As part of my artistic research, I decided to use myself as a case study:

​

• Since September 2019, I deliberately engaged in creating a customized circuit fitness training, based on the format of H.I.I.T. (High-Intensity Interval Training). Originally, it is a cardiovascular exercise strategy alternating short periods of intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods, until too exhausted to continue. This fitness training, though characterized by its lack of safety due to its over-demanding regimen, is currently promoted through mass media.

​

• For similar reasons, since December 2019, I began a nutrition regimen, called Intermittent Fasting. It is a low fat, high protein diet, which included voluntary fasting (or reduced calories intake) and non-fasting over a given period.

​

During this long period, I regularly documented parts of the training, took pictures of my body throughout the process, as well as audio-recorded my impressions in the end of every training. I trained daily, giving myself one day off per week. Some facts that came out from this documentation process:

1. In the beginning, I didn't feel I needed a day off and often skipped it. Gradually fatigue accumulated and the day off was highly appreciated.

2. After Christmas I started having pain in my knees and, therefore, I needed to be even more aware in how much I take care of my body.

3. In my audio-recordings during February, I observe feelings of weakness and a need to disengage from these regimens. In addition, I am often mentioning cravings for salty food and excessive hunger during training, as well as continuous sweat even an hour after practice. 

4. While building up the routine, I built up also a playlist that enabled me to keep up the tempo, depending on the exercises I was engaging with. However, by getting too accustomed to all the elements of the training, I observed that I couldn't maintain my focus and lost interest. 

5. An obsession with numbers - how many sets of repetitions for each exercise - occurred, almost as a kind of superstition. 

6. Getting all the more emotional and experiencing mood swings.

7. Understanding the importance of keeping a very specific schedule during the day. Since in February 2020, I had rehearsals for my piece, as well as for a theatre play I was part of, I often returned home really late at night and couldn't eat and train the exact same hours. That influenced immensely my engagement and led me to often alter my nutrition regimen. 

8. During February and while being in Athens, I subscribed to a gym, in order to participate in group classes and have a better opinion on the way the fitness industry functions and promotes body-image ideals. My experience was disappointing. I got angry and frustrated listening to motivation quotes, such as 'limits: there aren't any', 'you can do more - be the best' etc. 

9. Physical actions such as running or cycling, which are characterized by displacement and movement, become seemingly static in the gym, since the instruments are planted on the ground. On a fixed point, training starts after you have logged in into your profile, where you can see your previous workout and you can set new goals. You can see your body mass and the calories you burn while training. You are translated in numbers, and by staying connected to the system, you become some sort of cyborg...