Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Exercise Diary: Yoga Tuesday, and maybe even pilate with Blogilate?

So my coworkers and I managed to push though our afternoon drowsiness and hunger and got our butts and yoga mats to the 5pm class for the second Tuesday in a row.  I know going to yoga once a week is so not a big deal but it's still a tradition we do not alway keep.

Class today was exhilarating and very sweaty.  The room was stuffy and very warm and I got extra sweaty today, and wasn't smelling too good.  I did switch to a new deodorant that does not use aluminum ions to plug your sweat pores to block perspiration, but since i was sweating all over I don't think it's the deodorant's fault.  My thighs got a thorough workout since we did extra chair poses today, and my athletic capris definitely need washing afterwards.

And recently I noticed that Cassey from Blogilate is doing a 30-day thigh slimming challenge for this month.  I got curious and clicked in and the moves looked fun and the reps didn't sound too bad so I saved the calendar and am now on Day 2 of the challenge.  And of course then I saw the entire workout calendar for March and realized that it's only and addition to an already very full daily exercising plan. I ended up subscribing to the blog so I could get the password to view the workout plan in detail and realize that I can never do all these in addition to my weekly running schedule and you know, life.  So I ditched the March plan and downloaded the beginner's workout instead.

It looks like a very reasonable beginner's pilate workout plan and for each day there is an accompanying video with Cassey beautifully demonstrating exactly what you need to do.  Other than having to move my laptop around to get a clear view of what I'm supposed to be doing while lying down, the videos (at least the Day 1 and Day 2 ones) are very clear and helpful.  This morning I woke up deciding that I would do the day 1 whole body workout, but I was unsure after I came back from yoga.  I ready had a good workout, I thought.  But not doing it bothered me, and merely sitting around and watching the video (to see what I would have to do) didn't really satisfy me.  So finally I cleared enough floor space in my apartment and rolled out my yoga mat.

Well the one thing I can say right now, about 20 minutes after finishing the video, is that the 28-minute workout flew by and wasn't painful to go through at all.  My thighs and knees, on the other hand, are telling a different story.  The thigh workout was great but brutal, to the point that I wasn't just having muscle fatigue, I think I also got cramps and had to stop a few time.  I think I will feel the effect tomorrow but now I felt I had accomplished something quite wonderful.  The last part of the video called for some arm work out.  I have no upper body strength so it was hard, but it was harder since we are doing all the moves on our knees and since I had no arm strength all of my weight was on my knees and they weren't happy.  I don't think there is a way to work on your knees other than strengthening the muscles around it so they will take away most of the pressure.  And maybe losing a few more pounds would also alleviate the pressure.  But for now I think I either need to put towels underneath or invest in some kneepads so I don't seriously screwing them up.  And also to be a real woman and do some real push-ups to build my arm strength instead of killing my knees doing modified poses.

But all in all it was a great first day of a cool pilate workout.  I really think it's the complementary exercise I need for my running.

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