Bikram Day 4 & 5

I, yet again because I'm LOVING it, performed Bikram on the 28th and 30th. Each class is getting better and better. My flexibility is going way up at a fast rate and my back hasn't felt this good in over 2 years. I'm very glad I started this.

On the 30th I performed Bikram at 12pm and then also performed my first Kettlebell workout since the 18th. I wanted to take some time off to let my body heal.

When I arrived at my Bikram class I thought it would be good to get acclimated to the heat about 10 minutes before class as well as pre-stretch.

My instructor was very punctual, but she decided to do something that no other instructor has done in any prior class I've taken. She put a towel along the base of the door which prevented all cool refreshing draft to enter- not that I felt it anyway, but mentally I knew it had to be circulating somewhere. :)

This was my wife's first class as well and I silently laughed when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw her take a few breaks throughout the class. I guess my silent laughter turned to extreme true understanding of self when I had to taken one(my first ever) around the Turtle pose. The compression and body position left me unable to breathe right for some reason. I normally don't do this, but at that time I had to look at the clock in the room(which is very, very small). I saw that there was only about 20 min. left in the class and there was NO WAY I was gonna quit or take another break.

I must have drank some water after each pose before Savasana. Physically I knew that my body desperately wanted to get up and head for the door. Mentally I decided that that was never going to happen and that if I passed out they would have to drag me out that door. I was finishing no matter what.

I did.

But instead of lying in Savasana for about 3-5min. after the class as usual I was one of the first to get up and out. I wasn't alone though because most everyone else was trailing right behind me saying that this was one of the hottest classes they've ever taken. I looked at the temp and it was 107 with almost 30% humidity. That's funny because the outdoor Arizona summer temp was almost the same- less the humidity- but it felt soooooooo good with the breeze.

Needless to say that after about 5 or so minutes I began to experience that usual Bikram great feeling afterward.

Later in the day I decided to work on some Kettlebell swings to get my rhythm back.
This workout felt strong, but winded me more than it normally would since it was my first one back. Even so I didn't take any breaks until the very last rep range going from 20 to 10. I literally set the bell down for 3 seconds to regroup and then blast off the finish.

Swing It Back

Warm-up:
Two Arm Swings-
16kg x20

Workout:
One Arm Swings-
16 kg x10/10 x2 sets

20 kg x5/5

24 kg
x8/8
10/10
12/12
14/14
16/16
18/18
20/20
10/10


All in all it was a very good past week. I feel strong and will be working very hard to prepare for my International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation certification on the 19th & 20th of July. After that I think I'm gonna continue working on what I learned for a week or so and then take a 30 day Bikram Challenge. This is where I take 1 Bikram yoga class a day for 30 days. I look forward to it and cannot wait to see what new challenges I can succeed at fitness wise.