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?
Monday, August 20, 2018
Sunday, August 19, 2018
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.
* * *
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...
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.
* * *
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...
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Results... at least a little
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...
Friday, August 17, 2018
Hot Yoga for the 1st Time
I was just not feeling it today. I kind of wanted to stay home and curl up in a ball. Usually I can't wait to get to the gym, but today was more of a "let's just get it over with", potentially because I'm hitting that point where my muscles are starting to feel every workout and my legs are moaning softly each time I go up the stairs. I decided today would be a good day for hot yoga. I hadn't tried it out yet. I feel like I am doing way better than I have in any of my previous attempts to "get fit and lose weight". Potentially my motivation is different, but so is my approach. I feel like something in me just clicked when I went to that first Yoga Tune-Up class and really enjoyed it. I was no longer just trying to lose weight, but I wanted to have that freedom of movement to be able to do these exercises. Even though in the back of my mind I really want to lose 65 pounds, I feel like getting good at Yoga and building my strength have taken the forefront in my drive to get active.
My imagery of hot yoga - even though I could clearly see into the room - was something like trying to do yoga in a steam room and I could t fathom how we could get that much steam into a room that big with that many people in it. And I'm trying to picture - how is mould not an issue in this room? I don't know where this idea came from, because it's not even close to reality. It's closer to a sauna, but even then not really. This is just like they cranked the thermostat up about 5-10 degrees and then we do yoga in there. I feel as though it gets you to sweat a little bit more (which is good) and it also helps to relax the muscles because you are in a warmer setting. I was thinking that since I'm a little sore, stretching out my muscles in a warm environment might be a great idea (and it was). I love the heat, so when we lay on our mats with our eyes closed it was like lying on a beach in the sun, minus the sun burn. It didn't take long to start sweating though, and profusely. I don't think I've ever sweat that much in my life. If you picture sweating as your body discharging all of the negative it doesn't need, then sweating insanely is a good thing. I had to buy a towel, I had meant to bring one and left in such a hurry I forgot. I had sweat pouring off me as I'm trying to do the exercises. Some of them were a little more challenging for what I was used to, and there were a couple that I have no idea if I was doing it right or not (or even what exactly we were trying to do), but the nice thing about these classes is that there is room to modify to fit your body needs. So even if I wasn't doing it quite right, I could still do a similar stretch in a way that made sense to me. The instructors often repeat to drop your shoulders away from your ears, and keep your hips straight, and the one I hear the most is the important of a straight or neutral spine. I know that as long as I am keeping these things in line, my stretch probably has "some" benefit.
This class started with a fair bit of mumbo jumbo. "Find your inner peace." "Take this time to give back to yourself." "Feel the connection between your body and the space around it." Contemplate your navel. Yeah. I got it. Just play relaxing music and tell us to shut up for two minutes.
It wasn't my favourite Yoga class, but I still enjoyed it. This was probably the first class where I checked my watch a few times to see if it was over yet (but also the only one I've done without a clock clearly visible in the room). Not because I wasn't enjoying it, but because I was sweating profusely and hoping I had done the full 75 minutes already. When we lay on the mats at the end of the class, that was pure bliss.
I like how she made connections to Michelangelo and how he would look at a slab of marble and picture the finished sculpture already inside; his work was to chisel away the excess to reveal the inner beauty. I have NO idea how this connected to us or the practice because I was only half listening, but still pretty intellectual - something about finding the inner soul or something. Too much mumbo jumbo for me.
I think that after today, I am really happy with the pattern of doing an intense class, and then a day or two of more low-key classes, like the Yoga stuff. I have my setup for next week all laid out: The training stuff on Tuesday where I get my butt kicked, Yoga Tune-Up with the cute guy on Wednesday, Yoga Balance on Thursday, rinse and repeat. It gave me that "push-yourself" kind of work out to help improve my strength and build muscles, but then rather than "not go" for two days to "recover" (I know if I tried this it would be the end of my workout-a-day saga and potentially me working out anymore period) I can still to that "push yourself" day, and then go back to my Yoga go-tos while I give my muscles a break and a chance to recover. It's fool-proof, right?I'm pretty sure I'm going to the drumming class tomorrow to get in some cardio and work my leg muscles with all of our squats. I really liked her class last week. It was intense, but really good.
