Gym Drama: How to Deal When Your Workout Stresses You Out
Gossip, intrigue, power plays and morality plays: From the small stuff to the life-and-death stuff (sometimes literally), gyms are a microcosm of life. Add all the hormones, endorphins, sweat and fatigue from a good workout and you’ve got a recipe for the best reality show ever – seriously, why has no one ever done a gym reality show?! – or for some serious gym drama. Love it or hate it, the reality is that because we’re all flawed human beings, we’re all going to run into it sometimes. Some of us more than others. Ahem.
Over the years I’ve got more than a few e-mails from readers asking about whether or not the Gym Buddies and I ever have any drama and how I deal with it so it doesn’t ruin my workout (and life) mojo. The answer to the first question is easy: we’re a group of women who spend a lot of time with each other so of course drama ensues sometimes. Occasionally it’s among us, more often it’s part of the larger gym culture – but in either circumstance I’d be a jerk to write about it on here. I learned the hard way years ago that that is a line I do not cross. (And don’t go looking for that post, it was pulled and deleted the day after it went live and the crapstorm erupted.) The only people that intentionally get humiliated on this blog are me, myself and I. And the occasional Kardashian.
The answer to the second question is harder. If you attend a gym, are part of a running club or exercise anywhere other than alone in your basement, it’s going to happen. It’s a part of life, albeit one about as pleasant as the first poop after a day of eating beet salad. (If you’ve never seen beet poop, you’ve got to try it. It’s something everyone needs to experience at least once, just so they can say they did it. You know, like bungee jumping. Except gorier. And out your butt.)
So how do you deal? Here are a few things I’ve learned and I hope you’ll add many more in the comments!
Do: Apologize immediately and sincerely. Whether it’s from someone upset about a “stolen” spot or a more serious misunderstanding, when people’s feelings get hurt I’ve found the best thing to do is just to own your part in it. Admit that you made a mistake and apologize. If you can do anything to remedy the situation, do so. And then leave it alone. Drama goes to DRAMA when it keeps getting dredged back up.
Don’t: Gossip. Anyone who knows me knows this one is so hard for me. I love people! I love people’s stories! I want to be a part of all the stories! And I love hearing about their lives – especially the juicy parts! But there’s a fine line between caring about someone and wanting to help them and just spreading the muck around because it’s way more interesting than the 300 rounds of Elmo Uno that take up the rest of my day. How do you find that line? Ask yourself if you’d say it if that person were present. (Sadly for me, sometimes I forget to ask myself this until after I’ve said it. Doesn’t work so well that way.)
Do: Turn on the humor. A little laughter can go a long way, particularly if it’s at your own expense. People understand that everyone screws up, sometimes they just need to be reminded of that.
Don’t: Get it in writing. Sweaty back prints on the weight bench come and go but texts, emails, Facebook and nasty notes last forever. (The only exception to this is when you write ghost notes in the steam on the mirrors. That goes away but it also comes back when the mirror refogs. Use this to your advantage and start writing fortune-cookie messages!)
Do: Plug your earphones in and tune everyone else out. Gym drama (or sometimes “girl drama” although in my experience both genders are equally susceptible) is one of the reasons I hear most often for why people don’t like going to the gym. Some people circumvent the whole thing by getting in, doing their workout and getting out – no socializing allowed. To make this really effective, pop in your earbuds. While this works for some people, for many of us the social part is what makes the gym fun. But sometimes if you’re in the midst of some hardcore dramz the best thing to do is lay low and let it blow over. If you get to finally listen to that audio book you downloaded last year then so much the better!
Don’t: Quit your workouts. Sadly I’ve seen some people stop coming to the gym all together over some type of drama. Having done my fair share of bawling my eyes out in the Y parking lot, I know the temptation. But the one certainty of life is that it never stays the same and this too shall pass, probably faster than you think.
