Doing things I don't do

I recently took a month off from capoeira, and during that time I tried a lot of different physical activities. My favorite was the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but it was obvious that I wouldn't have time to do it and capoeira both.

Much to my surprise, I ended up joining a gym. I had pretty much sworn off gyms, as I did plenty of hiking, capoeira, and yoga.

But the gym I joined made me re-evaluate that. One, it's a ridiculously hardcore gym where no one is there to hit on people. (I am not ridiculously hardcore. I am kind of soft- and squishy-core. Basically I'm a poser, trying to look badass in my roller derby shirt.) Picture  a bunch of extremely fit people in all-black and tattoos and no shoes either punching each other* or lifting kettlebells, and you've got the idea. And I do like shoelessness. And wearing black.

It just hit me that there is no background music, at least downstairs in the exercise class space. You have no idea how wonderful that is, especially after my last foray into spin classes.

Also the gym has ridiculously trained trainers that teach their classes (full disclosure: I do capoeira with one of them, but really they're all ridiculously well-trained), and they don't do useless exercises or shout annoying platitudes at you. No one has yet told me to give 110%. I am a properly trained statistician, y'all, and I know we don't have 110% to give.

But the most important thing for me was that good-form weight training finally did the last bit of healing on my shoulder. My left arm is probably 99% of where it was before everything, and it very rarely gets sore in the way that suggests I'm overusing the wrong muscles. I'm also much more likely to go to class at the gym than to lie on my living room floor and do 30 reps with my 3-pound weight. I am not a home exercise person.

So, hey, I'm going to the gym. It actually means fewer days of capoeira, but my capoeira hasn't suffered for it. The increased strength has helped with my control, in fact.

* OK, yeah, they're doing Muay Thai. It's not a fight club.

100 days of new things

The 100 days project was born in a moment of rage. Someone had hurt me badly, and while I was angry at them, the impetus for this was rage at myself that I had let it happen. I had changed my life and fallen into a rut for someone who wasn’t worth it. Me! I was the one who, as a young child, always voluntarily tried new foods at restaurants. I moved across the country for college alone. And here I was spending my weekends sleeping in, going to brunch, napping again, and then, if we were feeling adventurous, watching a video. Something had to change.

I decided to do something new every day for 100 days. While the new thing could be something big like skydiving, it didn’t have to be. After all, I wouldn’t have time for that every day. But it had to be bigger than a new restaurant with familiar cuisine,

Over 103 days (including three rest days), I tried things I liked (glitch hop music) and things I didn’t (Insane Clown Posse). I shot a gun and smoked pot (in Colorado), but I also read Harry Potter fanfic and tried coco helado on days when time was short.

I tried a lot of new foods and cuisines. The best was Taiwanese from a food cart in Midtown, but the most surprising food was ramen. It turned out it didn’t have to be the dry-packet experience I swore off after college.

I consumed some new media and art forms. The dinosaur erotica was far and away the best conversation starter, although Straight Stuntin’ magazine was more educational. The Mary-Kate and Ashley movie proved to be un-get-through-able, while listening to ragas led me down a Wikipedia rabbit hole.

And Wikipedia - I edited a Wikiepedia entry, one of several technological new ventures. I also made a vine, tried Pinterest, and used an iPad in the classroom. And in the classroom I also tried polling software, took my students on a field trip, had a guest via Skype, and made an video with iMovie (not new - but not swearing at it was).

I hiked above 12,000 feet for the first time, took barre, Brazilian jiu jitsu, TRX, high intensity interval training, kettleball, and burlesque classes (where I learned to fan dance and chair dance). I went to capoeira classes at Joao Grande’s and the LIC Palmares groups, and I went to my first open roda.

I led a Ramblers hike, made a snow angel in July, and brushed my teeth with baking soda. I helped build a rock-lined ditch and opened a Smarty Pig account. I bought a lottery ticket (not a winner) and hiked with the Catskills 3500 club.

And there were a few things that required actual courage, although not as much as jumping out of an airplane. I talked about one of my goals that I tend to keep to myself on Facebook. I went a day without complaining; that took two tries. I wrote up a business plan. I opened up to my capoeira Mestre. And on day 99, I finally forgave the person who had hurt me in the first place.

Towards the end, it became harder to find truly new things I could fit in around a busy day at work. There were also things I wished to try but couldn’t. I never did get that pickleback or try that taxidermy class. But I still can. To the extent I’m still in a rut, it’s only to the extent of having a regular job and activities I enjoy, and that’s okay with me.

