Gymming It: An Exercise Update

Fyi, "gymming" isn't a word. Just in case you were somehow confused. Looking back on previous posts, it should be clear that I have a pretty strong, though fluctuating, relationship with the gym/exercise. Currently I'm on an upswing. After moving to Washington in January I stopped going...for months. Mostly because my new job had taken over my life and I was struggling (still do a little) to get control over that. But given how active I generally am, 3-4 months into a mostly sedentary job with no exercise was too much. So around May I joined a racquet club because I like to play tennis sometimes. There were slim options and it was essentially this or Gold's. Because the racquet club has tennis courts and a strong collection of Les Mills classes, it won out. I like it mostly

As noted in much earlier posts, I am a devotee to Les Mills classes, especially BodyAttack and BodyStep, so I've been doing those about 4 times a week. But I know myself and I'm about to burn out in the next few weeks/months. What I need is a more varied schedule. Particularly I think it's time to get back into lifting. Lifting is tricky because its an area I burn out on REAL fast. I have trouble sustaining long term interest. And I don't know how to cut weight. So I find that I mostly just bulk and then get dissatisfied. But, it's time. I think that if I balance a lifting schedule with Les Mills classes, I'll be more satisfied all around. And my body will respond better to the variety. So, that's definitely an area I'll be working on this fall. Instead of "bikini season," I'm all about coming for Winter '16...though November/December really are the best months for bulking (let's be honest). We'll see.

Nevertheless, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Going back to this fall, I think maybe I should train for a 5k. Back off both Les Mills & lifting a bit and incorporate a running plan. I was doing some really nice runs over the summer and I strongly feel that once you get runs back into your routine comfortably, you should keep them there. It's so hard for me to get pumped up about running/ back into real running shape. Even when I'm deep into a routine, it's still sometimes an uphill climb mentally. Running is hard for me, always has been. But, I do feel well exercised after doing it. That's the main reason I keep on with it. It's hard, but rewarding. Thus, I think I need to keep rolling with it. And I find the best way to push running is to train for something like a 5k. So, yea, maybe that's on the fitness dock of '15 too.

When I'm on an upswing, I'm on an upswing. Fingers crossed this upswing won't be stalled by the start of fall term. #TeacherProblems

Oh hair!

I've given this a lot of thought, as I give all hair related things a lot of thought, and I think I'm going natural. Well, truth be told I've been natural. I'm 1 year out from getting relaxers, but I've been maintaining scheduled visits to the beauty salon for regular washing & flat ironing. This wasn't the worst thing when I lived in California. But then I moved to Washington for a job and these hair dressers are NOT gentle. I don't care about normal heat damage (from a blow dry and flat iron), but I do care about damage from yanking a blow dryer through my hair. My father's a hair dresser, I've been doing this hair salon thing for more years than I'd like to count, and these practices just don't fly in my book. (Note, they shouldn't fly in yours neither.) Thus, I think I'm left to my own devices.

Currently my hair is in box braids (which are great and I highly recommend!!!). However, they need to come out in the next few weeks and from there, well, I think I'm on my own for a while. Because I'm still growing out my relaxer and refuse to do a big chop (I've done it before, go back to much earlier posts), the hair texture/ curl pattern is all over the place. The only way to really overcome that might be to alternate between buns and braids. Maybe some clip ins... But longevity wise, I'm convinced I can get a defined curl pattern going with products and without braid-outs/twist-outs. I don't like those latter options because they look great for 1.5 days and then I'm stuck with a mess by Wednesday at the latest. Maybe that's just me, but I don't have the time or patience for all that.

And there is my real concern, time and patience. It's the tail end of summer and I feel optimistic about my ability to keep up a natural hair routine. But once school kicks in, between grading papers and keeping a gym schedule (which I had to re-devote myself to, ugh!), I feel hair may fall to the wayside. Let's just stay optimistic for now and I'll do my best to keep these hair updates coming.

I don't know these women, but I'm dreaming of a similar curl pattern. #HairEnvy