The Results of Being a Slug

... even for a few months.  Ugh.

As you may recall, I was completely out of commission for a few months after my kidney surgery.  Towards the end of November, my surgeon said I could go back to some low-impact, low-key exercise.  Well, the holidays were coming, and I decided to wait and start again in January.

But then January came, and it was cold, icy, icky, and I changed my mind.  And that all followed me into February.  Towards the end of last month, I decided that I was NOT going to continue my slug-like existence, in March, because a) it was not helping anything, b) exercising helps in so many ways other than just keeping me fit, and c) I was beginning to gain more weight than I should have on my person.

I signed myself up for a barre class at my gym on this past Sunday morning.  I wanted to try it at Pure Barre Philadelphia, but they were filled up for Sunday classes, and I did not want to wait and give myself any excuses.

The good news?  I followed through, showed up for the class, and did the best I could, notwithstanding my overall poor physical shape and endurance, and the fact that I am an exercise spaz.  The bad news?  The instructor was determined to "really work you guys to EXHAUSTION, and not be easy!", and as of today, I am still in a lot of discomfort.  Mostly it's my legs, since I used muscles that I have not used in a long time - or maybe even ever at all!  But I also have some back and shoulder pain and stiffness.  It's definitely easing up, but wow.

As a result, I have decided that  I will change a few things.  First of all, I'll work a bit at home, and a little bit at the gym on working up to more exercise.  I'll do my Pilates and other PT-related workouts to get back into basic level shape.  And then, if I decide to try a barre class again, I'll actually go to Pure Barre to try it.  My reasoning is that maybe since that is all they do, they do it better, and would be more attentive to my limitations.  Who knows?  But I figure it's worth a try.

In the meantime, Tylenol and I have gotten really close ...