Drumming class and another good workout

They say it takes roughly 20 times (repetitions/days) for something to become a habit, and 66 days before a new behaviour becomes automatic.
I think I am entering that phase where going to the gym is becoming a habit. I started checking my schedule compulsively today trying to figure out exactly when I was going to go and trying to plot my day around that schedule.

Getting to the gym in September may not be my hurdle - trying not to dictate my life around when I go to the gym, and acclimatizing to the fact that I will most likely have to go at night will be my big hurdle - especially with kids in extra-curricular activities 5 nights a week. So far I've been doing almost entirely morning classes, but even with a 9:30 or 10:30 am start time I am not accomplishing much until I get back from the gym - and even then it is debatable if I get much done. I am not going to be able to continue this attitude of "my day can't start until I go to the gym" because it's not feasible to do 6 am classes every day. Maybe on some days, but not all. I am going to try one tomorrow I think, we'll see.
My fitness goal for the summer is going great (in terms of attendance, maybe not "visible" results), the rest of my goals - not so much. I try to do a little bit of cleaning and/or organizing each day, but nowhere near what I had planned out to do. And the activities I wanted to get done are also falling by the wayside.
Having goals is great, but making sure those goals are realistic and attainable is also important.  I was patting myself on the back yesterday because I stepped on the scale at 192 (yay! actual weight loss), but typical to my body type, the weight just bounces right back and today I was back at 198. It's kind of funny, because at the start of my fitness journey when I stepped on that scale to measure body fat I was worried I'd be trying to use it monthly to see where I'm at, but since I haven't lost any weight, I'm not really curious to see the results. I mean I suppose it's possible that I've kept the same weight and just built muscle while reducing fat, but with my Yoga-centric workouts I highly doubt it. Maybe once I get some solid results in terms of weight loss I might be more attracted to trying it out.

So I did another drumming class today, this time at 6:30 in the evening, and lucky for me it was my Saturday morning instructor covering for the regular instructor. I got the same great energy and loud booming voice and the same enthusiasm from the weekend. Sweet. It was a good class. I am a little disappointed in my fitness tracker - I know sometimes it's a little slow to sync, but today's results were weird. It registered that I'd done an aerobic workout right away, but wouldn't count it as a workout in terms of my fitness goals (7 days out of 7 days of activity). It said I burned something like 585 calories, and had all the right measurements of the workout and results. So I tried editing the start and end times to make it register. No deal. Then I tried deleting it and entering it in manually. I mean it worked, sort of. I registered it as a "day" in my goal, but then it deleted all of the info. It kept track of my heart rate, but suddenly I dropped from 585 calories burned to 262, and it lost the scatter graph of physical activity it records. Boooo. I shouldn't have deleted it, what difference does it really make if the app says I did six days of activity or 7? Instead I've lost the data that was synced from my workout.

My plan for tomorrow is to try a boot camp style class at 6 am, firstly to see how I like it, and secondly because I have so much I want to get done tomorrow that I think I need to get up early for my workout. It'll be good practice for when I have to start getting up at 5 am next week. It might be a little intense after drumming class tonight, and the plan is to do it on Saturday as well - a boot camp in the morning tomorrow as well will give me three back-to-back higher intensity workouts. And my knees haven't fully recovered from whatever I did to them during training on Tuesday night. They are more mobile, but there is still some tenderness and stiffness. Some movements I just do not want to do, and my knee caps are back to shifting around and grinding up against my leg bones if I'm not careful with my movements. I kind of want to go soak in a hot bath... maybe, but that's not horribly productive.

On the one hand I feel like I am finally taking some time for me by going to the gym, which I need for my mental health and my overall health, but on the other hand I am starting to feel kind of guilty. I am not getting my deep-cleaning around the house done. My 30-day declutter challenge has fallen by the way-side. The girls are always upset when I go to the gym (they claim they want more time with me, but they are always on various technology when I am home, so it's really just a "whining-it-out" excuse because they have other things "planned" and they don't want me to go at that moment). I start school in less than a week and while I have some planning done, it's not even close to all of it. I had a list of activities I wanted to do with the girls this summer, and there's a number of them still left untouched. Some of them are small things like going to feed chickadees at a local hiking trail, some of them are more complex like going to the massive water park just outside the city. I have also been reflecting on whether these are actually things they want to do, or just things I think they should want to do and am trying to impose on them? The biggest "to-do" for them is that they want to do an escape room, but for the price of those things it's just really not in the books [actually I guess it's not that bad, $80 for four people]. Bird seed for a the hiking trail cost me $2.00. Going to the Gatineau hot air balloon festival would be rather inexpensive as well. Another thing they aren't horribly interested in. It's a tough situation trying to balance quality family time together with things they are actually interested in. In this day and age in seems like they all want to suck their brains out through their use of technology. Who needs zombies? Just give them tablets and gaming consoles.

Maybe I'll just go get lost in the gym. Surprisingly I've only been in the steam room once this month, and the hot tub once yesterday (we got kicked out because the chlorine levels were too high). Maybe that can be a goal for tomorrow too...

Three in a day!

Three in a day.

I did it. I went to three classes in a day. 

None of them were super exciting, but they were all good. After my training last night I felt like my knees were really sore, and they still were this morning. Stiff might be the better word. I had some trouble moving, I could feel it this morning when I tried to get out of bed and move about the house. It wasn't so bad in the Tune Up class; I noticed it, but none of the moves we were doing had much impact. I noticed it a lot in the other two classes. Class two was just straight yoga. I think that may have been my first "just yoga" - no attachments. It was with the same guy as the Tune Up. A little different, he didn't circulate as much to correct moves - although I did get my shoulders put into place and my downward dog fixed. And he did most of the moves with us a lot more than in the tune up class. But definitely no mumbo jumbo. 

He led us in the moves and talked a little bit, but very different from many of the other classes. He chats the whole time in Tune Up, not here. I liked the class. My knees, not so much. We did a lot of moves that had me kneeling and rocking back and forth, and shifting the knee caps in various positions. My knees were not happy. You don't realize how much you use them in something until they hurt to move. ☹️

Not fun. I think it may have been from the squats and the way I was doing exercises in the training last night, or maybe I'm just starting to hit my burn-out from all of my fitness. I've noticed the muscle exhaustion in a few of my last classes - I try to hold a move and my legs or arms or whatnot are just shaking like crazy. I have no stability. To be fair - today and yesterday I didn't eat all that much and that might have contributed to my feeling of burn out. I was thinking my muscles may not hold this. But I made it through.

It's funny that just yesterday we were taking about how impatient some of the people at the club are; barging in to get "their spot" before the class ahead of time is even out. I've noticed a few impatient people, but today's took the cake. 15 minutes to spare in yoga, and people are massing outside the door and looking in and seeming to be downright agitated. I even wondered if the class was only supposed to be an hour and he was going over time. Nope, they're just impatient.

So I'm in my space and I'm cleaning up my stuff and the horde storms the room before any of us are done tidying. This woman comes over and puts her stuff down nearly on mine and proceeds to try and inch closer, essentially forcing me to move out of the way. Holy crap lady, how about you let me leave first? It's not even like I had that much stuff to put away and she's forcing me out. I was half tempted to stay for another class in that spot just to annoy her.

