Accomplishing Goals, Slowly

In my last post (yeah, longer ago than I meant to be, sorry!), I talked about my efforts to start exercising regularly, and how I'm keeping track of my weight and my workouts.  

My aim is to be more fit and healthier.  I'm not obsessing about my weight, though at my July appt with a cardiologist, he suggested that if I dropped a few pounds, it would be a help to my heart.  So I had a little bit of an extra push in that department.  Anyway, as I mentioned in that post, I know that my efforts are paying off because my clothes are fitting better for one thing, and I've been able to do a bit more in my exercising.  

So this morning when I weighed myself, I was happily surprised to see that I had lost three pounds.

This made me happy, since I felt that it meant that I was losing some weight but not losing too much too fast.  Which every doctor and every reputable health-advisor-type person will tell you is the thing to do.  

The other thing that makes this good news is that seeing and feeling these results has made me more committed to keeping myself on track.  And apparently in my case, making note of my weigh ins and workouts is the way to go for keeping me on course.

I'm posting about this, because it proves that you don't need to do elaborate things to be healthier.  My workouts are not all hardcore, believe me!  But what they are is MOVEMENT.  

Now - the week after this one, we have to return to work 5 days a week in our building.  This is going to really cramp my style, I must say.  You might say, well, Bridget, just get up earlier every day to exercise.  That means I would have to get up earlier than I already do, which is 4:45 a.m. during the week when I'm working.  So, I don't really want to do that.  

I do walk back and forth to work every day, but I think that after a while, my body just counts that as normal movement, not extra.  So at least at first, that will be helpful.  Also, on nice days, I plan to ride my bicycle back and forth, so that will move some different muscles.  If I can find the energy to do so, I can always do some of my lighter exercise routines in the evenings.  But I think I might need to up my weekend activity, to keep going as well as I can.

I have this week to figure out a "trial" schedule, so we'll see what happens.  I would like to stay friends with the scale.

(Spoiler alert - not me. Not even close. For one thing, this woman is too dressed up to be me before or after exercising ...)

And even more importantly, I want to keep feeling good like I do now.  I have so many things in my daily life that can get me down, especially at work, and if I can keep going with my exercise, it will be a huge help both physically AND mentally!

Finding An Oldie But Goodie

Since the start of June, I have been making an extra effort to get more fit and in better shape.  I was a bit active prior to that, but I decided that it was time to take it up a level, and get myself on more of a schedule.  Between my work schedule (2 days a week) and The Tim's (3 days a week), we made a deal that on the days he works but I don't, he would take Hamlet for a walk in the mornings.  This meant that I had three early mornings that did not have to be "scheduled," and I decided that the best way to take advantage of that was to make sure that at a minimum, I did some serious exercise on those mornings.  

I did OK with this during June and July, but didn't commit as diligently as I should have.  At the end of July, I decided to make myself more accountable.  So I started a list for each week of August and it looks kinda like this:

Week of August ___

xxx pounds ; arms * body workout * pilates

We have a weight scale, and I know it isn't that accurate, but for the purposes of accountability, I decided to include my weight for that week, done on Sunday mornings before I eat breakfast.  

This has been really working for me, as knowing it is "written down" somewhere has made me much more disciplined to exercise.  And not always killer exercise - but something that moves me around/stretches/builds strength on my three free mornings.  

Besides just exercises that I already know, I have found TONS of YouTube videos that have been helpful.  So another reason I think it's working, is because I have some variety.  

But I gotta tell you, the other day I found that someone had put an oldie but goodie on YouTube, and yesterday, I did that workout.  Remember this woman?

It's Susan Powter - you know, STOP THE INSANITY!!

Back in the day, I had one of her strength building exercise videos, and though I always thought she was kinda weird, that workout was a killer, and really good.  Plus, there were things that I found amusing even back then (spoiler alert: they still amused me yesterday!), and that's always a bonus.  So I decided to give it a try again yesterday.  I gotta tell you, it kicked my butt, and I'm feeling it today, but it also felt good to find something that I already knew had worked for me in the past.

Of course, once we are back to work regularly in the building, I don't know how dedicated I'll be to my exercise schedule.  I already get up really really early on work days (4:45 a.m.), and getting up even earlier to exercise makes me feel like it might not even be worth going to bed ... 

