Finding Fitness on the Green

Looking for an affordable, fun workout this summer? Head to Guthrie Green!

April 24, 2018

Tara Rittler,

I mentioned in a previous blog post (about the amazing Cosmic Kids Yoga!) how difficult I’ve found it to work out consistently since becoming a mom. The combination of limited time, funds and energy means that, while I lost the baby weight without hardly thinking about it, I’m certainly not as fit as I was before getting pregnant.

Enter Fitness on the Green!

If you follow @PhilbrookMuseum on Instagram, you may already know that they’ve started a new thing called #metimemonday. Since they’re closed to the public on Mondays, but staff members are still working, once a month (I think) they choose someone to spend a day at Philbrook. All. By. Themselves. A few weeks ago, they had Hornsby, the Driller’s mascot, show up for #metimemonday, and those pictures are gold.

(I’d love to do #metimemonday at Philbrook, but since all I’d want to do would be write, read and maybe play the three chords I know on the guitar for awhile, the Instagram photos would not be terribly exciting!)

The point is, I’ve instigated my own version of #metimemonday because Mondays are my husband’s day off, and therefore the only real chance I have during the week of having some alone time. Theoretically, I’m using this time to work on writing fiction and poetry, but after spending a day at a computer already, I’m not going to shame myself for wanting to do something different–for example, enjoy a free fitness class downtown! Plus, when Daniel comes home by five o’clock, I get to head downtown early and enjoy some reading time before getting started on the sweating. (And there’s nothing quite like carrying a fifty-pound epic fantasy novel to your workout. 😉

The class I’ve been taking is called Defend Together, and it meets Mondays at 6:30 (after a 5:30 p.m. yoga class). Defend Together is an “interval” cardio workout and involves punching, kicking and a ton of squats–all to energizing music, of course! I was sore for a week after the first class, feeling better just in time to do it all again–but I’d almost forgotten how great it feels to really push yourself while working out! I took tae kwon do for a few years in high school and loved it, so it’s kind of a nice personal throwback, too. Our teacher is fantastic; she encourages everyone to push themselves but not to stress out if they need a break or something–so I don’t feel judged when I lose my balance, get off-rhythm, etc.

I know it’s going to get uncomfortably hot later in the summer, so we will see if I’m able to stick this out (don’t forget your water bottles!!), but for now, it’s just so pleasant to workout outside and to get to spend some time enjoying the beautiful Guthrie Green. Plus, if you can’t get away from the kids for your workout, there’s plenty of space for them to run around and play–and if they’re old enough, they may even want to join you!