Tae Bo ow
A combination of a head cold coupled with the annual holiday feeding frenzy (capped off by today's lunch of pizza and beer washed down with donuts back at the office) have left me feeling more than a little guilty about missing my regular workouts. The cold has now diminished so I finally felt safe to ease my way back into my regular exercise routine. I knew I definitely needed some cardio, but I didn't feel like hopping onto my stationary bike (my usual favorite as I hate running.) So I decided to break out some of my Tae Bo DVDs which I haven't used regularly in over a year.
I was at first resistant to the very idea of Tae Bo or any at-home exercise videos. At the risk of sounding chauvinistic it just didn't sound like something a guy would do; standing around alone in a room punching and kicking wildly at the TV . . . as if that were somehow so different from my antics watching Alabama football. But after I tried it a couple times I quickly realized how mistaken I was. It's a tough workout for anyone, particularly guys who typically carry more weight on their frames and don't put enough emphasis on cardio. While Billy Blanks has numerous videos at different skill levels, the fundamental exercises are generally the same so it's easy to try 'different' workouts. When I first tried Tae Bo I started off with the "Basic" workouts (typically 30 minutes and at a slower rate) but quickly graduated to the "Advanced" workouts (60 minutes and at a faster rate.)
Since I was feeling particularly guilty about today I think I over-compensated by electing to jump straight into the Advanced workout. I did well for the first 20 minutes which consisted of a lot of punching and upper-body focus. But once we dropped to the floor to focus 20 minutes on the abs and butt I quickly realized I was in trouble. If you ever want to experience what it feels like to have a single butt cheek lock up in agonizing pain, treat yourself to a Tae Bo floor workout. I'm honestly not sure I'll be able to stand up from this chair at my desk now. Tomorrow morning (when the pain really sets in) should be great fun.
Just as a follow-up, my butt actually feels fine today. Apparently, the worst of the pain really was last night. My abs on the other hand are in absolute agony. And I thought I had them in reasonable shape already. I guess not.
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