Every Gym’s Nightmare

umm…I…. i just don’t even know what to say.

The seminar went great last night. I’ve got two more to do these next coming thursdays but everything is done, so no stress.

Today was GORGEOUS. I needed to get some strength training in, but there was no way I was going to the gym, so I headed to the school across the street from my house.

I ran a few loops of stairs and the track.

I sprinted up the grassy hill and back down a few times.

Stopped to do mountain climbers on a railing.

Tried desperately to do some pull ups on the monkeybars. It was embarrassing, let me tell you. But i got a few.

I got whistled at by middle school boys playing soccer.

I approached them and explained that if they ever wanted a girlfriend they would need to learn quickly that cat calling someone that could be their babysitter isnt a great way to go. Yelling at a girl, and driving by slowly and asking if she wants a ride, never works. And if it does, she is going to charge you by the hour.

I continued back to the stairs and hopped up on one leg, ran down, hopped up on the other.

Did a few pushups.

Some tricep dips on a bench.

Got a nice little tan. Mmmmmm, cancer, how I have missed you.

Did some squat jumps making sure to get low enough to touch the bench.

Finished up by walking a few laps and stretching in the lush grass.

I then cursed the grass for making me itchy.

I got just as good a workout as I would have if I went to the gym, but I also got some sunshine and enjoyed the fresh air. Plus, I didn’t waste any of my $4 DOLLARS A GALLON gas, and just had to walk across the street to get back home in time for Degrassi.

I heart sunshine.

Short post today. Im super swamped. My nutrition seminar is tonight and I’ve got a full day of work ahead of me, then I have to go home, will fit in a quick run, shower, then come right back for the seminar. I think everything will go ok, i just hate not having everything set in stone till the last minute.

So, I went to the gym last night and thought I would hop on the elliptical and go over my notes for the seminar. I figured it would be good cause I could get my cardio in, study my notes, and time it to see how long it will take. Well, after about 5 minutes I couldn’t concentrate anymore and got a headache. I should have known better, cause I can’t even read in the car without getting a headache. Even the slight up and down of the elliptical almost turned me cross-eyed.

I looked up, and what do I see? a woman running FULL FORCE on the treadmill reading a book. A book! I think the font on my notes was about 80, like, the same size as the numbers on those phones you buy for your elderly aunt because she cant see the numbers on the regular phone anymore, and I still couldn’t follow it. She was reading a freaking novel and seemed to be doing fine.

I bet she wasn’t even reading it. I hate her.

Ok first off: Does anyone else find this disturbing? Do you often wear pants tight enough that this is neccessary?

So yesterday was a rough day. My seminar is tomorrow, so I am scrambling to get everything in order, my apartment was a mess, which makes me feel out of sorts and stressed (thank you type A personality), I had 32 cents in my checking account for some reason and couldnt get ahold of any bank people to tell me WHY. I am very anal about my money and am very careful, so when they make mistakes I KNOW. Normally when I am stressed I would run to burn off every ounce of stress, but it was raining and I didnt have time/didnt want to use any of my $4 A GALLON gas to go to the gym. Then, I saw him.

Rodney, the flexy, toned adulterer, (thanks again, MizFit)was sitting on my TV. Normally, i would have thought that slow moving exercise was the LAST thing that would calm me down, but it was my only option at the moment. So i popped it in.

I only had time to do about 15 minutes, but even in that short period, it completely did the trick. I kept my eyes closed the entire time and concentrated on my breath. I could feel the stress melt out of me.

When I was done, I had one of those “what were you even worried about?” moments. I finished the the poster i had to make, which was actually fun. I find that I may be perpetually 10 years old because i really like writing with giant, permanent markers. its fun to me. then i straightened up a bit, cooked dinner and was good to go. watched a bit of tv, went to bed early and am now in a great mood.

This morning, my account balance was back to normal. i didnt even have to call anyone and insult their mother.

Oh, yoga, why didn’t i give you a shot sooner?

Sorry I have been sucking at commenting. I read all of your guys’ blogs, but I’ve been so rushed lately I havent had time to stop and comment. Things are going to die down soon after my seminars are over, so no worries.

