1. I finished physical therapy for my ankle. Didn't resprain it. Ankle (knock on wood) is as good as new now. I wear high heels less now though.
2. Got into indoor rock climbing. Went several times. (Tried Active Climbing in Athens, Adreanaline climbing in Suwannee and Stone Summit in Atlanta)
3. Started taking adult tumbling classes in the summer. It's my favorite class of the week and what I look forward to most. (Worked on bridge kick over, flips, hand stands and more)
4. Learned to climb a rope.
5. Tried a yoga class (I am too ADD for yoga)
6. Tried an acro yoga class. Pretty fun.
7. Tweaked my knee this summer. Apparently my hip flexors needed strengthening or something.
8. Took a trapeze class. Wasn't very good at it.
9. Took a flexibility class and a few handstand class as a new acro yoga studio.
10. Got my front flip.
11. Got a front bounder.
12. Got my right split.
13. Tried classes at the Exhale spa in Atlanta when I was there in Decemeber
14. Aerofit closed in December. I took up Pure Barre.
15. Got my center split at my second Pure Barre class.
Classes taken over the year: Aerofit cardio, tumbling and TRX; Pure Barre, yoga, acro yoga, Canopy beginners trapeze, Exhale Barre, Exhale Fusion, Revolution spin class.
I'd say it was a pretty healthy year. I only took one sick day. It was an asthma day and I just needed to sleep. My size and weight stayed the same, despite my two-hour a day workouts. My story is that I put on a lot of muscle.
Sadly, no spinning wheels or faeries were involved. Just stationary exercise bikes, girls wearing Lululemon and clip in bike shoes. (Doesn't spinning sound more magical than sweating on an exercise bike?)
It was a free class at Revolution offered through Lululemon. I did not know what to expect at all. But I decided to try something new.
You go in and sign in with which bike you want. Huh? I asked the front desk girl where to go. She told me to go to the center, so I picked second row center. She then handed me some black shoes that clip into the pedals.
The shoes might have been the hardest part of the class. It was hard to clip them in and out. That will take some getting used to.
It was slightly dark in the room, and a handful of girls (maybe 8) trickled into the class. (It was the day of the football game. That's where everyone was).
The instructor came in and we started pedaling away. We pedaled, and sat up off the seat, we cranked the resistance up and down, we used the weights and did some arm work. I was wary about cranking up the resistance, so I did cheat a little. It was my first class and I just wanted to make it through the hour. (I only do 20-30 minutes on my exercise bike at home. I've never tried an hour.) We pedaled so fast the metal on the shoes burned my feet and I was worried about spinning off the bike….or really just slowing down without injuring myself.
I do exercise bike at home and thought I was really on to something doing weights. Apparently they do it in spin class too ;)
There was a lot of yelling in the class. Possibly because I was about six feet away from the instructor. I think it was supposed to be encouraging, but it was a tad too boot camp for me. Also, cleavage. If you go to spin class, don't wear a tank top. Most of the class is leaning over the bike and you'll show your cleavage. I saw a lot of instructor cleavage and it was just distracting/ not what I wanted to see.
I asked a girl next to me why the class was dark. She smiled and said she liked to listen to the music and just zone out. And we did a lot of that. I'm not sure I liked dark classes.
Verdict: An okay class. I would have preferred a different instructor and the lights on. I'm actually not crazy about cycling. (I don't want to get those saddle bag thighs I've seen on some women cyclists). The studio was clean and nice and if spinning is your jam, then this is the place. I think I just like being upside down more.
This is my trick of the night: Scorpion pose against the wall
I went to open gym and one of the girls was practicing this. I thought it looked cool and tried it.
To do it:
1) It starts off a little like a headstand. Put your arms in sphinx, maybe a foot away from the way.
2) Kick up into a headstand, and you can try and touch your feet on the wall
3) Make sure to really push your hips out (away from the wall)
4) Walk your feet down towards you head
5) Try to put your knees against the wall
And you're done. You can kick out of it. Or I think I just splatted out of it.
It's fairly easy if you have a flexible back. I'm feeling it today though.
I feel slightly like a Lululemon shoulder model in this picture. :)
Today I discovered Lulelemon. They had a free pure barre class at their studio so I decided to go and the result is this picture and some sore glutes.
Lululemon has been on my radar for awhile—$100 yoga pants that are see-through. That whole scandal alerted me to the fact that yoga pants could cost $100. (I thought Victoria's Secret $50 pants were expensive.) But I was curious why people would pay that much and what the big deal was. Was there something more than the lemming effect that led college students in my day to wear Chacos (so comfy) and North Face jackets?
Lululemon opened up a showroom in my town and I drive past it all the time. I liked them on Facebook and they offer free classes all of the time (yoga, cycling, juicing classes), but this week I decided I was going to go to the Pure Barre class (because I can't really afford the class, but would love to go. And I think I'm taking some barre classes later this week in Atlanta.) I convinced a gym friend to go with me (I did ask several people) and we went out there. (She said she only hates me a little bit now).
1) If you do a class a Lululemon, bring your yoga mat. I forgot mine, but they have a few you can borrow. Their mat felt great under my feet. I was a fan.
2) The Pure Barre class was crazy intense. I forgot how bad at it I am. It's nonstop directions. Tuck and pulse and then once you've figured it out, you're on to the next movement. I think I'd get better at it if I took more classes, but their normal rate is $195 a month. Ouch! I do think it's something I should work on, so I'm holding out hope for a groupon or sale, but given how many of their classes are full, I'm not sure that's going to happen.
