I am something of a gym rat. And I'm okay with that. 3-6 days per week I'm there. I love going and trying to work up a sweat. I say "try" because I'm not a sweater. (No wool comments, please.)
Today it will be in the low 90s outside with disgusting amounts of humidity. I will feel sticky all over, but there will be no sweat pouring off of me the way it does many people. I remember when I was a little girl, my Mom and I took some Sister missionaries out to lunch at the Bridgewater Diner. One of the sisters, when discussing what it was like to walk miles and miles every day knocking on doors said, "Horses sweat. Men perspire. And women glow." My mom laughed. My mom sweats, though.
Anyway, the way I gauge how great a workout I get at the gym is how wet my shirt is afterwards, because usually it's not very. I was really excited by spinning when they first started the classes last year at our rec center. The first few weeks, I felt positively marinated in my own juices. And then I got better, so I stopped sweating so much. I even wear my heart rate monitor so I know how hard I'm pushing myself, and still not so much with the sweat. My shirt is vaguely damp at the end of a class.
The ultimate test of sweat is when one of two things happen:
1. The hollow of my throat is wet with perspiration. (wet, not sticky)
2. I can feel at least one bead of sweat rolling down my back.
Until this week, it had been a long time since I last felt either of these two things. My dear friend, Mark, gave me the interval training regime that his brother (who's a trainer for the NY Giants) gave him.
This workout kicks my bottom up one hill and down another. After 20 minutes, I am a mess and can barely limp home. (I seem to recover about half and hour later and feel good for the rest of the day.)
The workout, if you're interested, is this:
treadmill:
-no incline, walk for 2 minutes at 3 mph
-jack the incline up to an 8 and run as fast as you can for 30 seconds (for me this is between 6 and 7 mph)
Do 8 sets of this back and forth.
-wipe off your treadmill and try to walk away instead of collapsing on the floor like the big puddle of goo you feel like.
Good times.
5 comments:
I don't really sweat either... except for in my hair and on my face. The sweat rolls off there, but my shirt/clothes stay relatively dry.
I wish I stayed so dry. I soak my clothes even with a moderate workout.
It is so nice to meet a fellow non-seater. I too get really exicited at the rare trickle down my back.
RUN!!!!! I don't run. My body at this time is not made for running. My fear is that I may need to run at some time. Can I run/walk? You know that fast walk that makes your bottom sway from side to side.
run. But it's just for thirty seconds. Just think of all the dinosaurs chasing after you. ;)
Post a Comment