Category: Exercise

Categories
Awesome Being a girl Exercise Nonfiction Self improvement

Tips For The First Spin Class

Yesterday I finally attended my first spin class. This is what I said to my co-workers as I was leaving work to head to the gym:

“It sounds fun! I mean it can’t be that hard, right?”

At least I sort of knew at the time I was going to have to eat those words later – but I did think, how hard can biking be? It’s just biking. It’s not like I have to jump around waving weights around my head. It’s just legs.

Well, I was wrong. It’s not just legs. And it is hard.

Here are some hints, if you’re thinking of attempting this for the first time:

1. The seat is not comfortable. This is probably because you’re supposed to be up off of it for most of the class. If, like me, you sat out some of the standing-up sections, be prepared for a slightly sore behind the next day. (I ended up wadding up my towel and awkwardly stuffing it underneath myself at one point. It helped, moderately.)

2. When you sit on the bike for the first time, and it spins really easily, and you’re like, “This is awesome”? Look down. That little knob puts more tension on. You’ll spend most of the class with it tightened. Get ready. Enjoy the no-tension while you can.

3. An hour of watching Law & Order flies by. An hour of spin, not so much. At some point (for me it was 10 minutes in), you’ll start to think the clock might be broken. It’s not.

4. Related to #3, the first half hour is a lot slower than the second half hour. Stick it out.

5. When your badass intructor says, “Remember, everyone can go at their own pace at any time,” he may be talking to you. You’re allowed to ease off on the tension if you’re dying, and as long as you’re still pushing yourself, you’re still good.

6. It seems to me that this is the kind of thing where you show fast improvement, especially at the beginning. I found the standing up portions difficult in the first half hour, but much easier in the second half hour. I’m excited for my next class, to see how much easier the entire thing will be. (#WishfulThinking?)

7. If you find yourself plotting ways to get out of the room before the hour is up (my best plan was to fake losing a contact, then scoop up my keys and bolt for the door), just stare at the tramp stamp on the girl in front of you and keep going. You can do it!

Categories
Exercise Friends Self improvement

Be as much of all that you can be

I am always the most motivated late at night. When I’m lying there waiting to fall asleep (which could take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour and a half), that’s when I think of all the things I am sure to accomplish. That’s where the Atkins idea was born (after many, many failed plans). That’s when I’m sure I’m going to get up early and hit the gym. That’s when I psych myself into thinking I can totally wear heels to work.

But the next morning is when I remember that Atkins sucks, I’m so tired and this bed is so warm and the gym is so far away through the fog, and who am I kidding? I totally have no skills for wearing heels, and I’ll probably fall down the stairs and that will be hella embarrassing.

Last week I made the late night decision to sign back up for Weight Watchers. I also made a late night decision to change my gym membership so I can go to any 24 Hour Fitness (for the last year I’ve just had access to one club).

So that’s my new plan. So far it’s going pretty well. Plus, I have the iPhone now so I can use the WW mobile app, which is helpful, I guess? Also the 24 HF app. I like the way those apps look sitting next to each other.

Tomorrow my friend Sam and I are going to a gym that’s near my work and her house. We’re going to try some class that I’ve never tried before. It’s sort of making me nervous. But I think it’ll be easier to go after work, and especially with a friend. And their class schedule is so much better than my home gym’s schedule! – now maybe I’ll be able to make it to a spin class, which I have still not accomplished.

Anyway, wish me luck. I have one wedding in 2 months, and then another one in 3 months, so my plan is to look awesome for both of them. Now that I’ve lined up the tools – I just have implement them.

Categories
Exercise Not awesome

My road of good intentions

Monday afternoon: I download the 24 Hour Fitness app and scroll through my gym’s class schedule. I make a list of classes to take this week. Monday evening: Power Sculpt. Tuesday morning: Pilates. Thursday afternoon: 24 Cycle.

Monday evening: I head out for Power Sculpt at 7:30. At 7:45 they announce they can’t find the instructor. I go home.

Tuesday morning: I head out for Pilates Fusion. Pilates Fusion kinda kicks my butt. I sign up for Thursday cycling class.

Tuesday afternoon: I announce I have to leave early on Thursday (around 4:30) for my 5:30 class.

Wednesday: I feel kind of shaky all day.

Thursday morning: I remember something I have to do at work that needs to be done TODAY. I spend all day working on it. Around 3:00 I finish and then start my regular work. Around 3:45 I realize I’m not making it to that class.

Thursday evening: Head straight home and into pajamas. Figure I will try again later.

I tried, y’all. I tried! I wish they had cycling class at another time rather than 5:30 in the morning and 5:30 in the evening…

Categories
"Other people" Exercise Self improvement

Day 3: My Dirty Little Secret

Okay, so it’s not really dirty and it’s hardly a secret.

