June 2012 - Dance Walking
It's an amazing thing. Dance walking is the newest fitness craze born out of New York City where all good things come from. Joe, the Nameless Dance Walking Guru Master started it all by himself just so he could be happier and now the world is joining in and so am I. Who can't use a little more joy in life, really?
January 2012 - Ballroom Dancing
Yes, January was dedicated to ballroom dancing. Hubby got me/us an introductory dance lesson package at Arthur Murry dance studios so we gave it a try. I wasn't totally satisfied with what Arthur Murry did so I also found us a month of group dance lessons at Washington Dance Club in Seattle. All in all, I absolutely loved ballroom dancing month. Just learning the basics isn't a very good work out at all but if you're married or in a relationship, it enhances the intimacy and you can get your workout time between the sheets. Once you become more proficient and are learning intermediate dance techniques, it's an amazing work out. And you get to wear sparkly things.
December 2011 - Nothing Special Again
I did not define any particular activities to the month of December. I did however manage to stay active. Racquetball 2-3 times every week. Working with my personal trainer for the first half of the month then weight training on my own through the rest of the month. I spent a day playing on a snowmobile.
November 2011 - Personal Training
I don't have anything special planned for November exercise activities for now which is why I decided to just assign Personal Training as the activity. It seems that working with a personal trainer was/is good for me. I lost 10lbs of fat and gained 12lbs of muscle according to his little bioelectrical impedence test dohicky majigger. Do I believe it to be true? Not even a little. My clothes don't fit me any differently, my measurements haven't really changed any, and the scale has gone up 3lbs. But by the end of the month, I'm feeling stronger and in better shape than I was when I started.
Finding the Balance
Bio-Impedance Test
One Personal Trainer vs. One Heart Rate Monitor
October 2011 - Nothing Special
October was just about getting back up and dusting myself off after I fell flat on my ass. The crappy year I've had came down on me like a ton of bricks. I did not sit and stew in my misery but instead got right back up with a few more bumps and bruises than what I started with but none the less, I got up and got right back to life.
August 2011 - Rowing
I totally did not blog about my rowing experience. For whatever reason, I just wasn't in the blogging mood for a few months. But I did a twice weekly "learn to row 1" class through the Lake Sammamish Rowing Association. For me, rowing was stressful and unpleasant in just about every way. They don't disclose that patience should be a prerequisite to signing up for classes and oh I wish they had. I can see that once you get through the beginners class and are rowing with people who understand it, it could be great fun and a good workout but neither were true for me in the rowing for dummies class. Plus, I should mention that I'm extremely prone to motion sickness so Dramamine was absolutely necessary and not always effective throughout my experience.
My Rowing Adventure
January 2011 - Ice Skating
I must confess....I did the ice skating thing but it's been far too many months since that happened so I can't remember a thing about my experience. I vote for a mulligan in January 2012.
December 2010 - Belly Dancing x3
I found the Academy of Burlesque Belly Dancing Basics class taught by Seattle's sexiest belly dancer. Of course I had to see it for myself. I went. I loved it. Highly recommend! Through the entire series of classes, you learn a choreographed dance routine so you can take it home and wow your boy toy with your new moves. My intention was to get all dressed up and do a little dance for my readers by the end of the month but no one shared any interest in seeing me embarrass myself so...now you'll never know what kind of moves I've got.
The Joy of Finger Binging
November 2010 - Belly Dancing x2
I signed up for classes with an American Tribal Style belly dancing school in Seattle and went to a couple classes. Didn't like it one bit. Mostly because the instructor was B.O.R.I.N.G. She's a slurer. She slurs everything she says and I don't think she's drunk or highly medicated. I think she's just a lazy talker and it's annoying. Spit it out or shut up damn it. So I elected to find a different class to attend.
What if I was a Belly Dancing Mama?
October 2010 - Belly Dancing
If you haven't read the blogs through the month of October, allow me to inform you now. I sucked all month. That's right, I was lazy and grumpy and didn't do much of anything including blog. It was the "I don't give a FUNK" month. That's why Belly Dancing has a take two in November. It deserves some great love and attention.
Octobelly Dancing
September 2010 - Jenny (bicycle)
Jenny = Love. What else can I say? I had a horrible mountain bike that I hated for years. I was guilted into buying that mountain bike about 10 years ago and I tried to ride it a couple times but it was just horrifyingly painful and not my cup of tea so it sat in my shed for a decade getting ignored. Finally, after taking a cue from a friend, I decided to find a bike that better suited me. Jenny found me and now she's mine for ever and ever and ever. She and I spent a decent number of hours together throughout the month and the love only grows stronger with each mile. I have grand plans to ride her as often as possible. Just because the month is over and it's time to switch to a different activity, doesn't mean that Jenny will be retired to the shed. No. She will still be around and will poke in for a little photo session here and there so stay tuned because she is a fixture in my life.
Jenny's Adventures on Burke-Gilman Trail
Jenny's Adventures at Long Beach
Jenny's Adventures on the Green River Trail
What if I Chickened Out?
Jenny's Adventures in Renton
Jenny's Adventures on Alki
August 2010 - Airobics (Trampoline)
Trampoline exercise was fun. It was. I didn't enjoy the class enough to keep doing it though. I think I got a better workout just jumping on my own. But I did learn a couple other things I can do on a trampoline besides the basics. You know the basics? The butt bounce. The flips. The jumping jacks. The two person jump where each person jumps at opposite times so you fling each other higher. That's probably the funnest one of all. I doubt I'll go back to the Airobics class but if I get bored sometime, I have no problem paying my $8 or whatever to go jump around for a good hour.
