Gym Is Finally A WIN

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Granted, I ate today a bunch of Trader Joe's Joe Joes. If you don't know what that is, it's best for you. It's like cookie crack. I followed this up with a loaf of bread and a saucer of olive oil and garlic. So, the gym thing is kinda a wash, but not even, since I ate a lot more than 300 calories.

HOWEVER.

I was telling Heather, whom I plucked out of near nap to go to the gym (it was her idea to begin with), that for the first time today, I got to the gym, stepped on the elliptical and didn't feel like I was fighting to stay upright and breathe by minute 5.

We started ellipticalling this summer, though not very regularly, and I remember it was hard for us. HARD. By .75 of a mile we were both hoping the other is ready to quit. It was pretty theatrical up at Heather's apartment gym. But we weren't very consistent, which I think got in the way of us getting better.

We have been doing the gym thing for 4 weeks now, 3 times a week about. Jesse read somewhere that it takes 30 days of repeating behavior to form a habit. I felt today was a breakthrough. Not only did we get up, out of our warm house, stopped sewing (in my case) and made it to the gym, but it just felt right. After all, having eaten a loaf of bread for dinner, it really should feel right. I felt antsy after dinner.

Not only did gym feel like a natural part of the day, when we got there, and I hopped on the elliptical - even though I haven't really done it much, I felt fine. I didn't even sweat the first 5-7 minutes. Usually, by then I am trying to slither off it as gracefully as possible and go walk a treadmill or something less challenging. Like a beer by the pool.

I shared this with Heather, and she agreed, she's had a similar experience with running on treadmill this week. (Even though when she showed at the gym today, she acted like I had just skinned a favorite kitten of hers throughout most of the 'circuit trainin' deal. But we're supposed to motivate each other, so she sucked it up eventually. I think. ) We haven't even made it to the treadmill portion of the gym in our class taking. By the time the classes are over we are tired, the legs are trembling, and we either hot tub or go home. We dare not try run before class, lest it causes us to collapse halfway through the class. And the classes still kick my ass, the 4th week in. It doesn't feel any easier. Doing lunges on one leg for what seems like an hour is still a sucky way to spend what feels like an hour.

My favorite class so far is Everlast Shadow Boxing. Like every other class, it wasn't at all what I expected. You don't get to punch stuff for an hour straight. Instead, for 40 minutes (with two 30 second water breaks) you "train like a boxer", which apparently involves jumping rope for 2 minutes, doing jumping jacks, 'mountain climbers', running like madman in one place, and generally acting like you're on crack, punctuated by a few 'boxing combos'. By the time the combos are introduced I'm about to ready to pass out from the rope jumping nonsense, so I flail around with my fists aimlessly. However, I see great potential. Two weeks ago I spent about a third of the class standing around, wondering if I can make an unnoticed exit. Last week it was only may be a fifth of the class. It's getting better.

I haven't lost any weight, (can't be the Joe Joe's, can it?) But my body fat has gone done from 25.1 a month ago to 23.1 now, and I can spend a half hour on the elliptical, and feel good about it. I hope this post reminds me why it's important to keep this up - it is HARD to get back on the gym wagon once you fall off, even briefly. But when you're on, if feels AWESOME. Not to mention that I no longer send $20 to 24HourFitness just for giggles once every month, it's actually FOR something. WIN.