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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Phobias can be helpful....?

   I never thought I would say this, but this past weekend I learned that some phobias can actually keep you healthy. Over the weekend I was out of town working with a group of girls on an event, one of which was slightly claustrophobic and terrified of elevators.  After a little jesting we found out why, she had been stuck in them 11 times!! Whoa. I think I would be terrified too at that point!
    Good thing there were only 5 floors in our hotel, but of course we were on the 5th floor. So after the first couple times, we all realized this wasn't a joke, she was really going to walk up and down the stairs every time we had to go to the room. At first I thought "she's nuts!...we're exhausted right after a 10 hour road trip. I am not walking up the stairs." (Plus someone had to take the luggage up the elevator, right?)
  After that (and when we had boxes of stuff to move) I started taking the stairs with her, partially for security in numbers, and partially out of curiosity and the want to get some exercise over the weekend.
  The first couple of flights went well, then its a good burn, your excited to get your legs and butt in shape for the summer....then you start breathing a little heavy, and its always the last flight that almost gets you. But after your at the top, your not as gross and sweaty as you thought you would be, you feel better about the cookie you just ate, and you feel like a good friend/person just for keeping someone company that would have otherwise felt left out, self conscience, and sort of shunned all for taking the healthy option of stairs rather than the elevator. By the end of the weekend we were all taking them and feeling good about it.
  But let me warn you ahead of time, some places are not very stair friendly. The hotel we were staying in (which you would think would be very alert and open of where their safe exit way of stairs would be) had the entrance of their stairs on the street, outside, around the corner from the hotel lobby (hence the 'security in numbers' thing I said earlier). The front desk people even looked at us like we were crazy when we asked where the stairs were, and in another building the stairs were obviously not on the same level as far as the upscale decor as the rest of the place (seriously reminded me of grade school or dorm stairs rather than the upscale 5 star resort around them).
   But if you can take some weird looks, you'll actually get some exercise on your vacay and not have to take too much time out of your day to do it!

Monday, April 15, 2013

Prayers for Boston

   I know that I speak for everyone that is a part of this Blog when I say that we send out our prayers for those affected by today's explosions at the Boston Marathon.
  One of our group of SMC women is a Bostonian, and has run the Boston Marathon. My heart sank today when I first saw the news and tried to call her and she didn't pick up. Eventually we connected and learned that her and her family are all safe. I can only imagine being someone who is still wondering if their loved ones are okay or not, or even worse have heard terrible news.
   This type of attack hits very close to home for me. When I was in the Army my job was specifically to stop or deter this type of explosive attack. It hurts my heart to see anything like this happen to anyone, military or not. But to see something like this happen in our country, to civilians not trained to respond, or even be alert and looking for something like this, is unspeakable and I cannot express in words my sympathy for the people there affected by it and those who have to live with that horrific memory.
   The more I reflect on this event and the more I hear about what happened, my feelings are all over the place. I can't believe someone could do this. As someone who volunteered for the military in hopes to ensure something like this doesn't happen to our country, it makes me feel like I let those people in Boston down. I'm frustrated that our country hasn't been doing more since 9/11 to ensure each and every citizen knows what to look for and is on alert at events like this. I'm deeply saddened for those killed, hurt, and even those terrified by what they saw. I know that it has forever changed their lives.
   My full range of emotions then circles back around to patriotic. We will pull through this. No one, evil person can stop us. We're America. and then it hits me, we're blessed that this type of tragic event is still considered a tragedy in our country. We're blessed that we can go for a run in our neighborhood and not worry.  Most of us have been to, or at least heard of, a country that this type of thing is an everyday occasion. Something like this doesn't surprise anyone when its on the news at night.
  My hope is that we are able to keep our country that way, to keep war out of our own backyards, to keep the majority of our people's innocence and their understanding of war to what they've seen on the news and movies. I pray for everyone affected, for the emergency personnel and those helping at the scene. I pray that the government and security officials can make sense of this soon and bring justice to those who did this. And I pray for those who built and set off those bombs, I pray that they come to a full realization of what they did and are hit with a remorse that stops them cold.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Fitness Class Discrimination


As I told you all in my last blog entry, I recently attended a hot yoga class. I wanted to talk a little more about this experience I had. But first, a little background: I am not a huge “class” person when it comes to the gym. I am a member of Gold’s Gym, here is beautiful Southern Pines, and the gym has a great variety of classes through out the mornings and afternoons of each day. When I first signed up for the gym I told myself that I would attend the classes and make the most of my money, since the classes were included in my monthly membership fees. I started out strong. I went to at least one class every morning and on some days I went to two. But my initial work out “high” started to dwindle and I wasn’t seeing the results that I wanted to.

I am a runner. I have been running since middle school both competitively and leisurely. It makes me happy, it is what I love to do. When I was deployed as an active duty Soldier, I ran 6 miles every day, sometimes twice a day, and with in a few months time, I had lost close to 30 pounds. After coming back to the states, and getting back into my normal life routine, the weight came back. It didn’t bother me at first, but after a while, I knew it was time get back into it. I thought the gym membership was just what I needed and the class schedule would keep me honest. Well the classes got redundant, and I wasn’t seeing a change in myself like I do when I am on a running schedule. I started to notice something else too. The other members of my class didn’t seem to be getting thinner either. I started to take note of the attendees of the different classes, and after a while, if the majority of the members in the class weren’t in great shape, I didn’t attend the class. “Nope, this class obviously doesn’t work, Im going to the treadmill” I guess you could say I was being prejudice to certain classes based on their attendees. The gym membership was still great. It was perfect for running when the weather was bad. I do love the stair master every now and then, and I could watch hulu on my phone while I worked out. Also, even though it was a chore to get to the gym, once I was there, I was more motivated by seeing other members sweating their butts off too.

