Sober partying and a lying reverse pistol

When it comes to my goals, a big obstacle I’ve always faced is staying on point during the weekends. For years I’ve teetered back and forth between wanting to be gung-ho about not imbibing or eating fried food on the weekends, and then inevitably jumping off a cliff into an oblivion of carbs and alcohol once the temptation was presented to me. Whenever I found myself in a party setting I’d rationalize that my love of socializing and booze was too strong to give up for the sake of abs. Then of course then next day I’d be pissed at myself for losing my resolve so easily.

But for the past couple of months I’ve started to notice something. Alcohol doesn’t make social situations better. Settings that weren’t that entertaining to begin with didn’t get any better once I was buzzed. When I was younger, alcohol made me a much louder, extroverted party-girl type of person, and so I began to equate booze with fun and going out. But these days all it seems to do is make me hungry and sleepy. So what’s the point?

And you know, it’s not just about having abs. Waking up at 1 p.m. with a hangover sucks. And waking up feeling full and bloated from all the crap I ate ‘cause of my drunk munchies isn’t very pleasant either.

So this past weekend I gave myself a challenge. I was going to go to my friend’s birthday party…at a bar…and not drink. AND I DID IT! I honestly think I enjoyed myself more than I would have if I’d been drinking. I am so proud of myself for doing this. I hope I don’t sound like a total ass for finally realizing that I don’t need alcohol to have fun or socialize. Alcohol has been a social crutch for me for a long time, and all it’s done is hold me back. I know this was just one party, but hopefully I can keep it up. I know my liver and my memory are rooting for me. That’s not to say that I’ll never drink again, but I’d rather save it for special occasions. I love Saturdays and all, but they are not a special occasion.

Coining A New Move
Recently I was daydreaming of exercise-related things, and I started thinking about a time when one of my friends asked me if I could get up from the floor without using my hands. To me this was a piece of cake, but neither she or our other friend could do it! So for beginners, try it out. Sit down Indian style and try to stand up without using your hands and keeping your legs crossed.

The next step is to try it with your legs uncrossed.

Naturally, I like to take things to the next level, so I tried it…on one leg. I’m coining this a lying reverse pistol. IT IS MINE!

(If you’ve never heard of a pistol before, it’s a one-legged squat. Click here to see a video of how it’s done.)

EDIT: Apparently there are some kinks with the gifs showing up in Google reader. If you can’t see them click through to the actual post.

Keep in mind that for all of these “get-ups”, you are using a bit of momentum to stand up. The lying reverse pistol is still pretty hard, even with momentum. I definitely felt it in my booty. David said he thought it was easier than a regular pistol, but I thought it was harder. Try it out and let me know if you could do it!