I have been in an on and off again disagreement with one of the trainers in my gym. Without getting into the overly long and ridiculous details, the basic problem is this: I do not want a trainer. This particular trainer is insistent that I need his services and has tried to bully me, sweet talk me, embarrass me and harass me into using his services.
His last display of downright unprofessionalism (think making an example out of me to his client such as "she would have better results with me right? You would never waste your time with those workouts" and publicly discussing my financial situation with his client, loudly, in front of about 8 other people) I decided to take action.
What kind of action? I filled out a comment card. Yup, thats it. Who knows if anyone even read it. But ever since that last exchange and the comment card, things have changed. The harassing has stopped. What has also stopped is my being polite. I tend to be friendly with everyone in the gym but now I make a point of giving him dirty looks, of avoiding his area of the gym and of not saying hello.
I hate how that feels. I cannot stand negative energy and make it a point to avoid negative people...and it bothers me immensely that this person has driven me to be negative. Negativity and anger really drain your energy, they bring you down. They are useless emotions.
Today instead of doing my New Rules workout up in the big boy gym (Yay Stage 5!) I stayed down in the regular gym. I finagled some open space and basically created my own workout station. As you can imagine, this sucked up a ton of time. And I felt bad for avoiding the big boy gym.
So basically, I feel lousy for all the negative energy and I feel lousy for avoiding the negative energy. Awesome.
I could smile and be nice like before...but that has previously just led to more advances despite my clear message that I am not interested. The only answer I can come up with is to remain neutral and not angry. To not let this person destroy my downtime in the gym. To not be beat down by my own mind and the imaginary situations (and infinite screaming matches) it creates. This trainer, I suppose in a way, has created a unique opportunity for me to practice all that I preach. To not be controlled by my mind and to not be controlled by my emotions.
On Thursday I will go up to the big boy room. I will remain neutral. I will not be afraid. And I will have a good workout.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Normalizing
I am back from vacation and had a great time! Hopefully there are pictures to come soon!
Usually at the end of any vacation - even a 2 day one - getting back into normal eating and fitness habits is tough. Here are my tips for getting out of vacation mode and back into normal mode.
1) Put away or give away any leftover vacation food. In my case, I gave away two boxes of snack cakes and brought a box of cookies to work. You are probably wondering what I was doing with the items to begin with? V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N ... it sometimes includes junk food.
2) Make your next meal SUPER healthy! My afternoon snack yesterday was Quaker Squares mixed with plain unsalted peanuts - satisfying and healthy. My dinner with grilled chicken and eggplant along with roasted broccoli.
3) Do not deprive yourself. I usually go for something sweet after dinner (usually a scoop of dark chocolate peanut butter or a handful of sweet potato chips). Last night was no different...except it has half of a leftover cookie.
4) Get a good nights sleep. It makes everything easier.
5) Get back into your weekday food routine...plus added snacks if necessary. If you are like me, you maybe eat a little more when on vacation. I think that that is normal. Now, what happens is you show up at work the next day armed with a granola bar, some almonds, a peach, tuna and salad...not bad. But you are going to be hungry...you need to ease back into your normal routine or you are going to be cranky and may crash and burn. I added some crackers and peanut butter to my usual lunch.
6) Get to the gym. Go for a run. Do SOMETHING to burn some calories and get rid of that vacation-is-over funk.
7) Drink water - TONS. You probably ingested a ton of sodium over vacation. Flush it out.
By the end of your weekday, you should hopefully be back in your normal routine and not craving bizarre vacation food and drinks. In fact, you should be feeling lighter and have a bit more energy. I personally have a few more of these steps to complete before I am normalized!
Usually at the end of any vacation - even a 2 day one - getting back into normal eating and fitness habits is tough. Here are my tips for getting out of vacation mode and back into normal mode.
1) Put away or give away any leftover vacation food. In my case, I gave away two boxes of snack cakes and brought a box of cookies to work. You are probably wondering what I was doing with the items to begin with? V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N ... it sometimes includes junk food.
2) Make your next meal SUPER healthy! My afternoon snack yesterday was Quaker Squares mixed with plain unsalted peanuts - satisfying and healthy. My dinner with grilled chicken and eggplant along with roasted broccoli.
3) Do not deprive yourself. I usually go for something sweet after dinner (usually a scoop of dark chocolate peanut butter or a handful of sweet potato chips). Last night was no different...except it has half of a leftover cookie.
4) Get a good nights sleep. It makes everything easier.
5) Get back into your weekday food routine...plus added snacks if necessary. If you are like me, you maybe eat a little more when on vacation. I think that that is normal. Now, what happens is you show up at work the next day armed with a granola bar, some almonds, a peach, tuna and salad...not bad. But you are going to be hungry...you need to ease back into your normal routine or you are going to be cranky and may crash and burn. I added some crackers and peanut butter to my usual lunch.
