Last night I took an awesome cardio class at the gym, from a new instructor. She was kickin' ass and taking names, but it was great. I kept up pretty well and actually did great with the triceps dips. I'm starting to notice some nice definition in my legs and arms.
I don't think I'd be this far in my weight loss (34 pounds!) if it weren't for exercise. I've tracked my activities in excel, and since March 26, 2007, I have been in the gym a minimum of 4 times (only ONE week was it 3 times).
The past 3 weeks I've been to the gym 6 days each week, with 4 or 5 days of cardio and the other day or two doing yoga or pilates.
This gym thing-- it's become a habit. In fact, it's now a necessity to my sanity.
My kids do well in their Kid's Center, or else I couldn't go. I've learned that I just can't count on my husband to keep them. Work is too unpredictable, and he likes to take a 4:30 yoga class that lasts 90 minutes on the days he doesn't have to work late. Regardless of what the feminists would say or what I think about it, the child care-taking falls to me, and that's that.
But it's been hard for me to justify putting my kiddos in day care for yet another hour of the day, since I'm away from them all day anyway. For years, I haven't. For years, it was my excuse not to work out... I can't leave my babies with someone after 5 p.m.! What kind of horrible excuse for a mother would I be!
Well, you know what? I am SUCH a better mom to my kids when I've gotten my workout in. I feel calmer, more centered, more relaxed, more patient with them and myself. That extra hour of day care pays them back in spades, because mommy is nicer when she is with them.
Working out also makes me not want to eat my way through the evening. I've had occasional challenges, but for the most part, my night eating is gone. And it's because I'm so freaking tired and my body is so worn out, I don't want to fill it with food.
Tonight I'm going to try a Kickin' Cardio class, which is aerobic kick boxing. I haven't taken this class yet, choosing to run on the treadmill on Tuesday nights, but the fitness center is way too hot right now and the aerobics studio is air conditioned, so I'm taking a lot of classes right now.
I have a feeling my quads are going to be screaming tomorrow, but at least they will look good.
1 comment:
thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm in weight-loss and not so much running mode, but I'll start marathon training soon.
when I started running, I found that it was both a physical and mental "learning curve" - just believe in yourself and you'll start building miles and increasing your speed.
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