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lack·a·dai·si·cal

adjective \ˌla-kə-ˈdā-zi-kəl\

Definition of LACKADAISICAL

 : lacking life, spirit, or zest : languid

— lack·a·dai·si·cal·ly adverb

See lackadaisical defined for English-language learners »

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Examples of LACKADAISICAL

1. His teachers did not approve of his lackadaisical approach to homework.
2. <feeling particularly lackadaisical in the summer heat, they lazily tossed a ball back and forth>

Weigh-In Wednesday #12

Can it be?  Are we already here?  Have I been postponing this last TC Health Challenge unofficial Wednesday Weigh-in blog post because I don't want this magical time to end?

Maybe...

Definitely.

Like leaving the swimming pool when I was 7...just 10 more minutes, puhleeeeze!!!  I promise to be good.  I'll clean my room, I'll empty the dishwasher...I'll do my homework! 

And I have been doing my homework, nothing like writing down your goals to hold you accountable...Christie was right.  I may have tripled up on my workouts too...mornings consisted of elliptical or treadmill then aerobics, at noon there was sp!nn!ng with Teresa, and I would return to the gym again in the evening with Stéphane, not to mention my nijnja workouts with Jonathan and yoga with Taryn.  I am officially a gym rat.

Was it worth it?

Yes...almost.

Starting weight:  292.1
1st weigh-in:  286.8
2nd weigh-in:  280.1
3rd weigh-in:  276.4
4th weigh-in:  274.1
5th weigh-in:  270.6
6th weigh-in:  266.2
7th weigh-in:  262
8th weigh-in:  261.4
9th weigh-in:  257.7
10th weigh-in 251.4

11th weigh-in 247.3

12th weigh-in 243.6

One more frigggin' pound and I would have been able to round up to 50 pounds lost.  Ugh...48.5 pounds...if only there was another official, weigh-in.  Haha...oh, wait, there is...tomorrow.

"You spin me right round...like a record, baby!"

Today (and by today, I mean Monday, April 1st, when I actually started writing this post), I celebrate a return to routine and regular blogging.

It has been a while since Weigh-In Wednesday # 9...but I have been busy, busy, busy.  On Thursday, March 21st, my Montréal bestie Del came for a visit.  So rather than be anti-social and write into the void, I hung out with her instead.   

I must say, I'm more disciplined than I thought.  

Not only did I get in a 2 hour workout before we went to the airport to pick her up, but I managed to drag both her and my lazy bones to the gym the next morning for a cardio machine/aerobics class/cardio machine sandwich combo to which my super bendy yoga-going friend was not accustomed.  1/2 an hour on the elliptical, an hour of aerobics, and then 1/2 an hour on the treadmill...no big deal, for me...kinda big deal for Del, but she soldiered on!  Here's something I didn't expect, I am pretty good at keeping a straight face when I screw up a combination in Manda's class when I'm alone, but I burst into uncontrollable laughter when I see my best friend making up steps and looking back at me.  I usually utter some sort of disclaimer to those around me when I attempt the dancy classes, but we should have been placed into a soundproof room.  Haha... 

I should have remembered to suck in my neck..haha...

Good friends will come visit you, great friends will attempt massive amounts of cardio with you...except if you decide to attempt a sp!n class.

No doubt you are aware of Del's first indoor cycling experience - Sit 'N' Spin - so you can imagine my excitement when both she and my mother said they'd come and try "weaving" with me.  Monday morning started off similarly to Friday morning, mandatory elliptical, then aerobics, back onto the elliptical for a bit more...and then hop off, join Del on the bleachers for a bite to eat...at which point she breaks the bad news.  She will not be attending the class with me.  Then I get a text from my mother saying that she's punking out as well.  Really?  How bad is this  sp!nn!ng?  Haha...I mean, I've ridden a bike before, I should be fine, right? 

There is this complete knockout that always sneaks into the back of Manda's aerobics classes, and after one such class, I spoke with her:

"I want to be you when I grow up."  I told her.

This woman is gorgeous.  She has a rock solid bod, fantastic hair, wonderful freckles, and if she's at the Crystal...then, no doubt, you can hear her laughter...and to top it all off...she's really, really nice!  Turns out Teresa teaches  indoor cycling.  Of course she does.  She gave me a two-week pass to Quadra Sports & Fitness so I could give it a try...and she gave me 3 other passes too so that Del, Stéphane, and Barbara could do the same.  Yet, I am the only trooper apparently.

Monday, March 25th, 2013 - my first class with Teresa @ Quadra Sports & Fitness - the ninja has already warned me that the seats are small and hard, the classes are tough, and that I should probably do half of what she tells us to do...just to get used to it.  Trepidation?  Sure.  Del, also reminds me that the clock will not advance and that it'll feel like I'm going to die.  Nice.  So, I choose my bike with a due sense of exhaustion and dread.  Teresa makes the necessary adjustments, and I hop on...and think, wow, this really is a hard and tiny bike seat.  There are so many fans set up in the racquetball court in which the class takes place, but I am at the edge of them...so I will sweat.  WHAT AN UNDERSTATEMENT.

