Gym Life

I’ve been spending a lot of time at the gym these last few weeks…it’s just part of my routine now.  I didn’t go today because I took out my twists, then I had to give my hair a wash, protein treatment, deep conditioner, ect.  I’m not putting my twists back in for another 5 days, so I also had to style it.  So that by itself was an entire process and therefore took up the majority of my day.

Anyhow, I’ve been back in the gym and I’m really enjoying. I started taking a class that I was really intimidated by before-Body Combat.  Being someone who’s really into MMA, UFC, and all that jazz, Body Combat was a class that I was interested in right away. But based on the description of the class, I was a bit worried. My first worry was whether or not I’d even have the stamina to get through the class.  In a way..that’s what I like about group classes.  It forces me to push as much as I can because I don’t want to give up in a group of people like that.  When I’m on the treadmill or the elliptical machine, it’s very easy to say “meh, I’m tired” and just stop. My second worry was that the class would be too difficult because of my sore hip and knee. But, I went to the gym one Saturday morning and decided that I’d give it a try.  I took a spot at the back of the room…which was also close enough to the door that I could slither out quietly without being detected lol.

Anyhow, when the class started, the instructor asked if anyone was new. I raised my hand, in the process thinking “why did I just raise my hand? now they’re gonna notice when I crawl out!” But I did. She welcomed me to the class and encouraged me to stay for the full class, even if I had to stop and take breaks.

Well, the class started, and I took not one break throughout the entire class.  I took the breaks that everyone else took, which were breaks in between tracks-just enough time to grab a sip of water and wipe the sweat that was dripping off of my face. But I finished.  What impressed me/made me even more happy was the fact that the instructor demonstrated appropriate modifications for specific moves.  These modifications enabled me to continue staying active throughout the entire workout without standing there thinking “uhmmmm…”  When the class was over, it was INSTANTLY my favourite class of all.  The instructor was great, energetic, and encouraging. The workout was AMAZING. I know that I don’t get in enough cardio on the machines.  My legs are still weak and therefore get tired easily on the bikes.  Same with the elliptical. When I’m on the treadmill, I can’t run due to the impact to my joints, meaning I can only walk briskly. This doesn’t give me the same degree of workout I get from combat, where I’m throwing punches, kicks, using abs…basically engaging my entire body!

I have a book that I talked about before when discussing working out at the gym. I believe it’s called 100 workouts for women..? I need to start drawing from that book to help me properly incorporate weight training into my routine.  By doing these fitness classes, I think I have my cardio/muscle training combination in check, but I do need to focus on using weights to build more muscle, which will in turn show better results!

Oh, and on foursquare…I’m the mayor of my primary gym location! That means that I have checked in the most at that particular location. I like that, because it actually encourages me to go. You know, I usually don’t skip going to the gym, but maintaining my “mayorship” serves as encouragement for me. Silly, I know! But true 🙂

But I’m glad that I’ve been able to get back into the gym.  I’ll admit..I was scared to work too hard. I never knew for sure if there was a correlation, but on two occasions, when I was a member of a gym and was working out a lot…I ended up having lupus flares.  But so far so good..I’m flare free 🙂