Last night I spent an hour fixing the internet (again...grrr). I may have fixed it. Maybe. After I upgraded things it was worse than before...it worked this morning again so we'll see when I get home. What is more annoying is that I had work to do that didn't get done instead of this. In the end I finished my "fixes" and went to bed...and forgot to set my alarm. Thankfully hungry kitties got me up, but I ended up sleeping an extra 20 minutes and being ready too late for my regular bus. I considered working out at home, but my runners and all my get dressed-up hair face stuff was in my locker at the gym. So, I got my stuff together and just got on the next bus, and still made it in in time for a 30 minute workout on the elliptical. Not quite the sweaty spin class I'd signed up for, but still good solid cardio. It'll do for today. The point is I *did* it. :)
I had an good visit with my brother and his wife for a bit last night. My SIL has started eating for her "body type" (her latest health approach) and seems to be interested in eating well and making small dietary changes. While I'm leery of any sort of "eat for your type" sort of book, she *is* eating healthier and hopes to do a bit of activity daily soon, so I tried to be encouraging. It's good to see her positive and trying to be healthier and feeling better about it. It can't be easy to be active when you weigh close to 400 Lbs. Every little bit helps. She said she's lost a bit of weight and feels so much better, and that, for me is the most important part - Feeling better. I want to be as encouraging as I can. I'm hoping once the weather is nicer we can go for short walks together once a week maybe...we'll see :)
My brother told me a crazy story about the "introductory" karate class he tried to take recently, which sounded anything but introductory. Here's what I mean - the first part of the "warmup" for the very first class they had to do was stairwell runs up and down 3 flights of stairs with 15 pushups at the bottom each time for a total of 8 times, along with burpees and jumping jacks after. Then they paired up and did basic sparring. Does this sound like an introductory class to you? I know a lot of martial arts is fitness and fine muscle control, but I know I personally would find that a medium-hard workout now, after working out often. My brother does walk on the treadmill every day, but he said he gave it his best and could hardly walk the next day. He wondered if that was what you had to do to begin, who knows what he'd need to do later? Needless to say he dropped the class, as there wasn't much actual karate or introduction to it it at all. Which is a shame - he really did want to try new things, and just seemed to be geared the wrong way. I know I've wanted to try karate and taekwondo and haven't yet because I was afraid of a similar experience...and I'm a lot more active than my brother. I'm willing to work hard for something, but it made me think about how those of us who are more active and fit may do others a disservice when we try to make them jump in too fast or bring them up to a higher level too quickly. Introductory classes should be just that - introductory. Not to mention FUN. Not everyone is comfortable with crash courses, especially when its our body involved. Each person has to try and find what they like to do to keep active, and we need to help them, not make them feel dumb. What they end up liking may not be what we like to do, but they can have an opportunity to really try it out and then decide for themselves.
Soapbox away!
Have a great day :)
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