That's right, the Tune Up class with the instructor I really like! I am going to be really sad to not be able to go to his classes anymore once I go back to school. Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll start teaching an evening class... Today's class HURT. But again, the "this is undoing some of the damage" kind of hurt. I could feel it grinding into the tight muscles, kind of like a massage does when I go to loosen some of the kinks. My shoulder still feels the after-effects of it, and it's 2 hours later. Tonight will definitely need some Blue Ice gel, and maybe a hot bath to soak in.
A good chunk of the class was groaning with every movement (keeping in mind I'm one of, if not the youngest person in there). I had no problems doing any of the moves, but they hurt. Another class I wish I'd filmed so I could remember the moves to repeat later at home. It was really, really, really, good. And sore. Oh so sore. We worked the traps, the pecs, the muscles between the shoulder blades, and a bunch more I don't know the names of. There was a lot of focus on increasing the range of motion in our shoulders so we could use them properly. He had us relaxing the tension in the muscles and stretching them out to help. I also got to learn to use the Yoga balls along my spine. Definitely something I wanted because I can use them at home, but my spine is so sensitive in some spots I didn't want to randomly place balls and start digging in, hoping I don't damage anything. Now I have reference points and a couple of good exercises or movements to work and loosen the muscle groups I want. YES!
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Apparently my first trip to the gym today wasn't enough to satisfy my desire to work-out. My gym runs a program where it's like a combination between hiring a personal trainer and doing a fitness strength-training class. Smaller numbers than a full-blown class of 20 (these run with <10) and more individualized attention like with a personal trainer, but not one-on-one. I tried that out for today and loved it! She really kicked my butt. We were doing squats and partial planks and bar raises and all sorts of strength training exercises, and the end was a conditioning segment where we did repetitions of certain activities. We focused on our legs mostly, but I felt some good stretches in through the shoulders too.
The trainer and I even discussed the "grinding" feeling I've been getting in my shoulder when I try to do stretches that involve me lifting my arms (with weights) out to the sides and up over my head. It feels like my shoulder blade is grinding into something it shouldn't be, and I can't tell if it's bone on bone, or just really tight muscles and connective tissues (I definitely have tight everything in there). We'll keep an eye on it in the coming weeks and I'll keep trying to loosen the muscles in there and work that group to strengthen my muscles in the right direction. It could just be tight connective tissue, but either way I need to get my arms and joints moving in the right directions.
I was too much of a wuss (not really), I only used the 10 lb kettlebell and the 2 lb dumbbells. My arms didn't feel like they were going to fall off or anything, but I definitely could feel myself getting tired out. That last little bit of conditioning exercises took a lot of willpower to get through.
There were only two of us there. The other girl totally put me to shame (not literally, she was quite nice and said not a word to make me feel bad). Towards the end in our conditioning section we had five exercises to do with 10 reps of each, moving through at our own pace over a 10-minute window. She went through 3 complete sets and was into her fourth, I think, and I was just finishing up my second at the end of the 10 minutes. Her weights were also much heavier. Oh well. Turns out she's been in personal training for the last 8 months. So I don't feel too bad. Actually, I don't feel bad at all. I'm comfortable with the fact that I am weak, and that I am trying to do something about it to improve my strength and overall health. It doesn't make me feel bad when someone can do it better than me. Maybe even I can use that as motivation to keep going so I can reach their level some day too.
During the lesson I could feel the burn with every movement. Especially towards the end as I could feel my muscles starting to turn to jelly. You know that feeling when you've really pushed yourself and your muscles are like "OK, I'm good for today!"
Leaving that training session, I was definitely the newbie using an escalator for the first time going down the stairs. Two hands on the railing trying to make sure my knees didn't give out under me. I bet I looked pretty special. I had passed my first personal trainer on the way in, really glad I didn't pass him (or anyone I knew!) on the way out.
I think tomorrow I will need to take it easy with a Yoga class. I know there is a mantra that you should wait 2-3 days between workouts, and I was reading an interesting article on it just yesterday that explored why this is not necessary. I'm trying to find the link to post it here for you. Basically they did a bunch of studies in controlled groups and found that those who rested between workouts and those who didn't performed the same. One study lasted for six months and one was only a few weeks. That's not to say you can't hurt yourself if you push it too far. This myfitnesspal article by Lauren Bedosky talks about the research behind recovery and what you need (or don't need). I like how this author incorporates research studies into what she is saying.
https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/are-recovery-days-necessary-or-just-a-trend/
This Nautilus Article by Mathieu Rousseau talks about how you don't need to wait between workouts if you are training different muscle groups. The recovery time needed also depends on the type of training you are doing. Check out the link below for more info.
https://www.nautilusplus.com/is-it-necessary-to-rest-24-hours-between-workouts/
This Self Article by Jess Novak talks about why rest is important in a healthy work out regimen.
https://www.self.com/story/rest-strength-workouts
Now obviously I'm not body-building (at this stage) and I'm clearly not doing heavy-lifting muscle-building workouts, so a lot of this does not wholly apply to me. I don't need to AVOID doing work outs two days in a row, but I do need to make sure I take care of my body. This includes eating properly and drinking lots of water, taking care of my muscles and making sure I get a good night's sleep. After today's more intense workout, tomorrow's should be a little more relaxed, or at least should target another muscle group. I will most likely go to Yoga. Though the call of the Drums class is pretty loud and insistent... We'll see how I feel in the morning.
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