Sunday, January 17, 2016

Let's Get Physical

Hello Darlings...

I am in show hell...

so when I am in a panic over show hell I...blog...

because I need to up my creativity and right now the well is about to run dry!

I'm not going to whine about the show right now...if I do I will start crying and panicking all over again and since I literally have to do about 200 or more costumes for this show my anxiety is at an all time high.

So I do two things to bring the anxiety down (three if you include wine...four if you include vodka but frankly did I have to mention them at all because they are pretty much a given ...)

so besides wine and vodka...or whisky...or...whatever...

I cope with stress by:

1) writing a blog

and

2) exercising

I used to eat...like if I was in my old ways right now I would totally be making a chicken fried steak and gravy for dinner instead of chicken and rice.

And tomorrow would be be brought to you by the letters "P" (for panic) and "W" (for Whataburger).

I would have spent all my stressed out time eating terrible snacks, picking up fast food, indulging in whatever I wanted because I was stressed and workouts would never happen.

Instead I am trying to plan out what kind of healthy things I can eat this week while working my bootie off and how I can fit in my workouts.

I even had a little cry in front of the computer when I looked at the schedule for the following week at the spin/yoga studio and realized I will not have many chances to work out and will not get to ride with my beloved Marvelous Mel maybe at all. And that squeezing in yoga was going to be a challenge.

tears

the struggle is real people...

yoga is why I don't throw scissors at people...

Well to be truthful I don't throw scissors at people because that would be terrible (and dangerous!) but in my mind sometimes they want to sail...if I do yoga even the fantasy of throwing scissors doesn't happen.

I've let myself slip into some old bad eating habits in the last year...I made a lot of poor choices at times and there was more than one or two or 50 "whatthehell" moments.  More fried crept into my diet and more often than not I said "yes" to a Whataburger with cheese and mayo with a large side of fries.

(But if you get the Whata Junior you save over 200 calories in carbs and get almost exactly the same protein, get less grams of fat and the carbs are cut in half...order that...that's what I do when I am paying attention to my diet...this public service announcement is brought to you by Anice the Whata Addict)

I am proof that you can't exercise away a bad diet...I exercise almost every day...and not just a little dainty exercising but heart pounding sweaty 475-575 calories in 45 minutes spin classes.  Powerful hard stuff.  Stuff that makes me want to clip out of the bike and scream "to hell with you" about 20 minutes in and then by the last minute of class I am already looking forward to my next ride.

And in May I added yoga in to the mix and every class is a soul filling dance with myself that is always in the fat-burning zone for my heart rate and often is into cardio heart rate as well.  I can wax poetic about it for the next hour or you can just go read my last blog called "Yoga".

Go do that...

it's pretty good...

I remember exercise in the 80's...it was all about Jane Fonda and aerobics and bench classes and thong leotards...

Let me refresh your memory with a little video from Eric Prydz that just might sear your corneas (and might not be safe for work) and is definitely Rated "R" but pretty much sums up exactly what we did in the early 80's and 90's for workouts...


You know what the best part of that video is....

WE ACTUALLY PRETTY MUCH LOOKED AND MOVED LIKE THAT

I was in my 20's...I could get away with it...

sort of...

not really...

but I totally thought I was Jamie Lee Curtis in the movie "Perfect"...

what's that you say?

You don't know what I am talking about?

Ah....let me show you that once upon a time she was more than a Scream Queen or a Disney Mom...

she had the most amazing body and I would have pretty much given up everything but my ability to speak to have it.

Have a look...

you might need some alcohol after this if you ever participated in one of these types of classes:


Do you hate me now for the reminder of what we did to ourselves?  Or maybe you are a young one and I am now showing you for the first time what true hell was...

and we did it in thong leotards mind you...

and if you really want to lose your mind...look up Jane Fonda Workout...

and you will hate her because she is even more beautiful now than back then...

We got physical in the most stupid and amazing ways back then.

Lifting weights, jogging, running, walking, cardio dance classes, weight/cardio workouts, pilates, yoga and spinning are classics that will always be part of a gym or fitness program and continue to evolve over the years.  Add Les Mills classes, CrossFit, barre classes and all sorts of fusion classes to the mix and you have a world of options to chose from and not one of them requires leg warmers and a thong leotard.

Thank.You.Jesus.

Spinning has evolved over the years so if you haven't tried it lately you might want to hop back up on the bike.  You no longer sit there and pedal.  There is choreography and weights involved and many studios and instructors deliver soul lifting messages that give your heart a double workout.

Some studios even offered themed rides with special music.  Thank goodness mine has "Hip Hop Happy Hour" because if it was "Country Ride" I would never go back.

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert belong in a country bar or the Rodeo but not spin class (but apparently don't belong together at all...yes, you can hear the little "buh dum bump" rim shot sound effect here with that little joke...)

We all know I hate country music...and the only thing worse to me than having to listen to country music in a bar or the car would be to have to spin to it.

That is #8 on my list of "this is the definition of hell"...country music in spin class...

But hey if you like country and there is a place that offers it and it gets you riding or running...go for it...just don't look for me on the bike next to you...I will take hip hop and electronic music and remixes any day over something you could line dance to.

