Fill in the blank: I work out so I can….

I have a few fellow spinners who share my passion and work out for wine; friends that live for cheesy pizza and beer and a scant few who do it for the health of it. What’s that all about?  Recently a good friend from high school suffered a heart attack and he now works out for his heart, and his family.  I’m glad. He is too great to lose.

Some work out to escape. Your job can get to you, so you go to the gym and sweat it out. I fully subscribe to this theory and took a Bodycombat class last evening.  Does this make me an MMA in training?  Perhaps I am feeling my oats as a result and I sort of threatened my landscaper that if he doesn’t plant the remaining two bushes in my new garden I may have to ‘have a chat with him’. (sidebar- the plants were there when I came home today!)

Anyway, according to the company that owns Bodycombat, Les Mills, I should burn about 600 calories an hour in a Bodycombat class. That seems about right, I average close to 590.  That should be worth something, yes or yes?

• 590 Bodycombat calories burned. Is that worth a glass of wine? Yup.
• 90 min spin class over 920 calories burned. Should I bank it or spend it?  A lovely cranberry orange muffin was calling me.
• Walking to the market for dinner supplies, just about 13,000 steps. Hmm, bank it or spend it? I admit I did eat some homemade apple crisp and sipped a smooth glass of port by the fire that night.
• Wednesdays are my double duty day. Spinning for my heart at 5:30 am and Zumba for my soul at 9:00 am. I am not sure how I am going to deal with that 1100 calorie burn surplus.

My friend Jonathan asked me one morning, “What are your fitness goals?”  I told him I wanted to be able to empty a full pot of macaroni into the colander with one hand.   That doesn’t mean I am going to eat that macaroni but there is a good chance that with a little mascarpone, grilled shrimp and prosciutto, I’d spend those calories burned and the macaroni may win.