HI!!! I'm BACK!!

Hello world, I'm back!

So what the hell happened to me?  Quick summary.  So last you all saw me, I fractured my foot and was in a walking boot.  I wore the walking boot for approximately 2 months, and have been finished with it since the beginning of October.  During that time, I used the bike at the gym and did a little weightlifting (only if Cameron came with me), but obviously no classes, no yoga and most importantly, no running.

So why didn't I reappear in the beginning of October when the boot came off??

Cuz we got married!!

Here are a couple of pictures from our wedding: 

OK, that was October 14, why didn't I start blogging and exercising right after that??

That's a little tougher to answer.... I'm not sure why to be honest.  I wanted to and even had moments where I thought about writing, but then I just didn't.  But now I feel ready and I'm back and ready to document my exercise "adventures" and other life events.

However, I've done a lot of thinking about this "journey" I started over a year ago.  When I started exercising, I was just trying to get into the habit of doing something a few times a week.  When I started blogging, my goal was to try all sorts of different forms of exercise.

When I was injured, I found what I missed most was running.  I'm not sure if I missed running because I'd been training or because that was the form of exercise (I feel like I've said exercise too much) that alleviated the most stress for me.

I think my journey is evolving.  It makes sense thinking about it.  My first goal was to just do ANYTHING.  It really was to just make it to the gym or a class several times a week.  I didn't care how I did, I just had to stay for 30 minutes or the duration of the class.  My next goal was to explore different options.  I thought that I would get bored doing the same thing (hence exercise ADD), but I also was looking for something that I enjoyed, was good at, or wanted to keep going back to.  Unexpectedly, I found that: running.

So I think my focus now is running, and improving my time and increasing distance.  I still plan to take classes when I can and do other activities, but my main focus is really going to be running.  With that, I want to change the name of my blog and update the format.  Suggestions are welcome!!

How have your goal changed over time?  What should I rename my blog?

Venturing into the unknown

Remember how I said I would never go into the weight room at my local NYSC? I broke my rule.

Cameron joined the NYSC last month, so I went into the weight room to meet up with him once.  That was like dipping my toes into the water, and it was cold water and I didn't like the fact that every single guy in the weight room looked me up and down.  Dude, I'm disgusting and sweaty, leave me alone. Also, I'm self-conscious.

So how did I end up using the weight room today?

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I've been very frustrated.  I feel like I have one setback after another, and my cardio training has been falling by the wayside.  Honestly, I had only been running once since I did my 5K in the beginning of June. 

Another potential setback has emerged.  Last Tuesday, I had to sprint from work to a doctor's appointment, because like my usual self, I got caught up in something and didn't realize I only had 10 minutes to get 15 blocks.  So I sprinted in my flatter than flat flip flops, that, lets be honest, really just protect my feet from getting dirt on them.  Since then... I've had pain in my left heel.

The pain is towards the back - it feels like my achilles most of the time, but then sometimes pain radiates from the bottom of my heel.  I honestly have no idea what it could be.  I googled and found some information about plantar fasciitis, but I'm not entirely sure that's what is wrong.  Unfortunately, I really don't want to go back to a doctor... I feel like I've been to doctor's a lot recently between the asthma and sciatica etc. I just don't like going to the doctor.  

How does this lead me to the weight room?  

I'm still doing my free month at NY Yoga, but I haven't done much in the way of abs/arms or weightlifting related classes recently either.  So now here I am, not doing cardio and not getting my wedding ready arms!  

Since walking is very uncomfortable, one would assume that running would as well.  I decided to try going on the bike for 20 minutes to test out how my heel felt after that.  I'm trying to take it easy so I don't want to try any of the cool classes that I have deals for right now, which rules that out for defining my arms.

And then when Cameron mentioned he had to go to the gym today, something struck inside of me.  I was itching to do something different and as my options are currently limited by a variety of different pains, maybe Cameron would show me what to do in the weight room!

