Bigger, Better, Faster, MORE!

Challenges: what do you do? Do you always try to push yourself just that little bit further, or do you just go for what you know you can do comfortably?

I think I fall into the first category. My brain seems to think that my body is invincible and that I can do anything (which of course I can!); even when my body is screaming ‘noooooooooo! No more!’

I ache all over today. I did the body pump class at gym last night. I seem to have given up on hip hop purely because it doesn’t finish until half an hour after the kids club finishes, and I cannot rely on Colin to be around to look after the kids for me so that I can do the class. Does that piss me off somewhat? Yes! I really really wanted to do the hip hop class, cos I love dancing; but what can I do when the Old Man is singularly unreliable (not that it’s necessarily his fault, he never seems to know from one day to the next where he’ll be working, or when he’ll be home).

Anyway … body pump. The class is taught by the same girl who does the Hulaerobics, and she was talking about the class last Thursday at the hula class. There was a new girl in the hula class last week and we were talking afterwards and she said she’d be doing it … so I thought here was my opportunity to make friends. Anyway, I’m digressing (as usual).

Body pump is all about developing your core muscles by exercising with weights. The bar she gave me had teeny tiny weights on it (about 1.1 kg each), and after the first set of exercises I was like ‘oh these are FAR too light … gimme heavier ones’. Famous last words, Katie … I ended up with 2.5 kg weights, and they nearly killed me! The tricep exercises were excruciating in particular. But you know what, I persevered and did as much as I could. And I’m suffering for it this morning. As it was, I could barely raise my arms to shoulder height when I got home last night, and this morning I ache everywhere; but it’s a good ache, the sort of ache that gives a sense of achievement.

My mindset remembers what I used to be able to do. When I was at school I used to do weight training. I could bench press 60 lbs with no problems. So naturally my mind thinks I should be able to handle more weight than 1.1 kg x 2. However, my mind fails to remember that when I could bench press 60 lbs I was 23 years younger than I am now, a lot fitter, and certainly a lot thinner. Or maybe it’s just that my mind refuses to accept that I’m not a teenager any more … yep, I’m still hyperventilating at the thought that the big 40 arrives in just a few short weeks (eek!)

Oh! Our Head of Department has just been in and asked me if I’m cutting back on my training before Thursday’s Race for Life … erm, no! My philosophy is the more I can do this week, the easier Thursday will be … I don’t know if that’s sensible or not, but it seems to make sense to me.

Anyway, I’m supposed to be working, so I am going to have to finish here – I actually came online to make a couple of blog entries in one of my other blogs (which is work related, so I won’t bore you with the address!) More later, hopefully!