I am really worried about what is going to happen when I go back to school in September. I'm not entirely sure I can make these workouts fit in with my schedule, and it's going to mean falling off the wagon hard-core. I am worried that once I start the daily workouts, and possibly even once I start getting weighed down by schoolwork, I will just stop going, and I'll be back to where I was. I'm 17 days into my daily gym saga and I haven't lost any weight. I was down four pounds before my trip to Niagara Falls, and then I put it all back on (a 4 lb swing isn't uncommon with my body). So really, I'm still where I started. I know it's going to be slow-going, but a lot of "come lose weight" articles all talk about how losing 10-15 lbs in your first month isn't unheard of. Then it slows down after that. If I can't even lose the 10-15 in the first month, how am I ever going to lose it after? I won't say I'm modifying my diet drastically, but I am paying a little more attention to what I am eating, and tracking it all with my fitness tracker. Most, if not all days I am under the recommended caloric intake. I found I'm also not super hungry. I used to snack all the time, and snacking while I'm working at my computer is a big bad habit of mine. It may be another form of procrastination, but I typically eat while I'm working at home with marking or school work, and this can involve mostly eating junk food like chips, cookies, crackers, and other stuff that contributes like nothing to a healthy diet. I need to make sure when I go back in September that I have healthy snack food on hand so that I am not eating chips and the like nearly as much. More goals... exercise and healthy food... sounds so awful, right? I'm not 20 anymore, I can't sit on the couch and binge on junk food anymore.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Yoga it is...
I woke up this morning nice and early and got out of bed. My feet didn't even have to hit the floor before I realized how tired my leg muscles are. I'm not "sore"; I mean nothing hurts beyond a manageable point. I feel a slight tenderness; I can tell they got a good workout and they are a little tired, but it's not pain. I hear the expression "it burns so much", but that's not really the case. It's a good feeling, every step reminds me that I had a good workout and my muscles are doing stretches and activities they are not accustomed to - which is exactly what I wanted. I want to build muscle and strengthen what is there. I'm not looking to bulk up, but I want to be able to lift my child when she wants to be carried, or be able to stop relying on my husband so much whenever anything is "too heavy". Currently we use a large garbage bin in our kitchen, and it gets too heavy for me to lift it when full, so I will be sitting at home for days with this thing full to the brim and stinking before he decides he's ready to take it out. And I recognize that "why didn't you just do this yourself?" look. Not that I'm super keen on taking out the garbage, but I can't stand the smell or the sight of it piling up in my kitchen.
I've also heard the expression "no pain, no gain" and read numerous articles on why this is not a good thing. I think first you need to define your own definition of pain. You should be able to feel the activity you are doing, you should be able to notice that the muscles are stretching and working, and it might leave you with a slight after-feeling, but it should not be pain in the sense of "this hurts, so I must be doing it right". No. Ask any fitness trainer, instructor, or physiotherapist - they will all tell you that when you are doing an activity - stretch, weights, class, whatever - when you are doing it properly it should not hurt. Exercise is not designed to hurt. It is designed to help your body improve how it moves and functions.
Maybe that is one reason why I like these Yoga Tune-Up classes so much. The focus is always on trying to loosen your muscles so you can increase your range of motion. Your range of motion is how far you can comfortable do something. I use the comparison between my daughter and myself. She punched me in the leg (not hard) and I said that hurt and she could do it to my arm, but not my leg today. So we discussed that my work outs were helping my body to get back some of it's motion. In answer to her blank stare I said that I found out this week that I have been doing squats wrong my entire life. I try to keep my knees stacked over my ankles, which prevents me from getting the proper motion (and makes squats way harder than they need to be). So I showed her the right way (knees apart so your butt can sink down between your ankles) and the wrong way. And she looks at me with this expression of "mommy, that's so old news" and says "my teacher makes us do those all the time!" Then proceeds to squat down like a frog with no problem. Then she gets really silly and starts bouncing around like she is a frog and doing this weird scuttle across the floor which is more like hopping while staying in the low section of a squat. I don't think I could even dream of that. We compared out squats; I pointed out how her feet stayed perfectly flat on the floor, she could sink her butt right down between her ankles so that it was nearly on the floor, and she could easily glide between different positions without any hesitation or difficulty. Then we looked at mine. Yeah. That was fun. I could get down into the squat fairly easily (getting up was a little more difficult), I couldn't quite get down all the way; so there was a good deal of space between my butt and the floor, I couldn't keep my feet flat on the floor so there was an awkward posture to it with one foot/ankle lower than the other, and I had some difficulty with my balance. Moving fluidly around was not an option.
