Push the Tempo...

That seems to be a favorite Mountain track for many of my RPM instructors.

RPM is the Les Mills version of a spin class, and it's intense.  (In case you need more info: http://w3.lesmills.com/global/en/classes/rpm/about-rpm/)

I love it.  I picked it up about five months ago, and I haven't looked back.

On this Memorial Day, I went in and did a workout.  It was tough.  Probably the toughest track list any instructor has put together in my five months of the class.  And it was great.  It was what I needed after a weekend full of tough memories, and even tougher news.

This weekend signifies the type of circumstances that would have had me running for the food, and instead, I hit the gym every day.  And today, when it got to the hardest track of a hard setlist, I took it as a mandate for my summer: Push the Tempo.

So it's the unofficial start to summer, and I plan to do just that.  First up, my first Mudder in a few weeks!

My Sunday Mornings

Are for me.

This will actually be a quick post, as I am all gym-ed up and ready to head out the door.

But I wanted to share part of the change I made beginning last summer.

I discovered that there was a Body Pump class on Sunday mornings, that even as the schedule changed four times/year, remained the same.  So I made this a standard class.  I am now friends with the instructor and some of the other regulars in the class.  They hold me accountable, and I also hold them accountable.  We didn't arrange anything, or set up mandatory groups.  We just know each other, and care about the continued health of one another.  This is a great thing about group fitness classes.

I began to spin at the end of December, and just prior to my Sunday Pump class, there is a Spin class.  It took me a little while to build up to doing those two classes back-to-back.  But I now do this as well.  In between, I eat a packet of 100-calorie dark chocolate almonds...these...are...amazing!

Normally, I would be on a bike RIGHT NOW, and now blogging in my home.  But, I decided to do some jogging today to get ready for a 5K Mud run coming up soon (yes, I have lost my mind...) instead.  As I spun yesterday, and plan to tomorrow, I am altering my routine a bit.

So, like I said yesterday, it's a step.  A first step.  A year ago, if you had told me I would be where I am today, I would have been hopeful about it, but probably disbelieving.  I had made the promise to myself too many times, and while I always believed it as I made the promise, I hadn't quite fulfilled it.

But now, I am off to the gym.  Take a step today!

Update:
One successful session of Body Pump, and a quick 2 miles on the treadmill (well, quick by my standards).

What did you do today?

While the Blogging may have stopped, I didn't...

What happened, you may ask?

The long and short of it, life.

Illness and schedules that made spare moments few and far between.

And then I got frozen out of this account after acquiring a new computer.

Tonight, I got back in.

But what didn't stop?  In the craziness and mundane time-sucking moments that can complicate life?  My workouts.

While I would still consider myself a "Fat Chick", I am also a much "Fitter Chick", and have had many words of praise for my efforts and altering form.

I have been working out between 3 and 6 days a week, both strength and cardio.  I have begun jogging and biking.  I have muscle definition, and pretty much swim in my old clothes (though I am now holding out for the fall before going on a shopping spree).

Again, I am not yet where I want to be, but I have set new goals that put fitness in the center of my life. In fact, I have stopped figuring out how to fit a workout into my day, and instead, make my day fit around a workout (even it if means I am up before 5 am some mornings).

Life gets tough.  I have faced many questions of life and death in the past 12 months, and the rest of this year promises no reprieve from that reality.

But I just wanted to stop by, for anyone that may have wondered if the Future Former Fat Chick had become another casualty of dreams buried under gallons of ice cream, the answer is No.  I plan to close out this year by being able to drop the "Future" from this Blog's title.

I will come back and post more details.

But if anyone has happened past this, and thinks it's impossible.  If you look at the Couch to 5k and think it's too much.  If you drive past the gym, too afraid to go in, thinking they will laugh at you if you try.

Do it.

Take the first step, and then take another.  Yes, some may judge, and some may laugh.  Some always do.  They do not get to decide your self worth.  They do not get to decide whether you succeed or fail.

Last summer, I walked into a lifting class.  I was petrified, but I made up my mind to do it.  I looked for someone who seemed like they were comfortable.  I told them I had never done the class before, and would they mind helping me set up?  They were kind, and they helped me.  Could they have walked away thinking I was in over my head?  Sure.  Did it matter?  No.  I had taken the first step.

I struggled through the class.  I thought I would die.  My legs were complete jelly after the hour.  I hardly did any weights.  My arms wanted to fall off.  I was drenched in sweat.  I was gasping for air.

I went back.  I did it again.  I thought I would die.  My legs were complete jelly after the hour.  I hardly did any weights.  My arms wanted to fall off.  I was drenched in sweat.  I was gasping for air.

I went back again.  And again.  And again.  I still think my legs will fall off.  I still sweat.  I still gasp for air.  But, the difference is that it is now because I push myself to that brink and that fatigue.  I am in control of my fitness.

And I've added other classes.  Those classes are the reason I recently logged seven miles of walking and jogging, and I hadn't jogged in years.

So, take that step.  The only opinion in all of this that matters is yours.  And life will never slow down to give you the perfect time to take control.  So just do it now.