Even the best laid plans can fall apart.
I really, really love my Wednesday night classes - 45 minutes of bodypump (resistance training) followed by 45 minutes of bodystep. It's the perfect combination of exercises and just long enough without being too long. I once did those two full classes back to back to make it 2 hours long and I was dying and I felt it took such a huge chunk of time. The express classes are just perfect. But...
It didn't work out last night. To make that class at 6 pm means all the stars have to align correctly. I have to eat my dinner early enough. I need to have dinner done for the rest of the family (and either easily reheatable or in the slow cooker), my younger son needs to be fed and his homework needs to be done as there's no time after the class. Lastly, I need to be out the door no later than 5:30 pm because it's a drive there during rush hour and they require you to be there 10 minutes before classes start. AND I have to get the little guy to the children's kidspace. It's amazing that I've made it every time I've attempted it before, but not this time.
I got my dinner. I had dinner done for the family. I was going to be on time for me, but my younger son was busy and didn't want to be bothered to stop and eat. By the time I could finally get him to stop his business, there wasn't enough time for homework and his dinner. I looked at the clock at 5:15 pm and realized there was no way unless he ate in the car ride there and skipped homework. I couldn't do either of those things in good conscience.
My track record for going down to the basement if I miss a workout is like 0/30. But, I promised myself to do it. I had to do it. Almost like I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't do it. And what I really needed last night was strength training. I really feel that doing that twice a week is key.
So, after my son went to bed, I got in my workout clothes and went downstairs. The video still in the VCR was the strength training workout video that I last did way back in early June. I hadn't worked out in my basement since then! I lined up the weights - 2, 5, 8 and 10 - not knowing which I would need as I use a barbell for weights at the gym. I cued up the video and dove in.
The last time I did that video I was using mostly the 5s and sometimes the 8s for the upper body portion. This time I was using mostly the 10s and sometimes the 8s. I could have used a 12 for some of it. For the lower body portion I used to use the chair for balance and didn't use any weights. Now I was using 20 lbs of weight on my shoulders and didn't need the chair for balance. At the end of the video there is a 7 minute abs section. Each time I had tried that before I was able to do maybe a minute of the video before dying - marveling at how anyone could do a full 7 minutes of abs work. Last night I did the full 7 minutes and could have done more.
Holy cow! I guess the gym has helped me a lot! Now I'm curious how easy the video step routines will feel. I might pull out a step routine tonight and check it out. I'll do a short one, the Reebok Step and if that seems easy, then I'll pop in another - or add a riser to it. I was doing it without risers before, so I'll be sure to have one riser in and see if doing it with two is possible.
It was a good feeling last night to realize that I have come a long way with my fitness over the last year. While my weight has stalled out the last couple months, my fitness is still improving and that was what it was all about anyway. To end the good night, I checked my resting heart rate as I was laying in bed - 55 beats per minute. A far cry from the 85 it was before I started working out!
Lastly, wouldn't you know it. I mention the lump I had found in my abdomen and now it is gone. I had noticed it a couple weeks ago and with my monthly cycle passing, the lump passed. My guess now is that it was an ovarian cyst which are quite common and normal - they tend to come and go and aren't a big deal 99% of the time. Of course, I will still check for it and will mention it to my doctor and will keep my appointment to see the doctor, but I am no longer worried at least.
And the scale is beginning to drop the hormonal water weight. Let's see if this month I can get out of the 170s! I've been here much too long!
Stats for 2/23/12:
Highest weight: 275 Now: 174.6
Total hours worked out in 2012: 38.5/250
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