Scrappy Sign Ups and Chit Chat

I wanted to follow up my post about the whole Crossfit thing just to explain a little bit.  Yes, it's a tough workout but they really don't make us do any more than we feel capable of doing, and they keep a close eye on us to make sure we're feeling okay.  When my muscles start to feel wobbly or when I'm out of breath and need to rest for a few minutes, no one minds if I stop, although they do encourage me with praise when I'm able to do more than I did the time before.  And if some part of us hurts, they try to figure out why and fix it or give us an alternate exercise.  Really, Crossfit is a good thing--even if the whole Crossfit concept and their "mascot" Pukie the Clown are a bit hard core. But that's really more for the athletes who are already fit and like a challenge--the gym rats.  At the other end of the Crossfit spectrum, my little "class" is made up mostly of people like me--ladies who have been away from exercise for a long time and are trying to get back into shape and be healthy.  And guess what?  Soccer Son's Lovely Wife seemed interested in what I'm doing, so I purchased a Groupon for her today so she can check out our class too.  She's been looking for a way into an exercise routine she'd enjoy, so maybe this is it.  My friend Missy's 20-something daughter is also in our class, and having someone else there closer to her in age will be nice.

I've also been riding the stationary bicycle Soccer Son brought over for me to use--I ride it just about every night.  When I asked my trainer what I could do to try to improve my lung capacity and endurance, he suggested a stationary bike, and it just worked out like fate that one showed up on my doorstep!  I've been riding it most evenings for 20 to 30 minutes, taking an occasional break if my pulse rate gets high or when I get tired.  And even though I've only used it this week, tonight I already noticed a change:  I rode for 30 minutes, I only took one break, and my pulse rate stayed a lot lower than it had been.

Someone asked if I'd started to see a difference in myself.  Yes, I definitely do!  For one thing, I noticed that all those little aches and pains I'd have when I got up in the morning or moved around throughout the day have disappeared.  I have more energy to do things.  I don't think twice about having to bend down and pick something up, or clean up anything on the floor.  I've never really had bad posture, but I feel like I'm standing straighter.

Along with the exercise, I've also been dieting.  I don't believe weighing myself helps keep me motivated.  I've seen too many women come back to work after a weekly weigh-in completely devastated and demoralized if they don't lose the weight they think they should or, heaven forbid, GAIN a half pound!   And all those women seem to starve themselves the day of their weigh-in until after they've been weighed.  That kind of thinking would just make me crazy.  So I can't tell you how much I might have lost, and it really doesn't matter to me.  Weight is like age--they're both just numbers that aren't necessarily the most important measure of your well-being, right?  I started both the exercise and the diet on August 6th, so it's not a month yet, but I know my clothes are getting looser--and isn't THAT a nice change from thinking they somehow shrunk in the closet?!

I hope I can keep it up.  It DOES take time away from quilting and some of the other things in my life, but I think it's going to make me better in the long run.

So, enough of that.  Let's start playing with scraps and turn out something great!  Once you have something scrappy on your blog to show, please add yourself to Mister Linky below and we'll all stop in for a visit.  My own goal is to finish cutting the sashing squares I need for the quilt I'm working on.  How about you? What's your goal?