It was my last class with this instructor, though he does have a workshop in September that may not be such a bad idea - but it's 2 hours of rolling out feet, shins and calves, with maybe some hip at the end. We'll see. I will miss the Wednesday classes for sure. I can't say I've got any drastic changes super obvious... But there are small ones. When I got on the scale this morning I was down to 192 (and shocked). And when I tried to do a forward fold I realized I can actually touch the floor while standing with my legs straight. I haven't done that since I was a child. And in happy baby (on your back, legs bent and apart so you can grab your toes and look like a baby on their back) I was actually able to grab my toes. Previously, I was lucky if I could get me hands to my shins - ankles or feet were out of the question! Really impressed with my progression in flexibility. The 8 pounds was nice too, but it's entirely possible I'll still be back at 200 tomorrow. 

The aqua fit class was good. I got some cardio and some stretching. My knees hurt as well. I went mostly for my mother to accompany her and didn't really have any motivation to be there. Because my knees hurt and I had already done two workouts that day I mostly took it easy, not giving the moves 100% at any point. There were definitely some moments where I felt the knee caps shifting painfully though. I think I may have to see my Physio about working on that again, though I'm almost certain the muscles to strengthen in there revolve around doing moves like squats and bends, which I've been doing in my classes anyway.

We'll see. I have an appointment with him on Friday. And I'm getting my hair done on Friday too! Just in time for back to school.

Body Types

There are a lot of different theories on what impacts your workout/your ability to gain or lose weight. There are some key terms that get thrown around like BMI (Body Mass Index), or Metabolism (the chemical transformations within your body that turn the food you eat into energy that can be burned), or Body Type (the natural shape of your body that dictates how your body handles weight).
My Yoga instructor was talking about Body Type at one of the sessions and discussing how he was a certain body type which meant he had a hard time putting on weight - and it made me think of my brother who is a six-foot-seven-inch string bean, except that he had his thyroid removed which accounts for his tiny size, despite the fact that he's in construction and is very clearly very muscular.
Body Type is usually divided into three distinct categories, but no one is entirely one category or the other, we are typically a blend of the three. I realized I wasn't sure what my Body Type was, so I decided to take this convenient online quiz to find out:
https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/becker3.htm
It seems I am 38% endomorph, 38% ectomorph, and 25% mesomorph. Almost an even mix of all. Joy. The second time I took the quiz the numbers had flipped so endomorph was 25%, but it was still 38, 38, and 25. My math isn't fantastic, but I don't think those numbers add up to 100%...

This article goes into a little more depth on what the different types mean, how we are all really a combination of the three - there is no "set in stone" definition, and what are some strategies you can use to eat and workout according to your body type.
http://www.coachmag.co.uk/lifestyle/4511/ectomorph-endomorph-or-mesomorph-what-is-your-body-type

I'm going to go with the basis that I am primarily an ectomorph, because for the majority of my life, that has been my body type: tall, lean, doesn't really put on muscle. (It's also the category that stayed in the top both times I did the test). I have started becoming a little pear-shaped in my later life, but I wouldn't say I have a high body fat percentage. 39% is only slightly above the desired 15-25% range.

So, as an Ectomorph I should be doing lots of compound movements in sets of repetitions, rather than focusing on isolation movements. I should avoid high-cardio workouts as that tends to speed up my metabolism too much (perfect! bring it on!). I need a diet that is high in calories, carbs, protein, and fat (i.e. eat whatever you like, as long as it's healthy?). The dead-lift and the leg press are my best friend. When I was younger, this might have described me perfectly. Now, not so much. If doing too much cardio is going to speed up my metabolism too much, then I should have been shedding pounds like crazy this past month with the classes I was going to.

Well... maybe not. Now that I think about it, I only did cardio workouts once or twice a week, and none of them were super high-cardio. I did lots of bouncing around and got a good sweat going, but my fitness tracker (with a heart rate monitor) showed that I never hit the higher ranges of the cardio workouts. Maybe I could increase my cardio workouts to try and boost my metabolism...

As an endomorph I am good at storing fat and muscle in my lower body (i.e. hard to lose weight). I need a low-calorie diet and cardio workouts are good for me. The site recommends doing 4 to 5 days of heavy weightlifting as well as cardio. I should focus on my shoulders, watch what I eat, and do intensity training. I guess those interval training classes should be ideal for me in this body-type.

I could maybe see that working for me. Both endomorph and ectomorph seem to emphasize the weightlifting and complex movements rather than isolation. Although one promotes cardio workouts while the other says to stay away...

As a mesomorph I look well built without setting foot in a gym. I pack on muscle easily but tend to scatter my approach to training which makes it hard to get solid results. I respond well to power moves, and things like sprints are well-suited to what I need.

This one probably sounds the least like me. I've never really been muscular, although my legs have always been pretty built. So I think I'm looking at a combination of the first two. I won't fully discount the advice for this one, but I'm also not thrilled at the idea of doing sprints and training like an athlete, so I'll stick with the weightlifting and cardio. I guess that means I should strike up some nerve and get going on the more advanced classes that focus on strength and cardio instead of my beginner classes I've been enjoying.

This sounds way too complicated for me, but we can give it a shot. If this thing suggests weight lifting and more intense workouts as an option to lose weight and build muscle, I can give it a try. Who knows, it might work. Worst case, I try some classes I was interested in anyway and I don't get a lot of results.

Make New Friends...

Today's training session was awesome! There were three of us instead of two, and we all had a great chat while we were working out.

It was funny hearing the two other ladies talk about how aggressive some of the members at the gym are. They were talking about how some of them shove past other people to get to "their spot". The one lady was saying she was setting up for a class and someone came up and demanded she move because she was in "her spot", and another instance where she was taking down her equipment and the woman came and told her to get out of the way. Pretty sure it's a blank floor with a first-come, first-served policy. My contribution to this was that it kind of bothers me when one class ends and another is about to start and the new class is always trying to shove into the room. Like come on, let us out first. Ever heard of etiquette? How about courtesy? No, I guess not. I can't imagine someone being that juvenile that they would come and demand you move from their "spot". Like grow up a bit. The other side of it is that I can see a number of them feeling like they are entitled to a certain location because they are there every week and then feeling disgruntled when a newcomer occupies that space - but then they don't say anything and sit there simmering the whole class. Honestly, get over it. It reminds me of Nasty Lady #1 from the gardening club when our Girl Guide meetings are held - she is always trying to barge in before our meeting is over demanding we leave because they need to set up. You rent the space - you get the time you pay for, not your time plus a chunk of ours. It wasn't worth the fight, so we always tried to vacate on nights they were there, but man she was nasty, and persistent.

Chatting with the ladies was pretty fun, and I was thinking to myself "I could enjoy doing this every week", and then realized this was the last week I'd paid for this program. It's roughly $100 a month, and while that doesn't seem like a lot, it's just not something I can justify doing on top of the $80 I already pay for my monthly membership. Maybe later on in the year I will come back to it, but not for now. Too bad, I was enjoying those sessions. I am curious to try the Boot Camp class she teaches on the weekend to see if it is similar. If it's in the same genre then I don't really need to purchase the personalized time - although it is helpful to have a trainer circling you and correcting your position during the moves. I've mentioned it before: you can do a lot of damage when you are doing exercise the wrong way. It's better to have someone who knows what they are doing watch over you and correct you when you are doing it wrong. 66 days for something to become automatic. 66 days doing it wrong and you will set yourself to automatically doing it wrong - I know, I have years of learning to undo so I can relearn how to do a squat properly. For some of my classes we are doing these varying moves that involve squats and I am focusing so much of my attention on trying to make sure I am doing the squat right - because what feels natural is wrong. I have to get it just right so I can train myself to continue doing it right. I never realized working out required so much concentration to make sure you have the correct posture/position. I imagine once you get pretty familiar with it it just becomes routine, but this first month is taking a lot of focus on the position of my entire body. Is my abdomen tucked in the right way? Is my butt tucked under me? Have I stacked my joints (hips over knees, knees over ankles, shoulders over elbows, etc)? Are my shoulders back? Am I bending from the hips/knees or bending my back? Is my airway open? Am I putting my weight back through my heels (also learned about doing that this month)? I just learned this week that when I do the drumming class I am not actually supposed to be gripping the drum sticks in fists because I could injure my wrists that way; they are supposed to be loosely held between my fingers and rocked back and forth. Cool.

Still working on those squats. I can't get used to sticking my butt out behind me and bending through the hips more than the knees. It just feels like I am sticking my butt out and asking to be spanked (or something else). I'll get there eventually with more practice.
You could tell as the three of us progressed through the workout that we were getting more involved with what we were doing (or at least it required more effort) because the chat got less and less. By the end no one was talking. The workout was really good too. My knees were still a little sore, so movements like the "bird dog" where you balance on one knee and the opposing hand were not my favorite, but I did well. The first time I did this session with the instructor, I couldn't even make it through two rounds during our conditioning portion (5 exercises, 10 reps each, then repeat). This time I made it through three and was partway into four. And the other two didn't get so thoroughly far ahead of me in our different activities. Make no mistake, they still did things faster and got ahead of me, but I wasn't too far behind. Not like that first night where she lapped me and kept going. It may be that the exercises were easier than the first time - that's a possibility, but it could also be that my endurance and fitness are improving (I'm going to go with option B because it sounds more optimistic and aligns better with my goals).

Back 2 Back Yoga Tune-Up classes - just in time for Back 2 School

First up: Yoga Tune-Up concentrating on the Hips. I went to this one last week. A lot of what he says makes sense and I can totally see the correlation between my legs, my feet and my spine, which basically means my overall posture. The first time we rolled out the soles of our feet in the Wednesday class, there were so many tight and sore spots I thought I would snap something, now I barely feel anything when I do it. I know there are a couple of spots that could use a little TLC, but nothing really hurts. Same with the hip movements; it seems like I am doing preventative maintenance (certainly not a bad thing) as opposed to anything really hurting. Which is great. I am not in any major discomfort. Some of the stretches I can feel are working muscles that aren't used to moving in that direction/way, and it's possibly helping with flexibility and/of mobility.

I really like the hip movement one where you lie flat on your back, put a band or a belt around your foot while it's raised straight up in the air, and then slowly lower it out to the side, using your hip muscles to make the unnatural movement. You have to try and keep your hips flat on the floor and your spine straight/neutral so you aren't twisting. I would have described myself as being fairly mobile, but I am rapidly discovering that my limbs are not as limber as I would have thought. I have a lot of difficulty raising my leg straight up with a straight knee and the other leg also straight and flat on the floor with toes pointed straight skyward. I cannot get very high and I feel it stretching all along the back of my leg (also a good thing). It doesn't "hurt", I can just feel it stretching and know that it's a good thing. Not so fond of using the foam roller to roll out the groin area (which really just tells me that I have a lot of tight muscles in there to the point that it's really not comfortable, i.e. I need to do this more!). I know why they say it is important to be aware of your body and your own limitations when doing Yoga - there are a million ways you could really hurt yourself by trying to push something farther than your body wants to let it go. Know your limits and respect them - work on them to increase your flexibility gradually. For instance with that stretch: I had a band around my foot helping me to raise my leg while keeping them both straight, I could've used brute force and hauled back on my leg, damaging something as I forced it past it's point of mobility. You cannot go from couch potato to marathon runner in a couple of weeks - these things take time with gradual progressions. When I see stories of people who do just that - sloth to superstar in a short period of time - I often wonder what details of the story we are not getting? Maybe they're really young? Maybe they used to be a marathon runner and they've just returned to a previous "fit" so it's not as hard? Who knows, but couch potato to marathon runner is way too ambitious. Foolhardy, even.

Overall, it was good. I am really going to be sad to not be able to come to the two male instructors' classes anymore once I go back to school next week. I can get in one more Monday on the holiday with this instructor (and can probably continue to go to his classes on any holidays/vacation) but I am probably done with the other instructor until next summer (and maybe Christmas Break - but I doubt it since Boxing Day is on the Wednesday). I really don't want to be sexist at all, but I find I really enjoy the classes with the two male instructors more than the women, and it's not because I'm checking them out. They are doing the activity with us to demonstrate, usually in the middle of the room so everyone can see, and they are taking the time to circulate and watch how each (or at least most) of us are doing the stretches and making little tweaks here and there. Today, he kept checking in on my mom and modifying what she should do so she didn't strain herself. Like when we all stood up to test our balance after one leg stretch, he told her to just stay on the ground because we'd be right back (it takes her a lot of effort to get up off the floor), and on another he told her not to try and do the stretch with the block under her back, just stay flat on the ground to simplify. They are just little things, but he took the time to let her know in advance, instead of watching her struggle to then say 'oh here, try this'. She may even be impressed enough to get a membership just to come and see him. He also came over and scolded me (jokingly) for having my shoulder blade off the ground on a stretch we were doing. I find the female instructors don't circulate the room in the same manner at all. There is no individual "tweaking" going on. It's not as personalized. And you know, I know they don't have to do it, but it really makes a difference. I worry less that I am going to do something wrong or hurt myself.

Next up, was the class the focused on shoulders. Holy Wow that was rough!
Lots of good points; I've mentioned that grinding feeling in my shoulder previously on here and we did a rolling exercise with the ball that completely hit where that feeling was - and I wasn't moving my arm, so I know it's not bone-on-bone. Basically, you take the Alpha ball (you could use the regular balls) and put it against the wall, and then you roll it over the upper tip of the shoulder blade near the neck (on your back, obviously). You are going across the muscle. He described it as the "rice krispies" area, which totally nailed that "popping/grinding" feeling. Yay me! It's not going to be pretty tonight. I worked the heck out of that area, knowing it was super tight and super irritated. I may even do some more later tonight just to work on that. Then they progressed to rolling it up the neck (a.k.a. along the muscle instead of across it) but I found this awkward and just stuck with my rice krispies.

He had us lay down on the ground and roll out our spines by doing back bends (neck supported!) over the roller and stretching out our spine. I feel like I've done this before with not much problem, but today was brutal. It was intensely painful, and I had a hard time getting my back to relax enough that I could do any sort of bends. I felt like I was really trying to force myself to bend back even a little bit. I'm not sure why it was so painful/stiff, and if that was just temporary, or something I'd never tried/realized that has been there all along? I am really tempted to go and get a roller and do that one more at home. It hurt. I was definitely aware that I could not do that stretch, today I just did not have the mobility to make it happen.

After that we were going to use the roller on the muscle under our armpit working it back and forth, but he suggested that anyone who found it too painful could do another activity standing up which he would show us. I didn't even hesitate, I was up on my feet in an instant. Which ended up being a good thing, because once two or three people saw me standing up and being explained what to do, they joined me. We raised our arm and put the Alpha ball just under the armpit and rolled the ball along that muscle down the side. I didn't even try the roller, my back had hurt way too much. When I do any and all of these stretches my face is usually pretty neutral (I worry I may even look bored - at least it's not my usual Resting Bitch Face); I've had people comment that I look so relaxed (again, high pain tolerance - I can feel it working and hurting, but not enough that it's causing me any serious grief). And anytime the instructors comment about how they can see people scrunching up their faces and reminding us to relax our jaw muscles, it's never me that's tense. My face must've shown a dozen-different pain-stricken visages with the roll on my spine, because when he suggested the standing up option he was looking right at me. He knew. There was no way I was trying this laying down. And this wasn't like the typical elderly folks groaning and grunting as they work muscles that are stiff, this was borderline agony. The next stretch would be far, far worse. With this one under the armpit, I think I want to compare it to labour during child-birthing. Labour might have been easier (no major drugs). I don't think I've ever experienced this before: you know that white-hot pain where you see white at the edges of your vision? I felt like I was going to throw up. I contemplated making a comment like "This hurts so much I feel like I want to throw up", but I knew he would just tell me to stop, and I could tell I was in the right spot. Apparently, I've never tried to work that muscle before. The left side was a million times better than the right; the right I wanted to pass out, vomit, or both. The black started creeping in around the edges of my vision and replacing the white at one point. We only rolled it for 2, maybe 3 minutes before changing sides. The left just a "normal" this hurts.

Strangely enough, it is not that muscle that I can still feel throbbing this afternoon; it's the rice krispie one over/under my shoulder blade. I should probably try to roll both of them out again today.

It was a really good class. He teaches three back to back classes on Mondays; YTU Hips, what was listed as just "Yoga Tune-Up", and YTU Core. I did not realize that the second class focused on Shoulders, or I probably would've been there from Day 1, especially knowing that's what I need to work on. And especially with all of my forays into "hey, you all want to work on neck and shoulders? Perfect! Let's do Feet!" (yes, I realize they are all connected and your feet impact your back etc., but it felt like I was doing feet every time and I really wanted to work on neck/shoulders). I am certainly going back to the Shoulders class next Monday. I may try to do Shoulders and then Core afterwards. I've been to the Core and the Hips both before, but this was my first Shoulders.

Wow.

Just Wow.

It's really too bad he doesn't teach evenings. I am a major fan.

I'll let you know how I feel tomorrow and whether I'm still a #1 fan, or just a crying baby. And tomorrow's my last training session. Yikes.

So many choices... or not enough?

This month I have been in pain (when I say pain, I mean a slight aching feeling) nearly every day. You know that feeling when you are coming down with a cold or something and your body aches, but nothing is actually wrong?
Every day.

I can't really attribute it to the workouts because the aching feeling started before the work outs did. I can't say I'm coming down with something, it's been nearly a month, longer really because I felt like this in July too. I can't really attribute it to the foam mattress topper I had because that's been gone for a while. Maybe I'm just noticing it all more this week because the weather's turning a lot more rainy, the days are getting shorter, and I'm conscious that I still have a lot of work to get done before I go back to school in September.

I was contemplating going to a Yoga class this morning, but I am again not really feeling that into it. I'm not too sure what I want to do. (nothing). I am tempted to go and use the machines for a bit and then soak in the hot tub, but I am afraid that if I go with that purpose in mind, I may well do ten minutes with the machines, get bored, and then wander off - not really getting much of a work out in. If I do Hot Yoga, I can't really go back to the gym equipment after that - I will be REALLY sweaty and gross.

It's Sunday morning, so there are not nearly as many class offerings as on other days of the week, which is unfortunate. Although there are several different Yoga options. You would think that with the weekend there would be more classes, but I guess it's the opposite. Bizarre.

I ended up going with a Yoga Basics, which is kind of like Yoga 101; an introductory class. It's with my favorite Thursday night instructor - you know, the one who asks us what we want to do and then does something else...- yeah, she did that AGAIN. Except this time she didn't announce we'd be doing something else. The requests all centered on the back, so we focused on the legs: hamstrings and quadriceps. Whatever. At least this time I didn't have anything I was dying to work on. I was too tired to really care. When we lay there for ten minutes while she explained her theories about Yoga and guided us in trying to connect with the energies around us, letting go of the past few months, years, etc. - it didn't even bother me. I was just happy to lay on the floor doing nothing, perhaps silently mocking all of this "connecting" stuff. I love the stretches and the exercises, but I just can't fully buy into the spirituality of the program. The plus side was that she wanted to do more of a therapeutic style Yoga - more like the Tune Ups, which was great.  Wasn't a fan of the sliding doors being open onto the outside. I was too cold, I think. A few weeks ago I had said it would be awesome to be in that room with a thunderstorm going on. No thunderstorm, but the rain certainly poured down for about 20 minutes - which was also pretty cool, and cold.

Then this random walks in 10 minutes into class, traipses across the room to get all of his supplies from the rack, and then sets himself up in front of the door - you know, the entrance and exit to the room?? Brilliant. Again, didn't really bother me that someone was disrupting the flow of the room, but it certainly became very noticeable.



It was a good class. In the first quarter of class I even contemplated leaving at the half-way mark because I just felt so sluggish. I ended up staying. It turns out it was a 75 minute class, I had not read my time correctly and had bargained on a 60 minute class. Oh well, we sat there for 10 minutes at the start anyway.

I felt a lot better by the end, and then the hot shower afterwards back at my place helped a lot too. Now I feel (almost) ready to tackle the day and get my work done - good thing it's already 2:30 pm.



I'll get this done... I think.

So lethargic...

So I did not go to the gym yesterday, but I still got a sufficient bike ride with my daughter around the neighbourhood, plus some Yoga stretches at home. I feel as though I met my "workout" needs for the day.
Nevertheless, I woke up this morning feeling very lethargic. I had no drive to go to the gym and probably could have easily decided to stay home today not doing much of anything. Getting my athletic gear on and heading out was an exercise in will power.

But, I did it.

And I'm glad I did.

