On Thursday night I went to a BodyPump class at my gym. I only vaguely remembered from two years ago that I needed an assortment of equipment for the class, but I couldn’t remember what exactly.
I nervously chatted up a few girls who were waiting for another class to vacate the group fitness room, and they agreed to help me out with my setup. It turned out that one of my former co-workers, Shahaf — whom I didn’t even know went to my gym — was setting up his equipment right next to me, so he helped me out! Sweet!
For BodyPump, you need:
– an aerobic step (just to lie down on, as far as I can tell)
– a mat (to place on top of the step)
– a barbell
– plates of various weights to put on the barbell
– thingies to secure the plates to the barbell
– free weights (optional; you can also just use loose plates)
As far as how BodyPump works, the Wikipedia page explains it far better than I can. There are 10 sections, called tracks, each set to its own music: warm-up, squats, chest, back, triceps, biceps, lunges, shoulders, abs/core, and cool-down/stretching.
Between each track, you adjust the amount of weight on your barbell to prepare for the next track. I had no clue how much weight to use at any point. Shahaf was so nice and would tell me stuff like, “Add more weight for squats,” “Use less weight for triceps,” etc.
It’ll take me a while to get the hang of the weight changes. The squats and lunges felt a little too easy (yay, strong legs!), but I used too much weight for chest and triceps and had to pause/skip reps because my arms felt like they were going to fall off.
BodyPump is definitely a great workout — I just stopped feeling sore TODAY — and it’s really fast-paced and fun, so I’m excited to continue going twice a week. Beast arms, be mine!
I ran three treadmill miles right after the class, which was… interesting?… but I endured it because I was able to watch “Say Yes to the Dress”! I got so excited to finally try on wedding dresses after being engaged for 13 months.
On Saturday, my mom, Aaron’s mom, and I had an awesome girls’ day visiting two bridal shops and having lunch.
I went into the first shop with a very definite vision of what I wanted, and left with a much more open mind! The first few dresses I tried on were gorgeous on the hangers, but very blah on me, so I started trying different styles.
Little by little, as I discovered what I liked and disliked about each dress, I carved out a new vision. The very-helpful and sweet sales girl picked out one last dress that fit the new criteria, and as soon as I walked out in it, I started crying… the moms started crying… and even two women who were there with another bride started crying!
It was the first dress I could really see myself getting married in. Whoa.
At the second shop, I had a much better idea of what looked good on me. It took only a few seconds to know when a dress didn’t work. And then… we found another one similar to the first tear-jerker dress, but different in some awesome ways! So now there’s another front-runner.
I also tried on some really gorgeous, over-the-top, but really not my style dresses. I wish I could share some fun pictures! But Aaron is firm on not wanting to see ANY photos of me in any wedding dress before the big day. Hrmph.
I got measured at each of the shops in case I decide to call and order either of the dresses I really liked, and I strangely wound up with totally different measurements — different from the ones I took of myself a few days ago, and from each other:
Shop #1:
– Bust: 33.5
– Waist: 27
– Hips: 39
Shop #2:
– Bust: 35
– Waist: 28
– Hips: 38
My measurements:
– Bust: 35
– Waist: 29
– Hips: 35.5
I understand why my own measurements would be wrong (eh-hem, no clue what I’m doing), but why would the measurements between shops be off by a full inch to an inch and a half each??
For my official record of progress, I’m gonna go with these measurements:
– Bust: 35
– Waist: 28
– Hips: 39
Just because.
Anyway, I have another bridal appointment next Saturday and two more the Saturday after that. I’ll either find another dress I love even more than the first two, or choose one of those two! Exciting stuff.
And definitely not as drama-filled as those crazy moms and daughters on “Say Yes to the Dress.” Yikes.
Dev on Running 