Day Three resulted in my going to bed early. Like, ten o'clock at night early. I was wiped and pretty much done with it all. I slept till eight this morning and STILL felt like I needed to be in bed, though the amount of soreness was not great by any means. The only things that were sore were my side muscles. Those hurt.
I spent the last hour or so prior to today's workout outside running about, almost skipped one video, but I am here to learn them all. I am here to do them all. So, I began today thinking I was going to encounter significant resistance. I'm on Day Four. I haven't noticed any visual changes (loose skin still hanging grossly: check) but I definitely feel as though I have a core. I can feel my abs. Admittedly, the feeling is soreness, but I can feel them. I consider that an improvement.
Day Four began with the first video, Quiet Cardio, which wasn't challenging at all really. Cardio is easy for me now and the video was a breeze. No challenge at all, though it was a bit entertaining as the folks in the video were doing this supposedly to spare others from hearing the cardio. I can't say they hit their mark but I found the premise amusing.
Once that was done, we moved on to some stretching in the second video. I found this to be more challenging than I initially thought. Stretching has never been this intensive for me and the entire video was tough. She displays some impressive (impossible?) flexibility and I tried my best to do as she did, but it hurt. I was stiff, tense, and my body was like "WHOA, NO SIR" as I leaned and moved in ways it has likely done few times in my existence.
The toughest thing in this video was the Bridge. I tried during the initial run of the video to do it, but I failed. She placed her arms and wrist in such a position that it's difficult for me to lift up on. After the video ended, I went back and tried again. I barely managed to get about halfway up, really straining (shaking, red in the face), before I gave out. I surrender, she wins this round. I can't get any strength in my arms/wrist to help get my upper body off the ground.
I wonder if it's a core thing. Later on, when my upper abs (existence has been confirmed) get stronger, I might be able to do it. It might be the alignment of my back. I'm not sure but I came away feeling that I missed something or didn't do something correctly.
The stretching video was a real challenge. The last video focused on the ... well, the butt. She introduces the video pretty much stating that a lot of women worry about how their butt looks. Among other things.
Not exactly my favorite commentary ever. But the workouts in it were different. I think I speak for just about every male when I say I don't do a darned thing for butt in terms of specific exercises. It could certainly use some training ("attention" was my first word, but that's crossing into weird territory). So, I grudgingly continued on in this video.
I'm glad I did because, at the very end, she busts out a workout called the Grasshopper. This was something that looked quite simple and easy. It ended up not being that at all. At first, when she tells me to lay down, stick my legs in the air, and rest my head on my chin I was like "Sweet, time to relax" but then she busts out the workout.
Which is, simply, to lift your legs off the ground so your knees aren't touching it. Then lower it back down. Rinse and repeat. Sounds simple, right? Not for me. I was straining to get my knees off the ground at first. Once I found a good rhythm it got a bit easier, but towards the end I gave out. Had to take a minute break before finishing out the video.
Today was challenging in some different ways. Seems to be the theme with Pilates. A lot of these workouts target areas that often get left behind in the traditional workout mindset. I have never taken the time to work the muscles in my butt (strange sentence to type) and I certainly haven't worked on my posture.
My favorite workout from today would have to be Palms in and Palms Out found at the beginning of the second video. It worked me more than I thought and felt very zen.
Disappointed I failed at the bridge, but it's something to work towards. Thanks for reading, see you for Day Five.
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