The drumming class was intense. Again, now that I am in a little better shape I am not sweating as much, nor am I out of breath, but I am still getting a good workout. Especially my leg muscles with all of the squats. At the start I was giving it 110%. Jumping up, getting as low as I could, really working it to the beat. Even attempting to get some rhythm into my moves (I have no sense of rhythm). The instructor is always up at the front swaying her hips and shaking her shoulders and making some of the movements look like we're mid-dance, and I'm all "yeah, I'll just sway my hips awkwardly and focus on the drumming part". No. Rhythm. And to think I used to be a dancer (just not a good one). We finished another song and I thought to myself, wow, this has been a great class, it must be almost over and my legs are killing me. I had gone through my entire water bottle and refilled it. My shirt was a tad wet and I was a tad red in the face and breathing hard.

We were 20 minutes in.

Hehe oops. It was a really good workout. I made it through the entire class, and only toned down the intensity for maybe the last 20 minutes when my legs started to turn to jelly.
I felt like my legs were going to give out under me - again with the good pain. I could tell I had worked the muscles hard, and tonight I am going to make sure I rub them down with the icy gel to prevent any soreness tomorrow.

Now that the kids have finally cleaned their loom bands out of the bathtub (they fell out of a bucket perched precariously on the side of the tub - big surprise) I can actually attempt to clean it and use it. So I may take a soak in the tub to help relieve my muscles as well. If your kids ever ask for loom bands, or something similar - they look like little hair elastics that you loop together to form bracelets and necklaces - DON'T DO IT!! They are a nightmare. The idea is super cool, the colours and the creativity are awesome, they have a blast with it, and then, like most toys, they lose interest, and you have ten thousand tiny elastic bands all over your house. The cats try to eat them, they get into everything, even when the kids are using them they drop a few and those get into everything. And, rubber bands - so not super environment friendly when you're throwing out a bazillion of them unused. Never again. Until next Christmas when they ask for more. 

No gym for me today...

I didn't end up going to the gym today. But that doesn't mean I let my workout goal go. I went for a forty-minute bike ride with my daughter. We only went 2 km, so it wasn't an intensive speed-cycle trip, and it also involved walking the bikes up many hills. Yes, bikes. I walked the bikes while she walked behind me (she's only 7). But, with the beautiful sunlight out there (and the heat) it was still a decent workout. My step counter/heart rate monitor says I was in the cardio zone for nearly the entire time with 103 average bpm and a peak rate of 128 on the way home (more uphill on the way back).

Besides, your daughter wants to spend some time with you, it's gorgeous outside, she wants to do some cycling which gets her outside and active, and it still gets you your workout. Do I say "no sweetie, mommy doesn't have time because she's going to the gym to fulfill a goal she posted online?" so I can go and do a group class in a closed room that may or may not have similar results? I intend to do the drumming class tomorrow, there wasn't a whole lot of point in doing it today too. You'd be picking the bike ride too. In all honesty I probably could've still made the class because we came back with 40 minutes before it started... but by then I'd already convinced myself this was a sufficient workout. As I write this I am also doing some of the rolling exercises from the Yoga Tune-Up classes so I'm getting (sort of) a dual workout in. I said I wanted to workout everyday, and yes, I think at one point I said "gym every day", but there was no mention that it needed to be hour-long sessions each time. I may try to assuage my guilt later tonight and go do some weights or muscle building equipment before I go to my friends house. That's something I haven't done nearly enough of (a.k.a. I haven't done any).

Bike-riding has always been a big red flag of "not doing it" because of my shifting knee caps, when they aren't in place I can feel the bone grinding together. So of course, bike riding, with your knees bending and straightening at such an angle, is a sure-fire way to grind them faster. If I don't take care of them I could end up needing to replace my knee caps when I'm older. Yay! Surgery and plastic pieces! During the aqua class yesterday I could feel one moving and without even thinking I reached down under the water and tugged upwards towards my hips, and shifted it back into place. I don't know what I was trying to do, but not that. I felt it slide home with a solid "thunk" and then no more shifting. I've never done that before. Even when I was in Physio the doctor never did that either; it was always about strengthening the muscles to pull it back into place naturally. And a knee brace if it was really bothering me. Yesterday and today I was really happy with myself and "yay! That was super easy and now I can feel it's where it belongs". But now as I'm writing this I'm realizing that might not be such a good thing... Does that mean I've damaged something to the point that I can now just solidly slide my kneecap around? Or are the muscles so weak that they're really not holding anything in place? Or has my new workout «drive» done further damage?

Whatever it is, my knee did not hurt one bit while out cycling, nor for the rest of the day yesterday after I snapped it back. I'm not sure if I should try that again or not...

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I had a massage therapy appointment this afternoon, and while that's not normally something I would write about, I'm really happy I went. When I've been doing any activity where I raise my shoulder with weights by lifting my arm straight out and up, I've been feeling this grinding in my shoulder, and worried it was a bone-on-bone feeling, but not sure. I don't want to be doing damage with my exercises, but I'm also not sure it was a problem. Well I got that solved today. She was working on the muscles in my neck and re-created that same feeling when she was pinching it. When I told her about the grinding feeling she explained that the muscle she is working on is located in a groove in my collar bone and it controls that exact movement. It was really tight. So yes, the grinding feeling was a tight muscle trying to contract, and not bone damage occurring. Yay! It's important to be aware of your body; when something feels wrong, find out about it. And an Internet search is not the best way to inform yourself about anything. I like to tell my students; it's a good starting point to get base information, but not reliable or dependable in any way. The number of people who take internet information as the solid and unquestionable truth is shocking. 

Even if you see something on here that you think is interesting or valid or informative; check it out for yourself before spouting it as the "truth". I tend to check my facts for the most part, but not 100% about everything I write. For example: I'm not 100% confident I have the right muscle names anytime I write about them, but I'm too lazy to look up the anatomy and try to guess which one we were working, so I go off what I think the instructor said. Sometimes I just write "the [arm/leg/back] muscle". I have no degree related to anything to do with the body. I went to all three major post-secondary institutions here in Ottawa and graduated from programs at all of them. I have a certificate in Bar-tending (for all you teenagers out there: it's useless - totally fun course though), I have a Bachelor of Arts (in History and more History), and a Bachelor of Education. None of these are related in any way to human anatomy. I mean I took one course in Intro Psychology and that's not even related to studying anatomy and the workings of the human body. The rest revolved around languages, teaching, and ancient History. Hated high school history, went on to study combined honours in two different types of history at University because I loved it so much. Now I'm certified to teach high school history and still hated it the one time I taught it for part of a semester. I usually teach English or French, so don't worry; I won't be dragging your child down with my obvious disdain for Grade 10 history.

Different instructor... different experience

I think I've said this before, but having a different instructor can really change the entire feel of a class. My advice to anyone trying a class for the first time, especially if there are multiple offerings of that class - is even if you don't like it, try the class with another instructor. Not all instructors are equal. Just like not all teachers are equal. Some are amazing, and some are OK.