It was a great comparison with the two of us squatting down across from each other on the floor as I explained how as you get older, your muscles get tighter and movement like she is doing becomes harder and harder. A big part of me going to the gym is try and loosen up those muscles so they can move easily again. I think she got it, but she happily returned to frog squatting around the room and laughing hysterically until she fell over from laughing too hard.
As you can well imagine: today's class was Yoga, rather than Drums. I'm just a wee bit tired out. The Yoga class started out with a fair bit of what I like to call "mumbo jumbo". "Feel the space around you." "Connect with your inner core." "Feel your ribs expand as you take in your breath." I realize they speak in a low-toned hypnotic voice and it's designed to help you relax and connect with your body while possibly becoming more aware of the inter-connections between muscles and systems. But it's just not my thing. So when we open with a lot of deep breaths and connecting with your spirit stuff I start to question whether I should have come or not. I tried to get my students this summer to do meditation in the class for ten minutes. It was REALLY hard not to start cracking jokes listening to that relaxation music. It's just not my thing. I don't like sitting still for that long. (chalk it up to ADD if you like). Some of them liked it, most didn't. I'm just not sure if I didn't like it more than them, or the other way around.
The Yoga class was still good. It focused on core body balance and stretching, which were all good. With a sore back (that bruise-like feeling along my spine is still bothering me) and tired legs, I was a bit unsure about balance. But it went really well. I always like trying a new move for the first time and realizing I'm not half bad at it. Or when the instructors explain different ways that you might be "stiff" and discovering that I'm not stiff at all. (yay me!). There were a lot of stretches to strengthen the core which I really liked. For instance there was one where we stood on one leg, with the other back and up behind us, leaning forward and rotating our body to the side to open up the hip rotation, with one arm hanging down and the other straight overhead. Sounds complicated. Felt really good; when I could keep my balance.
The other downside for me to trying to do all of these very "open" stretches is it's that time of the month. I know for many women that time of the month is a big deterrent to going to the gym - or any type of exercise for that matter. You constantly worry about leaks, your cramps don't make you feel great, and you'd rather not try to get that active. But the reality is, being on your period and going to the gym can actually make you feel better. As for the leaks... well I've started using menstrual cups and I am a BIG fan. As a teacher, I don't have the luxury of a quick trip to the washroom to check that everything is in place. If I want to, I have to summon the Vice Principal or another co-worker on prep to come and stay in my class while I go to the washroom. It's not exactly confidence-building. The cups have taken care of that problem for me. With a period or tampon there is a possibility of soaking through your protection which can leave you in an awkward situation. If you're lucky, you feel it coming and there's minimal mess. At my worst, I could soak through the super size in under 30 minutes. Not horribly convenient when teaching 75-minute classes. My last school only had 5 minute breaks; making it even less effective to try and get to the washroom in a reasonable time frame. So I tried out a menstrual cup. It took a couple of months (maybe three) to get wholly comfortable using it, and the first month had a day of really, really bad cramps which left me putting it aside for the rest of the month, but afterwards I was hooked. It can stay in for twelve hours, it makes a kind of seal in your body to prevent leaks which lets you move about with confidence, and it's very comfortable. I can tackle a fitness class with all of it's movements with complete confidence. I'm still fairly new-ish at the cups so there are moments of doubt here and there, but I know it won't be a problem. Plus there's all the environment and cost arguments (no more buying tampons and pads!).
This WebMD page discusses menstrual cups in case you want any info. And I found a great site that asks you a bunch of questions and then makes suggestions on which cups would be best suited for your body.
https://www.webmd.com/women/guide/menstrual-cup#1
This Flexfits Article by Sarah D'Andrea addresses some of the period myths and also looks at the benefits or exercising on your period. Check it out.
https://flexfits.com/blogs/thefixx/exercising-on-your-period
I also decided I would sign up for the combination Personal Training class for the rest of August to see how I like it. I'm a little worried I'm going to love it (which wouldn't be such a bad thing) but it's a bit of a commitment. I'm not the best at showing up for scheduled events in the evenings. There's always "something else" to do, or the kids don't want to cooperate, or I just don't feel like going. I like to just hibernate in my house. So agreeing to go once a week (there were twice a week and three times a week options too) at a certain time is a bit of a commitment during the school year; there's a financial commitment too. We'll give it a try for the next two weeks, and see from there. I could possibly get sucked into doing that weekly. At the worst, I might try including more weight-lifting and boot-camp style classes to target strength-building now that I've had a few weeks of stretching and cardio.
