Today and has been a very long and full day. It started not-so-bright and early at my second boot camp class. The temps were below freezing when I left, so I drove to the class instead of biking. I kept trying to remind myself that 30-something degree weather isn’t so bad, considering I spent last January and February running outdoors 4x a week when the temperatures were in the teens. But sadly, methinks fall is officially over folks.
I had another rocking boot camp class and the best part is that it was completely different from Tuesday’s class and focused more on upper body work. We started off with a push-up/crunch combo and I knew immediately that it was going to be a killer class: one minute of push-ups/30 seconds of crunches, then 45 seconds of each, and finally 30 seconds of push-ups/one minute of crunches. I usually do 3 sets of 10 push-ups (max) so I was dying.
Other moves included:
- Sprints. Lots of sprints.
- Planks
- Variations of push-ups
- Exercises with the resistance bands: lateral twists, overhead presses, boxing
Next time I’ll wear my heart rate monitor to get an idea of my heart rate and calories burned.
At lunch time, I came home and worked from home for the rest of the day. But not without a walk/hike in Rock Creek Park with Leela beforehand. We walked about 1.5 miles.
The leaves are completely off the trees and all over the trails.
Even if the park is no longer green, it still beats being in the office.
Last but not least, tonight I had plans to go to my first Bikram yoga class with my good friend Nyema. Nyema has gotten really into yoga in the last 4+ months and whenever I talk to her I can’t help but want to join in. She has been really consistent with it, going at least 3 times a week (consistency with yoga is one of my weaknesses). She says a few of the benefits she has gotten from yoga are increased flexibility, losing weight, strength and sleeping better. That last one especially caught my attention!
So when she asked me to accompany her to one of her favorite studios in Virginia – and offered to drive – I of course said yes. Unfortunately, even though we left almost an hour before class started, we didn’t plan for heavy traffic and got there 10 minutes after the class had started. Boo. But after chatting in the car about all her experiences with bikram I am even more pumped to do it then I was before and we have plans to try it next weekend. We also stopped at Whole Foods for some hot bar action on the way home, so all was not lost.
Have you ever done bikram? If so, did you like it?
Traffic around Tyson’s is horrendous (and 66 in general)so I’m you missed your class. If you stopped at the Whole Foods on Leesburg Pike (7) before the 66 exit, there’s a restaurant in the same shopping mall called Jason’s Deli (http://www.jasonsdeli.com/restaurants) which is amazing, I absolutely love the salad bar! So if you head out to Tyson’s for bikram again I’d recommend checking out Jason’s.
I’ve never actually tried bikram but I’m doing a newbie introduction to yoga workshop at Tranquil Space (http://www.tranquilspace.com/) on Sunday (2.5 hours of yoga) which the instructor teaches several different yoga practices. I’m hoping to get more flexible!
Will definitely try Jason’s out!
Let me know how that workshop is. 2.5 hours of yoga scares me a little.
Ugh…the traffic is the one thing that makes me want to move away from this area! Sorry you missed the class!
I am thinking about trying to start yoga, but not sure what type I would like the best. Any suggestions?
If you like fast-paced activities (which I’m guessing you do since you ride & bike), you should try a vinyasa class. They can be fun and challenging!
I’m a yoga newbie, so I may have done bikram before, but I’m not sure. Yoga is definitely something I need to start incorporating into my routine more frequently!! There are so many benefits, I just have a hard time sticking with it for some reason. I’m sorry you missed your class! Hopefully next time the traffic won’t be so awful.
The bootcamp class sounds awesome! It sounds like you are going to be so strong by the end of it.
I’m the same way with sticking with it. Money, time, lack of running perhaps?
Ummmmm you can’t complain about traffic until you live in Los Angeles
I am also a Yoga newbie. I have only done it a few times and never Bikram. For some reason I just can’t get into it. I may have to grab a friend and do it next year.
Bikram and I have a love-hate relationship. http://eatrunread.blogspot.com/2010/01/thoughts-on-yoga.html
Bikram Dupont has a great “karma yogi” program – I work at the studio once a week and in exchange get 2 free classes a week! Let me know if you’re interested!