5 Day Workout Challenge

Another restless weekend passes and I'm determined to make it to a Monday 6pm Body Pump class. Also on my calendar is a running appointment with Ed for Tuesday evening. I have that 5K this Sunday and I could use at least one running session before that. Plus Ed is in his taper phase4 as he looks forward to his 100 miler in Vermont so I can probably keep up with him! I think I will aim to keep the momentum going by jamming in some other workouts for the rest of the week. I mean exercise beyond a 20 minute jaunt while on break from office work. Perhaps I can get in a few swims at Island Lake while the hot weather holds or maybe I can even cram in an early morning trail ride. I have the ambition, let's just see if I have the follow through.

200th blog post

It's my 200th blog post since I started my blog back in January (or Feb?) of 2007. Since then I ran (err, limped) through a half marathon. I think I've run two 5K's and one 10K. I've gone to physical therapy for tendonitis in my hip. I've gone through numerous heel lifts to keep my back spasms at bay. I've dealt with sporadic knee pain. I have found a new (and cheap) gym that is close to my house. I've kept up with Bikram Yoga. I've discovered Body Pump. I've flirted with my old standby IWTB dvd. I can pretty safely make the statement that if my body breaks down on me it isn't because I haven't tried to keep it functioning well.

Exercise is so vital. I don't even have enough space to list the 10,000 reasons why it is so important to make healthy living a priority. Sure you don't have to become a fanatic. Some people think I am but I assure you I am not. I like to drink beers in the sun. I enjoy a late night plate of chili cheese fries. Sometimes I'd rather order a pizza than make something out of my refrigerator. I've had my fair share of Johnsonville brats this summer.

The key is moderation, finding that balance between relaxing and partying and sleeping and work and socializing and family and friends and exercise. You really can't do it all, so you have to prioritize and you have to be open to changing those priorities. This past weekend I whooped it up at Jason's cottage with Martinique and Brittany and it was a blast. But then come Monday I was at a 5:00 Body Pump class. I figure if I can chill out for three days then I can find one stinking hour to do something positve for myself.

Sure we don't always feel excited about lacing up our shoes or driving to the gym or walking to work but we do it because we know it makes us better people. It makes us healthy. It keeps us strong.

And like my dad likes to say "If it's easy, it ain't worth a damn."

Pump, pump it up while your feet are stompin...

I went to Body Pump for the second time and loved it. The other participants encouraged me to use more weights and, as much as I usually think peer pressure is a bad thing, I was very glad I did. BOOYAH! I am incredibly sore today but not as sore as I was last night. On my drive home I thought my left leg might start spasming as it pressed and released the clutch in my car. Then I was tempted to leave my hair dirty since raising my arms to my head in the shower was painful. But, hey, you all know I'm a glutton for this sort of thing!

Today I'm going back to Bikram Yoga. It might be overkill to do two brutal workouts back to back but I'm not working any overtime this week so I might as well take advantage of some extra free time before I go crazy with overtime next week!

And the jam is pumpin'
Look at here the crowd is jumpin'
Pump it up a little more
Get the party going on the dance floor
Seek us that's where the party's at
And you'll find out if you're too bad
I don't want a place to stay
Get your boody on the floor tonight
Make my day
I don't want a place to stay
Get your boody on the floor tonight
Make my day
Make my day

So I found a new fitness band wagon to jump on, Body Pump.

According to the website description, "BODYPUMP™ is the original barbell class that strengthens your entire body. This 60-minute workout challenges all your major muscle groups by using the best weight-room exercises like squats, presses, lifts and curls."

My first favorite thing that enticed me about it: $8 for a drop-in class (compared to $15 for yoga). Plus you can sign up for a month of unlimited classes for $50. The other classes are Body Combat, Body Step, Yoga Flow, etc.


My sister was in town from Chicago last weekend and was such a great sport by accompanying me to a class on Saturday morning. (Did I say a grrreat sport?) I like to see women taking classes where you get serious about weights and toning and muscles. We are finally moving past the cardio-crazy fervor of step classes and aerobics. I am a big fan of building muscle tone to help you lose weight and stay in shape, moreso than cardio alone. The repeated adage that a pound of muscle burns more calories than a pound of weight is true! Also, you may not lose weight in this class but you will transform your fatty parts to more muscular parts. That creates the illusion of a stronger, slimmer you. The first class was a bit clunky because I wasn't used to it. Like anything, the more you do it, the more smoother it probably seems. You constantly need to change your weights depending on if you are doing squats or bicep curls. Also, I think you'd have to go quite a few times to really figure out the best amount of weights for each specific exercise.

I will definitely be going again!!

Bend it like Bikram

I finally went back to Bikram Yoga, my easy bake oven of love, for the first time in months. Once again I thoroughly enjoyed it. The heat reminded me of being in Myrtle Beach which was incredibly refreshing. I was reminded that my pass expires at the end of June. This means I have 2.5 weeks to use up 3 more classes. Ah, the easiest problem in the world :) Thanks again, Mom!!

Note to patrons of Jimmy John's

I definitely love when restaurants and coffee houses and sandwich shops post their nutritional content online. I'm a big fan of Jimmy John's #6 vegetarian sub. However, if I order it as is with provolone cheese, avocado spread, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, lettuce, tomato, mayo and French bread, I am looking at 640 calories and 36g of fat. If I subtract the mayo, it is a whopping difference. The calories are brought down to 410 and now there is only 11g of fat.

Don't run from that info. Seek it out and use it to your advantage. I don't have to stop eating this sub. It's not all that unhealthy, as far as prepared foods go. Now I can be savvy and figure out how to keep it healthy while still retaining all it's deliciousness :)

Musings...

I gotta tell ya that I'm feeling conflicted about my running endeavors. It's like I want to just run a few times a week on my own and not worry abut a race and training for it and paying for it, but if I don't sign up for a race then I don't think I challenge myself all that well on my own. And then the other thing is that I feel like there are other types of fitness that I'd like to get into but I don't have the time with making sure to "get my runs in." And I hate that running would be something that stresses me out. It always used to be more my panacea than my reason for panicking. I don't even know what I feel I have to prove. Like, do I want to be someone that can boast about running 5 miles anytime? Do I have to run 4 days a week to feel like a real athlete? Will I feel accomplished when I consistently run 10 minute miles or run a certain number of races in a year? I'm just struggling to find the answers to these questions.

I know different people run for different reasons: some to push themselves, some to justify their gluttonous eating habits, some for the accomplishment of one more race. I think that if I were to be honest with myself I do it to be healthy. And I think someone who can run 3 miles a couple of times a week is probably pretty damn healthy. Maybe that's enough for me. And of course what is "enough" for me changes over time.

I think I also feel scattered with my time and working overtime and being crunched for free time. Plus, it's summer and that means traveling and vacations. It's hard to keep a consistent schedule. Sometimes I might make it to the gym 3 times in one week and only run for 90 minutes altogether. I want to be able to feel good about that and not feel "Oh darn I'm so far off the mark if I think I want to run a 6 mile race in three weeks."

That's one part of it. The other is that I'd like to be more consistent with yoga. I also want to try other stuff, whether it's dancing or pilates. Running is just one way to move your body through space. I think the beauty of the human body is the myriad ways we have to move. We can jump and bend and swoosh and splash and sway and waltz and kick and flip and contort and stretch and reach up and down and over and twist. Maybe I just need some time to explore my body in other dimensions. I'm sure I'll never stray too far from running. I never really do. It's the one constant to which I can always return.