I've also heard the expression "no pain, no gain" and read numerous articles on why this is not a good thing. I think first you need to define your own definition of pain. You should be able to feel the activity you are doing, you should be able to notice that the muscles are stretching and working, and it might leave you with a slight after-feeling, but it should not be pain in the sense of "this hurts, so I must be doing it right". No. Ask any fitness trainer, instructor, or physiotherapist - they will all tell you that when you are doing an activity - stretch, weights, class, whatever - when you are doing it properly it should not hurt. Exercise is not designed to hurt. It is designed to help your body improve how it moves and functions.
Maybe that is one reason why I like these Yoga Tune-Up classes so much. The focus is always on trying to loosen your muscles so you can increase your range of motion. Your range of motion is how far you can comfortable do something. I use the comparison between my daughter and myself. She punched me in the leg (not hard) and I said that hurt and she could do it to my arm, but not my leg today. So we discussed that my work outs were helping my body to get back some of it's motion. In answer to her blank stare I said that I found out this week that I have been doing squats wrong my entire life. I try to keep my knees stacked over my ankles, which prevents me from getting the proper motion (and makes squats way harder than they need to be). So I showed her the right way (knees apart so your butt can sink down between your ankles) and the wrong way. And she looks at me with this expression of "mommy, that's so old news" and says "my teacher makes us do those all the time!" Then proceeds to squat down like a frog with no problem. Then she gets really silly and starts bouncing around like she is a frog and doing this weird scuttle across the floor which is more like hopping while staying in the low section of a squat. I don't think I could even dream of that. We compared out squats; I pointed out how her feet stayed perfectly flat on the floor, she could sink her butt right down between her ankles so that it was nearly on the floor, and she could easily glide between different positions without any hesitation or difficulty. Then we looked at mine. Yeah. That was fun. I could get down into the squat fairly easily (getting up was a little more difficult), I couldn't quite get down all the way; so there was a good deal of space between my butt and the floor, I couldn't keep my feet flat on the floor so there was an awkward posture to it with one foot/ankle lower than the other, and I had some difficulty with my balance. Moving fluidly around was not an option.
It was a great comparison with the two of us squatting down across from each other on the floor as I explained how as you get older, your muscles get tighter and movement like she is doing becomes harder and harder. A big part of me going to the gym is try and loosen up those muscles so they can move easily again. I think she got it, but she happily returned to frog squatting around the room and laughing hysterically until she fell over from laughing too hard.
As you can well imagine: today's class was Yoga, rather than Drums. I'm just a wee bit tired out. The Yoga class started out with a fair bit of what I like to call "mumbo jumbo". "Feel the space around you." "Connect with your inner core." "Feel your ribs expand as you take in your breath." I realize they speak in a low-toned hypnotic voice and it's designed to help you relax and connect with your body while possibly becoming more aware of the inter-connections between muscles and systems. But it's just not my thing. So when we open with a lot of deep breaths and connecting with your spirit stuff I start to question whether I should have come or not. I tried to get my students this summer to do meditation in the class for ten minutes. It was REALLY hard not to start cracking jokes listening to that relaxation music. It's just not my thing. I don't like sitting still for that long. (chalk it up to ADD if you like). Some of them liked it, most didn't. I'm just not sure if I didn't like it more than them, or the other way around.
The Yoga class was still good. It focused on core body balance and stretching, which were all good. With a sore back (that bruise-like feeling along my spine is still bothering me) and tired legs, I was a bit unsure about balance. But it went really well. I always like trying a new move for the first time and realizing I'm not half bad at it. Or when the instructors explain different ways that you might be "stiff" and discovering that I'm not stiff at all. (yay me!). There were a lot of stretches to strengthen the core which I really liked. For instance there was one where we stood on one leg, with the other back and up behind us, leaning forward and rotating our body to the side to open up the hip rotation, with one arm hanging down and the other straight overhead. Sounds complicated. Felt really good; when I could keep my balance.