I survived the class (with only three corrections from the owner :) And then I decided to look around. The clothes are so stinking cute. They had a cute long sleeve purple top ($68) that I was eyeing. I wanted to try a headband ($12) because I bet theirs would stay on. I ended up getting a sports bra, because I really wanted a strappy one. I also got a $59 sweater. It was on sale (and their sale is final sale). It was a really nicely made wool sweater with thumb holes and kangaroo pockets. I think it would cost that much anywhere else. I plan to wear it to my conference this coming week. So I guess they got their money's worth out of their free class—a lot of people bought stuff.
And while I didn't buy any $100 see-through yoga pants, I am a fan. Their stuff is cute and made well. Now, I just have to wait for a sale. (Do those ever happen?)
PS) When class was over, the retired university gymnastics coach (a local celebrity) came in and shopped a bit. Since I blogged about gymnastics recently (and she was at the sneak peek) I thought that was a nice tie-in.
I Looooove gymnastics. And this weekend, my college team had a Halloween sneak peak for kids to get their face painted and for the new freshmen to get used to performing in front of a crowd.
So my sister and her two girls and I went.
1) There was a costume contest so the kids were all in costume. As luck would have it, my sister and I were the only adults who dressed up.
2) The adults watched the gymnastics while the kids played on the gymnastics equipment. Madison was even trying forward rolls on the tumbling mat. So cute.
Here are the gymnasts practicing on bars. I've tried bars all of once before. Soo hard.
Here are the gymnasts on beam. I can't even do a flip and they can backflip on 4-inch surface. Amazing.
And lastly, floor exercise. A lot of the girls did their tumbling pass on the track to the side and landed in the mats, but a few did floor work. And weren't our seats great? Right along the mat.
I'm looking forward to this gymnastics season. Gooooo Gym Dogs!
I went to an open house for Acro Athens for their new acro yoga space.
Leah and Martha
I know a lot of the acro people from Wednesday tumbling. A few of them stopped by Aerofit a few months ago and I took a few classes this summer. It was fun.
I'm excited that they got their own space. They've been talking about it for a while. So I dropped by and played for a bit.
Now, if only I could find the time to take a class there...
I usually start kicking over from higher up and work down to one pad. This is the kick over from two pads. (It's easier when you start from higher up and have more leverage to kick over from). I can get to one pad after about 10 minutes.
I am THIIIIIS close to getting a bridge kick over from the floor. I still need a tiny push from Megan or Helen (in pink in the back). And looking at this picture, I need to get my arms straighter under my shoulders and not bend my elbows.
Here's my bridge. I was showing Lindsey the difference between arms below your shoulders and arms angled out. It's hard to open up your shoulders to get that straight angle, but it makes bridges and easier.
The thing I like about tumbling is the more I work on it, the more flexible I get. Now, I can do a back bend no problem. I couldn't a month ago. And I like to think I get a little better every week.
Flips…
I'm still working on my flip. I don't feel like there's a lot of progress, but I'm getting closer, I know it! I have to do about 10 bad flips to warm up and then I get some flips closer to landing. I saw some of the photos about me not going high enough and the very next flip I did higher. Next week I'm going to take over the tumble track and try flipping on there. I think the footing with the run, run punch and trampoline confuses me. I think the tumble track might be simpler. That or get the high mats out again. I must get this!
Bad flip. Much too low and too open. I landed on my butt, which is better than my head.
I've been working on a bridge kick over for most of the summer. Here's one at Aerofit. This one's not especially pretty, but you get the point.
Basically you go up in a bridge and kick over. It's not the hardest skill ever. Your back has to be flexible enough to go up into a bridge. And the key to this one is keeping your arms straight—hands and shoulders should be in line, not extended. (Mine arms are slightly extended in this video.) And you have to kick hard with one leg.
I worked on these at my first tumbling class. You can start kicking over from a higher block (easy!) and gradually work your way down to the floor. Here, I'm kicking over from 2-3 inches of padding.
I can't quite do them all the way on the floor, but I've been pretty close for a while.
Up next: I'd love to do a front limber to back walk over.
I've really been struggling with trapeze classes. It's a lot of complicated movements. Every move has 8-or-so steps that I have trouble remembering so I've really been debating whether I should stick with it.
I should stick with it, because I quit everything. And if I stuck with it, I could potentially get better at it. How do I get better at something I can only do for an hour a week? If I stick with it, I can take more classes and go to open studio. I could also take silks, which looks super fun, after two classes.
The problem is that I feel super busy. I do Canopy on Monday, Aerofit Tuesday and Thursday, and Tumbling Wednesday and it's just too much. I need to drop something and I think Canopy is what I'm going to drop.
It's the easiest thing to drop. I can just not sign up for the next session. Aerofit I have a yearly contract for. And I just love tumbling.
• I don't love trapeze
• I could spend my time doing something I love
• It's expensive
• Not enough instructor time
• Not for me
1) I don't love trapeze. I thought I might. I remember playing on the trapeze like contraption on the playground when I was a kid. I could hang upside down. It came naturally. I was good at it. It was fun. Trapeze for me is a source of bruises and frustration. It hurts. I can't do the moves. And I don't come out of the class excited, floored or thrilled. I just trudge on to Aerofit to get a real workout.
I loved Aerofit first class. I thought this was so fun. I bought a membership a few days later. I knew immediately that jumping on a trampoline was something I enjoyed. I tried to drag all of my friends there. I leave feel de-stressed, happy, euphoric.
