Triple Duty Exercise

Whew!  What a day.  I was pleasantly busy all day at work, which is always nice.  As I'm posting more of my food these days, here's my morning snack.

Mid-morning snack (and vitamins)

I normally don't like to eat string cheese with a banana, to me they just don't go together for some reason, but it's what I had.  I decided to take a Vitamin C to see if it upset my stomach (it did).  Lunch was a hearty affair.  Yes, I eat at my desk.  I know, I know.

Salad, orzo, chicken/salmon, potato, veggie soup

My stomach wasn't really hurting yet from the Vitamin C, which was good.  I didn't have an afternoon snack, I just didn't get hungry. 

I went to the gym after work and was due to ride the bike.  But a spin class was starting and Glenn was leading it.  Glenn used to work at the gym full time but now he only teaches spin classes.  In the early months of my come-back we used to chat mostly about the mental side of the whole diet/fitness thing. He's a cyclist so we'd talk about that too and some of our conversations really inspired me to want to get back on my bike.  Anyway, Glenn is very encouraging and just plain fun so when I saw he was leading the class I decided to join in.  This was only the second time I've taken a spin class but I knew I could handle whatever came my way. 

If you've never taken spin the main thing to know is it's all self-directed.  You control the resistance and no one else in the room can tell how much resistance, as in, how "hard" you have set the bike.  And while there our plenty of times when you are peddling out of the saddle, a lot of people sit down when it gets too tiring.  I say all that to encourage you to try it out.  The music and energy make the time fly by.  Tonight's class was small, I think there were maybe seven of us, and we were all having a blast.  I pushed myself pretty hard and had the sweat to prove it.  We snapped a few pictures for fun.

Glenn snaps a self-portrait

Why am I still standing?

And by the way, Glenn is in his early 50's, can you believe that?  Thank goodness for people like him who encourage us.  I wasn't a total newbie when I started back to the gym but I was doing my own starting over and Glenn was always so supportive and always had something positive to say, the world needs more gym-staffers were like that.  After the class we were talking about my transformation over the past 1.5 years and another gym regular said, "Yeah, you were cute when you started here but you are stunningly gorgeous now."  Woah, that was a nice thing to say.  And it wasn't smarmy at all, he said it so matter-of-fact.  To tell you the truth I debated and debated whether to include that in this blog post.  It feels so self-aggrandizing and even a tad embarrassing.  But in the end I included it because I try hard to write honestly about everything related to this journey, I don't leave out the ugly parts, so why leave out this.  Though I can't finish this paragraph without adding that while I sometimes wish I did, I do not look in the mirror and see stunningly gorgeous.  Maybe I should work on that.

Anyway, I opened my workout log after the spin class and got the sad news that it's a legs/shoulder/core day.  Ugh, not a fun idea after blasting your legs for an hour on the bike.  I did most of my normal strength training routine but dropped a few leg sets here and there to give my legs a rest.  Especially because I was going directly from the gym to a Mom's Night Out event at...

The Dailey Method, "a unique combination of ballet barre work, core conditioning, muscle strengthening, yoga, and orthopedic exercises."  Yes, more exercise.  I got there just when the class was starting.  It being a mom event we had food and champagne so I shoved a couple crackers in my mouth and started the class.  Needless to say, it was a challenge.  Fortunately it was only a 30 minute class (normal DM classes are an hour) so the suffering didn't last too long.

I took a DM class in August of 2011 and here's what I said about it at the time:

I liked it but there are a few reasons why I'm not ready for it. First, I like to feel capable and competent when I exercise, not be repeatedly "quitting" before the reps are over. It should motivate me to get stronger but instead it makes me feel like I'm weak - not something I'm going for in my exercise routine. Second, my big fat stomach the fat in my mid-section gets in the way. I couldn't do some of the positions very well because of it. Finally, for my current goals I think I need to be doing a mix of cardio and strength training and this is all strength training (and balance/stretching). It probably sounds like I'm down on the Dailey Method (or bar method, or pilates, etc) but I'm not. I think this will be great down the road when I am stronger and lose more body fat. Hopefully this time next year I can buy some classes and really get a lot out of it. When I can do the movements and not poop out or feel my midsection getting in the way I think this class will be awesome. Then I think I will be inspired, not feel weak. Does that make sense?

Well, here I am 1.5 years later and yes, I can do the movements and not poop out (mostly) and I don't have a problem with my mid-section getting in the way anymore.  I guess that means I'm ready!  Which is perfect because I have a month pass I need to use soon.  Trust me though, I won't be going to the gym beforehand, way too hard!  Still not sure how I'll fit the classes in but we'll see.

Anyway, after the class I dove into the snack table, which turned out to be my dinner along with a few glasses of water (I skipped the champagne).

Snacks for dinner.

Cheese, crackers, spreads, nuts, vegetables - not an altogether bad meal.  By the time I got home I was wiped out.  But I'm a dedicated blogger and I'm really trying to keep to this 30 posts in January goal so here I am.  I might need to get better at summarizing though if I'm going to make it.  Thanks for reading!