Revolution

Hello Darlings...

So you all know (because I endlessly blog of my love for it) that I spin at a place called Revolution Studios and that I love it, the instructors, the team there and the classes so very much...

So I was inspired by what I am getting at Rev to write this particular blog to inspire you...

I had a little thought on the bike the other day when I was taking the Post-Turkey Day class...and we were all working hard to work off our pie...which was not pie in my case but wine...

and before I get into just what my epiphany on the bike was I have to whine a bit about why I needed wine...

I had a little bit...ok maybe close to a bottle...that day thanks to the ex.

Being  the world's nicest ex-wife I had invited him over for Thanksgiving Dinner...not because I wanted him there but because I did not want my son to have to make a choice about where he had his turkey...

but my son didn't want turkey so we had prime rib...

so I didn't want him to have to choose where he had his...prime rib...

I got home from spin (had to pay it forward for the meal I was going to indulge in and Marvelous Mel was just the ticket for that) and started to work on the late lunch we had planned and I opened up an excellent bottle of Orin Swift Abstract...

yummy...

and here I am with this giant Fred Flinstone sized prime rib and I am getting the Yorkshire pudding together and I get a text...

from the ex

because he got a better offer....

woooooooo hoooooooo

I poured myself a second glass of wine...

not because I was mad...

oh hell no...I was dancing around the kitchen...

I think I did the running man and maybe even a cabbage patch or two...

and yes "The Carlton" definitely happened...

so once I was done dancing in the kitchen (which by the way is a great disco and has a crystal chandelier over the kitchen island...but sadly not a mirror ball) I got back to cooking and was a happy girl the rest of the day...

my ex is a nice man...I just was happy I had my son all to myself and more leftovers...

So on Friday when I was at spin class and we were all working off the damage from the day before I was reminded of how the holidays tend to kill us all...because Jen the Awesome was literally killing me and I was regretting my choices from the day before...

So I am there spinning and sweating and regretting the Yorkshire pudding I made and ate and I thought about what was ahead of us all during the holidays:

parties...

"gifts" of food...like the annual popcorn bucket someone sends you or the cookies from the neighbor

wine
wine
wine (or is that just me?)

holiday cooking

more parties

more holiday crap

CANDY and sweets we feel we should have because it is the Holidays...

you know what I am talking about....

And on January 2 we wake up (because we are too hung over on January 1 to think like this) and say:

I AM GOING ON A DIET AND I AM GOING TO IMPROVE MY FITNESS AND LIKE RUN A MARATHON OR SOMETHING THIS YEAR...I'M TOTALLY GOING IRONMAN THIS YEAR...AND THERE WILL BE YOGA....YES I WILL TAKE UP YOGA...AND PILATES...WHATEVER THE HELL PILATES IS...AND I'M GOING TO LOSE 10 LBS IN A WEEK AND BE TOTALLY LEAN AND FITTER THAN I WAS WHEN I WAS 20 AND I WILL ROCK A BIKINI THIS YEAR AND I AM ONLY GOING TO EAT HEALTHY GOOD FOOD...LIKE FROM WHOLE FOODS...JUST ORGANIC AND PERFECT STUFF...YES YES I WILL EAT LIKE THAT AND THERE WILL BE NO MORE WHATABURGER BUT THERE WILL BE PILATES...WHATEVER THE HELL PILATES IS...

yes, that is the resolution we all make...

been there done that like...well I am 50 so you do the math and deduct the years I didn't know what a resolution was...because we all know I can't do math...

and we all break it by...

January 3

So I had this little revolution about resolutions...

what if...

and bear with me here....

and don't send hate mail

and don't ask my daughter to sign my commitment papers (because she is now 21) because I have gone off the deep end...

but...

instead of throwing in the towel during the holiday...

what if:

we tried and PREVENT that holiday crash and burn and found ourselves giving a little more to our fitness and a little less to trips to the buffet

what if we paid it forward?

what if we made the resolution not a New Year's Resolution but a....

THANKSGIVING RESOLUTION REVOLUTION

in thanksgiving for the fact we are alive and healthy and do not need to slack off and just eat sand tarts and drink cocoa...

ok so go ahead and eat sand tarts and drink cocoa but maybe throw in an extra Crossfit class or two...

I'm going to try something new...try adding something to the mix to keep me going...

I'm trying yoga

ok stop laughing all of those who know me and know that I am sooooo not that quiet girl that can fold herself into a downward dog

whatever downward dog is...

and yes I still hear you laughing people...

go ahead because I am too...

but my friend Amazing Anna has this company that basically does this sort of a pop up yoga happening and I am going to try it and my friend MagicMike has promised he will be next to me to keep me going (or at least laughing)...he's MagicMike for a reason...

she's says there will be wine afterwards...

ok that right there is enough to make me go...

and apparently there is a DJ...and you know me and some good music...

I wonder if he plays Katy Perry?  Can you do yoga poses to "This is How We Do"?

probably not...but I bet there is no Enya either...

This is like party yoga and not scary yoga...

I can do that!

(and if you want to join me in this little adventure go to the Facebook page "We Play Everywhere" and "like" it...that way you will see when events are...)

I'm trying to expose myself to new things but I have to bear in mind that although my body is only 50 my knees act like they are 70...so I won't be doing any crossfit anytime soon and kickboxing is completely out of the question even though MarvelousMargaret would love me to join her in kicking and hurting people...she's a nice lady but she really really likes to kick and hurt people and do dangerous things...