I love tumbling. Coach Megan and Robert are awesome. They have great energy. I have so much to learn—but there's always things I can do. I can do a one armed cartwheel. I'm decently flexible. I have fun at the classes. Even if there are 20 people in the class, I can get a few minutes of attention or help from someone else. I always leave happy. I wish I could put a gymnastics gym in my basement.
2) I could spend the time and money from trapeze at Pure Barre, at rock climbing, at the outdoor trapeze place—or at any of the new classes I need to try. My time is valuable. It's only an hour a week, but it makes me feel a little overwhelmed.
3) It's $153 for nine classes. That's pricey. Pure Barre has a $100 first month unlimited deal. That's 2.4 months at the climbing gym. That's almost 4 flying trapeze classes. That's a lot for nine hours of instruction.
4) I get about 30 seconds of instructor time a week. Classes begin and end promptly at the scheduled time. There's no chatting before class to the teachers. They disappear after class so you can't talk to them about something that you couldn't do or wanted to try next time. I'd rather take private lessons—and really it might be worth it. $30 for 30 minutes, is the same price as about two classes, but I could potentially learn more. I'm really struggling in the big class and the complicate series of movements.
5) I think it's just not for me. My brain doesn't work like that. My body does't move like that. I have no trouble hanging upside down, but
Everyone just raves about Canopy. And yes, it's amazing what some of the people can do. There's a cool kid cred you get for saying you take classes there. It's an awesome hipster thing to do. But it's me. It's jut not for me.
But their customer service is nonexistent. They don't return emails. The classes and big and too expensive.
Me. I have trouble remembering all the moves. It doesn't suit me.
I'm calling this the week of the injury. Nothing serious. Just lots of scrapes and bruises.
Monday, I bruised the back of my knee at trapeze class. It always bruises my knee. It's the candlestick pose. It just hurts.
Tuesday, I wore shorts to TRX and we climbed the rope. I got some nice rope burn on my knee (it since scabbed over) and a rashy burn on my lower leg that will be quicker to heal. The rope is scratchy and when you wrap your leg, it just tears the skin off. I tried just climbing down and unwrapped my feet completely and was about 10 feet up in the air and was really worried I would fall. I was tired and my arms could fail. I didn't fall, but I kept wrapping after that. A rope burn is better than falling from 10 feet.
Wednesday, I went to get an allergy shot and the nurse really stuck me with the needle. It hasn't hurt that bad in a while. It really hurt and lasted forever. My arm swelled up like a bee stung me and the muscle was sore because she jammed it so hard. And sure enough, I got a black bruise the size of a fingertip from the shot. My right arm was stiff going into tumbling class and later.
I suppose I should be symmetrical because at tumbling that night I got a nasty blue bruise on the inside of my wrist. I don't know how. I think it happened halfway through class. Maybe from a handstand. Maybe I hit it on something? I don't know. It doesn't hurt, but it does worry me.
Thursday, I decided I'd had enough and didn't go to the gym.
A tumble track is a long trampoline runway. This is not me.
It's been another week of tumbling classes and I think I'm making progress towards my flip. Almost there.
We'd been flipping onto a huge pile of mats—to work on getting UP. At this class, the teacher got a mini tramp and we were jumping on to waist-high mat. I didn't think I could do it at first and thought that I needed to work up to it. After a few runs I got it. Run. Hit the trampoline hard. Jump high. Hands up. Hands down, hips over, ball up and reach for your knees and try to find your feet. And don't put your hands out behind you like you're breaking your fall. It's a reflex. Everyone does it. It's also a good way to break your arms.
Flipping is like getting the right combination in the lottery. It's about getting everything together all at once. If I get a good jump off the trampoline, I open too early and land up my butt. If I don't get a good jump, I get a nice rotation, but didn't get the height to land on my feet. One of the coaches told me I was making progress and that if the mat was lower, I could have landed it. She told me to go practice on the tumble track. And the first few attempts were a disaster. I didn't get a full rotation, or I fell forward or didn't get enough height. Then, there were a few almost flips. I came so close to landing on my feet. I told coach to watch me one last time and I ALMOST LANDED IT. It was low, but my feet were on the mat and I stepped backwards twice….and into the hole between the tumble track and the mat. The hole that I'd just told another girl to close up after she flipped. Embarrassing!
"Are you okay?" she kept asking me.
I think she thought I sprained my ankle. I was a little dazed but only my pride was hurt.
I think that if I ever do flip, I should do something to celebrate, since it's such a big goal. I want a Go Pro, but that's big even for Christmas. Maybe we'll just have to go out to eat. I need to think of something. Any ideas?
Today my husband invited me to margarita night at the nearby taco place.
It's a small victory because for years I tried to get him to go to the restaurant only for him to staunchly refuse. He finally gave in one day and is now addicted to their tacos. That first week, he ate there every day. Now, it's once a week.
But it's Tuesdays. And Tuesdays mean TRX and then cardio. Two hours at the gym. I don't really have a lot of time for margaritas.
I suppose I could cancel and not go to the gym. But then I'd lose two hours of working out for the week. And when there are no classes Friday, Saturday or Sunday, that's awfully difficult to make up.
If I was tired or hurt, I'd cancel. But for margarita night, I think we'll have to reschedule. #GYMRAT.
(Note: we did get tacos on Saturday, so it worked out. I got my workout in and we had date night at a time that worked best for both of us.)
