in the zone

body pump.  first time back to this gym since...oh-gosh-i'm-so-embarassed-to-say-this...since about 6 weeks ago, yikes.  no wonder i'm feeling like they should call it body puff for me, cuz that's what i'm feelin like, a bag of fluff, a bunch of puff instead of muscles.  oh well.  i drag my rear into class, set up my risers for the chest presses and flies, tricep work, weave in and out of the others, dodging weights and poles as we gather up our ammunition.  for the fight against flab, that is.

 i take my spot in the front row of class. the one place in my life where i love the front row.  where i can see the teacher, where i can analyze my own form, and where i can't get distracted by the others in front of me and get tempted to judge and critique them with snarky thoughts. no, i don't want that scenario. yeah, that's what i love about these group exercise classes: it's the one place in my week where i feel no judgement. i work my hardest, sweat my heart out, nobody criticizes me, even in my head, for once the music starts, i'm in the Zone, and nothing can bother me.  more on that in a sec...

i also love having an instructor telling me what to do and coaching me on. I'm so lost here, having been out of the loop for awhile, that i'm totally at a loss for what weights to put on my bar next, can't remember what weights i was used to using, just glad i had dragged out a plethora of those iron plates, all strewn around my mat, so i can sit like a contented baby in a pile of ring toys, deciding which size plastic ring goes on the pole next. (remember those things? oh never mind..)

music. warm-up. muscle memory kicks in. i remember this stuff, love it.  especially squats.  big loud boom boom music and pressure of the bar on my back as i sink into those squats...oh yeah... I...boom boom boom.....LOVE.....boom boom boom.....SQUATS!!!

i turn into a dumb jock with nothing else on my mind but these gutteral grunts and thumps and presses that push out all other thoughts from my head.

i am in the zone.

not to change the subject, but this reminds me of a really awesome article i read recently, entitled "18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently".

(here's the link..copy, paste, read it now or later..)  I am in no way trying to assert that I am this wonderfully creative genius that everyone should bow down to, only that I can relate to a lot (or most) of these characteristics and they give me assurance that maybe not such a raving lunatic after all!)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/04/creativity-habits_n_4859769.html?utm_hp_ref=tw&utm_content=bufferfdde1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

anyway, the part i'm thinking of is about this "zone" we get into... here's a blurb from the article:

They lose track of the time.

Creative types may find that when they're writing, dancing, painting or expressing themselves in another way, they get "in the zone," or what's known as a flow state, which can help them to create at their highest level. Flow is a mental state when an individual transcends conscious thought to reach a heightened state of effortless concentration and calmness. When someone is in this state, they're practically immune to any internal or external pressures and distractions that could hinder their performance.

You get into the flow state when you're performing an activity you enjoy that you're good at, but that also challenges you -- as any good creative project does.

"[Creative people] have found the thing they love, but they've also built up the skill in it to be able to get into the flow state," says Kaufman. "The flow state requires a match between your skill set and the task or activity you're engaging in." (end quote)

This is SO TRUE about me!!! I love this zone state!!!  I totally get into this zone, not just when I'm set up to do something creative, like writing or painting or dancing...but when I'm doing any kind of physical exercise to music.  

But I also get distracted, like any good ADHD-type creative type can understand... like when I finish my class and head to the treadmill to finish off with a run for some cardio...  I"ve got my tunes on and the TV screen in front of me is set to a channel with a UFC fight going on, in Japan, I think.  And I realize that for as much as I love doing my weekly Body Combat class and an occasional class at the boxing gym, I never really watch these fights.  I'm enjoying this visual entertainment while my head pounds to its own Pandora-induced music.  Barefoot fighters in grappling gloves,  i think they're called, using technique and such a beautiful dance, a balance between offense and defense.  pause to wipe off the blood.  very interesting.  the whole mental concentration thing fascinates me.  they are so in the zone.  love how they lock eyes before the fight, staring down their enemy, before they tap their gloves together and retreat to their corners, ready to take down the enemy.  so it is with life.  can't be scared to look the enemy in the eye.  know your strength.  know your strategies.  know what you're up against. proceed with a little bit of cautious, little bit of humble, lots of tiger.  

did i say i get distracted? 

finish the run, step off the treadmill, trying to walk straight while having that weird feeling in my feet like i'm still spinning on the treadmill, plus the booms in my head make me feel like i am literally floating out of that gym.  on a cloud.  totally. in. the. zone.  

i'll be back.