Pilates

Another summer is about to start and thus another attempt at fitness. This time I turn to Pilates-no gym membership necessary, minimal equipment needed, and a low-impact exercise.

Yesterday was my first try and I hope today's muscle soreness is a good symptom. (FYI: A symptom is something which a person can feel but cannot be verified by someone else.)

All I needed were:

• Element: Pilates Weight Loss for Beginners (2008), DVD
  
• Thick Exercise Mat

Element: Pilates Weight Loss for Beginners (2008), DVD

• I'm a beginner in Pilates but I enjoyed working out to this video from start to finish. I found myself paying close attention to what she was saying all the time because they were helpful in making me do the exercises correctly. I started with the cardio section of the DVD and in less than 5 minutes I was a believer in Pilates as a serious fitness program. Once I finished the DVD I was sweating and my heart rate was up.
  

Exercise Mats

• Cutely designed and colored exercise mats for ~$20 are ubiquitous. I bought one last year and I regretted my purchase as soon as I used them on a hardwood floor. Once I decided to do Pilates last month I pinched the floor mats at the store to see how much of a cushion they actually provided. I can't remember now which brand but it looks like this GoFit Pilates Mat.

Afterthoughts

• As good as Brooke Siler's Pilates video is I do believe that as a matter of safety it's a must to not only see your doctor before starting a new exercise regimen but to also have a complete understanding of how exactly you're supposed to do the exercise. To do the latter you either have to have a session with an attentive pilates instructor or get a good pilates book. At the very top of my book list is reading The Pilates Body by Brooke Siler. I didn't realize the author was the same individual until I was writing this post. I bought the DVD and book together based on separate reviews.
  
• Another way of ensuring correct posture is having the ability to view what it is you're doing. A large mirror would be one solution but I guess one of these days I'll shoot a video to check my form. (Sorry but I have no plans of ever sharing that video.)
• I really appreciated working out with a 50+ inch screen but equally helpful was having a laptop as an extra screen. Whenever I was lying down and wanted to look at the video I didn't have to look up too high to look at the bigger screen.
  

Managing Images

I read an article this week on how people should really throw out things first before going and buying items in the Container Store. It was nice to have confirmation on what I suspected all along- getting rid of stuff is the best way to get organized.

One of the many many many perpetual spring cleaning projects I have deals with the images I store, online and in my hard drives.

I'm waiting for Lightroom 3 to be released so I can minimize the pain of sorting through all of my images. Plan of action- DELETE with impunity, ORGANIZE folders, and add TAGS.

I could sort through my online photo account, but I figured I'll wait until then. The main reason why I have an online photo account is to share photos. I guess for simplicity I should probably keep it that way so I don't have so many photo albums. It's not like I don't have an external hard drive where I regularly do backups.

In the mean time I've been more proactive in deleting photos I've taken recently. I import the photos into my computer, but if it has some serious flaw and/or I'm not especially attached to the photo then I hit the delete button. I've finally realized that as much as I plan to learn and do some photo editing, my time and energy are not limitless.