Here's a handy guide of some of the top 10 worst offenses at the gym. Here's what not to do:
1. Dress inappropriately. This includes showing your ass cheeks, plumbers crack or forgetting to wear a sports bra. Also don't wear too tight clothes—pants in particular. No one wants to see the outline of your lady parts. Wear a size up if your compression pants are too tight, or find a long shirt. (Just say no to camel toe.)
2. Hog the instructors time. Asking a question when you need to is fine, but make sure others get a chance too. If you really need individualized attention, hire a personal trainer.
3. Try to teach the class yourself. Unless you're on the payroll, you don't need to loudly critique the instructor or walk over to the other side of the room and show someone else a move. Don't be loud and obnoxious. You may have good intentions, but let the teacher teach. Feel free to quietly show a friend a move they're having trouble with or at the break pull the teacher aside to say "I'm having trouble hearing you, maybe we should turn the music down." But don't add your two cents about every move and worse yet tell someone how to do something wrong. After all, it probably doesn't hurt to be on the instructor's good side, and undermining their class isn't a good way to start.
4. Talk or laugh the whole time. The instructors want you to have a good time. You don't have to be silent, but don't be disruptive either. Laugh when you need to. Tell your friend a quick comment, but you don't need to fill a 45 minute class with 45 minutes of chatter.
5. Be an exercise hypochondriac and have a different injury every class. I did this my first year of cross country. I was making excuses to get out of working out. I see people do this all the time. And they loudly tell the instructor they're hurt (this is good), but every day it's something else. And in the middle of class they want to know how to stretch their toe, low back, hip flexor etc. And it wouldn't be that much of an issue if it wasn't every class. If you're hurt, it's your decision whether to come or not. But don't be obnoxious, disruptive or whiney about it. Silently, sit out those exercises you can't do.
6. Not try. Sitting out an exercise or two is no problem. Some things aren't for everyone or you might have an injury. But don't come to a class and sit there. You can for a reason. Exercise. Try it once or twice before you quit.
7. Complain loudly the whole time. Sure, we all hate burpees and a little whining is expected, but you don't need to be a drama queen about every aspect of the workout. (This is not a reality show, where you do the voiceover.)
8. Show up late to the class. Emergencies, bad traffic—things happen. Try not to be late, but if you are, slip in as stealthy as possible. Some classes lock the door when they start and some classes you can wander in when they're half-way over. But don't barge in and LOUDLY apologize. That will disrupt the flow of class. If you must, slip in, and hope you can catch on/ a friend will help you out. Again, some places are stricter about this than others.
9. Not wiping off equipment. Yuck. No one wants to do sit-ups in a pool of your sweat. Bring a towel. Be courteous.
10. Make the gym smell like Bath & Body works. There are enough smells at the gym without adding Apple Blossom and Lavender to the mix. Sure, put on lotion, but you don't need the whole bottle.
Honorable mentions
• Working out while sick. If you have germs and you're circuit training and everyone is using the same kettle bells that's a good way to get a lot of your friends sick. Stay home if your'e contagious.
• Eating a huge meal before a hard workout. Blowing chunks will not impress the instructors or your classmates.
I see all of these things way too often in the gym. It basically comes down to being courteous and self aware. Don't be disruptive.
The gym should be a fun place to get a great workout. Talk, laugh, wear your favorite muscle T. Just be aware of the others around you and they need to be able to hear and have a great workout too. Don't make it awkward for others.
What did I miss? What are some of the worst gym offenses you've seen?
Today was my third trapeze class. We learned catcher's hang (from higher up), trapeze swings (run and hang on the trapeze) and a few new moves.
We started the class with a review of last week's moves: skater, bowsprits and catchers hang. From a hang like when you first get on, we out one of our feet down (forgot the name of this move). You bring one knee to your nose and then let it hang and arch your back. This move looks really pretty (my partner could touch her feet to her head.)
Dolphin—starts out like the hip balances from last week. Fold yourself over the trapeze and the balance yourself (like a balance) but with hands and feet up. From dolphin, you can fold yourself over into arrow (feet wrapped around the rope, head below the bar, an inverted arrow). From there, you can bring your hips up into catcher's hang.
We also worked on tree frog. You hang on the trapeze, hands closer together, on the trapeze, and bring your feet on the outside, also up the trapeze (butt up too.) This one just feels weird.
The hardest part of these moves is remembering what to do next, where your foot or hand goes. But it's getting easier.
We ended the class with the trapeze swings. You just run with the swing and then hang off of it for a while (with your feet up).
We had a bunch of new people in this class. Three, then four and then a few more trickled in. We'll see how it goes.
For now, I have some calluses that are starting to look impressive.
Today was the first tumbling class of the fall semester. There were so many people in the class. During the summer it was usually 5-6 people. Twelve people was a big class. I think there were 17 people there tonight: some of the regulars, 4-5 acro people, a few cheerleaders, some college dancer/gymnast type people and a few guys who must do acro, parkour cheer or something, because they were flipping impressively.
I had to redo paper work. Then it was stretching and drills (forward rolls, handstands, cartwheels, round offs). We did these in lines three people deep—there were so many there.
When it was time for stations:
I worked on my bridge kick over. I've been stuck on two rainbow mats, or about 3-4 inches for a month. Today, I tried on one mat, about 2 inches and finally got that. Hooray! Progress! I tried a kick over on the ground—and got it twice with a tiny push from Coach Megan. I guess next week, I'll see if I can do it without her. And then I need to work on going back to a bridge instead of coming up from one.