I got tagged by Disha to name the contents of my purse. Be warned: I live out of this thing. Here goes:

Planner
Notebook (for when inspiration strikes)
a million pens
gum wrappers
wallet
receipts
ipod
keys
ticket stub to boyfriend’s show
sunnies
cheese stick
Fiber One Bar
Lip gloss
Wamu chapstick
digital camera
coaster from the bar on friday- i met a girl from scandinavia and she gave me her email-still need to do that
hand sanitizer
velvet pouch thing that a necklace my sister gave me came in
3 spoons
bronzer
Plane Ticket stub
itrip
Directions to boyfriend’s show
another spoon- no wonder i can’t even find one when i need it.
dust and crumbs

I think thats all.

And in the theme of lists today, I will enlighten you to my workout playlist. Its random:

Ah Ha- Take on Me
Atreyu- Right Side of the Bed
Benny Benassi- Satisfaction
Blur- Song_2
Buggles- Video Killed the Radio Star
Cake- Short Skirt, Long Jacket
Daft Punk- Harder/Better/Faster/Stronger
Deftones- My Own Worst Summer (shove it)
Dynamite Hack- Boyz in the Hood *More of an inside joke, but still a good song*
Eve6- Promise
Ghetto Boys- Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster
Hole- Make Me Over
Journey- Dont Stop Believing *Guilty Pleasure*
NSync- Dirty Pop *Guilty Pleasure*
NERD- RockStar * I highly recommened both NERD songs. Plus, I love Pharrell*
NERD-Lapdance
NIN-Perfect Drug
Notorious BIG- Big Pappa
Notorious BIG- Gimme the Loot *When you know all the words, its hard to not sing it outloud. That, however,would be very inappropriate*
Peaches- Fuck the Pain Away
Pixies- Where is my mind?
Rage Against the Machine- too many to list
Silverchair- Anna’s song
Tom Petty- Free Falling
Warren G and Nate Dog- Regulators

STUPID GIRL ALERT- Does anyone watch Gossip Girl??? HOLY CRAP- I am so excited for tonight’s episode.

Favorite workout songs? Want to chastice me for my taste in music? Holla at ‘cha girl.

Its fun to do new things. Im such a creature of habit that I sometimes forget that I can do whatever the hell I want.

So this weekend was relaxation weekend.

Saturday I missed the yoga class because i slept in was finishing up my nutrition seminar, which ended up working out for the best. After working all morning, I had my massage at 3:00pm. I cant really decide how i felt about it. The place was amazing, it all beiges and browns and the room was dark with really relaxing music. I had a guy, which I actually preferred, because i figured his hands would be stronger, but honestly i dont have anything to compare it to. i thought they would just kind of do my back and neck, but he did my arms and the backs of my legs, and then had me flip over and did the front of my legs. It really hurt when he did my quads- i almost asked him to stop but sucked it up. when I was done I felt like I had taken a 10 hour nap. I also got a peppermint patty, so all in all it, was nice. I wouldnt pay for one, but it was a good experience.

So after missing the yoga class, and enjoying the relaxing atmosphere of the massage, I figured I would just go pick up a yoga DVD and try it out in the privacy of my own home. Also, since a few commenters mentioned how if I like hard workouts I should try more advanced yoga, I picked up Rodney Yee’s YogaBurn.

I LOVED it. It was really hard, I had to come down from a few poses to recover, and could really feel the burn, but also the stretch. I have really tight hamstrings which give me a lot of problems and effect my posture and felt like this was the best stretch I had ever had.

The narration was very minimal, but concise enough that I knew what to do without having to look at the TV which helped keep me relaxed and in the zone.

The only thing I couldnt get over was Rodney’s toes. They were spread out wide like spirit fingers the whole time. I hate feet anyway so it gave me the heebie geebies. Im a ex-gymnast, so Im used to constantly pointing my toes, so I had to keep reminding myself to flex my feet to get the full benefit of the stretch.

yay, yoga! i dont think ill be taking any classes anytime soon, I think this is something I’d rather do by myself to relax and get a good stretch. I dont think the bright florescent lights of my gym will give me the same effect.

Any suggestions on other yoga DVDs? maybe something a bit more strenuous, or completely different all together?

Hope you all have a great weekend and a good mother’s day!

appropriate considering the last post. Demystifying Yoga.

Im getting a massage tomorrow. Im worried, because I think i might become addicted. I LOVE massages, but have never had a professional one, so i think if i get someone that knows what they are doing (sorry, jerome), i might not be able to stop going.

My boss owns a massage studio, in addition to gym, and gave me a free one, so thats why im going to go check it out. So in honor of my Saturday massage, Im going to get nice and sore tonight. My upper body is pretty shreaded right now cause I lifted two days in a row. I went to the gym last night and it was packed so i pretty much just did what was open, which unfortunately was all upper body stuff.

