Winter Weekends And Stretchy Goals

After my last workout I had a rough recovery day. Not in terms of my muscles, they seemed quite fine, but the rest of my body had quite the time reminding me that I am still sick! I was exhausted all of Saturday and had practically no appetite whatsoever. I must have watched White Christmas at least twice and felt terrible about how lazy I was being. Rest days have always been a struggle for me because I have always felt the need to be doing something. A day without work, exercise, or any other sort of activity feels like a complete waste. And I can hardly believe any of you would be interested in photos of me in my pajamas catching up on tv if any such things even existed.

My same friend who worked out with me on Friday wanted to know when we could hit the gym again and after a day of pure boredom I was thrilled to know I would have a regular gym buddy for the winter. We agreed to meet up Sunday morning and got started right away. While she did her cardio warm up I hit the mats for a bit of stretching and yoga since cardio is still off limits until I'm no longer sick.

Stretching has always been my least favorite element of a healthy lifestyle since I was little. Even as a kindergartner who cartwheeled her way through life I hated having to sit down and work on my flexibility. Stretching always felt like more of that dreaded rest I mentioned earlier and never seemed nearly as fun as all the other workouts.

 But as I've grown up I've come to understand its importance, not that I've gone ahead and done anything about it; my splits - the ones I used to have as a high school cheerleader - are far above the floor these days.

A back handspring from way back in the day

They are also my latest goal. I'd like to have them back. And not just "someday". I know better than to set a goal for myself without a deadline. So I'm telling you now, I intend to have my splits by the first day of March, 2014. I'll keep you updated on my progress but here is where I'm at now.

My "good side" left leg forward splits

My right leg forward splits - this side has always been tighter

After an agonizing half hour of bending and twisting in ways I haven't in months my friend finished her run and we were ready to hit the weights!

It was a short and sweet session today but I was still pretty winded by the end. I know I've got a long time before I'll be back to where I was before I got sick but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to not only get back there but to surpass it and rise even higher.


Shirt: Nike
Shorts: Nike
Shoes: Adidas