Aqua Zumba!

I tried my first Aqua Zumba class last week and I LOVED it!

It's an absolute blast!!!!

My ankle is improving, but I'm back in Physical Therapy for it and starting a few weeks ago, a medication too. My doctor suggested a pool workout when I mentioned I hate not being active like I used to be. I'm also taking a aqua bootcamp class.

I'm one of the youngest ones in the class but it's certainly not Zumba Gold (Zumba for senior citizens or activity restricted populations).

I've stopped straightening my hair so I can enjoy the classes without the extra hassle. This is really the first time I've worn my hair curly except for a few days - here and there since I've gone natural. It's been an adventure.

I can't believe how fun a water workout can be or how hard I could work in the water.

Have you ever taken a water workout? What do you think? Did you get a great workout?

Something About This Rubbed Me The Wrong

I'm not sure if it was the fact that this was posted on a group facebook page for the gym I frequent by a man.

I am not sure if it was the fact that only one type of body shape/fat percentage is consistently being exalted on that group page. 

I'm not sure if it was the fact that it undermined the fact that she obviously was in shape  and eating healthy prior and during to her pregnancies.

I'm not sure if its the fact that it undermines the trade-offs women are free  to make and the personal preferences each woman has regarding her appearance

It was probably a mix of all these things....

The picture features the beautiful Maria Kang - entrepreneur, fitness instructor, and mom. I googled her name and interestingly enough I wasn't the only one who felt that way...I don't necessarily agree with all of the points below but I found them interesting:

http://jdeneen.com/2012/09/17/maria-kangs-photo-on-facebook/
http://chocolatecoveredmutterings.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/whats-your-excuse/
http://melaniechisnall.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/the-enough-campaign-a-time-for-women-to-reclaim-their-beauty/

But others loved the image!

I went to her blog to her website to learn about her. She seems to have a caring heart - dedicated to her husband and kids - dedicated to stay healthy and fit. She says she didn't mean to cause such a stir....she hoped to be an inspiration.

She posted this updated picture..I think it catches her hopes better.

Do pictures of other fit ladies inspire you? I'm careful of the images/women that I pick to inspire me. I like to know that they are consistently eating well and working out.

The Day I Broke Scale

 

I replaced my scale today. I've had it for about 3 years.

 

But, I had had the one before that for about 5 years. And one Sunday morning about 3 years ago, I stepped on the scale - just knowing that I was going to see progress after weeks of stalling - I was doing all I could and them some - but the scale hadn't budged.

 

I was so frustrated I stomped on the scale - really hard. And, the scale broke.

 

So...I went out to get a new one and I found a taylor scale that also measured body fat. Which I would now recommend to anyone...I really could see my progress as I got more toned in terms of body fat although the pounds may not always reflect a change. I could also better see how fluctuations happened with my hydration levels.

 

The body fat and water percentage functions on my old scale stopped working - and the height/age function started showing the wrong numbers. I began to worry that the weight would also be inaccurate too. I also replaced it with a new taylor scale that measures body fat. My new scale shows me 2 pounds heavier... :( Come on new scale...Couldn't you do make me lighter? ;)

 

Do you weigh yourself at home? Do you use a certain type of scale? Does it have a body fat function? 

I Blog Regularly In My Head

I've written dozens and dozens and dozens of posts in my head...

I don't seem to get those thoughts to "paper" (electronically) as much as I would like.

Maybe I should use the voice memo function on my phone more often to capture my thoughts and then transcribe them late?...

Light At The End of The Tunnel

Friends...

I haven't blogged in forever.

Have been incredibly busy with work, work travel....and physical therapy :(

Yes. This DANG ankle just wasn't getting better on it's own.

I finally got in to the see the doctor the 2nd week of August and she ordered x-rays and then, when that didn't show a fracture, an mri.

After several stressful days of worrying that it might be the worst case scenario of the ones she mentioned, she confirmed that the mri showed scar tissue consistent with a sprain and that she recommended several weeks of physical therapy.

I was diagnosed with weakness of the ankle and tendinitis. Which I googled - apparently it's very common to develop after an ankle. Tendinitis is incredibly uncomfortable and painful.

We spent several weeks doing treatments to help calm it down - ultra-sound and stretches. And, now we are working on getting back to where I was before I got hurt.

I'm almost back to normal as far as strength, movement, and function with the ankle. But, I am definitely not where I was before as far as cardio.

A few more weeks and I should be back to normal and in my heels!!!! It's been a long, long summer without them...

I've got about 3 - 4 more pounds to lose to get back to where I was. I've lost about 4.5 to 5 pounds. I cut my calories down to about 1200 to 1300, watched my carbs count a bit more, and now that i'm feeling a bit better I'm walking a mile/two or in pt or taking a weight lifting class. 

In a few weeks, KC is hosting a 5k/half/relay/marathon. It's a great race with really good turn out and enthusiasm. I should be able to walk/run it! :)

Like a sprained ankle, boy, I ain't nothing to play with

As I was working out, this line in this song stuck out to me...It's from Drake's song "Forever".I don't know if I've ever "heard" that line before.

3 months after spraining my ankle, I am finally feeling like I'm almost back to normal. A sprained ankle is NO joke. I can't believe how incredibly painful it can be. I can't believe how limiting it can be either - it's so hard to get around. I've read and been told that a sprained ankle can be more painful and longer to heal than a broken ankle ---- now I know how true that is!

Obviously, that line was written by someone in the know....

It's been a long hard recovery. I feel like I missed out on most of my summer...

I missed hitting my workout goals thanks to having to sit out several weeks altogether or reduced workouts. I wasn't able to teach several of my Zumba classes and I've put on a few pounds....I seem to do something to re-aggravate my ankle right as I felt that I was getting better about 3 or 4 times. In retrospect, I think even though my doctor gave the okay to teach classes after I tripped and fell on the sprained ankle I should have stopped teaching altogether (although I wasn't going full out and I had about a 2 weeks off after the fall) and cut back on my physical activity. It's a hard balance to figure out - resting helps you heal but so does movement and activity. 

I look forward to starting my workouts back to normal next week. I am determined to get back to where I was in March - in terms of strength, endurance, and pounds. My birthday is coming up in 45 days and I want to feel as great as I did for my 30th!

Drumroll Please...

Saturday marked the 3rd year of this blog! So, I decided to give it an updated look! I love the final results and I really enjoyed working with Jen at Just Foolin Design.