Do: Forgive. Whether you are the wronged party or the person who did the wrong-ing (that makes total sense, right?) or both, forgiving the other people and yourself is both healing and freeing. Try giving people the benefit of the doubt – even if you believe the best about someone and it turns out not to be true, they may be inspired by your faith in them to live up to your expectations the next time. Or they may think you’re a fool but better to be a happy fool than a sad cynic, right? It can be tough but carrying a grudge is heavy weight-lifting in a way that will definitely not improve your health!
So, I feel kinda weird giving advice like this – it makes me sound like I’m an expert in this and while I am a bona fide expert in sticking my foot in my mouth, I’m definitely not the authority on extricating it. Help me and your fellow readers out by sharing your stories and suggestions! Have you ever been caught up in some serious drama? How do you deal with it?
Best Way to Set Up a Fat Loss Workout Plan
It’s a new year and you’ve set your fat loss goal, but if don’t have a fat loss workout plan, that goal is going to be difficult to achieve. If you’ve read Fat X 101 before, you know that I prefer to refrain from using the term “weight loss” and prefer the more specific term fat loss. For more on that check out my article “Fat Loss is What You Want”. Anyhow, let’s get to the point, you want to lose body fat, and the best way to accomplish that is with a workout plan.
If you’re new to fitness, you’re probably going to hear a bunch of myths and misconceptions about losing body fat and becoming more fit. Ask the general public what the best way to set up a fat loss workout plan is, and the uninformed or misinformed will quickly jump into spitting out advice on how cardio is the best way to lose fat and get fit. Another big myth that you’re likely to hear when inquiring on the best way to set up a fat loss workout plan is; high rep training is the best way to lose fat.
Both cardio, and high rep training have their places in a fitness and fat loss workout plan, but they, alone, are not the best way to lose body fat, nor are they the best methods to get fit. If fat loss, a leaner, more toned, fit and athletic you is what you are trying to achieve, boosting your metabolism and becoming more fit are going to be key factors, short and longterm.
Traditional cardio workouts (monotonous low intensity movement), and high rep training, are not the best ways to kick up your metabolism. Both of those methods can actually have a detrimental effect on fat loss and your metabolism, if you’re not careful. For more on that read my article “Cardio Can Hurt Your Fat Burning Goals”.
The most proven method to kick up your metabolism is to build and maintain lean body tissue (a.k.a muscle). Again, cardio, and high rep training are not going to accomplish that in the best and most efficient way. Resistance training (a.k.a weight training) on the other hand, especially in the lower rep ranges, definitely will!
Here’s where things get a bit complicated, since I try to keep things simple here on Fat X 101, I’ll just go ahead and cut to the chase. Resistance training will help build and maintain muscle, which in turn will boost or keep your metabolism boosted. But, there’s a good way to set up you resistance training (weight training) program, and then there’s a best way to set up you resistance training program if you want to target fat loss and overall fitness.
The best way to utilize resistance training (weight training) in a fitness and fat loss workout plan is to do multi-joint exercises in circuit fashion, therefore not only getting in a resistance or weight training workout, but also kicking up your heart rate, and getting in a cardio workout at the same time. Setting up your fat loss workout plan in this way, will not only kick up your metabolism, but, it will also kick up your overall fitness level. Both good things if you want to lose fat fast and keep it off. Fat loss follows fitness! Get more fit, build some lean body tissue (muscle), boost your metabolism and the fat loss will follow!
My Fat X Program is set up exactly in that method. I included easy to learn, multi-joint exercises that have been proven to work and wrapped them in a more advanced circuit training method for better, more efficient results. You get in a metabolism boosting workout, while at the same time working your cardiovascular system (cardio). An excellent combination for overall fitness and fat loss!
Whether you do my Fat X Program, or you come up with your own fat loss workout plan, remember to track your workouts. Tracking your workouts will guarantee that your long term fitness and fat loss plan succeeds. If you’re doing the Fat X Program, use the workout manual to write in your numbers. If you’re doing your own workout program, find a method of tracking your workouts. Tracking your workouts and improving on them is one of the most important factors and one of the best ways to make a workout plan successful longterm. Otherwise you will spin your wheels, putting in the same effort or even worse, each time you do that workout. I see people making that mistake on a consistent basis. It’s no wonder why they have a hard time getting results, even though they seem to be putting in the time at the gym.