Today's class was another Aqua workout. This time it was more of a mixed bag of activities and seemed to focus more on cardio and arm work. The class was decent; I feel like I got a good workout in my arms, which I probably really needed. When I compare it to the Aqua class I went to on Tuesday however, it was pretty bad. By comparison, Tuesday's class was pretty awesome because the instructor did not stop talking (I bet you're thinking to yourself - why is that a good thing?). Well, I'll tell you. When the instructor is constantly talking, it most likely means they are offering you encouragement, feedback, and maybe even different options on how to do a particular exercise. They are quite possibly explaining where on your body you should be feeling the stretch - despite what you may think, where is often not self-evident and you can get into a lot of trouble stretching the wrong area with an exercise because it means you are doing it wrong. They are paying attention to what you are doing and correcting you if needed. They are monitoring the "newbies" in the class and ensuring they have it done right. And they may just flat out be pumping up the energy in the class with their own enthusiasm. There is a lot of benefit to an instructor talking you through what you are doing.
For example, on Tuesday we did this move where we traveled by scooping our hands while running in place. It's easy to use your legs to move you and the arms are just periphery, but you could hurt your knees that way. You run straight up and down, and use the arm movement to propel you in the right direction. Did the same move today; no explanation. Actually, every move we did had zero explanation. The only talking the instructor did was to call out movement names here and there or tell us to switch directions. There was the occasional "yeah! You feel it right?" and that was about it. There were a lot of times where she did not even call them out, but literally just changed movements and if you were not looking at her, you would not notice the switch. And sometimes she would only demonstrate it for one or two repetitions and then you either needed to get it or too bad (so no room to look back and make sure you had it down the right way because she was standing at the front nodding).
I am really glad we went to the Tuesday class first because this one was pretty bad. Again, my background knowledge of how to do this stuff may have contributed to my negative outlook on the class - because I know what it should look like. It may have been fine for someone else, but I was not impressed. I would say I'm not the only one with this perception because the Tuesday class was nearly packed, and this one has maybe ten people in it. The exercises were decent, my arms got a good workout, the only thing the instructor was good for was to tell me which thing to do next a.k.a. I could get the same value workout from a TV broadcast on silent (except you can't really do that with Aqua fitness). Even most of the taped shows will still go through the "here's what this should feel like" and "here are some modifications to make it easier or harder". I tried to do a booty-shaping-dancing-cardio-workout video once. My kids got a kick out of it, I just couldn't keep up. I say once, but it was like three months ago, not even that far back in the "distant" past.

We used resistance weights to work the arm muscles. Basically, it's a dumbbell-shaped floating foam, since it floats getting it under water and keeping it there in place takes effort because it is always trying to float back up to the surface. Moving it around really engages the arm muscles.

Mistakenly I picked up the harder-to-use set. Perfect for a newbie! Another thing an experienced instructor could have foretold; "hey, you're new, the difference between the yellow and the blue is that the yellow offers more resistance." I grabbed yellow. I was fine with it. My mother, not so much. She gave up using it in the first two minutes and would have benefited from the blue set.

Oh well. I got something out of it in the arm exercises and then went out to meet a friend for lunch. It was a good day.

The bad kind of pain...

Today was a Tune-Up class with my favourite instructor. We worked on the feet and hips, which wasn't totally what I wanted to focus on. It was OK. I've talked before about good pain and bad pain and how, if you are aware of your own body, you can usually tell which is which. As we worked on the hips this was mostly bad pain. I could feel the immediate results in how I could increase the range of motion in my external rotation, but I could also tell I was manipulating the muscle in a way that was not helpful. I tried over and over again to position myself in different ways, or find a different part of the upper hip to roll with the ball so that I was only getting good pain, but I just couldn't find a good spot, and so it really hurt. My hip has been kind of sore all evening (again, not good sore. This is the "ouch, I hurt something" kind of pain). I've had a bit of difficulty going up and down the stairs and a lot of stiffness in my movements around my upper legs and hips, especially the right leg. I feel as though I was able to get some better positioning on the left side during the exercises, but not the right, and I can really feel the difference: it just hurts. 

We also worked on rolling out the soles of the feet and stretching the muscles in the ankle. It was really good. Definitely not as sore as the first time I did this particular move in the tune up class. That's good, right? It's one of the moves I think I want to hold onto and continue using at home once I'm no longer able to go to Tune-Up with my school schedule. Maybe I can find some "Tune-Up" videos to follow at home. I get the principles, so as long as someone else is picking which area to focus on and telling me which stretches to do so they coincide, I feel I could probably do this from home. I will be sad to not be able to go anymore. The other Tune-Up on Mondays will be the same kind of sad that I can no longer go. I like this instructor's class though, a lot. 

And this is why proof-reading your work is essential; the first time I wrote that word, the cell phone keyboard (with "L" next to "delete") took out the first two letters of "class". I suppose he must have a good behind, if he's that into fitness, I've never really looked. That's not my go-to feature to check out. I'm more of a hair person - good head of hair and good facial hair. Definitely prefer longer hair to shorter hair (I'm not talking down to your shoulders, well, maybe, but a good length and a scruffy beard). I even have to admit that I kind of like the man-bun - on some people. No hair = not horribly attractive. Sorry to everyone who shaves their head; just not my thing.

My initial session trainer was taking the class today too. (He's young and doesn't have much hair). It's an awkward situation because I realize he's there as a client, but also as a staff of the gym so you don't want to pretend you don't know him, but he's there on personal time, so you also don't want to start talking shop. I smiled at him but I don't think I even said hi. (He left early or I probably would've at the end, and asked him how he liked it).

Today was a really busy day with a lot of running around and a lot to do. As I lay here in bed I can really feel the muscle fatigue soaking in. It's been a good solid month of staying active in some way or another every single day. I've never stayed this active for this long. I've always given up by now - I mean there was the one year I ran all summer... But that's pretty much it since high school when I played basketball. If nothing else, I am really proud of myself for setting this goal and doing my best to go to the gym daily. I am really enjoying it. It's also feeling a little like I am actually taking some "me" time. I'm at the gym and it's not benefiting anyone else except me. There are no kids asking for anything, no chores to finish around the house, no papers to mark, no planning to do - though I need to start that next week. It's been really nice. I am falling behind on other goals I had this summer - like finally cleaning out my office (there's still stuff in boxes from when we moved in two years ago). Or doing some baking, or getting the house cleaned top to bottom. Does anyone else find there are just not enough hours in a day? And I'm not even working! It's not wonder I fall so far behind in housework during the school year. I really need to get the kids to help more with chores. It's the same thing every time: they come out strong; we totally want to help, we want an allowance, we have all of these ambitious ideas of what we're going to do to get money, even fighting over chores. It lasts a week, if that, and then they stop helping. *sigh*

At least I can be happy that I'm still going to the gym... for now.

Two classes in a day...

... and one of them was the Personal Training session where I did some strength training and conditioning. I am rapidly learning that I am not a fan of squats or lunges. Those muscles in my legs are particularly weak. So let's do more!



