It's Been a Long Time

Wow--it's been way too long since I blogged. Not since my time of shame in spinning class. I just got back from LA, and the lesson of the weekend is I really need to prepare better when I travel.

When I go to LA, I assist in a course and have to be there at 7 am to set up on Saturday and Sunday, and we finish debriefing at around 9:30-10 Saturday night and 7 Sunday night, at which time I'm exhausted. So if I haven't planned my food ahead of time, I'm really limited to the hotel's menu, which while delicious, is full of temptations and calories (think delicious waffle fries, for example).

When I went to pack on Friday morning (I had to leave at 11), I discovered that I only had 2 protein bars. That was a bad start--I rely on protein bars on the plane and at the course because they're nutritious and very filling, and help me to avoid temptation. Then I texted my friend who usually goes to Trader Joe's to stock up for the course and found out that she was getting to LA late and couldn't get there. Oh, oh, things were not looking good. And then I basically gave up. The menu at the hotel really doesn't have much that would fit into my diet. I didn't go totally crazy, but I did eat a cupcake, a bunch of chocolate, waffle fries, and drank 2 beers, on top of the meals I ate. We'll see what the scale says tomorrow. I want to make sure I'm better prepared when I travel in the future. The key now is to get right back to eating the way I want to eat.

My weight has really been stuck since after the first week I got back from Nicaragua. I keep losing and gaining the same 2 pounds. I immediately blamed myself--I must not be counting my calories correctly, I need to go back to weighing all my food instead of estimating it. I talked to Savanah at Fitness Together about it, and she thinks my body has hit a plateau because it's gotten accustomed to the kind of exercise I'm doing. she's going to switch it up at Fitness Together and suggested that instead of always doing interval cardio workouts, which is what spinning is, to do some cardio workouts keeping my heart rate steady at a lower rate, like in the 130s.

What's most interesting to me in all this is how my first assumption is that I must be doing something wrong in terms of my eating. In the past, I might have either given up or tried restricting my diet more. It's nice to be able to talk about it with someone who's seen other people plateau and understands the reasons it happens.

The Jerk

I actually got up at 5:15 this morning and got to spinning before 6. The last time I'd gone to a 6am class, there were about 6 people in it, so I didn't call to reserve a bike. As it got closer to 6, the room started getting full and I started regretting not calling in. When the class started, Don announced that it was someone's birthday, and then I noticed that a woman was wondering around looking for a bike.

I had gotten there pretty early and the rule is that the last person who arrives who didn't sign up is the first to go, so I still thought I was safe. Don asked who hadn't signed up, so I raised my hand and looked around to see who else hadn't signed up. No other hands. Don started in about how he was sorry, but . . ., but I wasn't ready to accept that I had to go. I was really irritated, not only because I gotten up so early, but because I was anxious about getting up so early and had a rotten night's sleep. So I challenged the room--isn't here anyone else who didn't sign up? No response. Then I tried my last ploy--I asked the woman if she had signed up. She said yes.

I got off the bike and stomped out. Don said he was sorry again and said to sign up for the 6 am class tomorrow. Not likely, I snarled.

I was out in the hall getting my stuff together, when the woman came out and said that it was ok, I could stay. I couldn't believe she was being so nice, especially given that I was acting like a petulant teenager. After thanking her profusely, I went back in and got on my bike.

At which time I was forced to confront what a jerk I had been. It's one thing to act like a jerk and leave. It's quite another to come back in and be in the midst of a room full of people who saw me act that way.

At the end of class, I apologized to everyone for acting like a jerk. Don was nice enough to say that I just acted like everyone who has to leave class. Then he said that he was the jerk, because he thought that she was embarrassed that he'd announced that it was her birthday. That made me feel worse--here she came to work out at 6 am on her birthday and I was part of that not happening.

Another in a long string of examples of what happens when I don't take responsibility for my actions. I chose not to call in and didn't want to accept what came from that. I'm hoping my embarrassment helps me to act with more grace in the future. That's a good muscle to strengthen.

Stepping On Up

I had an accomplishment today I feel really good about. On Friday, when Savanah had me do step ups (step up on a platform on one leg, raise the other leg up on the platform and then lower it to the floor, repeat a bunch of times) she first wanted me to try it on a 18" high platform. I didn't think I could do it, because I never had been able to before, but I gave it a try. Trying to step up 18" seemed impossible, like the foot on the floor was being held there by powerful magnets. She moved me to a 12" platform and I was fine.

