A year of self-improvement

My birthday is only a few days away.

Last year on my birthday, I put my house in New Jersey up for sale. I spent the entire year taking an exciting risk: on romance, on job, on life. Two out of three ain't bad.

This year I think I'll do another year-long kind of project. Except this time the focus will be on self-improvement. I've already started reading some books that I've found very interesting and has changed my outlook on how I communicate with others.

The next step in this self-improvement journey is getting myself healthy again. For that, I signed up for Weight Watchers Online. I don't want to go to a meeting. I like being able to just log into my management tool, either online or through my iPhone app and keep track on my points and activity. It's only day two, but I think I could make a habit of it. And I like the challenge of staying within my points. It makes me start to reevaluate whether I want that extra scoop of sugar in my coffee.

The third step that I think I'll tackle this year is defining my purpose. This will need its own post someday, but lately I've been feeling lacking a goal, something to strive for that's unrelated to work. I have ideas -- actually several -- but I'm hesitant to move forward because I'm not sure if they'll make the impact that I'm hoping for.

Turning 37 was exciting and proof of my independence. I wonder what turning 38 has in store.

A second job?

One of the things that keep us (mentally) young is to explore new things.

I explored a chair dancing / pole dancing class.

It was actually a workout class, and damn if I'm not sore. All those squats and hip gyrations and those fireman swings around the pole.

The best part about this class is that it was all women. Real women. With curves.

It was fun to not worry about what you look like or who's looking at you. There weren't even mirrors in the room so you couldn't see if you looked like an idiot.

The class was at a gym in downtown Raleigh. Aradia Fitness has a studio in one of the gym's rooms and from the ceiling are suspended silk ribbons for another class. They also have another location closer to me and I really think that I'll be checking them out for more classes. This was way too fun.

See the video about Aradia Fitness.

Strong like bull

My new job has a very casual work environment. It's not uncommon to see people stroll by in t-shirts, shorts and flip flops. I don't think I could ever go that casual, but nice to know that its at least an option.

Another perk about working here is free access to the gym. Even as a contractor I can use it. Which is great because I need to do something. Charles is pretty fit, and while he makes me feel like a sexy rockstar, I know the reality.

So yesterday I went to the gym for my initial fitness assessment. I was poked and prodded by Allison, this cute little pixie originally from Alabama. I hopped on the scale (I reminded Allison to allow 10 pounds for shoes), I was pinched with the body fat calipers, I had my blood pressure and heart rate measured. Then I did 3 minutes of step-ups and had my heart rate measured again. Finally I did as many pushups as I could (25), as many crunches that I can do in one minute (47) and a flexibility test.



So I am 'strong like bull', but I need work everywhere else.

My goals will be to exercise regularly on the treadmill, elliptical or bicycle. At least 30 minutes for 3 days a week. Another goal is to cook more at home. I have been doing a lot of fast-food/restaurant eating. While its been convenient and enjoyable, it hasn't been doing much for my ass.


On the plus side, I do have some pretty strong muscles hiding under my layer of 28% body fat. I think I just need to remind them how to work and hopefully they can start pulling their weight again (har de har).