I did some handstand drills.
Then I worked on my front tuck. Robert (one of the new instructors) piled the mats up to my chest and had me practice getting UP and getting my hips over. I think this is exactly what I needed to work on. So I did this, and did it and did it. He wanted to build muscle memory. Hopefully, this is exactly what I need.
Goal: Front tuck by the end of the year, if not sooner.
I was a little overwhelmed by all of the people in the class, but I got to work on what I wanted to work on. I got some time with the coaches (there were 3-4 there).
Tumbling is my favorite class of the week. I wish I could do it a few more times. And I'm thinking about buying a tumbling mat. If only there weren't so expensive. #takinguptumblingat31
I am always on the hunt for cute workout clothes—preferably on sale.
I kept getting Pandora pop-up ads for Fabletics. They were on my radar for cute workout wear, but I could never find the cute capris in the ads actually in stock.
By chance I happened to click on Fabletics on the first of the month when they release new products. And I found some capris that I had to have. I bought them immediately.
I went ahead and signed up for the VIP membership. They're an online subscription retailer where you can buy an outfit every month. If you sign up for the VIP membership, you can get better prices, but the catch is you have to remember to login the first of every month to buy or decline the month. I could live with that, I thought (though I do have huge doubts.)
They also have a new member signup deal where your first outfit is $25. The catch is you have 48 hours from signing up to redeem that deal. So only sign up for their service if you want to buy immediately. I'd signed up a few months ago for their service (not the VIP membership), so I couldn't get the $25 deal. And I didn't really want any outfits. (I have a ton of workout clothes). I just wanted the capris (cute capris that aren't black are hard to find.)
For my first time ordering, I got 20% off the capris. It took a while to get a shipping confirmation, but after that they came in shortly. And they were the wrong size. I'me between a small and an extra-small in workout pants. I opted for the xs, because that's what they said a size 4 was. I'm a 4. I couldn't even fit my thigh in those pants.
I exchanged them. And exchanges are easy enough. You exchange them online. And when you put the return pair in the mail, they'll send out the new pair. (During this time, I was worried that they would sell out of the smalls.) Finally, my capris came in the mail. The smalls fit. They seemed to be a good quality. The exchange was free and I was happy about that.
First capri I ordered from Fabletics.
The next month, I wanted a pair of printed capris and it took forever to find an outfit I liked. (The site sells workout wear in terms on outfits. See image at top.)I like the bottoms and the tops, but never in the combinations they pick out. And when an outfit is $50 and the pants are $40 it makes sense to go ahead and buy the outfit. I found two outfits with the tops and bottoms I liked—and when I went to order that night, a lot of the styles that were there that morning were already sold out. I picked an outfit, added a top in the sale section and they offered me another top for $10 so I added that for my August outfit.
The outfit came in the mail. The capris (now that I know what size I am) are adorable and I wore them right away. The sale top was a lot cheaper than it looked online, but was okay. The top that came with the outfit and the $10 add-on tops were extremely cheap. I took one look at them and knew they were going back. They were also huge. I went ahead and ordered a small—after having to order up in the capris, but the small was way too big.
This top was cheaper than it looked, but for $20 it was okay. TjMaxx has the same kind of stuff for the same price, and you can try their clothes on.
This top runs big, is super cheap and I had to call to return it.
I tried to send these tops back online, like I did last month. Only I couldn't. It said I had to call their 800 number and talk to someone weekdays between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. It was 8:50 p.m. when they sent me this message so I called them the next day. I was only hold for about 4 minutes before getting a girl who called herself O'Hara (what Indian girl calls themself O'Hara? And clearly she was at an overseas call center. Very thick accent.) It took five minutes for her to understand that I wanted to exchange two tops for a pair of capris. And then she returned one top for the capris and gave me a refund for the other top. It took her a while to figure out that I wanted the RIO RUN CAPRI IN BLUE LAVA. I said that like 10 times. Why I had to talk to her to do this, I don't know. It was annoying. I'd rather do this online. But no language barrier.
But a least she let me return the items. I was worried, I was going to have to dispute the charge on my credit card and/or cancel my Fab membership. I was fully prepared for this conversation.
Then, the return label she promised me took forever to get to me. I expected it to be in my inbox when I hung up the phone—that's the speed of email. But after our 9:30 a.m. conversation I got the return label at 6 p.m. After the post office closed. So much for having that taken care of that day.
Verdict: Would I recommend this service? Maybe.
I HATE that you have to buy in outfits. I never like two of the pieces that come together. I like some of the tops and some of the bottoms, but not in the combinations they choose. I just have a lot of workout tanks and don't need their tanks.
Their tops are EXTREMELY CHEAP. I might never buy another tank from them again. I like dry-fit performance tanks—not cheap see-through cotton.
That said, they do have a good variety of workout wear, that other ladies at the gym probably won't be wearing.
Sizing: I think their pants run small and their tops run big.
Annoyances: Their wish list feature currently isn't working. Their search is also not user-friendly. You can search by products by name (desio, flourish, but can't search for "blue tank" or "pink lava capri". VIP membership. I'm very way of this. I don't mind checking in on the first of the month. That's easy enough to remember, but I worry it will be a pain in the ass to cancel in a few months when I'm tired of this service (when my husband yells at me for having too many workout clothes. It's probably deserved. It's an addiction.)