Also, this way, Cameron is with me, so who will really look at me or judge me then!  

Off we went.  I did 20 minutes on the bike, which felt okay on my heel during, but now it has seen better days.  Then, I met Cameron in the weight room and he showed me how to use a few different machines.  I did it!  I went into the weight room! 

I know I said I never would, but it's because it was always a "fear" of mine to go into the weight room.  I don't know what to do in there, I don't like people looking at me, and I don't like being the only girl.  So having Cameron there was a little buffer.  I kind of enjoyed it, and I also feel like consistency will get results.  

For now, I honestly will probably only go in with Cameron.  I'm still going to need him to tell me what machines to use (because I don't know what 90% of the machines do).  So until I will independently choose my own machines and put together my own workout... hopefully Cameron will come with me.

I'm going to try this 20 minutes of bike + weight lifting for a little while... until my heel gets better and I can run outside again, or until I get antsy and feel like I need to do something different.

Have you had heel issues?  What do you think of the weight room?  Is there something in the exercise world you have been averse to until you tried it?

Frustrated

I'm going to warn you, this post is a stream of consciousness and more ranty than I usually like to be.

I've been very frustrated the last couple of weeks when I exercise.  Between sciatica, running cramps, clothing issues etc... I've been feeling like every time I exercise, something new bothers me and I hit that wall really early.
I think that's also why I haven't been posting much lately... its not as motivating to post about my 1 mile run where my running cramp was so painful I wanted to puke all over the machine (sorry to give you that mental image).
So what do you do when you hit that wall?  How do you recover and push past it?
I'm still trying to figure this out.
I've scaled back my goals for going to the gym.  I'm back to, "just spend 30 minutes on a treadmill doing whatever" so that I can at least feel like I've accomplished something.  I also am just trying to push myself to keep going and not get discouraged.  Shit happens, right?
It's still really off-putting to go to the gym and come back and feel like I did nothing.  I may as well have stayed home, but now I'm just sweaty enough to need a shower, but not sweaty enough to feel like I did anything.  This middle ground builds up frustration for me.
I've never been the kind of person to be like,  "eh, try and fail, its cool." I don't like failing.  I really don't.  I actually would rather not try.  As my friends know, I do not like to try new foods, because I'd rather not try them and learn that it was the most disgusting thing I've ever had.  Fortunately sometimes, I try new foods anyway, otherwise I'd still be on my pasta, doritos and breaded chicken diet from when I was 7.
This whole exercise experience has forced me to deal with "failing".  I know it's not failing and I know that every day is going to be different, but I feel very frustrated right now while I'm constantly hitting this wall.
I've been running for 9 months now, I can run for about 15 minutes at a 10 min mile pace before I'm exhausted.  I can go a little further than that before I'm really done.  I'm pretty proud of that because when I first started, I couldn't run down the block without feeling out of breath.
But right now, I run on the treadmill for 6 minutes and my back hurts, or my muscles start cramping, or my sock slips down in my shoe etc etc.  It's very frustrating because it feels like a major setback.  I worry that not only am I encountering all these issues, I am also losing what I've spent 9 months building up.
I think this is also why I'm so ADD about everything - I hit a wall and need to switch things up.  Yes, fitness experts, I realize that this slows my progress because I'm trying to do 100 different activities at once.  Instead of getting really good at running, or cycling, or weightlifting, I'm getting slightly better at all of these things.  Very slowly.
Which makes issues even more annoying because I make slow and steady progress, but can lose it very quickly when something crop up.

So my resolve for the next couple of weeks is to just keep going to the gym and to just keep working out.  I need to just keep pushing through this wall.  Everyone has their good days and bad days.  I am also using my one month Living Social deal at NY Yoga, so I'm trying to do yoga 1-2 times a week too, which is very restorative.  Instead of replacing my runs (which is what I did this week) with yoga, I'm going to add the yoga in and still do the running.  I can't hide from my problems and taking a break doesn't make them go away.  It would be one thing if I had a strained muscle and I needed to rest, but sciatica is not made worse by exercising, and muscle cramps are going to happen when they happen.

