Crowded

Holy cow, you know it's bathing suit season at the gym, because it was PACKED this morning at 6am! There's a usual core group of people that are always there, but this morning...holy cow, there were about 3 times as many people!

I had the choice of only 1 open elliptical machine, 2 open treadmills or 2 recumbent bikes. You'd be proud. I chose the elliptical. The entire time I kept thinking, "I can't wait until the winter when all of these people stop coming and the gym will be less crowded again." Well, I was thinking that and "I need to cut this short to go home and feed the baby." The joys of nursing.

SOOOO, I bought scrubs yesterday in a size smaller than what I thought I'd need. I could have actually gone down one size, but the pant legs were too short in the smaller size, so I went with the Large. I never did hear from the woman who was supposed to call me back and let me know if I was starting tonight, so I'll have to give her a call in a little bit. I know it's bad, but honestly, I forgot Wipeout was on tonight....I would have said I could start tomorrow. *grin* Priorities, right?

Hot Dogs Are Meant to Be Chewed

Who knew that the gym would be packed at 1:45on the 4th of July?! There were only 2 Cardio Killers open when I got there, so I did abs and lots of stretching first. Then I hopped on a C.K. and started ellipting my legs off.

Unfortunately, for me my C.K. was directly in front of the TV tuned to ESPN. It wouldn't have been a big deal, but they were having the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Oh my gosh! It was gross! I couldn't watch, but I couldn't seem to look away. In fact,everyone in the gym had sort of stopped working out so feverishly and was staring in horrific fascination at these people shoving hot dogs 1, 2, 3 at a time into their mouths. Ugh. Seriously, I thought I was going to be a little bit sick.

For those of you who missed this historic event, the challenge ended in a tie. 59 hot dogs. Then they had a 5 hot dog timed contest. Whoever could eat them the fastest would be the winner. Yeah, it was pretty gross, but in the end Joey Chestnut won. 64 hot dogs. Eww.

So, after it was over everyone resumed working out....at a more feverish pace trying to exorcise the image of the hot dog contest,I think. Yeah, good luck with that fellow gym-ers.

A Banner Day

OMG, guess what?! I was on the Cardio Killer for 35 minutes this morning! Wahoo! I know, it's hard to believe, but it's true.

There are two different types of Cardio Killers. The one that I had tried before has the handles that move back and forth. Really, it's a machine that should only be used by the highly coordinated. That is definitely not me. The Cardio Killer that I used today has stationary handlebars - a much better choice, I must say. It has this cute little display that lights up the parts of the body that it's targeting at the moment. I was also fond of the encouraging little scroll bar..."You've completed 30% of the workout," "You've completed 60% of the workout," "Time to cool down."

I have to say that the time went by very quickly and my back didn't hurt when I got done like it sometimes does after walking on the treadmill. The bonus was that I could still walk after the time was up. (Okay, so it was touch and go there for a moment, but you try ellipting for 35 minutes and see if you can walk straight!)

I had done abs and stretching before I hopped on the Cardio Killer, so it was a good workout day. You know you're burning calories when your forearms are sweating. Gross, but in a good, burning calories-slimming my lower body-not going to have to wear a tent for the rest of my life sort of way.

Friday Morning Workout

I didn't hear the alarm go off this morning, because we had turned the fan on last night and I didn't have the volume set-up loud enough to compensate for the extra noise. So, when I woke up it was 2 minutes before 6. You'd be proud though, because I jumped out of bed, got dressed and was on the road by 6:05. And it's a rainy, dreary, sleepy morning, so that's even more impressive, huh? =)

With limited time I figured my best course of action was to hop on the cardio machine that would kick my butt the fastest. Yes, that's right. The Elliptical a.k.a. "The Cardio Killer" was my warm-up machine of choice. I lasted 5 minutes. Honestly, I have no idea how people can stay on that thing for any length of time. If you're one of those people who use it for an hour, God bless you, because I feel like I'm going to collapse after a few minutes.

So, a quick jaunt on the Cardio Killer, some lower body resistance training, abs and back on the treadmill for 15 minutes. Time was short, but I really felt "worked out" by the time 6:50 rolled around.

I may go again this weekend if I'm feeling like I need a break!

I'm planning on planting flowers and veggies this weekend though, so that may count as my resistance training! I'm going to be wearing gloves since my sister-in-law now has a finger the size of Tennessee since she did not wear gloves while working in her yard weeding and planting. I have no desire to be the next victim of Fingergate 2008. =)

Gym Mama meets the "Cardio Killers"

A 5am wake-up call from my 4 month old made getting up and going to the gym this morning not so bad. I hadn't planned on going quite so early, but I couldn't sleep after trying to crawl back into bed. So, by 5:39 I was in the car and on my way.

One great advantage of going so early was that there was NO traffic. In fact, it was still pretty dark outside and it seemed like the rest of the world was still asleep. Lo, and behold, as I approached the intersection by the gym I could see the glow from the lights and just make out small figures feverishly ellipting...or whatever it is that you actually call the motion on the elliptical machine.

Speaking of elliptical machines....I've decided they're mighty deceptive. I mean, they look so easy! That gentle gliding sort-of motion and handlebars that look like they'd help and not make the workout harder make the machines look so appealing. So, I decided that they would be my warm-up cardio machine of choice today. After using one for, I kid you not, 57 seconds, I decided I should rename them "Cardio Killers". They're tough little buggers! Needless to say, I was quite relieved when 5 minutes of warm-up was over! Of course, the guy on the one next to me was ellipting like a mad-man and I was to the point where I knew walking was going to be a challenge.

I made it to the towel & sanitizer dispenser and back without collapsing on my jelly legs, so I felt mighty accomplished. It doesn't take much.

I went through a lower body resistance routine using what I could remember from my session with Shawn and I must have done pretty good, because, boy, are my legs angry at me now! They don't hurt, they're just really not that happy. Abs were okay...I really tried to target my "baby belly" and set a goal for myself for tomorrow to do at least one more of each exercise tomorrow. Baby steps, right?

The funniest part was when I got on the treadmill to do my 15 minutes of "fat burning cardio". The poor machine was terrified that I had already reached my maximum heart rate (that's what I get for not exercising for 6 years!) and wouldn't incline or speed up beyond 2 miles an hour without me repeatedly hitting the increase button. It kept displaying, "You have reached your maximum heart rate. We will adjust the speed and incline to keep you on target." I think I could have had the machine turned off and sat down on it and my heart rate STILL would have been high! Apparently, this too will improve as I become more fit.

I've decided that I like this gym though. The people there look like me...like regular people....and they sweat. I'm not a big fan of sweating really, but if I have to be sweating I sure as heck don't want to be the only one doing it!

So,Day 2 is done. And it's only 9:23 in the morning. A good start to the week!