Oh Pilates

Oh Pilates, you torment me so.

I am developing a love/hate relationship with Pilates.

On the one hand, it’s hard, hard, hard. Especially for a beginner fluffy gal like me. Worse than difficult- so far, it’s pretty boring. I like dancing and playing and music to be involved in my exercising. This crap is too much like work. The first couple weeks of class, I had to stop part way through some of the sequences because I was nauseous and couldn’t breathe. Now, I still have to stop sometimes, but it’s just to give my muscles a break and start again. Not because I think I might vomit. So, yay, progress is being made. It’s been slightly less boring the last week or so. We’ve learned the movements pretty well and now can do them in the flowing, one into the other manner that they are meant to be done in. But, still … I get bored at gyms if I try to just use the exercise machines. After a few minutes, I quit trying and give up because I can’t stand it. Bleh. So, I really want to not take Pilates any more after this term.

But, on the other hand…

The damn stuff is effective. I can do exercises now that I couldn’t even imagine doing five weeks ago. I can feel myself getting stronger and leaner. My posture is improving. It would be so much easier to decide, if it didn’t work.

This is my quandary:

Do I stop taking it because it’s evil and hard and I don’t enjoy it? or do I continue to take it in spite of all that because it works?

I’m not sure yet. But, currently I am leaning toward continuing with it to see results. Plus adding a cardio or something on the alternate days. At my school credits cost $60/term. Which means a 1 credit activity class works out to about $20 a month. Hard to find many gyms for that price. But more importantly, it holds me responsible. I am accountable to a teacher for attending since that’s primarily what your grade is based on. Unlike a regular gym, where if you don’t go work out, they just collect your money and don’t really care, here if I don’t show up it negatively affects my grade. As an added bonus, included with my fees for the class is a gym use fee. $16 for use of the facilities for the term. Including the regular gym with the exercise equipment and weights. I haven’t yet used that. Because of the boredom thing, but also because I get intimidated walking in there when there are all these jocks in there already working out and familiar with the place. I have a lot of hangups, I know.

Oh well, I am on my path back to healthy fitness. Wish me luck!

today I am grateful for: strength, knowledge, friends, sunny weather, and art.