Good luck to you on accomplishing your fitness and fat loss goals! Feel free to e-mail me with any questions, or better yet, post them on the Fat X 101 Facebook, and I’ll answer them as quick as I can.
The Workout That Kicked Our Butts, Literally [Badly Illustrated]
I like strong butts and I cannot lie! You other squatters can’t deny! That when a girl lunges deep with a really heavy weight and a round thing in your face you get… jealous of her mad pistol squat skillz which are apparently much stronger than her rhyming ability. (Can’t have it all!) These past few days in the gym have been all about our butts: specifically how much we can make them hurt.
It started out with this highly awkward gym moment. There I was doing my pistol squats when I hear a voice behind me… What do you say to that? “Well turn around so we can compare!”? “Well I have worked really hard on it so thanks for checking out my butt*”? And what a day to wear my black capris that go nearly transparent when they are stretched, especially as I was facing the wall so my butt was pointed at the whole gym. Yes, even the germies on the gym floor were checking out my arse. (And if you’ve forgotten what it looks like in non-cartoon form, you may remember that the only time I have graced the homepage of Shape.com was… with my butt.) Honestly I wasn’t sure how to reply to that compliment.
Then we moved on to our T-Tapp Experiment (results coming at you on Monday!!) and in my quest to try all the workouts available brought in Teresa’s “Diva Derriere” workout. You must try this. Seriously. Do it now.
It started off all fun and games and Yo Mama jokes. It’s deceptively short. There are only 4 moves and no weights. How hard could it be??
Really really hard. I laughed so hard because I was in so much pain and the only alternative was crying. And I might have done a little of that too. It was like someone stuck a red hot poker in my butt cheek. (And yes, Gym Buddy Allison pointed out to me that I draw my hair like pubes. I like it that way.)
All the Gym Buddies (except Beth) were freaking out from the pain. Teresa tells you in the workout that if it hurts to try spanking yourself. We found that spanking wasn’t enough. Punching ourselves in the butt cheek did help some. Counting faster helped more. (Also, my paint program freaked out on this picture and I have no idea why but I wasn’t about to redraw it so now it looks like we’re all in the throes of grand mal seizures, which isn’t too far off the mark actually.)
By the time we’d finished our butt muscles were in a permanent clench. So what do we do next? We find every friend we can and then force them to do this workout with us just so we can laugh at their pain. “This hurts soooo bad, you totally have to try it,” is exactly what you want to hear at the gym, right? (Thank you Jenn, Jeni, Beth, Jess, Megan, Krista and Allison for being such good sports!) I can only imagine what the other people at our Y think of this one…
Are you going to try Teresa’s Diva Derriere workout? (Tip: If you feel it more in your quad than your butt bend your legs more with your knees closer to your chest.) Have you ever done a workout that you were sure was going to be a piece of cake and then wasn’t? Have you ever got a really awkward compliment you didn’t know how to respond to?
*After I wrote this, I had a panic wondering if all of you are going to think I’m bragging about my butt. I’m not – I know it’s not like supermodel or anything but I do happen to really like it. How weird is it that I’m way more comfortable saying I don’t like my thighs than I am saying that I love my butt? Well now I’ve said it. I love my butt. I can’t believe I just wrote that on the Internet.
Do You Like to Multitask or Focus During Your Workout? [The housework workout]
Almost all the pics for this shoot were done in my house! So if you’ve ever wanted to see my bathroom when it’s clean this may be your only chance.
Dusting, laundry, sitting on the toilet – it’s all stuff you have to do anyhow so why not work in a little incidental exercise as you go? That was my thought anyhow when I made the Housework Workout slideshow for Shape.com. Unfortunately that was pretty much my only thought going into it and once it went live lots of women had plenty of other thoughts on this subject and I was surprised by how many people found the premise offensive. In fact, a couple assumed the writer (me) had to be a man because no woman would do this. Well, I can’t say I’ve had my sexuality questioned very often so it was kind of a fun change of pace. (For the record, I totally didn’t mean it to be a woman-get-back-in-the-kitchen statement and I’m sorry if it read that way! I just meant the aprons to be funny…) On a different note, one of the commenters brought up a really interesting point when they said, essentially, “If I’m doing chores, I’m doing chores. If I’m working out, I’m working out. I don’t care to mix the two.”
