I've moved

I've joined the "April Body of Work Challenge" on SocialWorkout.com. The goal is to work out six days a week for the entire month of April. I'll be writing about my experiences on that website. Today was the first day and so far I'm on track despite some a coworker's sabotage attempt.

Look for me on SocialWorkout.com. I'm jfer_rose.

Lapse in posting, not in activity

I haven't been posting lately, but that does not mean I have not been exercising. Except for a week when I was out of town, I've been averaging about three exercise classes a week. I've mostly been taking strength classes, but I have mixed in some Pilates, Yoga, and my first Spinning Class. I can tell I'm stronger because of all the classes I've been taking and that feels good.

Activity log for this week:

• 55 minutes of strength class on Monday (with increased weight for part of the class)
• 45 minutes of spinning class on Thursday
• 55 minutes of strength class on Saturday
  

Actvity Update

Saturday:
55 minutes of strength class with two friends from work.

I've been taking strength class regularly for a month or so, and this time I increased the weight. It was difficult but for the most part I was still able to keep up with the extra weight. I do think I am making progress!

Activity Update

Thursday:
55 minutes Pilates Class with co-worker.

After a few weeks of regularly working out, I am finding that classes really work well for me. I enjoy being able to take a variety of classes. I find them to be less boring than working out on a machine. I also find them to be a motivator-- you can't really leave a class in the middle of things just because you're bored.

Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

I recently finished reading the book In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. The book tries to answer the question, "what should we eat." He covers a lot of scientific research and a lot of history and concludes that the safest way to eat is to eat traditional foods, foods your great grandmother would have eaten (or anybody's great grandmother-- he thinks any traditional cuisine is fair game). Turns out that the scientists who study nutrition (I won't go into his thoughts about that right now) don't agree on much. For example, they don't all agree that saturated fat is bad. But they do agree that we should all eat more plants, especially leafy greens. The distilled summary is this: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

He offers a lot of general rules to follow when shopping for food. For example, shop the edges of the grocery store and avoid foods that have been processed. Buy what you can from farmer's markets (he calls it shaking the hand that feeds you). Avoid foods with more than five ingredients, or foods with ingredients you don't know how to pronounce.

I highly recommend this book. I may post more about it periodically. It certainly has changed my perspective about food despite the fact that I have long been a vegetarian with a leaning towards whole foods.

Activity Update

Activity Log:
Friday: 55 minutes Strength Class
Saturday: 55 minutes yoga with my co-worker
Monday: 20 minutes pilates at home
Wednesday: 45 minutes of Boot Camp class with my co-worker

More on Boot Camp

I took my first boot camp class at the gym this morning. I think that physically it may have been the hardest thing I have ever done. The class consisted of calisthenics and a lot of fast paced repetitive movements. We used hand weights most of the time and aerobic step platforms a lot of the time. The focus was supposed to be on endurance. And it did take endurance but for me it also took immense concentration just to learn all the moves (I'm not the most coordinated kid on the block).

After the class I felt utterly defeated. And certain that I have to do it again. I mean, it has to get easier right?

Warning: this next paragraph gets gross. Read with caution.
I showered at the gym and went straight to work. In my meticulous planning for the early morning trip to the gym I had packed a breakfast and lunch for myself, picked out an outfit for work, set aside toiletries for the gym, and otherwise tried to cover the necessary bases. However I had neglected to account for the fact that my workout clothes would be completely soaked. (If I hadn't known better, I would have thought the clothes had taken a dip in a pool --I don't think I've ever been so sweaty.) Putting the sweaty clothes into my backpack with 2/3 of my day's meals was disgusting. I don't recommend it.