A Dud

I was starting to think that all the HPER classes were pretty decent.  Sure, I have enjoyed some more than others, but I hadn't encountered one yet that I couldn't wait to leave.

Friday, my readers, I found that class.

In an attempt to combine socializing with working out, I made plans with a friend to go workout at lunch.  "Core Yoga" or "Hard Core Abs/Booty Burn"? I inquired.  She wanted to do the abs/booty class, so I made plans to meet up with her and walk down to the HPER.

We got there, and I dashed to my locker to grab an elastic band for my hair.  When I got back, she'd saved me a spot and grabbed equipment for me (what a great pal!), and the room was packed.  Then we started.

It was okay, at first.  Then it just got...complicated.  I know that I need to work on building up strength, but I quickly realized my inability to do most of the poses was not exactly my fault.  The number of people failing to understand the instructor or to hold the poses was more than half.  Some of the moves were straightforward and effective, but many were unnecessarily complicated and possibly dangerous for inexperienced students.  There were props everywhere when one or two would have sufficed.

At the end of the half hour, we were both frustrated and incredibly annoyed by the instructor and the class.  Sure, I felt like I worked my abs (and they were sore a few days later), but I didn't enjoy the experience.  I didn't want to stay for the second class, and after seeing some of the props being added in addition to the ones already out, K decided she didn't want to stay either.

I want to try the class again, but with another instructor.  Part of good instruction is being able to see that your class is struggling and make adjustments accordingly.  Sure, she was in shape, but she didn't do much to help us get there and enjoy the process.

Pilates or Yoga--You Don't Have to Choose!

Occasionally, there are minor turf wars between Pilates acolytes and yogis: they both use mats and have some focus on breath and stretching, but the goals are often different.  Well, at least I have different goals when I do Pilates than when I do yoga.  The yogis glare at the Pilates folk with their focus on core and their occasional use of weird rings and other props, while the Pilates people might consider yoga to be not as good a strength workout. Or something.  Personally, I'm okay with both, though I really like Ashtanga yoga the best.

Recently, it's become a trend to blend different approaches to exercise.  Can't pick between Pilates or yoga--take a PiYo class!  I find the name a little ridiculous, but agree with it in spirit.  (Another class offered is "Yolates".  Ha!)

This week's new fitness class is PiYo, offered midday.  (I really like these lunchtime classes. They get me out of my office for a longish walk, and I return so very hungry, thus adding enjoyment to my lunch. There's nothing like an appetite to make food taste even better).  Taught by Stacey, the class is "a faster paced yoga class.  Experience an athletic fusion of style, strength, and flexibility."  Sure, whatever.  Again, the class was small (six students), but my overall verdict was that it was enjoyable.

Initially, I was a little disgruntled because the music was a bit loud and the instructor wasn't giving clear instructions, but then she turned down the music and the instructions were much better.  The class itself was a mix of yoga, Pilates, and some ballet moves--I could tell that the instructor was most likely a dancer, and at least one of the students was too.  I definitely felt like I was working my muscles and stretching, which I liked.  There were also lots of balancing poses, and since I need to work on balance, it added a good dimension to my workout.

I may have said it before, but I prefer strength exercises that don't use weights.  So if you prefer lots of weights, this class probably wouldn't be one you'd like.  I, however, enjoyed the opportunity to escape my office, get in a good walk, and get a light workout in at lunch.  While I was a little sweaty, I wasn't dripping and dried off quickly so that I didn't have to worry about showering or anything before returning to work, making it an ideal midday workout.

Lunchtime Yoga

In the summer, the pace of the office slows down for a few weeks.  Students lazily trickle in and out, staff members and faculty are often absent, and everybody just relaxes for a while.  (Then orientation starts, which is fast and furious for a month, then calms back down again).

The HPER offers a few classes at lunchtime, so I wanted to take advantage of the relaxed atmosphere to escape for a class.  Today, the schedule showed "Core Yoga" taught by Tracy, described as "A mix of practical pilates and yoga.  Starting with breath work, stretching, pilates, sun salutations, arm balances, and inversions."  Okay, that doesn't sound so bad.  Also, I keep hearing how a strong core makes one a better runner, so core strengthening is always a good thing.

I quickly changed and walked quickly down to the gym.  The sun was out, so it was a lovely walk.  The class had maybe eight to ten people, so it was nice and small.  We grabbed mats and waited for the instructor to arrive, who came breezing in, loud and full of energy.  I tried to keep an open mind and not make any judgments until the class started, but I was afraid she'd be a bit obnoxious.

I was wrong, luckily.  She was loud, but only at moments where a little extra energy was helpful.  When a pose got more difficult, her energetic cries to keep going made me laugh a little, distracting me from how hard I was working.  The class was a good environment and not at all intimidating for novices--the instructor made sure to tell us to "listen to our bodies."

My only complaint is that she didn't give a lot of modifications--I knew a few because I've done enough yoga to know, but there was one student who was having a hard time and could have benefited from modifications or direct assistance.  The instructor didn't really walk around and help anyone who was struggling, which I'm not really used to, especially in a small class.  The class was also fast-paced, so she may not have felt there was enough time to assist anyone directly.

The class flew by quickly, and I felt that I got a good arm and abs workout as well as a stretch.  In fact, I felt stretched enough that I wanted to go run because running after yoga always feels really good.  It was definitely more of a pilates/strength training class that it was a purely yoga class--we didn't hold the poses as long as I'd like to really relax and stretch out the muscles--but I still liked it.  I may have to try it again!

