To me holiday season means one very important thing: cheese. It seems that this time of year, everywhere I look…THERE IT IS! Slices, cubes, wheels and balls and I love it all. When I enter a holiday party the cheese platter is the first place I stop, popping some into my mouth and wrapping hunks in my napkin before grabbing a glass of Chardonnay and heading to a quiet corner to enjoy my spoils. (I’m one of those people who look forward to holiday parties with relish, and then get there, look at all the people enjoying themselves and think “I want to go home and watch Netflix!” hoping no one asks me, “So what do you have planned for the holidays?” as I point to my mouth full of Stilton and choke out “Pretty much, this.”)
This year was a little different because I practiced balance. Of course, I still devoured cheese, but this year I did it without the inner monologue: “You’re so weak! Step away from the cheese plate!” because I knew that come morning, I would be working my butt off —LITERALLY— at Studio Physique. I have been doing Lagree three times a week, (give or take a hangover Sunday) for a little over six months now and take it from me, a person who looks at exercise the way most people look at a year in prison in a third world country — it is paying off and I am addicted. You know that saying, “The proof is in the pudding?” Well for me, the proof is in the back fat, or lack thereof.
You see, I was going on a New Years’ Eve cruise, which is one of those things you plan in June because it takes care of that hideous question, “So what are you doing for New Years?” well in advance of the actual holiday. That is the upside. The down side is chances are if you are on a boat in the middle of the Caribbean you are probably going to need a swimsuit. Oh yes, it’s all fun and games until someone has to get under the flourescent lights in Macys and wriggle into the “Miracle Suit” or the “Minimizer Suit” or the “Maybe You Should Just Wear Shorts Suit” and frankly I was dreading it.
So there I was in swimwear looking at the Trina Turks and the Ted Bakers thinking, “YOU?! YOU could never wear that”, and eyeing the cover-ups with longing. I pushed myself to grab a few suits off the rack and then bravely made my way to the dressing room, sweat gathering at my hairline, as if I was walking towards the scale at my gynecologist’s office. Once inside I dove in. On a lark I squeezed into my favorite choice, a bright fuscia one-piece Ted Baker, with a low back and a tight band accenting the waist. Dream on, I thought. I adjusted the straps and turned to look at myself in the mirror. A Christmas miracle! The suit fit.
I looked at myself from all angles, something I don’t do at home because, well… why? Isn’t life hard enough? There was no back-fat bubbling up over the bathing suit straps. The bottom of the suit held my butt nicely — it didn’t look like I was wearing a thong. At first I thought I was imagining it, but no! I definitely saw a little definition in the thigh region. My arms weren’t jiggling, but it wasn’t a Christmas miracle. It was Lagree.
Listen, I am a middle-aged woman. I am not telling you I look like Heidi Klum in my bathing suit. No. I look like myself but a healthier version. Perhaps a little firmer, with a muscle here or there beginning to show itself, finally ready to come out to the world. Even more important than saving money on the pool-side full length kimono, is knowing I am doing something for my health and my body that is showing results. Real results.
Lagree is not easy. I still break into a sweat when I walk into the studio and see Drill Sargent Kerri looking over the routine she is about to take us through. My butt cheeks still clench up when I hear David say, “We’re going to start on the BACK of the machine today.” I still have to take a break between lunges and sometimes I cry when at the end of a long grueling routine, Chris says, “We are going to finish with plank to pike to dancing bear.”
It is fifty minutes of pushing myself to my limit. You remember that Army adage, “Be all you can be?” Well, I’m pretty sure this is it. But, if I can be all I can be with tighter arms, a flatter stomach and little less thigh jiggle, then I’m in. I am totally, one hundred percent IN.
Amy Koko has been a Studio Physique Member since the Spring of 2017. Amy is also the author of the humorous memoir, “There’s Been A Change of Plans, A Memoir About Divorce, Dating and Delinquents in Midlife” published in October, 2015, as well as the creator of the blog, Exwifenewlife.com, which deals with life after divorce and how great it can be! She is also a contributor to Huffington Post, Bravo Personal Space and SheSavvy. Amy Koko lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, and is the mother of four, mostly well-adjusted kids and is currently working on her first fiction novel.
*The photos are not actual cheese or wine Amy consumed, nor do we know for sure if she was on this ship pictured. We do know she rocks a similar fuchsia Ted Baker swimsuit.