So Joe, Bill (our roommate) and I all joined a gym on February 1 ("our" new year since Jan. 1 was right in the midst of us working on a musical). We are now members of Lifetime Fitness, which is actually a really nice gym and it is bike-riding distance away, when there isn't 2 feet of snow on the ground.
I really like this gym for a number of reasons. They have a ridiculous amount of cardio equipment - I've never not been able to get a treadmill or an elliptical when I wanted one. They have a cafe and a salon on site (which reminds me to call and book a massage.) The locker rooms are nice and clean, plenty of showers and a steam room, which I love. The pool has two dedicated lap lanes and a water slide, and there is also a huge hot tub and a sauna. The classes look pretty good though i am a little disappointed with their selection of yoga classes. They don't have pilates reformer, though the other location does and I can go there if I like.
With our new membership, we were able to meet with a trainer for a "Fit Point" assessment, and one personal training session. Joe wasn't much interested, but Bill and I met with a gal named Jen. The Fit Point measured our strength, flexibility, body fat, and cardio strength. Basically I am just slightly overweight (less than I thought), average flexibility, above average cardio, and just above average upper body strength. So I feel like I'm starting out at a good place. I weighed in at 182.
Tuesday night was my complimentary personal training. We started out with squats on a Bosu and lunges (3 sets of 12 each), followed by push-ups on the Bosu and assisted pull-ups (3 sets of 12 each). Then came incline sit-ups and back extensions, then table top balances and side plank raises. I felt like it was a great, challenging workout that showed me just how out of shape I've become over the past 6 months or so. After the squats and lunges, my legs were jelly, which made the push-ups really hard, and made the core work even harder.
Yesterday I was a little sore, but still went into the gym to walk gently on the treadmill and take a pilates mat class. The first time I took the class a couple weeks ago I was able to do most of the advanced modifications. This time, I had to do all of the beginner modifications. I didn't feel bad about it though. Thanks to my yoga experience I've learned that you should only do what you feel like you can do that particular day. Bill and I sat in the hot tub last night, and he was nice and gave my legs a good massage when we got home.
Today, I can hardly walk, the DOMS is so bad. It is a sick twist of fate that staying hydrated can help the soreness a bit, but that means I have to pee. a lot. and the whole sit down-stand up thing is REALLY hard. Mostly I am sore in my quads, glutes, pecs, and lats. My abs are definitely sore as well. So, yeah, I pretty much hurt everywhere. Luckily I understand that this is part of the process of starting a new work-out routine so I'm not discouraged! I'm looking forward to my muscles recovering so Bill can show me the work-out routine that Jen gave him last night!
11 hours ago