As a consummate multi-tasker – often to my detriment, I might add – this was an entire paradigm shift for me. I just couldn’t get past the idea that if you could do more than one thing at a time then why on earth wouldn’t you? That some people might enjoy just folding laundry without doing ab work or just running on the treadmill without reading a book and writing their grocery list boggled me. But it makes sense. It’s difficult to put your all into an activity if you’re doing 7 of them at one time.
I’m still not sold though. I can see the benefit to focusing at the gym – I’d be a flesh-colored skidmark on the treadmill if I tried to mulit-task during our Tabata interval runs – but does it hurt to work in a little more activity to your day during less strenuous tasks?
What’s your philosophy: Do you prefer to multi-task or focus during your workout? Is it okay to add in little workout moves to everyday tasks? What are your thoughts about the Duggars (see below)?
Other things I wrote this week:
The Duggars Announce Their 20th Baby: What people are saying (Turns out politics is not the most polarizing topic out there – the Duggar are!)
10 Inspirational Fitness Facebook Pages You Will Love to Like
Will you be shooting yourself up in the Great Flu Ritual this year? I usually do but this year, so far, I haven’t.
Ah nothing like Baby’s First Public Judging – why is there no page in the baby book for that one??
10 Superpowers Kids Have (That Adults Wish We Did)
Could your toddler save your life? This one did!
Look, Gym Buddy Allison’s son was having so much fun during our photoshoot he literally laughed his face off! Jelly Bean is stunned drool-less. (Or maybe I’m just a really bad photog… nah.)
The Workout That Kicked Our Butts, Literally [Illustrated with crappy pictures]
I like strong butts and I cannot lie! You other squatters can’t deny! That when a girl walks in with an itty-bitty waist and round thing in your face you get… jealous of her mad pistol squat skillz which are apparently much stronger than her rhyming ability. (Can’t have it all!) These past few days in the gym have been all about our butts: specifically how much we can make them hurt.
It started out with this highly awkward gym moment. There I was doing my pistol squats when I hear a voice behind me… On one hand, what a great compliment! Thank you lady for noticing the results of Rachel Cosgrove’s build-a-butt workout! On the other hand, what a day to wear my black capris that go nearly transparent when they are stretched, especially as I was facing the wall so my butt was pointed at the whole gym. Yes, even the germies on the gym floor were checking out my arse. (And if you’ve forgotten what it looks like in non-cartoon form, you may remember that the only time I have graced the homepage of Shape.com was… with my butt.)
Then we moved on to our T-Tapp Experiment (results coming at you on Monday!!) and in my quest to try all the workouts available brought in Teresa’s “Diva Derriere” workout. You must try this. Seriously. Do it now.
It started off all fun and games and Yo Mama jokes. It’s deceptively short. There are only 4 moves and no weights. How hard could it be??
Really really hard. I laughed so hard because I was in so much pain and the only alternative was crying. And I might have done a little of that too. It was like someone stuck a red hot poker in my butt cheek. (And yes, Gym Buddy Allison pointed out to me that I draw my hair like pubes. I like it that way.)
All the Gym Buddies (except Beth) were freaking out from the pain. Teresa tells you in the workout that if it hurts to try spanking yourself. We found that spanking wasn’t enough. Punching ourselves in the butt cheek did help some. Counting faster helped more. (Also, my paint program freaked out on this picture and I have no idea why but I wasn’t about to redraw it so now it looks like we’re all in the throes of grand mal seizures, which isn’t too far off the mark actually.)
By the time we’d finished our butt muscles were in a permanent clench. And you thought this workout was just going to help me with my posture! I can only imagine what the other people at our Y think of this one…
Have you tried Teresa’s Diva Derriere workout? (Tip: If you feel it more in your quad than your butt bend your legs more with your knees closer to your chest.) Have you ever done a workout that you were sure was going to be a piece of cake and then wasn’t?
