This past saturday I decided I needed to add exercise to my routine because I am plateauing and that just ain’t cool. The problem with exercising (well, one of many!) is finding something interesting and fun that keeps you at a decently active level – and above all, it must be affordable! Well…I found a great activity. 😀
Swordfighting! Yeah, you heard me. lol. 😛 Way way way back a friend of mine was part of organizing a silent auction, she got companies to donate various things for people to bid on. One of the things she got was a swordfighting package, it is 8 classes, tuesday and thursdays from 5p-6:30p and it started today. I have had this gift certificate for ages but the session starts on the first Saturday, Monday and Tuesday of every month and I always seemed to remember about the gift certificate right after all those days pass. I am brilliant like that! lol. Anyway, I somehow managed to remember this month so I signed up and started tonight after work.
this is a rapier sword 🙂
Since it’s the first class it started off pretty simple, learning the proper way to hold the rapier, how to respect the sword and blah blah blah. lol. I make it out to be boring but it wasn’t, we learned a brief history of this particular sword and some of the basic rules. Then came the really fun part – using the sword! wahahahahaha. 😀 We lunged, thrusted (and doesn’t that just sound dirty teehee), retreated…all kinds of moves. I think I will for sure have to practice before class thursday cause there are so many specific ways to move and thrust (there’s that word again :P).
I will be learning other swords too, I guess there are specifc ways to handle all the different kinds? I think I am learning 3 different ones…but don’t quote me on that!
I wasn’t sure what kind of exercise it would be, ya know, if it’d be worth any decent calories burnt but it got me sweaty so yah! and ick! I counted it as moderate intensity since it started off a little slow then built to fairly moderate for most of the class then ended with stretches…which, fyi, have done little for me cause oh man do my muscles hurt! Not even the ones I was expecting either!
I thought for sure my arms will be hurting cause, duh, holding a sword up for a long time and I have little to no upper body strength but also my legs, butt, lower back and abs…oh, and calves. They are all feeling the burn, wowza. Who’d of thunk it? I probably should stretch some more but I don’t really feel like it right now and I know I will regret that tomorrow but oh well, can’t worry about tomorrow until it is today. 🙂
So here is what I ate today:
2 weetabix = 2 points
1 peach = 1 point
1/2 cup 1% milk = 1 point
1 cup Tomato and Red Pepper soup = 2 points
mixed raw veggies = 0 points
1 piece of toast = 1 point
2 triangles light laughing cow cheese = 1 point
1 cup blackberries = 1 point
1 Eating Right hamburger patty = 4 points
85 grams Alexia Yam Fries = 3 points
mixed veggies = 0 points
1 cheese slice = 1 point
2 Hershey’s Oh Henry Cookies = 3 points
So, I am sitting at 20 points and I definitly have to find something to eat to use those last two points since I earned 5 exercise points. Yah! 😀
You should have seen me making dinner, lol, I was hungry cause I didn’t get to eat till almost 8pm so I was making a mess in the kitchen trying to come up with something that would be high in points since up to that point I had only used 8 points, yeah that’s right, 8 points! I have no idea how I managed that, eesh. I was going to do pasta cause what’s higher in points in my kitchen then that right now but I knew I needed some protein since all I had had up to that point was a tiny bit in the cheese I had a lunch, lame! (and wow, I just used the word “point” a lot!) So burger it was…it’s not really the same without the bun but hey, these are the sacrifices that get made along the way. lol 😛 The yam fries were really good though even if I did burn them a tad. Oops!
Hopefully going to these swordfighting classes will help start me on a active path…I’ll hafta wait and see I guess. I was going to exercise every two days but for the duration of the classes I will exercise every tues and thurs (duh) and 2 more times somewhere in the week…seems fair don’t ya think? I mean, I don’t want to over do it when I am just starting so none of this everyday crap but 4 times a week seems a fair sacrifice. I would do only 3 times a week since I always hear that as a minimum amount to exercise every week but who wants to do just the minimun? Not me! What’s the point in that?
The Amazing Shrinking Woman 