6) Get to the gym. Go for a run. Do SOMETHING to burn some calories and get rid of that vacation-is-over funk.
7) Drink water - TONS. You probably ingested a ton of sodium over vacation. Flush it out.
By the end of your weekday, you should hopefully be back in your normal routine and not craving bizarre vacation food and drinks. In fact, you should be feeling lighter and have a bit more energy. I personally have a few more of these steps to complete before I am normalized!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Revelation
Yoga is often perceived to be a calming but no-nonsense practice. I think that people are often scared away from yoga classes because they are afraid to mess up, they think no one falls and no one laughs and it is all very, very serious.
These people have clearly not hung out at Revelation Yoga.
Now, do not get me wrong. Kim is very serious about her practice and the practice of her students. And, as they should be, her gentle classes are very gentle and her power classes are very tough but Kim herself is light and fun. Her classes always have music, from earthy and flowing to tribal to bursts of hip-hop that seem to come out of no where. You try holding Goddess Pose with Black Eyed Peas as your background music - you cannot hold a straight face.
That to me is what yoga should be. It should be serious as far as learning poses and pushing your body and steadying your mind, but it should also be light and fun...its so much less daunting, less judgmental that way.
Class last night was small - just three of us - and tough physically as a Power Class should be. But it was also light and fun. No heavy hearts, no heavy souls. There was laughter and easy discussion of the poses and what we each needed to deepen our practice. There was a feeling of community in the class that I truly appreciate.
Interested in practicing at Revelation? The studio is having its One Year Anniversary on September 14th...I'll keep you posted on developments as far as a ribbon cutting or other Happy Anniversary happenings
These people have clearly not hung out at Revelation Yoga.
Now, do not get me wrong. Kim is very serious about her practice and the practice of her students. And, as they should be, her gentle classes are very gentle and her power classes are very tough but Kim herself is light and fun. Her classes always have music, from earthy and flowing to tribal to bursts of hip-hop that seem to come out of no where. You try holding Goddess Pose with Black Eyed Peas as your background music - you cannot hold a straight face.
That to me is what yoga should be. It should be serious as far as learning poses and pushing your body and steadying your mind, but it should also be light and fun...its so much less daunting, less judgmental that way.
Class last night was small - just three of us - and tough physically as a Power Class should be. But it was also light and fun. No heavy hearts, no heavy souls. There was laughter and easy discussion of the poses and what we each needed to deepen our practice. There was a feeling of community in the class that I truly appreciate.
Interested in practicing at Revelation? The studio is having its One Year Anniversary on September 14th...I'll keep you posted on developments as far as a ribbon cutting or other Happy Anniversary happenings
* * *
Just wanted to drop you all a note that Run, Lift, Chant, Breathe is going on a long weekend starting at 5:00pm today - a long girls weekend get away - WooHoo!! See you all when I return!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
New Rules Update
It has occurred to me that I have not updated you all on my weight lifting in quite some time. Remember when I was coming back from my wrist injury and was devastated that I had lost so much strength? Well I am happy to report that I was almost back up to full strength about a week later and I have gained back my confidence in the weight room. I have also officially completed Stage 4 of New Rules and I feel great.
I know that a bunch of you are following the New Rules program so I thought that I would give you an overview/list of random thoughts associated with it. Ready? Here we go!
1) When I first started the program, I was STARVING the day after lifting. I have to admit that the program still makes me pretty hungry but it has calmed down now that my body has adjusted.
2) I make my recovery/protein shake before heading to the gym, keep it in my locker, and chug it as soon as my workout is finished. I find that this aids in recovery and keeps me from searching out a pizza come lunch time.
3) In general, I crave protein more. Usually I eat vegetarian during the week (with the exception of tuna or sardines at lunch) but now by the time Friday night rolls around I am seeking out some serious meat…usually chicken but sometimes beef.
4) My body, particularly my legs, are tired all of the time. They are exhausted after lifting…then I put them through torture in power yoga…then I make them run. I do have a rest day once a week and I have subbed out a power yoga class for a gentle yoga class, but still my legs are tired.
5) Stage 3 is really boring. Really, really boring.
6) Stage 4 will destroy you, particularly if you do all 3 sets (you get a 2 or 3 option). This destroying is due in large part to the return of the Reverse Lunge with Forward Reach (I really, really tried to find a video of this torture…but couldn’t). Ouch.
7) Underhand Lateral Pull-Downs are what hurt my wrist. I must go overhand despite what the book says.
