Thursday, April 09, 2009

I Second That Emotion

Yesterday's Sports Rehab:

Squat matrix with less reps but heavier weights, upside down Bosu ball squats and lunges with weights (hard!), several plyo exercises, hamstring curls with the stability ball.

B mentioned that I've come a long way since day one at rehab. He said we could take the workouts to a different level now, and he could start coaching me with running, if that's what I wanted. Then he asked me about what my long term goals were, as far as distances and speed. I mentioned concentrating on the half marathon distance and he seemed to think I could easily get to the point of a sub 2 hour half marathon, based on the progress I'm making now. I was kind of surprised to hear that he wanted to coach me. In most situations they assess if a person has gone as far as they can with rehab, sort of like they did with me at Kaiser, but they usually release you and suggest that you can come back at any time, but it usually means you're done. I guess B thinks I can go beyond rehab and offered to coach me. Wow. This conversation made my day. It was a boost to my ego, for sure!

Other Stuff:

We all know about vanity sizing. A size 10 in 1969 is a size 2 in 2009. I didn't realize vanity sizing was also happening in children's clothing, particularly in girl's sizes. Sometimes I'll 'troll the kid's section for athletic tops because they usually cost less than if I bought just about the same thing in the women's section. I usually hit up the boy's department because like the colors, such as red, burgundy and royal blue, and I can usually fit into a boy's size medium or large, depending on how stretchy the fabric is. Yesterday I happened upon a clearance rack at Target in the girl's section, just to see if I could find anything that wasn't too juvenile looking. I found two athletic tank tops that had an interesting print for about $7 on clearance, one in bright blue, L and the other in bright pink, XL. I was concerned that the girl's L would be too small. I even went into the Women's department to compare the girl's L and XL to the women's XS and S. No difference. It wasn't that long ago that I couldn't fathom fitting into a girl's size L because there was such a difference between the cuts in girl's and women's clothes. There was no way I could think of squeezing that small of a top over my head. I figured for $7 each I couldn't go wrong. Both tops fit, and the girl's XL actually seemed a little bit big. The thing that really gets me (more than the sizing issue) is that the women's tops I found that were equivalent were not on sale, but double the price. Hmmmm... I've also 'trolled the men's department for solid color athletic tops, mostly looking for particular colors, and sometimes the tops are cheaper there, too, but it's usually a bit tougher for me to find a men's S. It never hurts to look, but why are the women's sizes always jacked up in price?

Food For Thought:
Do you own a scale? How much does does scale weight mean to you? Does that number control every bit of your day, or would you rather not know? Would you rather go by fitting into a particular pair of jeans or rely solely on what the scale says? Do you weigh in daily, several times a day, weekly or not at all? Does a spike up or down in weight control your mood that day? Blogger MizFit brought up the scale issue on her blog. It made for some interesting comments, but I mostly agree with MizFit. I do own a scale but I'm not obsessively weighing in -- I weigh in weekly. The scale doesn't control my moods. Water retention happens and my weight temporarily spikes up, but I don't get all depressed about it, or feel like throwing a party when the water retention weight goes down. I often use the scale before and after long runs over 6 miles, just to keep an eye on hydration or dehydration. I tend to go by how my clothes fit. Check out MizFit's blog post along with the comments: "The Power of the Scale."

Tuesday's song:
The Lion Sleeps Tonight - The Tokens - Heffer Blog (AKA Alice)

PEACE

9 comments:

KatieFeldmom said...

"upside down Bosu ball squats and lunges with weights" -- is that with the ball touching the ground making the flat part less stable?

I have a scale -- I never get on it. Hell I can't get on it -- it affects me no matter what it says. I can't remember the last time -- maybe the end of January. I know myself too well to get on it -- good news or bad -- it will do bad things to me.

Mel-2nd Chances said...

haven't gotten on a scale in a few weeks. I gave up being a slave to that number, and go more by how my clothes fit.

Aka Alice said...