I'll leave you with a picture of the birthday treat I brought for my co-worker, which enjoyed after lunch:

Berry shortcake!  The cream was freshly whipped in the office (though whipping was a bitch after all the arm work I did shortly beforehand--feel the shoulder BURN).  We picked the wild blackberries from southern Arkansas, and the strawberries were from Lance's garden.  Delicious!

A Fit Challenge

You all know that I run. And run. And run some more.  I run because I like how it makes me feel, and I like the challenge, and I like how fast I'm getting and how far I can run.  I also run because I want to be in better shape.  If you talk to any running or fitness professional, however, they will advise that a runner cross-train and do a variety of activities.

I'm really bad at cross-training.  Well, not bad, just negligent.  I can stick to my running schedule like nobody's business, and I'll do a bit of yoga on a regular basis, but I'm not so good about regularly strength training or doing other forms of cardio.

So to challenge my running self (and, in the end, improve my running), I've decided to take on a challenge.  The university gym has several fitness classes throughout the week that I'd like to try out.  Usually, I circle the classes I think are interesting, try one or two, then neglect to go to any others.  This summer, I want to challenge myself to try out most or all of the classes I can fit into my schedule and attend the ones I like regularly.

THE RULES:

1. Must attend at least one new class per week.
2. Must continue with current running schedule (I'm still training for a half-marathon, and I have to keep running!)
3. Must not go overboard so that Lance forgets my face or starts accusing me of obsessive behaviors.  Also, must still make social time with friends.
4. If I don't enjoy a class, I will not return to it, but I can't dismiss something I haven't tried.
5. Must blog about each new experience.

That's probably enough rules.

Monday, I attended Strength and Flow taught by Meaghan.  The class advertises itself as a yoga/pilates hybrid.  I like yoga, and if I have to strength train, I tend to prefer exercises that don't require gobs of equipment, so I decided to give it a try.  It wasn't yoga in the sense that I like to think about it--the instructor merely incorporated yoga poses after particularly intense exercises or as a strength exercise.  The moves were pretty straightforward, and the only difficulty I had in following everything was when I couldn't see the instructor because I was hiding toward the back.

Overall, I enjoyed the class--it went by quickly, I felt like I got a good workout, and I liked the minimal use of props (we used a balance ball for a few of the exercises).  The class was also fairly small as many people went to the Beach Body class taught at the same time (a class I will likely attend next week).

I prefer smaller classes because I don't want to feel like a dork in front of a crowd of people, but I will have to get over that if I wish to complete my little challenge.

What do I want to get out of it?  I hope to be fitter and stronger (my upper body strength in particular is laughable, as I can't even do a real push-up), and I hope to become a better runner.  My run yesterday actually rocked, and I attribute it to the cross-training I did Monday.  So far, a success!

A Challenge!

Last October, I joined the Social Workout Eat, Sweat, Blog challenge, which was super fun. It turns out that I'll willingly deprive myself of things if it's a game. I had tons of fun and even got a cool t-shirt out of it. So I joined the Emergency Holiday Challenge, which was also fun (although I didn't complete enough challenges).

Then I saw the New Year's Edition Challenge, which runs from January 11-February 12, and figured it would be a fun way to challenge myself to keep working out regularly and to accomplish daring feats! I think I even convinced my co-worker to sign up too. Feel free to join in the fun, if you wish!

The Challenge requires one to workout 20 times in the 33-day period and to accomplish at least 10 feats of strength. I like to figure out which feats I plan to attempt, and so I shall share them with you here. I selected 15, so that if a few don't work out, I still accomplish what I'm after.

• Jan Plan Plus: No booze from January 11th-January 31. Not always the most fun, but definitely a good challenge.
• Sugar-Free: One week, no sugar--always a challenge for me! I shall attempt extend this one for the duration of the challenge
• Whole-Grainy: no white foods for the duration (white rice, white flour, etc)
• Swap Meat: Well, since I'm a vegetarian, I'm going to try to do Vegan Mondays (or a vegan day once a week). Shouldn't be too hard...
• Home Food: four meals a week at home? Easy as homemade pie. :)
• Sun Salute: sun salutations, every morning--a great way to wake up and tone my arms!
  
• Stand Up: on the hour, every hour, at work. Because sitting kills.
• Home Workout: create a workout space and use it once a week. This might be difficult because I can't create a dedicated workout space--I just have to use my office or my living room. For me, the challenge will be utilizing a home workout resource: videos, yoga mat, etc.
• Take a bath: ohhh, yeah. This is a good one--since I'll be doing longer and longer Sunday runs, taking a bath afterward will aid in recovery and warm me back up!
• Sleep log: keep track of when I go to bed and when I get up...because I really should be sleeping more with the increased running.
• Sleep discipline: for seven days in a row, get up and stay up by 6:30am. Yikes!
• Worm and Fuzzy: Compost! (Which we already do, so this one's a freebie for me)
• Energy Sabbatical: twice during the challenge, shut off all inessential electronics. This will be tough, but Lance thinks it'll be a fun challenge too!
• Plant Friendly: possess plants. Um, double check on that one. Another freebie!
• DIY Feat: I'm challenging myself to simplify my life. This means working to get rid of useless/excess belongings and other simplifying measures, such as reducing the number of Google Reader subscriptions...

Should be a fun time all around!