Wednesday, November 18, 2009

The Yardstick

104 classes in 100 days.

Well after my big high yesterday, I managed not to come crashing down tonight. A lot of the gains I had on the postures last night stuck with me, which was great. Still going deeper in a lot of things. Tonight was class with Roberta. I haven't had her in a few months, and my practice is obviously a lot better since then. Still, I was a little worried, as I just remember her class being really hot.

It turns out I didn't feel too hot at all in her class. My heat tolerance is certainly higher now than two months ago. That didn't stop some other people from feeling it was hot. Two of them left the room, and only one returned! The funniest part of the class is that Roberta would often walk around the room with a yardstick (!) and poke and push people with it to improve their postures! I managed to avoid this for a while, but then she got me - twice. Once on Full Locust and then on Stretching. I've had teachers physically move me around a bit in postures before, but never with a prop.

Anyone have water suggestions for me? I've heard all kinds of suggestions, and I've tried various kinds of water, with electrolytes, etc. But I swear I can't tell the difference between any of them.

Greg

5 comments:

  1. I have never seen Roberta with a yardstick. Love it...that's kind of hot! She is so great. Water suggestions....hmmm.....here is what I do: I have to drink at least one and a half liters of at least plain water before class. In addition, I like to have one scoop of electrolytes in some form whether its emergency or something else, doesn't matter. That seems to keep the foot cramps away. (I am prone to those had them like crazy when I was pregnant with my daughter 15 years ago!)

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  2. Yardstick? That is hysterical. Hydrating: I always have a Zico 30 minutes before class (sometimes just a 20oz water) I always bring a 20 oz into class with me too. Sometimes I just have a sip and walk out with it still full, sometimes I drink the whole thing, which I really try not to do. Last night I didn't tighten the cap and during sit up...Ooops! There goes my water! As for brands I either buy O Water or Smart Water. Works for me.

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  3. The most important thing about water is that you have enough of it before class starts. The rule of thumb is you should have your weight/2 in ounces each day, and that doesn't take into account what you sweat out during class. If you are properly hydrated, you shouldn't ever NEED to drink water during class. Sometime, when you feel up to it, try a class without water. The differences can be pretty startling.

    As for electrolytes, in general, I think its better to get these from things that are closer to food. For example, eight ounces of yogurt has over 500 mg of potassium. The most you can get from any supplement is 99 mg, and the body tends not to absorb potassium from supplements.

    Also, I'm a big fan of Zico and tend to have one after each class. I also like to get smoothies made with real fruit. The vitamin waters won't do you any harm, but they are really expensive, and I'm not sure that they do all that much good either.

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  4. I just drink plain old water throughout the day. If I'm doing doubles, I'll drink a Zico between classes if I think I need it.

    My favorite part about a Roberta class is that she says, "stretch y stretch y stretch. More y more y more.". It's so cute.

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  5. A Yardstick? hahaha that's hilarious.

    As for drinks, I like a little bit of Smartwater during class (not too much) and sometimes I drink Zico before entering the torture chamber. I tried the other brands of coconut water ( Vita Coco and One) but I don't like them as much. My studio sells them for $3 a piece but I get them at Henry's ( 10 for $10). A great deal. Not sure if you have Henry's over there but I thought I would mention just in case.

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