Then tomorrow morning, im going to take a yoga class. YOGA. I dont think you understand. I did yoga once, and hated it. I almost left half way through. The instructor kept touching me, and its hard to relax and concetrate when you are thinking about punching someone in the throat. I’m more of an intense, can’t move, i might throw up workouter. Holding positions and stretching isnt really my idea of a workout, but Im going to give it a shot to keep with my relaxing day theme. Plus I’m going to be working all weekend, so I will need to escape.

The new site im going to be writing for, groundedfitness.com, has a lot to do with yoga and pilates, as well as broader health and fitness topics, so I should give it another chance. I used to hate eggs, but I tried them again a few years back, and like them now, so why not yoga?

After this class, Im going to take a few at a bikram yoga studio near my house. Everyone swears by it, and who knows, I might fall in love. I like sweating so whats better than roasting in a 5000 degree room while trying to balance on one leg?

Theres a couple that I always see at my gym. They are both ripped, and are there everyday- they look like working out a huge priority to them. Its kind of cute in a vein splitting, muscle tearing way. They spot for eachother and take turns and share tips.

Im not a stalker, I promise. Its just so foreign to me.

I dont like working out with other people. I like to do what I want to do when I want to it: Im pretty scattered. I also dont like to have to wait for people, I just like to get in and get out.

That being said, sometimes I skip out on doing a last set, or Im so all over the place that its not very structured.

Im pretty a pretty big show off competitive, so maybe having someone there will get me to try and lift that heavier weight, or pump out a few more reps.

Outside of the gym, I would really like to have someone, besides my dog, that would like to go with me. I feel like I would be more adventurous with my workouts or activities if there were something along with me that would like to make a day of it. I love tennis, even though I suck at it, and love to hike and such, but rarely do it because no one wants to go with me. Lazies.

Do you guys work out with people, or alone? Do you find that working out with a partner pushes you forward, or holds you back? Does anyone work out with a signicifcant other?

Hey Kelly,
You rock. I have a question about cardio. More specifically, (in a whiny, annoying, litle kid voice for best effect), do I have to?? I truly despise traditional cardio (running, elliptical, stairs, etc.), BUT I do exercise daily, and many of my activities do have some sort of cardio-ish component, just nothing that gets my heart rate up for a sustained amount of time to the degree to which a run will get it. Did that make sense? My heart rate will be elevated, but I’m not breathlessly dying or anything. I do 90 minutes of ballet 3x a week (int/adv level), weight lift 2x a week for an hour, pilates 1-2 x a week for ~45 minutes to an hour, abs daily, yoga 1 x a week, and then usually some random active thing once a week like tennis or hiking. I really enjoy all these things and would hate to have to carve out time for more strict cardio, when that extra time might take away from the other things. Thanks very much.

For the longest time I was really resistant to cardio. I think it was because I would always try and just go all out, go above my level and so i would always quit and feel like i couldnt do it. I slowly built up my endurance, so now I am good, but I owuldnt exactly say i enjoy it.

The thing is, a lot of things count as cardio. The definition of cardiovascular endurance is, ” the ability to perform large muscle movements over a sustained period of time. therefore, cardio is preforming large muscle movements for a sustained period of time. Seems to me that ballet, tennis and hiking would all fit into those categories. As long as you are constantly moving, and your heart rate gets up, these count towards your cardio needs.

Obviously, the higher your heart rate, the more intense the cardio will be, but theres no need to run till you puke or elliptical forever. Thats just not some people’s style.

The recommendation is 30 minutes of cardio, most days of the week (5-6) for health benefits. I would say all the things you listed fill this requirement, if you are not trying to lose weight. If you are, I would say that you do need to up the intensity, but you can up the intensity of these activities, without adding anything extra.

Example: when you are weightlifting, move quickly from move to move (or machine to machine). This will elevate your heart rate, and as long as you are still working hard, it will stay up. You can also do circuit training with weights, adding little bouts of quick heart-rate elevating moves, like tuck jumps, jumping jacks, squat thrusts, etc. Circuit training will be more intense but will probably actually cut down on your workout time.

Your routine is great, and very varied (I write good.) Good for you. Unless you are trying to drop weight, “traditional cardio” isnt necessary. Do whats fun to you and can keep with. Thats what will help you most in the long run.