Last night was Bootcamp workout # 2 with the trainer. Gone was the initial excitement I had the previous week. In it's place was anticipation filled with both fear and anxiety. Had I not forced myself to leave work and head directly to the gym, I might have chickened out on the workout entirely. Arriving at the gym earlier than the others, I had time to talk to the trainer about my weight loss & fitness concerns. I wasn't sure if I should be doing more cardio or more strength training in order to get the most out of this month long competition. Interesting enough, he told me that I needed a little bit of both. He also told me that I shouldn't bother working out at a moderate pace on the treadmill, which is my usual "go to" workout. Running for an hour is great because at least I'm exercising, but he said that the second I step off the machine my body stops burning calories at the same rate. He suggested that I do interval training. Quick bursts of running that get's my heart rate up, followed by strength training then repeat. He said that the hours following my workout, my body will continue to burn more calories as it's trying to adjust itself from the workout. Huh? Sounds like I'm tricking my body into working long after I put the 5lb weights down...How cool is that? He then gave me the key advice to successful weight loss. All I need to do is burn more energy than I take in. In more simple terms, I need to move more & eat less. Sounds easy enough, right?
Then why am I overweight?
Oh, and I'm not just overweight but I am officially F.A.T. I know, the big "F" word that I try to never say, but last night the number said it all. Not only did I get great advice from the trainer, but he also gave me the hard facts....My actual body fat percentage. Ouch...The number was surprising! Purely because this was the first time I've ever been told how much body fat I had. I guess I knew it all along without really knowing the actual number. Muffin tops are not made up of overly developed 6 pack abs, now are they? I initially took this information all in stride. All I can do is improve it now, right? Right. But as the evening progressed, the number really began to settle in. I haven't been bothered by a number in quite a while. I'm at the point in my life where I understand that the number on the scale does not define who I am as a person. But THIS number! It doesn't make me think less of myself, but it makes me think of how unhealthy I really am! I need to change it and PRONTO! My goal for the month is to lose at least 4% of my body fat. My trainer thinks that this is an obtainable goal. It's a start anyway, a start to getting my body fat percentage down by building more muscle & losing more weight. I owe this to myself, plain & simple.
I will need to take this journey one day at a time. One meal at a time. One work out at a time. Hopefully, little by little, I can chisel away at the number that is embedded in my mind. And maybe, JUST maybe, along the way I can chisel myself out a 6 pack stomach as well!
I say bring it!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
No Pain, No Gain....
The only thing that I can compare the way my body feels right now is to an overcooked strand of spaghetti. I'm trying to function like I normally do at the simplest tasks. My brain is telling my legs to move when I walk, but my muscles are simply responding in protest. "No more!", they shout! Every step I take my legs are wobbly, every time I try to lift my arm, it falls back to my side. I think my body is shutting down.
Tonight marked the first session of our Bootcamp Workout. I was more excited than scared to begin the work on a better "me"! Our workout was set in the park on a beautiful June evening just as the sun was starting to go down - What a night! People were heading home from work and onlookers eyed us as we were lead through our group exercise. The audience really didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. At one point we used the park benches to do body dips & a homeless man sitted next to us was heckling the team! We were unphased! At the time, I was more concerned about my form and holding in my core than what gibberish he was spouting. All was going pretty smoothly until we got toward the last part of the work out. Next on the list, the team was split in two. While half of us were doing jumping jacks the other part of the team simultaneously did walking lunges down to the end of the park's grass and back. Halfway through the jumping jacks my legs began to complain. It wasn't anything really directed at me, just more of a background moan and grown. Then it was our turn to do the walking lunges. Oh dear! By the time I was heading down toward the other end of the park, all hell broke loose! Somehow, Norma Rae was leading the revolt and all my muscles & even my lungs were falling in suit. My body wasn't having it! After many months of sitting on the couch, THINKING about getting fit, this is the payback my good intentions gave me. I wasn't going to make it! All the reasons played in my head - "What were you thinking? These women are a fraction of your age & weight!", "Just imagine how red your face is now for everyone to see!", "Do you feel this burning? How can you possibly put us through another one of these! "Are you breathing? I don't think you're breathing!" Then the trainer said, as if on que, "Are you breathing? Remember to breath!" I think the look of "Are you kidding me???" was hard to hide, but I powered through it. My lunges might not have been very pretty, and I may have even stopped dead in my tracks two lunges away from the finish line - but I mustered up the energy to get the last two that I had in me, out! I made it!! A high five exchanged with another team mate! I AM DONE! To my relief, our trainer called it a night after that. Whew! It took me quite a while to regain my composure. The sweat kicked in and my face did it's usual beat red, blotchy thing, but I did it! It may have not been the best work out of my life, but I made it through relatively unscathed.