Jumping for August
Airobics Class
July 2010 - Swimming
What can I say about swimming? I just adore it! It's a moving meditation. I feel peace and serenity wash over me with every stroke. There's a hint of balance introduced into my life when I swim that I'm not at all use to feeling. I understand that many people have fears about swimming and they even let their body image issues interfere with trying anything that might require a little extra skin to show. But the benefits in my opinion far outweigh any fear or questionable comfort zone. Do yourself a favor and try it. Challenge yourself. You may just find that you love it like I do. You never know if you never try though.
July Swim Love
Swim Song
Swim Senses
June 2010 - CrossFit
I think I might have taken a bigger bite than I could chew. I signed up for the daily work out email and I attempted as many as I felt comfortable with. But, I just felt that some of them were way over my head. I can appreciate power lifting as much as the next person but I'm just not comfortable doing it without someone there spotting me and/or at least knowing the proper way to lift that shit. And some of the activities just looked dangerous and not so great for the body so I opted to pass and replace with things that were more manageable. Overall, I think I'm going to have to add crossfit to the list of possibly revisiting at a later date.
June Activity
Cross Fit Week One - Suck IT!
May 2010 - Yoga
For whatever reason, I just couldn't get past the yoga carpet thing. I was a total fan of Bikram Hot Yoga until I learned about and experienced the required carpet flooring for a traditional Bikram class. Mental block maybe, I don't know. Honestly, I don't really care. I'm just glad it's over. I do still enjoy yoga, but I'll admit here and now that Bikram Yoga is now off my list of acceptable yoga practices for me. Carpet sweat is just gross!
May I have some hot yoga please?
Yoga Carpet?
Yoga Ecstacy...and the yoga carpet thing
April 2010 - Weight Training
When I very first started working out a couple years ago, I was lifting weights like crazy. Probably because I was doing the BFL program with Hubby. Although that program did not work for me in the least, it did teach me to appreciate the weight room and the benefits of weight training. Although I try to maintain a regular schedule of weight lifting, I found myself slacking on it for a couple few months so I decided I needed to rededicate myself to doing it regularly. And I won a bet with Accountabilibuddy so she was dedicating herself to joining me in the weight room too. I would call it a success as to it's purpose for the month but I do wish I had dedicated a bit more time to writing about it.
Weight training and stuff like that
Girls in the Weight Room
March 2010 - Roller Derby
Because I loved skating sooooo much, I decided to take it to the competitive level. Well, I tried. I just discovered roller derby for the first time ever last year when I met a roller girl. I went to a bout and my little heart started pittering and pattering all over the place. Girl crushes all around. I finally felt like I found others like me. My peeps have been hiding out at the roller rink all these years and I didn't know it. Although I did attempt a roller derby practice, I was not at all ready for what those girls do so I feel as though this activity definitely needs a more intense investigation at a later date....when I've got the basic skills necessary to explore it with the attention and dedication it deserves.
I'm just so excited
And the activity for March is?
Weekend Adventures, Roller Derby Practice League
February 2010 - Skating
Roller skating is how it was. Can I just say that I love it. Why in the world did I ever stop doing it as a kid? There's a reason that we enjoyed our birthday skating parties and fluttery 12 year old boy watching. Why? BECAUSE IT'S FUN! Duh! Watching all the adults that seemed to remember what I forgot made me realize just how much better I want to be. You know what that means? More practice. Just because February is over, it doesn't mean skating is. No way!
Stuff and Roller Skating
I bought skates
Roller Skating 101
January 2010 - Racquetball
January was a bit of a writer's block month for me I think. I just didn't have it in me to write anything about anything. Do you ever feel like you just don't have anything valuable to say? That's how I felt, so I thought it better to just keep my mouth shut. That doesn't mean I wasn't getting busy at the gym though. Oh I was rockin' the racquetball party. Accountabilibuddy and I bought racquets and balls and had a jolly good time smacking them around and laughing at each other. It wasn't until March that I actually started playing real games though. Oh...playing real games makes it 100,000 times more fun. Highly recommend it. I do still need to give you all the 411 though so I'll leave it on the list as something to write about sometime in the near future.
December 2009 - Kickboxing
I wanted something really high impact, high intensity. I wanted something to kick my ass so I didn't get complacent with the holidays and the new year and the emotional ridiculousness that those wonderful experiences bring. It worked. I stayed engaged and dedicated all through the holiday season even with the emotional crap that inevitably attacks like a mad cat. The only regret I would say I have though is that I didn't have the opportunity to explore real kickboxing. I stuck with the cardio kickboxing that was readily available at the gym I go to. I'd very much like to revisit the real thing in the future.
November 2009 - Jump Rope
I did the Punk Rope instructor workshop and wanted to improve my skills so I can teach the masses how to Punk Rope like the pros. Was I successful? Absolutely not! I think jump rope needs a better review and I need to give it a much more gallant effort than I did. I think this one should stay of the list to revisit again in the future.
October 2009 - Golf
Golf is something that I fell in love with in 2008 and unfortunately didn't have a chance to enjoy it all year long so this was my last ditch effort to enjoy some golf before the year was completely over. I think I did ok for the most part. I would definitely love to revisit this activity and give it a much more in depth review in the future.
September 2009 - Hiking
I was hesitant about hiking. I've never been an outdoorsy, dig a hole to go, sleep in the dirt, friend to nature. I've always been a city girl through and through so this month was daunting to say the least. It ended up being a very pleasant surprise. I found a lot of enjoyment out of hiking. I found a few annoyances about it too. A positive report for the whole experience though as I plan to add hiking to my list of activities to do more of in the future.
August 2009 - Tennis
I was actually very satisfied with my tennis experience. I took some lessons, I played some games, I chased the fuzzy little balls all over the place all month long. It was fun. It was tough. It was a good challenge and a good workout. I plan to play a lot of tennis well into the future.
