My Two New Friends

Let me introduce my two new friends. Cute couple don't you think? I met them in a body sculpting class. I really enjoyed their company so I asked them to move in with me. Here they are getting acquainted with my sneakers.

I have decided to work on strengthening my core and toning my muscles over the next few months. I'm on a budget that doesn't include gym fees, so I'm on my own. I am, as of today, my own personal trainer. I'm already annoying me so I think it's going to be a success.

The exercise ball looks fun sitting there all shiny and purple but it's really quite dangerous to people like me; that is to say, the masses of uncoordinated, balance-free klutzes. The first time I used an exercise ball, I nearly split my head open. I remember observing the posture of the instructor and my body sculpting classmates, placing my ball firmly on the floor and then easing myself onto it's rubbery, rounded top. As I began to fall into the group's synchronized leg-extensions, I promptly lost control of my position and tumbled off the ball onto my mat, inches from my dumbbell. If the instructor knew how close I came to hitting my head on my weight, I think she might not have laughed. I did better with the wall squats and, after a few classes, eventually got the hang of it though she would not allow me to try the walkout so I had to stay on my mat and do push-ups. I consistently held the class trophy for "most wobbly" participant.

The instructor actually squatted on her exercise ball; both feet, knees bent, squatted on her ball. I was mesmerized. It was like watching Cirque de Soleil. OK, so maybe not exactly like that, but I was totally impressed. People stand on these things, I know, but until you try it, you just have no idea how difficult this is. It was the first time I remember wanting to have balance and recognizing what I would need to do to achieve that goal. I need to strengthen my core.

I took to the resistance tubing with much less embarrassment and much more confidence -- lateral raises, tricep extensions, hip extensions and inner thigh stretches. All you have to do is maintain a straight spine and tight tummy while slowly resisting the tubes. Toning is a good goal, I think. I don't want to bend bars of steel but I'd be happy to open a new jar of pickles by myself.

My biggest obstacle, I think, is that I can find just about anything to do besides exercise. I can vacuum, do laundry, read, organize or even blog and lately, I've spent loads of time looking for ways to earn money. What I need, I think, is my old routine which began by waking up at 5:00 (I've been sleeping past 6 since Christmas). Truth be told, I've been procrastinating living lately, and I need to stop which is why I added this entry to my blog.

I attended a workshop a couple of years ago with Robin Sharma (check him out at robinsharma.com) and one of the many valuable things he suggested, was to make our goals public. By announcing our intent to the world (whether that's the whole world, or just our world) it raises our level of commitment. It forces us to action. So here it is friends - my commitment.

No going back now. No sir. I'm just going to finish this blog, vacuum the living room, throw on a load of laundry, finish my book and do up a cover letter for that job over in Almonte. I'll start just as soon I'm done.