Fast forward 15 years or so, and I can't even run a 5K.
But, I have been active all my life, pre-college, that is. I did gymnastics and swimming during elementary and played soccer during high school. My coach always put me as a right wing (right mid-fielder) because I tended to foul play a lot (major elbow action!) and he figured that the ref wouldn't see me foul play if I was on the side (and he always encouraged my foul play. yeah. insert smug smile here). The disadvantage to this position is that you are required to run for the whole game. I ran and ran, up and down the length of the field and I rarely got subbed off because I was quite the dirty player. I have always gone through the finals for 100m sprints for school competitions but coming near last as a long distance runner. So as you could imagine, I felt like dying during every game. Running 60 min per game, along with training twice a week, as well as at-home Pilates exercises and 100-200 crunches before bed, kept me in shape during high school.
I went to college and I had random spurts of going to the gyms on campus. I went on treadmills, ellipticals, kickboxing classes and Pilates classes. My cycle consisted of going every day for 2 weeks, pause for one year, repeat. They never got regular and I blamed my laziness on my busy school life.
In the summer of 2011, my friend forced me to buy the 3 month pass for Hot yoga. And to make myself feel less guilty about the $150 I unwillingly gave away in cash, I went 5 times a week. Yoga has such incredible benefits. You have to try it to believe it. I improved my tolerance, my focus, my attention and my calmness. Then, I managed to go to the gym and run on the treadmill every few days for about a month. I took this habit back to New Zealand and got a concession card at my local gym and found Les Mills. Since then, I have been hooked!
Les Mills was founded in NZ and is the world's largest provider of choreographed exercise-to-music group fitness classes (thanks wiki). Luckily, the nearest gym to my apartment here in New York offers Les Mills classes. Mondays and Wednesdays are my Body Pump days, Tuesdays and Thursdays are my Body Combat days.
Pump is a high frequency / low weights type of class, and it works every single muscle group in your body. At first, it can look very intimidating as people enter the class and start getting their weights, bars, clips, mats, risers, etc... I was very intimidated but I just followed everyone else and it was pretty easy to follow what they were grabbing. For your first time, I recommend just grabbing the lightest weight (2.5 lbs, 1kg), with the bars and the clip things, and as for the risers/steppers, follow what other people are getting. I noticed it's better to follow along with the correct form using the lightest weight in the beginning, so you can load up later when you are comfortable with the movements.
I use less weights than the long-time regulars as I have been only going for three months. Here is a list of my current weights:
- Warm up: 5 + 5 = 10 lbs
- Squats: 15 + 15 = 30 lbs
- Chest: 7.5 + 7.5 = 15 lbs
- Back: 7.5 + 7.5 = 15 lbs
- Triceps: 5 + 5 = 10 lbs
- Biceps: 5 + 5 = 10 lbs
- Lunges: 7.5 + 7.5 = 15 lbs
- Shoulders: 2.5 + 2.5 = 5 lbs free weights
- Abdominals and Core.
The weakest group in my body is my biceps because 10 lbs feels like a lot for my little ones, and also my shoulders. Most people in my classes use 10 lbs in total for free weights (shoulders) but I can't go higher than 5. The strongest I would say is my back as I am planning to go higher than 15 lbs next time round. And glutes (for squats) should be everyone's strongest I believe.
Body Combat is a high intensity kickboxing/muay thai type of class. It helps if you are thinking about something that is annoying you and pretend you're punching its guts out. After regularly attending for only a month (4-5 times a week), I started to see better definition alongside my back and shoulders. I thank the 'hooks' for those. You will come out with a red, sweaty face, huffing and puffing for water. Pure beauty right there.
Both are incredibly fun! I get so bored on the treadmill or the elliptical. Even if I am watching the TV screen, I find myself getting bored and tired... Which is what I have to deal with on Fridays and Sundays when Les Mills classes aren't offered. In Pump and Combat, the music is LOUD and gives you so much energy. The instructors are funny and they pump you up hard... They are literally screaming along with you. I highly recommend them if you find yourself getting bored at the gym, or if you're intimidated by the free weights... I'm sure free weights have their own benefits, but when you're new, we all get scared of stepping to that side of the gym. As a note, I have never lifted free weights because I don't really know how much I should be lifting, or the correct posture or form. I would like to get a personal trainer at one point to teach me the ways... but for now, body pump is fun enough for me.
This is the longest streak of me attending a gym, and currently going at the rate of 4-5 times per week. So that says something about Les Mills classes!
There are other LM classes such as Body Step (step class), Body Flow (yoga/tai-chi type of class), RPM (spin class) and Body Jam (zumba-ish dancing class). I have only attended Flow but I do prefer the regular vinyasa yoga. I do not think Jam is my kind of thing... I am very un-coordinated and can't 'get-it-down' for balls. I would love to try RPM one day but I remember going on the bike in college and my womanly-crotch got sore. Us woman are not completely armor and steel down there. Well not mine, at least...
Look for the nearest Les Mills classes near you! If you're the type that needs motivation and energy from your surroundings, try it out. It could be the beginning to the newer, healthy you.
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