It's interesting... I went to the Saturday drumming class two weeks ago and really got my butt kicked. Today, not so much. Don't get me wrong; the class was awesome! But I wasn't struggling like I was two weeks ago. My body didn't feel nearly as beaten as it had that first time. I see it in the little things; there were more moves where I was bouncing around to the beat instead of remaining stationary while I pounded on the drum. There was a section where she was doing jumping jacks while she bounced and maybe half the class was just doing squats - I was doing the jumping jacks too. And my arms didn't get too tired to keep over my head with the movements ( I found that last time it was a struggle to get my arms up high enough by about the halfway point). I didn't need a towel to keep me at a reasonable level of sweat - though my shirt substituted a few times... And I wasn't out of breath at any point. I just didn't have that same level of exhaustion as the first time I went. It was a good workout and I love how energetic and motivational she is. She is really engaged in the teaching which to some extent makes it more fun for us.
I am maybe not noticing any visible results to my gym-going journey; I still weigh the same and nothing looks any fitter, but I am noticing results in how I feel and how I perform. I feel like my overall cardio is better, and like I could possibly attempt to go for a run and make it longer than two minutes before I needed a rest. Not too sure about that one. I used to run, sort of, but never well. I think at my best I could maybe do five-minute intervals, and that was after a few months of building up. I read somewhere that the reason most people fail their running goals is that they start out too big - I'm going for a 20-minute run and they get discouraged when they can't do it.
This recommended running for two minutes and walking for 1, and do that three times in a row. After a few runs when you get comfortable, add another two-minute section at the end. A few times later, add another one. When you feel comfortable at 5 two-minute intervals, go to 3 three-minute intervals. After a few days, add a fourth 3-minute interval. Then a fifth. When you got that, go to 3 four-minute intervals, etc. Eventually you can build yourself up to being able to run 20 minutes straight. I think I only made it to two 5-minute intervals, if that. Maybe it was only 4-minute intervals. Obviously if you are trying to use a treadmill this gets a little trickier, with trying to adjust the settings so quickly from one to the other and maintain a consistent pattern; which may also be part of why I stopped running, and by the following summer I had given up. Every time I tried to go again, I'd run a few times and give up.
Your gradual building up running schedule would look something like this;
Day 1 - Day 2 Day 3
2 minute run 2 minute run 2 minute run
1 minute walk 1 minute walk 1 minute walk
2 minute run 2 minute run 2 minute run
1 minute walk 1 minute walk 1 minute walk
2 minute run 2 minute run 2 minute run
1 minute walk 1 minute walk 1 minute walk
2 minute run 2 minute run
1 minute walk 1 minute walk
2 minute run
1 minute walk
Day 4 - Day 5 Day 6
3 minute run 3 minute run 3 minute run
1 minute walk 1 minute walk 1 minute walk
3 minute run 3 minute run 3 minute run
1 minute walk 1 minute walk 1 minute walk
3 minute run 3 minute run 3 minute run
1 minute walk 1 minute walk 1 minute walk
3 minute run 3 minute run
1 minute walk 1 minute walk
3 minute run
1 minute walk
Day 7 - Day 8 Day 9
4 minute run 4 minute run 4 minute run
1 minute walk 1 minute walk 1 minute walk
4 minute run 4 minute run 4 minute run
1 minute walk 1 minute walk 1 minute walk
4 minute run 4 minute run 4 minute run
1 minute walk 1 minute walk 1 minute walk
4 minute run 4 minute run
1 minute walk 1 minute walk
4 minute run
1 minute walk
You get the idea....
It was really effective the first summer I did it. I really liked the system, and it's what I resorted to every time I tried to get back into running. But truth be told, I've never really liked running and so I've always given up pretty quickly. I ran outside, so the first time I quit when September rolled around, I may have even made it to October. But it started to get darker and chilly in the mornings, I had work to get to, there were just so many factors that made it easy to give up. That's what I'm a little worried about come September when I'm back to school with an 8 am start and a 40-minute commute. (I realize a lot of people have it worse than I do, so this is not me complaining, merely acknowledging that it may interfere with my motivation to keep going).
Hopefully I'll start to see visible results soon and that'll help encourage me to keep going.
Do I try the boot camp experience tomorrow, or just stick to Yoga? There's a hot yoga option tomorrow too... (At the same time).
I may try to remember a bathing suit so I can hit up the hot tub afterwards...
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