Do you get frustrated about exercising?  Have you hit a wall?  How do you get past it?  What do you do for muscle cramps??

Exercise and Anxiety

Let me just start by explaining that this has been a post 2 weeks in the making.  I have a lot of thoughts about this topic, so there were many directions I could take.  Please remember that this is my opinion based on my experiences and facts I have researched.  I do understand that there is a lot of information that I have not come across, and that everyone is different and what has happened in my life may not happen in everyone's.

I recently read an article on Well and Good NYC about the effects of exercise on anxiety as compared with anti-anxiety medications, specifically benzodiazapenes.  This article got me thinking about my life.  Over the course of the past 10 years, I have been diagnosed with many different acronyms: ADD, OCD, GAD (generalized anxiety disorder), PAD (panic attack disorder), etc. etc. etc. Just having to list all the things that are "wrong with me" is enough to make someone a little nutty! I spent a lot of time looking for a reason why I was "not normal" and why I had so many idiosyncrasies.

Xanax - miracle drug??

I took Zoloft and then Lexapro for about 4 years.  When I tapered off of Lexapro (with support from a psychiatrist), I was beyond excited to be medication free. Unfortunately, I had everyday stresses that I had a hard time handling.  I was in the midst of finishing up my last year of graduate school and I was working with a co-worker who made it very clear that she did not respect me or care for me.  And I got little support from the administration or validation that my concerns were real. Like many people in this New York Magazine article, I started carrying Xanax in my bag in case something got too stressful and I couldn't escape it.  In order to cope with my challenging work environment, I took a Xanax occasionally, which drowned out the background anxiety and allowed me to focus on my life.  Basically, it made me feel less anxious without having any other effects.  Honestly, it really did work... short term.

But is taking Xanax a long-term solution?  It wasn't for me.  If I needed medication to handle my stress, I probably needed to be back on an SSRI that would modulate my anxiety on a daily basis, rather than having an emergency back up.  Thinking about it now, it's like my asthma.  I have the rescue inhaler, but is my asthma really well controlled if I need to use it every day?  Xanax was my rescue inhaler and my anxiety was not well controlled. (Note: I never took Xanax every day, its just a comparison.)

Fortunately, I found a long-term solution to that work issue; I left the job and took one at a wonderful pre-school as an interim step before I moved to NYC.  It was a fantastic move, and one can never underestimate the power of a change of scenery.

When I moved to NYC, I began having all my little issues creep back up.  It was a very tough transition for me, and also the first time since I was 18 that I was not regularly seeing a therapist. Then it dawned on me... am I going to either be in therapy or on medication for the rest of my life?  None of these options sounded viable to me; I want to have children one day, so at some point I will have to be pregnant and not take SSRIs, and I'd rather not spend thousands of dollars a year on therapy.

Last spring, my fiancee, who was in the middle of a master's program in Social Work, gave me a book about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).  I decided to find a professional who specialized in CBT.  Through work with her and lots of my own homework, I dedicated months to looking at my life differently.  Last August, my friends and I climbed Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, and that was really my big test.

I went into the climb very negative (ask any of my friends), but about 15 minutes in, with some support from my amazing friends, I thought to myself, "OK, this is still actually happening, I may as well suck it up and make the best of it." So I did.  I ended up having THE BEST time because I changed my attitude.  And once I was able to change my attitude, I was able to see how exercise can benefit me and I was able to feel this "high" from succeeding.

Me and my friends at the top of Mt. Washington.  We did it! (I'm the one furthest on the left)

While the CBT allowed me to look at the experience differently, I also think my therapy would have been incomplete without that experience and the subsequent months.  After climbing Mt. Washington, I had a surge of self-esteem and pride.  I was motivated to work out and change myself.  I also stopped making millions of excuses to get out of something that might be slightly uncomfortable.  Hey, I climbed a mountain and survived, so a little run on a treadmill should be nothing.

