I shall start this post by confessing that I haven’t worked out in a really long time. Like…since I found out I was pregnant with my now-19 month old child.
For reasons that are entirely in the past (and will not be dwelled on), I had surgery, I found out I was pregnant, I was put on modified rest (no physical activity), I threw up for essentially the entire pregnancy, childbirth recovery, breastfeeding woes (limiting cardio work out abilities) and then…well that was a long time off, so hey, this couch is super comfy. It isn’t to say I’m entirely stagnant, I eat a pretty hefty amount of fruits and veggies and I do live on the 3rd floor of a walk up and lead an active life with a toddler and a dog, both of whom require daily walks or jaunts outside.
Anyway. Here we are. It isn’t to say I am an amorphous round blob, but there are some pounds to shed and areas to tone. (Side eye upper arms, side eye). I found an age spot near one of my eyes on the morning of my 31st birthday, a literal slap in the face reminder that, HEY GIRL, YOU ARE NOT GETTING YOUNGER.
So now at the end of the summer and two things happened in one week. It was like Jillian Michaels herself was yelling in my ear. One: my work announced this big walking challenge (more on that in a moment). Two: I got an email from ClassPass which is launching in Chicago, inviting me to their launch party at Flywheel, a spinning gym I’ve been wanting to try since the beginning of the aforementioned timeline. ClassPass invited me for free, but didn’t ask me to blog about it, so uh, consider that your FTC transparency. So last night I attended the launch party where I had my ass summarily handed to me, which I’m pretty sure was the point, and as it all ended and I could barely move my limbs I thought “What an amazing workout” and “Huh, go figure, I miss doing that.” I then contemplated how I was going to get into my house, which is a 3rd floor walk up and generally requires mobility on my part. ClassPass is offering me a month trial of their “system” which traditionally costs $99 a month and garners you workouts at all the hottests speciality/boutique gyms that participate. In Chicago the list is pretty extensive (all the different bar method-y gyms, a Crossfit gym, a few spinning studios, some fancy pilates and yoga places) and considering most of them charge around $24 for a drop-in class rate, I’m thinking ClassPass is the better deal. There are some limitations (you can only visit one studio three times within a month for example) but regardless, if you are looking for variety, it might be just what you are looking for. I’ll report back I’m sure.
So in addition to ClassPass my work announced this walking challenge and while I suppose deep down I’m grateful for the opportunity I’m participating for two reasons only: (1) I love myself a competition; and (2) I’m cheap because the challenge comes with a free pedometer and for different benchmarks, you are entered into various raffles, the grand prize being $1000 off your annual healthcare premium. FINE. I GUESS I’LL PARTICIPATE. Truthfully I’m annoyed, I think I have to log into the system daily to enter my steps (snooze) and the system includes an already obnoxious amount of cheerful reminders for things like “write down something you are thankful for” and I’m just like, since when did my employer turn to Pinterest for its wellness intitatives?
Anyway. That was a lot of word vomit to say: I think I need more workout clothes. And a larger bottle of anti-inflammatory pain killers.
