Revelations not Resolutions

I spent the morning checking out a new workout spot with my favorite gym partner. The place was pretty cool~just being in a different place was good for the soul. This “newness” led me to three revelations! So, unexpected. Of course, I have resolutions (like changing the look and frequency of this blog) but I will share those later. Besides, I find revelations so much more intriguing!
Revelation #1
I recently read that sleeping in your workout clothes will urge you to get to the gym. Not so sure about that…it just seems like too much. The best motivation I’ve found for working out is going to the gym. Let me be clear…get in there! Have you ever just gone to the gym and…sat? I’ve tried it, it doesn’t work. You feel and look like a slug. Everyone else is sweating or at least have mastered the seriously intense mid-workout look (slightly labored breathing and a don’t bother me scowl). You get caught up and you’re drawn to the machines. Before you know it, you’ve gotten into a routine. So, go! Just get one foot in the door and everything else will fall into place.
Revelation #2
Variety is the spice of life! When you workout in a new place, you can act like you know what you’re doing and act like you’ve been doing it a long time. It’s a confidence booster for the novice or inconsistent (like me). In a new place, nobody knows…
Revelation #3
When expected to work in sync, my hand and feet are rhythmically challenged. The machines that require the combination (like ellipticals) are the bane of my existence. What ever happened to my graceful gait? It reminds me of trying to pat my head and rub my tummy at the same time. I just can’t get it together. Either, I move my feet or I move my hands. You can’t get both!

Amazing lessons I’m learning in the gym…I can’t wait to see what the new year holds.

IB

 

Let’s Stay Together

My 2012 was awesomely adventurous…and I got to share it with you. There are so many laughs in the gym and I’m obligated to sharing them all with you. 2013 promises to be even funnier because I’ve started this journey with you…and I must finish it. New adventures await us!

Happy New Year,
IB

 

ReUnited…and it feels so good???

Not sure why I’m thinking of the lyrics from this Peaches and Herb hit, but they seem so appropriate here. I’ve missed the gym, I’ve missed this blog.

I know you thought that the infamous beginner had lost her mojo and returned to her old ways…not so! I’m back! However, it should be noted that I started this blog post in October. But, let’s not get lost in the details and get distracted with the why(s) and how(s) of it all. The important thing is that it is finally finished and available for your perusal. Celebrate with me that I didn’t succumb to my affliction – starting and then stopping.

I have been out of the gym for a few weeks (ok, more like a few months)…so, my first day back felt amazing. I walked in on a Zumba class ending. I was so excited to find a place in the crowded class and look the part of a fitness queen that I didn’t realize the class was ending. But, it was the best cool down/stretch that I’ve had in a while. The gym looked new. It felt like January…you know, when everyone decides to get /stay fit and hit the gym really hard for a couple of weeks. It was so great to feel that gym high..knowing you’ve done something great for yourself and you have a million and one reasons to hold your head high (regardless of how little you actually did). Honestly, I was surprised to know how much I missed being there!

It would not take me long to realize that my absence had a profound effect on me. A few days later, I made it to a Zumba class on time.  At first, I was thinking that it was all coming back to me so easily until I realized that the sweating and panting started after the second song. Thirty minutes into the class, I threw my hands up and waved goodbye. I could not take anymore…I was out of breath and out of my mind for thinking I could ignore months of being away.

Maybe one day, I will explain my absence in detail (that may be the start of a different blog, who knows). For now, just know that I am back. Well, I’m trying to get back to my workout/blog routine…I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. Wish me luck!

IB

 

All is well in the world…

Ha! I bet I had you thinking that I had reverted to my old ways…infamously beginning this blog and then falling by the wayside! Not to worry…I’m back! And yes, I have been up to my shenanigans in the gym (and I’m ready to share). But, before I divulge my feelings about Instructor J, I feel a need to briefly explain my whereabouts.

Let me be honest. The problem was work. Work got in the way of my working out! Don’t get me wrong, I have an important job and I’m dedicated to it. But, it tends to be so demanding that I put it before my own well being quite often. Heck no! I’m not looking for any sympathy, I am simply saying that I have to make my job work as hard for me as I do for it! So, I have put my clientele on soda watch. 13 year olds get a kick out of possessing a little power. Whenever they see me with the evil stuff (formerly known as soda), they have permission to remind of the negative effects of the evil stuff and shame me into pouring it out. (Whatever works, right?) I’m making work, work for me!

During my hiatus, I began a new class at my gym. Again, I thought this new class was designed just for me. I know, I know. I thought yoga was just for me and well we know how that turned out. I figured I would work up a sweat, learn some new moves and feel youthful again.

It was suggested that I check out the hip-hop dance class since I am the queen of Zumba. Enter instructor J! Between you and me, I think he is on something. Nobody should be able to move and jump around like that. I sure don’t! When I watch him (yes, I watch more than I do anything else in class), I get tired! I can’t keep up so I resort to my default dance moves in the very back of the class.You know, the moves that no one else is doing…anywhere, ever!  My motto is – “as long as I’m moving, I’m good”.

So, Instructor J needs to know…I’m good! Don’t come to the back of the class, with the scary, mean scowl, trying to motivate me. I don’t need it (and it scares me). I don’t need your difficult dance moves. I have my own style. (Hmph, I could probably teach him a thing or two!) Just let me have my little party in the back and all will be well in the world!