I agree with the Well + Good NYC article.  I think exercise has been better for me for my anxiety than Xanax or Lexapro or whatever other medications are available.  When I'm exercising, I'm thinking in the moment.  What is the point in thinking about what has happened in the past or what may or may not happen in the future?  It does me no good - I need to concentrate on getting through that moment and tackle challenges as they come up, not speculate as to what might come up.  And that has really carried over into the rest of my life as well.

One of my favorite quotes: "You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life." - Albert Camus

What relieves your anxiety? Do you have a favorite activity that relieves stress?  How do you live in the moment?

Free Yoga!

Every Thursday, Lululemon sponsors free Yoga in Bryant Park from 6:00-7:00.  As we all know, I'm newly obsessed with Lululemon, but can't afford any of their clothing, so I'm pumped I can afford something that they offer!

I decided to run to Bryant Park from work and then go to Yoga.  I work on the Upper Westside, so the distance from my school to Bryant Park is almost exactly a 5K. I changed and left work and headed to Central Park for a nice run through the park.

As a resident of the West Village, I don't have that much experience with Central Park.  I don't live that close to it, so I don't go there much.  And when I do, we usually wander aimlessly and I'm not using it to get from point A to point B.  I entered the park at 93rd street and headed towards the loop.  I get to the loop and one way looks like its going directly east, and the other way looks like it is going directly west and possibly even out of the park.  I decided to go east because Bryant Park is east of work, so at some point, I have to get east. Several blocks into this run, I look over to my left and realize that Central Park West is still next to me.  I can't be going East if I'm running along an Avenue!  I had to run out to the street to see where I was and yup. 99th street.  Dammit.
I ended up running an extra 12 blocks total, which apparently really slowed me down.  The other issue that I encountered was when I exited the park at Central Park South.  MIDTOWN IS CRAAAAZY!
I thought that 6th avenue wouldn't be so bad, but I was dead wrong.  I could not run basically from Central Park South to Bryant Park, so that 15 block leg took me like 20 minutes.
Lesson learned... if I'm going to run a 5K for training purposes, make sure to avoid midtown.
I got to the park at like 5:56 and found one of my friends who was meeting me for yoga.  I got a mat, but he wasn't able to.  He said he didn't care because it was kind of cool to do yoga on the grass, so thanks because I wanted a mat!
The class was pretty straightforward- lots of Vinyasa flows.  The teacher was from NY Yoga and she was very pregnant but also very energetic.  There were almost 200 people doing yoga, which was pretty awesome.   We were towards the back, so it was a little hard to see her at times, but since I have yoga experience, I was able to follow along to what she was saying without as many demonstrations.  For newbies, it would be beneficial to show up early and practice in one of the front few rows (maybe not the front row as it's always helpful to see what other people are doing).  The instructor did a very good job explaining modifications you can make to make a pose harder or easier based on your flexibility, strength and experience.  Considering there were so many people there, it would have been very easy for her not to do this, and I appreciated that she took the time to mention binds when appropriate or leg changes when appropriate.
I'm a little ADD (as you can tell by my blog post title), so it was a little hard for me to concentrate on yoga at all times.  I kept looking around and looking at the sky and looking at the buildings and then I would realize I'm supposed to be doing something else.  However, that's just me.  It was a very New York experience.  Also, I would say its not for people who don't like being watched.  I did feel kind of like part of a yoga flash-mob.  People would take pictures and I heard tons of tourists stop, watch and talk about us for a while.

The very end of yoga.  As you can see,
I put socks on because my feet were cold.

