Dust Yourself Off And Try Again

I went out of my way to go to a bigger branch of my fitness club, negotiated my way through the locker room maze, searched locker after locker until I found an empty one, changed clothes and went into the main room and not a single machine was available. Not one AMT, EFX, ARC Trainer, Treadmill, StairMaster, elliptical trainer, stationary bike etc. Sigh.

I headed back into the locker room and decided on a new plan. If I get off at 5, don't even bother going directly to the gym. Go home or go do something else but go to the gym later. Only, I didn't feel like trekking to the gym again. Not this day.

As I pulled out my DVDs, Aaliyah popped into my mind.

And if at first you don’t succeed
Then dust yourself off and try again
You can dust it off and try again, try again
Cause if at first you don’t succeed
You can dust it off and try again
Dust yourself off and try again, try again (and again)

I selected four 10 Minute Solution segments. If I had been in the gym, I would have exercised longer but, you know, vive la différence and dust yourself off.

'Drea Can Jump

Last Sunday as I was headed to my temporary fitness club, I saw some guys playing basketball. It was early so there was not a crowd. I got an urge to shoot some hoops so I set out to find my basketball and I hit the jackpot when I found not only my basketball but my air pump and needles as well. I discovered that the pump was broken which was not a problem since it was worth it to me to invest in a new one.

I got to the court and there was no one shooting hoops. Perfect. I discovered that my ancient ball has seen better days. The b'ball kept enough air for me to shoot around for awhile then I headed to the fitness club.


I took on the treadclimber, a stationary bike and treadmill. I did a fitness test on the treadmill which was pretty cool. I got kicked off two minutes before my test was over because, according to the Star Trac, my heart rate was too elevated for a certain span of time.

I'm still digging the downtown vibe but what's up with the ferris wheel and giant grasshopper on top of the building?

Prepared to Work Out

I said that once my contract was up with my current gym that I would check out other fitness clubs. My contract expired a month ago and I've been quite lackadaisical about it all.

I saw an advertisement for a fitness club downtown which promised 30 days free with no hassles. Promises, promises.

My cousin and I met up downtown this morning and we ended up taking a self-guided tour since there was only one person at the desk.

I was prepared to work out today because most fitness clubs start your free trial on the day you walk into their facility.

As I was at the front desk, I noticed an interesting machine. It was a treadmill but, wait, it wasn't. I instantly knew what I was going to tackle today.

Introducing the TreadClimber:



I guzzled two cups of water in record time. I did 45 minutes but, don't fret, I also did the five minute demo and because I like to do at least an hour of cardio, I hit a stationary bike afterwards where I watched a bit of Celebrity Fit Club 3 -- the one with Tempestt Bledsoe, Chastity Bono and Countess Vaughn.

As usual, because I don't frequent downtown, I enjoyed the scenery and architecture and resisted the urge to go to MacroSun.






I listened to Nina Simone while I did my little tour and it was a glorious concert. I decided to drive by the riverfront since I was in the vicinity.


It turned out to be a relaxing morning despite the fact that I have work on my mind. I actually entered my work address as the lock code at the fitness club and used the same address earlier when I was punching in directions.

Since I was taking the long way home, I stopped by a car wash to get some of the debris out of my car. I found 1/4 of a South Beach Diet bar that I had lost long time ago. I wish that I had looked harder the first time around.

A 'Drea Divided

Saturday is usually reserved for swimming but I was torn when I saw how gorgeous it was outside. I considered walking and swimming but I was also feeling unenthusiastic and didn't know if I would have the stamina for the pool.

I ended up going to Compton Hill Reservoir Park, one of my pre-fitness club stomping grounds. To enhance my workout in those days, I would climb the diminutive hills and, when I was feeling saucy, I would take it to the stairs.

Compton Hill Reservoir Park is not big and it could definitely use some more flowers to perk up the space. The one patch of flowers present ended up being plucked today by two girls who ran away with armfuls of tulips.

When I returned home, I decided to mow the lawn but the lawn mower didn't cooperate for long. Feeling restless, I popped in one of my 10 Minute Solution DVDs and did the upper body workout portion.

Later on, I went to the fitness club because I felt like I had hardly raised my heart rate earlier. The club was so quiet that I could have done cartwheels and I don't think that anyone would have blinked. I like the fitness club when it's full but I also like it when it's quiet. I hopped on the Arc Trainer. Actually, I hopped on about four or five of them because I wanted to watch television but the reception was bad or the buttons on the remote weren't working. So, I said c'est la vie and put on my MP3 player. And the rest is reflected in my sore legs.


Here's the view from the Compton Hill Reservoir Park StairMaster.

Month-End Review, January

That's my $2 dollar calendar that I picked up at Whole Foods. The calendar and a reusable tote bag are probably the cheapest items that you can score at WF.

Those red X marks represent days that I exercised. I got the red X idea from a fitness magazine. It's a visual reminder of how much or how little I've exercised and it's a technique that I like to use. Half an X means that I didn't feel like I had an optimum workout.

In looking at the calendar, I should have allowed for a few more days for rest, particularly in the last two weeks of January when I was exercising nonstop. I really didn't feel like my regimen was severe except for the days after rock climbing when I would swim. Rock climbing found me experiencing some deep soreness but not enough to take ibuprofen.

According to my entries in The Daily Plate, I consumed approximately 67,000 calories and burned about 10,576 calories in the month of January.

I swam sixteen days out of thirty one. Surprise, surprise; it means I'm not taking full advantage of my fitness club membership. My contract with the club is up in three months and I'll have to make a decision about continuing my membership or joining another facility that has more amenities.

Icons

Cool Google search icon.

I went to the Missouri History Museum today to see the George Washington Carver and Katherine Dunham exhibits.

Among the things that I admire Carver i.e. "the peanunt man" for was his donation of $60,000 to the George Washington Carver Foundation. He made roughly $1,500 a year yet managed to save money. In addition, Carver was "green" before it was in vogue. Born in 1864, Carver certainly did not enter the world in an ideal environment yet he still excelled.

Katherine Dunham used to say that she wanted the words "she tried" on her tombstone. Not only did Dunham try, she represented big time. I love the picture of Dunham and Nina Simone when Dunham was an artist-in-residence at Southern Illinois University. That's an awesome cover picture of Dunham on the January 1947 edition of Ebony magazine too. This is not the picture on the Ebony cover but a eloquent one nonetheless.

After my trip to the history museum and watching footage of a Dunham workshop, I was ready to move as well. I went to the gym which was crowded. The fitness club might want to consider getting a "take a number" machine. Two treadmills and one AMT were out of commission. I ended up working out on a treadmill but could have definitely torched more calories had an AMT been available.

Stats:

Calories Burned, 273

Incline, 4.5%, Highest

Maximum Heart Rate, 153

Miles, 2.08

Minutes, 40

Speed, 3.7, Highest