Working Out With A Guru

The Dailey Method is a regular part of my workout routine – when I am being good about it   A challenging one-hour class, The Dailey Method combines exercises with lightweights, Pilates, ballet barre work and stretching. It works every muscle group in the body with an emphasis on your abs and stretching.

Yesterday I had an opportunity to take a class with Dailey Method creator, Jill Dailey. Since she is based on the West Coast slots in her few Chicago area classes were in demand and offered to teachers and The Dailey Method’s most devoted attendees first.  Despite my recently renewed emphasis on exercising, I’m not exactly the most loyal regular.

I secured this opportunity because I had won a drawing last summer to participate in a small workshop with Jill during her next visit to the Chicago area. I had practically forgotten about it when I received an email alerting me to her visit.  I was ultimately unable to attend due to a prior commitment, so Tami Conway the owner of the Bucktown studio offered me a reservation to a class as a consolation. As the date approached for this session, I upped my attendance at classes in order to prepare and not look like a fool!

The class was filled with teachers who are usually my instructors and incredibly fit Dailey Method followers. If that was not intimidating enough, several teachers observed and took notes during the session.  Everyone was keyed up to meet their personal exercise guru.

The good news is that I survived! There was only one truly humiliating moment: we were in “seated chair" position and Jill told me in a voice the whole class could hear that she’d slide off my lap if she was sitting on it.  Nonetheless, she was very approachable and provided incredibly clear direction that improved my technique. I didn’t even notice that class went over by fifteen minutes. I am usually counting the minutes until class is over. 

Despite my humiliation, I left incredibly motivated to continue my fitness routine. I will be ready for shorts weather if it ever warms up here in Chicago. 

The Latest Routine

I have to admit – I am a very fickle exerciser. I get into one routine exhaustively, and then ultimately get bored and need to switch it up. These phases usually last for a year or so and as the boredom sets in, I completely fall off the exercising bandwagon.  I usually have a mix of one or two things as part of my workout, yoga and running, spinning and running or Pilates.

For the past year I’ve been taking classes at The Dailey Method, a one-hour workout class created by Jill Dailey that combines exercises with light weights, Pilates, ballet barre work and stretching. I love that it works every muscle group in the body with an emphasis on your abs (my problem area) and stretching. (FYI … I am the least nimble person I know.)  The variety of activities in the class keeps me from getting bored.  I love it!  For now, at least..

The newest activity I’ve added to the mix is swimming -- something I haven’t done regularly for close to 10 years, but it’s been a favorite of mine since childhood. Like The Dailey Method, I love that it works the entire body and is a low impact exercise unlike running or tennis.

I hope that the combination of these two activities, with a bit of tennis with my husband Mike thrown in when the weather gets warmer, will help me get back in shape, lose weight and look leaner and meaner.  My biggest worry with this plan is that it does not incorporate a regular running routine, but Mike – an avid and obsessive runner – does enough running for both of us.

I have a love-hate relationship (mostly hate, to be honest) with running. When I really get into it, I enjoy it.  But most of the time, it’s just pure and unadulterated suffering. I do it because I know it burns a lot of calories. The last time I was high on  running was about five or six years ago. One of my biggest challenges overall is the tightness of my hamstrings and running does not help this.

Can I regain the dancer-esque flexibility I once had in high school and college, lose weight and look fabulous in time for summer without incorporating a major calorie blaster activity like running into my routine? Time will tell, and I’m sure I will be raving or complaining about the experiment here. 

My Personal Experiment

I have been working for nearly 19 years in public relations – at small firms, mid-size firms and for the past 11 plus years at a really really big firm!  I recently decided to drop out of the rat race, quit my job and focus on myself. I’m lucky enough to have a fantastic husband, Mike, who is supporting me in my adventuresome quest to find more balance, fun and eventually a job about which I can be just a little more passionate.

When I made this decision, I jotted down a list of goals I wanted to accomplish as part of this next chapter of my life. To keep myself honest, I’m chronicling my misadventures on this blog and sharing my list (which, of course, is always subject to change) here:

-          Focus on family and friends

-          Workout regularly and get back in shape

-          Cook more

-          Travel

-          Give back to the community

-          Garden

-          Join a golf or tennis league

-           Learn something new (I’m thinking about French or Italian. Any other thoughts?)

-          Check off a few items on our long, long, long list of home improvements

I have six days left at my job – not that I’m counting down or anything – and then the great experiment of reinventing Mia officially begins!