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A Long Winded Explanation of My 2012 Workout Goals

Last year, I posted my 2010 DSB Year in  Review. I just started working on the 2011 DSB Year in review yesterday so I’ll be able to post it next week. At first, I was a little concerned because 2010 was such a big year for me and my blog, and I thought I wouldn’t have anything worthwhile for 2011. But as I went through each month, I realized that is not true at all. Isn’t it weird how all our memories of the year merge together?  One of the reasons I’ve come to love blogging is because it lets me really dissect my year month by month, and I’m reminded of how many really great things have happened this year. But I’ll get to all that next week.

I may have spent another unproductive weekend on the couch. Although in my defense I did get up to take Core Fusion Cardio on Saturday and Refine Method on Monday, and to continue my Jewish family tradition of going to the movies and eating Chinese food on Christmas Day this past Sunday.

Something that bothered me during and after marathon training was that my jeans stopped fitting. I cut back on my strength workouts and ate less healthy meals, and once the race was over I of course wanted to get back to my normal. I got pretty close, even being able to wear the jeans once (though they were admittedly not as comfortable as last year). But then I got a cold and spent more time lazing, less time working out, and now I am back to not being able to get them on. It really is quite the vicious cycle, and even though I have a relatively small frame, I am not immune.

So now I get serious again. Right now, that means a mix of Refine Method, Core Fusion Cardio and Core Fusion Yoga. Also, Core Fusion Boot Camp (which I like to call Core Fusion Fusion), although it’s not on the schedule often. I also have a month of Figure 4 at Pure Yoga to use at some point. Because of my hip injury, I still can’t take regular Core Fusion. And honestly, I don’t know that I will ever be able to again. And I’m OK with that.

But I love the workouts I can do. And the thing about Refine is that Brynn Jinnett, the founder, constantly makes changes and tweaks the class based on what she sees working and what she learns and researches about exercise (sometimes she writes about it on the Refine blog). Because of that, the class has gone through a number of changes since I started taking it last year, and they all make the workout that much better. I took a couple months off during training and when I came back things were more different than usual. And if it is possible, I love the workout even more. The most remarkable thing about my absence was coming back and seeing all the same people I normally see at Refine — but the change in the way they look is astounding. It is amazing how well this class works and it’s also amazing how out of cardio shape I am in. I can run a marathon and feel great the entire time, but make me do an intense cardio burst at Refine and I feel like I’m going to pass out.

[Me at Refine, all smiles. That girl is next to me in almost every single class. Photo by Erica Sara]

This goes to show how much I have to improve at Refine, and I think it will help with my running too because I’ll get used to pushing myself harder. One of my goals for 2012 is to PR the half marathon distance, but I have a specific time in mind that I’m not ready to share yet. But I’m in no way ready because I never really worked very hard or did speed work.

The workout highlight of my week, however, will be Phish Yoga. I’m excited to have the day off from work and to take the class with Missy and Cameo. When I stopped writing for NBC New York, it was a huge relief not to have to take classes that I didn’t want to or that I might not love when I could be at a class that I know I love, and that I know would be a great workout. But I still like to try the classes I actually want to try, and that includes most music-themed yoga and spinning classes. I love my Beatles Yoga and I have a feeling this class will really be something special. I haven’t been so excited about a new class in a very long time. And the fact that it’s a special workshop and not a regular class makes it that much more exciting.

The long-winded point I am trying to make:  I want to devote 2012 to workouts I truly love and want to do. No more wasting efforts on workouts I don’t care about — even if I might be missing something great.

I hope everyone had a really great holiday weekend and has a wonderful New Years!

 

 

What Exercise Taught Me About Myself

On January 2, 2010 my life changed. Sounds dramatic, I know, but it’s true. That is the day I began the Core Fusion Challenge. That is  the day I became a person who actually enjoys exercising. That is the day

Over these last two years, I’ve learned a few things about myself that I’m not sure I would have known otherwise.

I am stubborn
I think I sorta knew this before, but the extent did not show until I got into exercise. When I started doing half marathons, I slacked on my training because I didn’t want to give up any classes. I loved the workouts and I loved the results and I loved being so comfortable there and knowing exactly what I was doing. And then when I injured my hip last year (read about it here and here), I kept taking Core Fusion even though a few exercises in that class made my hip hurt more. I had worked so hard to get where I was that I just couldn’t imagine stopping and losing all that. It was incredibly stupid.

I am lazy
OK I already knew this. But what I didn’t know is that I could simultaneously be both an exercise addict — and by this I mean I spend an inordinate amount of time on the Refine, Core Fusion and now FlyWheel schedulers planning and figuring out which classes I can take and at what time, I take class almost every day, I push myself hard in these classes, I train for a marathon — yet I am also so lazy that when I am in bed and want to read, I don’t. Because my Kindle is in my bag. On the floor.

That is the same reason I never wear my glasses.

I am an underachiever
Contradictory to what I said above, but it’s true. I mean, look at my marathon. I had it in me to run a 4:33 marathon but I didn’t ever train very fast. I didn’t think I could. I thought I was a relatively slow runner, and I nurtured that. I do the same thing in my classes too. I think something will be too hard for me so I half-ass it or take some easy way out. Then after, I realize I could have done it or I should have tried.

Dori finishing Richmond Marathon
[Finish line at Richmond Marathon]

I like pushing myself
Despite being an underachiever, it turns out I do also like pushing myself. Contradictory but true. I never thought I was someone who wanted to test her limits. Until I started Core Fusion (and eventually Refine) I truly believed I was happiest in comfort. The comfort of the couch, the comfort of the bed, the comfort of coming home after work and doing nothing. Turns out I was wrong. There is absolutely nothing like the adrenaline rush of pushing myself in a class, and the rewarding feeling that comes when I see progress and improvement. The day I could hold a plank for the entire time in Core Fusion was nothing short of amazing. Same goes for the day I officially switched from modified knee pushups to real, straight-leg pushups.  Or the day I stopped using two-pound weights for good in Core Fusion. (And now I no longer pick up threes). And I wasn’t even happy to call it a day there –these achievements made me want to push harder. The more I improved, the more I wanted to improve even more.

Dori in Core Fusion
[At Core Fusion]

I am tough on myself
Ridiculously so. Let’s say I am in a class doing a set of exercises. If when we finish I realize I could have pushed myself harder, I  get mad at myself. I mentally beat myself up. I go home and continue to lament on dailymile. Then I forget about it and the next day the cycle resumes.

Dori at Refine Method
[Photo – At Refine Method]

I like routine
I actually never realized this until working out became part of it. Part of the reason I thrived so much (seriously, I became like a different person) once these classes became part of my life is because of the routine and structure they gave me. Exercise was a constant, something I automatically included in my day. I loved it.

Have you learned anything about yourself through exercise?

 

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