Weighing In

One of the highlights (?!?) of the Saturday classes is weighing in.

I confess - I missed last Saturday's class. I somehow thought I could wedge this class into the day's agenda that included my daughter's high school graduation. Not! I do think I made up the exercise portion of the class with the sheer physical labor of setting up for the Sunday party.

So I faced the scale prior to Monday's class. The good news - I lost 1.6 pounds. It's this kind of feedback that movivates me for more.

It also led to an interesting discussion of how often to weigh in. One of the women who successfully lost weight with the last session weighs in every day. For her it's the best way to stay on track. She even confessed to taking a scale with her on vacation!

I'm curious - what works for you?

Inspiration

Remember those awful commercials - "I've fallen and I can't get up." This has long been one of my inspirations for trying to stay in shape. I don't want to be that lady.

At yesterday's exercise session John Leech, Wellness Center Supervisor, showed us a video of a rowing competition CRASH-B Sprints World Indoor Championships from 2000.

The C.R.A.S.H-B Sprints is the world championship for indoor rowing raced over a distance of 2,000 m on Concept2 indoor rowers - just like the one at the Meriter Wellness Center. For those of you metrically challenged like me, 2000 meters is about 1 and a quarter mile. At the age of 91 years young, Ernestine Bayer set the world record on the Concept II rowing ergometer for women over the age of 90. I think I just found my new inspiration.

Abs are way sore. 50 sit-ups with a seven-pound medicine ball held over my head might have been overdoing it day one!

Get Fit! Kicks Off - Kim's Perspective

The acceptance to fully commit to something, especially a healthy lifestyle, can be extremely challenging. This is true especially for women who are the caretaker at work, home, or even both. Most women devote their energy to others and put themselves toward the bottom of the priority list and forgetting about their well being. The Get Fit! program focuses on the elements - exercise, diet, and behavior - one needs to accomplish a healthier lifestyle.

Monday night we had 13 committed participants start our Get Fit! exercise class. Each participant completed 45 minutes of exercise. (Most classes will range from 60-90 minutes of exercise). Sixty minutes of exercise is achievable even for a beginner. Each Get Fit! participant met with myself or another trainer before the first class and set-up an appropriate starting point. The class environment is fun, upbeat and is designed for all ability levels, ages, shape/sizes, and personal goals.

I know each person is committed because they took the first step and joined the program. I really enjoyed the first class and look forward to seeing the progress each person is making.

The truth is in the numbers

I had a bit of a wake up call at my recent physical. You know the "Know Your Numbers" health messages that say it's important to know your blood pressure, cholesterol level and glucose level? Well I took a look at mine and they weren't going in the right direction.

My goal in life is to take the least amount of medicine possible. I'm a terrible medicine taker. My life is complicated enough without having to factor a med schedule. Not to mention the expense.

And I've written enough of those articles that say the best way to control your health is to control your weight. The most recent was in April's Dane Country Lifestyles (p. 16). We all know that the best way to do that is up your exercise and watch what you eat. The hard part is just doing it.

So I've committed to the Get Fit class here at Meriter. Over the next 11 weeks (we have a holiday week to contend with) I'll share my successes, my shortcomings, tips from the instructors and celebrations of the other class participants.

The first session was Monday night. I'm psyched already. Two of the women are back after having completed the last session. They report losing over 20 pounds each! And I found a new great machine - the rowing machine. What a great overall workout.