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Mia Garlock

VS Novice: Day 2

D​uring my pregnancies was the only other time in my life that I have empathized with a turtle on it’s back, and boy, is it familiar today. My abdominals are so sore from yesterday morning’s workout, and damn I do love it. Sore equates to progress when you’re training, and I love that for me.

I woke up starving this morning, something that has slowly been becoming a more and more frequent occurrence. Something I remember from my running days, when you wake up hungry, it means your metabolism has kicked up. Surely a good sign when you’re in the weight loss and fitness game.

M​orning Mindstilling first, I tried to focus on getting the deepest breath I possibly could without yawning- something I haven’t practiced since my High School Choir days. I failed a few times, but I kept going, listening to Becca and feeling settled in my body and my mind.

D​ay 2 is a 24-minute workout, focusing on standing stability and balance, specifically in the legs. I watched the video before I started, so I was more aware of what I would be doing this time. I still spent about 5 minutes warming up my core with those Downward Dog knee floats and some Boosted Toe Taps, and I spent a few minutes stretching out my shoulders and my chest, because like I said yesterday, those spots are tighter than I ever realized, and we do have some twist moves in the workout today.

O​nce I felt finished warming up, I skipped on Valkyrie Yoga because its 40 minutes long, and did my standard Sun Salutation, focused on my breath, and working through those tight areas in my low back and hips, and chest and shoulders.

The very first move in the line up today was a low lunge and twist, and my hip flexors were instantly fussing over the depth of the lunge. I had to breathe and hold for a minute to get over it. When I felt like I could hold the pose without falling over, I began to twist, and again was kind of flabbergasted over how tight my middle spine, ribs and chest seem to be. I know this is stress based, because my chiropractor is constantly gasping and telling me that I hold all my stress in my shoulders and mid back. I’ve never thought twice about it, everyone holds some stress in their shoulders right?

O​nce I was properly twisted and wrung out I continued through the workout Sam laid out for us Valkyries, and as I moved along I definitely noticed a distinct burn in my thighs and hips. I broke a steady sweat and even found myself swearing a few times because my quads wanted to give up. Workouts done to failure give me a kind of high that I am becoming addicted to. The muscle shaking, sore as possible, sweat in the eyes, my body isn’t gonna do this no more sensation is top tier in my opinion. The adrenaline starts to kick in and I suddenly feel like I’m stronger than I was at the beginning.

W​hen I finished getting my butt kicked, and I did get my butt kicked, I laid across my mat and smiled at how much progress I’ve already made. I know a lot of those moves I wouldn’t have been capable of a month ago, and I am so proud of myself for the pregaming workouts I did over the month of August, because I would not have been able to power through yesterday’s core workout AND today’s balance and stability routine without quitting halfway through.

M​y knee was bugging me a little today, and I know from the past that when I experience inflammation in my feet, my left knee can rotate incorrectly, giving me knee pain. I’ll have to figure out something until I can get to the chiropractor and have my gait adjusted to fix it.

O​ne of the perks to being in Valkyrie Squad is that you get the keys to the discord community, built out of women who have a desire to better themselves, or just the challenge of training to be a Valkyrie. Regardless of our reasons for joining, we have just begun and yet the camaraderie I’ve seen and felt in there is unmatched. Women pouring their hearts out feeling defeated are surrounded by support and compassion encouraging them to try again. And just like our favorite ACOSF Valkyries, we all have a penchant for reading fantasy, adventure, and… romance. I love it here.

My favorite part about this journey so far, is that every day feels like I conquered a mountain. The allegory is that the Mountain is Myself, and every day I sweat, every day I work out, I rise to the challenge and reach the top. Every day the peak is a little farther, a little higher, but it hasn’t shaken me yet. I have this knowing that this is where I’m supposed to be, that this is for something more than aesthetic, and more than geekdom. It’s a stepping stone to greatness, greatness that I cannot find outside of myself, but within. I’ve been trapped Under the Mountain, my mountain, and this is my climb out.

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