In the meantime, I'm doing what I can to be more healthy and more fit.  My weight (at least according to our inaccurate scale) hasn't really changed, but I can detect things about my body that make me know my fitness level has improved.  That was my goal, and I have to say, now that I'm more regular about it, I don't have to do as much talking-myself-into-exercising work.

Oh, and Susan Powter?  Here is what she looks like today, according to several different sources, including ABCNews:

Hm.

Yes, I Have a Butt. Yes, It Was Kicked.

I thought I'd report on my experience with the Bar Method class I took last week, and mentioned in my previous post.  You can likely get the idea based on the title of this post.

Saying that the workout kicked my butt is an understatement.  Wow, is it a tough workout!  I did at least a few of almost every exercise (and felt it most of last week), but I am here to say that it's something you really really need to work up to, unless you are already a *very* flexible person. 

I can say that the overall atmosphere was lovely.  There was music in the background, because of course you can't NOT have that nowadays, but at least it was really in the background.  The instructor was kind and really helpful, and as I had been told, it was truly a group exercise class where each person was doing their own thing.  Which I have to say I really liked.  I didn't get the impression at all that anyone else was watching or caring about what I could or could not do, what I was wearing, how old I am, etc.  In that way it was a truly positive experience.

I spoke to the instructor who had arranged for a comp class for me, and let her know my thoughts.  She was grateful, and said that it has definitely convinced her to do a Beginner Level series of classes in the fall.  That's a good thing, because it will give me a chance to save up what money I can to take those, and give me the summer to continue working on gaining some strength and flexibility on my own. 

The best thing about the classes as far as I can tell is that you would most definitely gain strength as well as flexibility.  I know it sounds weird to say this, but that is what I liked most about physical therapy after my first cancer surgery - it had the same kind of emphasis, and changed the way I thought about exercise and my body.  If you have a Bar Method studio near you, I would say that you should save your money and take some of the classes, because I was really impressed (if sore!).

This week I am on vacation, not going anywhere in particular, just enjoying a week not being at work.  I plan to do some activity/exercise/movement every day, because I will be on a schedule that is only what I want it to be.  Today's activity is simply walking back and forth across town to a dr appt in the heat and humidity.  I know better than to push myself other than that - but it will also be a good workout for me. 

I see LOTS of water in my plans for today!  :-)

Fitness Friday : I'm Still Here!

Well, hello!  I didn't mean to be gone for so long, but I'm here now in any case.  If you read my other blog you probably know what I've been up to, craft-wise and reading-wise.

I know that especially at the beginning of the year, I talked about becoming more fit.  And then I also said I was planning to take advantage of some Pilates classes.  I have not really said anything about either thing since, have I?

The results are mixed.  I have been trying really hard to move around regularly, and to watch what I eat.  I've been successful in that I have been able to remain motivated, but I have not really been successful as far as physical changes.  I've discussed this with two of my doctors, who have not been able to determine exactly why - I mean, we all know that losing weight is harder when you are older, but they can find no medical reason why I am not losing any weight (and both of them suggest trying to drop 15 pounds to stay healthy).  So it's time to up the exercise and see if that helps not just with losing weight, but gaining strength and fitness (which is actually the most important thing to me personally).

So let's review.  I took the Beginner Pilates Mat classes, and LOVED them!  I was in no way good at it, but I really enjoyed them, and they made me feel like I had better posture.  My coupon special expired at the end of May, so now I'm on my own.  I've been looking for free online classes, so I can keep up with it.  As with real-life classes, some classes and some instructors are better than others, but I have a couple that I really like, so hopefully I can keep going for that.  Because I just can't afford the regular classes, those suckers are crazy expensive!

Local Yarn Store Day happened, and I won a raffle, which was incredibly exciting, since I don't win most of the time.  One of the prizes was a free, one-on-one workout of The Bar Method, which recently opened a studio near our house.  My first inclination was to just not bother, because frankly I figured it would be something I wouldn't enjoy, even a one-on-one free class.  But then I thought, what the heck - it's free, and made an appt.  I had truly low expectations.

