So.
Wiped.
I woke up with plenty of soreness this morning, surprisingly in my upper arm area. I think those are the triceps but at this point I'm not sure. But I was sore this morning in my arms and in my sides, a testament to the workout I did yesterday. I decided this morning to look over myself in detail in the mirror (not a favorite pastime of mine due to the large amount of nasty ugliness leftover from my previous obese self) to see what changes, if any I could spot.
Unfortunately, the loose skin remained. I don't figure to see any progress there for weeks at the earliest. No other visual changes could be identified but there are other types of changes that I can measure. So, I decided to throw on my "sexy jeans" as I've come to call them.
These would be the ridiculously expensive jeans I found on sale at Kohls back in the fall for like, 26 dollars. I tried them on then and the name "sexy jeans" popped in my head. Truth be told, it's really a character's idea to call the jeans that, not me, (I write, it's how it works) but they looked good and I bought them. They've been worn many times since then and I have been happy with them each time.
Last week, prior to starting Pilates, I tried them on again as I hadn't had the occasion to wear them in months. They were tight. I could get them on but if you begged me to get a wallet in my pocket, I wouldn't be able to do it. No room for that at all.
I tried them on this morning. They fit well. I could definitely get a wallet, some car keys, and a cell in there. To my surprise, they were somewhat loose so I tried taking them off without undoing the button or the zipper. Low and behold, I was able to do it without much issue.
I have never, ever, been able to do that with those pair of jeans. They're size 29, I have a size 28 pair that fit well, but those 29s are a special case. They don't quite work with my body the way the other jeans do and despite being a 29, they're definitely my measuring stick as far as clothes go. If I can wear them comfortably, I'm all right. If they're tight, I'm trending in the wrong direction.
But I could actually take them off without undoing the button. I tried on the 28s to see how they felt and they too felt better than usual. The Pilates have had their first clothes related result and this one made me smile.
So, with that boost of confidence, I came into Day Five on a high. Research into the workouts for the day indicated things would be tough today. I was on a high and said "Bring it on."
Oh, Pilates brought it on. They brought it, owned me, and left me a quivering pile of muscles and pain.
Today was intense.
We start with the first video, which was a fast-paced quick workout. The pace was killer in this one and I was tired by the end of it, I won't lie. I didn't expect the pace to be so fast. Nor did I expect for me to be able to keep up with it as well as I did. I've struggled the past few days with her pace but, in this video, I kept up better than before. I felt the burn early.
This was because of the Dogging Cobra which was hard. The up down motion woke up pretty much every nerve in my body, from my knees to my wrists, and the video didn't really let up from that point on. I was breathing in through my nose, out through my mouth, harder and faster than I ever have with Pilates.
I had hopes the second video would relax the pace some and let me catch my breath. Nope. Things picked up again here. The Side Planks were tough but the killer movements here were the Lady Gaga Crunches. This gives me yet another reason to hate Lady Gaga and I nearly named this post after these, but I'm not going to give Gaga any more credit than she deserves. These crunches were the devil. I was cursing them out as I did them.
It took me a few minutes with the video paused just to figure out how she did it together, because I could do the movements separate. Lift legs and butt in air, check. Crunch up and back down, check. Do them both together ... while breathing properly and maintaining good form ... give me a few.
I was laboring after these and by the end of the video, I was gassed.
And I had another video to go.
We get to the third video, which I entertained skipping but my pride overruled me. Cause it's got a great track record of doing good things for me (NOT). We began the workout with some basic stretches, which helped me get a bit of a second wind, but things quickly picked up. We jumped back into Pull-Pull-Switches, which I am a bit proud to say I can do competently now. My pace was still off hers, but I kept up better than when I first encountered them.
I encountered two movements in this video that tested me. The first is called The Wiggle. You take your knees, make a diamond, put your arms behind your head, and bring the knees towards your elbow. I did not expect the agony sensors in my lower body to scream so loud. Then my already sore triceps joined in and I was breathing like I was in labor. I can only assume that's the closest comparison there is because my entire chest was so sore and hurting from the inhaling and exhaling. I could feel the muscles begging for more air each time I did it, I could feel myself a step or two away from a major cramp somewhere if I didn't keep the breathing going.
But I did keep it going. My lungs ached, my mouth was dryer than a desert, but I got through that one.
By the time we reached The Rollback I was spent. She busts this move out that must require a separate spine or some form of augmentation via technology. I have no idea how she got herself to do that but it requires something I don't have. I spent the last two minutes of the video huffing, puffing, trying to get my legs to go as far back as hers. No go.
I got nothing. Even giving myself momentum I couldn't get it to go back. This I don't find surprising, considering the genetics at play (family history of back issues) but I was boggled she could even manage this. Then again, she's incredibly flexible and has displayed as much in her other videos ... but holy crap woman, that can't be legal!
I'm done for today. I got barely enough in the tank to make it to the shower and back. Then, lots of sitting.
Today was the most intense workout so far. I was sweating everywhere by the time we hit the midpoint of the third video. My hair was covered in sweat and when the video was over I spent a good five minutes curled into a ball on the floor, arms wrapped the towel I had near me.
If I had a teddy bear, I'd have totally hugged it.
Day Five is over. I hurt now. I'll hurt in the morning likely. Thanks for reading, see you for Day Six.
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