Last week was a bust - gym wise. I forget why I didn't go Monday, but I'm sure it was for no good reason. Tuesday & Wednesday the in-laws were visiting, and it would be rude to go to the gym after a long day of work. Thursday -well, I was tired & figured if I hadn't gone the other three days, what good would there be in one day's attendance. Friday-date night. Saturday morning yoga was skipped in order to attend the Farmer's Market with mi madre (and a side order of Dunkin' Donuts wheat bagel & cream cheese). Sunday afternoon yoga was ALSO skipped in order to complete school work, and to grab a wee afternoon nap. In conclusion - I pretty much just took up space & used oxygen last week.
But that was last week, and this is a new week. I'm all about new beginnings, and today was no exception. So this afternoon, at approximately 4:20, I tore out of the school parking lot & headed to the gym to meet my nemesis, elliptical machine. However, my allergy to kryptonite was acting up & I opted for the less brutal treadmill. I still managed to hoof it at about 20 minutes & made 1.58 miles. Not too bad for one doing exercise pennance. Tomorrow night will reunite me with my old friend, Pilates. Oh, leg circles. How I despise you........
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Monday, October 20, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Hit the gym: check
Last week I made it to the gym a total of 2x. Monday and Tuesday. I was good, too. I did cardio for about 40 minutes on Monday, and then anything I could possibly remember from Pilates class for another 40 minutes on Tuesday. Wednesday I didn't go, because I wanted to rest & I had a crap-ton of school work to do. Thursday I didn't go because I forgot my stinkin' bag at home, and it would have taken an extra twenty to thirty minutes to run home & get it and THEN go to the gym, so I just went home instead. Friday I took my brother & his girlfriend to see Jim Gaffigan at Clemson. FUNNY!! Saturday was yoga in the a.m., followed by Sunday with yoga in the p.m. All of that to say, that today I hit the gym again. Second Monday in a row. I'm feeling pumped, and I will feel free to celebrate the small victory of two consecutive weeks of gym attendance. I plan on going to Pilates tomorrow night, following a luscious "brinner" dinner of whole wheat pancakes & scrambled egg product. Wednesday will be the big day- the THIRD day in a row. The deciding factor: will this be a week of promise or a week of failed dreams?? I'm gonna do it- it's gonna happen!!!!
There's all sorts of different information out there about exercise & nutrition & BMI and what not. I'm just gonna shoot for a goal of 30 -40 minutes of "working out" a week. They may be cardio, it may be Pilates, it may be walking/running intervals. Who knows? I have to change it up though, or else I'll go bored out of my skull. Then I won't come back until an additional 7 pounds has crept up. And if I don't have my MP3 player? Forget it. I'll just go home & take a short walk after dinner. I don't know about anyone else, but I've got to have my music. It keeps me motivated, and I'm just OCD enough to try to match my walk/run/ breathing pattern with the rhythm of the music.
But there is something I have discovered: I have endurance. What kind of endurance, I don't know. I was on the dreaded elliptical (I hate it because it never fails to make my feet feel hot & cramped) and was really going. Maybe 67 rotations per minute. Really hoppin'. And I was watching news channel 4 and concentrating on reading the closed captioning and keeping my breathing pattern the same......and it hit me. I had been doing this for almost fifteen minutes, and it didn't feel like it. I felt like I could have kept going at that pace forever. I had found a rhythm and a "zone", for lack of a better word. And I just kept going. Then, my goal turned into "keep this rhythm up until it's time to go". And I did! Well, for the most part. I did wimp out at the last 6 minutes, but really it was because my feet were hot, and my chest was hurting (never mind I was convinced I was on the verge of a heart attack. That's an anxiety-disorder, for you!) But I did it, and it made me feel good in the discovery that I could make my body do something while my brain checks out. Not completely, of course, since a large part of what I'm doing is for my mental wellbeing. I hope to not only lose weight, but also find a way to replace my anxiety medication w/ regular exercise, as much as possible. But I could give my body a job, find a rhythm it could work with and concentrate on, and then......fly off anywhere in my mind. It was enlightening, to say the least!
So, for any gym rats out there, keep it up. I'm sweating along with you, and hating it as much. Just pony up on that treadmill, look those step machines in the eye, and think..... "Semper Fi"
Oooh - Ra!! (as they say in the Marines)
There's all sorts of different information out there about exercise & nutrition & BMI and what not. I'm just gonna shoot for a goal of 30 -40 minutes of "working out" a week. They may be cardio, it may be Pilates, it may be walking/running intervals. Who knows? I have to change it up though, or else I'll go bored out of my skull. Then I won't come back until an additional 7 pounds has crept up. And if I don't have my MP3 player? Forget it. I'll just go home & take a short walk after dinner. I don't know about anyone else, but I've got to have my music. It keeps me motivated, and I'm just OCD enough to try to match my walk/run/ breathing pattern with the rhythm of the music.
But there is something I have discovered: I have endurance. What kind of endurance, I don't know. I was on the dreaded elliptical (I hate it because it never fails to make my feet feel hot & cramped) and was really going. Maybe 67 rotations per minute. Really hoppin'. And I was watching news channel 4 and concentrating on reading the closed captioning and keeping my breathing pattern the same......and it hit me. I had been doing this for almost fifteen minutes, and it didn't feel like it. I felt like I could have kept going at that pace forever. I had found a rhythm and a "zone", for lack of a better word. And I just kept going. Then, my goal turned into "keep this rhythm up until it's time to go". And I did! Well, for the most part. I did wimp out at the last 6 minutes, but really it was because my feet were hot, and my chest was hurting (never mind I was convinced I was on the verge of a heart attack. That's an anxiety-disorder, for you!) But I did it, and it made me feel good in the discovery that I could make my body do something while my brain checks out. Not completely, of course, since a large part of what I'm doing is for my mental wellbeing. I hope to not only lose weight, but also find a way to replace my anxiety medication w/ regular exercise, as much as possible. But I could give my body a job, find a rhythm it could work with and concentrate on, and then......fly off anywhere in my mind. It was enlightening, to say the least!
So, for any gym rats out there, keep it up. I'm sweating along with you, and hating it as much. Just pony up on that treadmill, look those step machines in the eye, and think..... "Semper Fi"
Oooh - Ra!! (as they say in the Marines)
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