You know what? It was so great!  The person doing the one-on-one was one of the owners of the local studio, and she could not have been nicer or more helpful.  She said she had originally hoped to do a beginner series, but since this is the first summer they are open, she hesitated to do that until they had an idea of how well they would or would not do overall.  Understandable.  Anyway, it was fun and she was incredibly encouraging.  There were some things I just could not do, and other things I could do but not for as long as the class does them.  She said that in her opinion, the good thing about the classes are that, although they are group classes, everyone is doing their own thing the best that they can, and the instructors help each person in the class.  I though that it was probably something she said to everyone, but then when I was getting changed in the locker room, there were a couple of older women getting ready for an actual class who claimed the same thing when I asked them about their experiences.  Hm.

Anyway, the owner/instructor who helped me was a) extremely nice, b) not pushy or judgemental, and c) most importantly, not constantly giving me a sales spiel.  She has invited me to be her guest at a regular class this Sunday morning to see how/if I like it.  I told her that I would love to try it, but warned her I would likely not be able to afford to go regularly.  She said that if I liked the class, and felt that I could do it at all, she would figure out a way to make it affordable to me.  I don't know if that will be true, but I'm gonna see how it all goes on Sunday in any event.

Another thing that is helping is that I can now ride my bicycle more than I do in the winter.  I love riding my bike, and can even cycle back and forth from work.  But I'm not a person who cycles regardless of the weather - I guess I'm a weather wimp that way!  When it's freezing, raining, or just incredibly cold outside, I'm not interested in riding my bike.  If I absolutely *had* to, I'm sure I would, but given the choice, I'll wait for better weather.

If you know me, you know I'm not a fan of summer.  But I have to admit that it makes it so much easier to eat well.  Fresh fruits and veggies are not just more available, but more affordable.  And even when I was a little kid, I LOVED fruits and veggies!  So I'm hoping that will make all of the rest of it even better because I do love to eat.

So that's what has been going on around here.  I know that being more active and eating well makes me feel better not just physically but mentally.  I want to be as healthy and as fit as I can be, and if it can help me keep it together better overall, there's no down side.

In summary:

1. Keep exercising.
2. Ride my bike.
3. Try new things.
4. Benefit from all the good food available now.
5. Stay accountable.

If you want to try along with me, all the better!

Here's to a good and healthy weekend. 

No One Expects the Spanish Inquisition!

For those of you not familiar with the title, it's from an old Monty Python skit, which is one of my favorites.

But over the past few weeks, I've thought of this phrase a lot.  I've really let my exercise routine lapse since my surgery last summer.  I would get small bouts of inspiration, and then just stop when something ... well, anything came up.  But I had gotten to the point where my clothes were becoming uncomfortable, and I was feeling more and more depressed.  I knew that exercise helped with both things, and that it was time to get going again.

I wasn't in the mood for the "regular gym" stuff, and we were having a major heat wave, so riding my bicycle was out.  Then I saw where a local Pilates studio was having a special promotion for learning to use the equipment.  It was a five-week session and the price was truly reasonable.  Figuring that I waste that much money on God knows what pretty regularly, I paid and signed myself up.

In the past, I've done some mat Pilates, and loved it though I was really bad at it.  I am less than flexible and not overly coordinated.  But the equipment classes have actually been going well.  Mostly because the equipment helps to control not just your movements, but also keeps you in the proper positioning.  I've been enjoying the classes, and it has inspired me to exercise in other ways on the other days of the week.  I'm nearly back to regular activity 3 times a week, which is my basic goal.

But the Pilates equipment?  It looks like modern versions of medieval torture equipment!  At the first class, I wondered what I'd gotten myself into.  In my case, it does keep me focused, since I don't want to mess up the equipment (when it truth, I'm pretty sure it could hurt me more than I could do anything to it!).

This Wednesday will be our 4th class, so this session is nearly over.  Part of me would like to continue to the next level, and part of me would like to try something else, and continue with my mat Pilates at home.  Sadly, none of the options are free, but there are ones that are affordable, and I do have to admit that when I am starting out on something, I'm more likely to keep up with it if I've already paid.

So stay tuned.  Will it be more Pilates equipment?   Will I try kickboxing?  Will I try bodycycling?  Only the next few weeks will tell.

Remember though, that in the meantime, NO ONE expects the Spanish Inquisition!  :-)

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 ...