Should You Workout With Those You Work With? 5 Tips for Exercising With Coworkers
This would be an example of what not to wear. Naked is not good but Hannibal Lecter couture is way worse.
Judging from advice columnists and The Apprentice, working with your coworkers is tricky enough (Who knew clipping your toenails in your cube is the modern-day equivalent of lancing your Black Plague boils over the community well?) but add a little skin, sweat and spandex to the formula and working out with them is a whole new social minefield. I’ll be honest, the last time I worked out with an official coworker (i.e. someone who is over 4 feet tall and doesn’t store Legos in his or her underpants) was over a decade ago. That “friendly” game of “basketball” pretty much ensured none of us would ever be friends nor play basketball again.
So when Reader Meghan brought up this question in the comments (like… a month ago? Sorry it’s taken me so long, girl!), my first thought was, “It’s awkward enough being nose-to-tail with the Gym Buddies and I already know their entire gynecological histories; I can’t imagine having to give a status report to that sweaty heinie.” But Meghan’s question is a great one because a) she’s a lawyer (or in law school, not sure) and lawyers always ask great questions and b) be it lunch-hour power walks or in-office yoga classes, lots of professionals are finding themselves in this situation. I’m definitely no expert but I came up with a few tips for navigating the gym with your coworkers and I hope you all will chime in and help Meghan out too!
1. Wear clothes. Tonight as I splashed in the kiddie pool at the Y with Jelly Bean, I contemplated the fact that the same (cuuuuute retro) swim dress that made me the most covered-up woman in the pool would make me look like a poorly-accessorized hooker at the grocery store. When it comes to modesty, context is everything and when in doubt cover it up. Yes you may be more comfortable running in just a sports bra and shorts but if you’re running on the treadmill next to the CEO, throw a t-shirt over the top. Full-coverage undies are a given.
2. Stay professional. Singing “Pour some sugar on me…” along with your iPod may inspire you to lift heavier but your coworkers probably don’t want to know about your deep love for 80′s hair bands. (Or maybe they do and will secretly videotape you and post it on Facebook?) This also includes no weird grunting when you lift, not spitting in the drinking fountain and never using a Shake Weight. Not that you’d do that stuff anyhow, right?
3. Keep business in the office. Down Dog is really not the position you want to be in when you ask for your next promotion. At the very least, make that pitch from Goddess Pose. Seriously though, most people are in the gym to workout not to talk shop so save the questions or commentary until afterward (and by after, I mean after you’re showered and dressed – nobody likes the naked locker room chatterer).
4. Resist the temptation to gossip. Office gossip is a Pandora’s box as it is but mix in exercise endorphins and the rumor mill can get going faster than the treadmill you’re jogging on. I have a theory that the less clothing you are wearing the more likely you are to spill your guts. (No? Just me?)
5. Have a sense of humor. I can tell you from personal experience that the gym has a high potential for embarrassment (my most current humiliation was bending over to pick up my sweat towel and running face first into the mirror that was right in front of me – I hit so hard I literally bounced my head off it). Between all the slapstick, the farting and moves either named after or resembling sex acts, the only way to get through it is to just laugh. This doesn’t mean you should make inappropriate jokes but if you do something dumb, a well-timed laugh and shoulder shrug go a long way in fixing it.
What do you guys think – should you workout with your coworkers? If so, how do you manage it? Do you have any ground rules?
Hair Over Health? The Surgeon General Talks Hair, Bacne and Other Reasons Women Don’t Workout
I bet people just fawn all over her…
“Oftentimes you get women saying, ‘I can’t exercise today because I don’t want to sweat my hair back or get my hair wet,’ ” said Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin. “When you’re starting to exercise, you look for reasons not to, and sometimes the hair is one of those reasons.”