8) Planks for 2 minutes do not exist. At least not in my world.
I would love to hear any thoughts or questions those of you trying out the program may have!!
I know that a bunch of you are following the New Rules program so I thought that I would give you an overview/list of random thoughts associated with it. Ready? Here we go!
1) When I first started the program, I was STARVING the day after lifting. I have to admit that the program still makes me pretty hungry but it has calmed down now that my body has adjusted.
2) I make my recovery/protein shake before heading to the gym, keep it in my locker, and chug it as soon as my workout is finished. I find that this aids in recovery and keeps me from searching out a pizza come lunch time.
3) In general, I crave protein more. Usually I eat vegetarian during the week (with the exception of tuna or sardines at lunch) but now by the time Friday night rolls around I am seeking out some serious meat…usually chicken but sometimes beef.
4) My body, particularly my legs, are tired all of the time. They are exhausted after lifting…then I put them through torture in power yoga…then I make them run. I do have a rest day once a week and I have subbed out a power yoga class for a gentle yoga class, but still my legs are tired.
5) Stage 3 is really boring. Really, really boring.
6) Stage 4 will destroy you, particularly if you do all 3 sets (you get a 2 or 3 option). This destroying is due in large part to the return of the Reverse Lunge with Forward Reach (I really, really tried to find a video of this torture…but couldn’t). Ouch.
7) Underhand Lateral Pull-Downs are what hurt my wrist. I must go overhand despite what the book says.
8) Planks for 2 minutes do not exist. At least not in my world.
I would love to hear any thoughts or questions those of you trying out the program may have!!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Walpole Road Races
Yesterday we (Tammy, Meri, Chrissy, Libby and I) ran the Walpole Road Race and oddly enough my time was almost identical to the Butterfly 5K. Which means that, all course and weather excuses aside, I am simply running 10-15 seconds slower per mile than I used to...and I pushed during this race.
I felt like I started out strong - good pace but not winded. I hit the first mile marker in 9:30 seconds. I was less than thrilled - I like to pass the first mile at between 9:18 and 9:20. See? 10 seconds. Then I passed the second mile marker at around 19:15 or so...so mile 2 was 9:45 seconds...hmph. And really, I felt like I was going at a good little clip. I finished up in 30 minutes and change. Now, this course was challenging. The last half mile or so feels like its pretty much uphill. Really, you turn a corner and your stomach drops. I thought I was going to puke running up that hill and all I could think of was finding an orange to regulate my blood sugar. And the end result was a less then stellar finishing time.
Which leads me to this - So what?
I ran hard and felt that I could not have put in anymore effort - I did not quit and I earned every second of that race result. I am slightly slower than last year but I am lifting weights more vigorously and I am spending all my free time in the yoga studio. I am also 15 or so pounds lighter than this time last year. Which leads me to believe that I may be a slightly slower runner but that I am healthier all around.
This does not mean I don't want to improve my running times. My sister-in-law and I are already cooking up big plans (HA!) to increase mileage. I would like to get back to racing 9:30s. But I am not going to get so caught up in shaving 45 seconds off my time that I sacrifice my weight training or my yoga. It is not reasonable to expect to be perfect at everything you do, but trying hard at everything you do is totally reasonable and should be expected.
Congrats to Lib for taking 1st in her division again!!
I felt like I started out strong - good pace but not winded. I hit the first mile marker in 9:30 seconds. I was less than thrilled - I like to pass the first mile at between 9:18 and 9:20. See? 10 seconds. Then I passed the second mile marker at around 19:15 or so...so mile 2 was 9:45 seconds...hmph. And really, I felt like I was going at a good little clip. I finished up in 30 minutes and change. Now, this course was challenging. The last half mile or so feels like its pretty much uphill. Really, you turn a corner and your stomach drops. I thought I was going to puke running up that hill and all I could think of was finding an orange to regulate my blood sugar. And the end result was a less then stellar finishing time.
Which leads me to this - So what?
I ran hard and felt that I could not have put in anymore effort - I did not quit and I earned every second of that race result. I am slightly slower than last year but I am lifting weights more vigorously and I am spending all my free time in the yoga studio. I am also 15 or so pounds lighter than this time last year. Which leads me to believe that I may be a slightly slower runner but that I am healthier all around.
This does not mean I don't want to improve my running times. My sister-in-law and I are already cooking up big plans (HA!) to increase mileage. I would like to get back to racing 9:30s. But I am not going to get so caught up in shaving 45 seconds off my time that I sacrifice my weight training or my yoga. It is not reasonable to expect to be perfect at everything you do, but trying hard at everything you do is totally reasonable and should be expected.
Congrats to Lib for taking 1st in her division again!!
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