Thursday, April 22, 2010

YMCA (the gym, not the song)

For the last 3 weeks, I have sent the kids off to school and then headed directly to the YMCA. I was hesitant about starting to exercise again (it’s been so long [4 years] and I decided I need to go every day [how will I find the time?]). I’m happy to report, it’s been an extremely positive experience. Apparently I’ve been needing those little endorphins and didn’t know it! Max loves the child care center, which makes my life super easy (Nigel used to fight me hard about the child care at the gym when he was little). I love that this YMCA is laid back and I don’t feel like I need to have the cutest work out clothes or fix my hair before I go or worry about competing (or rather not competing) with the gym rats (ladies that live at the gym). I’m taking classes at 8:15am, Monday thru Friday, and they alternate days between cardio and strength training. The best thing about the classes, besides the fact that I can tailor the class to me by choosing my level of weights, is the fact that I am the youngest one in the class by a good 15 years. There is an 84 year old woman named Miss Amanda who works out in whatever she’s going to wear that day (i.e. jeans). Miss Amanda can hold a full plank position for a lot longer than me, she can do more squats than me, and the class I take with her is her second class of the day! These women have welcomed me in and remember my name and ask me about my kids. They work out in gardening clothes and they are strong. It’s made my mornings a pleasure and it’s been a wonderful way to start the day. I can already tell that I’m getting stronger and that makes me feel good about myself, but it’s going to be awhile before I’ll be able to keep up with Miss Amanda.

3 comments:

The Clayburn Family said...

Good job!!!

Trina Barry said...

Way to go with the exercise, now that's my type of gym!

Ernie said...

Several guys from work just joined there, too, and one of them worked out too hard and couldn't lift his arms above his head. I made him do the Village People's dance routine from "YMCA."