This is the last time I make New Year's resolutions!

I've been making New Year's resolutions for as long as I can remember.  As a kid, I did them because the adults told me so.  As an adult, I do them because of my childhood indoctrination.  Unfortunately, New Year's resolutions are just like Lent--unnecessary and pointless.




Before I offend anyone, I do understand the meaning behind Lent (I was raised Catholic after all) as well as why people make New Year's resolutions.  But for most people, I also think they don't validate anything more than a temporary fix that makes us believe we are bettering our lives.  Truthfully, we should be looking for ways to better ourselves on a daily basis, and accept that change is a journey and not a destination.

Ok, now that I have spewed that wonderful piece of philosophical bullshit, I must confess the reasons behind my rant.  You see, I'm struggling to maintain my #5 resolution, which involves sticking to my 4-6 week rotations.  For the life of me, I cannot stick to a rotation.  Only one week into my first rotation of 2011 and I am already desiring infidelity.  Yes, dammit, I want to cheat on my rotation!

Usually when I tire of a rotation, it's because I'm bored of the workouts.  This time though, it's not the workouts themselves, but rather a series of circumstances that are influencing me to look elsewhere.  Luckily, I have been able to assess why:

1.) My trapezius muscle.  As I mentioned in other blog posts, this is the 3rd time in 18 months that my trap has been bothering me.  There is no one single factor to blame as it is a combination of improper form during exercise, sedentary job, awkward movement and positioning of my body, inadequate back support while sleeping (I sleep on a futon), and lack of stretching.  Still, I also wonder if it is a sign that my body is telling me to seek other forms of exercise from the ones I currently do.

2.) Still haven't figured out an AM workout schedule.  I'm sure it isn't helping that I'm typing this at 4:23am  when I should be working on my zzzz's, but I still struggle to find a way to workout in the morning.  Again, there is no one factor to single out and it all comes down to a combination of living in a small space, inconsistent sleep schedule, and feeling more adequate in the PM when it comes to working out.  It's really important that I figure out a way to workout in the morning since I'm back in school and need to free up my evenings for other errands that are beckoning me.

3.) Being the noisy neighbor.  So I guess bitching about the residents in my building in my other blog came back to bite me in the ass.  Now I'm the resident asshole, apparently.  I received a complaint from my downstairs neighbor that my high impact antics are causing her grief.  Unlike the other people in my building, I'm at least willing to be accommodating.   I do own a set of shock absorbent puzzle mats which I can do modified versions of Turbo Fire and Insanity on, but that also means kissing Tracy Anderson dance cardio goodbye.  

4.) The cult of teeny tiny.  I say that lovingly as I am a big fan of the Tracy Anderson Method, but all this talk of results and teeny tiny bodies is driving me crazy.  What I mean is that while I have always been an avid supporter of cross training and diverse exercise regiments, I keep reading about the greatness that is doing the TAM exclusively.  From the fans boosting all over her Facebook page, to Gwyneth Paltrow mentioning the method every chance she gets and so on, I keep hearing and seeing all these wonderful transformations from the TAM.  As much as I want to do yoga, weight lifting, and kickboxing, I also want a hot body.  So sue me if I'm a little shallow!

5.) A new piece of fitness equipment coming my way.  I know this might be considered breaking my #1 resolution (again), but I just scored a sweet deal on a pair of Lebert Equalizers.  What are they?  The Lebert Equalizer is a piece of exercise equipment that can be used for body weight exercises, improving balance and stability, and used in stretching and muscle rehabilitation (see image below).  When I first laid eyes on it, I knew I had to have it.  For the past few months, I had been daydreaming about one day owning a home gym that greatly resembled a children's playground.  I know that seems borderline Michael Jackson creepy (RIP), but one thing I have noticed when it comes to my strength is that I excel greatly at body weight exercises when I have something supporting me and when I am able to perform movements that require a greater range of motion.  I also blame the Tracy Anderson influence since  her LA and NYC studios have more elaborate versions of exercise equipment that I truly want, but can't afford (see images of her studios below).  Although it is not much, the Lebert Equalizer will have to do for now.  And for the record, I'm not counting it as breaking my resolution since  a.) I got it at a fraction of its $100 value and b.) my resolution technically involves avoiding purchases of DVDs.

 I will include a gallery of images below, but in the meantime I wish all of you a good morning.  I imagine some of you are waking up or will be waking up soon to start the day off with some blood, sweat, and tears.  Cheers!


Photos:

               What my fantasy home gym would look like.  

I could think of so many things to do on that piece of equipment.

For now, I will have to settle for this.

I think it will still be fun...

...and I can be creative. ;)