Hooking Up With Gym

Last Friday I was invited to try out a Zumba class with my sister-in-law at her gym.  She had recently joined & convinced me to take the free month she had to give away.  I said okay & off we went on Friday morning.  I had recently (within the last month) purchased some yoga pants & a tennis skirt (the skirt is frickin’ cute! Gray with pink accents & I like the little ball pocket…very hand for holding mom-type stuff) so I was excited to wear my new gear for more than just being Mom.  The Zumba class was pretty fun for all that I was trying to figure out the moves, stay in-sync & not hurt myself.

With my trial membership activated I decided to go as much as possible during the month in hopes of getting into the habit of exercising every day.  Not that chasing a 17 month old & carrying a baby aren’t exercise cuz believe me they are… but I need a formal program to get my butt into a better shape.  So I’ve been to the gym twice more since Friday.  Monday I did stair stepper, walked the track to cool down a bit, did the elliptical & then some free weights.  Wednesday I did 10 minutes on the elliptical, 30 minutes on the treadmill (this included ACTUAL RUNNING—I blame the running on Shadow Gallery…their song Venom is in my workout mix & it just doesn’t work to walk to that song) & then 15-20 minutes of free weights.  I woke up Thursday morning & my whole body hurt like hell…my muscles ached & I woke with a sore throat too.

I did force myself to go to the gym on Thursday night.  I did some time on the elliptical and then went to the treadmill.  I started out walking at a decent pace—no ambling, sight-seeing type walk.  Then Disturbed came blasting through my headphones & off I went running  jogging.  I say running because it’s as close to running as I’m willing to get.  Not only am I not in running shape (if I trip I’d roll like an ever growing snowball in a cartoon) but I’m not built for speed…In fact I don’t think there’s a sports bra in existence that would withstand the punishment I’d unleash on it.

Anyway, after my elliptical & treadmill I headed over to the free weights for some strength training.  I did my usual lifts & then grabbed the small medicine ball for some oblique twists.  As I finished with the oblique twists the guy that was working the desk walked by & we started chatting.  He told me that I looked like I was killing it on the weights & twists.  I was glad to get the positive feedback from a total stranger.  Good to know that I don’t look like a total fool.

Friday I went to the main gym & Zumba’d with my sister-in-law Zia.  It was a good time but I feel like I spend so much time trying to figure out the steps & keep pace while modifying some of the moves that I’m not getting as good of a workout.  I was sweaty after the 45 minute class was done though so I may keep trying that class once a week.

This morning I only got in 15 minutes on the elliptical before I had to go as children/life butted in quite rudely.  However, I pushed myself those 15 minutes & felt okay about it.  Tomorrow was going to be a day of rest but now I’m thinking I may try to go just to keep the momentum going.

After the workout I did a little shopping in the afternoon.  Well, mostly I returned a bunch of workout clothes I had purchased to try on.  I kept one top & returned 3 pairs of pants.  The biggest reason I returned the pants was I couldn’t decide which size to keep.  Currently I’m in a size 18/20 but I tried on the 14/16 and while they are form-fitting they aren’t ridiculously tight.  It’s been a long time since I could even think of trying on 14/16 pants so I decided to wait on purchasing anything and see where I am after the beginning of 2012. Especially since I’m participating in the 2011 Reverse Resolution Challenge over at Fit This, Girl…I am excited to see how I fare through the holiday season.

Today I had the wild idea of participating in the 2011 Jingle Bell 5k run/walk here in Sioux Falls.  It is Friday, November 26th in the evening.  I’ve done 2 5k run/walk events in the past (I walked both) & would like to do some again.  What better time to start then while I’m working hard at working out?

I’ll keep you posted on what I decide to do…now I better go cuz Marit is missing her mommy.