Today I tried a Skyfitness class at skyzone. The kind you might have seen on Keeping up With the Kardashians (the episode where Khloe has some camel toe, but still wears tight pants and short tops.)
Granted, I've been taking trampoline cardio classes for a year, but I wanted to try another gym and see what their classes were like.
Atlanta traffic is unpredictable so we left very early. It took an hour to get there and we were super early. The manager signed us in and printed out our tickets (to jump afterwards). I signed up and paid online the night before.
Your first Skyfitness class is $5, and after that $10 each. Or you can buy a monthly membership for $20. Classes are offered at 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday.
There were 13 people in our class. There was a high school aged guy, 3-4 older couples, and a lot of 30-something women, maybe teachers. Most people came in pairs.
The instructor, Josh, was a beefy guy who I guessed played high school football. The class started with some light stretching, balancing on one foot, stretching shoulders, ankles, legs etc. The warm-up was 10+ minutes of running mans, jump up and touch your knees, side-to-side jumps, lunges, pulses, jumping front to back, tracing all the corners, butt drops, There were pushups, plank holds (where my feet slipped because of the socks), butt drops (but no spins), jumping jacks, donkey kicks, jumping really high for a minute—to get your heart rate up. I was definitely ready for a water break when it came.
The third part of the class was cardio. 60 seconds of laps around the trampoline, 60 seconds of curls with a band, or 30 seconds of lunges and 30 seconds of tricep dips on the floor. Then it was back on the trampoline, where we raced up and down the lanes for 30 seconds, while our partners did a sidestep with the band. We took the bands back to the trampoline and did some leg extensions, push ups, planks etc. There was also popcorn (back bounces), V-ups and butt-ups for abs. The class ended with 7 minutes of stretching.
After the class, we stayed to jump. We went to the foam pit and flipped until some 10-year-old boys showed up. Then we tried the basketball court and attempted to dunk the basketballs. We went back to the main trampoline to jump. I wanted to flip, but wasn't rotating enough and it wasn't happening. Kids also kept jumping across our pads (though the trampoline was pretty empty.) We went back to the foam pit and tried to flip some more. I kept under rotating. And Matt finally figured out how to dunk! And that was our 30 minutes.
I liked that there was a clock on the wall that counted down the seconds. We need that at my gym.
Socks: I would prefer to jump barefoot. I really hate socks. (I'm a Southern girl and would rather be barefoot or in flip-flops.) The Skyzone socks didn't bother me for the most part. The didn't bother me at all while I was jumping. They did make holding planks harder in the class (I kept slipping on the sock) and the foam pit foam tends to stick to them.
Quick Guide:
Verdict: Fun way to burn a lot of calories. You will get your heart rate up.
Thoughts: It was a good class. It got my heart rate up. There was nothing too confusing for me. Most of it was super easy. I rather thought I killed the class—jumping higher than most of the pros, etc. But there was no high-five from the instructor after class. The participants filed out and he put up the equipment. I missed the personal touch from the instructor, or maybe I just wanted to be told awesome job.
And overall, an Aerofit class is more fun. (Skyfitness also didn't use the walls at all). Alex's classes are brutal, but when he's singing Britney Spears off key it just makes the class more fun.
Atmosphere: Standard workout class. The attendees seemed very quiet. The instructor seemed to be a no-nonsense trainer.
Intensity: The first 10 minutes are the hardest. It will get your heart rate up. If you're new to working out, just take it easy. Do as much as you can and watch the others. If you're a pro, you won't have trouble with the class. It isn't too hard. And there were two water breaks built-in.
Price: $5 for a first class and $10 afterwards is pretty good.
What to wear: Workout clothes and the socks they sell there. I wouldn't wear anything too baggy. I like to wear capris and a tank.
If you go: Ladies, make sure you pee before you jump. Trampolines do weird things to bladders.
Would I do it again: Aerofit doesn't offer Friday or Saturday cardio classes anymore. (There is a noon class I can't make, but no Friday evenings or Saturday noon.) If gas wasn't $15 a trip, I'd consider it. Until then I'll wait until Aerofit expands. I've heard rumors of a basketball court, tumble track, climbing wall and foam pit.
The rope climb is a one of the stereotypical enemies of nerds in gym classes everywhere. Rope climb is for jocks. Not stringy, pale people in glasses.
Ppp-shhaaw I say to that.
We have a climbing rope in our gym. It took me months to learn to climb it. Well, kind of. We'd do pull-ups on the rope and I couldn't strong-arm my way up the ropes like the guys can. I tried and tried to climb the rope, and could get a few feet up. In frustration I googled "how to climb a rope" and it was all over. The next time I went to the gym, I climbed 3/4 of the way up. And shortly after that, all the way up. (This is the video I found most helpful. I watched it several times: http://youtu.be/uKGy8EsN0VI)
The key is a foot wrapping technique.
1) Jump up on the rope. If there's a knot you can base your feet on, use that. Grab as high up on the rope as you can and then stand up.
2) Wrap your foot (I use my right) around the rope.(With the rope on the inside of your leg, wrap your leg outside and then tuck your foot back inside the rope. So part of the rope will be on your leg. It will go across your ankle or top of your foot and then under your foot again.)
3) Step on the wrapped foot with your other foot and pull yourself up.
4) Repeat. Keep wrapping and rewrapping. (Watch the video. She explains so much better then me.)
5) And then come down from the climb. Just watch out for rope burn! (And the knot at the bottom. That can hurt if you come down too fast and hit the rope with your crotch.)
