Today I had a couple of hours to kill while my Dad was having surgery in Santa Monica (he did GREAT!). So I revisited my old friend, Spectrum Health Clubs. It was there that I used to take a crazy-fabulous advanced step class taught by a girl named Angie (AMAZING!!) until my bilateral plantar fasciitis made it nearly impossible to walk, much less do complicated moves on a step. I fell out of the habit of going to that club, but I realized today I need to get back over there more often.
I hadn't done a Bosu Class in ages. Bosu is short for BOth Sides Up. It's a squishy rubber dome on a sturdy platform and you can sit, step or jump on it Or you can turn it over on it's soft side and do mountain climbers, planks or about a zillion other exercises. I got to the gym about 20 minutes before class so I hopped on the Stepmill, realizing that this was a good opportunity to do my cardio. I figured it was a sculpt class, so I wouldn't get my sweat on, right!? WRONG!
Turns out that your body really and truly forgets what exercises you did in the past. So it's all that much harder and translates to a more intense workout. Sweat was literally dripping off of my forehead onto the poor unsuspecting dome. Plus the hour flew by so quickly with someone guiding you seamlessly through a variety of moves. This particular instructor- Lori- who is fabulous- loves her toys...have a look at the partial set-up: (not pictured is the step for cardio burst intervals)
So I realized that I really need to mix up my workouts more than I have been recently. Here are some reasons:- It is challenging. Your body has to work to remember all those old moves- or to learn new ones.
- It is fun. It's good to get out of the rut and mix things up a bit. Novelty can be a good thing.
- You learn new exercises with new toys- love me the gadgets 'n gizmos
- Classes force me to STRETCH. Otherwise I'm just totally neglectful! Bad! Bad!
- You reduce the chance for overuse injuries. Amen sistahs.
- You might run into old or new friends! Always a plus. :-)
What ruts do you guys fall into- how do you break out of them?
Happy Training!
Deb
5 comments:
Training ruts...running the same. darn. path. over and over. How to break it up? Well, you can move alot. As I have done but that's not real practical. But instead what works for me b/c there is something I like about running/walking the same course b/c of it's predictablity....is that sometimes I run, sometimes I walk, sometimes I do sprints, sometimes I sing the abc's to my daughter in her stroller, sometimes I have to run fast to not get hit by cars so by virtue of circumstance, my route is never the same. I live across the street from Balboa Park in San Diego (I know you're a So Cal girl) so there's always something going on. As for yoga, doing what my body asks rather than doing a prescribed sequence is KEY to not getting in a rut.
ack, I wish they had one of those health clubs in Malibu! I can never find anywhere that has a variety of classes (bosu=hardcore!) in addition to fab cardio machines (stepmilll, holla!).
in an effort not to hit a workout rut, i just go weeks without working out at all! I can guarantee things are much harder after 3 weeks of laziness :)
Megan! Good for you resting for 3 weeks- I wish I could do that without going clinically insane! :-)
If you're in the 'Bu, you're my neighbor! Plus it's the Spectrum on PCH and Sunset where Karen Voight teaches weekly. They have zillions of classes, but it's not cheap.
When I first started working out 12 years ago, I joined Malibu Gym- LOVE that little gym. The owners were just lovely, and it was so low key!
Thanks for commenting!
oh wow, thanks for the info! I really may try that Spectrum, not as a regular workout spot, but for some good classes. I used to go to Calabasas a few times a week for yoga but once I get off PCH, my sense of direction goes out the window and my road rage kicks in!
& I'm so glad you have good things to say about Malibu Gym because I've really been at a loss as to where to go! I go to Pepperdine and the gym on campus is more like a man-hole with a few machines and lots of grunting...very creepy. and classes are rarely offered. MUST find a gym!!!
I'm sold. I want to try it! Especially the upside down way--I bet that is a killer on the abs!
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