Great Run, Sore Muscles

Since I discovered spinning a few months ago, I’ve been attending classes like a regular addict. It didn’t take long for me to become enthralled by the high calorie blast sessions. What with the upbeat music, great crowd and motivating instructors.

And then I tweaked my back.

And before I knew it, I hadn’t really worked out for about a month.

And then it was Valentine’s Day.

Oi.

This week I recommitted myself to working out regularly. Nothing like jumping right back into a workout regime with gusto.

Yesterday, I ran a 5k loop on base. My feet felt like lead; my lungs burned in anger; my heart sank into my stomach when I looked at my final time. I won’t even repeat it here because I’ll be honest with you – it was downright shameful. Ha.

This morning for PT, we ran the same 5K path. After my less than inspiring run from the day before, I felt extra motivated to get moving. My time improved and my breathing was definitely steadier, but oh my gosh, my leg muscles are definitely feeling it.

It’s a good burn. That’s what I keep telling myself. It’s my body readjusting after such an extended sedentary length of time.

So I’ll keep at it. Tomorrow I plan on weight lifting and doing some light cardio to torch some more calories (I did go a bit overboard on the sweets over Valentine’s Day weekend. Oops.). Friday I’m going down to Valdosta, but I have every intention of bringing my running shoes so I can jog around the neighborhood. I’m getting back on track Hodgepoders! And I’m excited 🙂

How Do You Work Out?

For the better part of January, I kind of scaled back my exercise regime. First, there was my annual cleanse. Whenever I’m ridding my body of toxins, I prefer to not work out – too much stress on your body (in my opinion). The cleanse coupled with our family trip to Florida meant that I essentially had a workout free month.

It was great, but horrible. I can tell that I’m horrendously out of shape. My tolerance for strenuous workouts has been severely lowered, much to my dismay. Rather than let this discourage me, I’ve opted to view this as a challenge. Our bodies are amazing machines; I can get back into my old workout habits. It’ll just take some time.

This was my first official week back in the gym. Monday and Tuesday were dedicated to spin classes and Wednesday I ran. My muscles were burning in retaliation and my lungs were sucking oxygen, but there always seemed to be a lack of it. The best part of it though was that the sweat was dripping and my heart was pounding, but I knew that it was all worth it.

One thing I noticed on Wednesday while walking from the locker room up to the indoor track. You see, it was raining pretty hard and our PT leader opted for us run indoors. It’s a small elevated track that overlooks a basketball court on one side and the free weights and aerobics room on the other side.

As I ran aimlessly around and around, I noticed something: there are four main groups of worker-outers.

1. The hardcore gym rat. We’ve all met them. They’re the guy and girls (yes, girls) who intently watch themselves lifting in the mirror. They seem more focused on how big their muscles look as opposed to their form. Priorities, right?
2. The persnickety girl who talks on the phone while on the elliptical. If you’re on the phone, you’re not working out. Period.
3. The Barbie gym-goer. They’re in every gym. Their hair is perfectly smoothed back, their eyelashes are curled and copious amounts of makeup distract you from the skin tight outfit that of course makes any quality workout impossible. Look, I’m all about yoga pants or spanky shorts, but unless you’re doing yoga or playing a competitive round of volleyball, I don’t need to see that while on I’m on the treadmill. You might think it’s cute, but it’s not. Ew.
4. The normals. This group is pretty much the rest of us who go to the gym. We genuinely enjoy working out and being healthy. We wear old baggy soccer shirts and aren’t ashamed of a little sweat. In fact, sweating is encouraged. Most of us have earbuds in with amped up music pounding in our ears, urging us to go that extra mile or squeak out another set or rep. The gym is almost like our second home (minus that cult following that Crossfitters often share).

Which group of worker-outer are you? How do you work out?

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