Today was one of those days where I had to have a very stern talk with myself in order to get to my class. This was a late class – 6:30 pm, after my workday when I was completely spent. Perhaps if it were the middle of summer, I wouldn’t notice the timing so much, but it’s December in Michigan, and deep night sets in at about 5:30 pm. It was about the same time that I realized almost all of my clothes were in my mother’s car – enormous wardrobe snafu! We’d been doing laundry earlier that day and then she had driven to work. Yikes.
I’ll be honest. I almost gave up right then, closed my curtains, and curled up into a deep cocoon of blankets on the couch.
But there was a thought wiggling in the back of my brain that refused to be silent. I always feel better after Rokmil. My mood, my body – everything gets a boost. Isn’t that worth a little challenge?
I managed to scrounge together one last shirt, a pair of sweatpants, and a headband. I also got a spare towel, and my water. I fed the cat so he wouldn’t bug me and got my stool ready.
Day 3 of Rokmil: The Ab Crusher
I showed up 5 minutes before class and heard another newbie on the Zoom call. She was asking questions and Milton was giving her the rundown. It was so comforting to hear. Taking the class remotely, it’s easy to forget that there are real people on the other side of the screen, working out with you.
Here’s the thing I remembered that I like about the class in that moment. I do feel like I could ask questions. Like there is a caring person on the other side. For me, that’s huge.
Today, I wore my Fitbit watch. I was curious to see if I would find tangible results at the end of the session (spoiler alert: I did!).
Let’s get it going.
Now that I am a little more familiar with the workout, I can really listen to what Milton is saying. I notice something that had gone over my head in the previous two workouts. Yes, he calls out the body parts you need to focus on. But he is also calling out names – fun names! – of the moves.
The Wolverine. The Pedestrian. The Superhero.
I laugh as I think about these names. They are so spot on. The rightness of the names cracks me up.
The Wolverine
This is a stretch. In a standing position, we spread our legs wide. We bend at the waist, and then stretch towards one foot and then the other.
Have you ever seen a wolverine? They are funny little creatures. Kind of look like bears, with a sinuous core that they can extend, and stretch as they prep to run, prep to fight.
The Pedestrian
Sitting on the Rok (or a faux-Rok, aka stool if that’s what you have – like me) you pedal your legs back and forth. You twist at the waist. If you were standing, these moves would set you walking. Walking like you’ve got business to take care of in Manhattan.
People really walk like they mean it in New York. Visiting the city, I was always impressed by the determined stride of people passing me on the street.
The Superhero
From the Pedestrian, lean forward to the right and extend your arm as if you’re about to take off, like OG superman. Then lean to the left, nearly taking off your stool in that direction. Bend your leg at the knees and shift one leg back as you lean to each side, forward as you switch.
There is something so great about aligning your body with OG Superman. I love how he takes off the ground as if his body is full of as much energy as a rocket.
Thank goodness I know some of the names because my video freezes a few times. But I can still hear Milton calling out moves. I keep up until my video stutters back on.
Today, my real work moment is at the end of class. I want to give up on the last set – an abs workout. But I see people in the class struggle. They look at each other, sigh, snatch their hips off the ground and raise their legs. So I do too. I feel some abs I can’t identify – lower-middle? – crunch into action. Small, mango-sized, they pull me up. I yelp in surprise. I keep going.
I got a lot of work on them, and whatever is behind my love handles. And the flabby middle muscles under my arms. All this from a reverse tabletop where we kicked the right leg and tapped it with the left hand and then switched. Seeing the class persevere puts a fire under me. I fight through to the end.
Rokmil results logged into Fitbit
I checked my Fitbit stats after the workout. During the week of December 6-12, my average step count was 5,219 a day. But on Wednesday, my count was 8,274 steps! My daily calorie burn average was 2,223. Wednesday’s was 2,469 Calories. A solid 246 calories above average!
Keep in mind this is not even an hour’s workout.
I like these numbers a lot. I take comfort in them. When losing weight and getting in shape feels like something that is far outside of my control, the basic mathematics comforts me. There are concrete actions I can take to make changes.
What these numbers tell me is that I am getting a lot out of every minute of Rokmil. Like, real numerical value. One day soon I might be brave enough to tackle that number. The one that I like to pretend doesn’t exist except in a very small font on my license. But enough about it. These numbers look good. Encouraging even! I’m going to keep track of them in the future.