Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Adventures in cross-training

Monday

It was cold and rainy after work and I couldn't get myself out the door for the short run I had planned. Instead, I ate a quick dinner and headed to the gym early for 30 minutes on the elliptical before my first yoga class.

Yoga was great. The class was pretty small, only about 12 ladies, so we had lots of room. The instructor turned the lights off, which made me a lot more comfortable. We started with a series of light stretching and easy poses, working on our deep breathing. The second half of the class included more challenging poses, but we were encouraged to take it only as far as we could comfortably. It included several Vinyasa sequences of movements through various poses, which I enjoyed because it felt more active.

Being "Body Sculpt Yoga", I wasn't too surprised by the extensive core work. My core is an area I have always neglected and I could barely complete half of the sequence, but I know I will improve over time.

I left class feeling loose and refreshed, but my shoulders were definitely feeling the downward dog the next morning!

Tuesday

Last night was my first H.O.T. (High Octane Training) class. Based on the title and description, I was pretty nervous, but the instructor was very welcoming and made me feel at ease immediately. She helped me get set up with all the equipment (body bar, free weights, BOSU and step). Our individual stations took up quite a bit of space, so luckily there weren't too many people in class. We started with a warm-up taken from the Zumba (latin dance) class, which got me warmed up and relaxed. The rest of the hour consisted of intervals from high-intensity cardio (step routines, jumping jacks, various dance moves) to strengthening (squats and lunges, BOSU balancing, crunches, free weights). It was an incredible workout, and so.much.fun. Can't wait to go next week!

So cross-training CAN be fun afterall!

Tonight is a 7.5K run. Tomorrow morning 5K before work (hopefully I can get my butt out of bed again!) and spin class tomorrow night. Woohoo!

14 comments:

J said...

So glad that the classes are working out! Sounds like they are a lot of fun but still a great workout. I wish I had more time in my schedule to take some classes : (

Good luck with the running!

Mel-2nd Chances said...

Sounds like a lot of fun! Glad you're enjoying them!!!

Jess said...

Good job on all that cross training!

Unknown said...

Sounds like you're very busy with all the cross training and running. I seem to barely have time to squeeze in my runs.

joyRuN said...

That H.O.T. sounds tough - glad the cross-training's been fun :)

tfh said...

That yoga class sounds great. Let us know if you feel any difference in your running with all the cross-training!

Marcy said...

Sounds like it was all good. You're a nut for wanting to go back for more HOT though LMAO!

Shoe Running said...

Yeah for enjoying your classes! Your yoga class sounds really relaxing :) And how can you not get an awesome workout from a class called HOT! It all sounds like a lot of fun and a great way to keep in shape over winter :)

Oh, and my captcha is "suntan" ...whoa! a real word!

Chic Runner said...

Sounds like fun classes I need to get into one of those Octance classes! ;)

BeachRunner said...

Glad you had fun.

Vava said...

Nice to hear you are enjoying the classes. Using all sorts of new and ignored muscles will help with running no doubt - Well done!

Marci said...

That HOT class sounds awesome. I can't wait to get back to cross training after Philly. Its a great way to mix it up!

Nikemom said...

the morning butt lifts are getting tougher since the time change. URGH! i'm thinking about a butt lift tomorrow....we'll see, it's awful cold here. BRRR! :D

Eric said...

Nice I have piked up my cross training .. good luck on the 2009 season looks great mine I steal figuring it out