When Little Old Ladies Kick Your Butt...

Last Monday (a week ago) I finally did something I've never had to do before-- joined a gym. I mean, I've always had access to a gym (either through an on-site one through work, in the military, or on a university campus while I was a student) but this is the first time I've actually *paid* for a membership. It's worth it, though, as I'll explain in a moment.

My biggest inspiration comes from my friend Tabitha, who has been on a fitness quest with a weekly accountability report every Wednesday. My secondary inspiration is derived from my own personal goals, which aren't quite as tangible as Tabitha's: 1) get in better shape/health overall and 2) lose the tummy fat before bikini season on our trip to Las Vegas this August!

You would think that because I don't have a very precise goal (e.g. an exact waist size to strive for, or an exact # of pounds to lose), it might make it harder to stay on track, and that's probably true, but one of the main reasons I chose this particular gym was because it offered such a vast array of classes, many of which fit my schedule by being offered in the evenings after work or during lunch. The company discount we get makes it very cost-effective, and you can't beat the location-- it's right across the street from work and a 5 minute walk from home.

I started out Monday with a kickboxing class. I'd never done anything like this before, but it always looked fun on TV/in movies/in Todd's karate class. I kept a moderate pace and focused on learning to do the moves slowly and correctly, rather than trying to deliver powerful kicks using wrong form, which just seems like a good way to ask for injury! I was a little sore the next day, but not nearly as much as I had expected.

Wednesday brought aqua aerobics in the heated pool. The evening was sunny, the instructor lively, and the music fantastic. I figured this was a great way to get some cardiovascular exercise in with minimal joint impact. But I learned something: don't let the peaceful sound of the class name, or the fact that people with special conditions (older people, people with injuries, pregnant women) favor it fool you. I went home and didn't realize how exhausted I was until I flopped onto the couch. And this morning? I was even more sore and achy than I was after the kickboxing class! I'm certain it's because aquatic exercise seems deceptively easy. I knew that kickboxing was going to be tough, so I made a conscious effort to pace myself and not overdo it. But in the water, you don't immediately feel the effects of keeping your body in constant, nonstop motion. It's not immediately obvious just how much resistance the water actually offers. So while going at a moderate pace, I felt like I wasn't really accomplishing anything, and so I pushed myself to go harder (and even then, I was still slower than the other women in my class, all of whom were much older than me). My aching shoulders and legs have taught me not to underestimate aqua aerobics-- it's a lot tougher than it looks!

Thursday I took it "easy" with a nice, moderately-paced swim. Friday I took a break and then Saturday morning I met Tabitha at the gym for their "ripped" class, whose main focus is resistance training. I figured I would need the upper-body and core strength to be able to hold the kickboxing bags. What I didn't figure was just how much it would kick my ass! It was great, though-- an overall total-body workout that really worked my abs and legs. It hurt to sneeze and cough the next day, but it was worth it :-P

I dreaded kickboxing on Monday (yesterday), as I was still pretty sore, but found myself feeling MUCH better after the class, because warming up and using my muscles was the best way to stretch them and reduce the soreness. It was also an immense help that there was another new girl in the class, who had kickboxing experience but hadn't done it in a while. So when we were partnered up, I didn't have to worry about being knocked to the floor everytime she kicked. At the same time she was able to offer some pointers that helped me out, as well :-)

Tonight I'm looking forward to trying their new swim class. I love swimming and am keen on improving my stroke technique. So far I'm really enjoying making use of my new gym membership and exploring the various classes, the combination of which gives me a great total-body workout: some focus on cardio, some on strength and some on endurance. More importantly, they keep me motivated to stick with regular workouts. Unless I'm swimming laps (my preferred form of cardiovascular exercise), I am not fond of working out alone, yet I'm hard-pressed to find someone with similar workout interests and schedule as me. Even hubby, who favors ellipticals and the treadmill (neither of which I particularly like), works out early in the morning, something that just does NOT work for me-- 5 years of doing it with the Army have taught me that I'm an evening/afternoon-workout kind of girl.

Speaking of evening workouts... time to hit the pool :-)