I did it! Three full weeks of fitness commitment completed and two new classes to report on, including FlyWheel and SHRED415. Would I call it a habit now? To be honest – I wouldn’t. Fitness and health will always be a struggle for me, and I’ve learned over the last few weeks that I will have to push myself everyday to be active. I love it when I’m doing it, but the motivation doesn’t come naturally to me. And that’s okay.
Even though I don’t jump out of bed wanting to work out everyday, I do wake up wanting to put my best self forward. And my best self is my healthiest self because that version of me is most confident. Confidence is attractive.
Over the last three weeks I have started to feel my push-ups get easier, and my endurance get longer. They are small changes, but they are changes enough that make me want to keep pushing to explore my boundaries.
In a nutshell, fitness isn’t something I can commit to once a year when I set New Year’s resolutions. Or six months later when I realize I haven’t done it. Health is something I’ll have to commit to EVERYDAY. Yes, that’s a little daunting but so is life! I’m 32, and I have no choice but to show up.
So what does that really mean?! I’m going to keep trying new things every week and reporting back to you all.
FLYWHEEL
Flywheel is INTENSE! It’s your regular spinning class on crack – in the best way. I enjoyed it so much that I went twice over the last week. This is a 45 minute balls-out cycling class with some arm work built in towards the end. The teachers are enthusiastic, knowledgeable and put a ton of thought into playlists that match the speed of the cycling routine. I’m talking fun top-40 pop songs, not typical crazy-club spinning music. The arm workout comes about 3 songs from the end and requires you to keep your core engaged so that you can keep cycling while lifting the 2 or 4 pound bars – I felt like I was recovering but not stopping.
I arrived to friendly faces and a guided tour of the facility. You check in at an iPad station where your shoes are waiting for you in a cubby that coordinates to the bike number you’ve been assigned in the stadium setting. I loved the white glove service!
I left 100% sweaty, which is what I want to feel when I pay for a class. Speaking of which, Flywheel is expensive – as are all of the classes I want to try. It’s $28 a pop with packages that make it a bit easier to manage – but not by much.
SHRED 415
I have to thank my fellow blogging friend, Fancy Nancista for recommending SHRED 415. This has been my favorite workout in the last 3 weeks – by far. I loved it because it combined exercises I know and am comfortable with in short intervals that kept me interested.
SHRED 415 is four, 15-minute cycles that alternate between running and strength training – two of each type of exercise. Within those cycles, you’ll do speed intervals on the treadmill and weight training intervals – like squats with kettle bell lifts – on the floor. My 15 minutes was up right at the moment my attention span expired, and then I moved on to the next cycle.
I really pushed myself in this class in a way I haven’t in a long time. It was important to me to finish strong and prove to myself that I could complete the class and report back to you knowing I’d given 100%.
This class is $25 per class with a $60, 3-class introductory special if you want to keep going. Of all the classes I’ve tried – FlyWheel, Pure Barre and SHRED415 – this one was worth it.
My next fitness assignment is to figure out how to make all these classes and this ‘habit’ financially manageable because right now, it’s just not – and I need this to be sustainable.
More on that next time!
Belle
BELLE’S FITNESS BUCKET LIST:
- AIR – aerial fitness class using silks to build core and muscle strength. Will pretend I’m a circus performer.
- Starved Rock State Park – hike along trails and see waterfalls, just a 90-mile drive from Chicago. Why have I waited so long to check this out?!
- Brooklyn Boulders, Chicago – I’m afraid of heights but I’m also curious about rock climbing. This could be great or terrible.
- NEW! COMPLETED – SHRED 415 – One hour of interval cardio and weight training; intended to shred fat and build muscle through metabolic bursts.
- COMPLETED – Flywheel – I’ve heard this bananas spinning class will change your life.
- COMPLETED – Pure Barre – low-impact, full-body workout using the ballet barre and small isometric movements.
- COMPLETED – The 606 – run/walk along Chicago’s new elevated pedestrian path.
