(Post 150 of 263)

The only new development in my life these days is that I go to Pilates three times a week.

In my pre-Mérida life, I was travelling a good chunk of every year, and with travel came lots of steps. It became clear to me during the Oaxaca trip that I was becoming too sedentary in Mérida. Oh, my cardiovascular health was fine, but I could not spend the long days on my feet walking 20KM or more as I had in Europe. Then, the pandemic stepped in and I wasn’t going anywhere anymore. I could feel myself fall apart day by day.

Any effort that I made to be more active in my daily routine didn’t feel like enough, and there was no structure or accountability to my routines. Treadmill was good for lower body, but I needed more core and arm work. I tried yoga, but having no padding at all on my butt, knees, hips, and shoulders, mat work was very painful. I did some arm work with weights, but was missing the core component. I knew I needed more overall strengthening than cardio to reboot my metabolism, which had finally given up the ghost after living for decades with an undiagnosed thyroid condition. I really needed a formal program with one-on-one care and attention.

My first thought was to find a personal trainer who would come to my house. But even as things are reopening, I’m finding myself loathe to go out unless I have to. I could combine the need for exercise with having an out-of-the-house activity that would put me out and about in my neighbourhood, the way I had intended to live here. The hiccup was that I wanted something I could walk to and there had to be a hope for longevity, such that I could fall into a routine.

There’s a gym pretty close by that I considered, but they did not have personal trainers. The other option that looked interesting and similar to yoga was Pilates, a toning program done on a bed called a “Reformer” that uses various accessories and your own body weight to shape and tone all over while focusing on core strength. Unfortunately, the only Pilates studio I found that was taking new clients for one-on-one training was too far too walk to. I knew I was never going to get into a routine if I was at the mercy of Ubers to get there and back.

Well, on January 31st, I learned that a spot had opened up at a Pilates studio a 22-minute walk from me that has been in business six years and survived the pandemic! I immediately contacted the trainer and took my first class that night! I initially signed up for 12 private lessons, and tomorrow is going to be lesson 14 after buying a second 12-pack. My teacher is now pushing for me to join a class, but I’m pushing to stay in private lessons for at least another 12 lessons. Pilates is expensive, not something I could have even considered in Canada if such a thing had been available to me, but here, at 2,550 pesos for 12 lessons, so basically per month, it is affordable, and I love the individualized attention and accountability.

I know lots of Pilates evangelists. I don’t know if I’ll ever be one. I don’t mind the workouts, and they go pretty fast, but I’d rather be out in nature with a pack on my back. But the activity has fallen nearly seamlessly into my routine. Monday and Wednesday, I have to leave at 6:30ish for a 7PM class, which perfectly fills that gap in my schedule where I’m done with dinner and trying to motivate myself to do something other than get an early start on vegging on the couch. Friday’s 11:15AM class is disruptive, so I’m trying to make Fridays my day off now.

There are a couple of routes I can take to class, which pass big box stores like Walmart as well neighbourhood shops. Soriana Híper is across the street from the studio and has ATMs for all three of my banks, so finding myself without cash and having to waste time for a bank run is a thing of the past. Fridays, I enjoy stopping by a small fruit stand for smoothie ingredients and a cold fresh-squeezed orange juice. A few evenings a month, I’ll flag down a pan dulce vendor on the way home and get a treat as my post-workout snack. The cops who watch traffic at the intersection where I cross Calle 60 will actually stop traffic and escort me across when it’s not super busy, making that part of the walk so much easier. I enjoy watching children play soccer, chat with people in the streets, and feel more connected to my neighbourhood. I also appreciate how green the neighbourhood is compared to so many other parts of the city.

Some Pilates exercises are proving to be easy, others are teaching me about muscles I did not even know I had! My instructor keeps marvelling at my progress and how fast my shape is changing and toning compared to her expectations during our first class. My diet is about as “perfect” as it’s ever going to be, so it seems like I found the missing puzzle piece to be my best self. I appreciate the individualized attention and that we’re working to not only straighten out my spine but also my crooked leg and its atrophied muscles. I already don’t limp nearly as much as I used to when I’m tired, and that’s only five weeks into starting! The walk to class is good cardio and a warm-up, and the walk home at a slower pace is the perfect cool down.

I’ve opened up the pool and will be doing pool exercises on my days “off” to give my knees a chance to recover. Pilates is low impact, but there is a lot of flexion of the knees, and that can hurt since I have a degenerative cartilage condition that means bone is rubbing on bone. My teacher is aware of everything and tailors my exercises to what I can do safely and without causing further damage.

It’s also doing me a lot of good to be out doing an activity in Spanish three times a week. Sometimes, I have to remind my teacher to slow down as she can overestimate what I understand, especially when introducing new concepts or doing a deep dive into anatomy, but all in all, communication is good and I think I could follow a class when it comes to that.

The biggest challenge of Pilates right now has got to be doing a workout focussed on deep breathing while wearing a four-layer mask!!! There are times when I have to whip it off to take a proper breath. But I like how the mask hides my grimaces when I’m doing something involving my right upper thigh muscles!

I’m sure all my exercises have a proper name, but these are the ones I go by:

The Danny Rojas: Jumping up and down (while lying on your side on a spring board)

The Charles Ingalls: Not dissimilar to driving a covered wagon

The Wicked Witch of the West: Peddling in the air while cackling madly to not showing how much pain you are in

The Dr. Strange 1: Making circles with your arms

The Dr. Strange 2: Making circles with your legs

The Black Swan: barre work

The Peter Pan: that’s what she calls it, so it’s pretty self explanatory

The Hulk: arms square and back and bring forward like you’re going to smash something

The Thor: arm goes up like you are lifting a mighty hammer

The Black Widow: on all fours in a ridiculous stretch position

The Captain America: Raise up your arm like you’re going to throw a giant heavy shield

The Gandalf: It’s a kneeling one while stretching on the platform where I have to use a staff to support my bad leg so that the good one can focus

The Jack Sparrow: Flailing around like a drunken sailor during a new move until your body figures out what it is supposed to do

I add new exercises, and new equipment, every week as I progress. The variety definitely suits me more than doing endless reps in the same weight routine. So Pilates does feel like a good fit for me even if I’m not yet in love with it. I look forward to seeing what the next couple months will bring.