Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Y? Because we like you

Instead of a Wii, we joined the Y this summer. I needed to get us out of the sun for swim lessons and try to get our toddler into the pool as well. Little did I know how much I'd enjoy it.

They ran a sale on coupons to work with a personal trainer. So I bought a series and enrolled myself in my own "fitness camp."

Boy was I out of shape. You'd think with all the chasing, dressing, and playing with my boys that I'd be down a dress size.

They started a "Stars and Stripes Challenge" in early July. I signed up and received a paper flag, which is posted on the fitness center windows. For each 1/2 hour of cardio I receive a star. For each hour of strength training I receive a stripe. The goal is to fill in the flag by mid-August--50 stars and 13 stripes. You do the math.

So I've been trying some different classes this summer--finding ways to earn stars and stripes. Here's a tour.

Strength training with my trainer:
Good--I can lift heavier weights after a month; I look like I know what I'm doing (more or less)
Bad--She won't let me cheat

Cardio machines:
Good--I can go 20 minutes on the Arc Trainer; I can run on a treadmill for 2 minutes (that's 2 minutes more than last month)
Bad--Sweat; gallons of sweat; buckets of sweat

Light and Lively
Good--Aerobic exercise to oldies while burning lots of calories
Bad--Trying to keep up with women 20 years older than I am

Zumba
Good--Tons of fun exercising to Latin music; dancing out all my stress
Bad--I have a serious craving for Cuban food when we're done

NIA (nee-ah)
Good--What's not to love? Non-Impact aerobics (nia) with a combination of dance, martial arts, and Yoga. It's the most fun of all the classes.
Bad--Getting over the "I look ridiculous" feeling while swimming around the room in kind of a modern dance/Isadora Duncan way. They put mats over the windows- otherwise we'd attract quite an audience

Best of all? While I'm doing this, my kids get 2 hours in the playroom, playing games and climbing through the tunnels. Maybe someday I'll be able to keep up.

1 comment:

Joanne Sher said...

Ooooh boy. Sounds like you're on your way to that fit body! (LOL I sound like a commercial, don't I?) Good for you.