Diary of a Decathlon

We made it through the SWAT Group Fitness Decathlon - five hours of exercise!  I have 800 mg of Motrin in me, there is Biofreeze all over my muscles, my workout clothes were so sweaty and gross that I soaked them in vinegar before washing them, and I'm ready for bed at only 6:30 pm, but it was still worth it.  

The morning started with Jessica's Power Yoga class.  My favorite pose was the "Wild Thing" at the beginning; it was a great way to open up the body and prepare for the day.  I really enjoyed how she could walk around and give everyone tips on how to improve our poses.  

The second class was Pump.  If you've been stuck on the same squat weight for a while, this would be a good time to increase your weight.  I really enjoyed the squat track, even though I don't think a techno version of Adele's "Someone Like You" should even exist in this world.  My heart dropped a little before the tricep track when Emma announced we didn't need a bar because that means we'll be doing tricep dips and pushups, but it actually wasn't so bad!

The third class was Step, which I've been taking (and loving!) lately.  Marta said during class that Steppers are the happiest people in the gym, and it may be true - everyone was having a good time.  Well, that is, until I missed the step in the last track and twisted my ankle.  So far, it seems to be okay; we shall see in the morning!

Next, we moved over to the RPM room, where we did the first five tracks of the new release.  It is a really good release.  Even the speed work, which is usually my downfall, was challenging but doable.  I thought track five, the interval track, was awesome.  Sometimes in track five, you do the same thing a bunch of times; this time, they changed things up almost every round.  

The fifth class of the day was Zumba.  Okay, this may be completely un-American or it may come across like I don't have a soul or something, but I just don't like to dance.  That's not entirely true; give me a few drinks at a wedding, and my amazing natural dancing talent is apparent to me and everyone else at the reception.  However, turn the lights on and put mirrors all around me, and I cannot just relax and have fun!  (It didn't help that there was a gaggle of people staring in at us from the doorway and the window; you know who you are, and I hope you got a kick out of us all shaking our behinds.)  Zumba is also a class where the instructor doesn't call out choreography, and I have a hard time with that.  Although, there was one song where we did a Zumba version of the Dougie - that was the highlight for me.

Next, the entire Combat team took the stage and led us through a few tracks of that.  It just feels so GOOD to kick and punch!!!  I haven't taken Combat in a long time (my foot injuries tend to get inflamed), and I forgot how much I like it.  

The seventh class was Flow.  There are so many parts of that class that I love; the sun salutations, the standing strength, the balance, and the glorious swan pose.  I thought this was a great release!  Mostly, though, I love the feeling of grace and beauty; it's not a feeling I often have in my daily life, but if I really focus on myself, my breathing, and my body, it's amazing.

Next was Vive.  By this point, I was dragging.  I could barely squeeze that purple ball or tug on the resistance tube, but it was still a great strength workout (and Julie had spiked her hair into an awesome faux-hawk for the occasion, which kept me happy).  I love that Vive works the hips so much.  That is an area we all need to focus on, but we don't really do that in any of the other classes (stay tuned for CXWORX, though - we will work our hips in there).  

The ninth class was, of course, my FAVORITE since it was Attack.  I am an Attack addict; I just love it and couldn't stop smiling the entire time.  The music is great.  The moves are so challenging and high-energy.  I like that there were some new moves thrown in there this time.  I feel like an athlete when I take that class.

Jill lead us through a Pilates workout at the end of the day.  We used big exercise balls, which were so comfortable that I would have slept on one at that point if she didn't know me (however, since she does know me, I'm pretty sure she would've called me out if she saw me sleeping).  It was a challenging, yet peaceful, way to end the day.  

I'm amazed at all  the people who participated in the Decathlon.  We are so lucky to have a gym that provides these opportunities for us, and we're even luckier to have peers who are willing to participate with us.  As I was looking around the room during each class, I didn't see anyone slacking off; instead, I saw people trying their hardest, supporting each other, improving their health and fitness, and enjoying the experience.  Wow.  I'm so glad Asa likes to exercise with me; when I was exhausted during the Attack pushup track, I looked at him next to me, and he was on his toes doing chest pushups.  That gave me the inspiration I needed to get off my knees and onto my toes too. 

If you have any thoughts about the Decathlon or about any of the new class releases in general, please share them in the comments section!  Below are some pictures Asa took of me and Jessica.  The first is before the Decathlon began, the second is after it was over (we don't look too horrible, but I'll just say that it's good these pictures aren't scratch n' sniff), and the third is after the after, when we were all cleaned up and back in the real world.