Reformer Pilates

A few weeks ago I decided I needed to shake things up and try something different.  The long hours at work and my volunteer commitments on weekends were leaving me too tired for constant intense cardio (my go-to) - I needed something a little less sweaty on my "off" days.  Because my wrist problems prevent me from doing a lot of yoga, pilates seemed like a reasonable option, except...

...I've always been terrified of pilates.  I'm well-aware that I have a weak core; my abs are the underachieving muscle group in my body.  Pilates scared me because it would force me to address that issue.  On top of that, reformer classes are expensive and I knew would be "that" newbie slowing down the class and taking all of the instructor's attention as they corrected my bad form.

Then I read DC Fit Crasher's review of Reformation Fitness's reformer pilates class.  Not only are they offering an affordable option to try the studio ($20.13 for two classes), but the small class size meant I would embarrass myself in front of a limited amount of people and the instructor would be able to give me a lot of personalized attention without detracting from my classmates' experience.

I signed up for a class at 10am this morning.

I volunteered at a charity event from 5pm-1am last night, so getting out of bed today was pretty difficult.  If I'd had an intense, sweaty workout planned for this morning, I probably would have bagged it.  Pilates seemed like a perfect idea.

And it was.

I won't go in to a lot of details because I think DC Fit Crasher's review nailed all of the major points.  The studio was intimate and felt high-end but not pretentious.  The small class size (there were only three of us this morning) meant everyone was friendly and we were all able to get personalized attention throughout the class.  I felt really spoiled.

As for how hard I worked, I was feeling the burn in my core 5 minutes in.  I hope no one tells me any jokes over the next few days, because laughing is going to hurt.  Pilates was much easier on my arms and legs than BodyPump, but there were some muscle groups I tend to ignore that will definitely be sore tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to my second class, but I don't think I'll be working pilates in to my permanent routine - it's just too expensive.

Multitasking

I'm pretty far behind on posts thanks to the excessive amount of time I've been spending in the office. All of these dinners in conference rooms and hours spent sitting at a desk aren't conducive to staying in shape, but I've found a sneaky way to work out while working. I brought in a stability ball and I've been using it instead of my desk chair a few hours a day. I thought my coworkers would make fun of me, but a lot of them are now thinking about doing the same thing!

Holy HIIT

Determined to turn things around and get back in to shape but short on time, I decided to give high intensity interval training a try.  Most of the HIIT workouts I saw seemed, well, impossible, but I saw a couple of workouts on DC Fit Crasher's blog that seemed somewhat do-able.  I combined a couple of them, subbed out some items I wasn't familiar with for some I knew how to do, and came up with this:

• 30 burpees with calf raises instead of jumps
• 30 spiderman push-ups
• 30 switch jump lunges
• 30 V pushups
• 30 squats with alternating single-leg front kick
• 30 tricep dips
• 30 side to side lunges
• 30 V-ups
• 30 mountain climbers
• 30 toe touches
• jump rope 100 reps in between each item above

I spent 8 minutes on the rowing machine to warm up before starting this routine, which ended up being totally unnecessary.  Halfway through the burpees my heart rate was up and I knew I'd bitten off more than I could chew.  I decided to adjust each item to 20 reps and cut down the jump rope to 50 reps.  By the time I got through the squats, my heart rate was through the roof and I was feeling a bit nauseous, so I decided to ditch the jump rope entirely.  Needless to say, it was an excellent workout.

I'll definitely be trying this again until I'm able to complete it as it's written.  It only took 20 minutes (granted, I cut it down a bit), required minimal equipment, and moved quickly enough to keep me entertained.  If you find yourself running low on time for workouts and/or looking for something new to do, I highly recommend it.

So, About That Running...

I haven't run in a month and a half.  Since December 19th, to be exact.

Not only is this awkward because I have a running blog, it's a bit stupid because I have a half marathon in a month and a half.

I have excuses for days - I've been working around the clock, I've been sick, I have a broken finger, I've been attending a lot of parties which have required me to wear shoes that destroy my feet and leave me feeling more than a bit dehydrated the next day - but the bottom line is that none of them matter.  My health should come first, and lately it's been coming last.  Over the past few weeks I've spent plenty of time in the office and at cocktail parties, but barely any sleeping or working out.  This stops now.  I still have plenty of social obligations and work isn't calming down anytime soon, but I need to stop making excuses and start training.  Whether it means hitting the gym instead of the snooze button in the morning or banging out a quick workout at lunch, I need to make time to do healthy, good things for myself.

I know it's easier said than done, but saying it isn't enough.  At this point I need to do something.