My September Reset Results, part 1: Box Jumps & Revelations
You may recall, my September Reset goals were twofold: my gut and my butt, the latter was because I am not getting any younger and now is the time to work on large muscle groups to grow old in strength and stability. Ha, JK! In truth I wanted to look less, hmm, flabby? fleshy? in the few, tight dresses I own for date nights. Vanity for the win! But if there were long-term health benefits to strength training, well, so much the better.
Vanity aside, the former, my gut, was more important to me because I wanted to feel better. In my case, gut didn’t refer to belly fat. No, that was taken care of surgically after a super-severe case of diastasis recti and umbilical hernia (thanks, twins!). When I say gut, I mean innards. Everyone who knows me knows I have a lifetime history of terrible stomach aches. Mindfulness helps. Healing my stomach lining helped.
But I know, now, that I simply do not have the freedom to eat or drink whatever I want…at least not without painful consequences, so this means eating consciously and conscientiously so that I do not knock my stupid, delicate flower of a stomach out of balance.
So how did I do?
Let’s start with the fitness side. Going into it, I figured I would be totally fine with Kat’s plan. After all, I do three to four indoor cycling classes each week, walk or bike the kids to school every day, and have since acquired a new puppy to chase after and who makes me stand up 300 times a day; I am pretty physically active.
So, yeah, how hard could adding a few strength training classes be? Suffice it to say I was super confident the first time I descended into Ascend Underground. Turns out, overly so. These classes kicked my *ss. Literally. Like, holy cow, I felt that good kind of sore with every step I took…and felt it for days. I had forgotten what that was like, and I loved feeling it again.
And it wasn’t just physically challenging. I was faced with a mental challenge in two of my classes, a challenge that made me dig deep. You see, I have a long, abiding, and deep psychological fear of the box jump. Irrational? Sure. But I had not done a box jump in at least a dozen years, and I was being asked to do three sets of 10. That’s 30 jumps…or, in my mind, 30 opportunities to violently peel all the skin off my shins by not jumping high enough and/or twist my ankles when I lose balance upon landing.
When it was my turn in the box jump rotation – quick note, here: Ascend Underground assigns “AM Rounds,” wherein you get in As Many Rounds of the assigned sequence of exercises in an allotted period of time. It’s great because you feel motivated by the time pressure, but even better, if you hate something, you know you’re going to get through it pretty quickly. It’s a psychological win-win.
Anyway, when it was my turn to jump I considered taking the modification: stepping up. It’s still a really big step! I’d been watching everyone else jump, and I am competitive…but I was also scared. Then I thought about Amy working out at Fitness on the Run. And Elizabeth and her “irrigation” with Mind the Mat. These women were doing not easy things because I had assigned them to! So…I jumped. And jumped again. I think Kat had to remind me to breathe at least three times, but I did it.
It sounds so silly, I know, but that was weeks ago and I am still really, really proud of myself.
Box jumps aside, as cocky as I was about my fitness level going into the September Reset, I found out that being pretty decent at one thing (cardio) does not mean that you will be instantly good at the new things (strength training). To which you are probably saying, duh, obviously.
But it was a nice revelation for me because, as much as I love and am devoted to SoulCycle (and I do and I am), it was exciting to realize that there are so many other fun, effective ways available to exercise that I can and should do. Despite being editor here, where we talk about this stuff all the time, I didn’t really get it for me until now.
So, yes, although I didn’t expect it on the fitness side, this Reset pushed me out of my comfort zone and I couldn’t be happier. I love, love, love working out at Ascend Underground. Kat, Reagan, and Tori are clearly gifted trainers. They explained each move clearly, gave great cues, and were energetic and encouraging. I can already see more tone, and my perpetually aching back hasn’t ached as much.
Also: I cannot overstate the bliss that is a cold, eucalyptus-soaked towel!
Now on the nutrition side, yeah, I knew we were venturing into very uncomfortable territory…
To be continued tomorrow…