The other downside for me to trying to do all of these very "open" stretches is it's that time of the month. I know for many women that time of the month is a big deterrent to going to the gym - or any type of exercise for that matter. You constantly worry about leaks, your cramps don't make you feel great, and you'd rather not try to get that active. But the reality is, being on your period and going to the gym can actually make you feel better. As for the leaks... well I've started using menstrual cups and I am a BIG fan. As a teacher, I don't have the luxury of a quick trip to the washroom to check that everything is in place. If I want to, I have to summon the Vice Principal or another co-worker on prep to come and stay in my class while I go to the washroom. It's not exactly confidence-building. The cups have taken care of that problem for me. With a period or tampon there is a possibility of soaking through your protection which can leave you in an awkward situation. If you're lucky, you feel it coming and there's minimal mess. At my worst, I could soak through the super size in under 30 minutes. Not horribly convenient when teaching 75-minute classes. My last school only had 5 minute breaks; making it even less effective to try and get to the washroom in a reasonable time frame. So I tried out a menstrual cup. It took a couple of months (maybe three) to get wholly comfortable using it, and the first month had a day of really, really bad cramps which left me putting it aside for the rest of the month, but afterwards I was hooked. It can stay in for twelve hours, it makes a kind of seal in your body to prevent leaks which lets you move about with confidence, and it's very comfortable. I can tackle a fitness class with all of it's movements with complete confidence. I'm still fairly new-ish at the cups so there are moments of doubt here and there, but I know it won't be a problem. Plus there's all the environment and cost arguments (no more buying tampons and pads!).
This WebMD page discusses menstrual cups in case you want any info. And I found a great site that asks you a bunch of questions and then makes suggestions on which cups would be best suited for your body.
https://www.webmd.com/women/guide/menstrual-cup#1
This Flexfits Article by Sarah D'Andrea addresses some of the period myths and also looks at the benefits or exercising on your period. Check it out.
https://flexfits.com/blogs/thefixx/exercising-on-your-period
I also decided I would sign up for the combination Personal Training class for the rest of August to see how I like it. I'm a little worried I'm going to love it (which wouldn't be such a bad thing) but it's a bit of a commitment. I'm not the best at showing up for scheduled events in the evenings. There's always "something else" to do, or the kids don't want to cooperate, or I just don't feel like going. I like to just hibernate in my house. So agreeing to go once a week (there were twice a week and three times a week options too) at a certain time is a bit of a commitment during the school year; there's a financial commitment too. We'll give it a try for the next two weeks, and see from there. I could possibly get sucked into doing that weekly. At the worst, I might try including more weight-lifting and boot-camp style classes to target strength-building now that I've had a few weeks of stretching and cardio.
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Finally! Shoulders and upper back!
Yes, that's right, finally a workout focusing on what I'm trying to improve. It's Wednesday, it's 9 am, I'll give you one guess who this class was with...
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!
* * *
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.
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!
* * *
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.
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Good to be back...
I fell off the wagon a little bit. I know I had great ambitions of going every single day, and I had planned to do some Yoga while I was on vacation, but it just didn't work out. There was too much to do, and not enough time. By the time I was up and contemplating trying to do some stretching, the children were dressed, fed, and ready to start running around the hotel grounds. I have to tell you, Great Wolf Lodge is pretty cool (and expensive).
I did notice almost immediately that my stomach has gone back to puffing out like I'm five months pregnant by mid-day. And I crept back up to 200 lbs. *sniff* As much as I want to kick myself for not working out, I also have to realize that there are going to be times when it is just not going to fit in with the schedule, and what's important is that I am making the effort to try my best. I should be able to go every day for the rest of the month, as originally intended, but once I start back to work as a teacher, I know going every day is not going to be a reality. Between teaching schedules, picking up the kids for food and after school activities, plus my own marking, (plus the fact that I can't do the weekday classes anymore and the evening schedule is a little more limited), I think I will need to re-evaluate my once-a-day goal for September and set something realistic to stay in line with my health goals, but also something that is achievable. And I also need to realize that that is OK.
All that being said, I wasn't completely without exercise the entire trip. I did make the mistake of forgetting to bring my charger for my step counter, so I can't even rely on that to see if I got in enough fitness, but we were also at a water park, so it's not like I was wearing it anyway. Between the multiple hours of swimming/water slides (and oh my goodness the stairs to get to the top!), and chasing the kids around the hotel on their little exploration missions, I think it's safe to say I got in some fitness every day. We even went to Clifton Hill and off to view the falls, which certainly got my lots of walking that day - and walking uphill! That's got to count for something... maybe. I looked into going to a gym while on vacation, and while my membership is good at other locations, there weren't any even remotely nearby (closest one was an hour and a half away).
