Ramsey Free Week Recap

It's free week at my university's student gym. That means any gym member can take any class they want for free. The only caveat is you have to get a space in the class—meaning there has to be enough space or equipment for you. Some of the classes have lines to get in. So it's always good to get there early to ensure you have spot. These classes are way busier than later on in the semester. Most of the classes are PACKED. They try not to turn people away. They try to squeeze as many people in as possible. So that might mean the late comers have to share equipment. Or for some classes they'll cut the line off. Usually if you're there 10 minutes earlier you'll be fine. It's also a tryout phase—meaning there will be lots of newbies in the class so you don't have to worry about not knowing the workout. Probably half the class won't know the workout so you won't stick out.

Day 1: TRX Yoga
I miss TRX and I liked yoga so I decided to try this class. I got there good and early and got equipment. This class had spots for 23. A few girls came in about 10 minutes late and there wasn't equipment for them.

The first half of the class was yoga. We started out with breathing and mindfulness and moved on to downward dog and other poses. So an average yoga class.

The second half of the class was TRX. It was yoga on TRX so you got a better stretch. We did Y holds and T holds. We did floor work with hamstrings, glute bridges, planks and pikes (so hard! I used to be better at these!). By the end only a few people were left. I was trying to #beastmode through it, but I couldn't do as many pikes as I used to.

Overall, I LOVED the class. It was such an amazing stretch for my shoulders. Because of the TRX you can really stretch deeper than you would when pushing against the floor. (I'm pretty flexible so this was exactly what I needed.)I felt really good leaving the class. Like I'd just had a massage or a chiropractic adjustment. I went in with an achey back and left feeling awesome.

Overseen in this class: International student working out in jean shorts.

Day 2: Yoga
I did Friday yoga and this class was packed. They probably packed 40 people into the tiny studio. I don't think they had to turn anyone away.

This was your average yoga class, not my beloved power yoga.I think the instructor was taking it easy for all the newbies. I like my yoga on caffeine, so I'd really like a more difficult class. The instructor said we'd do headstands and crane later in the semester. So there is hope for it.

We did the usual poses. We did some variations of tree pose—harder versions, arms out, arms swaying etc.  She said to try it with your eyes closed. WHY IS IT SO MUCH HARDER WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED!?! This blew my mind and I must get better at this immediately.

I like the time this class is offered. If I do take it again, I'll count it as an off day.

Overseen in class: Girl in front of me working on in a cotton onesie sleeper that was so short I could see her 80s satin underwear. I didn't even think they made underwear like that anymore.

Day 3: Bodypump

I've always been intimidated by this class. It's always packed to the gills full of girls and giant barbells. 60 minutes of weights!? Sounds awful.
But I do need to add strength training to my regimen and it's free week so I should try classes and see what I like.

I'm not sure if I've picked a barbell since freshman year of college, so I didn't know what to expect.

Equipment for this class: a mat, a platform, a barbell and plates.

I got a barbell (which was surprisingly light. NOT 40 pounds) and a set of small (2.2), medium (5.5) and large (11 pound) plates.

I put the small and medium on each side for the warm-up (deadlifts and upright rows). I survived! I thought I maybe could have added weight.

There were squats and overhead lifts. It was kind of what I was expecting. I didn't die really until the third or so exercise about 10 minutes in when my arms started to shake. I persevered.

The second half of the class was leg day. It was squats. I DIED on the lunges, which was weird because I run and can do lunges. I was just so tired at that point. We did some work lying back on the bench (like a weight bench)

We changed weights throughout the class. I did most of the class with the small and medium or just the medium on the bar. I watched what the one instructor was doing and that was a good weight for me. We also used the plates as free weights—for tricep extensions and then the small plates for some exercise that killed my shoulders (out of the side and back like you're pulling a bow and arrow.) We also did pushups after my arms were tired.

The next day my quads were sore as well as my shoulders. Good sore. I knew I'd be sore.

I'm thinking about adding the class to my routine. I just don't know what fits yet.

I'd wanted to take the 7 p.m. yoga too, but the gym early for a training so it wasn't offered anyway.

Day 4: Power Yoga
I went to the usual room for yoga. But the yoga class was actually upstairs. So at 12 minutes till I went upstairs and was about #20 in line. Then the fire alarm went off for the gym and the entire gym had to evacuate. There were about 2,000 people shuttled out of the building: lots of people working out, waiting to take classes and about 500 people in a lecture (maybe a mandatory club sports meeting). So we all waited outside in the grass. About 20 minutes in—they decided to cancel the classes and I went home and walked my dog.

I ran this morning so it was okay. Maybe I needed the rest? Apparently the fire alarm had been going off all week.

Fire alarm crowd. About 30 minutes in. A ton had left. 

