Thanks to the good influence of my summer roommate, Rachel, I joined the Logan Square Y in August. (It’s called the McCormick Tribune Y, though it’s in Logan Square.) Rachel taught me some basics with free weights and I also quickly grew attached to a bike which works like a video game. You watch a screen which shows a scenic bike path that you bike along on. So far I have enjoyed the 3.3 mile coastal ride a number of times. I know it’s a little dorky, but, it motivates me!

I have found that if I ride the bike for just 10-15 minutes before weight-lifting, I’m not so sore the next few days. It’s that “warming up” concept that people talk about.

Also, if the aerobics room is empty, I like to end my workout by going in there to stretch on a yoga mat and maybe finish with a little shavasana. That’s “corpse pose” in Sanskrit and is the relaxation pose that most yoga classes end with. It gives the body time to rest and internalize the workout.

I’m trying to go to the gym three times a week, allowing my muscles to rest on the in-between days, which actually makes the weight lifting more effective. The muscles get stronger faster if you let them rest and heal.

A nice new plus is that my Y just installed a steam room in the locker room. It smells fantastically, powerfully of eucalyptus.

This will be great all through the winter. I encourage you to check up on me though, and encourage me to keep caring for myself through working out.

In just a few workouts I started feeling more grounded in my body and more alive(!) I’ll be blogging more about the exercises I’m doing, and what I’m learning and feeling along the way.

Honey, you should see my biceps! (But some of that beauty is from yoga. Yoga does make you stronger.) Currently, I am in pursuit of the tricep, as well as some leg muscles, which haven’t been as worked through the yoga.