After stressing because my doctor wants me to exercise, and knowing our health club membership is going to waste, and feeling like I should do something about my elevated blood pressure, I finally started to attend an exercise class.  It’s this dance-style class that feels like a mix of aerobics, tae bo, and going to a dance club.

Here’s the thing, I tend to be pretty heavy on my feet.  Some of that I think has to do with the fact that I haven’t really been super-active ever, and when I did attend dances I weighed less.  And my muscles just aren’t used to bouncing around like that.  So I felt very klutzy the first time I went, on Friday.

I debated with myself whether or not to go back.  For most of the weekend I fully intended to go, and then last night I thought, “oh, well, I’m not going to.”  But then this morning, sometime between the waking up phase (when my attitude is “I don’t wanna do anything!”) and breakfast, I decided to go back.  It was a little easier today, still felt kind of lost a couple of times, but I realized that part of it is that they probably have two hours worth of material and switch it up from time to time.  The instructor switches song tracks which gives a slight break every four to five minutes, enough to take a swig of water and maybe mop off your forehead.  Yes, I sweat a lot!

It’s made me think a lot about what I need and don’t need for this new wave of physical fitness.  I think I need to get some new athletic shoes (my feet were hurting, and not in a this-is-a-hard-workout kind of way).  I’ve known that for a while but put it off because I tend to spend the money on new activities and then fail to commit to actually doing them.  I also need some other gear, but I’ll spare the male readers the descriptions of why a quality sports bra is necessary.  The female readers will know what I mean.  Maybe I should also get one of those sweat bands to wear around my head?  We’ll see about that one.

But I don’t need to go out and get a bunch of fancy workout clothes.  The women in the class dress in a variety of ways.  A very few wear the latest trendy spandex-laden garb that really only looks good on the perfectly toned bodies.  Some just go for t-shirts and cutoffs.  A lot fall somewhere in between.  I have plenty of t-shirts, and some decent yoga pants.  Maybe someday I’ll upgrade from wearing the gym shorts that used to belong to Travis before they shrank in the wash (that’s the story I’m sticking to, not that I’ve gained a few pounds around the middle or that he used to be skinnier).  But for now they work fine.  I’m trying to pay attention to what I need versus what I want.  It’s a hard lesson to learn sometimes.