And as for Zumba...I might dance in my kitchen but I'm keeping my boogying to the bike (I can twerk with the best of them when the lights are off) but there are too many turns and moves for my poor old knees...

And Rev has added a Friday Night Lights class with my sweet MagicMike as DJ/Spin tormentor and I plan to take in a few of those...might just do a double duty with Jen the Awesome in the morning and go back and hit it again with MagicMike at night...I don't have any Friday night dates so I might as well clip in and rock out...and at least I KNOW I will be doing something fun if I do that...

I also met Jason Wimberly (celebrity trainer and brand ambassador for Rev)  and I am totally in love with him and his high energy workouts.  I call him my Glitter Man.  He has DVD's for sale on his website (warning: his abs might make you want to shoot yourself) so if you are one of those people who don't have time to get someplace for a workout, order one...

http://wimberlean.com/

And if you already belong to a gym why not use this Thanksgiving Resolution Revolution time to check out something new...challenge yourself to try a group exercise class or try a class with a different instructor...

But I totally urge all of  you to give any and all of these activities a try...

who knows you might discover an activity you really love...

The problem is...

and maybe this is just me...

so many of us start the holiday season off with this giant meal full of delicious fattening food...and then we go into a food coma...and then we spend the rest of the weekend eating leftovers and remaining in a food coma...

and then all the holiday parties start and we just keep going...

it all becomes a big "what the hell!"...

and weekend workouts get dropped in favor of sleeping in because of the party the night before (but Rev at Memorial City has a 10:30 class for us sleepyheads...)...

I know all of this because it is exactly what happens to me every year...and then I want to shoot myself on January 2...

So this year I have resolved that I will not gain any holiday weight but will in fact lose a pound or two (trying to be reasonable here) and keep myself fit...all while indulging in a sandtart or two but not the whole box...

If you want to hold yourself accountable there are Apps out there that will do that for you...
I joined an App called "Pact"...each week you pledge to do a certain number of workouts...if you make your "pact" (do all of your workouts) you get paid...not big bucks...but a few bucks...but if you don't you get CHARGED...you decide how much you will get charged and it gets tied into your paypal account.  The hardest part is remembering to check in and out for each workout...I've earned a small bit of money (enough to buy a decent bottle of wine) and have not been charged anything..

It keeps me from slacking off...

you can get the App in the App Store...it's free...

So who's with me on this?

what...2 of you?

Seriously I want to hear from you...tell me how you are going to branch out and try something new and not let the holidays become the fall-off-the-wagon days and join me in my

THANKSGIVING RESOLUTION REVOLUTION

If enough of you try this and follow through and let me know how it's going (you can PM me) I will...

POST A PHOTO OF ME DOING YOGA

that right there should be enough incentive for at least one of you to do this with me so you can laugh yourself silly at me trying to be a pretzel...

and I might even let Darling DK convince me that I don't hate Pilates...whatever Pilates is (actually I know what Pilates is...and I hated it...but I am willing to try again...)

And for those of you who want to join me at Rev (I'm calling out you DowntownJulieBrown!) this is a great time to do it...get yourself hooked while we normally would be quaffing wassail (ok I don't know what the hell wassail is) and eating sand tarts (I keep mentioning sand tarts because KuteKaren bakes them and they are worth every calorie so I am hoping to convince her to give me 4...).

My THANKSGIVING RESOLUTION REVOLUTION is:
lose 1-2 lbs
at least 4 spin classes a week
try yoga
and maybe try pilates (Darling DK I need you!)
less sandtarts and more salmon...

my reward will be that I won't hate myself on January 2...

(but I might hate myself on January 1 if I let RoyBoy make me Fireballs again...)

So make this resolution with me...let's start a revolution...

or you can sit back and eat sand tarts and call me crazy...

either way it's all good...

I'm 50...I want to take care of this body so that maybe I can see 50 more years...and see my children turn 50 and if I can inspire JUST ONE OF YOU to try something new and not give up...

well...

I might just start a revolution...

Inspiration Song: "Revolution" by Diplo...you might have thought I meant the Beatles song (which is awesome and pretty perfect) but I am dedicating this song (first time I have done this) to KuteKim and my Revolution peeps and Amazing Anna who is starting her own revolution with yoga...because they started a revolution in me...and they are revolutionizing our community...

lyrics:

Can you see it?
The worst is over
The monsters in my head are scared of love
Fallen people listen up!
It's never too late to change our luck

So, don't let them steal your light (Eh eh eh eh)
Don't let them break your stride (Eh eh eh eh)
There is light on the other side
And you'll all the raindrops falling behind
It's a revolution
Make it out tonight
It's a revolution
It's a reva, rev

Can you see it?
The worst is over
The monsters in my head are scared of love
Fallen people listen up!
It's never too late to change our luck

So, don't let them steal your light (Eh eh eh eh)
Don't let them break your stride (Eh eh eh eh)
There is light on the other side
And you'll all the raindrops falling behind
It's a revolution
Make it out tonight
It's a revolution
It's a reva, rev
Oh oh, ooo oh, oh oh oh
Oh oh, ooo oh, oh oh oh
Oh oh, ooo oh, oh oh oh
Oh oh, ooo oh, oh oh oh
Rev, rev, rev, rev

Read more: Diplo - Revolution Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Bye Darlings...be a part of my Thanksgiving Resolution Revolution...or eat sand tarts...or both!  I can do both because I am going to not let the holidays kick me in the butt...I'm going to kick #holidaybinging in the butt...