Mark had me do step ups today, and like Savanah, brought out the 18" platform. I told Mark I hadn't been able to use the 18" platform on Friday, but I'd give it a try. Stepping on the 18" platform today was like doing the 12" platform on Friday. I was amazed! I did 4 sets of 12. What a great feeling.

Liz has a 6am workout at Fitness Together tomorrow (is she crazy, or what) so I'm going to go to the 6 am spinning class. Couldn't go tonight because I had a board meeting. So off to bed I go.

Seeing Failure in My Future

I had a great time spinning today. There was a substitute instructor who doesn't lead as hard a workout as Don, so I was really pleased that I was regularly getting my heart rate into the 160s and averaged 141. I'm pleased that I'm becoming less dependent on the instructor to have a great workout.

My friend Gina was there. I talked to her about recumbent three wheelers. She said she's seen them and people ooo and shhh over them cause they look really cool. So maybe it wouldn't make me look like I was 95 years old. I'm thinking about it. They aren't cheap.

While I was spinning I realized that I have been so sure I was going to fail once I lost the structure of 4 Fitness Together appointments per week, that it's kind of surprising I haven't. I'm starting to feel back into a routine again, and my workout today was particularly convincing--I can push myself harder than the instructor. Yay!

Legs!

I had a great lower body workout with Savanah today. It started with step ups--standing on a platform, lowering one leg to touch the ground, and raising it to the level of the platform again. Very rough on the quads.


Then I did forward step ups--stepping up on a bench, lifting the other leg up parallel to the ground, and then switching legs.


Exercise number three was standing lunges--standing with one foot on a low platform, the other on the floor, and lowering my back knee toward the floor while holding dumbbells.



Number four involved sitting on a bench, lifting one leg up, and then standing and returning to sitting on the other leg. Very challenging!




Number five was the hardest for me, because I had to balance on a Bosu. Getting up on a Bosu makes me very nervous--I'm afraid of losing my balance, falling, and breaking something. Once I got on the Bosu, I felt very stable doing squats on it, but getting on and off was nerve-wracking.




The final exercise was doing a squat with one foot on the Bosu, jumping up and switching feet on the Bosu, and then squatting on the other side.



The exercises were split into two groups of three, and I did two sets of 12-15 of each before moving onto the next group of three. A great group of exercises.

I've made a temporary decision that I can eat less healthily on Friday nights. I had popcorn, cheese, and a beer. I stayed within my points and it all tasted great. And unlike last night, I feel fine afterwards. I had an actual hangover this morning from having ice cream last night.


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I Scream

You scream, we all scream for ice cream! I had some Ben and Jerry's tonight for the first time since November. Wow--that was so delicious!! My stomach is a little upset, though. In the past, after eating a small bowl of ice cream, I would have had room for a large bowl of ice cream. Tonight, I feel like I should have stopped after a few tastes. That is bizarre--that has never ever happened to me in my life, and makes me feel very encouraged about both my short and long term future.

Liz went to Fitness Together this week for an assessment and is starting to work out there tomorrow. I'm hoping that with her training there twice a week, too, we can develop workouts we can do together one day a week, so we have three tough workouts weekly.

I feel nicely sore after yesterday's workout. Not overwhelmingly sore, but enough to know I had a good workout yesterday. I can't wait to work out again tomorrow!

On the Bench

Wow, did I have a great workout today. I told Mark I wanted sore muscles tomorrow, and he started me with 4 sets of bench presses, 25, 35, 45, 55 pounds, 15 reps of each. After the 55 pounds, I immediately did as many push-ups as I could, which turned out to be 3. Then I did 15 more bench presses at 45 pounds, followed immediately by 15 dips on the bench, and 15 very modified pushups. I then got a 1 minute break, repeated the bench presses, dips, and push-ups, and added 12 shoulder presses with 12 pound weights. Then I repeated all of that and added doing a plank with my hands on the sides of a Swiss ball until my arms we quivering so much I couldn't hold myself up any longer. Then I repeated that whole thing two more times. It was amazing!

I really love the way I feel on Fitness Together days. I asked Mark what he thought about me requesting workouts that make me sore all the time. He said that soreness isn't necessarily the best sign of a great workout--that I should be looking for a workout that challenges me, that I feel like I've given my all, but that doesn't have to mean my muscles are sore. I realized two things in thinking about what he said. The first is that I'm worried that I won't continue to advance in my fitness working out two days a week unless I'm having super-tough workouts, so that request was coming somewhat out of fear. The second thing is that saying that I want sore muscles is how I know how to say I want a challenging workout. I'm going to try other ways of saying that.

I'm felling a bit more back in the swing of things today.