Pinterest is full of "30 minute ab blasts" and "10 minute fat blast" workouts...all kinds...and if you don't like the gym there really are some very good workouts to be found there.  Just don't get caught up in "50 ways to make pallets into furniture" or any of the 8000 pins on turning cauliflower into pizza crust or alfredo sauce (which I hear can be quite good but don't have the patience for).

Pinterest can be the best or worst time waster in the world...but it can also be a good way to find a workout.

There are also web sources like "Yogis Anonymous" that offer online yoga classes if you can't get to one or find a studio to your liking.  My friend Super SuSu swears by it and has been taking online classes from them when she can't make it to the studio for a while now.  She's a pretty finicky yogi so I'm about 99.99% sure its an awesome website.

For me I like a crowd to keep me going.  At Revolution Studio we refer to the group of riders as the pack and like a pack we move as one and stick together.  I love the energy I get from the riders surrounding me and from having the instructor come up and personally turn my resistance up or look me in the eye and give me a shoutout or a little nudge...or just come and touch my hand to let me know she noticed that I was working my ass off...

Today I forced JayVee into taking yoga with me.  Yes JayVee who is the queen of all things group exercise (it's her job peeps) and instructor extraordinaire had not really ever experienced a yoga class....

until today...when I made her...and Darling Dani (who even TEACHES YOGA AT THE FITNESS CENTER JAYVEE IS GROUP EXERCISE MANAGER AT) also made her do it...

and...

SHE TOTALLY LOVED IT PEOPLE...

She flowed right along with us with Super SuSu at her side (Super SuSu should be a yoga instructor herself) and I was so happy I could have danced if I had not been flowing...

Because even someone who has been in the business for enough years to have worn leg warmers for real can learn to love and experience something new (and for the record she is constantly upping her game with classes she just hadn't found the time for the mat).

I felt a huge victory because I knew she would find something in yoga that would make her heart sing...and areas in her body she could work  on the mat that she wasn't getting elsewhere)

My friend Marvelous Maggie found a love for martial arts and lost a ton of weight and turned into a real hottie who is fit and pretty...(she was always pretty...always)...she loves rolling around on the mat in a Gi having strangers hold her down in the most painful ways.  She has the bruises to prove it.  I think she is nuts but she loves it and I totally support her in it.

You gotta do what you love people...

But you also have to try stuff to learn if you like it or not.

For some going to the gym and picking up the weights or running on the treadmill is all their body and soul needs...and for others a group class is where it is at.

I love group exercise classes because I love interacting with people and knowing I am not alone in my pain.  I like knowing that the person next to me is struggling to stay on one foot or working as hard as I am to hold up those 3 lb weights.

But here's a bonus to those classes that you may not have thought of or experienced...

you might...

just maybe...

meet some new friends...

I did

And I love them

They are my "squad"...my peeps...my crazy family of lovely beautiful humans.  We can best Taylor Swifts squad of supermodels and actresses any day because one thing I know about my squad: WE TRULY LOVE EACH OTHER

We are a motley crew (and yes I almost spelled it Motely Crue) of people: some of us are moms, some are single, some are dating, some are gay, some of us have kids, some are old like me (well actually it's just me that's old) and some are fresh little pups.

Two of the squad had the nerve to move away because they got fabulous job opportunities in Singapore and...Minneapolis?  Yes, one moved to Minnesota and the other to Singapore and I pretty much miss them so much I'm crying right now...

SexySonia and JessTheBest I love you....and I hate you for leaving but I love you...

You see, if you turn to the person next to you in class you might end up with a friend...or a boyfriend...or someone to go on a cruise with (all have happened) or someone to run a marathon with or someone to keep a running chat on FB with (also happens daily) or someone who you tell every time you see her "You changed my life and I love you" (KuteKim I'm looking at you).

You might find out that the beautiful lady next to you also misses her kids and cries when you cry in Savassanah when the instructor plays "Landslide" because you miss your kids too and when you tell her how your heart hurts she says "I get it"...(DreamyDeanna....no words can express that love i have for you my soul sister).

You might end up going to a play with someone and wanting her mom to adopt you (HotTamale Super Sandra) or you have a girl who acts like a tough nut but you know she is goo inside and you love her (Super SuSu).  Or you end up with extra sons and daughters or brothers and sisters...

You show up to support each other in class and outside of class...you never know but maybe that person doing Body Pump next to you might just be your new best friend...

So open your heart to fitness but also open your heart to new people in your life...

I work hard at my classes and now it's time to clean my diet up more...I know what to do...I've been there before...it's like a yoga flow...I've been through it once and now I do it with my own breath and know where to move next because I have the map...

I've got the love and support of my squad and friends and I can do anything when my heart is filled with love...

And if I can inspire just one of you to get out there and find something that makes you move that you love doing then I will be the happiest girl alive...because I may not be inspirational but I do love to inspire...

Stretch...grow...breathe...move...

Do what makes you sweat....do what makes you feel strong and powerful...do what makes you feel like a badass

and be grateful you don't have to do it in a thong and leg warmers...

Inspiration Song: The ultimate double entendre song: "Let's Get Physical" by Olivia Newton John.

Bye Darlings---go get Physical!  And just in case you forgot, here's the video:


Now go and move...









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