January at the Gym

I know that I haven't been able to exercise as much as I would like lately, thanks to the holidays, a sore knee, schedule, etc... but I HAVE been going to the gym, at least 3 times a week. My preference is to exercise 4-5 days a week. I feel better when I can make that happen.

So, this week I have managed somehow to make it to the gym 3 days - two of those days I took two classes each day. Yesterday I took Body Pump, a weight lifting to music class, and Body Combat - a kickboxing type class. Both classes yesterday were "full" - I've never seen so many people in the classes in the morning. This morning I was sore, as I anticipated, but it was a good sore. All the places that I wanted to be hurting were.

The first class today was Zumba, a cardio class that utilizes a lot of latin dance moves. Not my favorite, but it matched my mood today. I'd get a decent workout that was "easy" yet "hard enough" to handle and would help to mix up the cardio routine/rut that I've been in the past few months. It was also a very full class - where have all these people come from?

When it started, I could feel the soreness, but as we warmed up it got better. After that I stayed to do Body Flow, which is a class that combines tai chi, yoga, and pilates. Flow is my favorite class, mainly because it both stretches and strengthens, and the meditation at the end is simply a beautiful gift to self. Normally when I take Flow, I'm one of about 4 people, and I'm near the front of the room. But today... because I went to the bathroom between classes, I got to be at the back of the room.

Ah yes - it's January at the gym... people have joined because of those New Year's Resolutions. And I'm happy to see them and thrilled that there is a desire from so many to improve their fitness level. But a small part of me will be glad when their enthusiasm wanes and crowds get back to normal. Horrible of me, I know.

Meanwhile - thanks to 4 classes in two days, I'm amazingly sore. Wow. This feeling is why I need to be more conscientious about cross-training.