Thursday Thoughts: Fitness Edition

I can basically say that, until about 3 months ago, I had never exercised. 

I mean, sure, I've had a few short-lived relationships with a barre DVD or with my beach cruiser, but I have never actually participated in a regular exercise regimen. 

I'm sure you're wondering what spurred the sudden interest in fitness, and to be honest, I'm sitting here wondering the same thing, but here is the story of how my less-flabby-than-they-used-to-be-abs came to exist. 

I told you all a week or so ago that I started a new job back in January.  A job I love at my alma mater (Go Cougs!).  Well, come to find out, working for a higher education institution comes with some perks. Like really-super-cheap fitness classes (and free bus rides, but I'll save that for another post). 

Enter here: "CougarFit".  

Yes, it is called CougarFit. 
And no, it is not a class filled with older woman 
hoping to tone things up for the younger men in their lives.  

It is class filled with College of Charleston faculty and staff members getting their asses kicked by a ridiculously-awesome Exercise Science major. (Side note: CofC's mascot is Clyde the Cougar for all of those wondering what the hell the Cougar reference is all about.)

We meet three days a week for an hour and participate in HIT training. HIT is the exercise guru acronym for High Intensity Training.  According to the keeper of all knowledge, Wikipedia, "the fundamental principles of High Intensity Training (HIT) are that exercises should be brief, infrequent, and intense." If any of you crazies out there have ever experienced CrossFit (it should be noted that I have not experienced CrossFit), CougarFit is sort of the same idea, but way less hard (while still being really hard?). 

Over the course of three months I have strengthened muscles that I honestly didn't know I had, watched as the tiny lines that seem like they might insinuate the formation of abdominal muscles appear, planked for longer than any normal person should, and actually nurtured what I think might be a fondness for fitness. Weird, I know.  

The one thing I cannot say about this experience, is how much weight I have lost since March because, well, I don't own a scale.  Until now, I have never monitored my weight, and usually I only stepped on a scale once a year at the doctor's office, but now after noticing some small changes in my body, I can't help but wonder what the magic number is. I keep meaning to pick one up while I am at Target.  Maybe if I remember one day I can report back on my progress (then again maybe not that sounds a little embarrassing). 

xo,

SVH