Pros:
1) It was free!!
2)  It was awesome to do yoga outside.  Other than my distractibility, it was great to be on the grass and to be in NYC enjoying the city while still doing yoga.
3) The instructor was really good for someone who had to teach to that many people

Cons:
1) People will watch you
2) You don't get any physical correction and you can't always be sure the people around you are doing the right thing, so supplementing your yoga practice with smaller classes as well would be beneficial
3) I happened to get cold at the end of this class, but that won't be an issue in a few weeks.  I just didn't have a sweatshirt because I'd come straight from a run.

In short, I would definitely do this again! It was free, fun and relaxing.  Great way to enjoy NYC without spending any money.

Do you get distracted working out outside? Have you tried any free classes around NYC or anywhere else?

The Amazing Race

Yesterday, I really did not feel like going for a run.  Our apartment was cold, it was even colder outside, and I just wanted to stay curled up in my bed watching crappy TV.  We have a friend who is visiting this weekend, and he needed to go to J & R to get his fiancee a converter cable so she can defend her doctoral thesis on Monday (good luck!  You'll do great!!)
Obviously, I wasn't going to stay in bed for the entire day with a friend visiting, so we decided to race to J & R and see who gets there first.  I would run and he would take the subway.

My route -1.85 miles through NYC

Subway directions - total travel time = 16 minutes

If it's a 1.85 mile run and I run a mile in approximately 10 minutes, I should get there within 18 minutes.  So this race should be close!  We headed out and went our separate ways.  I felt pretty determined to win.
The run started out really nice. Hudson Street is really nice to run on - there aren't a ton of people or a ton of cars but there is still movement and its very pretty.  When I got to Canal Street... I probably lost about 2 minutes.  Note to self (and to others): Never run near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel.  To cross the street and turn east, I had to first cross to the west, then cross south, then cross back east across two separate lights and then finally go south again.  It was a mess.  Then, I stumbled into the Tribeca Film Festival where there were 4-5 tour buses and lots of people.  After that, for a little bit, it was a very nice run through SoHo. I actually ran within a block of the Kettlebell Kickboxing studio.  Once I hit the financial district, it was all tourists, which means people who stop, look at maps, take pictures of random things and turn around abruptly.
I got to J & R in 21 minutes... so not a 10 minute mile, but I wonder how I would have done if I didn't have those obstacles (i.e. planned my route better!) The plus side is that if I was moving, I was running... I just had to stop at lights or would get stuck behind slow groups of people occasionally.
Do you think I won???  Unfortunately, no. My friend got there about 8-10 minutes before I did.  Apparently, he just walked right on a train at the subway station, the actual train ride was only 5 minutes, and the subway stop was a stone's throw from J & R.  I think Google maps map have overestimated the total travel time a little bit.
It's really nice to run through the city even if I get frustrated that my times are not as good.  It makes me feel like I'm getting to know my city better and really enjoying it.  I love running along the river, but I also really love running past new stores or restaurants and just being IN the city.  Also, I run more because I have to stop at lights, so I want to make up time by running.

In other fitness-related news, one of my friends sent me a link to a new website called Go Recess. Go Recess is a website that allows you to make reservations for exercise classes at boutique studios anywhere.  I looked around at the NYC classes and have found a ton of new places to try classes out.  They even separate it into several categories: yoga, cardio, pilates and barre, strength, boot camp, dance, pre/post natal, martial arts.  It's a really user friendly website and makes things a lot easier for people like me who are looking for lots of variety.  I'm excited and hope its successful!

Where do you like to run?  How do you get motivated to run?  

Full Friday (including Crunch! Hot Pilates)