Heading home with the windows down, enjoying the last rays of sunshine before they fell behind the hill, I felt accomplished! Even when I got home, exhausted, I still had enough energy to run through my daily endurance tests! My husband told me he was proud of me, and you know what? I'm proud of me too! I survived the day! Tomorrow may be another story, as I'm already feeling the stiffness set in. But you know what? I can feel practically every muscle in my body right now and that is a really good feeling! Sure, it may hurt right now, but it's a good kind of hurt.
As the old saying goes, "No pain, no gain!"
Can we say "Bring it!"? Amen.
Tonight marked the first session of our Bootcamp Workout. I was more excited than scared to begin the work on a better "me"! Our workout was set in the park on a beautiful June evening just as the sun was starting to go down - What a night! People were heading home from work and onlookers eyed us as we were lead through our group exercise. The audience really didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. At one point we used the park benches to do body dips & a homeless man sitted next to us was heckling the team! We were unphased! At the time, I was more concerned about my form and holding in my core than what gibberish he was spouting. All was going pretty smoothly until we got toward the last part of the work out. Next on the list, the team was split in two. While half of us were doing jumping jacks the other part of the team simultaneously did walking lunges down to the end of the park's grass and back. Halfway through the jumping jacks my legs began to complain. It wasn't anything really directed at me, just more of a background moan and grown. Then it was our turn to do the walking lunges. Oh dear! By the time I was heading down toward the other end of the park, all hell broke loose! Somehow, Norma Rae was leading the revolt and all my muscles & even my lungs were falling in suit. My body wasn't having it! After many months of sitting on the couch, THINKING about getting fit, this is the payback my good intentions gave me. I wasn't going to make it! All the reasons played in my head - "What were you thinking? These women are a fraction of your age & weight!", "Just imagine how red your face is now for everyone to see!", "Do you feel this burning? How can you possibly put us through another one of these! "Are you breathing? I don't think you're breathing!" Then the trainer said, as if on que, "Are you breathing? Remember to breath!" I think the look of "Are you kidding me???" was hard to hide, but I powered through it. My lunges might not have been very pretty, and I may have even stopped dead in my tracks two lunges away from the finish line - but I mustered up the energy to get the last two that I had in me, out! I made it!! A high five exchanged with another team mate! I AM DONE! To my relief, our trainer called it a night after that. Whew! It took me quite a while to regain my composure. The sweat kicked in and my face did it's usual beat red, blotchy thing, but I did it! It may have not been the best work out of my life, but I made it through relatively unscathed.
Heading home with the windows down, enjoying the last rays of sunshine before they fell behind the hill, I felt accomplished! Even when I got home, exhausted, I still had enough energy to run through my daily endurance tests! My husband told me he was proud of me, and you know what? I'm proud of me too! I survived the day! Tomorrow may be another story, as I'm already feeling the stiffness set in. But you know what? I can feel practically every muscle in my body right now and that is a really good feeling! Sure, it may hurt right now, but it's a good kind of hurt.
As the old saying goes, "No pain, no gain!"
Can we say "Bring it!"? Amen.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Picking up where I left off...
If I could get healthy by best intentions alone, I would already be at the weight & fitness level I've always wished for! Unfortunately, this is not how it works, despite my eagerness to achieve my goals. Months have gone by and, though I've done a pretty good job at maintaining, I'm nowhere near where I hoped to have been at this time 6 months ago...So the story goes! But one thing I've learned through out this process is that I've never given up. Though the fire may be merely a small burning ember, there is still a chance to ignite my "want" back into a roaring bonfire! Today is the day I put myself back on track! I must admit that I have been much nicer to myself over these past months. Maybe I became too forgiving of my poor choices (choosing a new episode of House over the gym, ice cream over a piece of fruit - you know how it goes). One thing is for sure - I haven't beaten myself up over these decisions either. Progress! I don't kid myself anymore. I am where I am at for lack of trying and I get it! But I also understand that at any moment, I can just as easily make the decision to pack my gym bag, get in the car and reward myself with a workout! I can grab an orange from the fruit bowl that I walk pass on my way to the freezer! So the light switch has been turned back on. Set backs arise and as long as I recognize that I can move passed them!
