monthly challenges recap: february edition

Welcome to the second installment of the 2014 Monthly Challenges Recap!

Challenge 1: Barre fitness classes

The first challenge I took on in February was 5 sessions at Pure Barre Fitness. I had heard much about this fitness craze, based on the principles of ballet training, and how these 55 minute classes could truly transform your body.

I poked around their website a bit and found this piece of content (in their Q & A) particularly amusing:

Why does my body shake?

When your body shakes, it means your muscles are reaching the point of fatigue, which is a good thing! Your goal is to have the muscle group you are targeting during a specific section of class shake every time. 

source: someecards

“Your goal is to have the muscles shake every time” <– Mission accomplished.

These five classes were like taking 5 55-minute trips to hell. Seriously.

I didn’t know it was possible to get a migraine from exercising until I felt my head explode into a million bits of white-hot pain 10 minutes into one of these classes.

I wrote about my pure hell in Pure Barre experience in this post here. My lovely friends gleefully laughed at my pain in their comments. They’re sweet that way.

Challenge 2: Group Meditation

Long time readers know that I have frequently commented about how I “really want to try meditation”, both on my own blog as well as through comments on other blogs. In fact, I think in my Happy Birthday to me (47) post last October, I called it out as a must-do for my 47th year.

And nearly 6 months later I finally gave it a whirl. [In a group setting!]

Now this, mes amis, was a big, big deal for me.

source: someecards

These two sessions (totaling 4 hours) were confirmation that meditation is hard-ass work. Not Pure Barre hard. But totally hard in a different way.

Once I finally shut down the cacophony of voices in my head, I found myself drowning beneath the emotional weight of one particular exercise.

It left me emotionally drained, tears streaming down my cheeks, and utterly embarrassed. I wrote about it here.

This meditation thing is far outside my comfort zone, which is exactly why I need to continue to work on it.

And now for my favourite part of the Monthly Challenges recap post: 

Bad-Ass Round-up – February!

• Sam at Midsummer 365 Project for taking on a mountain. Sam had a very bad fall, off the side of a mountain, 2.5 years ago. The kind of fall that leaves physical and mental scars. She fought through severe mental blockers to take on a rock climbing wall in February. She will be back on the mountains in no time. Fierce!
• Laurel at Eat Less Sugar for her 3-day juice fast! She actually fell off the wagon on day 3, but her Herculean effort in days 1 & 2 is worthy of high praise! 😉
• Kathy over at Hiking to Healthy who gave up on one of her favourite things ever: Diet Coke. I’ve never been a fan of carbonated soft drinks, but I get that for many people they are a serious addiction. Big respect to Kathy for kicking this habit!
• Andra, the Accidental Cootchie Mama, for doing this to her feet because she continued her crazy training schedule of walking up to 15 miles per day for 2 or more days per week – in preparation for her 444 mile walk during the month of March. This woman is crazy in the most beautiful and inspirational way.
• Rachael at Mummy Flying Solo for completing a 3 week holistic detox eating plan. Three. Whole. Weeks. Rachael – that is some willpower and resolve, lady!
• Cynthia at The Goddess Weighs In for giving up her Diet Coke habit. Like Kathy above, Cynthia was hooked on these bubbles & caffeine – and I know it would have absolutely sucked to have gone through those withdrawals. Yay Cynthia for fighting through it!
• Linda at Expat Eye on Latvia who, although she’d rather be lifting a wine glass or beer stein to her parched lips, tapped into her inner athlete and tested out a baby stroller with moving arms. Don’t ask, just click through. I promise it will be entertaining. 🙂

I am so…SO…sorry if I have forgotten anyone. If I have, PLEASE leave me a comment with a link to the bad-ass I inadvertently left out. So not my intent. Way too many things rattling around in this wee brain o’ mine. Apologies!

Sam, Laurel, Kathy, Andra, Rachael, Cynthia and Linda – you are too bad-ass for words. Carry on, warriors!

Keep moving!

xoxo nancy

p.s. blogging schedule may be a bit off next week (again) as I’ll be traveling to NYC on business Monday to Thursday.