Hoopin'

I'm taking a hooping class on Wednesdays. It's right after my one hour workout with the trainer. I'm wiped out afterward!

Today is GORGEOUS! 83 degrees! Not a cloud in the sky! Gentle breezes! Should have worn sunscreen!

Our instructor, Andy (on the left) is talks about "chakra" & "making an X with your arms and legs that gets the energy flowing through the body into the Earth and up to the sky." Stand on the balls of your feet, lifting our arms, head back, moving our whole body! Hard to do! Especially after playing catch with an 8 pound ball & throwing it from over my head, doing chin ups with an elastic band, and doing several plank positions. Oh, and I ran a mile first.

This is all new to me. You wouldn't have caught me running a year ago. Not unless someone was chasing me... with a weapon. Part of it is losing 55 pounds since January 2010. But then I wasn't satisfied with all the flabby skin that losing weight leaves. I looked like a ball that got the air let out of it. Had to firm that up. And just walking wasn't going to do it.

So in mid-December, I joined a couple of other moms that were working out with a trainer that comes to our school in the morning. Since I'm there everyday anyway, it works out well! So now 4 days a week, Trainer Dave torchers us with his Boot Camp regime. He's caught on that his Marine boot camp talk doesn't motivate me. I just laugh. But encouragement! Now we're talking!

Phil couldn't figure out what had made me change to start doing exercises. Afterall, I was 'skinny' now - why do I have to do all this exercising? He didn't seem to get that self esteem is very much related to how women feel about their bodies. I've got a whole different body. Had to buy allllll new clothes! Big mental step to GIVE AWAY the clothes that didn't fit!

And now I'm keeping up with the skinny chicks!

Now Dave & Lilly (the other mom I train with) have signed up for a 10K Mud Run/Obstacle Course at Camp Pendleton, a Marine base near San Diego.

11 weeks away.

I just keep saying "Really? I can do this???"