Pulling Up By My Bootstraps

A couple of months ago I joined a group at the YMCA to workout. We meet twice a week with a personal trainer and coordinate other work outs between us. The accountability has been good. And it has been challenging for me to try new activities - water aerobics and zumba were not on my list of ways to exercise (I thought running was exercise, but hey, I haven't been running! So I need to experiment.), but I tried them and learned that I don't like water aerobics, but I like zumba. I LOVE yoga and the other women in my group don't. I've really increased my weight training and have learned a lot about how to use different pieces of equipment at the gym that intimidated me not to mention areas of the gym that intimidate me. Like the free weight room. That room is full of men grunting and lifting stuff over their heads and slamming weights and I seriously have never even stuck my head in the room (I just hear the grunts and slams from the hallway). But my trainer really likes the free weight machines and she leads us in there and shows us which ones she likes and how to use them and we move stuff around and do what we want and I feel comfortable in a group.

One of my goals is to surf, and to surf I need to increase my upper body strength. (My assistant asked, "Aren't you afraid of sharks?" and I said, "I am more afraid of getting out into the ocean on a surf board and not being able to push up into the right position quick enough.") One of my mini goals is to do a pull up.

Ah, the elusive pull up. Girls can't do them, right? Except that they can. It just takes a lot of work.

Yesterday my trainer showed me how to use the assisted pull up machine. You climb a little ladder and stand on weight that sinks down slowly and then you can pull yourself up. Even I can do it. I can keep reducing the weight assistance and eventually I will be able to do a pull up on my own. This is unbelievable and yet conceivable to me. I felt excited and buoyant after my three sets of pull ups. And the boys are too macho to use the assisted pull up machine so I have it all to myself and don't have to worry about being in anyone's way. In fact, get out of MY way. I'm doing pull ups.