Pain and gain

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - - - July 3, 2013 ---The 28 day Advanced Primal Transformation course is shaping the attendees for their last leg of the course at Haddins Gym at Zayed Sports City wiShow more

It's a Sunday on the last week of my Primal Transformation at Haddins Fitness and I'm ready to give it my all for these last five sessions.

First up we have six primates, a lorry tyre and an empty parking lot; we're to alternate between tyre flips, burpees and bear crawls in groups of two, then carry the tyre back to the starting point.

The bear crawls on asphalt left the palms of my hand raw, and a few hours after the session a little wave of electricity travelled down my left leg every so often.

A Google search and chat with Michael Haddin confirmed that I was experiencing sciatica- the pain associated with the irritation of the sciatic nerve.

The next few days involved random stretching at my desk, icing of the general lower back area and (discreetly) massaging by bottom and leg while heating up lunch in the office.

After a purely running-based session on Monday followed by a 22-hour day (I was up at 5am and didn't get to bed until 3am the next morning due to a photo shoot), there was no way I could've made it on Tuesday.

Wednesday's session was mild in preparation for today's assessment, where we compared our results now with those from our first class.

After seeing drastic improvements- be it on the scales, with our waist measurements or the number of reps for each exercise- we were all pleased with the outcomes of the programme.

To find out just how much I lost (weight and waist), and how many reps I gained (in squats, burpees and more), pick a copy of Arts & Life next Thursday.

Follow the Primal journey below:

For information on the Ramadan Primal (which starts July 14), visit Haddins Facebook page or call 02 403 4233