer. And since I've been after some sort of fitness related project for ages now to keep me going, I figured that I'll do it too!

Photo: Riku Kettunen

Essentially the competition involves rowing about 60km around a big island on lake Saimaa. You can do it alone, with a partner or as a team (minimum of 14 people I believe). It's pretty much the only thing that happens in my home town all year, and it's the kind of a thing that you should do if you grew up in Sulkava! I guess it could be compared to doing a marathon - unless you're a really hardcore athlete you just do it for the experience, not to win. Next year's competition is actually the 50th year running so I'm hoping it'll be really exciting and lots of people show up for it!

My experience with rowing includes a tiny fiber glass boat my family owns we use simply for checking fish traps. I've never been in one of these big boats that require lots of people, but I'm just going to do my best over here and use the rowing machines at my gym regularly from now on, so I'm not completely dead when it comes to the competition.

I'm going to be writing a lot about my prep and progress from now on, hopefully getting back to the old style of blogging I did back when I first started. Lots of progress rambles, food posts and so on. Wish me luck!