I kept trying to correct my posture every time I thought about, keeping the advice of my trainers in mind. Doing a 7 hour road trip and trying to sit upright with proper spine posture is something in itself. I felt like I looked foolish, but I could also feel my shoulder muscles between the blades putting in a wee bit of effort. I did bring the Yoga balls and there was a night while the adults were sitting around playing cards that I was balancing on the stability ball while I played, and using the Alpha ball to dig into the sore muscles with a bit of stretching. It wasn't a complete loss.
* * *
It feels good to be back at home, and even better to be back at the gym this morning. I even tried to get my husband to drop me off at the gym on the way home so I could get in a Monday night workout while he unpacked the kids and car, but we hit Ottawa five minutes before the class started. Not happening. Despite being on the road for five days - which also meant five days of pretty much only eating fast food for every meal, I am only back to my original weight of 200 lbs. It seems there were no massively adverse effects to eating deep fried everything three meals a day. maybe only two, the hotel sold $8 smoothies which made up my breakfast every morning. I want to complain that this is over-priced, but really that's what local Smoothie-shops charge, and so does the gym café - although both of those at least add in protein for that price, this was all fruit and sugar. Still, better than fast food.
So I went this morning to an aerobics class with weights set to music. Have I mentioned I have no balance and no sense of rhythm? That being said, I think it went pretty good. There were a few moves I struggled to hold because of balance, and it took a bit to keep up with some of the steps, but overall not bad. There were something like 8 different sizes of hand weights we could choose. Being Ms. Muscle I decided the 2nd weight would be great (3 lbs). That lasted about two minutes before my arms started to tire so I down-graded to the smallest size of 2 lbs. It was a good workout. I definitely sweat out a LOT, and I could feel my muscles getting in some good exercise. Exactly the kind of workout I need if I want to increase my arm strength and It took me a bit to get into sync with the movements, but for the most part I would say I was doing pretty good.... until the stretching at the end. I've been doing pretty good at my Yoga classes, and I don't think there's ever been a class with stretches I am not capable of doing. Today's weights class was a reminder that no, there are definitely moves that I am not capable of doing. For instance, sitting on the floor with straight legs out in front of you and bending at the waist to try and bring your hands down to your feet. Cannot even come close. I simply lack the flexibility to be able to make that stretch even remotely a possibility. So here are all these women bending over and trying to grasp their ankles or their mid-calves and the best I can muster is to sort of awkwardly hunch my shoulders over with my back still nearly straight and then there's three of us in the same boat kind of awkwardly grinning at each other as we look around the room. I kid you not, every else is in some semblance of bent towards the ground and the three of us are nearly upright looking sheepishly around. It was curious to note that the other two ladies were tall like I am (I'm nearly six feet tall). I wonder if there is a connection there. I don't think I've ever been able to do that kind of stretch. It didn't matter. The instructor was pretty good at offering us variations, like there was one where you needed to be up on all fours and lifting your one leg in the air and stretching it in various directions - I could not keep my balance and I felt the strain on my wrists (you know, still at 200 lbs). She suggested we could go on our elbows if this was too much. So much better!
The nice thing about the workouts at this gym is that I noticing no one ever makes you feel bad for not keeping up, or not knowing the moves, or not being able to do certain activities. So far, it seems that instructors either make a comment of "it's OK to go at your own pace", or "stretch until you feel a slight pull but don't push it too far" when they see someone not at the same pace at the rest (and yay! It's usually not me! It definitely was today). It really takes the pressure off trying to work out. I know it can be very intimidating when you are in a class and everyone else seems like they're all pros and you're like "which way do I step next?", but I've found that really doesn't seem to be happening at this gym. I think I already related my years-ago Yoga experience of feeling shamed by an old man in super tight pants who was doing all these crazy bends and poses while I could barely maintain my balance. I felt awful and never returned to that class - or that gym.
Today's workout was overall really good. I don't know if it's going to make my list of "I love it" classes (there seem to be an awful lot on that list), but it was good workout with an energetic and motivating instructor that targeted areas I wanted to work on and left me feeling like I really got a lot out of it. Why shouldn't it be on the "love it" list? Sometimes these things just aren't rational. Some of the footwork was a bit challenging to get into swing, and I wasn't a super fan of the stretching at the end (though I can see why it was a great idea). I think I will most likely go again next week, but I won't cry that I can't go anymore in September. It was a good workout, and I'll leave it at that. We'll see how my muscles feel tomorrow.