Sitting up on the seat, we do some arm, shoulder, wrist stretches while our legs fly around at uncontrollable speeds...or perhaps that's just me.  Tension set at 65%, so pretty much...none...and then we are meant to slip one foot out of the straps and place it on the centre bar.  Um...what?  Haven't we all had that super scary kid-injury that involves a pedal hitting a shin at a truly unsafe velocity?  I think it's usually on one of those red and white tricycles as the pedals are attached directly to the front wheel and when you're flying down Roslyn Avenue...anyway, that's all I can think about.  But, I do it...warming up one leg and then the other.  And then we're off...or we would be if the bikes had two wheels and weren't stationary.

This is what you need to know about indoor cycling classes, it's fast and furious and fun.  Once you get over the fact that all of your weight at times will be on the ball of one foot, and if you don't lower your seat enough it will constantly poke you in the arse (lesson learned)...it's really quite enjoyable...and you sweat A LOT.  Warm-up consists of lower tension sprints, hill climbs, and circuits that include push-ups, hover, hover sits, only the leg on the left, only the leg on the right, stand-up, sit down, fight!  Fight!  Fight!  The tension moves from 65% which takes very little effort to 95% which is like pushing through wet cement.  It's constantly changing...as is the routine.  Pull up, push down, pull up, push down...breath in through your nose, out through your mouth, in through your nose, out through your mouth.  Thank gods our feet are strapped in securely, unfortunately, I have no feeling in them at this point.  "Weaving" is part strength and part speed...all endurance...and then it's over.  

I honestly couldn't believe how the time flew...but then again, it was new and exciting and Teresa does a good job with the encouragement.  Of course, she IS at the front of the class going through everything that we are going through...does that mean that if I continue sp!nn!ng, I get to look like her?  Gah!  I hope so.  That's motivation enough. 

Also...FYI....from an email I received from Rhona Attwater, Executive Assistant to John R. Baudhuin, CEO

Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc.
2111 Narcissus Ct., Venice, CA 9029 Phone: 310.740.8834
Fax: 310.823.7408

E-mail: rattwater@maddogg.com www.maddogg.com

Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc. are the creators and exclusive owner of all rights to the popular physical fitness programs branded under our federally registered SPIN® and SPINNING® marks, among others, for indoor cycling and products and services related thereto.   The founders of our company, Johnny Goldberg and John Baudhuin coined the terms SPIN® and SPINNING® for indoor cycling in 1992, approximately 20 years ago, in Santa Monica, California, and grew the brand into a worldwide phenomenon.  We currently have over 200,000 licensed SPINNING® instructors in over 35,000 fitness facilities in 80 countries.  The generic term that should be used is “indoor cycling” and not Spin® or  Spinning®.   Our Spin® and Spinning® trademarks are not the generics term for indoor cycling.
Now, we all know what to call "weaving."

Sit 'n' Spin

Del and Suzie - Voodoo Museum - New Orleans, LA

I got this email from one of my besties, Del, who has lost about 50 pounds in the last few years by combining a healthy diet with walking and yoga, see "The oracle Delfine speaks.."  She has been an incredible support system for me throughout the years that I have known her, and even though she is clear across the country in la belle ville, she continues to egg me on in my quest for fitness.  So, when Lil' Miss Yoga told me she might try a class or two before coming out west for a visit, I expected something like aquafit or pilates.  Del went to a spin class on her lunch break.  For someone with a degree in Public Relations, you'd think she'd be more used to "spin."  Haha...

I just came back from spinning and…my ass is killing me! Those seats feel like they’re made out of concrete!

Five minutes into the class, I was staring at the clock praying that it would move forward a little faster (it did not!) but I persevered and made it through the class.

Here are two observations:

Observation no. 1:

I don’t like cardio! Let me correct this statement: I don’t like cardio when I’m huffing and puffing but I love the high you get once you’re done. I also like the fact that even though you feel like you’re going to die, if you tell yourself “Just another 5 minutes”, you suddenly realize that you made it through the entire class and you’re kind of super proud of yourself for toughing it out. ‘Cause honestly, I was ready to quit 6 minutes into the 45 minute class.

Observation no. 2:

This yelling at you to motivate you just really annoys me! I think that’s mostly because of the yoga thing! Trust me, there is no yelling in yoga and you still manage to push the hell out of yourself. In the spinning-teacher’s defense, her music was really loud (fun!) so I guess she didn’t have a choice but to yell.

All this to say, you inspired and I perspired!

I have no idea how I inspired this sort of bicycular torture, but I'm thrilled that Del discovered the ridiculous after-cardio high that you get from endorphins, and the sense of accomplishment that you experience when you finish something that you didn't want to do in the first place.  And, after all, she had better get accustomed to cardio if she's going to come to Victoria and stay with me.  I'm not sure if we'll be spinning together in the near future, but if that concrete bike seat wants anywhere near my ass, it had better buy me dinner first.