OMG...I'm a daily weigh-er (is that even a word).

I'm not surprised that you'll one day do a sub 2 hour 1/2 mary...you're speedy!

Anonymous said...

Irene, first off I want to thank you so much for your comments on my blog, they are always so supportive and I really want you to know how much I appreciate them.

I'm so thrilled for you that you are improving so well. What a compliment to have B want to train you! Awesome. I'm sure you will do so well.

I SO don't get the whole sizing thing. I understand why they went that route, but it's SO misleading and an insult to our intelligence. It's truly cool though that you can fit into girls sizes! Whoo-hoo!

I try my best to stay away from the scale. I KNOW it's just a number and it really doesn't mean much. The way my clothes fit mean way more to me. I don't weigh myself much unless Tony really wants me to. But I used to be obsessed by that number. I will be honest and tell you though that when I DO weigh, depending on what it says REALLY impacts the rest of my day. Sometimes it's a wake up call, other times it's time for celebration, which usually includes an eat fest. So, in my opinion, for my sanity, I try my best to stay off of it.

Hugs, you're amazing!

Miss Rachel said...

Sizing? I have too many thoughts on that topic to go into here the comments section. (I should organize them and do a blog post, right?)

I have a scale, and I weigh myself occasionally (no more than a few times an hour - kidding) - a few times a week or less. Scale weight does not have a major hold over me, but I do know it can make me feel worse if I'm already feeling bad about my weight so on those days, I consciously do NOT weigh myself.

Good for you on the training! It sounds as if you have just about fully recovered and come out the other side stronger than ever.

The song? Smokey Robinson & the Miracles of course - love them!

Irene said...

Katie,
Exactly. B calls them "earthquakes" because when you do them for the first time you're wobbling profusely.

Melanie,
I've noticed that the weight number has absolutely nothing to do with how my clothes fit. For me it's more about my body composition. If I'm carrying more muscle my clothes fit better.

AKA Alice,
I don't weighing in daily is all that bad, but some people really obsess over it and it can make or break their day. Oh, I have a lot of work cut out for me if I'm going for a sub 2 hour half Mary. I need to cut out, oh, about a half hour plus!

Evelyne,
Hey, we're here for eachother, ok? I was kind of surprised that B suggested that he coach me. I know how good Tony has been for you. I can only imagine that B will do the same, but for running. :) I have to know my weight number for my doctor's appointments, because sometimes they don't weigh me but they'll just ask.

Rachel,
The whole sizing thing is mind boggling. My closet has four different sizes just because each make and/or manufacturer has their own sizing guidelines. Frustrating! I'm pretty excited about the coaching thing. Oh yeah, Winner!

Kathleen Fasanella said...

You wrote:
"I didn't realize vanity sizing was also happening in children's clothing, particularly in girl's sizes."

Vanity sizing is actually a misnomer. Sizing is not static, it evolves to the median of the population. As children are increasingly obese, sizing evolution is the only possible outcome.

Then you wrote:
"The thing that really gets me ... is that the women's tops I found that were equivalent were not on sale, but double the price. I've also 'trolled the men's department for solid color athletic tops, mostly looking for particular colors, and sometimes the tops are cheaper there, too, but it's usually a bit tougher for me to find a men's S. It never hurts to look, but why are the women's sizes always jacked up in price?"

Women's apparel is seasonally driven by fashion trends, there's a lot more product development going on behind the scenes. Men's wear is much different; it doesn't change as frequently. There's a lot less overhead involved when you can recycle the same patterns from season to season, only changing the fabrications and colors -if that.

Deene said...

I usually shop the boys dept. for t-shirts and tops, too. They fit me and i don't spend outrageous amounts for those in womens sizes.
We don't have a scale in our home. Sometimes when I'm at the gum i weigh myself though.

Irene said...

Deene,
Why spend more than we have to? :)

Weighing in at the gym would be a good idea for some people only because they wouldn't have scale access all the time.