Yesterday was a big day for me exercise wise.  I was at my parent's house in NJ overnight on Thursday night, so I decided to run a 5K in the neighborhood I grew up in.
I grew up on the top of a mountain, so planning a 5K route that doesn't involve going down the mountain is very challenging  Going to the bottom is one thing... but then I'd have to get back to the top somehow, and I'm not really ready for that.
After I figured out my route, trying to avoid running up too many hills, off I went at 10:00am on Friday morning.  About 10 minutes into the run, I turn a corner and see a BIG hill.  Crap.  I thought that was going to be downhill, not uphill. OK, fine, so I'll run up this hill and then walk at the top.  So I did just that.
Fast forward through the rest of the run (that isn't that interesting) - I ran it in 32.30.  Which is not an improvement on my baseline time, BUT I did have to go up and down several hills (albeit small hills) and I'm not used to running at an incline.  Not that that is an excuse, but I'm happy that I didn't lose more time than that with the hills.
Also, during my run, I ran past a woman with a stroller who said "Wow! you're running so fast!" I was running out of steam at that point, so it was a nice little pick me up.  Thanks, random woman.

After the run, Cameron and I headed back to NYC.  We ran some errands and then I went to my last Crunch class for the week.  Hot Pilates.
I did not like it.  I didn't really get it to be honest.  I barely broke a sweat, despite being in a heated room.  Today I don't feel like I got a work out.  It was a very slow moving class and we just didn't do very much.  We would do 5 minutes of some exercise, then "shake it out" and go into Child's Pose.  I'm so used to my Hot Power Yoga classes where Child's Pose is "always available" but only offered a few times a class.  Not after every single thing you do!  I was trying to keep my core activated the whole time, but there were some movements where you didn't need to, which honestly I think defeats the purpose.  I could sit on my couch and clench my abs for free.
I've never taken another Pilates class, so I don't have another one to compare it to, so I'll leave an open mind about Pilates until I've had more experience.  However, I was excited to start with a Hot Pilates class because I was looking forward to the challenge, so I'm disappointed that this class was much less than a challenge.  No summary of pros and cons for this class because I would not recommend it at all.

So my week at Crunch is finished, and I have to say, overall, it was not so good.  I wish I'd been able to go to some of the other classes, like the Body Web TRX class, but I think the fact that it was so difficult to get into didn't encourage me to keep trying.  Crunch is $89/month when you pay month-to-month, and I think more if you pay the year in full (the total came out to $1,234 for the year, which is $123/month), which doesn't make sense to me.  Thats $10 more/month than my gym, and I have to walk 20+ minutes to get there.  I think it might be worth it if the classes were more accessible and provided a more intense workout, but it seems that there is a lot more smoke and mirrors than anything else at Crunch, Union Square.

Have you ever felt disappointed by an exercise class you signed up for?  Do you prefer Yoga or Pilates?

Crunch! Body Web TRX

Did not happen.
Got to crunch... class was full... except the list was full... the actual room was not.  Until 11:03.  Then I got the boot for people who had signed up on the paper but hadn't bothered to show up on time. Strike 1.

So I went to Paragon Sports instead.  I want to buy shirts that are not my $6 Target tank tops to exercise in.  I love my $6 Target tank tops, but they ride up and they also are cotton so I sweat through them easily.  Unfortunately, my shape is not conducive to most shirts and my sensory issues (I like to wear tighter clothing - I almost always wear a tanktop underneath everything because I hate the feeling of loose fabric on my stomach) ruled out the rest of the shirts.  I need a shirt that does not have a built in bra, as I wear a sports bra anyway, but that is form fitting.  Apparently they don't make those.  Strike two.
Instead, I bought new shorts and a new pair of running capris. The shorts were on sale, and then the capris were 20% off! I definitely have enough pants to run in now, so I need to start concentrating on tops now.

New running capris by Adidas + running shorts by Brooks

To make up for not being able to go to a class today, I am going to try out Hot Pilates on Friday evening.  I did want to try this Body Web TRX, but I would have had to go back to Union Square at 6:15 and I had a 6:00 phone appointment with our wedding band.
I do have to say this is a definite drawback of that Crunch.  It is a 20 minute walk from me, which isn't that far, but if I walk there for a specific class, I want to take that class.  So it sucks that it's not first come first serve based on who shows up to the class on time.  That makes more sense to me, but that's also how I've seen it almost everywhere else.
In other news, I bought my veil for my wedding yesterday!  No details here because Cameron can't know anything about it, but I'm pumped that everything is coming together!

