For the past two weeks, I've been living with muscle pain. At the beginning of the week, it was my arms and back, and now I can hardly walk up or down the stairs because there's something wrong with my calves. I had to make a sort of thousand steps on a large tire, and that's where I think it went wrong. Well, it seems to be part of it all, and I will keep you updated in the coming months with workout tips, healthy food, and my journey to becoming fit and strong.

 “If you want to shine in the summer, you train in the winter”

Those are the words of Robby Nelson and I have to believe him. I take group classes with him twice a week, which involve a mix of circuit training, interval training, and kickboxing combinations. I can actually describe it as an incredibly tough workout where by the end of the class, you're just about hanging over the toilet.

When I get private lessons (once a week), he goes even further. I can't cheat in any way, because he hovers over me for an hour and shouts: “I know it's tough because otherwise it would have been easy.” Yeah, no, I get that. Ahem, so there.

It sounds like a torture session now, but it absolutely isn't; it's incredibly fun. It's just not a walk in the park, but that's necessary if you want to get fit, and it makes it challenging. For example, I got a sort of bulletproof vest weighing 14 kilos on my body. And then try lunging and squatting for a quarter of an hour. The best moment is when I walk out the door because then you can seriously take on the whole world.

 Magic gloves

You can seriously wake me up for a boxing session. I even find that more enjoyable than running or yoga. During When you're pounding for about an hour , you hardly have time to think. It literally clears your head, and that's exactly what I sometimes need. I'm now training with boxing gloves that leave my fingers free. Specially designed for the Double Trouble training (that's what his class is called) with Robby. So I can easily do push-ups, jump rope, tug-of-war, and all sorts of creepy things in between.

Workout food

I have here I've written before about REIN; my favorite spot at the moment. They also have delicious brownies and energy chocolate balls made from dates, coconut, and chocolate. I also like to have lunch at Coffee & Coconuts. There, I order the edamame, which are soybeans, and a plate full of vegetables with delicious homemade hummus. After a workout, I make an omelet with a lot of spinach. There are mega amounts of protein in it, and I need that for muscle recovery. For the rest I'm doing Dry January , which I regret incredibly every week and Liesbeth thinks I'm completely crazy. Maybe I am.

 A bit of Lululemon yoga

Check out this video I saw at a Lululemon gathering; my favorite yoga clothing brand. That evening was about #givepresence. Set aside all those daily stimuli (work, social media, phone, agenda) and pay attention to the loved ones around you. God, I could still learn something from that.

Bloody hell

I was also at health coach Tessa last week to have blood drawn. Just to see if everything in my body is working well. Intestines, liver, do I have enough minerals and no allergies? That kind of stuff.

“Now I know everything about you.” Tonight I will get the results, but Tessa hasn't called earlier with huge alarm bells, so I assume everything is fine. Keep you posted!