Saturday, January 3, 2009

Are You An Early Bird?

Happy (belated) New Year! Yes, it’s been a while. I salute all of you parents who keep blogging, working, working out, cooking and shopping, not to mention all the other things you do, day in and day out. Throughout these holidays, I’ve had the grandkids over a lot. Between trying to do some of the above and getting away for a couple of days with hubs, I’ve sorely neglected the blogging. Hats off to moms and dads everywhere!

Yesterday I worked with a returning client who I hadn’t seen for a while. The gym (shocker!) was full to the brim—difficult to move from one place to another without getting bumped. On the platform, there was some boxing going on with target mitts. Almost all the weight machines were in use, and every single cardio unit was occupied except for the versa climber. If you’ve ever clambered aboard one of these delightful contraptions, you’d know that it was not for the novice. It was a good test to find a space to play with bands, but we laughed and hung in there. I’m not a fan of crowds and traffic, but a jam-packed gym takes the cake (or... carrot?)

My final 3p.m. client was luckier. The swarm had thinned out to a couple of dozen bodies and we moved quickly from one exercise to the next. C. was even able to build up a great sweat by the time we were done. Then, it was my turn. I almost had the place to myself. I have a new band that’s almost three feet in diameter. About four inches wide and maybe 1/4 of an inch thick (color: purple), I loop it around a chin-up station, stick my feet or knees into it and pump up and down using back and arms mostly, but legs and core as well. I’ve always wanted to be able to perform pull-ups; this is by far the closest I've ever gotten. It’s great for other exercises as well. Moved on to push-ups (on the bar of a smith machine) and then triceps (skull crushers with an EZ Curl bar on a decline bench). After several sets of cable bicep curls with a rope (feel like I’m playing “Clue”), I hopped on the treadmill for my little cardio routine. Basically, I start walking backwards slowly at an incline of 3.5, then, at a speed of 2.1 and the same incline, turn sideways and hop, doing this on each side. Finally, I jack up the incline (and speed), then walk/run forward for as long and fast as I can. Repeat the series for 45 minutes. Felt good.
Now, I need to go back today and do it again! Gym should be (?) a bit less crowded by 2 p.m.

I’d love to be one of those amazingly consistent 5a.m. gym-goers, because on the few occasions that I’ve been able to get there early, I’ve loved having the freedom of the remainder of the day to get more done. And that’s how I started this particular blog. Timetimetime! So I’m going to give the early workout a try this 2009 year. I look forward to seeing how much better the 5 – 6a.m shift works for me. When do you all work out? If early, what time do you make it to bed at night? Happy ’09!

3 comments:

carla said...

Im an earlearly bird. 5am. although it is habit NOW and I look forward to it as my only metime during the day----it took a while (and necessity) to get me there.

if given a choice I think Id do later...like 7? and yes. I laugh that seven am is 'later.'

MizFit

LastJourneyDown said...

Thanks for the input! I'm aiming to get to gym at 6, but love having about 1 1/2 hours at home to get "things" together around here. Still... 6 is good!

Lori said...

I'm not a real early bird. In the summer, I like to get my workouts done by 7:30 or 8am because of the heat.

Normally, I like around 7:30 or 8 to start, or an after lunch session. Sometimes I don't work out until evening. It all depends on how busy the day is.

I do love having weights at home, though - so it's never crowded LOL!