The Competition Hots Up!

I always said I wouldn’t be a blogger that goes on a hiatus, alas 3 months into blogging I go on undue hiatus, such as life. #Fail.

So what have I been up to that has been able to stop me, quite a lot to be honest. But high on my agenda has been my fitness regime. If you have read my earlier post you would be aware that I am currently competing in a battle against financial ruin against what I now know to be a worthy opponent. We are battling for an (almost) all expense paid trip to sunny Santorini, the land of clear skies, beautiful beaches and is a stones throw away from economic hardship.

What could motivate a man more than waking up to this view?

Probably having an ice cold beer this view

But never the less,  we are now at the half way point and the competition is hotting up.

I initially got ahead to a blazing start winning the first 2 weeks only to be pulled back to a draw after 8 weeks of competition, with the score level pegged at 4 weeks to 4 just before Jesus’ birthday. Then catastrophe hits, I’m taken from behind (get your mind out off the gutter). Its now 5 -4 and I’m losing for the first time in the competition. But what does a real champion do when they take a knock? they dig deep and find a will to fight, hence I storm to another lead.

Coming into this competition I didn’t know what affects it would have on my social calendar after all, what’s the worse thing that could happen when you agree to something when your drunk….(don’t answer that).

Is there much worse than seeing this?

Well the reality of the competition is this…on Sunday night you set your alarm and thanks to Samsung ‘s alarm clock feature you count the hours before you wake up, you stay up for an extra 30 minutes consuming media (Youtube etc), you know you will be sleep deprived, but you do it anyway…you wake up tired (no shit Sherlock), you go to work, you be amazing. But then you wonder… you wonder if your opponent is going to make it to the gym, you look at the TV guide and you wonder, you see the Champions League is on and you wonder if you can watch it, you wonder if they are going to go to the gym to get a head start on you, you finish work and all you want to do is to get home, beat the traffic, have a cuppa and watch Eastenders however…you get that dreaded snap chat….they are in the gym and you are at home like a loser, your comfortable evening of doing nothing is now tainted, tainted with the stench of defeat. You may be in the shower for a while trying to get rid of it, however it doesn’t wash out easily. They want it!

Well they may want it, but not more than me, I have had a surge in energy these previous weeks and I’m going to win this.

Current score 7 – 5 to me! Game on! 10 weeks to go!

All motivational whatsapps to get me to the gym are welcomed.

"1, 2 Harvey's coming for you, 

3, 4 better lock your door, 

5, 6 grab your crucifix, 

7, 8 I won't be staying up late, 

Why?

cos I'm gonna kick your ass! Thats why!"

#HarveysGonnaKickYourAss. Can you make hashtags about yourself? Nevermind I just did, deal with it!

The Challenge I Couldn’t Reject...

Back in the good old days, you know, the care free student days, the days of Call of Duty all nighters, drunken evenings in the SU bar and when fine dining meant pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner, working out for me was not just a past time, it wasn’t a hobby, it was a way of life, it was embedded in my routine. I loved any form of physical activity and participated in anything that was thrown my way. Boxing, gymnastics, football...just show me a sport and I’d partake in it, show me a tree and I’d climb it. And anything could set my passion alight, a TV show (last man standing) a movie (Rocky) or even a randomly placed obstacle in the middle of the street.

Probably at the height of my fitness (lol, at the matching belt and laces)

However since those glory days, life has caught up with me and time constraints have found a way to eat into my recreational activities ever decreasing the time available to participate in the hobbies, which I loved and cherished and that contributed to so much of my personality and character.

Alas, that all changed on an alcohol fueled September evening. On this evening whilst innocently sipping a caprinha with a friend, I was blindsided, taken from behind, kicked in the nuts, insulted some may say!

Whilst puffing my chest out and proudly bragging about my previous exploits in the fitness arena, the medals I had won, the goals I had scored, the acrobatics I did effortlessly, she told me that she couldn’t believe it and that she would never have assumed I could have been serious about working out AND that she is more of a gym person than I could ever be!…That was the last straw! *flashing lights* masculinity challenged! Now this conversation got more excitable and heated until we agreed a challenge. A challenge that would demonstrate not only physical strength, but strength of character, of commitment, of persistence and ultimately of self-motivation AND that would most importantly make her eat her words!

The gauntlet had been set, the guillotine had been weighted and stabilised! Whoever attends the gym the most each week gets a point, the person with the most points by Easter Monday wins! Wins what you ask, Wins a....

Now I am used to competing in sportsman’s bets, whereby the winner takes home bragging rights or man points or if a financial reward was at stake, it would be no more than a pound or a pint at a Weatherspoons (of which my “friends would never pay, citing hard times as an excuse”).

But wow, how the stakes have been raised, how the ante has being elevated. I have stepped into the big leagues with this one. As the delicate cocktail glasses crashed against the sturdy mahogany table, I realised I had helplessly meandered into deep water, drifting out to sea like a lonely can of cider at Blackpool Beach, tossed by a pubescent teenager whilst having it large on a Friday night. Then instantly with an intoxicated handshake the wager was set.

Before....

After

If losing ones masculinity wasn’t enough, Financial ruin was also on the cards…for the person who wins the most points and is victorious in this battle of will wins a luxury holiday to…. Santorini. Flight and hotel included! I hope she has an application read to apply for a pay day loan because in the infamous words of Nas "I WILL NOT LOSE!". 

Game on! The beast has been awoken! Fyi at the time of writing the score is 3 weeks to 1 in my favour! Lets do this!