Grow It Yourself Saturday - Upper Body Training

So due to other commitments, training over the past couple of weeks has concentrated on the gym. There's no excuse as it's only across the road from work. Since last week I have incorporated free weights into my routine. It's funny because I don't know what all the different exercises are so I try to watch out of the corner of my eye to see what others are doing and I copy them. In my mind I keep thinking that I must look like Mr Bean slyly glancing at what the person beside me is doing and then copying them.

On Saturday we took the opportunity to do a different type of training. The residents committee where I live had organised for Grow It Yourself Ireland to come and help us dig out and plan a

vegetable garden for our apartment complex. I arrived down in my digging clothes only to be met by a crowd of people, a television camera and Shane Horgan (Irish international and Leinster Rugby player). Mortified. Old tracksuit bottoms, no make up and a bright red rain jacket. No one had told me that GIY Ireland were using our project to launch Grow It Yourself week and that Shane Horgan was going to be there for an interview and press photos.

As I do not know anything about gardening or vegetable patch creation, myself and Johnny took on the duty of filling the wheelbarrow with manure and soil to bring to the plot. This ended up being a really good work out for our arms. After what felt like a hundred trips back and forth with the wheelbarrow, Johnny came up with the clever idea of using a wheelie bin. Being completely honest it was actually a good idea and sped up the process. It was great to be doing some manual labour that benefited the community that we lived in.

It was great to see so many people getting involved. Someone mentioned that a group of landscapers actually travelled from Waterford to help us. In the end we planted peppers, courgettes, cucumbers, rocket, lettuce and some other stuff that I can't remember. It will be great to eat vegetables that we have grown ourselves. We have loads of spare land behind our apartments so if this works out we might actually extend it. All in all it was a great mornings work and also got a bit of training in as well.