Today is the hubby’s bday, so let’s talk about…ME! Ha.
In all seriousness, we LOVE the hubby like mad, and we’d gladly throw him a parade this year and every year…if he were interested. But he just doesn’t milk his birthdays like the rest of us. The audacity!
I mean, he didn’t even have an opinion about his meals for the day, and he usually likes to buy his own gifts when the spirit moves him.
What can you do???
Sometime in the near future, I’ll whisk him away on a trip for his bday (it’s been awhile since we’ve managed that), and then he’ll be pumped. Surely. Surely???
Until then…back to me. ;)
All joking aside, today was a major milestone for Yours Truly, and the hubby was even happy it fell on his birthday. :)
Today, was my 100th Barre exercise class, and it felt like a BIG DEAL!
Now.
To backtrack a bit, as this is something I haven’t really discussed much on this here blog…
As every mother knows, the uphill battle of regaining any strength or ownership of your body after pregnancies and breastfeeding sometimes feels insurmountable. Worse still, it’s a challenge (really, more like a CHALLENGE) to work fitness of any kind in to the routine, particularly when the kiddos are young.
For me, personally, I birthed my three babies in 3.5 years (with a fourth miscarried pregnancy in there), and it was a demanding four-ish years on my body. (Understatement of the century alert.)
In fact, I was so deep in the baby-factory years that I can clearly remember the physical upheaval I experienced in the aftermath, when Little Man hit the 6-9 month mark and my system was like: hold up; we’re NOT having another baby??? But what do we do NOW??? Ha.
Truly, my body was just going through the motions in those years, giving me all it had, and it was like hitting a brick wall to END the birthing years.
Yoga Phase:
Because I had C-sections for all of my babies, during the birthing and postpartum years, I needed something low-impact. And hot yoga was a wonderful thing for me. It eased my aches and pains, stretched out all my tightness, and emphasized a holistic body/mind approach.
I loved it. But it was also really hard to attend class in the evenings (my only choice at the time), and the decision to go was often associated with a hefty bit of guilt over dumping the kiddos at bed and bath time on the hubby (who never complained) while I raced like a speed demon down the street to try and make it to class.
Elliptical Phase:
In the end, the yoga served its purpose during that time, but about a year before we moved from McKinney (when Little Man was about two years old), it became harder and harder to make it to class because of family demands, and I lobbied to buy an elliptical machine so I could tackle a bit of exercise AT HOME when my crazies were napping (or not napping, more often).
Just like the hot yoga, this was the perfect solution for me at the time, and I was grateful for any and all time I could get from the comfort of my own bedroom (granted, the elliptical in there was a bit of an eyesore, but worth it!).
(Awww…hello old McKinney master bedroom! I miss you!)
Now. My elliptical time was far from perfect, and often interrupted by one, two, or three demanding kiddos—oye. I can’t tell you how many times I hopped on and off that thing to tend to a “situation” or had a kiddo literally nipping at my heels, whining and wanting to know how looooong until I was done, ha.
But I made it my mission to make it work, and it just so happened to be a bonus (a major bonus!) that I could read while exercising. With some incline and resistance challenges, I know I was building a bit of strength—if not a ton—and getting some cardio, but I was happy with anything.
Barre Phase:
Now. Enter the major life upheaval of our SA move, ha. What a topsy turvy time! We had a solid few months where it was like: exercise?? What exercise??? I’m just SURVIVING, here, ha. The elliptical ended up in the garage in this house, which is totally fine, btw, and I’ve kept up with it since the move.
But I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to a more structured class of some sort, and a greater challenge for myself once Little Man was in preschool two days a week.
And I got that for all of a few months before…pandemic life hit.
Can I get an OYE.
Fast forward through all that (because we all lived it), but talk about a major challenge to build any momentum with indoor fitness in large groups during that time.
Needless to say, I had to settle for the elliptical and start a new countdown until the pandemic eased up and Little Man entered kindergarten this year. And I was seriously in countdown mode. Like, last July, I’d already locked in my membership and made all my mental plans.
I wanted a CHALLENGE.
I wanted to build STRENGTH.
I wanted a ROUTINE.
I gave myself a handful of personal little goals once I hit this milestone of all kiddos in elementary school, and my Barre experience was at the top of that list.
And man, oh man, has it DELIVERED.
From day one, I’ve been hooked—and so sore I can barely move at times. The hubby gets an endless kick after each once of my classes when I say, “that was a really tough one,” because, apparently, I say this EVERY time, ha. And it’s true!
These classes aren’t for the faint of heart.
Barre is intense, muscular-focused, and no two days are the same.
It often leaves us grown-a** women groaning on the ground, and crawling in pain, powering through shakes so bad you feel like collapsing, and a burning fatigue that makes you cramp up anywhere and everywhere.
We use resistance bands, sliders, exercise balls, ankle weights, wrist weights, free weights and the resistance of our own bodies. And of course, that dang barre. ;)
My instructor this morning was kind enough (not) to take this flattering pic (not), and I might look quasi-peaceful (if super unattractive, ha), but it’s all pain, all the time, ha.
Now. When I started this Barre journey in the fall, I knew it was going to be a good thing for me physically. But I had no idea how much I would enjoy the women. :)
When Little Man was in preschool pre-pandemic, I’d tried Barre for a very brief period but had to go midday, didn’t have time to connect with the other ladies, and often had to skip or lose momentum due to scheduling and life.
But this go around…holy moly is it a fun group of ladies in the morning class (I go about half an hour after school drop-off).
The “matriarch” of the class is a woman probably at least 20 years my senior with so much positive energy and color that she’s absolutely infectious. She’s hands-down stronger than me, and she pumps all of us up and sets the tone for such a lively environment. We miss her when she’s gone.
And all the other ladies—and amazing instructors—are so wonderful and supportive that it’s just a joy to connect with them for a few minutes before and after class, and to groan and commiserate together throughout.
This pic is from another classmate’s milestone last week. I’m okay not blocking their faces because the studio posted it on their instagram. ;)
And here’s my milestone buddy and I today:
This has definitely been tough work to achieve, but every time I tackle my push-ups or burpees or hold my plank for two minutes, or a heinous contorted position that makes me want to cry, I know I’m building strength. :) And if I managed 100 classes in about nine months, I know I can power ahead to that 250 milestone by the two-year mark. Goals, people!
Basically, in case you can’t tell from this gushing post (obnoxious, I know), one of the things I’m MOST grateful for in this new all-kids-in-elementary life stage is my Barre time.
I get so emotional thinking of the journey of the past decade of my life, being so in the weeds (by choice!) with my young family, and the uphill battle of getting to this point.
I literally had a moment a few weeks ago, during a really outstanding class, when one of my favorite tracks came on that has the lyrics “this is what you came for,” and I legitimately started crying a bit. Tears of JOY, for sure.
It’s a BIG deal to find something as a busy Mama that helps to FILL your cup instead of empty it, and this is absolutely one of those things for me.
I know that life stages demand all sorts of changes to routine—as evidenced by the phases listed in this blog post!—but I can say with certainty that this one is here to stay, for sure. And I’ll continue to say my prayers of thanks and make each class a productive class, knowing what a blessing it is to me.
Happy HUBBY BIRTHDAY and 💯 CLASS MILESTONE, peeps!
Over and out.
P.S. A couple birthday shots from tonight. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment