Sweat Lessons

Today was a brutal day. Things were awful at work, and I came out in tears over a committee meeting in which things somehow went terribly wrong. I firmly believe that the worst feeling in the world is discussing a problem with people, and seeing a solution that would work, but being so flustered by the emotions of the situation that you can't really get your words out to help the situation. That's exactly what happened to me today and it was rad. Not.

Thankfully, I had registered for an hour long weight lifting circuit class with a dear friend who always gives me perspective. What I love about this class is that it moves quickly and has a lot of variety, so that the hour flies by. I also love that it leaves me sore the next day. I'm sort of a masochist when it comes to my workouts. If I'm not sore the next day, the whole workout seems a waste. Maybe that's why I run.

Anyways, I've had one foot off the workout and healthy living wagon for a while now, and some pounds I lost have slowly been finding me. My head was cloudy while the instructor was explaining the circuits, and I was a little sloppy. It was also an instructor I hadn't experienced before, and he was a bit stern. While it's too early to tell if I'll be sore tomorrow, I will say that being taught by somebody I didn't know at all who was none too kind left me with some lasting lessons that I would like to share with you all today. Namely:

1) If you really pay attention the first time, you will be shamed much less frequently later on when you have forgotten all the things that you were pretending to listen to earlier. Feigning interest does not actually mean you have absorbed the information you should have. And man, that makes me feel like an ass when that happens.

2) It really is true that when teaching somebody something new, your praise for them should outweigh your criticism. By the end of the lesson I was seriously craving some positive reinforcement. I was definitely the elephant in the room today, and I grew to dread each time the instructor walked by. My butt was too high while holding my plank pose, then it was too low. My feet were farther than shoulder width apart. Our "active rest" station was really a plank station in disguise. The resting should last one to two seconds max. Ack. I definitely need to remember to give my kids more love. It sucks when you try to do something new, and nobody sees how hard you are trying. Lesson learned, kindergarteners. I'm going to praise your pants off tomorrow.

3) It is a much better idea to maintain being in good shape than to take three weeks off due to bronchitis, then a cough, then remembering how much coughing sucked last week. Take it from me, people.

4) A good workout can make a bad day go away.

TGTIF people.