The mostly male press core giggled at her logic – and Peter Stier of the National Center For Public Policy Research sniped, “I don’t know whether the surgeon general’s role is to engage in smaller issues like this. It strikes me as bizarre.” – and she is taking a lot of flak for her opinion, especially when she mentioned black women and their extensive and expensive hair regimens specifically. But I totally understand where Dr. Benjamin is coming from and while I’m not saying that we girls should value our hair over our health, I think that if you want to encourage more women to exercise you do need to talk about some of the cosmetic issues.
Women are placed in a strange position in our society when it comes to exercise. We’re told that we should exercise to be skinny (health repeatedly comes in second in polls of why women exercise), that we should doll up when we go to the gym and that looking hot is equally as important as getting sweaty. (I once had a male friend tell me that women should only sweat in “sexy” places like our cleavage and face and that anything else, like our pits, is “gross.”) Once we’re there we’re cautioned not to get “too muscular.” And people are surprised when we are confused over these conflicting messages?
I’m very dedicated to my workouts but even I’ll admit to occasionally skipping or modifying a workout because of my hair. Just recently I skipped my usual evening workout because I didn’t want to show up to the first parent-teacher conference of the year looking like a drowned rat and there would have been no time to do my hair between the gym and the conference. And I’m not the only girl who’s done so. A good friend of mine refuses to swim because it will ruin her blowout. Another friend avoids working out because any sweat aggravates her terrible bacne. And who hasn’t heard a woman say that she’ll come to the gym… after she loses weight?
Just because these are “women’s” issues doesn’t mean they’re “small” issues.
Have you ever skipped or toned down a workout because of a cosmetic issue? Do you have any advice for working around “gym hair”?
Other places I am this week:
Kids in the Delivery Room: Family Bonding or Traumatic? (Shine!Yahoo)
Sisters and Weight: It’s complicated (iVillage)
Baby Boomer Boob Jobs (iVillage)
Rules of Civility (BlogHer Book Club)
10 Creative Alternatives to Time Out (Shine!Yahoo)
The Surprising Thing That Working Moms and Stay-at-home Moms Have in Common
The Pasadena Fat Burning Workout Video
It’s been a while since I added a workout video to my Bonus Fat Burning Workout Series. Due to popular request, two weeks ago, I headed out to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and put this full body workout together. Check out the workout video and give the exercises a try.
Just like my other bonus fat burning workout videos, this workout is a great stand alone full body workout that utilized easy to learn exercises and that will help you lose fat, get fit and tone up. You can add this workout in after you do the Fat X Program, or if you just want to give my style of training a try. If you’re planning on doing the Fat X Program, remember you can download the complete workout program with videos and the workout manual to your computer. You can also put it on your mobile device so that you can conveniently watch the workout videos and see a sample of the exercises right before or during your workout so that you can get the best results possible.
I call this workout the Pasadena Workout. I put the workout video together as a tribute to Joey Alvarado, former MMA fighter and owner of So Cal MMA in Los Angeles where I learned the So Cal Sit up and Deck Squat exercises. This was also a tribute to Samson Ramirez of Nutrition 4 Less in Pasadena where I purchase my protein powder. If you’re in the Los Angeles and Pasadena area, those two can help your fitness goals.
You can contact me for private coaching/training at coachrollie@gmail.com. I’m also in the Los Angeles and Pasadena. Also don’t forget to check the Fat X 101 Facebook page. It’s the easiest place for you to ask me fitness and diet questions as I check that often. Good luck on your fitness and fat loss goals!
Wacky Workout Wednesday: Lady Gaga Flashmob Edition! (Plus I’m one of Minnesota’s To 5 Fitness Blogs – vote for me!)
Our costumes for the Lady Gaga Flashmob taping. We both made our own hats. (To see the video, keep reading!)
When people say they don’t like to workout, I usually answer, “That’s because you’ve never worked out with us!” Sometimes we have so much fun I forget I’m even working out until I feel the sweat dripping disgustingly off my ponytail. Tutus, face paint and costumes are business-as-usual for the Gym Buddies and I but this past week found us with not one but three awesome events to glam up for. You know Gym Buddy Allison and I were in drag queen heaven. (Full Disclosure: not every workout is entertainment central but the blah workouts are so much less fun to blog about.)
