My Fitness Update

A few weeks ago, I posted about my fitness goals (you can read about them HERE).  Well, for those of you interested (which may very well be NONE of you), here's an update on how I'm doing.
Well, it turns out that my overly ambitious goal of hitting the gym 7 days a week was just that...overly ambitious. I am going regularly, aiming for 3 times each week.  We hit a little hiccup earlier this week due to my son's illness (which I am suspicious that it may have come from the daycare at the gym, but not entirely sure).

Since that original post, I have found my niche at the gym, realizing that I don't need to speed through my workouts.  I'm typically there for about an hour and fifteen minutes.  I do cardio for 30 minutes (most times on the treadmill, rarely the bike or the elliptical because they are the busiest machines).  For me, cardio is a warm up of 5 minutes at a pace of around 3.8-4, then a SLOW jog at a pace of around 5.0 until I feel like I can't take it anymore (which lately has been around 10-15 minutes), then I slow back to my "warm-up" pace until I'm ready to do another interval jog.  I do this until my 30 minutes are up.  Typically I get in around 2 miles.  Sometimes it's a little less, sometimes it's a little more.  My goal is to be able to do a 5k in 30 minutes, so I have a ways to go.  I'm ok with that though.

From there, I head over to do my upper body and lower body workout.  I was, in the beginning, trying to do upper body one day, then lower body the next (when I had the goal of going to the gym 7 days a week).  Now, I just try to knock it out all at once because I can do cardio at home on the in-between days.  This usually takes me about 40-50 minutes.  I'm not rushing, I'm just going to each of the machines, sometimes having to pause for a minute or two to wait my turn.  I don't really go in any particular order because you never know how busy it's going to be.  I've learned to just hit the closest machine that is open and go with it.  Sometimes I've had to wait a little longer than usual, so I have started using some different pieces of equipment to try to change up my workout a little bit.  When I do this, I always feel it the next day.  I am growing to like the feeling of sweat dripping down my back, and that tightness in my muscles the morning after I've had a good workout.

Another thing I've added to my fitness regime is pilates.  I am totally in love!  Years ago, I purchased a pilates VHS tape (yes, it was a VERY long time ago!) and tried it once.  That's all I lasted.  I didn't like the video, felt it was too difficult, and it hurt.

Well, my curiosity has been peaked every time I drive past Ab Fab Pilates on 5th Avenue.  There's always signs up that they are "By Appointment Only", and "Barre Classes Offered".  What is the big deal?, I often wondered.  I kept meaning to "go online" and check it out.  Well, I finally did.  I signed myself up for an Introductory package (they're a little pricey on the privates, but I'll tell you why in a minute).  The intro package was a requirement before I can participate in any of the group classes.  The reason for this is that it gives the student a chance to learn how to use the equipment in the studio, and to learn correct form for all the moves that will be done in a class.  This is strictly done in private sessions, and I was extremely comfortable with the idea of this.

 
Well, 4 classes later and I want more!  I just got another 5-pack of private sessions because I still have plenty to learn.  I'm confident at the end of my 5-pack I will feel ready to do some semi-privates, or maybe even a beginner reformer class.  I can't wait to try a Barre Class too.  <---Check out that link to get a taste of what Barre looks like!

Well, to sum it all up...I'm miles from where I want to be, but I'm light years away from where I started.  I can feel a difference in my body, and I can't wait to start seeing the results.  I'll keep you posted!