Ignore this if you're bored of my shoulder

For a long time, I felt as if I wasn't making any progress with my shoulder, but the last two months or so have seen noticeable progress.

In January enough range of motion back that I was able to do more than walking and pilates, so I bought a class card for the Alvin Ailey extension. I tried a couple of West African dance classes, but while my shoulder held up, I found the choreography too difficult for an absolute beginner. If I was seeking out a new hobby, it would have been worth persisting through the frustration, but since I was only looking for a stopgap, I didn't. The classes were a good aerobic workout, though, and the teachers are hampered by only working with two class levels, which tends to force the beginner class to greater difficulty.

I also went to the extension's Absolute Beginner ballet class - which, unlike many dance classes, is actually pitched to beginners. (I get that teaching absolute novices can be dull, and it is difficult if said novices include people who have never danced before as well as those who are professionals in other dance forms, but that doesn't change the fact that many beginner classes are incredibly challenging for students who aren't used to following choreography.) Finis Jhung, the instructor, does a great job with this class, with a strong emphasis on correct form. Many adult classes (not just in ballet) tend toward rushing into pretty moves - after all, they'll never be professionals, so who cares if their form is off? But doing things right is the key to getting those harder moves, and to not hurting your adult body, which doesn't rebound as fast.

(Frankly, his approach is similar to what I like about Capoeira Angola Quintal; it's more important to execute a basic movement correctly and well than to do some impressive ooh-ah flip/jump/spin.)

Monday, I noticed that I was better able to balance in eleve, so huzzah, it was working! Another recent milestone - being able to wear a backpack. And then, the most exciting - permission to return to yoga.

So Tuesday I went to a basic vinyasa class with a teacher I know and like, Magi Pierce at Life in Motion. It was exactly the right class; I could do most everything and modify what I couldn't. She doesn't push people but focuses on technique as well as the "why" of poses. I left class very happy to be back.

But oh man, after ballet, then yoga, then PT today, I am sore.

Shoulder update

Since my surgery, I've been struggling to stay active. A friend pointed this article by Scott Adams out, and it says a lot of things I believe - namely, that exercise shouldn't be a struggle based on willpower. You might use willpower to get you through mile 22 of a marathon, but your entire program shouldn't be based on it. That's why I do capoeira and yoga and hike, because 9 days out of 10 I'm excited to go to class.

But suddenly capoeira and yoga were off limits for me, and my hiking was limited to hikes that didn't involve scrambling or require a backpack. I tortured myself with a few spin classes, frustrated myself with a few samba classes, and did a moderate amount of walking. (But walking in the same place every day - boring!) The end of the semester didn't help, as it never does. While visiting family in Oregon, I was forced to confront how out of shape I'd become. I determined to get back in shape when I returned to New York, so that when my shoulder was finally ready for the activities I liked, the rest of my body wouldn't collapse.

(Yes, I know it's New Year's. I haven't made a resolution in years. If it makes you feel better to call this one, go ahead.)

Then I found out insurance was done paying for my PT, which means fewer visits since my pockets aren't so large. Yesterday at my appointment, I asked my therapist about when I could return to capoeira. She wouldn't give me a time estimate, but she said we would need to really push to make that happen. I had hoped January, then February, and now I am afraid it may be even longer.

I probably shouldn't be surprised. While my body fights off infections like a champ, I heal from injury slowly. Whether it's a simple cut or bruise or something more complex, I'm not on the bleeding edge. I also build strength slowly. While my sister can walk by a gym and burst out into a six-pack, my muscles grow slowly. My body was designed for endurance, not strength.

There are spots of bright news in there. One, my PT is very happy with how my flexibility has returned. It's not 100% of what it was before, but then I was very, very flexible before. Two, she said I could try wearing a backpack - no backpacking through Europe, mind you. Three, my schedule this semester is much more flexible than in the fall. The two activities I have available to me now - pilates and hiking - can be fit in with much more ease. I don't love pilates, but I don't mind it. If I'm going to be out for a long time, then I'll start looking at things like ballet, but I hope it doesn't come to that.

It's a struggle to remain upbeat about my shoulder some days. I'm not naturally a patient person. But, this week I've gone to pilates twice and done two hikes. Today, I'm going to do nothing at all, because my body needs a rest. Nothing, that is, except my PT exercises. Gotta uphold my part of the bargain.