Last Saturday was Retro Turbo day. Pick your favorite era, find some sweet used exercise clothes and then sweat for an hour whilst laughing hysterically, taking pictures and picking leotard wedgies. Seriously I have no idea how those 80′s women did it!
Do you see my big hair? Do you??? I was a wee lass in the 80′s and quite honestly barely remember them except for one thing: this was when I first learned to style my hair. It went like this: Curl half up, curl half down, rat into a big pouf and then wing out the sides. My curl is 100% natural (a fact we learned after my mom had been perming my hair for 10 years). I was amazed at how quickly the 80′s bouf style came back to me. The only thing I was missing was a can of Aqua Net. This Pantene “flexible hold” crap wilted about 10 minutes into my White Snake video, er, TurboKick class.
This was the leo of butt-molesting repute. The pictures really don’t do it justice. It was neon pink with shiny black sequins all over the middle.
Gym Buddy Jeni went “Tina Marie” style. I’ll admit it – I didn’t know who she was and had to go home and google it. And even then it made no sense to me. But I totally dug her matching 3-piece rose lycra outfit! Also, the lace glove I’m wearing is courtesy of her. Jeni, that is. Not Tina Marie, whoever she is. (A singer? An actress?? A porn star?!)
This was hands-down my fave costume of the day. The ’80′s and ’70′s were well represented but Turbo Teddy here was the only one doing turn-of-the century. This guy always has the most creative costumes!
Gym Buddies Michelle and Allison work the hammer pants and side ponies!
You can’t get all dressed up and not do a photo shoot, right?
Crotch curtains. Oh dear.
…and then everyone fell on top of me.
Remember how I told you I was prepping for my first ever flashmob?! Well it was for our friend Serena’s wedding. She decided she wanted a flashmob at the reception and Turbo Jennie helped her choreograph a sweet Lady Gaga mash-up. The plan was to all meet up after Serena’s wedding and then wait for our cue to storm the dance floor…. which is what kinda happened.
That’s the bride and groom right in the middle! I wish I had a better pic of Serena, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a more gorgeous bride!
Allison and I awaiting our flashmob cue in our wedding attire. She went with a LBD. As for me – red cheetah print is always classy right? Notice the sweat sheen – it was eleventy billion degrees in that loft. I looked like a drowned rat afterwards.
Gym Hubby (who is also my real-life hubby, there has been confusion) was my date and we even squeezed in a swing dance or two! And then the flashmob happened! I’d show you the video except it’s pitch black. Yeah, there weren’t any lights on so it’s pretty much just a bunch of people screaming with the occasional flash bulb. (Which was probably for the best as we were packed in like sardines – I kicked a guy’s drink over at one point and it splashed all down my dress.)
But never fear, the YMCA is here! Turbo Jennie had us tape the dance in the well-lit safety of our studio. Our only instruction was to wear all black and a hat. Gym Buddies Lindsey, Becky, Turbo Jennie and Jeni show how it’s done.
This was Gym Buddy Leah’s interpretation. She’s a gangsta and I’m a waitress…(in the bad part of town?)
And Gym Buddy Allison’s and mine!
I’m so proud of my homemade fascinator! I’m totally going to wear it again with one of my vintage dresses. And if you’re interested, here’s the video of our flashmob dance. Just imagine us doing all this at a wedding! (My favorite part: Turbo Jennie was super sweet and gave me a cameo doing a leg extension but I started to tip backwards and Michelle had to push me back upright. My second fave part: watching Allison try and clap with those talons!)
Have you ever done a flashmob? Is it on your bucket list too? Have you done a wacky workout lately?? (Housekeeping question: Do you like it when I do posts with lots of pics or does it get annoying to scroll through all of them?)
And if you’re feeling click-happy today, I just found out the Great Fitness Experiment is on the short list for Minnesota’s Most Valuable Blog award. You can vote for me (every day!) if you feel so inclined. Thanks!
My First Workout Memory [Champion Giveaway!!]
I’m literally jumping for joy!