For now, my quest continues. I will find the class that works for me. For now, I will stick with what I know…

Happy Workout!

IB

 

Barking Men and Peep Shows

Today, I celebrate my “blog-versary”! Two months ago, I set out to begin a writing project that would hold me accountable in the gym. I needed that “thing” to make me get in a workout most days of the week. Since most of my gym visits left me with something to laugh about, I thought I would share. I believe this is the most transparent I’ve been about my weight struggles…well, I’ve never been transparent, so this is is an absolute first! Thanks to all of you for allowing me to be transparent with you!

So, here we are! Two months later and nine pounds lighter (actually, I picked two of them back up…guess I couldn’t bear to part with those two.) NO, I can’t say that I have more energy, I can’t say that my knees don’t hurt as bad, I can’t say that I love running to the gym but at least I’m hanging in there! NO, I can’t say that I’m so motivated that I’m barking in the weight room like the guy who wanted all of the attention last week.

I must digress here…why do these super-sized men feel the need to make these loud, strange noises when they lift weights. Actually, they make the noises when they drop the weights back in the cradle. At that point, the work is done. No real reason for the loud noises, right? The guy in question literally starting barking like a dog. Who does that??? The barking was so loud that I could hear him over the music playing in my headphones! It startled me so much that I stopped pedaling on the lazy bike and looked around (probably trying to figure out if I needed to start running from one of those big, vicious dogs that frighten me terribly). After I realized what happened (because he repeated the barking), I laughed out loud. I guess people looked at me the same way I looked at the absolutely ridiculous barking guy. I concluded he just needed an extra dose of attention that night…go figure! He certainly got all of my attention and the attention of everybody in the gym. Barking…really?

Celebrate with me! (My pre-celebration started yesterday with a trip to that place that has the “hot doughnuts” sign on throughout the day. The same place where a former student works and gives me all the free doughnuts I want. Wait a minute, could this explain the two pounds that mysteriously came back???)

Get in the gym and have some fun! Its OK to laugh…but accept that it is OK for people to laugh at you! Zumba currently reigns as my favorite fitness activity. More often than not, my spot in class is near the door. There is always an audience waiting and watching. Who do they see? They get an eye-full of me! Trust me, I know what I look like in Zumba. My imagined self looks quite different from my actual self! Some classes, I give them a real show. Other days, I forget that they are there. If nothing else, I’m sweating and burning calories regardless of who might be watching. I just convince myself that they are looking at the imagined me who never misses a beat and looks really cute when completely out of breath. A free peep show!

Stay motivated!

IB

 

An Ode To My Favorite Physical Trainer

Its hard enough staying motivated to get into the gym as often as I do. Needless to say, I appreciate the people who push me to keep going. My best times in the gym are usually spent with my Dad. Not so long ago, he was yelling in my ear to get up and get dressed to workout (and I was trying my best to ignore him). It’s amazing how far I’ve come…just wanting to be in the gym in an effort to better myself. I will confess, I can’t keep up with him on the treadmill or the weight machines or anything else, really. But, I’ve got him beat, hands down, in Zumba (when I’m not splitting my sides laughing as I watch him dance). According to his fables of his youth, he was the best dancer around town…seeing is believing, Dad!

So this little rhyme is dedicated to my great motivator…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I list a few of my favorite things,

Working out is not at the top.

But this guy makes me wanna give my best

And I work until I’m ready to drop.

*

He lectures ’til he’s blue in the face

Most times I listen, not always

He’s just so much fun to hang out with

I could do it til the end of my days

*

He ignores me for the most part

And does his own gym chore

Once in a while, he might look up

And yell at me to do more

*

He reminds me not to eat that

And to definitely do this

To look around for examples

Never a day should I miss

*

And I know in my heart

He wants me at my best

To make my mark on this world

And pass each of life’s tests

*

So to my dear, dear old Dad

Without a single health or medical degree

Looking forward to hanging out in the gym

Daddies and daughters, the way it should be

 

And I Owe It All to…Michael Jackson

I have reached a milestone in the gym! I can stay on the elliptical for longer than 2 minutes without feeling like I’m going into cardiac arrest. Yes, I beat the 2 minute mark! And I owe it all to the King of Pop! You see, I avoided this machine for a long time. Frankly, it looked like it took too much effort on my part to get on the darn thing. And sweating is not cute! But, I am not one to let a little machine intimidate me for long. So, I set out to conquer the beast.

In order to achieve this, it took some skillful planning on my part. I had to have the right mix of music and motivation and try my best not to fall off. The motivation waxes and wanes but it was a challenge. I never have a problem responding to a challenge. So, motivation – check!

I couldn’t just play anything. I naturally speed up or slow down to the beat of whatever is playing on the iPod so I had to have the right music. Enter Michael Jackson. So much of his music had just the right tempo and I had so much of his music already in my regular rotation that it just made sense.  Plus, he’s one of my absolute favorites. I began to measure my time on the elliptical by the number of MJ songs that played. In very little time, I’ve increased my time from 1 song to 3 songs…yes, I am on the move! Music – check!

My favorite? P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)…it reminds me so much of myself! I encourage you to find some great music, create a playlist and you may surprise yourself with what you’re able to do in the gym! My new goal is 5 songs…I think I can, I think I can!

Happy Exercising!

IB