This way you use your legs AND your arms to get up. The foot wrapping technique gets easier with practice. The first few times I tried it, I had to really think about it, and concentrate on rewrapping my foot. (I miss my footing once in the video.)
Don't worry, you still get an arm workout. (It really burns my arms out. I can climb 1 time to the top max.)
This is one of my tricks that I'm proud of—because climbing a rope is awesome. And you do have to be strong to do it. Maybe it looks impressive? #Beastmode.
With Youtube, maybe there's not an excuse not to be able to climb a rope? Except for maybe rope burn….On your thighs. That totally sucks.
Today was my first day of aerial Trapeze class. Everyone in Athens raves about Canopy and I was ready for something different so I decided to give it a try.
It was as first classes are. Go around the room and say your name, stretch, learn about the equipment, and do some tricks but not too many.
The class was a diverse mix of people—all women. A few were younger. I'd say most were 30s and 40s. There were 14 people in all.
After stretches we partnered up to work on the trapezes. First, they showed us how to lower a trapeze from the wall, take it off the caribiner and adjust the height. It was all complicated and will definitely take me a few classes.
We had partners and we took turns practicing all of the skills like getting on the trapeze. You don't simply sit on it. (My logical brain was so confused.) You start on the floor and bring your knees over and pull yourself up. We practiced sitting on the trapeze and swinging playground style. We did knee hangs—both from a low trapeze with your back on the floor and then later from a higher trapeze when you could actually hang. We practiced laying back on the trapeze, standing on the trapeze (It was shakier than I thought it would be) and something that might have been called star pose—with one foot and hand on the rope, and the other two out. We tried leaning back from standing and getting down from that (think one footed squat, while balancing on a bar) and then doing a skin the cat to get down from the trapeze. The end. That was class.
Trapeze seems complicated—there are a lot steps, and placements to remember (grip your thumb around the bar, keep your thumbs up like in thumbs up, pike this way etc.) It doesn't seem overly difficult though. I wasn't tired or winded afterwards. And perhaps I was expecting it to be more fun? (Like trampoline, acro or gymnastics. All super fun for the first class.) I guess it could be more fun later. For my first class, I wasn't wowed. But then again a good foundation is important. We'll see how the next class though.
Clockwise from top right: TRX at Aerofit, cardio at Aerofit, acro yoga and tumbling at Bishop Park.
My usual workout routine is just going to Aerofit. I do some cardio. I do TRX. I like to mix it up.
To add some variety, I've been going to Wednesday night tumbling. This summer and added in the occasional Sunday night acro yoga. I signed up for Monday night aerial trapeze classes starting this week. There's also Tuesday night tumbling in Oconee that I want to try. And when I can afford it, I want to try Leap, the flying trapeze. And that's a lot. And probably how I hurt my knee to begin with—overuse.
So, if you need me, I'll be at a gym….somewhere…..hopefully not being bored.
I've tried since February to take classes at Canopy studio, which is a local aerial arts facility. They teach trapeze classes, silks and more.
I've know about them since college. Their classes are pretty popular in my liberal little college town.
My neighbor talked about wanting to take classes. I thought it sounded fun enough and I said I was happy to tag along. After a pretty lengthy delay, they told her they had no openings when classes resumed March 17, but she could take expensive private lessons.
This happened again with their new session of classes months later.
Finally, their fall session has openings. I email the day the newsletter comes out—asking if I can take a class (new people have to get permission to take the classes. A popup tells you this when you try to sign up.) And I don't hear anything back.Nothing. After about two weeks I email them again. I keep running into Canopy people, who all say it's so fun.
I'm pretty mad at Canopy at this point and give up on taking the class. They have awful customer service and must not need new customers. (A coworker tells me she once stopped by for more info and they wouldn't help her.) I decide there's an acro yoga class on Monday, I'd probably rather take.
The Friday before classes start they email me to go ahead and sign up. !!!
I wasn't going to sign up. But then I thought it was this hard to get a spot, when am I going to get the chance again? So I signup. It's$153 for a 9-week class. That comes out to $17 a class, which is kind of pricey. But I am looking for something different. We'll see…...
I've wanted to go to Skyzone since I heard about it a year or so ago. A giant trampoline gym? Yes please.
The closest one, however, is more than an hour away. Friday I was in Gwinnett to have my car looked at. On a whim, I typed in Skyzone on my iPhone map to see how far away it was. Five miles. I really needed to get home to feed my cats, walk my job, and let my friend get something she'd store in my garage out. I was tempted though.
I was leaving the service center and the guy told me not to take my usual route home. He said there was a bad wreck. I took that as a sign I needed to try Skyzone. (So I called and had my neighbor take care of my pets and to tell my friend I'd be home later.)
I drive to Skyzone. It's in a giant warehouse in a business park. There was plenty of parking. You go in and fill out a waiver on their computers, then wait in line to be checked in at the front desk. I signed up for a 30 minute jump. It was $10 + $2 for some orange grippy socks. (I thought the socks would be annoying. I barely noticed them). They give you a sticker to put on and then you go jump for your allotted time. Mine was 6:30-7 p.m.
