3 Workouts Down...

I've been to Curves three times now. It was VERY hard to get out of bed this morning. I almost convinced myself to stay home. But my fat cells aren't going to burn themselves off! So I pulled myself out of the house into the 24 degree freezing air at 6:30 am. And once again, it felt great!

For those of you who aren't familiar with Curves, it is basically a series of hydraulic resistance machines set up in a big circle. There are small square "recovery" mats between each machine. You do 30 seconds of intense repetitions at one machine, then move to the mat for a little cardio/aerobic movement for 30 seconds. Then you go to the next machine. It's 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off for all 15 or so machines. You do the whole circuit twice. It takes about 30 minutes total. Because of the quick pace, it is a very tough cardio workout. And at the recovery stations you can make it very intense with jumping and arm movements.

It's especially tough for me because I have no endurance built up yet. I find that during the workout, I occasionally feel light-headed. So I have to ease up a bit and just do really easy jogging-in-place between machines. And luckily, halfway through the circuit, one of the machines has a hand grip that checks your heart rate to make sure you are in a good range. The resistance training part isn't as hard, (except when I'm already out of breath), and I'm not as sore as I expected to be. So, I figure I need to do this every morning to really see results. That's a big commitment. I pray for the strength to do it!

Here it goes again...for real this time.

I have been driving past the Curves at our local strip mall for four months now, wanting to go inside and see what it's all about. So, yesterday, after not being able to zip up my winter coat over my ever-expanding hips, I did it. I walked inside Curves, and made an appointment for a consultation later that day. After the consultation, and finding out that my body fat is almost 29% (gasp), I wrote a check and signed up. The lady was shocked when I told her I wanted to come the next morning at 6:30 for my first workout. I had to schedule it with her because she needs to help me learn the routine the first time through. Somehow, this morning when the alarm went off at 6 am, I got my fat self out of bed, ate a scrambled egg, and drove over to Curves in 22 degree COLDNESS.

Let me tell you: It was SO worth it! I felt so good getting my heart rate up and sweating! I'm ready to go back on Saturday morning and do it again. She said I should try for 3 days a week at first and then come more often if I can. I can't wait to make this my daily routine. I really feel good about this plan. Trying to exercise at home was just not working out for me with my kids and having no room in this apartment. I also figured, if a little money is invested in this, I will feel more motivated to uphold my end of the deal. So here goes try #736 at losing weight. Ok, I'm exaggerating just a bit. But darn it, it better work this time!