My husband has some back trouble. He will get some spasms when he has been working hard and sometimes they are debilitating. His physical therapist recommended yoga. My gym doesn’t have yoga, but there is a hot yoga studio in my town so we signed up for a week of classes to try it out. Nervous as I was, I was also extremely excited. I had read about it, and seen it in several fitness magazines and knew that hot yoga was relaxing but also a great calorie scorcher. Upon walking in to the studio everyone was quiet and seemed to be mentally preparing for the class. My husband and I just sat there smiling and people watching. It was cold out so many people we wearing coats and long pants, but as expected, everyone started stripping down before entering the 105 degree room. It felt like walking into someone’s mouth that just mouthwashed with lavender and eucalyptus. After claiming my real estate and getting settled I started looking around to see what king of people I was surrounded by. Super sexy was the kind of people I was surrounded by. Every person was wearing a cute Lululemon outfit and sculpted like you wouldn’t believe. There wasn’t a chunker among them, well except me, the noob. I couldn’t believe it. I was used to being one of the more fit attendees of classes, or at least middle of the pack, but not here. This class was full of slender, muscular human beings and all I could think, was that I need to start doing this more often. I want to look like these people. After the next 75 minutes, I understood why these people looked the way they did. The class was ridiculous. The floor would have been more slick than a slip and slide had I not been on an absorbent mat and continually mopping the sweat off my body through out the class. The poses were difficult, the balance was difficult and I reached muscle failure in the first 10 minutes. After an agonizing hour, the class went into a meditating and relaxation mode. As we lay there with the hypnotizing music playing, the instructor came around to each student, laid a cold lavender compress across our eyes and forehead and proceeded to massage our shoulders and arms. I never felt so good in my life. After the class, my husband and I couldn’t wipe our goofy grins off our face, and that night, after a hot shower, I never slept better. I found my perfect class. All the students are fit, I am sore for a day or two after, I leave feeling relaxed and you get a mini massage? Class Perfection! 

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Dirty Talk : B. O.


Working out sucks. Especially when you are out of shape and trying to get in a grove. You don’t want to put on your spandex matching outfits because it cuts off circulation and gives a Michelin man appearance, but you don’t want to wear your grungy over-sized T-shirts and look like a noob in the gym. Your make up runs, you are breathing heavy, your shirt gets sweaty to the point that it changes color, except where your sports bra is, and what is that…… what is that……. Is that me? Ugh, is that smell coming from me? Do a quick, nonchalant sniff of the pits, and much to your demise: confirmation, that sour, deodorant smell is being emitted from your under arm. NIGHTMARE. Now you are self-conscience, not working as hard and looking around to see if anyone makes “the face”. You know the face. The frowny turtle face that people make when they smell something rancid. They don’t smell you, the gym is well ventilated, but the damage is done, your confidence is deflated and you just want to shower and have a brownie.
Turtle Face
A few weeks ago my husband and I decided to attend a hot yoga class. For those of you who are unaware of my many quirks, I have an extreme and unreasonable fear of smelling bad. I have at least 15 different types of deodorant available in my house at all the times, and many of them are scattered between bathrooms, purses and cars should I feel an emergent need to reapply. I have several little rituals that are unnecessary and probably ineffective, but needless to say I must complete them before I face the day: a normal day of air conditioning and minimal sweaty situations. The idea of going to hot yoga was a tad terrifying given the 105 degree temperature and static poses of arms in the air and exposed pits. My husband thinks that I am out of my mind. “You don’t smell babe, I don’t know what you are talking about” My sisters are like “Ugh, did you wear my shirt, it smells like you! Now I have to wash it” I’m getting mixed signals and quite frankly I would rather behave like I know I smell and remedy the situation, even if unneeded, rather than ignore the situation if it is in fact very much needed.

My Candy Land
So on the big day, the day that I am to expose myself to harsh conditions that promotes excessive sweating, I hop in the shower right before it is time to leave. I want to make sure I am as fresh as can be as not to offend my fellow yogis. When I hop out of the shower, my husband hands me a bottle of apple cider vinegar. And tells me to put on my under-arm before I put on deodorant. Is he crazy? But I listen. It kind of burns since I just shaved, and the smell stings the nostrils, but after a few minutes both the burn and the smell subside, my pits are super dry and I apply my strongest and most reliable brand and scent of deod. Still nervous walking into to yoga I don’t know what to expect, but after the excruciating hour and 15 minutes that followed my mind could only focus on not falling. When it was all over, I realized that I didn’t notice smell through out the entire class, and when I thought that no one was looking I gave a quick smell check to both arms and wouldnt you know it? NOTHING! The apple cider vinegar trick worked! I googled it on the way home, and apparently the pH on your skin neutralizes from the vinegar, destroying the ideal environment for that smelly bacteria to grow! Fancy that.

Im sure many of you read this and are like, “This girl is gross” or “I don’t have this problem” but I am sure there is someone out there that will be thrilled over this discovery, or at least I pray that there is so I am not alone in putrid nightmare! Let me know if you try it! 
Life Changer! 

That’s my skinny!
Cpizzle