Pilates…

I should probably save this post until I’m through my first session…ever…in Pilates on the reformer equipment, but I’m pretty excited that I’ll be trying something new.  Once upon a time I was super flexible, like “bobcat, pretzel” flexible (10 points if you can name the movie reference from whence that came).  Not so much any more.  But I intend to be.

I have discovered I like pushing this newly rediscovered body of mine.

Melanie had a hold of the Windsor Pilates DVDs years ago and we popped in the first one and laughter ensued.  The position they wanted us in right off the bat was just hilarious — I figured if my body could hold that pose I wouldn’t need Pilates in the first place.  But I am a little wiser with age and realize the point is not to master but to grow.  If I can get this body strong enough to do the poses, then I probably should teach the class, not walk away because I’ve “arrived”.  It’s not a destination after all.  I won’t ever “arrive”.  Thinking I have will put me right back where I started at some point.

The chiropractic office I discovered is full circle.  They offer sports massage, reflexology, and they have this Pilates studio.  First session is a one-on-one to learn to use the reformer equipment pictured above and that first session is like $36 bucks.  How could I pass that up?  Regular classes are more, of course, but I figure if I like it I’ll integrate that two times a week into my routine to shake things up.  Add some variety.   I never used to understand that — needing variety in exercise so as not to get bored — but I realize now that’s simply because I never stuck with exercise long enough to get bored.  I also realized that I am at the point where boredom is on the horizon.  I am ready for more challenge.

My cardio is strong — always has been.  But I really REALLY have to push it now to raise it during activity.  Yesterday I hit the treadmill rather than the elliptical because I wanted incline.  So there I was, still walking at 4mph with a 2-3% incline and my damn heart rate wouldn’t bump above 120.  I guess it’s time to incorporate a bit of running.  Which is the goal.  I need to be able to complete a 5K in less than 45 minutes.  Which isn’t a fast pace at all.  My goal is to finish in 36 minutes, but we’ll start here at a 15mm pace.  Only problem is, I’m terrified to run.

My knees are baaaaad.  And by bad I mean tragically so.  I should take pictures of all the scars and post them.  I have literal train tracks on either side of my right knee (and in the back of that knee as well) and double arthroscopic marks on my left knee.  What lies inside is a ton of arthritis and what lies ahead is eventual knee replacement of my right, and probably both knees.  When I was at my heaviest I tried to do a couch to 5K — that was a year ago.  I was all in at the beginning of this year, and I meant it.  I did two days in a row and wound up in gripping pain.  Turns out I tore not only my meniscus, but my meniscus root.  That was fun.  I know I’m far lighter now, but not light enough to run I don’t think.

In the new house we are going to add one more machine to the mix.  A Peloton.  Frank is a cyclist, and once upon a time so was I.  I think it’ll be great to have a spin bike in the house to change things up.  And that should push my heart a bit harder.  But that is at minimum 3 months away.  I guess maybe I need to insert patience here?  I will have to do some research on how to raise my heart rate with the tools I have at hand.  And really, with our family history, I guess I should be glad that I have such a strong muscle in there.  My resting heart rate is now around 44bpm.  I no longer hear my heart working hard at night when I lay down.  Losing weight has certainly helped my long-term cardio-prognosis.  My blood pressure is back to normal as well.

I’ll check back in after my Pilates class and document how it went, what I thought, and how I felt/feel.  I hear it doesn’t feel hard in the moment, but the days following the pain of stretching sets in.  The good kind of pain.  The kind of pain I am excited for.