Fitness Update- Summer 2011

Okay people! I’m here today with an ACTUAL update, not a list of excuses. Last week I joined the gym, and I’ve been there every day since. I’m really excited about it. I jumped right in to taking classes too- I took a ‘Strength for your core’ class with this hottie hot hot instructor and made it through with only minimal breaks (using a ten pound dumbbell and 3 pound weights, mind you, but still!). The class is taught in a big room with a wall of windows so we got to watch a huge storm blow in while we worked out.

The hardest parts of that class wasn’t when we were using weights or a balance ball but just moving our bodies, like holding yourself up with one arm and one foot and keeping the other arm over your head for a minute. Um, does that not sound like the easiest thing in the world? It was ridonkulous. I’m so ridiculously out of shape it’s painful.

My body feels different already. I feel loose and find myself occasionally bumping into things. I’m sure once my fitness level improves, I’ll have the opposite experience, but right now I feel like a Tin man rediscovering oiled joints.

On days I don’t take classes, I work on my ‘Couch to 5k” program, then hit the machines, and then follow up with some elliptical cardio- my little ‘routine’. I try to concentrate on one area some days, or get a little bit of everything on others. I’m making it up as I go along, I guess. Eventually I might hook up with a personal trainer to really maximize my time, but for now the goal is to just get over there and be active. I can feel the difference it’s making in my life- I’m more interested in taking a walk then sitting on the couch, and I’m not attracted to crappy snacks either.

I’m trying not to focus on the scale too much in the beginning because I’m too easily discouraged when I don’t see immediate progress, like much of the rest of the world. But I’ll update again when I finally see some real results!

Shout out to Green Fitness Studio, that place totally kicks ass. I highly recommend it to fellow Brooklyners. The place is really laid back with decent music and a total lack of meatheads. You can use their Netflix and Hulu accounts on the treadmills, and the yoga room has a glass ceiling. They have a living roof and windows everywhere. There’s also an attached spa with a discount for members.

Speaking of, I will have to write about my first yoga experience separately as it was… intense.

On Thursday I’m taking my first Pilates class, and tonight I’m taking a class called “Abs Express’ that sounds innocent enough, but will surely leave me breathless and sore. Cheers!