Doing It In My Sleep

I did not want to work out today. I was tired, practically lethargic, the kind of tired you feel in your bones. I had a million reasons not to bother. I've been working long hours on not much sleep. I haven't had much free time to myself for the same reason. It would have been a beautiful night to sit somewhere with a class of wine and read my very dignified vampire romance novel. It was almost a no-brainer.

Except, it would have been my third day off in a row.

Even as I walked to the 8:15 Physique 57 class, I wasn't 100% committed to going. I hadn't confirmed my spot. In the end, what compelled me was that I was afraid of getting used not working out. It's one of my healthier addictions. I don't want to lose it.

When the music began, my body slipped into the familiar routine, and, by the end of the warmup, I knew I'd made the right choice. As tired as I was, class went pretty well. During the stretches at the end, the one where you sit with your legs extended and reach for your toes, I actually reached my toes. I don't know that I'd ever made it past my ankles before. Pretty cool.

Now it's time for bed.

-Gym Belle-

Physique 57: Advanced

The more demanding my life outside the gym is, the more I crave an intense workout. While I'm sure that four out of five doctors would tell me to get more sleep instead, I need the physical release to keep me sane when life gets nutty.

Even after a brutal Bikram session on Wednesday and an eight mile run in the park Saturday during which I got hit by a bike (not a big deal, but ouch), I was determined to take my first Advanced class at Physique 57 Sunday morning.

Why did I put this off for so long? Part of it is a scheduling thing; they don't offer as many Advanced level classes. Also, I have serious trouble remembering to stretch when I work out. One of the things that's great about Physique is that you stretch between segments as part of the class. The Beginner, Open and Intermediate level classes all have more, shorter segments. In Advanced, things flow together in fewer defined segments and the stretching is not really a focus.

Also, I was never a ballerina. (I dropped ballet at 5.) I'm strong, I'm even graceful, but I am seriously inflexible. I also don't have long blond hair that sits nicely in a perfect bun while I exercise. I'm not saying everyone in the Advanced classes is like that - but you see where I'm going. I hate admitting to being intimidated, but I kinda was.

Class was pretty empty, probably because of the holiday weekend, but the women who were there were pretty intense. They all seemed to know each other. From what I overheard, it seems like they regularly do multiple classes in a day, so I guess that makes sense. Everyone went for the eight pound weights, and, for the most part, the push ups were legit.

I really enjoyed the workout. The open sequence was familiar, but we did squats (mostly the up an inch, down an inch kind) while lifting. The push ups were right over left, then left over right. Side plank was involved. After that, class felt felt like a remixed version of Intermediate or Open. Some of the moves were new, but what was most challenging was the blending of thigh and seat work. I've had tougher classes (anything taught by Chanelle, for example), but this was a great workout and it was nice to try something a little different.

When I took my first Intermediate class, I knew I was done with Beginner. This wasn't like that. For one thing, there just aren't enough Advanced classes that fit with my schedule. More than that, though, I think this will be a nice complement to the Open and Intermediate classes.

I'll keep you posted.

-Gym Belle-

Reunited

My trainer - let's call her J - was amazing. I could easily justify the cost. I saw constant improvement. It was fun. I was investing in my body. Plus, good trainers are like bartenders or therapists for some reason, and inevitably they end up knowing more about your life than your friends and family do. That's got to be worth something.

Anyway, when the market tanked, no matter how I crunched the numbers, I knew I couldn't go on paying the approximately $100 per session that virtually all gyms charge. My body may have been in awesome shape, but if I got canned, it was going to need a place to live. Hence, my mission to find more cost effective workouts began.

I can say pretty confidently now that I don't need a trainer to get in a really good workout. And I'm having lots of fun with Manhattan's endless array of classes. But I haven't forgotten J.

In fact, I saw her this morning. We met in Central Park. Outside the gym, we've struck a deal where I save about half the cost of a session and she still takes home more than the cut she'd get from the gym. We did this last summer and it was tons of fun. You have to be cool with getting a little dirty, but where else in Manhattan can you work out a few feet from seals (sea lions?)? Weather and scheduling issues have kept us from getting going so far this summer, but today was wonderful and I'm hoping to see her again.

I'll keep you posted.

-Gym Belle-