Day 5: More TRX Yoga
Maybe I should have tried a different class, but I wanted to do this class again. This class had a lot of people come in late (after it was full) and there wasn't equipment for them. And I found that extremely distracting. The teacher was having to teach two groups. I'll look forward to smaller classes later in the semester.

On Tuesdays, there are barre classes that I might do later. There's an Insanity class, which I might be too chicken to try. I die just doing 10 minutes of Insanity abs. 60 minutes!? I'm scared. Today I was too tired to do the class. Maybe on a week I've been a slug and really need to torch some calories.

I didn't do the last day of free week. I have a standing Wednesday class that I try my hardest not to miss.

So that's it I'll buy an all access pass soon.

Closing thoughts:
1. Don't be afraid to go to the student gym. Yes, it's super busy. But if you show up early and pay attention you will be fine.(Also classes tend to be more popular during the school day and slightly less packed the closer you get to 8 p.m.)
2. Maybe I should have tried more classes. I still haven't tried Total Body Tone or spinning with the instructor I liked this summer. But I guess I have all semester.
3. Glad I survived free week: early closings, fire alarms and all.

Don't mess with my gym schedule

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.)

Workout Variety

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.

Gym brain

So I cannot write after I come back from the gym. I feel like working out flips some switch in my brain to revert to caveman mode and leave me incapable of conjugating verbs.

This always happens. I come back from the gym and have a free hour to write—only my brain is mush and all I can do is stare at my computer screen. Maybe I'll troll the Facebook feeds or watch hulu (we cancelled cable). But I can't manage anything productive with this free hour.

I googled it and apparently gym brain actually is a thing:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/my-brains-tired-scientists-looking-at-seratonin-find-you-may-well-be-right-8519939.html

Scientists have even studied it.

I'll take it as a good sign that I got a good workout. Thank you Laura and your slightly evil but effective gymnastics ab drill.

Favorite line of tonight's workout:
Context: I was whining about the ab drills. Hips on raised pads, with a partner (Grace) holding my feet down and were were doing holds (hold a swim position, go up and down, side to side obliques).

Grace: Think of all the clothes you can wash
Me: ???
Grace: on your wash board abs.
Me: Thanks, Grace.

I should add that Grace (who is a medical student and I bother her way too much about med school because I think it's fascinating and wish I were smart enough to go to med school) cheated on abs by using the trampoline do bounce back up. I thought it was a genius way to outsmart the evil ab drill. (She mostly did this to be funny, and it worked.)

So because my brain is mush, I will give you a gratuitous picture of me and the dog. He's always happy to see me when I come home from the gym.

Does gym brain happen to anyone else? Does cardio turn anyone stupid?

Going to the gym by yourself

The first time you go to the gym, you might want a friend to go with you. Moral support. Someone to try you to the emergency room etc. That said, don't be afraid to go to the gym by yourself. You might see a friend there. You might make a friend. Just don't miss out on the opportunity to go to the gym because you can't persuade someone to with you.

The reason I started going to my local gym was because my neighbor invited me. We were both saying:"I will, if you will" about going to a trampoline gym. So she picked me up. We went. The teacher was a cute guy. There were a handful of other girls (also new-ish we would later learn) and a dad and his son. We jumped. We survived.

That was a Saturday. I felt like I had six-pack abs for the rest of the weekend. On Monday, I decided to go again and get a membership. My neighbor couldn't come with me. I couldn't talk anyone else in to going that night, but I sure wanted to go. 't I decided to just go by myself (which was a little braver than I normally am.)

I went—and another cuter guy taught the class. It was better than the first class. For partner work, a cheerful, enthusiastic blonde came over and introduced herself. She was so nice. I felt like I belonged. (Sure, she needed a partner too, but I felt like she picked me.)

And I kept going, by myself. I made friends. 

I made friends with the other only independent gym-goers. Heck, even with the girls that came with friends. And as curmudgeony as I am, I liked almost all of them. 

So be an independent woman. Go to the gym by yourself. You'll give off this confident, busy aura of a girl who knows what she wants and has her act together. 

And as a bonus, you can leave when you want. You can stay and chat up the cute instructor or hightail it out of there as fast as you want. And no one will judge you, if you stop and get an icee on the way home.

Caveat: There are some sports when it's better to with a friend. Indoor rock climbing for example. It's probably good to have someone to belay you. If you can get a friend to go, great! You'll have so much fun. But don't feel like it's a requirement. 

Dudes. Totally fine going solo to the gym.

Gymnastics at the age of 31

I took my first gymnastics class at the tender age of 31.

I've wanted to be a gymnast since the first time I saw gymnastics on TV. Shannon Miller, Dominic Dawes, Dominic Moceanue. I grew up wanting to be just like them. To flip. To fly through the air.

