Letting It Be

Stand up and finish what you started, a Bob Harperism, seldom enters my mind anymore while swimming.  Now it’s let it be effortless or effortless effort – something that Gloria likes to say in yoga class. 

Front crawl is now the method I use to get in my first 10 laps and it really does feel like the path of least resistance – of the strokes that I know anyway. When I take the time to streamline and breathe into the area of my armpit, I really do feel in synch and submarine-ish.

I’m totally digging swimming and yoga right now so I’m just going to ride that wave for a while. I did go by the climbing gym before swimming so that I don’t completely forget my footwork et al…and because I hadn’t seen Patti for a minute.

Where are you going after this?, Patti asked. That woman knows me well…

Watch the Breath Go In...Watch the Breath Go Out...

Things that I thought about before Hot Yoga:

Whatever you’re feeling in your head, your body is going to follow.

Bob Harper told one of his trainees that on The Biggest Loser and, of course, this Cindyism also popped into my head:

Don't let your mind write stories.

This newbie with asthma wanted to dip her toes into the sweat drenched studio that is Hot Yoga but was concerned so I got one more thing to think about when Dr. B told her, among other things:

Don't anticipate anything bad.

I still got my butt kicked.

I saw this tweet earlier by Bikram Yoga North Texas:

Have you had your 90 minute moving meditation today? Come sweat with us.

I like the concept of moving meditation...

At one point during class, Jeremy said: Watch the breath go in. Watch the breath go out.

Why, oh why, did that remind me of Otis Redding's Sitting on The Dock of the Bay?

Jeremy also said something very simple but helpful during bow pose. He said to push your feet into your hands. Prior to that, I've felt like my thighs were stuck in quicksand. That's not to say that they were all that elevated after his comment but I was definitely able to lift them...a little.

About To Veg Out

Sore and tired pretty much sum up how I feel and vegging out is definitely on the agenda -- as much as I'm able to veg out... I'm going to kick back and watch a movie and hope that I don't fall asleep.

Recently, I've watched Win Win and loved it.

Didn't stick the first time around but I'm six episodes into Breaking Bad; it makes me edgy the same way Prison Break did.



I'm still watching Heavy. Jill got busted hiding food in her room. She had a thing for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and when she's confronted about contraband, here's what she had to say:

I'm not hiding it. It's just peanut butter. I have peanut butter in my room because I need the peanut butter. We exercise for three and four hours a day. Heck yeah, I have peanut butter in my room. (Jill/Johnny episode)

I've been catching up on The Biggest Loser too. Bob cracked me up when he told the former NFL player that he was like a Christmas present to him and I was moved when that same player broke down and Bob told him:

What you don't have here and what you don't have here in your legs, I need you to overcompensate and have it here (pointing to brain).

I like the new trainer, Dolvett, too:

If you're not moving, you're not losing people.

Crude Alterations

Decided to hit the indoor pool since the high was only 82 in The Lou but as I headed to the pool, I prepared myself for the possibility that pool water could be just as chilly as the water in the outdoor pool but it was not.

Sometimes when I'm doing the back crawl, my arms start to feel heavy as all get out and I have that urge to switch to the elementary back crawl when Bob Harper pops into my ear, Stand up and finish what you started, which is usually incentive enough for me to propel myself down the lane. For some reason, Harper only talks to me when I'm in the pool. Go figure.

At one point, I was doing the front crawl and went into the water awkwardly resulting in water up my nose. Before I would have pulled up and grabbed the side to regroup -- especially since I was in eleven feet of water. I didn't do that though. I just kept marching down the lane. I guess that I finally feel more comfortable and spontaneous in the water.

While the scale has not moved, I've had to make crude (no sewing skills) alterations to my swimming suits because the straps kept falling down and the upper part of the suit, in general, was not stable; there's nothing more annoying than trying to swim and having to stop to make adjustments. On the other hand, loose suits are a good sign.

Swim Outlet is tempting me with their star-spangled sale but I think I'm in between sizes so I'm not going to make a move yet but one can look, can't she?

Mile-stone

I saw the telltale black swimming suit and black goggles and knew it was Chatty Kathleen. Someone was in the lane next to me but, apparently, not even a lane can keep us apart.

Kathleen: Can you swim and talk?

Me: Shaking my head then no.

Kathleen wanted to talk but she also saw me holding on to the edge of the pool. She advised me to keep my arms level with my shoulders then move my hands as if I was pushing sand aside.

I had actually practiced treading for a bit before she arrived and it seemed easier. Floating seems easier too; I feel as if I could do it forever. What is it about catching on to front crawl breathing that has made me more buoyant?

The most laps that I've done is 28 and, lately, I've been doing 20 or 21 and I wanted to gradually work my way up to a mile. When I was in a WOW (Women on Weights) class, the instructor said that you should gradually increase your weights.

I thought screw it. I'm always paying attention to rules and whatnot. I had the perfect opportunity. There were only five people at the pool and I didn't have to share a lane. I thought about Bob Harper saying stand up and finish what you started.

It took me almost two hours but I did it. I swam my first mile. I'm exhausted as all get out but I feel good about what I accomplished in the water -- 33 laps or 66 lengths or 1650 yards.

Two Step Platforms Are Better Than One

Okay, so I saw this tweet from Bob Harper this morning. Do I really need a lot of incentive to do crazy things? Negative.

How is it that I got up before 8:00 a.m. and still managed to be late for a 10:30 a.m. Step class?

I guess that I do like to get up gently which is why I have a moonbeam clock which flashes light to wake you up.

I went back to Stacey's class which I really enjoy love. Only, I don't get to go often since her classes are at 10:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Stacey is calm and friendly and she has easy steps but you still get a good workout. In fact, she might want to consider naming her class Step For Dummies. Stacey did something today that I've never seen before. She used two step platforms. Platform one was Home and the one to the right was Away. We left just enough space between Home and Away to do jumping jacks. I absolutely loved the stomp move that she incorporated and I don't think that I was the only one. Stacey also had me chuckling with her curl and repeat command since it sounded like we were in a salon.

I also liked that Stacey invited questions and feedback. One class member told her of hip discomfort when she steps and Stacey asked her if she wanted to stretch. First class...

When I finished with Step class, I made a pit stop at home, grabbed a Clif Kid bar and headed to Upper Limits to climb a few routes. Remember what Trainer Bob said now.

I didn't have a belay partner so I used the auto-belays and, because I suddenly got a little freaked out by being up 30 feet up with no person on the ground to lower me, I climbed down every route. All that to say, I'm beat and my hand calluses are tender from back-to-back rock climbing stints.

The moral of this story: take what Trainer Bob has to say with a grain of salt.

A Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels' Motivational Moment

Jillian:

Who are you going after?

Bob:

Julio.

Jillian:

Go get him. That Julio -- he is not doing work. Every time I turn my back, he stops moving. Kill him.

Got To Give It Up

I don't know how I convinced myself that veggie chips are okay. I was reading Prevention magazine and came across this article.

What's in Your Veggies Snack?

And then I googled upon this one:

Veggie chips: Trick or treat?

I got to give it up. It being veggie chips although my mind did drift to Marvin Gaye.

I gotta finish the remnants first.


Kudos to what's his face Bob Harper of The Biggest Loser fame for, according to the June 29th issue of TV Guide, eating 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day of unprocessed food.

List of Natural Foods