I came home and had a nap for nearly 3 hours in the afternoon. I think I needed it, but I also can't afford to do that after every workout. I have a house to clean up in preparation for next year, some projects I want to get done, and some planning for next year. Maybe I was just recovering from the "vacation". As a parent, they are nearly never time to relax and reset your body. They're just more intense running around as you take your kids to see a million things. But it was good, and a lot of fun. And I think we'll go again next year.
Oh, I forgot to mention, my daughter is so into "Yoga" now, she has her own mat, and keeps stealing my equipment. Well today she puts on some full black leggings and a white training bra and sets up the living room floor with two mats, then tells me it's time to do Yoga. I tried to get my husband to film her because it was darn cute (she was telling me to do some pretty decent stretches, and she can certainly do them way better than I can). Then she realized we were filming and wanted to do it like a video blog of her own class; telling us all which stretches to do, and how it should feel. This started out fine but then went a bit silly as she wanted to get the cat involved in the video and her sister is off to the side laughing hysterically. I should try and upload it to share here. It was super cute. The whole thing lasted about 10 minutes before I realized we had descended totally into silly and I pulled the plug on it. Still, it was cute and she has some good ideas about Yoga. She even told her audience to get into "downward dog" pose, then she proceeds to lift one leg off the ground and is doing this stretch absolutely perfectly. I'm a little jealous.
I did notice almost immediately that my stomach has gone back to puffing out like I'm five months pregnant by mid-day. And I crept back up to 200 lbs. *sniff* As much as I want to kick myself for not working out, I also have to realize that there are going to be times when it is just not going to fit in with the schedule, and what's important is that I am making the effort to try my best. I should be able to go every day for the rest of the month, as originally intended, but once I start back to work as a teacher, I know going every day is not going to be a reality. Between teaching schedules, picking up the kids for food and after school activities, plus my own marking, (plus the fact that I can't do the weekday classes anymore and the evening schedule is a little more limited), I think I will need to re-evaluate my once-a-day goal for September and set something realistic to stay in line with my health goals, but also something that is achievable. And I also need to realize that that is OK.
All that being said, I wasn't completely without exercise the entire trip. I did make the mistake of forgetting to bring my charger for my step counter, so I can't even rely on that to see if I got in enough fitness, but we were also at a water park, so it's not like I was wearing it anyway. Between the multiple hours of swimming/water slides (and oh my goodness the stairs to get to the top!), and chasing the kids around the hotel on their little exploration missions, I think it's safe to say I got in some fitness every day. We even went to Clifton Hill and off to view the falls, which certainly got my lots of walking that day - and walking uphill! That's got to count for something... maybe. I looked into going to a gym while on vacation, and while my membership is good at other locations, there weren't any even remotely nearby (closest one was an hour and a half away).
I kept trying to correct my posture every time I thought about, keeping the advice of my trainers in mind. Doing a 7 hour road trip and trying to sit upright with proper spine posture is something in itself. I felt like I looked foolish, but I could also feel my shoulder muscles between the blades putting in a wee bit of effort. I did bring the Yoga balls and there was a night while the adults were sitting around playing cards that I was balancing on the stability ball while I played, and using the Alpha ball to dig into the sore muscles with a bit of stretching. It wasn't a complete loss.
* * *
It feels good to be back at home, and even better to be back at the gym this morning. I even tried to get my husband to drop me off at the gym on the way home so I could get in a Monday night workout while he unpacked the kids and car, but we hit Ottawa five minutes before the class started. Not happening. Despite being on the road for five days - which also meant five days of pretty much only eating fast food for every meal, I am only back to my original weight of 200 lbs. It seems there were no massively adverse effects to eating deep fried everything three meals a day. maybe only two, the hotel sold $8 smoothies which made up my breakfast every morning. I want to complain that this is over-priced, but really that's what local Smoothie-shops charge, and so does the gym café - although both of those at least add in protein for that price, this was all fruit and sugar. Still, better than fast food.