Spinning

The ongoing saga of my shoulder troubles is heading towards a climax with arthroscopic surgery next month. In the meantime, I've been getting sadly out of shape, as capoeira and yoga are both off-limits to me: While there are individual moves I can do, I can't participate in a class. Hiking is still possible, but being a weekend warrior isn't enough.

I don't want to commit to joining a gym, since I have no intention of staying for a year, and taking up a new activity involves a steep learning curve and not enough vigorous exercise. I've been walking some, but that's low-key compared to two hours of capoeira, as is Pilates.

I finally found an activity I can do that burns a lot of calories, keeps muscles strong, and doesn't involve my shoulder - spin class. Never mind that I don't really like it. (After all, people are perfectly capable of riding an exercise bike on their own; it's just too damn boring to do it unless someone is threatening you.) I can do it until my arm is sufficiently recovered to take on more interesting exercise, and at least that way I won't be coming back from zero.

Outdoor gyms

Fitness station, a photo by TheTurducken on Flickr.

Remember these things? There was a rash of building them in the '80s back in the U.S.

(Side story: When we moved to North Carolina, for reasons still unclear to me the school did not have a playground, just fields. It did have one of these. We quickly realized this is way less fun than it looks at first glance.)

They never really took off, maybe because in most of the country the weather is too unpleasant much of the year for anyone to get in the habit. But in Floripa, they are all over the place. Many of them are much fancier than this one, like this one in Curitiba - notice, they even have cardio equipment - and, yes, I see people using them.

More and faster

A staple of the movie news is "star beefs up workouts for movie role." In this story, for example, one actor worked out eight hours a day for ten weeks. The "easiest" part of those eight hours was two hours of choreography.

I have no idea how people do things like that. Not that working eight hours a day is impossible; it's just … going from working out an hour or two a day to eight? I mean, I know movie stars stay in shape as part of their job, but I assume they don't spend their whole day doing it.

Whenever I ramp up my workouts, my body feels it and takes a while to adjust. (Like, you know, 99% of people.) When I started capoeira, for example, I blogged about how I went to yoga and was unable to do a single chaturanga. When I joined Quintal, I started going to three classes a week. Previously, I had been doing two, and while the new classes were shorter, they were much more intense. I remember drinking what felt like gallons of water in my first few classes. A couple of months ago, I switched to an unlimited plan, and now I go to five-six classes a week. My body is still adjusting.

Friday night I went to our roda, although I didn't play much at all. I told Tarugo that I might come to his Saturday class, although it would depend how physical my volunteer morning at Van Cortlandt was. Turned out it wasn't very, so I went to his class, but as I told him, "I'm tired and sore and probably shouldn't be here." Luckily, we spent the class working our backs and arms, and it was my legs that were already shot. Sunday, I found I couldn't do side plank on the left in yoga. (Monday is my rest day … thank goodness.)

I know one struggle for me is getting enough protein, and maybe that makes a difference in recovery time, but really, I don't think what I am experiencing is that different from most people. (Perhaps, like a movie star, I should have a personal chef.) But I have this impatience - I want to get better faster! and my body is putting the reality check on it. If worked out eight hours a day, I'd get stronger at first - then I'd get injured. No thanks!

Yet, progress happens. I remember the first time I was able to get from a wide-legged forward fold to tripod headstand in yoga. It happened a few months before leaving Nashville, so let's say almost two years ago. I was super-excited. Just yesterday I realized I was able to control my descent enough to set my feet down silently when coming back out. It's not the dramatic part of the move, but it's just as important, and it means I have a kind of core control I didn't have before. That control has been coming along slowly and incrementally, but that moment of breakthrough is always something.

Wounded

This time last week, I was briskly trotting around Manhattan. Today, I'm avoiding walking if at all possible. It turns out the pain in my foot was a strained tendon, and after several days I gave in and went to see the doctor. It's nothing serious; it will heal if taken care of, but in the meantime, my body is bored silly. I'm supposed to avoid walking as much as I can, even if taking the bus is slower, and take 800 mg of naprosen three times a day. To all appearances, the foot looks fine, and you might even think, "That woman is wearing heels - she must be fine." Apparently, heels (or a heel lift) take the pressure off that tendon. Of course, heels suck, so the lack of pain in the tendon is made up for the hobbling nature of the shoes.

Yoga, capoeira, and (of course) hiking are out for a couple of weeks, and it could be 4-6 weeks before it's fully recovered. Ugh! I can do pilates, she said, and swim. I suppose I can also practice handstands, right?

