I had my first official post-partum work out yesterday. I say "official" because doing exercise videos at home and walking around the neighborhood was considered a work out until yesterday so I guess those were all poor excuses for getting off my butt but this actual work-out was one that kicked my butt.
Kick seems like an understatement.
I got my butt whipped.
It was a studio group fitness class at Equinox (where the motto is "It's Not Fitness, It's Life") with one of my favorite instructors from two and a half years ago (the last time I was in this gym). She does her entire class with weights and a bosu ball and usually has really fun music and has us up and down all over the ball working our core, our thighs and our arms. It is fabulous!
Or so I remembered....
Yesterday was horrific. I was heaving and hoeing, my heart was racing, my head was pounding, sweat was dripping down my face, and I was unsure if I'd make it through. I felt like hurling many times, and used this as an excuse to walk to the back of the studio to get my camelback and slowly sip some water. I drank so much water that I was even able to sneak out of the studio twice to refill my water bottle. Halfway through the class, I started thinking of excuses I could use to leave the class.
The music was too loud to speak over it so I could gesture something to the instructor, maybe about my ankle or knee or... I could just faint. The aftermath might be too messy to deal with. I could whisper VERY quietly but LOUDLY WITH MY LIPS that I had to go... but it all seemed rude unless I really couldn't make it.. which I very well might not have...
So I stuck it out. For the reps I could do full out, I did, the rest I just breathed and watched others in awe. At one point she had us jumping down to a plank on the bosu ball which was upside down (so you had to balance since the ball side was on the floor), doing a push up, jumping up to a position with a lunge, standing up and then lifting the bosu ball (it is quite heavy!) and doing a press-up into the air - ugh - and she did this in repeat 6 reps first with 4 times, then 2 times and then 1 time. I was DYING.
To make matters worse, I had obtained a 3 lb weight because I knew I was not ready for anything larger than that - the instructor had also obtained a 3 lb weight. But she reminded the class repeatedly that she was using "sissy" weights since she had injured herself over the weekend but hey, that's what she got for being 50 years old and going mountain biking. First off, her body is a ROCK and she looks more like 40. I could not believe it. I wanted to yell, "I just had a baby!" but there was no nonchalant way of doing so. Instead, I sucked it up and tried my best.
Through my eternity of "I'm not ready to work out at a gym suffering" of one hour last night, the abs and cool down felt so satisfying. And once I was done, I was ready to do it again just not today or tomorrow...I need time to heal first. It's true what they say about challenges building character and how rewarding it is to overcome them. I'm definitely far from overcoming my lack of aerobic strength and utter usefulness in the gym but I am ready to tackle it, one horrific work out at a time. To sum it up, it was quite painful indeed... but now that I'm done and had the endorphin rush yesterday.... it was also quite delightful too.
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