So, life has started to take a toll on my exercise-discipline. August & September have been crazy months. A 4-day bachelorette party at the BEACH! How the heck does someone find time for a body-brace with four Velcro-straps when bikinis, dresses & heels are in play? C'mon people, I'm a lady...and I had to represent. 
Luckily, the stars were partially in my favor for this particular trip. Tropical Storm Lee took place of my worrying about how to keep a full body-brace concealed under a bikini & the occasional Bloody Mary assisted in maintaining comfort while trying to "vacation" with a brace 24/7. (To the left you will see a photo of us shortly after being pelted by side-ways rain.) So what does a girl with an unconventional scoliosis treatment do on a trip like this? Well, duh...pack her special bracing pillow & inform everyone if they hear weird hissing noises in the condo, it is not a fellow lady-friend that has drank too many party favors, it's just me...exercising away, while propping myself up in various positions on the brightly-colored bunk beds and using a weird fish pillow as a temporary away-from-home prop to aid myself in breathing my curve away. Ya know, my regular routine, just edited a bit for the beach-theme. I kind of enjoyed the change of atmosphere...staring at a wall with a framed sailboat picture, while breathing deeply.
As you can imagine, my plan did not go over to well. Personally, I would rather poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick than perform these exercises in public, much less while I'm on vacation. I mean really... who really exercises while on vacation? (Including the people who wake up early to run on the beach does not count.) We all know this type of exercise is make-believe and these people must definitely be locals, surely not vacationers. Right?! Like any human would do on a vacation, I released and fell out of my daily routine, made excuses & did not get much accomplished on this trip; preforming only a few repetitions a day. In response, my body repaid me by causing a massive headache & ridiculous neck pain while trying to enjoy the best crab cakes the Gulf Coast had to offer, dang swirly-back! However, thanks to vacation, "Mary" was available to helped me out in my time of need at this particular moment as well. :)
Since the party, It has been 2 weeks and I am finally back on routine. This trip is just one of the many times I have fell astray, some strategies I have used to stay motivated are:
- Perform my exercises in different orders
- Cook while exercising
- Use different props..pillows/exercise balls/stick, etc.
- Perform half the reps in the morning & half at night
- Watch multiple episodes of "Weeds" on my laptop while exercising
- Do as many sets in a row that I can handle
- Change locations in my house (Bedroom/Living room/Sun room)
- Watch random YouTube clips of other people doing them (this pumps me up)
- Read about scoliosis surgery and gag
Currently, my routine consist of brewing a pot of coffee and watching CNN while I scoliosize. This by far, has been my best routine...or it is until I get bored. My commitment now feels more real than ever...it is easy for me to skip a few reps...and sometimes I do! (I am human) But I all I can do is keep pressing on, or have my spine screwed together and braced with stainless steel rods which sounds terrible.
Anyhow, here are some pictures! Feel free to circle what you see different & let me know, ha. Kidding. I have an X-ray coming up in October cross your fingers and say a prayer, because I may rip all my hair out one by one if there is not some progression. AH!
7.18.11 8.23.11
9.19.11
