I am a Hater!

What do I hate? I hate cycling/spin class. No offense to those who love it. I am glad there are so many options of things to try. I have tried a lot of classes at the lady gym. Here are a few:

1. bodypump (totally awesome weight training)
2. 20/20/20 (cardio, weights and core)
3. turbo kick boxing
4. zumba
5. step
6. cycling and intro to cycling (gotta say, I did not see a difference between the two classes)
7. bodyvive (great for beginners to exercise classes)
8. yoga

My favorites BY FAR are #1 - turbo kick boxing and #2 zumba. Last night I went to turbo kickboxing with the first instructor I ever had. I told her how she made all the difference (and trust me when I say the instructor makes all the difference) in my going from trying to survive the hour to loving it. I was actually sad when it ended last night. I also told her how I thought she was a crackpot when I first started because of some of her moves but now I can do them. So during class she had me demonstrate the high intensity moves. She was so happy that she helped to make a difference and made me love that class.

As a teacher myself, sometimes we do not realize the impact that we have on others. So if you have something nice to say, you should let that person know. Yesterday best bud and my beautiful god daughters made me a fattiversary card (and she sang to me...awww). So today I bought thank you cards for her and my husband. They need to know how great they have been.

Yesterday I made a gift basket for my trainer and made his thank you card. I did him first because man has he had to put up with a lot of my shit.

This week I am reading an awesome book called Never Say Diet by Chantel Hobbs. She lost 200 pounds and looks like a barbie doll. Some books I read and they are too complicated (I just finished the Jillian Michaels metabolism book - damn she knows alot but too much for me to understand). Chantel does the journey in steps. It also has spectacular exercises with photos. Sometimes I am just reading the same stuff over and over but I learned new things from this book and it was written in terms I could comprehend. If I were just starting on my journey, I would follow her plan. It is about baby steps - completely doable in everyday life. So if you are looking for a good read, I highly recommend it!

Okay, so I am a hater of cycling. I tried it again this week because of Chantel's book (she loves it) and I thought that maybe I did not give it a fair shake. Afterall, the first time I tried it I was about 70 pounds heavier and it took all my strength to endure 30 minutes.

Well this week I tried again. I did better. I lasted the whole time. The first 5 minutes were okay, then 25 minutes of wanting to quit because it was so hot, cramped, I felt all hunched over the bike and the instructor was so shouty, followed by 15 minutes that were okay again. Oh, and we have to clean the bikes after (not to mention the puddle of sweat on the floor). No thanks!

Do people like it because it burns so many calories or because they actually think it is fun? Dude, I barely got a bike. People were turned away from the class.

It did make me realize how much I love turbo kickboxing and the freedom of being up and moving around the room for an hour. I guess I like whole body, high mobility exercise classes. Anyway, I am thankful for the opportunity to try again. However, that will be the last time. I know it is not for me.