I don’t really like going to the gym.

I like saying I go to the gym, I like the way I feel afterwards, and I like the idea of being someone who works out. But I don’t love doing it. I don’t spring out of bed to go for a run, and you will certainly never find me at a 5:30 am spin class. I think that I would prefer going in the afternoon, when I’m not dragging myself from bed…but then the weekend rolls around and manage to find other ways to fill my time. Since I joined this gym a year ago, I haven’t been transformed into a hard-bodied supermodel. (Not saying I’m not healthier but that’s a different story.)

This morning, since I had the chance to come into work a little later than usual, I dragged myself to the gym. Haven’t been there in almost a week. I couldn’t face getting on the treadmill so I focused on strength exercises, which are still good but don’t require quite as much psyching-up.

These people did get on the treadmill this morning – and I admire them. (In the foreground is one of my favorite strength machines – I think the exercise is a chest press? I do like that.)

Good for you, runners (and walkers). Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be up there with you.

Categories
Exercise Memoir Nature Not awesome

“Don’t they ever stop migrating?” -The Birds

This morning as I was leaving the gym, a bird attacked me and grabbed the back of my head with its talons. Then it flew up to the roof and sat there. The whole front wall of the gym is windows, so I’m wondering how many earnest morning bikers observed the whole thing.

When I got in my car the bird flew down and sat on the hood looking at me until I honked the horn. I mean, I assume it was the same bird.

Why would a bird do such a thing? Here are some theories:

  1. It was just in a pissy mood (maybe it’s not an early bird?) and I just happened to be there.
  2. It wanted to carry me away to feed me to its giant bird leader, who lives in a volcano.
  3. I got too close to its nest – but to that I say, the ONE bush outside the door of a 24 HOUR FITNESS is a stupid place to build a nest.
  4. Some kind of mass bird disease, or world takeover plan, a la Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.

…Which inspired me to put this little trick together:

Which is actually more terrifying than the original incident. I mean, yikes. (The problem is, in 99% of pictures, I am smiling or having fun, so when I need a picture that shows some kind of negative emotion, like panic or terror, my options are limited.)

But this thing reminds me of the cover of the Aphex Twin album, Come to Daddy.

Again I say, yikes.

Categories
Exercise Not awesome

Spin class fail

I just failed to get into a spin class. I tried to sign up about 4 days ago but I didn’t realize I had to pay a dollar. (I rarely have cash on me at the gym, as I usually leave my purse at home and just take my driver’s license.) Then I went back to try again, but they had already filled the 10 pre-pay spots. They told me they would take 9 walk-ins. So I got there at 10 this morning for the 10:30 class, and they said they had already filled the 9 walk-in spots, but I could be #3 on the wait list. Then at 10:35 there was one bike left (for me!) and then some chick ran past me going, “I’m on the list!” Oh well.

I think I might have to update my gym membership so I can visit other clubs. This club is great but the class schedule is not. They have classes at 5:30 am (too early) or 9:00 am (too late, if I have to get to work at a reasonable hour. I wish there was something at 7:00, or even 8:00. But I saw that at other clubs there are classes I’m interested in, that I can’t get in Pacifica, plus they are at more convenient times.

So I’ll let you know how that goes.

PS. I don’t want you to think that I’m also failing at postaday2011. The last two days have been private entries, mostly because they’re just too boring and “dear diary” to subject them to other people.

PPS. Happy Memorial Day Weekend! I’m trying to make it a productive one.

Categories
Exercise Friends Nature

The Mountain Lion Plan

I went hiking after work today with Scotty’s mom. The last time we went, we just took the path that is currently being worked on, even though the signs and road blocks said not to. We planned to do the same today but there was a ranger driving around, so we walked past it to take the other loop.

Sam said she thought that loop was harder, but it actually wasn’t too bad. The only drawback is that it’s not a loop, because so many trails are under construction, so it’s just a walk-to-the-top-and-then-turn-around type of trail.

On our way up she filled me in on the mountain lion plan.

“If we see a mountain lion, you know what to do, right?”

“Sure I do,” I said, because I remember my mountain lion lessons. “We make ourselves as big as possible and yell.”

“And if it attacks one of us, the other one has to beat it with a stick. You can’t run away. Okay?”

Jeez.

Then she told me that when she hiked this mountain with her husband, he said that if a mountain lion attacked him, he was going to “throw the baby” to her and her job was to run away with him. I’m not sure of the validity of that plan. She said she told him no way, that she would stay and try to drive off the mountain lion with him. But I’m wondering what the new mother’s instinct actually would be…I suspect that under pressure a new mother might actually instinctively save her baby.

I hope they don’t ever have to test that theory, though.

Anyway, we saw no mountain lions. Just birds.