There were some quarter-opereated lockers to put your stuff in. There's also a concession stand. There were a ton of trampolines. I didn't know where to go. There were some trampolines near a foam pit. (The lines looked long.) There were two dodge-ball courts with 8-12 year-olds jumping madly over pads. And there was the giant trampoline court. It had vertical trampolines on three sides and was probably 3x the size of Aerofit. These trampolines had a lot of little kids (toddlers with their parents) and some 5-8 year-olds, but not a lot of older kids. That's where I went. An employee in an orange polo shirt gave a group in front of me directions, and I followed on the trampoline. I went to a relatively unused corner and tried to figure out what to do. There were kids just running and jumping. No one was doing tricks really.
I jumped across the trampolines. I think they were a tad bigger than the Aerofit trampolines, and there were some narrow tumble track looking trampolines. The trampolines felt different than the ones at Aerofit. They weren't sprung as tightly. I tried a butt drop and had to really concentrate to get it because the spring wasn't the same. I saw a kid flipping over the pads so I tried a cartwheel. And it's actually easier to flip here—because of the spring in the trampoline. I tried some round-offs and one-armed round-offs. I ventured over to the wall—which isn't lined up exactly. One vertical trampoline might be behind two regular trampolines. I tried some back bounces and supermans. They still felt different so they weren't as effortless and but totally doable. One other kids tried a back bounce into the wall, but I was mostly the one one doing tricks. (I couldn't do a backdrop hand stand. The trampolines weren't tight enough to get my arms under me.)
A16-year-old employee with a whistle in his mouth came over to my area. I bounced over and asked him what his best trick was.
"Probably that," he said to my butt drop. I was disappointed. The employees at Aerofit are the ones with the best tricks. They're also more enthusiastic than these kids who just give the little jumpers dirty looks. (Teach them a new trick!)
I jumped around some more and worked on some toe touches, back drops, flagpoles, whatever I could remember. I was having fun. By myself. No one ever comes to the trampoline park by themselves, but why not?
Finally a different employee (with whistle and orange polo shirt came over) and asked if I was doing a workout. I told him I was just playing. I asked him what his best trick was and he said a full. I was much more impressed with that, though he did not demonstrate. Apparently, he's a competition cheerleader. And we chatted about me not being able to flip. He suggested the foam pit. I decided to brave the lines and give it a try.
I stood in line with 4-year-olds who just dove into the foam pit. It was mostly really little kids. There was a 6-7 year-old who looked a little lost who was giving me weird looks. And there was a 12-year-old girl who seemed to be there with her toddler brother. They dove, I worked on my front tuck. I didn't have anyone to give me pointers on form, but I tried. And had a blast.
I'm just a big kid at heart. Skyzone was super fun to visit. I'm glad I went. I'd go back again (especially with a friend)—if only my car was working…..
This week I've been resting my knee—which has translated to more arm work at the gym.
I've been doing circuit training this week and avoid the circuits with jumping. My knee doesn't need the added strain. And the teacher has been giving me arms to do.
Skip TRX shootouts. Climb the rope instead. 4x. Skip cardio step-ups, do TRX I-holds instead.
Tonight my workout included rope climbs. Four of them. I got all the way up the first time. The second and third times I got about half-way up and the last time I got 3/4 the way up. The next station had 60-second TRX X-holds. And then 60-second intervals of battle ropes. The burnout was 4-straight minutes of plank holds with your feet in the TRX straps. There were some pendulum swings and bringing your knee to your chest and back, but it was a murderous workout. I was dead afterwards. So so dead.
The instructor said he was glad he wasn't doing it with us. Thanks.
Also on my to try list. I need to save up the courage to take this. I am so uncoordinated! But all the girls who do this have killer abs.
4. Kickboxing
I could be pretty bad at this, but if someone taught me how to do it, then maybe?
(There are two groupons for this right now.)
5) Blast 900
I've driven by this place on Baxter St. A million times. They offer you a free first class, but I don't know what it is.
(Note: I looked it up. It's interval training with treadmills. I'm not sure I like treadmills. Classes are $20 each or $195 for an unlimited month. Not sure I can afford to like this one.)
Description from their website:
BLASTClasses
BLAST is a fat shredding, muscle toning, personalized group exercise class in which people of every fitness level alternate between cardio on a treadmill and strength training on the floor, each working at their own pace to reach THEIR maximum effort.
Other ideas
6) Running
I could take up running again.
7) Canopy Trapeze classes
I've wanted to take trapeze classes at Canopy for a year now, but have had no luck. Despite emailing the owner a few times and knowing two instructors, there is NEVER an opening in their beginner classes and there's no drop-in classes.
8) A friend suggested belly dancing.
I cannot dance. I'm not sure about this idea, but it is on the list of possibilities.
9) Zumba
A coworker lost a ton of weight doing zumba. I can't move my hips so I think I'd be tragic at this one.
10) There seem to be a lot of bootcamp classes in Athens. I could look into this.
I've spent the week nursing my ankle. I only went to the gym three times, which left me teeming with excess energy. I could definitely see the appeal of not being a gym rat and staying home and doing nothing, but I won't do that.
This week I did a lot of toe raises and exercise bike. I iced a lot too. Any day now the ankle should be better.
I was also in athletic shoes all week.
1) I forgot how comfortable athletic shoes are. Wearing my Asics to the grocery store is awesome. Why aren't all shoes that comfortable?
2) I'm used to living in flip flops in the summer. I have to plan outfits around my shoes. It's hard to pull off shorts and shoes—unless they're athletic shorts of you're going for the American tourist look. It's been a challenge. I've been wearing black pumas to work and trying to pass them off as dress shoes. And when I go out, sometimes wearing athletic shoes can look kind of punk.
I might have to start wearing athletic shoes more.
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