sunday night workout club.

sunday night work outs are my favorite.

i like going to the gym somewhat late, like 8 or 9, when most people are settling in for the night, and getting ready for the week ahead. i like the emptiness of the gym- maybe 5 or 6 guys down in the weight room, and a handful of 15 or so upstairs, doing cardio. i like to do cardio only on sunday nights, foregoing any routine or goals; just winding the weekend down with me and the stairclimber or the elipitical.

on sunday nights the tvs are all turned to weird shows on prime time television, or a sports game. i know i can always catch the latest episode of extreme home makeover or whatever sunday night tv special is on. tonight, the VMA's were playing a few tvs down.

i like the sunday night crowd. the men in the weight room aren't huffing and puffing and blowing themselves up, they're just lifting. the men and women doing cardio are on the elipiticals, possibly stealing away for a few more minutes of solitude before the week begins: leaving spouses and kids at home, the old t-shirts and workout pants come to the gym for a quick, sweaty 20 or 30 or 60 minutes of solo time. s

unday nights the non-impressive workout crowd shows up: no fancy gear or expensive, matching workout outfits. this crowd prefers baggy t-shirst, old shorts, walkman headphones. we all glue our eyes on the tv and escape from the weekend, and the coming weekdays. it's like a time of limbo: no pressure to be living up to the weekend fun, and no deadlines looming overhead for the next day. all that we think about, i'm guessing, is how our earlier dinners will taste as leftovers at lunch tomorrow, and did kim kardashian really say that on national television?

my workout on sunday is always different feeling, too. during the week, my workouts are hurried, frenzied, intentional and part of training. always the 'harder, faster' approach during the week... 'oh, i just ran 4 miles? i should squeeze in 4 more,'; 'ok, meeting is at 1, which means i need to leave work at 11:30, get ready and changed by 12, and leave early to be back and presentable at 12:56'; 'oh i think i can squeeze this in on the way home, i hope the dogs don't mind,'; 'just one more lap, one more rep, one more this, one more that'. lots of inner dialog and self-competition during weekeday workouts.

sunday night workouts, i do whatever i want. i hardly ever lift, and i almost always finish with a sauna or steam. i personally like to go do cardio in front of a mindless tv show, and bobble between watching that, and reading the fluff book i've brought to occupy my mind. i set my time limits and levels reasonably: for instance, tonight was 25 minutes on level 12 rather than 45 minutes on level 15. i switch it up, too, on sunday nights: i do the bikes and stair climbers sometimes, weekday or weeknight. sundays, for some reason, are the only nights i would even contemplate doing an eliptical workout. i feel like sundays are the one day i can workout like everyone else; during the week my workouts are driven hard and fast by my internal, never-ceasing drive for perfection and competition.

the best, and biggest reason i love sunday night workouts, is the steam or sauna room. correction: the feeling of leaving, wind in my hair and on my skin, as i go outside after the steam or sauna. i like to sit and get really hot and sweaty. so hot and sweaty that the areas where my limbs join my body are ringed in sweat. rivers of water run down my arms and drip off my elbow, and eye makeup smears. breathing in through my nose stings  with either cedar or eucalyptus. i sit in as long as i can stand (maybe 10-15 minutes) and then get outside as quickly as possible.

rolling down the windows and driving in my car, the wind breezes through my hair and over my skin, which is still damp and overheated. i cool down instantly and feel a vine of relaxation grow up my back, unfolding like tendrils of ivy outward from my spin and into my limbs. everything is utterly peaceful and slow and relaxed. my body is done. because it's late (but not too late, that's the key!) i have nothing left but to go home, cuddle the puppies and crawl into bed. this is my slice of heaven on earth.


(bonus: tonight the steam room doubled as my personal vicks vap-o-rub: i took deep, nostril-breaths in the steam, and can now feel eucalyptus lingering in my lungs and in my nose. it was a two-fer- breathing is now an option and i'm relaxed:)