And it turns out that the construction they’re doing is to totally pave over the trails. I don’t know how I feel about that. On the one hand, I like walking a dirt trail. The asphalt kind of changes the whole trail feel. On the other hand, it does get super muddy after it rains, so an asphalt trail would be nice. On the other hand, it’s clearly a horse trail (there are all kinds of hints and clues leading me to detect that) and I’m not sure what horses prefer…

Categories
Awesome Beauty Drew Exercise Nature

Waterfall Loop, San Pedro Point

I had a busy, cool weekend.
 
First, I went and cut off a bunch of my hair. Yeah, I’ve had those “It’s REALLY short” second thoughts, but overall, I think I’m happy with it.
carnage

Last night I made stuffed bell peppers for dinner. Yum.

Today Drew and I went hiking at San Pedro Point. He assured me it wasn’t “hard,” “terrible,” or anything like that. Then halfway through he apparently recanted. The words “I think I might be dying” may or may not have been uttered.

But it was a beautiful day and a great hike. Totally worth it. Maybe next time, if it’s that warm, I won’t wear jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.

At the top of the trail is a bench where you can sit and look at Pacifica and the ocean. There were three young, fit kids sitting on that bench. They noted our arrival, and then ignored us and kept passing around a pair of binoculars, while we panted behind them. Teenagers…psshh.

Then, without even having had a rest, we set off back down the other side of the mountain.

Going downhill is MUCH easier, and I talked most of the time down, about anything and everything that crossed my mind. Sometimes I think that’s why Drew takes me on these hikes – on the way up, I conserve my breath for getting oxygen to my muscles, so I can’t talk. But when the going gets easier…I don’t shut up.

Apparently this is a 2.2 mile loop, with an elevation of 200-840 feet. I think it took us a little less than an hour and a half. A totally fun and joyful way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Categories
Exercise Family Memoir Religion Sentiment

Post-Easter Resolutions

I was home this weekend for Easter. The last thing I had to accomplish in April (not counting Script Frenzy, which is almost over, and anyway I can do it from my couch in pajamas).

A great weekend home, including a 6 am sunrise church service: although I balked at it last week as it became imminent, I figured I owed it to my-3-years-ago-self, who was, in another dimension of time, stuck in New York, doing 2 shows on Easter Sunday, and wishing she could be at her family’s church.

So, there was church, there was playing with cats, there was dinner with family, there was much driving.

But now life is “back to normal” and it feels so good. We went to bed at 10:15 last night.

In honor of being back to normal, I have set myself these goals for this week. (And if I make it public then I will have to follow through on them.)

1. Go to the gym 4 times – I’m trying out this Couch to 5K thing, and today I finished my first week (which is actually the third week of the program). So I would like to complete another week, this week.

2. Finish Script Frenzy – I have 26 pages (and one major plot twist) to go.

3. I want to start tracking on Weight Watchers online again. I’ve been half-heartedly tracking things, and then giving up mid-afternoon. So this week, I will track every single thing that happens. I mean, I pay the $18/month for the thing, I should use it, right?

4. Finish and submit a second guest commentary thing. Topic: ?

Totes do-able.

Categories
Awesome Beginnings Exercise

Personal trainer Chris

Speaking of things I meant to say before…last Monday (!)  I met up with a personal trainer at my gym for a “fitness orientation,” which is basically a trial personal training session.  Going in, I mainly just wanted to get some advice and tips on things like form and strength training.  How many reps, how many sets, how much variation, etc.

His name is Chris and I picked him out from his picture on the wall of trainers.  Well, and he came recommended by their staff.  I didn’t really want a hot girl trainer, and he looked nice.

It was just a 50 minute session, and we spent half of it talking about fitness and goals and diet.  He raved about Weight Watchers.  He was super encouraging and nonjudgmental.  As you know, I’m always paranoid about getting “sold to” but if this was all him just pitching for a sale, he did it super well.  He really talked about my goals and my plan like it’s something that I’m achieving now, rather than this brand new regime I have to undertake.  He was very optimistic.

He said he likes to focus on “functional resistance training” (I might be making that up?) and said that before he throws someone in to lifting weights he has them work on being able to lift their own body weight.  (That sounds gross and sad.)  So we ended up doing a lot of planking, “bird dog,” bridges, one-legged bridges, and squats.  All super sloooooow and controoooooolled.  All things I’ve done before but it makes a huge difference having someone correct every tiny aspect of your form – I really felt the difference.  (And then REALLY felt it the next day, and the next day.)

Being able to include a personal trainer in my budget is a major goal for me.  Even if it’s only once a week.  Or even less than that.  I think being accountable to someone, and also having that support and help and guidance, would be awesome.  So one more thing to add on to my list of 2011 resolutions…