Have you tried pilates?

I tried it for the first time on Saturday morning.  I didn't know what to expect, but I was definitely surprised by how hard it was and how much I felt it (especially today).   Most of the movements were pretty small, which would make it seem easy if you were watching it, but definitely weren't when you were doing it!  


Andrew and I've been working with a personal trainer twice a week for the past few months and I felt like the pilates class was harder than most of the sessions with the personal trainers, except for a few where we had to do what seemed like endless lunges...


It reminded me a lot of yoga, which I absolutely love.  I looked up pilates when I got home to learn a little more about it and found out that there are six principles that are included: concentration, control, center, flow, precision, and breathing.  No wonder it reminded me of yoga!


I will definitely be going back again!

Prompt 11: 11 Things

What are 11 things your life doesn't need in 2011?  How will you go about eliminating them?  How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

1. Depression/anxiety - I will remember to take time for myself.  I will talk to Andrew about how I'm feeling and remember that the way I'm feeling is not necessarily the way things are.
2. Weight - I need to seriously commit to my health in 2011.  I am tired of feeling unhappy with my weight and with my body.  I will continue the personal training with Andrew and remember that I'm happier when I work out on a consistent basis.
3. Dehydration - I do not drink a lot of water unless I make the conscious effort to drink a lot of water, which means that I'm dehydrated most of the time.  I need to remember that I feel better when I've been drinking water and I'm not dehydrated.
4. Wasting time - I need to think about how I'm spending my time and make a conscious effort to spend it the way I want to.  This means limiting the time I spend watching TV or reading blogs and making time for things like talking to Andrew, playing with Schmoo, working out, and reading books.  I need to remember that when I'm not thinking about how I spend my time, I usually end up wasting it.
5. Responsibility for things that aren't in my control - As Andrew said to me today, I need to stop taking responsibility for things that aren't in my control.  So I can't take responsibility for other people's thoughts or actions.  I can only be responsible for myself and remember that that's enough.
6. Lack of sleep - I know this is ironic considering that I'm writing this post at 12:11 at night, but I have a tendency to not get enough sleep and then to feel guilty when I need to catch up on sleep.  Today I took a long nap and it was wonderful.  When i woke up, I felt stressed and more motivated to do the things that I wanted to get done today.  I need to remember that taking time to sleep is not a waste of time.
7. Negativity - I have a tendency to think very negatively about things sometimes.  I've found that if I make a conscious effort to think positively about something than I will usually feel better about it.  So I need to remember that the way I think about things affects the way I feel about them.
8. Anti-social tendencies - I already posted about my anti-social tendencies when I feel stressed.  I need to remember that I enjoy being around people, even if I don't think that I will and to simply go be social!
9. Being too hard on myself - I am always way to hard on myself, mostly because I have really high expectations for myself and for those around me.  I need to remember that I'm not perfect and that that's okay.
10. Being too hard on Andrew - I am also too hard on Andrew because he's the one I spend most of my time with.  I also need to remember that Andrew's not perfect and that that's okay.  If he was, I wouldn't love him as much as I do!
11. Disconnection from God - I need to remember that it's important for me to feel connected to God.  I often let things get in the way of my relationship with him, especially some of the things that I've listed above, and I need to remember that that's the most important thing in my life and I need to treasure it above everything else.

Devotion to the gym!?!

I used to have devotion to a gym.  In fact, I used to work out with a trainer 2-3 times a week and be on my way to accomplishing my fitness goals.  That was before my trainer up and left with no warning.  And, while I shouldn't have, I used it as an excuse to stop going to the gym.  And then my gym went out of business and I've been without a gym since.

Until today.  Today I decided that it was time to check out a new gym - LA Fitness.  I had driven by it before, but had never been inside.  So I went in for a tour and was really impressed.  The membership includes the use of all of the facilities, including all of the classes, the pool, the sauna, and the squash courts.  After hearing about the squash courts, I was sold!  Just kidding...I don't even know how to play squash.

After calling Andrew and running it by him, I signed us both up for the gym membership and talked to one of the staff members about doing a personal training session later that night.  I know that personal training works really, really well for me because I have someone to hold me accountable for working out so I was really excited, I just wasn't sure if Andrew would be excited about it.  He wasn't sure about it until he actually worked out with the trainer and then I think he understood what I liked about it - being able to show up and go through a great workout without having to think about what you were going to do because the trainer is telling you what to do.

Then we found out that we can work out with a trainer at the same time and only count it as one session so we decided to go for it!  Andrew and I are working out with a trainer three times a week for the next year!  I'm so excited!  It's expensive, but we figured that it'll be a good experience for us to work out together because we can keep each other accountable and encourage each other.  Besides, it's a great investment in keeping ourselves healthy and happy so in the end we think that it's totally worth it!