The Good Kind of Sore

Last month I took my first "Spin and Tone" class twice a week at Aztlan. After three pregnancies (my final baby now 15 months old) I have no abs, unless you count belly fat hidden by loose fitting t-shirts. Technically I've reached my pre-pregnancy weight... so why are my favorite blue shorts still tight? As it turns out, pre-pregnancy SHAPE is an entirely different endeavor! While I'm not optimistic about certain body parts (like the ones that nursed three infants), I am determined to get in shape this summer and shed the final five pounds to my long-elusive goal. My simple motive: to energetically enjoy Colorado's beautiful hiking, biking, and camping with my family, and maybe even learn to snow board this year.

So I took the class. We rode spin bikes for 45 minutes in a guided workout of sprints and hills, standing runs and hovering climbs. Then we grabbed free weights, floor mats and fit balls for another 15 minutes of toning. Though a step up from biking my daughter to school every day, I could handle the spin section alright. The combination of Pilates, plyometrics and weight training, however, truly wore me out. I tried to take it easy the first night, but the next day I was unmistakeably sore - the good kind of sore.

I spent most of May feeling the good kind of sore. Though weight loss has been negligible, in just one month my energy and endurance are rising and the belly is beginning to shrink. I graduated from knee pushups to regular ones on my toes and I no longer roll off a bosu ball backwards. I even wore those blue shorts last week.

The best thing, though, has been to enjoy family bike rides more and more. On Mother's Day we rode the greenbelt trails north of our neighborhood, me pulling the two boys in a trailer and my recent kindergarten graduate chasing Daddy on her own bike. The next week Mama took the kids out alone. On Memorial Day we all rode the Poudre River Trail (photo) through the hot afternoon and to my amazement, I was hardly tired at the end.

I love these family excursions. My husband and I like to dream about the hiking and biking adventures we will have when the kids are all old enough to keep up. Yesterday I put training wheels on the three-year-old's black and yellow 12-inch garage sale bike. Soon there will be one less for me to pull behind!

This month my self-selected torture is 7 a.m. "Shreadmill" with a treadmill workout followed by circuit training. My first class was yesterday and I'm feeling sore yet again. The good kind of sore.