Strategic Planning

This weekend I made it back to my parents' house. The lack of electricity deterred me from returning sooner but finally their reenactment of Little House on the Prairie ended (really LIPA, nine days without electricity?) and I was able to come get my winter coat. If I thought I had in bad in Manhattan without a winter coat, my parents had it so much worse without heat.

My parents' house.

Their driveway.

I like to go home for many reasons. I like my parents. They are interesting people and they feed me. It is also less expensive to purchase household items and groceries on Long Island. It's extremely inexpensive if your parents frequently purchase those things for you and then slip you extra cash. When I go home I avoid binge drinking, I eat real food, I go to the gym, and I avoid spending money. Going home is great. And my cats are there.

And there's enough room to make a laundry color wheel in my parents' laundry room.

On Saturday I slept in and then ran errands. The cable and internet is still down at my parents' so I felt motivated to get things done. And I was trying to keep my mind off smoking. Today is DAY SEVEN. I headed to the Roslyn Equinox for a solo workout around 6 PM. When I work out by myself, I prefer to go during less packed hours so I can choose my equipment freely and not fight for space.

I did 20 minutes on the CrossRamp. I know I've written about this machine before, but I just love it more than any other cardio machine. It's like an elliptical but better.

Because it's totally normal to photograph yourself like this.

I'll be honest - I'm a little self-conscious of my flabby arms right now, but I hate wearing sleeves to the gym. This photo captured how unshapely they've gotten. I do feel stronger from the yoga though. My embarrassment motivated me to do an arm workout:

Chest press with 15 lbs weights (15 reps)

Shoulder press with 15 lbs weights (15 reps)

Skull crusher with one 15 lbs weight (10 reps, rest between 5)

Tricep kickbacks with 7.5 lbs weights (15)

2 sets

I had perused the August 2012 issue of Oxygen and found the workout below earlier in the day. It seemed like a challenging quick workout I could do on my own and it said it was Army-inspired, which I found fitting for Veteran's Day weekend. It kicked my ass.

20 crunches

20 prisoner squats

20 staggered-hand push-ups (left hand forward)

20 sit-ups

20 prisoner lunges

20 staggered-hand push-ups (right hand forward)
30-60 second plank

I did forty prisoner lunges so I'd have twenty for each leg and a 60 second plank. And then I prayed for mercy. Those staggered-hand push-ups are so freaking hard! I've decided that I will do this workout on cardio days at least once a week. I am going to be able to do one set no problem by New Years.

Today I went to Raj Shtrom's vinyasa flow yoga class at the Equinox in Great Neck. They've redone the bathrooms and showers since the last time I was there and it looks lovely.

Raj's class beats me normally, but after lifting last night, my arms could barely support my weight. I am the lamest yoga practicer in the world, but I am going to stick with it. I want to make sure that I am in shape and that my strength is balanced. I feel like I started back at round zero and that I shouldn't make the same mistakes I've made in the past as I return to working out and better eating.

My gym requires valet parking on Sundays.

I'm proud of myself for not smoking cigarettes for an entire week, but I'm a little worried about keeping it up when I go out. I went out for drinks three times last week and didn't have a cigarette (although I did go to a cigar bar one night.) However, I do get text messages like this one:

Do I need to give up benders? Does this mean I'm growing up? Can I have a six-pack if I give up beer?

Enough of these deep philosophical questions and on to the important things.

Today is Veteran's Day, one of the most important days of the years. I love veterans and have the utmost respect for servicemen and women. I especially love Marines. They're pretty sexy. Take the time today and tomorrow (and every day for that matter!) to thank the men and women who risk their lives to make sure that you and I are safe and free. Thank you veterans! God bless you!

Sweaty Crotch

Today I woke up and remembered that my Equinox membership became unfrozen yesterday. Then I leapt out of bed to check the group fitness class schedule. I settled upon Raj Shtrom's 10:15 am yoga class and then went in search of coffee and an outfit to wear.

I found a pair of Champion C9 for Target yoga pants at the back of my drawer and thought, "So that's where these things went! Why don't I ever wear them?" I happily put them on and added a black technical tank (Calvin Klein. Absolutely love it. It's getting a little snug. Oops.)

I wanted to get in a quick run before heading off to yoga so I ran 2.4 miles around the cul-de-sac. I broke a light sweat. That's when I remembered why I normally don't wear my C9 yoga pants: the fabric turns a distinctly different shade of grey when touched with perspiration. My sweaty crotch made it look like I wet myself.

the offending pants

I didn't know what to do. Sure, I could get changed, but these were the only yoga pants I had out on Long Island, and I did look super cute. The pants, when not soaked through the crotch, are very flattering and comfortable. They are cropped and have slices in the back lower portions of the leg. This causes them to flare out and look pretty nifty during down dog split. I hoped they would dry before class started in 18 minutes.

They didn't. They only got sweatier. Raj kicked my ass and this isn't even her Level 2/3 class. I had a great time though for the ENTIRE 90 MINUTES. I only looked at the clock twice. Most of the time I was checking out my own crotch, trying to figure out if it looked like I was sweaty or if I had a bladder leakage problem. Normally I absolutely love C9 items, but this is an issue. I noticed that the woman in grey lululemon yoga pants didn't have this problem.

Despite this setback, I was able to once again prove that I am horrible at yoga. I'm just not that flexible without a hot guy motivating me to bend in certain directions. I do try however, which is how I found myself in a shoulder stand, staring at my hoo-hah, with a pregnant lady doing a headstand next to me.

I am so incredibly excited to be back at Equinox.
I audibly sighed with relief when entering my
home away from home this morning.

Yoga

You can't choose your family, but you can certainly choose which family members to disown for eternity. I hadn't planned on going to the gym after sleeping through all of Tripp's spin classes, but after trimming my family tree, I needed to do something to get me to relax.

I went to Raj Shtrom's yoga class at Woodbury at 4:30pm. If you remember the last time I ended up in one of Raj's classes, this was fortunately a class for all levels, and not intended for L2/3 "I can lick my own shoulder blade" yogis.

The class is heavy on the downward dog standing split. Some people don't like this move, but I'm for anything that breaks up the monotony of downward facing dog. This supposed "resting pose" is the most painful thing in the world for me. I have tight hip flexors, tight shoulders, overdeveloped thighs, and stress fractures in my feet - I imagine downward facing dog is comparable to being strung up on a medieval torture rack.

We made it through the sun salutations, and then got on to what I can actually do: awkward balancing poses. I'm all about eagle, tree, airplane, and anything else that requires standing very still on one foot. I practice while standing in line and waiting for my students to settle down. It's amazing what 8 hours of daily practice can do...

Raj has a few classes in Woodbury, Roslyn, and Great Neck, including a Saturday class. I highly recommend her. After 75 minutes, I wasn't so keen to exact revenge on my former family members, so maybe there's something to this yoga business.