And since I saw gymnastics on TV, I've been asking my parents to take gymnastics. I begged then. I'm flexible. I can put my feet on my head, do a split! I'd be so good at that, I insisted. My father said there was no place near our house to take gymnastics. I told him my friend was ranked first in the state on floor and she took gymnastics in the next city. Then he said gymnastics was too expensive.

And it was. And I'm sure my parents didn't want to schlep me 45-minutes one way to take gymnastics, pay for leotards. And then have my siblings all want to try different sports.

So I took measures in my own hands. And tried to learn handsprings on my own. In my hard, rocky yard.

My best attempt was a round-off with a twist. I didn't know what I was doing. This was before the days of YouTube. Had I had Youtube I probably would have broken my neck, arm or both.

For years, I tried to flip. I landed in the springs of the trampoline we finally got. My sister could flip. I still couldn't. I watched in high school as the cheerleaders learned to flip. I still couldn't. And for a while, with college and silly distractions like a career and pets, I forgot.

When I turned 30 I caught the workout bug. I started going to the trampoline gym every day. I watched everyone else flip and remembered how much I wanted to flip. I should be able to do that, I thought. Only, I tried for months and months. I could rotate—and then land on my back. I put my hands down. I couldn't get my feet over my head. I watched new people get a flip in two visits. After much frustration, I decided to try a real gymnastics gym. One with mats and trampolines and pads and pads and pads.

My husband thought it was the worst idea ever. Gymnastics at the public rec center. Of course I went.

The class was $10. I figured I could try and see if I liked it. What's the worst that could happen? (A: A group of cliquish high school cheerleaders smacking bubblegum and all doing back tucks perfectly.)

But actually, the class that night was six women—all around my age, of varying abilities: A yoga instructor with amazing arms. She was working on her front tuck (and nailing it.) An aerialist who was working on her back tuck with two spotters. There was a science researcher working on her back walkover.

But before all of that, there was the warmup. Laps around the mat. (I could do this!) There were handstands (I only crashed to my back once) and forward rolls and backwards rolls (and a mat because I couldn't do them.) Then, there was another mat when I couldn't do a bad-hand cartwheel. (I can do an awesome one-handed cartwheel.)

Mostly, I kept up with the class. I didn't crash and burn. I did almost miss the mat on a front tuck attempt. I over rotated and went flying around the room a little. And yes, everyone saw it. I should have done a big gymnastics smile with my arms to the sky. But alas. I didn't. My worst critique was "that's how you break arms."  Apparently I tuck my arms under me fetal style when tucking when my arms should go to the side.

I tried a handstand fall and ended up doing a front layout (landing on my back on some pads). The point was landing on my hands, so of course I just rotated around and never touched. That pretty much summed up my night. I wasn't clearly the worst. I was in the thick of it. Mostly, I wasn't that weird uncoordinated new kid. Someone even called my flexible. (And then a few minutes later the instructor told me to work on my shoulder flexibility as my shoulders aren't over my hands in my bridge.) But maybe they'll think of me as the new girl—who could climb the rope and do a front layout on her first visit. (They don't need to know I was working on my tuck.)

All in all I survived. I don't even think I have any new bruises.

I would have liked to flip but it was fun to play on the equipment. I'll probably go back, but I'm already worried about my arms.

Introduction: The Nerdy Girl's Guide to Working Out

I really should point my toes!

Hi I’m Sara. The sometimes-secretary of the nerdy girls club. I’ll be in the back taking notes and hoping no one looks at me.

I’m also a horrible show-off at the local trampoline gym and am utterly addicted to working out. That’s a new thing though.

By day I am a bespectacled copy editor (not a particularly good copy editor and I completely blind to my own typos. Apologies in advance) and after work, I do back shoot-outs on the TRX bands or work on one-handed supermans off the wall at my local trampoline gym.

I started working out seriously about a year ago. I went from a girl who exercised a few times a year (when she felt fat) to a girl who feels like I have to apologize to my trainer if I miss a day. (I’m sorry I had a work emergency and that’s why I missed the awful, awful TRX saws.)

This blog is dedicated to my awkward adventures at the gym—hoping to inspire other nerdy girls, even nerds still in the closet about their nerdiness, to not be afraid of pushups, spandex and guys with 8-pack-abs and biceps that make Popeye look like a pansy.

GET THEE TO THE GYM!  

You can still be a smart, educated, geeky girl who sneaks in any chance to read her kindle and still go to circuit training and kick serious ass on the rope climb or goblet squats.

You might not have as much time for fanfiction—but you could also write it off as research on your muscular hero or for your secret spy heroine and how they learn to do those flying kicks.

It might even be your duty as nerd to be well-rounded, to read, be cultured and be in shape. You might even::gasp:: like working out. At any rate, you should try it. (Can’t knock something you haven’t tried.)