Holy Smokes

Today was another amazing day at the gym with my trainer, Ted. He pushed me harder then I ever would have pushed myself, and I felt exhausted, yet fabulous at the end of my session. As I work out, he makes me focus on the good about my body - my strength...my endurance...my drive to succeed and push farther then my mind wants me to push. This is not something I am accustom to doing. Throughout my life I have always found my imperfections, my weaknesses, and my shortcomings. So, identifying what's great about me is something completely new.

After I got home, I jumped on the scale (like always). I happened to glance up at the mirror and for the first time ever, I saw a "fit" woman staring back at me. Now, in no way have I reached my total goal, but I actually saw someone staring back at me who truly is an athlete. So...I snapped some pictures and decided to do a little comparison to see how far I have actually come.

It's not like me to take any sort of revealing pictures and post them anywhere, but I am amazed to look at where I've come from and compare it to where I am now. And, after looking through the past few years, I can see that I truly have accomplished a TON and I am very proud of myself (another new experience). After taking a stroll down memory lane, I have realized how much I really have done and how when I set my mind to attaining a certain goal, I can, and will reach it.

December 2007

December 2009

December 24, 2010

December 28, 2010

Gym Time = My Sanity, My Sanctuary

Today was one of those days... One of those days where it took everything in me to eat healthy and go to the gym. I struggled through work; Christmas cookies and candy were on every table in every single office and I was so busy I didn't even have time to catch my breath. And, to top if off, it was just one of those days where I felt like even though I was busy all day, nothing got accomplished. So, when it was finally time for me to head out, all I really wanted was to be lazy.

Even though I really just wanted to go home, do some cleaning and wrap the pile of presents in my living room, I decided to keep going straight, and not turn on my road when I was almost home. I drug myself into the gym, forced myself to get changed, and decided I was going to hit it hard even though I really didn't want to.

My five minute warm up dragged on forever, but when the timer on the stair stepper beeped at me, I walked to the free weights and decided to make it count. I pushed out my full workout, plus a little more, and even did a full abdominal workout after my lift. And I felt better. Still not 100%, but much better. And then, I pushed out my cardio - and felt even better.

Driving home I realized (yet again... I seem to be a bit stubborn on this sometimes) the gym is my happy place. If I can just get myself there, it will help make me feel better about my place in the world. Even when I don't initially want to go, as soon as I start my lift, the gym becomes my most favorite place in the world. I feel stronger, and more capable to take on whatever comes at me, and I walk away feeling a sense of accomplishment. The gym really is my sanctuary, and at this point, I couldn't give it up for anything.

10 More Seconds

Finally, I have found the missing piece of my workout plan.... A great trainer! For the past year, one day a month, I have been working out with a trainer at Gold's Gym North. We would get together, run through the workouts she had written, and I would take them to do on my own for the following four weeks. To give her some credit, I gained some muscle and lost a little weight; and I felt and looked better than I had in a long time. But she never really motivated me. I took the workouts and went on my way - always having to stay on myself to keep up my schedule and heart rate.

Now, things have really changed. Last night was my second workout with my new trainer and he pushed me harder than I ever thought possible. Fifteen minutes in, I was beyond exhausted and my arms were burning. Twenty minutes in, I was sweating worse than the man next to me, and at twenty-five... well, I'm sure you get the point. So when it came to core for the last five minutes, I really wasn't sure if I'd even be able to hold up my body weight in plank position. But Ted pushed me to get in position, and then to make it even more difficult. "Flex your calves, your hamstrings, your quads, pull the bellybutton to the spine, bend your elbows just a little." OMG, by the third one I really thought I was going to fall on my face. But he kept saying, "ten more seconds....ten more seconds....ten more seconds," and I did just that. Ten more, and then ten more, and more and more... I made it a minute longer than I ever have before and I felt a sense of accomplishment that I haven't known in a very long time.

At the end of my workout, there was a puddle of sweat on my mat, my whole body was shaking, and I basically wanted to puke; but I felt fabulous! And, just for good measure, I made sure to go do my extra half hour of cardio on the treadmill and stair stepper.

Success - Comes with Small Steps

I haven't been blogging a whole lot lately, but thought I'd throw up my most recent progress. Because for me, it's huge. Over the past 6 weeks, I have buckled down on my diet and pushed my workouts a little bit harder. And believe it or not, it actually is providing me with results.

I am very proud to say, in six weeks, I have lost 10 pounds and 5% body fat! I had been stuck at my plateau for so long I was really starting to lose hope. That feeling prompted me to meet with a new trainer at the gym I occasionally use. He set my diet up and away I went. I also decided it was really time to find some peace with the treadmill and add a lot more running to my cardio mix. I tended to gravitate toward the stair stepper or elliptical and I knew the treadmill is what I really needed. So, with those two changes, I went on my way.

I have logged almost every day since October 27th - both food and exercise. And, when I went in to meet with the trainer again and set up my new schedule it was time to update the numbers. I knew the weight was dropping because I am addicted to the scale and have been religiously watching it move, but I was honestly flabbergasted at how much I dropped in my body fat percentage. And all I can think now is - I've got this; it's time to buckle down and knock it out of the park. So, we set some new goals...

In the next three months I will be meeting with my new trainer, Ted, twice a week (Tuesday & Thursday) for an intense full body workout. I will do a body pump class Monday nights (Ted instructs them at my gym), and will lift one additional day. I will make sure to get in good cardio (at least an hour) and abs the other two days, and make sure to include a rest day one day a week. If I can maintain my diet and continue to push myself to new levels at the gym, I really think my goals are attainable. For the first time in my entire life, I feel like I really can be fit and healthy (and look great in a tight pair of jeans). Talk about an amazing and uplifting feeling!

Goals: Drop 8 more pounds; Drop 5% additional body fat
** Reassess on March 3, 2010