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500s

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In the last few weeks I decided ratcheting up each category to the nearest 500 would keep MMM interesting. Here's what happened...

Boxing, Kickboxing, Martial Arts, 552 minutes: To make my swimming minutes, I'm indulging in a freebie trial week at the 24 Hour Fitness that sits on the juncture of three very different neighborhoods plus a massive free parking lot (parking is a very big deal in San Francisco) as well as a notorious bus line that goes to a dicier part of town. Which is to say – all kinds at this gym, packed in like a subway during rush hour. Which leads to the kickboxing class taught by a zaftig madonna named Libby. Never mind that my left-right dyslexia kicks in, pun intended, with a vengeance when it comes to kickboxing. "You're all beautiful!" "Let's do this as one big family!" "Mommies! Poppies!" Libby's nonstop, exuberant rap transforms sweet-nothings into total empowerment in "Turbo Kick" – an understatement of a title for a class that's like being inside a pinball machine on steroids. The room ranges from twenty-somethings to great grandmothers, size 0 to plus plus. We're upper cutting, kicking, bobbing-and-weaving, jabbing, hooking and schviting up a storm in magnificent unison. Say amen, somebody.

Cycling, Spinning, Rowing, 5028 minutes: Probably 95% of these minutes were commutes around town. I'm telling you, this is the way to go. Sadly, no out-of-town day rides or tours. Hopefully this will change in August.

Dancing, Pilates, Aerobics, 524 minutes: After all my ho-humming about Pilates, I have to give it up for my one session at the Bar Method (thanks again for the tip, FatBottomSlim) where friendly instructor Krista micro-managed all those micro-moves to the point that there is no way I can say I did not feel it / know what to do / was kind of bored / found there to be a lack of sense of humor. I was laughing and crying and my legs were jiggling like jello wobbling on the edge of a cliff. It was everything I could do to not fall over. Brava.

DVDs Home Wrkt, 500 minutes: Bob Harper nearly decimated me and here's why: what feels like a heartbeat before my foray into the home workout, as part of our ongoing effort to de-clutter, we sold our 5 lbs. weights on Craigslist, which left me w/ a pair of 10 lbs. weights to negotiate all those god-awful things he has you do in Biggest Loser Bootcamp. For a few days I was sure my right shoulder blade was not going to recover. But it did, just in time to pick up the renewed DVD at the library. And thanks to Christine Miller for the afternoon-take-a-break SW vids.

Misc., 501 minutes: A visit to the state parks is another grim reminder that California is bankrupt, so a day of intense trail clearing in the parched East Bay helped in a little way and continued the tradition set last year with my ghetto camping bicycle trip. (Turns out a mini doc has been made of last year's trip! I'm the one doing what looks like a drunk-asana on the left in 0:20-0:30 – it was a long day.)

Hiking, Walking, 1583 minutes: My guess: 50% of these minutos were walking commutes, where I hoofed it instead of taking rail, bus, car. The rest were walking for the sake of walking, along mountain trails when possible.

Swimming, 505 minutes: As with the home workout wherein any sort of exercise is categorized as "home," in my view of the MMM realm of things, anything in the pool counts as "swimming." This applies to my four "Aqua" classes, totalling 225 minutes at 24 Hour Fitness. The motliest of crews in the motliest of bathing accoutrements swished and swayed. It was surreal, but was it a real workout? It felt like the instructors' favorite diminutive for us aquabees was "you cheaters!" But after an hour of pushing those cartoon styrofoam dumbbells as hard as I could and running against the current, I was definitely feeling something. 

Weightlifiting, Circuit Training, 1086 minutes: Hello, my name is spindig, and I am a super sculpt addict.

Yoga, Meditation, Chanting, 2585 minutes: Probably 2/3 of these are my ongoing attempts at meditation. Quick, think of nothing. 

Conclusion: On the one hand, this nearly killed me, and, honestly, don't get me wrong, as much as I love exercise, I am so looking forward to not working out so much. Concision Challenge, anyone? On the other hand, I loved how this pushed me to try yet more new things, freaking out my muscles and mind in a good way, which, in the end, is what it seems to be all about. Is there anything better than being sure that you can't do something and then finding out that you can?