I had a few things I want to share from my happenings.  I worked hard this week both on my own and in class and I’m tired to prove it.  I had a few good takeaways that I’m offering as encouragement or motivation or whatever you want to think of them as.  Here they are.

Energy Comes From Many Places- There was a girl in class who is physically appearing to be far behind me in her journey.  She can’t do as much as I can which is totally ok, she’s just on her way. She’s been regular like me in class and tries hard.  On Tuesday after class, I told her I would see her on Thursday.  She said it would depend on how she felt that day.  Today I know the feeling! So I told her that’s how we do this journey, one day at a time, one workout at a time and then I patted her back and told her not to get discouraged.  I was happy to have tried to lift her up to come again (she did) that I made time and found energy for just one more thing that day.  I had already done stairs for 5, treadmill walking for 20 and class but I went out and did the rower for 5, which is about all I could stand or give.  You see, energy comes from many places!

You can do anything for 30 seconds. In class, we do each set exercise for 30 seconds to a minute depending on whether or not the instructor has one exercise that takes us all longer.    The rest of us suffer on those occasions!  But that is ok because the entire time that I’m in class I remind myself and my classmates that anyone can do anything for 30 seconds and I just keep saying that to myself when it gets hard.  Occasionally I go a little slower or pause a second to let my muscles rest and reset but mostly it gets me through class if I’m struggling, especially on Thursdays when I take a double class.

Just get lost in your playlist.  This week on Wednesday it was a weight day.  I was stuffed in the corner because all the newbie resolutionists aren’t gone yet.  It’s nice over there because no one walks by you or bothers you pretty much soI bring all my equipment over and just do my thing.  This week it was legs and I was going to do abs.  I finished my legs and then just started doing arms then more arms and before I knew it I had been there over an hour and given my arms and legs a good workout for me.  I’m a 45 minute to an hour max usually but I was groovin to the tunes in my head just going from one exercise to another.  It was great, I didn’t feel like I wanted to leave, didn’t let my work at home call me home early either.  I worked out until I was done done and it was great.  I mean I’m usually done when I leave but there are exercises that I lay out that I don’t do because I always write down too many!  I can get an average of 8 exercises in during a one-hour gym workout.  Of course, that’s 24 sets plus rest time which is how it takes so long.  Tuesday was great because I just felt good and kept on working.  Make sure you have good music!

Let your body rest when it needs it. It’s Saturday and Saturday is a rest day or has been the rest day regularly for 2 months.  I really like having a dedicated rest day and I LOVE having Saturday as that day.  It just works for me.  This week was a hard worked week for me and my body is tired.  I’m usually up on Saturday between 5 & 6 but today I didn’t roll out of bed until 8!  That was only because I had to get my daughter out of bed so I’m pretty sure I would have been out until at least 9.  My body is telling me it’s had enough for the week and I’m listening.  I’m now at the age where I really have to listen when the body talks because I don’t heal as fast and I get hurt easier than I used to.  I don’t want to be out of commission so I’m paying attention.  Probably why I’ve worked regular rest days in.  Yesterday I had a not unfamiliar incident happen to me at work just before it was time to go to the gym.  to make a long story much shorter, I have a diaphragm “thing” that happens.  When it happens it’s like it has a seizure so it feels like getting punched in the stomach.  Pain across my chest and down my arms, sweating bullets and massive discomfort.  It passes within 20 minutes and then I’m fine again.  I think it’s from years ago using an old Ab Doer.  Anyway, this thing triggered and lasted just 10 minutes this time but I was afraid to go to the gym and do things like rowing where I’m crunched over, which was in my plan for the day. It seems to happen when my diaphragm is contracted but not always.  Anyway, I went home instead and rode my bike for 30 minutes so that if it happened again I wouldn’t be far from my bed to lay down. You gotta be flexible and let your body rest when it needs it.  I’m not saying you shouldn’t push through sore muscles, I did that all week.  I’m saying when you really need to rest do it.