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I have been bodybuilding (a.k.a. lifting weights!) since August 1991. I have gone through several stages, from beginner to gym rat to responsible lifter. (At least I think I'm responsible!)

I have worked out at lots of places, including Club Sport, but I am now happily settled in at 24 Hour Fitness. Club Sport was just a little too posh for me. The matching spandex just got to me after awhile. Now I'm happily working out at 24 Hour Fitness. Basically, I try to get to the gym three or three times a week. Usually we only make it three times, but if we manage to hit four, we'll usually toss in a cardio workout.

Lifting workout I have followed many different training regimens, depending how much time I have wanted to spend in the gym. I follow my current program three times a week and do 3 sets of 10 reps on all items unless otherwise indicated.
Push Bench press Incline bench or Incline dumbbell flyes Assisted dips Situps: 3x30 reps or Hip Raises: 3x15 reps	Pull Lat Pulldowns Seated rows Dumbbell pullovers Dumbbell rows Upright rows Standing barbell curls or Hammer curls or Arm curls Hypers: 3x15 reps
Legs Smith machine squats Leg Curls Stiff-Legged Dead Lifts Standing calf raises or Seated calf raises or Donkey calf raises
We also try to do cardio, but it's pretty much catch as catch can. If we have a day we don't lift, we'll go in and do 20 minutes on the treadmill or stationary bike.

As per my usual approach to things, I was very nervous and tense when I first started blading in April of 1995. In fact, I took a very nasty fall and didn't really like blading at all. However, my then fiance now husband, Don, and close friend, Sean, were going to go blading, and gosh, darnit, if I wasn't going to go, too!

It's the unwillingness to be left out of anything that has led to my acquiring a variety of sports hitherto foreign to me "BD" (that is, Before Don) and hitherto somewhat frightening. The exciting thing is that as time has passed I find that I'm more and more willing to try new things, and I'm very pleased with that.

But back to blading. I bought myself a pair of Rollerblade Bravoblade GLX (picture at right) inline skates, and off I went. For nearly a month, I bladed because I had to. It was me versus the blades. But somehow, after the month had passed, I had grown to love going out on the nearby Ironhorse trail for the 15 mile trek.

Unfortunately, the city decided to seal some cracks in the Ironhorse trail, and they used a sealing agent which becomes very tacky when it gets hot. Doesn't hurt the joggers or bikers, but a rolling blade prefers to stop rolling when it hits that sealer, so I'm not sure we're going to be able to blade there anymore. It's really annoying, too, since that's the perfect site.

When I first got onto the SeaDoo (there's a picture at left of the one Don's parents bought), as a passenger, I was pretty nervous, and since I had no experience riding a motorcycle or similar vehicle, I went with my body's intuition, and refused to lean into the turn. I can't even count the number of times I got thrown off. I was happy that the water was pretty soft! Finally, I got tired of getting dunked, and decided that I was going to overrule my fear and lean into the turn. Voila! Worked like a charm. I took the controls and started driving like a maniac. And now I really enjoy it.

Now I do all kinds of fun spins on the thing, and I also enjoy riding with Don when he's doing his tricks. Sometimes I wear a wetsuit since I don't like to get cold.

One of my fondest memories of a SeaDoo jaunt was zooming around Lake Shasta with Don to find a place where we could wash our hair. We found a nice, secluded cove and used the SeaDoo as a "base of operations" as we washed our hair and swam around awhile. Quite nice.

I found the one sport at which I'm a "natural" -- because I tend to freeze into the perfect downhill skiing position when I'm scared! Actually, I did catch on rather quickly, and I'm ready to take a lesson the next time we go. In December '96, Don and I went up to Bend, Oregon, to visit his folks, and we went to Mt. Bachelor while we were there. We only got to ski one day since the weather was pretty bad, but it ended up being a great day. I had forgotten a lot since I hadn't been for a year, so I started the day making some wedge turns and ended the day making some parallel turns! Don was impressed with how much I improved in one day.

We went to Northstar, which is a California ski resort in Feb. '97. It was pretty neat -- good beginner's skiing, and I enjoyed skiing without the thrill of terror. Because we went during the week, the slopes were pretty empty, which was quite a switch from the last time we went there. I had to ski conservatively since I've had some trouble with my left knee, but I thought I seemed quite the little skier.

And I've got the clothes now. I bought a nice sage green snow suit, with touches of dark green trim. To go with that, I have dark green goggles, black gloves, and a purple hat! Hmm. It actually looks better than it sounds. Trust me.

I'm skiing okay on normal doubles now -- don't need the jumpers anymore. I suppose some day I'll switch over to a single, but I'm having fun with the doubles, and we ski so rarely that I don't feel motivated to move on yet.

I have been doing yoga on and off since 1987. I do Hatha yoga, and I usually do Iyengar style. I use the Yoga Journal's Yoga Practice videos, which are pretty good. I'm not really into the philosophy of yoga, but I do like the physical regimen. Having several videos from which to choose helps keep me from getting bored.

I haven't been doing yoga lately, since I've been working out at the gym, but I am thinking of picking it up again after our adopted baby arrives and starts to sleep through the night. I figure it will be easier to get to that then to head off to the gym.

What are you still doing here? You should go to Don's Fitness page!

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