Have you ever wanted to try something only to hit a setback?  Do you have any recommendations for shirts that I might like for running in? 

Crunch! Bosu

So Crunch, day 2... decided to step it up and take an unfamiliar class - Bosu Body.
The Crunch class schedule describes it: Integrate balance with strength in this deep body defining class.
Straightforward, no nonsense description.
You can google "Crunch gym Bosu ball" and get this video:

It's actually really cool that Crunch has videos online of their classes.  The video is a decent representation of the actual class.  Except there was a lot more sweating, some stepping (ok falling) off the Bosu ball and we didn't all move perfectly at the same time! Some of the movements were different, some were similar - that might vary based on instructor/class, so I can't really judge that.

The class was pretty good overall.  The first 15 minutes focused on a lot of squats and leg workouts.  I'm very uncoordinated, and I thought it was pretty easy to follow.  That was definitely the toughest 15 minutes - my heart rate was up pretty high and I don't do leg workouts outside of classes, so it's not as familiar to me.  After that, we did some arm workouts, including planks on the Bosu Ball, bicep curls, lunges with shoulder lifts etc.  I used 5lb weights and for most of it, those felt a little too light, but by the end, my arms were very tired.  When I do arms at the gym, I use 7.5 or 10lb weights, but its a lot less repetition, so I didn't want to burn myself out too fast.  In general, the first time you take a class with weights, I think its better to use lighter weights until you get a feel for the class.  Which is a disadvantage of my ADD; I can't push myself as much because I don't know what to expect.

Anyway, we did about 10-15 minutes of abs, which was also really hard for me on the bosu ball.  Most of what was hard was the balancing, and I also think I was running out of steam. And lying down makes me want to stay lying down!  I was able to do most of it, but I had to take some breaks to just watch what she was doing or find my balance.  A second time around, I'd be able to do this better. But thats not the purpose of my experiment here.

Summary of the class:

Pros:
1) The instructor made it really easy to follow
2) The class wasn't too fast or too slow - sometimes in Yoga, I feel like I'm just hanging out in downward facing dog for 15 minutes while they continue to explain things.
3) I got a nice leg workout, which can only help my running

Cons:
1) I should have been able to do better with the ab workouts, but I was just out of steam
2) There is this very weird brick structure in the middle of the studio which made it difficult for me to see the instructor at times
3) Other than the Bosu Ball, it wasn't actually that different from any other exercise class I've done - some legs, some arms, some abs, etc etc... the gimmick was the ball, but you can get the same effect without it.

I did really like the instructor, and thought she was pretty easy to follow even when she was demonstrating multi-step movements.  She also demonstrated more challenging things a couple of times which always helps.

Overall, I thought the class was a good workout, but not as original as I expected.  I would take it again if I could, but I wasn't in love with it either.  We'll see how sore I feel tomorrow!

Crunch! Yoga

As a teacher, I have the wonderful vacation schedule that I've had since I was about 5 years old. So it's Easter/Passover, so I have off this upcoming week!  To take advantage of my week off, I decided to sign up for a free week at the Crunch Gym in Union Square.  They offer 15-20 classes per day, including spinning, yoga, heated yoga, pilates and many more!  Even if I only go three times, that's 3 different classes I got to try.
I went today and decided to go to the 5:00pm Vinyasa Yoga class.  I know Vinyasa Yoga (although I am definitely no expert) and figured that was a nice baseline for me to get an idea of what the gym was like.
I got there at 4:15 because I assumed I'd have to have a tour and I'd want to be at least 10 minutes early to the class.  It took about 4 minutes for me to get signed in and then they pointed me towards the yoga studio.  I guess we all know what happens when we assume... I ended up with like 40 minutes to spare.  I went over to Lululemon in Union Square (more on that in a separate post as I may become a Lululemon addict.) and then came back about 15 minutes before the class.
Since I was still there so early, I did some crunches while I was waiting - I don't sit still well.  When the class started, there were only 4 people in the room.  A few more came in, but it was a total of only 8 people in the class.
The studio was very nice - it didn't feel like I was in a gym yoga studio... it felt like I was at a yoga-specific studio.  You could hear the music from the weight room, but only faintly and it was a nicely lit space.  I was going to take a picture, but I didn't because there were other people in the room.

