Changing it up with some new workouts!

Last week I had 3 friends invite me to try some new workouts.  I'm game for just about anything so I tried them all ON TOP of my usual running...My knees are PISSED so I'm taking it easy this week with spinning and swimming only until Sunday. And by easy I mean my ass will still be kicked but my joints will just get a break. So I thought I would share my two cents about each of the new things I tried.

Body Pump: Loved it.

My friend Erica got the DVD for Christmas so I went to her house so we could do it together. It was awesome. I really like how a lot of it moved to the beat of the music.  I always workout better with music. My legs were SHAKING after the first round of squats.

We were doing it on my hub's lunch hour so we did the 30 minute workout and it was a GOOOOOD workout for the amount of time!  I should have used heavier weights for the arms......WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOWWWWW......Definitely a good at home workout.  I dreaded sitting on the toilet the next morning.

Crossfit: Not my thing.

I went with my friend Chelsea who is a crossfit lover.  I've witnessed it drastically change her body so there's no question if it works.

This is a hard one to review because from my understanding each "Box" is different. I think this one did not mix very well with my personality.  Like....someone telling me what to do in a somewhat drill sergeanty way. I spent my entire life doing the EXACT OPPOSITE of what my parents told me to do...so when someone tells me to run to get something...and run FASTER.... MORE HUSTLE... my first instinct is to walk.very.slowly. with both hands in the air and my middle fingers up.

Running is my first love. The reason I love it so much is that I am the only one telling me what to do. I'm the one telling me to go faster. More power. Be better. You can do more.

When I first met the trainer at this Crossfit I told him I'm a runner and THE FIRST THING he said was "well we may have to dial back your miles." STRIKE ONE, TWO, AND THREE.

I think my dislike for Crossfit boils down to being told what to do by a man that didn't have my respect yet. I-am-woman-hear-me-roar-ish.....most defiantly.

ROAR.

Swimming: Holy crap.
This is so much more of a workout than I ever imagined. I learned about this class through a friend and since I'm doing my first triathlon in June I knew I needed to work on my swimming.  Right now I can swim to save my own life...but not to compete in a triathlon. So that's what we are working on.

The first thing she had me do was swim 200 meters. I'm all like...oh yeah...200 meters that's like down and back right? The instructor looks at me like I have 3 heads and says....No, that would be 4 down and backs.

Oh snap.

So I swam it...and by swam I mean stayed above water.

By then end of the class I had swam roughly 1,600 meters using all different strokes and methods to improve my swimming efficiency....so I do more by working less.

This is COMPLETELY out of my comfort zone.  I HATE deep water, I haven't had swimming lessons since I was in grade school, and I still vividly remember our high school gym teacher making us tread water with our hands above our head.....scarred me for life. I've always used the swimming pool as a place to get a good tan and exhaust my children.

This kind of swimming is a whole new echelon of badassery.

Body Sculpt: I've been sore for 4 days.

This class is awesome for so many reasons.

1. It's a ministry put on by Chelsea Free Methodist Church called Faithful Fitness.

2. It costs $2 and INCLUDES CHILD CARE!!

3. They have different workouts Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so there's lots of options!

My biggest weakness is my strength and this class showed me muscles I didn't even know I had. I'm really excited to go back and again... $2!!!!!!!!! WITH CHILDCARE!?!??!?! For a GOOOOD workout!??! Can't beat it.

So there's the new things I've tried. Out of my comfort zone. Yes. But the best thing about them all is I tried them with friends. Friends make working out and new experiences so much more fun.

This morning I went to spin class since I was NOT running with a sore knee AND -15 windchills. The picture on the left is what my workout looked like this morning and the picture on the right is from April 25th, 2013 when I first started spinning.

Top Number: Average RPM\'s
Second Number: WATTS or the amount of effort exerted (my goal has always been to be around 160)

TALK ABOUT A NON SCALE VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the picture from this morning was AFTER cool down. When I looked after the workout my WATTS were 209. My ass was kicked.

These pictures are from the exact same days as the ones above. 

left: January 21, 2013

Right: April 25, 2013

Just.Keep.Going.