Wednesday, December 20, 2006 8:33 AM
Last week was all about getting my cardio in place...did workouts on the bike...feeling pretty good.
Today was my snap into the reality that I've chosen to insert myself into. First up, 20 minutes on the bike...a warmup...no problem.
Then it was time to hit the treadmill. I was set to 3.9 (which I'm guessing is in either MPH or KM/H...and if it wasn't, it sure felt like it) and an incline of 15 (which is like a somewhat steep hill). I had 10 minutes on that, and was instructed to hold onto the bar as little as possible. By minute 4 I was leaning on the thing, and my trainer was nice enough to come and show mercy on me by reducing the speed to 3.0. I finally understand what they mean by "the heart is a muscle", because mine was pounding like crazy and seemingly asking "WTF is up with THIS?!". Felt good afterwards though.
Then it was time to do squats. No weights, although considering I'm around 280 that's not totally accurate. I had three sets of 150. That's right: 450 squats.
Then it was on to pushups. I did three different types of pushups: one normal, one with my hands pointed outwards, and one where my hands are directly under my chest. 15 reps of each one for 4 sets...seriously...I've never really been able to do push ups...ever.
And finally, the Iron Cross. This is where you lay on your back, lift your legs, and then take a weight in your hands; you hold the weight over your head, then move it to your left side of your hip, then you're right, then back to over your head. That's one rep. I did 180 of them.
So what did I learn from my workout?
1) You may pay a bit extra for a personal trainer than just joining the local Y-MCA, but you get something that you might not have otherwise: someone who doesn't give a crap if you're tired and will push your limits. There is no way on my own that I would have attempted that much exercise in one sitting. I would have been like "Oh, I'll just ease my way into it and do 30 squats". Having someone that knows their stuff is definately worth it.
2) I'm not in shape physically, but this also isn't something out of my range. I CAN do this. This was probably the first time I worked out and really felt like I had accomplished something and pushed my own limits...even if I didn't do stellar in the pushups or the treadmill, I didn't just stop at two sets and say "ok, I'm done" It took me longer, but I completed it...and finishing is what matters.
3) Cost should not be a factor for getting in shape. I got my first invoice today, which covers my 4 sessions so far, a fitness test, and time spent by my trainer to prep my exercise plan and meal plan. I don't want to say exactly how much, as everyone is different, but let's just say that I could have bought a Wii and a couple of games + taxes. But here's a challange: track how much money you spend every day on food: fast food, snacks, drinks, etc. and also track what TYPE of food it is and how nutritious it is. I'm pretty sure I've thrown away thousands over my 20's that I'm now trying to reverse the effects of. So if you're a fatty like me and you want to lose weight, keep the money thing in perspective: pay now, or pay later for all the health-issue associated costs we'll be dealing with.
And as a bonus...my new meal plan let's me eat TOAST for breakfast this week!
D