Oh, Pilates..

how I loathe you.

Seriously. I know it's not supposed to be easy. But, in the words of my deceased grandmother - HOLY MACKERAL!

I went to the gym yesterday and did the elliptical, in my quest to get back into shape. So, instead of going again today, I thought I'd do some Pilates On Demand. It was 20 minutes - how hard could it be?

First, let me tell you, I used to be in exceptional shape. I was fairly athletic and was a gymnast growing up. So, I have a decent set of "base" muscles. I have no idea if that's actually true but it sounds good, doesn't it? Until I had my son, my body would easily bounce back into an OK shape if I worked at it a little. For lack of any other ideas, I always thought it was because of my gymnastics background.

I digress. Pilates is evil. At least, when I have no tone in my abs to speak of. I know I will be feeling this tomorrow.

There is an upside, though. I found a pretty neat little ab exercise that I would never do anywhere but the privacy of my own living room. But, I will share with the interwebz. Here goes:

Lie on your back on the floor.
Raise your feet straight up so you look like an "L".
Now, shimmy your hips back and forth, keeping your hips on the floor.

I know, you are laughing. I was too. But, that was quite the burn I felt in my core. So, if nothing else, I have a little move to do for my abs other than the basic crunches.

So, will I ever attempt Pilates again? Maybe. I'm not ruling it out. I may just give myself a little time and opportunity to tone up a little and lose a little belly flab. Maybe that will make it more bearable.