Over this past month, I've been spending a lot of time on the stationary bike (upright, not recumbent) and I've actually been SWEATING! Yay for sweat!!
Today, I went to my first spin class in 5 months. I haven't been allowed to go to spin until now because I'm still supposed to be cautionary on weight bearing activity. When I ride the stationary bike on my own, I keep it at a very modest resistance and just go as fast as I can for 30 minutes. My physical therapist, Jana, allowed me to spin today IF I promised to not stand, jump, hover or ride with a heavy resistance. I have to admit, it's hard to be in a spin class and not really participate, but I stayed true to my "rules" and I kept it moderate and fast. At first I was sitting in class wondering why I didn't just go ride the stationary bike by myself. I wasn't too crazy about the music that was being played, and I was a little annoyed that I couldn't do all of the interval training the instructor was cueing. However, I stuck with it and really had a great workout. I decided that the benefit of attending a spin class for now is really for the motivation of staying on the bike longer than 30 minutes. Even though when I ride alone, I can listen to my own bangin' tunes, I enjoyed the camaraderie of the class today.
Side note: Speaking of bangin' tunes, I want to talk about music for a minute. When I exercise, music is SO crucial to me. I have to have songs that inspire me to work harder, move faster, or slow down when it's time to cool down.
I thoroughly enjoyed driving up to Spokane, WA this past weekend with my husband. We took our kiddos to my folks', and took a road trip up to visit my brother at Gonzaga. Matthew was home for two weeks, then had to go back to summer school ON his 21st birthday. We wanted to head up and brighten up his weekend. Had SUCH a blast with the coolest brother ever! We talked about music for much of the time as Aaron and I had just spend 6.5 hours surfing Satellite radio and reminiscing as each song came on. We spent a lot of time on Shade 45 and Hip Hop Nation as I read the history of rap music from Wikipedia to Aaron (omigosh...did I just admit that? AND P.S. what did we do before smart phones)? We switched the channel to Backspin (old school hip hop) and listened to the artists who helped form the genre of rap. It was so fun!! We also enjoyed listening to 90s on 9 and Lithium so we could relive our high school and college days. And, of course, had to listen to Octane... my FAVORITE... I love hard rock. Other fav stations: Faction, Alt Nation and Classic Vinyl (had to hear some Zeppelin!!)
Man, that was quite a digression! I am going to work on my next entry as a "favorite play list" writeup.
I haven't been swimming too much lately -it's because I'd rather cycle. What can I say? I'm addicted to SWEAT! Plus it's less of a hassle: I can go as soon as the gym daycare opens instead of waiting until 10am. And it's so much easier to get ready for the day afterwards! However, I'm so glad that I was forced into swimming. Now that I am reacquainted with the pool and have defined my goals while swimming, I can see myself working it into my regimen.
Alright folks, signing off. Remember, if you are injured, it is NOT an excuse to stop exercising! There is always something you can find that you are able to do. Trust me...
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