I always feel the muscle ache just above the knees when I do either of those exercises. I suppose that's a good thing; I used to have knee caps that shifted (they still do, but I don't do anything that aggravates them - patellofemoral syndrome if you want the medical term) and building those muscles was one of the things my physiotherapist recommended I do way back in high school. As you can guess, I listened well (NOT). I am still seeing the same physiotherapist 15 years later at various intervals for neck, back, shoulders, whenever I mess something up and still not doing the stretches or exercises he gives me. I go for a week or two until I feel better, and then stop until the next time I mess something up. It's usually the same four injuries on a cycle of repeat. I'm sure I'm not the only one who does this. We tend to only take action when something is painful, we wanted to restore our bodies to pain-free, but we don't tend to take preventative measures. If I did my exercises, I could strengthen the muscles enough to prevent further injuries and I wouldn't have to keep going to physio every time I slept on my neck wrong, or picked something up the wrong way. IF...

Maybe that can be a goal with all of this "going to the gym" kick I'm on: I can start doing the exercises I'm supposed to to fix the injuries I already have. I had a terrible car accident several years ago and I've never fully recovered (my own fault). The woman ahead of me slammed on her brakes at a green light because the "don't walk" hand started flashing. I will admit I was probably going too fast and also too close behind her, but I crashed into her van hard enough to total my car, and send me into the windshield. The airbags did not inflate properly, but there is no way to prove that. It's neither here nor there at this point, the point is I haven't been doing my stretches for a very long time, and that can be part of my goal in going to the gym - maybe finally fix what I've already been working with. It may not seem like it from my posts about going to the gym daily, but I am incredibly LAZY.



It makes keeping up any sort of routine a little challenging. But we're trying...

Today's fitness training focused on arms and legs and a lot of repetitions. We did some lunges and squats, in a number of variations. I learned what a Bavarian squat is - it's not nice! You raise the back leg on something like a step, and do your squat from that position. It increases the stretch through your thigh. Ouch! I also learned what an Arnold (press? raise?) is. Named after Mr. Schwarzenegger it involves lifting weights but also doing a sort of arm press in front of your face. Really cool. The woman beside me really struggled with it - but she also had reasonably sized weights whereas I had my little lightest-thing-in-the-box set. (Yeah, still a pansy, some things take a while to change). I want to feel comfortable with the different movements before I start adding weight. I know that's going to make it take longer, and I'm going to have a harder time seeing results right away, but it also means I am making sure I have all of the movements right before I go into macho "look at me do all of this" mode.
Which kind of reminds me of this morning's Aqua fit class. There was this woman there who was all determined to show off that she is super fit, and every exercise she's trying to jump higher and get half her body out of the water - for instance we do jumping jacks and you are so far submerged that only your shoulders are really coming out of the water. Except that she is about my height and standing in shallow water that comes to below her breasts, and trying to show off that she can leap great heights. That's not how Aqua fitness works. You would actually get a tougher/more intense workout by putting yourself into deeper water, and trying to do the movements while keeping your head stable and not moving about. The more of your body that is submerged, the more intense the workout. (see, my "how to be an instructor" lessons have stuck with me a little!) Sometimes, I find it really frustrating when I realize some of the "useless" information my brain decides to hold onto while discarding stuff I actually need. Side note: my seizures sometimes erase chunks of my memory, and it is really hard to work with; firstly because I can sense where there is a hole in my memory - like there is something I should know but I can't access it so it makes it even more upsetting when I know I should know. I had a seizure during March Break and came back to school after the break; I realized I didn't know where my classroom was, nor what my students names were. It was really frightening. It's also one of those things that you are afraid to ask for help on because it shows a weakness that others can feed off of. So I had to discreetly look up my classroom number and referred to the students by pointing and nodding instead of calling out names, until it all came back to me. It took about a week. Secondly it's aggravating because I find people around me are constantly using these "gaps" against me. We'll get into a discussion, and I'll be arguing against them - usually about something that happened, which I remember quite clearly, and their response is "well you have memory problems, so you don't remember". My seizures don't invent new memories, they put little gaps in my existing memory. Sometimes I'm lucky and they come back - like my students names. But saying that to me is like an instant dismissal of anything I have to say. Like I said, I know where the holes are, I can tell when there's something I'm missing, so someone arbitrarily dismissing what I am saying in that manner because it disagrees with their own point is insanely insulting. I've had to tell members of my family (obviously not my kids) that if you are going to use that against me in that way, then we are going to be done talking. They always seem so surprised. "What? I didn't say anything mean." No. You just instantly stated that you have completely dismissed any validity to anything I have to say and will only accept my information if it coincides with your own. Obviously, you don't need anything I have to say, so we don't need to talk anymore.

Back to fitness;
When you try to hold your place in water that is moving in this type of environment, you are engaging your abdominal and core muscles much more trying to hold the position steady. So in the case of "jumping jacks" it's easier to launch yourself into the air and bounce back down, especially once you get momentum going. What is much more difficult, is to turn the leg motions into a slide while holding your core in place. So I have a little bounce, enough to get my feet of the bottom, and then I am abducting my thigh muscles (I want to say hips?) to push my legs apart on an even keel, and then pulling them back into center. Meanwhile my arms (hands flat) are pushing the water away and towards me - all under the surface of the water. It's a much tougher and more meaningful workout. But that's cool, bounce around super fast with no resistance and call it a workout. If you want to do that, go and join a Step class. The instructor kept trying to tell her to go deeper in the water and she absolutely refused. I think she realized she could not get as much lift from the deep end, without realizing this would actually mean a bigger workout, not that she "can't do it". I kept my mouth shut. Each person is entitled to their own view of a how a workout should go (me included!) and she was definitely rockin' it and having a blast powering through all of the movements much faster than the rest of us. She did go a little deeper than her original "spot" - as one of the tallest she had originally been in the shallowest water, and moved somewhere to the midway point at the instructors prompting, but hesitated to go any further. I stayed in the deep end and tried to activate my core as much as possible. I am certain I will be feeling this in my abdomen tomorrow morning. I already woke up with them a bit sore this morning (and totally unsure why because I don't remember doing anything that focused on them). Aqua fit was first, so I worked my abdomen in the morning, and then came back for more punishment with the strength training and conditioning in the evening. I'm feeling really good.

With the personal trainer, I feel like I did a much better job of keeping up than last week. Another case where I may not be seeing any visual results, but I can feel the difference when I do certain activities. The training had a similar structure to last week's (different stretches, but similar) and yet I was able to get through more repetitions of the series than the week before. My legs still ached and I found the squat lunge section really challenging, but the rest was easier. I didn't have a lot of sections that I really struggled to do the action. I think next week I *might* try to use a heavier set of weights. The other girl in the session still lapped me in the activities, but I'm OK with that.

I'm also thinking I might try to up my game and go for a Boot Camp style class. I think it is going to be similar activities with the weights and the stretches, which is probably closer to what I need. And I can't continue my current stream of one intense workout day and then two "recovery" style days where I am still getting a workout, but I am not pushing myself to the same extent or working the same muscle groups.

Tomorrow; Yoga Tune Up again!

Yoga Tune-Up Hips

This morning's class was pretty good. The instructor was amazing to keep checking in on my mom as she is floundering and to help her modify the stretches in ways that she can actually do them. I hadn't really factored in the fact that her movement is so limited that getting down onto the floor is not really something she can do. I don't remember ever seeing her sit on the floor. The things we take for granted.

