Feel the Burn(out)

The last few weeks have been utterly exhausting.  This week especially so!

Physically demanding

Today was my 19th consecutive day doing Zumba.  The last day I didn't work out was October 30th.  In those 19 days I've taught/co-taught/participated in 25 classes.  That's over 25 hours (there were a few 75 minute classes tucked in there) of cardio in the last 19 days.

Tomorrow I have my normal Saturday morning class and then a master class and Jam session.  That's 5 hours of Zumba tomorrow.  Then class on Sunday and Monday (both of which I'm teaching solo) and then two classes on Tuesday and then I have a 4 day break.  FINALLY. 

My body is in agony and some of it is not so delicious anymore. My calves are rock hard and achy all the time. Oh and my shoulders, chest, and abs hate me right now.

At the same time - that hour or more of Zumba has been my solace on more than a few days with everything else that's going on.

Mentally taxing


This week I've been involved in multiple meetings that were very in-depth and required me to push my problem solving skills. The follow up work from the meetings have been piling up and piling up and it has been a big weight on my shoulders. 

Today was the first time this week I was in my own office for an entire day this week.  I spent half of it just following up on emails.  I still have phone calls to return on Monday and more meetings to schedule.  So much stuff!

I'm grateful that I have the flexibility to bring work home and work on my own schedule.  If that weren't the case I'd be at the office every night till 7 or 8 for the next week or so getting everything back in order.  Maybe it'll all fall in to place quickly but there's a lot to do.

Emotionally draining

It hasn't been a particularly good time to be working in the financial industry.  Fears about lay offs, staffing issues with temp labor, all scary stuff.  It's been scary and I know I've been hiding in Zumba and sweating out my stress but my brain is constantly going round and round with all the worst case scenarios.

Plus it's also a weird time of year for me.  I tend to have a hard time adjusting to the shorter days to begin with but it's been especially rough this year.  I've had to start taking more B and D vitamins to help try to keep me even. Even with my anti-depressants and my exercise plan and my normal vitamin regimen I've been overly anxious because of all the other stress.  It's just... draining.

I can honestly say that things are okay now but I am totally, absolutely, 100% ready for a break.  A good, solid, break.  I am going to lounge, read books and watch movies as much as possible Wednesday night, Thursday and all day Saturday and Sunday.  I wish I had snagged the day off on Friday but at least I know it'll be a semi-quiet day and a good chance to catch up on whatever work I'm behind on in peace and quiet. 

On the weight loss front I actually showed several days of weigh ins under 330 pounds in the last 2 weeks.  I'm going to be doing my official weigh in and measurements on the 21st.  We'll see if the scale is nice to me then!

Zumba therapy and a simply dreadful day.

That's how I would classify my day.  Simply Dreadful.

A vague idea of how my day went can be found in this fantastic children's book.

My day started out okay for once.  I woke up early and got my shower.  I was on track to leave for work early.  I was ready to take on the world.  And then I got to the office. 

Computer issues.  Staffing issues. A staff meeting I forgot all about.  The staff meeting was less than happy. A sad afternoon. A very slow end to the day and nothing wanted to go my way.

If it weren't for Zumba I don't think I would have survived the day.  I just kept plugging on knowing that I was that much closer to turning my mind off and getting my shimmy on.

When I made the playlist I went hard core.  High intensity and leg intensive.  I wanted to sweat and I wanted to sweat HARD.

Not a great example of the of 70% Latin/International to 30% other split that we aim for but we can't be perfect all the time.

I wanted a fun, exciting, workout that would make me feel rubbery in the knees and this was it.  And the students loved it! It's kind of nice to step out of the box and do a set that tossed the rules out and just flowed.

We're working on some new songs with the core rhythms that will bring some life back to that side of things as we start rotating them in.  This week I'm adding a Japanese pop song and a new reggeaton.  Then I have a new cumbia, merengue and a cha cha to fold in! I've been a busy girl!

When I got to class and got my booty bling on and got in front of that class my brain flipped its switch and I was in a very good place! The music thumped and I bounced and I cheered and I got chatty with the ladies and gents in class.  It felt good.

I focused on my body.  My legs felt tight when I started and they woke up and warmed up and I started to moving more freely. I felt the tension in my back start to relax. I let the music free me and I felt better.

I pushed my body to the limits.  My quads and hamstrings and calves were killing me.  They ached and felt weak and I willed them to keep going.  My shoulder muscles and my abs got sore and tired and I felt the strain of holding good form.

I felt all the grossness of the day seeping out of me as I felt my body being drenched in sweat.

I felt like I exorcised the bad day away while I exercised my mind.

I left class laughing and smiling and joking with my students and my co-instructor.

I know I have to face the fallout from today when I go in to the office tomorrow but I know as long as I have a place to go and turn off my brain and give my body the release it needs that I'm going to be okay.  I'll even be good! Maybe even AWESOME.  I just need to take it one day and one class at a time.