So, one of the greatest things about pregnancy was that I could give my body a pass - it didn't matter how big I was getting or what I looked like, because my body was doing a beautiful thing (growing a baby), and therefore, it was beautiful.
On the other hand, one of the worst things about pregnancy was that I was very limited in what I could do physically. It was while I was pregnant that I really missed running and lifting weights. And I was literally about to re-join roller derby when I found out I was pregnant, so... yeah, that was over before it started.
So it's October now. Jolie is 2 months old. I no longer have a pass... but then again, I no longer have anything holding me back. There is one recruitment meeting left for this season for SVRG, and I'm going to do it, and I'm going to do it the right way. I'm not taking it for granted this time - I'm going to learn how to skate, I'm going to learn the sport, and I'm going to whomp ass. Seeing as how the last recruitment meeting was during the summer, this is literally my first opportunity to rejoin SVRG, and I'm going to take it.
But... like I said, I'm going to do it the right way. And I skated enough last time to know that skating is HARD. It's a hard workout, and I was nowhere near remotely in good shape when I joined last time, so I was sore constantly (and not even from falling). So in the month that I have left, I'm going to get into shape as best I can - maybe I'll lose weight, maybe not, but I need to strengthen these muscles and be aerobically fit so I can stay on my feet and keep up with the others.
Which brings me to... Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. Three levels of workouts, every day, 30 days to do it. I don't want to kid myself, so I started at level 1 yesterday, and it was really hard. I thought I was going to die after about 5 minutes, and this morning, I woke up with all sorts of sore muscles that I thought had gone into hiding since I was pregnant. (But on the bright side, I can FEEL my abs again!) I did it again this morning, and it felt even harder, probably because of all my soreness. But it felt good to finish, and I'm going to try to keep this up, because I know I have much more difficult challenges ahead when I finally get back to skating. But hopefully I will be in better shape than ever.
As for the dvd itself, I like it a lot (and I've seen a lot of exercise dvds in my day!) This might be the least hokey exercise dvd I've ever seen - most of the time, the women in the videos are totally peppy and smiley like ex-cheerleaders, and this really makes me want to punch them. There is some motivational talk in 30 Day Shred, but it's not annoying, and Jillian Michaels is not a bouncy aerobics instructor. So, I really appreciate that. Also, I noticed that one of her helper models was actually SWEATING. Again, I've seen a lot of exercise dvds, and it never seems like the models are actually working very hard, and again, this makes me want to punch them. So I appreciate that this dvd is not condescending and doesn't treat me like I'm stupid.
So, 2 days down... 28 to go...