Crow Pose (this isn't me)

The class was good enough. I have never actually taken a non-heated yoga class, so I was excited to see what yoga was like when you didn't also feel like you were trapped in a sauna.  Overall, I still prefer hot yoga because I find that the heat forces me to focus on what I'm doing at the moment rather than allow my mind to wander.  However, I do think that occasional non-heated classes might be nice to really focus on poses and going further than I have in the past.  For example, today was the first time that I was ever able to go into crow pose successfully which was pretty awesome for me.  I also was able to work on my flow from plank to upward facing down to downward facing dog and I felt like I made progress on that.
However, I felt that the instructor was a little too hands on.  I'm pretty comfortable with getting corrections, but there were times where I felt like a verbal instruction would have been sufficient enough to tell me what I could do to help fix the pose or get more out of it.  I had a yoga instructor once stand on my hands to help me, but for some reason, today felt a little excessive.
To sum up the class:
Pros:
1) Felt like a yoga studio, not a gym class
2) In terms of stretching and making progress, a non-heated class really allowed me to focus on moving forward with my practice
3) It was nice to have a small class where there was a lot of space and the structure was a little more personalized because there were only 8 of us.

Cons:
1) People kept coming in and out which was a little disruptive for me.  I'm distractible, so that made it hard for me to focus
2) Crunch didn't have time to wash the mats from the last yoga class, so the yoga mat may have been used by another person before I used it.  Which actually is pretty gross now that I am reflecting on that...
3) The instructor was a little too hands on and I think he could actually use some work developing his verbal direction skills.  I need to learn how to get my body into a pose without someone else pushing it, so I should be working on that.  Sure, sometimes I need to know what a pose is supposed to feel like or a little correction might change a lot, but constant physical guidance actually might prevent someone from making progress because they don't learn how to move that way themselves. Also, I think it might make some people lazy because they'll just wait for the instructor to fix it.  It actually made me work harder because I wanted to know that I was able to do each pose without having someone make adjustments.

I don't think I would go back to another one of this instructor's classes because I didn't feel comfortable, but I did like the overall results of the class and the overall feel of the gym.  I'll be going there all week, so look for more class reviews!

On another yoga-related note... vote for Helena, my maid of honor's sister, for this yoga talent search contest: http://talentsearch.yogajournal.com/view/1526?sort=recent! Look at how awesome she is :)

Fitness goals

I guess if I’m going to track progress towards a goal, I should set a goal.  As a special education teacher, that’s pretty much my job anyways... set goals for my students, then track if they meet those goals.  If they aren’t on track to meet goals, we try different tactics to reach those goals.

Goal 1: Be able to make it home from work in under an hour (by running! I can already do it by subway!)  Right now, it takes me about 1:10, but I tend to hit lights.  When it gets lighter out, I’ll run along the river, which should help decrease my time.

Goal 2: Enroll in and run some kind of running race.  This goal will be refined as I figure it out.  I think enrolling in a race is a big enough goal for me right now, as the idea of doing so is pretty daunting!

Goal 3: Get more definition in my arm muscles.  More specifically... I’d like to be able to flex my left arm (I wish I could say I was kidding)

Goal 4: Get more definition in my abs.  I have a relatively flat stomach, but I would loooove having some abs. Also, I think that if my core were stronger, I would have better posture and be more comfortable.

That’s it for my goals, for now.  If I meet them, I’ll add more.  I haven’t set a timeline for these, but my wedding is in October, so that’s the absolute deadline!