And I know I reference The Office too much, but this episode started playing on TBS and it made me realize that maybe I need to drag my fitness orb on the train into work instead of the uncomfortable office chair I currently sit in:

I am now insisting on making sure i have time over both weekend days to work out, and I’ve been intensifying those workouts (making them close to 90 minutes a pop of power yoga and ballet, plus tennis as the days get warmer), but weekdays keep slipping away.

Seriously, though–has a crazy work schedule impeded your exercise time?  How did you/do you work around it (sorry for the pun–actually no I’m not sorry, as I’m giggling at it myself)?

A real post will come later today, but I had to adress this ad because it’s the second time in a WEEK I’ve seen it on my Facebook profile and it makes me want to curse a blue streak.

And yes, you’re gonna have to jump with me to see what I’m talking about.

To ANYONE out there preparing for a wedding: PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THIS CROCK OF CRAP!!!  Crash dieting to fit into a “vintage size 6 wedding dress” (which is really, really tiny)?  Not a good idea.  Eat right, exercise, but don’t try to starve yourself to fit into a damn dress for one day.  It’s not worth it!  Radiance and good health will always trump thinness when looking at pictures taken for posterity.

OK, rant over.

But that’s not to say I haven’t been exercising.

When it comes to physical fitness, I have always bought the philosophy that it’s easier to maintain a regime that you like than to do something that may be more calorically efficient, which is why I’ve practiced yoga in some form since I was fourteen.  I’ve taken classes, but most often I do my practice at home, switching it up every once in a while to make sure my body isn’t becoming used to a certain sequence.  I highly recommend going to Yoga Journal’s website to find information on everything from sequences to poses (including anatomical focus) to DVDs and clothing.

As much fun as yoga is, there’s only so much you can do before your body aches (ha!) for new challenges, so last summer I looked into the New York City Ballet company’s workout DVDs:

                              Image from amazon.com

 These two DVDs provide a full-body workout, and will leave you feeling completely beat when you first try them, and energized as you continue to practice them.  Disc one covers the basics–plies, tendus, degages, passes, plus stretches, ab work, push ups, and more.  Disc two follows a similar format, but the main sequence is a little shorter to allow for a twelve-ish minute dance sequence based off of the classic Tarantella (and coreographed here by George Ballanchine).  Will you feel like a complete idiot as you clumsily make your way through it?  Oh, most definetely.  Is it fun?  Very much so.  Do you get results?  I can’t promise for anyone else, but I’ve definetely seen a difference in my muscle tone since I’ve started–my abs are stronger, my legs are toned, my upper back and arms are defined (a must for the dress I’m wearing!) and my bum actually has a shape now!

No matter what you do to make yourself feel better for the big day, I BEG of you to resist the ads promising fast weight-loss–I saw one today on Facebook on my homepage (gotta love targeted marketing, right?) and was instantly offended.  Don’t buy into it!  You’re all better than that!