Robins egg blue capris with white piping and a striped tank top that would make Rainbow Brite jealous: that was the first athletic outfit I ever purchased for myself. (As purtyinorange said to me on Twitter, “Whenever I think of you, I think ‘subtle’… lol”) It was after my 2nd son was born and I was wrecked physically from three back-to-back pregnancies and wrecked emotionally from the court case against my ex-boyfriend. My plan was to heal myself from the outside in and hopefully lose my baby weight too. Having no knowledge whatsoever of fitness or training, I decided the best way to accomplish this was to run as hard as I could up the hills by my condo in Seattle. I picked 5 a.m. because it was right after the last night feeding of my baby and my boobs would be deflated enough to not give me a black eye. At that time I did not even own a sports bra (and today I own like 10… overcompensating?)
Each day before dawn, I’d throw on my husband’s ratty tee and a pair of gardening shorts, turn up the angry, angsty music and run the heck out of those hills. After a couple of months I noticed that my stamina had increased remarkably and my shorts were falling off. I decided I wanted to try running a longer distance… in daylight. The time had come to purchase publicly acceptable workout gear. So I headed to Target and bought myself the blue Champion capris and the tank – I picked them because they looked happy which was remarkable for me at the time. And while I was, yes, bending to the conventions of society, mostly that first outfit was a celebration. I was doing something hard! And I wasn’t failing! It can’t be overstated how much those clothes meant to me. (Not enough to take pictures, sadly.)
I am one of those people who can remember what I was wearing at every major event in my life. So when Champion USA contacted me about becoming one of their brand ambassadors, I immediately thought of the blue capris and almost wet myself with excitement. Since those capris I’ve owned many Champion items – their sports bras have held me in good stead (har!) through the multitude of sizes my chest has changed during two more pregnancies and breastfeeding. Their tops are fun and figure flattering and their bottoms hold up really well. Given how much of their stuff I own, I was already practically a walking billboard for them so getting paid to do it? Icing on the flourless, sugar-free, protein cake, baby! It was like Christmas come early around here when I got a big ol’ box of fun stuff to try out including pieces from their Champion Shape line (more on that in another post!).
Like one of those magnetic dolls that you can snap on new clothing, I of course had to try everything out this week. Here’s a sampling:
No makeup, unshaved pits… see how comfortable I am with you guys?? (Or lazy…)
Love this tank because it’s full coverage. Plenty of length to keep things covered!
Plus the pink stripes are fun!
This is my new favorite running skirt because it’s the rare skirt where the compression shorts are nice and snug but the skirt is nice and loose.
Even when I stretch it still covers all my business! Also, the Gym Buddies call this “my boobs are in jail” top. I love it. I made it by taking a striped sports bra and layering it over the top of a plain black tank. Jail chic!
The “shaping” top was a nice basic black tank but I liked it the least of all the stuff I tried. It was a little baggy around the waist and the shaping panel was really stiff and tended to ride up a bit. But I think if it had fit properly I would have really liked the shaping aspect. 5 kids has left me with a lot of war wounds (I’m proud of my marks – I just prefer my “apron of skin” to stay inside my pants, thanks.)
And yet it was so tight on my chest that I got a second workout trying to wrestle it off. But hey, I definitely didn’t need a second bra underneath!
Tickle fight! Isn’t this how everyone ends their workouts??
These capris were super comfy with a nice wide waistband and I love purple. As for what I’m doing well let’s just say that this month’s MMA Experiment is sure getting us a lot of weird looks in the gym! Basically you have to lunge forward, pushing against a resistance band around your hips and punch the exercise ball in front of you. (Yes we have focus mitts, for some reason this workout specified a ball…)
GIVEAWAY!
Champion USA didn’t want me to have all the fun though and they are offering to give one of you a complete OUTFIT! The winner gets to pick a bra, top, bottom and jacket. (Men, you can enter too – Champion has a full line of men’s clothing although I daresay you won’t get a bra.) To enter, leave me a comment telling me what your first workout outfit was and why you got it. For a second entry, “like” Champion USA on Facebook or follow ChampionUSA on Twitter and then leave a separate comment telling me what you did. This contest ends in two weeks on August 31.