So I went this morning to an aerobics class with weights set to music. Have I mentioned I have no balance and no sense of rhythm? That being said, I think it went pretty good. There were a few moves I struggled to hold because of balance, and it took a bit to keep up with some of the steps, but overall not bad. There were something like 8 different sizes of hand weights we could choose. Being Ms. Muscle I decided the 2nd weight would be great (3 lbs). That lasted about two minutes before my arms started to tire so I down-graded to the smallest size of 2 lbs. It was a good workout. I definitely sweat out a LOT, and I could feel my muscles getting in some good exercise. Exactly the kind of workout I need if I want to increase my arm strength and It took me a bit to get into sync with the movements, but for the most part I would say I was doing pretty good.... until the stretching at the end. I've been doing pretty good at my Yoga classes, and I don't think there's ever been a class with stretches I am not capable of doing. Today's weights class was a reminder that no, there are definitely moves that I am not capable of doing. For instance, sitting on the floor with straight legs out in front of you and bending at the waist to try and bring your hands down to your feet. Cannot even come close. I simply lack the flexibility to be able to make that stretch even remotely a possibility. So here are all these women bending over and trying to grasp their ankles or their mid-calves and the best I can muster is to sort of awkwardly hunch my shoulders over with my back still nearly straight and then there's three of us in the same boat kind of awkwardly grinning at each other as we look around the room. I kid you not, every else is in some semblance of bent towards the ground and the three of us are nearly upright looking sheepishly around. It was curious to note that the other two ladies were tall like I am (I'm nearly six feet tall). I wonder if there is a connection there. I don't think I've ever been able to do that kind of stretch. It didn't matter. The instructor was pretty good at offering us variations, like there was one where you needed to be up on all fours and lifting your one leg in the air and stretching it in various directions - I could not keep my balance and I felt the strain on my wrists (you know, still at 200 lbs). She suggested we could go on our elbows if this was too much. So much better!
The nice thing about the workouts at this gym is that I noticing no one ever makes you feel bad for not keeping up, or not knowing the moves, or not being able to do certain activities. So far, it seems that instructors either make a comment of "it's OK to go at your own pace", or "stretch until you feel a slight pull but don't push it too far" when they see someone not at the same pace at the rest (and yay! It's usually not me! It definitely was today). It really takes the pressure off trying to work out. I know it can be very intimidating when you are in a class and everyone else seems like they're all pros and you're like "which way do I step next?", but I've found that really doesn't seem to be happening at this gym. I think I already related my years-ago Yoga experience of feeling shamed by an old man in super tight pants who was doing all these crazy bends and poses while I could barely maintain my balance. I felt awful and never returned to that class - or that gym.
Today's workout was overall really good. I don't know if it's going to make my list of "I love it" classes (there seem to be an awful lot on that list), but it was good workout with an energetic and motivating instructor that targeted areas I wanted to work on and left me feeling like I really got a lot out of it. Why shouldn't it be on the "love it" list? Sometimes these things just aren't rational. Some of the footwork was a bit challenging to get into swing, and I wasn't a super fan of the stretching at the end (though I can see why it was a great idea). I think I will most likely go again next week, but I won't cry that I can't go anymore in September. It was a good workout, and I'll leave it at that. We'll see how my muscles feel tomorrow.
I came home and had a nap for nearly 3 hours in the afternoon. I think I needed it, but I also can't afford to do that after every workout. I have a house to clean up in preparation for next year, some projects I want to get done, and some planning for next year. Maybe I was just recovering from the "vacation". As a parent, they are nearly never time to relax and reset your body. They're just more intense running around as you take your kids to see a million things. But it was good, and a lot of fun. And I think we'll go again next year.
Oh, I forgot to mention, my daughter is so into "Yoga" now, she has her own mat, and keeps stealing my equipment. Well today she puts on some full black leggings and a white training bra and sets up the living room floor with two mats, then tells me it's time to do Yoga. I tried to get my husband to film her because it was darn cute (she was telling me to do some pretty decent stretches, and she can certainly do them way better than I can). Then she realized we were filming and wanted to do it like a video blog of her own class; telling us all which stretches to do, and how it should feel. This started out fine but then went a bit silly as she wanted to get the cat involved in the video and her sister is off to the side laughing hysterically. I should try and upload it to share here. It was super cute. The whole thing lasted about 10 minutes before I realized we had descended totally into silly and I pulled the plug on it. Still, it was cute and she has some good ideas about Yoga. She even told her audience to get into "downward dog" pose, then she proceeds to lift one leg off the ground and is doing this stretch absolutely perfectly. I'm a little jealous.
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