Yoga involves a lot of "sit on the ground for this stretch", possibly with a couple of variations, followed by "now up on your feet for this stretch", again with a few variations. It's typically a lot of up and down and up and down, which is really challenging for my mom (but also something she should probably learn to do again).

I can't imagine being unable to move about in that way. But for many of us, at some point in our lives it is going to be a reality. It makes me think back to this instructor's class from two weeks ago where he had us practice different ways to get up off the floor. They activity kind of doubled as doing a lot of burpees, but essentially we would lie flat on the floor on our stomachs and then get up onto our feet as fast as we could. Except with each new round he would tell us a body part didn't work. So round two your left leg didn't work and you had to get up. Round three your right leg didn't work (but your left leg is now functional again). And then your arm, and then the other one. I think the final round involved nothing working (only one person could get into something semi-upright). His ending comment was that while this seems like pointless torture, this is a life-skill; if something ever happens and we're alone, it gives us the ability to remain mobile (and possibly get to a phone). It's a pretty valid point. You don't want to be the turtle stuck on its' back, you want to be able to get up and get help.

We did a lot of leg and hip flexion stretches, and a lot of massage with the Yoga balls. It was good. I felt slightly less sore than the last session. The one I really noticed was in my feet. During my August 1st class when this all started, one of the first exercises we did was to take a Yoga ball and roll it under the sole of your feet, finding sore spots and "working" them out. It was SO painful. Waves of pain radiating through my feet and up my legs. I was afraid to do that exercise again because it hurt so much and I didn't feel like there was any benefit after the fact. So we did that same exercise today and the sore spots were all or nearly all gone, and none of them felt anywhere near what they did that first time. It was really nice, and encouraging.

You know what else I've noticed? I've had one headache in the past month. Mind you, it was a TERRIBLE headache that lasted from the middle of the night until midday; but I've only had the one. I'm not sure if that's from going to the gym, working out tension, less stress because I'm on summer break, or simply the fact that I'm not staring at a computer screen for multiple hours a day. My headaches used to be numerous and debilitating. If I accomplish nothing else, getting rid of headaches would make my time at the gym 100% worth it. 110%  110,000%
Have I mentioned my headaches are terrible?

Hot Yoga, round 2

Today was another just not feeling it day. I didn't get a good night's sleep - I had just taken the foam cover off my bed so I went from a cushy bed-top to a much firmer one (with the goal of eliminating that bruised feeling on my spine). I also spent a good two hours sleeping in my youngest daughter's bed with her - that's a slatted bed frame with a firm mattress on it - so no give there. And another hour on my eldest daughter's bed with her - same format. You can also read between the lines that this meant I kept being awoken in the night, by my husband turning and snoring too. Very good night's sleep. Needless to say, I woke up very stiff this morning. Add in the cramps which were fairly uncomfortable, even painful, this morning and I wasn't feeling too great. I nearly threw up taking my seizure medication with some Advil (not a normal reaction). I strongly debated trying to do Yoga from home, or going to the gym and sitting in the steam room and sauna doing my own thing - as long as I stay active I can totally justify doing that right? And if it's in the steam room or sauna I'm still "at the gym"... No?

I opted for the hot yoga, feeling the warm environment would help with my cramps, but feeling a little intimidated by the prospect of hot Yoga when I'm feeling under the weather - last class it had been a bit more demanding than the stretching Yoga classes I had been to.

It was OK. Nothing super special, but it suited my needs. I sweat out a lot of whatever bad stuff you want to call it. I didn't go full throttle on any of the stretches, just enough to feel the workout and not stress out or aggravate my body. My cramps were mostly gone in the nice heat, but they're back this evening.

This class had far less mumbo jumbo that the previous one. She talked continuously, but it was more about different options on how to reduce or increase the stretch in the different poses, and reminding us to time our movements with our breath. For the first twenty minutes I kept checking my watch and wishing it was done, not because I didn't like it, but because I wanted to get in my 75 minutes and say I was done. This was definitely a "I'd rather curl up in a ball in the shower" kind of day. After that, I kind of got lost in the class and didn't really check my watch until the last 15 minutes as I started to realize we were winding down. I was definitely loving the heat. I even went and sat in the sauna for another twenty minutes after the class. I loved that we must have spent a good ten minutes just lying on our back stretching out the muscles and not really moving. I got my heat and my less-aggressive movements. It was a perfect choice for today.

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I have convinced my mother (at 71) to sign up for a trial membership to see how she likes it, with the intention of dragging her to a few Aqua-fit and Yoga Tune-Up classes. I'm dragging her to a Tune-Up class in the morning that focuses on your hips. I wasn't horribly interested in doing that one, but my husband wants to leave early for the cottage, and if it motivates her to get some physical activity in while loosening her hip tension, it certainly won't hurt me to try it out.

Her health is not great, and the doctors have been telling her for years she needs to be more active (she hardly moves some days). With a recent health scare she is actually trying to get active now, so it's the perfect time. Aqua-fit classes are very low impact which are often good for the elderly, the water helps lend buoyancy to your body so there is less stress on the joints when you are doing the movements, and it adds a level of resistance so even doing small things like pumping your arms back and forth under the water can hep give you a decent workout when you're not horribly in shape to start with. It works well for people with limited mobility or reduced range of motion. I once took a course to become an instructor but never completed it. So I've got a lot of the principles, without the certification to actually teach it. Surprisingly, I don't think I have ever gone to Aqua-fit as a workout for myself. I love the water, it's fun, set to music, and relatively low-impact. It helps with arthritis and promotes joint mobility. I don't really have a good reason for never going. It's another one where it is a lot of older people doing the class; at least at the public pools. The one at the gym might be a bit better.



Even if my mom doesn't stick with going to the gym, I was encouraging her and my dad to do those two classes, and it gives them a rather inexpensive way to try them out and see if they want to find them somewhere else. My mom was impressed with the tour, and if she likes the classes I think she may join up as a full member. Our tour guide made a very good point; some people comment that the gym is expensive - and you know what, if all you want is the machines to lift weights and build muscles, then it is - but when you factor in all the classes (with lots of variety), the pool, the gymnasium, and the access to different services, it's not a bad price. Like I said, I initially signed up over a year ago because my local pool was closing for maintenance and it was cheaper (and had better hours) for me to go do lap swimming at the gym, as long as I went 3-4 times a week. I did, for a while. Then that also dwindled to nothing and I was paying for a gym membership I never used (which brought me to my current state of getting good use out of it for the summer).

I was ruminating today that I got my gym membership to use the pool, and I have not set foot in the pool once since my journey began on August 1st. It came across my mind as I went to take a shower and remembered how much I hate the showers there (they are too short, so I end up bending my back awkwardly - and usually hurting myself - to get my head under the water). I had been leaving still sweaty every day to shower at home. I live close by, the weather's been nice, I have nothing to do, why not? That's not going to work in the fall, or with the imminent cold weather. So I braved the shower today, and remembered I hadn't been in the pool. I should go back into doing that, or add it on after a workout, especially once I plan on showering there. It wouldn't be a stretch to throw on a bathing suit and do laps for 15-20 minutes...