The moral of the story, kids, is don't suddenly increase your mileage by 10 miles on pavement. Your feet won't thank you.

Break time

Out of the last four days, I went to tough yoga classes on three. (The other, I went on a 6-mile hike.) My body is begging for mercy at this point. I was going to drag myself to class at the gym tonight, because it was probably going to be that teacher's last class before she moved back to LA, but it was canceled. My body appreciates that!

Now I can stay home and work in a comfy chair.

Stop this mountain, I want to get off

The Mt. St. Helens hike is a month away, so today I did a "simulation" treadmill workout. As you know if you read this page with any regularity, I'm caught between trying to do hikes to prepare for the big trip and the lack of sufficient natural slope. A treadmill can't really give you the experience of stepping over tree roots and up boulders, but at least it has an incline button.

Of course, it's not exactly a perfect simulation. While an 11% incline at 3.0 miles per hour for 1 hour and 40 minutes may be an approximation of the climb up, the gym's treadmills don't have negative incline setting for the trip down. (I've seen treadmills that do, but never with a decline of more than 5%.) 3.0 mph is also way faster than we will or could hike. Furthermore, I'm not carrying the weight of a backpack. And at the end I did not stop and take pictures, there was no tang of pine in the air, I never stopped for a snack, etc., etc.

Nevertheless, as an endurance test it's a reasonable benchmark, I think. And the one bit of realism it has over actually going out and doing a hike is that the temperature and humidity in the gym is a lot closer to Mt. St. Helens than Tennessee in the summer is.

Food everywhere

One downside of the institutes is that all our food is provided. Now, that sounds like an upside, and like all grad students, I heart free food. But as a see-food person, surrounding by food that is high in calories, I find the practical result to be a personal disaster. I learned from last year, and have managed to restrict my snacking this time around. But even the meals are high calorie - I was discouraged to learn after the fact that yesterday's veggie sub on french bread was around 1000 calories. And, since I worked 14 1/2 hours yesterday, I didn't have time to exercise.

Today I'm attempting to get back on track so I don't balloon like my genes want to. I can't afford a whole new wardrobe!

Modest goals

I went to the gym tonight. Normally, that wouldn't be very interesting, but during the institutes we start early and leave late, so it can be hard to find time to work out. One of my coworkers is a morning person and is happy to work out at 5 am or other ungodly hours, but I can't do that. Unlike my dad, I do wake up fully human in the morning; unlike my mom, I'm not perky at that hour.

I was actually the only person at the gym when I got there, although another woman did come in while I was there. The owner said it was always that quiet in the evening. The gym is pretty new, and it must be a hard sort of business to start up. It's not like, say, a shoe or bagel or hat emporium, where anyone could stop in and buy a small amount of the goods. Even among the audience of people who 1) actually go to the gym 2) think your gym has enough amenities but isn't too expensive and 3) find your location to be convenient, a lot of those people will be in membership contracts elsewhere and unable to switch. I would think it would take a year or two for your potential clientele to even evaluate your product. And it's not like you can start business slowly; you can't start with one treadmill and build up. So, yeah, it's quiet there sometimes, although evenings right after work it's pretty busy.

The main point is, I did get my workout in, even if was a shorter one. This is a good thing with all the stress and food of the institutes. I don't suppose I'm keeping up with the group of my fellow students who is trying this 12-week-to-triathlete-status crazy workout program - but then, I don't really want to do a triathlon.

Joining up

Back in August, I wrote about looking for a new gym. I ended up deciding to stick with Vanderbilt's gym for a while to see how it went, and I ended up doing that all year. On the plus side, the price was right, and the equipment is decent, but on the negative side the vibe is weird and the location not so great. I had to attach my gym trips to visits to campus. The biggest negative was that it doesn't have decent yoga classes, so I ended up spending as much as I saved on going to those at a studio. Today it suddenly occurred to me that I was about to lose access - there is no mandatory summer rec fee, so if I wanted to keep going I had to pay. Granted, the fee is very low, but it seemed like I might as well look around.

The "big" gyms are still all way out of my price range, and the Y's are still not my cup of tea or really conveniently located, but a new gym had opened up a few months ago within a mile of my place. I figured it was out of my price range, but on a whim I stopped in today. It turned out that it would cost more than Vanderbilt's Student Rec Center, but the fee was within my grasp. And they were willing to let me get a four-month membership for just this summer.

Now I have no excuse if I'm not in shape in time to hike Mt. St. Helens in August.