Like an Underground River. I have to admit I have been staring at the blank space for way too long while I tried to think of a snappy title for a new thread. I always try to think of something that has resonance for the 5% Club, something that both describes who we are and inspires us further. Tonight I actually got up and opened several of DH's poetry books, hoping to find just the right phrase jumping off a page, but alas. You can make your own interpretation, but I am aiming for strength, constancy, the power of nature.
The last thread was started on July 31! What a period of change it spanned. I remember when we started a new thread about every week or so. I appreciate how much I carry with me internally as a matter of faith, but still I do treasure revisiting our group and staying in touch. Fitness and health are the cornerstone of balance and sanity, for me - more than ever something to cherish as time passes and times turn uncertain.
For me, I am still on a new-club high. And it has only gotten better. This club has Body Pump, which is a franchised hour-long class using fairly light weights and higher reps, covering the whole body in a balanced way. I find it really effective and am pleased with pretty immediate results! I was sore the first couple of times - the good kind of sore. Right now Body Pump and Spinning are the cornerstones of my workout life. I aim for 2 BP classes a week, at least 2 Spinning classes a week, and then on the odd days from that the trusty buffer, or another kind of class, or use of the weight room, or a combination. There is still so much at this club that I haven't tapped, and I am thrilled that boredom just won't be a problem - there is always something new and different ahead. (They even have tennis lessons, etc.)
The greatest thing is that DH did join the club with me and we are going to BP together twice a week! This is really amazing and quite a thrill - we have been together over 15 years and had never worked out together! I was still teaching aerobics when we first met and he never even came to one of my classes! As I said in the earlier thread, his first BP and spinning classes were quite a wake up call for him. He is not a person who gains weight, and I think that lulled him into a false sense of fitness. Having the muscle definition evolve really adds a fun dimension to working out - I hope to get him more and more into it. Stay posted - we will see if he is made of 5% material!
I am powering the water like I have never done in my life. I cut back on coffee majorly and I credit that with the change. I drink a lot more tea, augmented by this herbalife herbal concentrate stuff that a friend turned me on to. I try to make the tea green tea too. I still adore coffee but it seems now that I have some 1-3 times a week, quite a change for me! Where I notice all this making a difference is my complexion - it is a tremendous favor I am doing for my skin!
Raychel I was delighte to hear from you. I wondered if your perspective would change - Before you worked in a regular office setting and we were the fitness outlet. Now that you are knee-deep in fitness all day, where would we fit? But I can't imagine 5% without you! Because I am new to this club, I'd love to know more about yours. Does your club have a web site? I have to sigh about your DH. My suspicion is that, rather than a really profound insight into your relationship, he is experiencing the natural cycle of married life and has voiced it rather than riding it out. Because I think long-term relationships have dull, flat spots in them, and that is natural. Movies and television show us relationships that are as zesty as at their beginning - or if they are not we think the characters are short-changed from perfect love. Marriages are tested by crises (deaths, financial problems, moves, adding children, etc.) but I think the most proud strength of all comes from getting through the cycle of those little flat and dull spots, those days where you "see" just the "faults" and wonder inside..is this it? Aren't I a little bit better than what he or she has turned out to be? Etc... I hope that is what is happening at your house. We talk about cycles all the time here, and I think marriage really embodies this. Balance is knowing the flat spots will pass, and also being aware when things are flying high to bank some bliss for the downcycles that will inevitably come.
Steph you no doubt have insight on this as well. I hope your winter fitness schedule has evolved and continues to be a strength for you. Do you still use your treadmill? Now I want to encourage you to join the new club when it is built - I am enjoying mine so much at this time. It's like all the workout and sweating you need, but more pampering too. I feel like I got to a fancy spa every day instead of a stinky gym. I'd like to experience a massage one of these days, too. How is Cassie doing? Is she picking up more of your healthy habits? What else is new in your neighborhood?
JS I know you will attest that sometimes a flat spot in a relationship unfortunately turns out to be the flat line of no more pulse. I'm proud of you for your courage to take control and get your life right - sometimes you have to step back from pleasing the "audience" and just take the steps that are necessary. How is everything going? Is everything final? It is getting SO dark here all of a sudden!
Catherine I just know you will have a new challenge before you - always taking on something new to learn or train for. I still mentally picture you Rollerblading, probably that was what you were into when you first joined us! What is your approach to fall?
Nadine - For someone so new to our group, I am thinking of you more than you know. Let us know how it is going with you. How does your geography affect your approach to fitness (or does it?)
Naturally, I am worried that I have forgotten someone, but if so I will just have to make an amendment. I'm lucky tonight because I got a rare night off - it is Alaska Day! Alaska celebrates the anniversary of our statehood rather than Columbus Day, and I always welcome the extra day in October. Truthfully, most of my days barely allow me time to brush my teeth let alone meandering posts - they have become a luxury. But you know how luxuries are - good to indulge in when you can!
In closing - again this isn't a political forum and I for one get "enough" of the travails of our current time in regular life. Just want to say though I am thinking of all of you out there in your real lives my cyber friends, and also our past 5%-ers who have moved on but are never forgotten -