I used to say that if I could apply my work ethic toward my quest for a healthier me, I would have no problem achieving my goal! So what is it that sets the two apart?
Well, first I think it is confidence. I know that I am good at what I do! I approach my work with enthusiasm and passion. I am confident in my knowledge of my profession, but I also know there is much more for me to learn. I receive positive feedback from my superiors and have never felt that I've given less than 110%!
Secondly, I am accountable. I have deadlines to meet, a quality of product to make, and people depending on me achieve this!
And thirdly, I have a routine. I arrive at work at the same time every day with my morning rituals to prepare me for the work ahead. I organize myself and break down my workload into more simple tasks in order to get everything done!
How have I been approaching my steps to a healthier me? Here's the difference...
When I do make it to the gym, I am terrified of the weight machines and generally stick to the treadmill every single workout. I don't go to group classes for fear that people will stare at my bright red face that always gets blotchy whenever I start to overexert myself! Because I am overweight, I feel like it's apparent that I am not in my element & I'm lacking knowledge in how to get myself fit!
I am not accountable to myself! Like I said before, I have all the best intentions but I am easily persuaded to give up a trip to the gym for anything remotely more interesting. I'm the only one depending on myself right now to get healthy. It's a work in process putting myself first, and something that I still trying to accomplish.
I have a meager routine when it comes to weight loss and no routine when it comes to getting fit. I'm involved in a weight loss program that has it's ups and downs (at least on the scale). And for the fitness, see above regarding my fear of the machines.
Oh, I can see clearly now!
So hear it is....I'm putting my best sneaker forward! At least for the next month anyway! I've made a commitment to a group of women at work. We're involved in a fitness competition at a local gym. We are full of enthusiasm, support and a goal (myself included)! I am now accountable to people other than just myself. They are relying on me to do my part in winning this competition and I don't want to let them down! Since I work with these people, I can definitely trick my brain into applying my work ethic into all this! We're already planning on doing some workouts at lunch! Best of all, we have a trainer for the next month who's job is help us build our endurance - Not to mention that I have an ex-Olympian on our team for additional guidance!
Am I the heaviest one on the team? Yes! Am I the oldest one on the team? Most definitely! And really, I thought I would care a lot more than I really do! Maybe I've just gotten used to weighing in every week. Maybe I finally figured out that the # on the scale doesn't measure how good or bad of a person I am! It's just a number! And hey, I look at it this way - I figure that I'm an asset to the team because I'm the one that has the biggest opportunity to improve! And I tell you what, today we had to do some endurance tests and I kicked butt on my time for the plank pose!
So I will be back more often from here on out! I will post my process of this crazy fitness competition that I've gotten myself mixed up in! For the first time in a long time, I've found a purpose other than just trying to get the # on the scale to go down! It's about proving to myself that I can do this! And I will!
Bring it....
I used to say that if I could apply my work ethic toward my quest for a healthier me, I would have no problem achieving my goal! So what is it that sets the two apart?
Well, first I think it is confidence. I know that I am good at what I do! I approach my work with enthusiasm and passion. I am confident in my knowledge of my profession, but I also know there is much more for me to learn. I receive positive feedback from my superiors and have never felt that I've given less than 110%!
Secondly, I am accountable. I have deadlines to meet, a quality of product to make, and people depending on me achieve this!
And thirdly, I have a routine. I arrive at work at the same time every day with my morning rituals to prepare me for the work ahead. I organize myself and break down my workload into more simple tasks in order to get everything done!
How have I been approaching my steps to a healthier me? Here's the difference...
When I do make it to the gym, I am terrified of the weight machines and generally stick to the treadmill every single workout. I don't go to group classes for fear that people will stare at my bright red face that always gets blotchy whenever I start to overexert myself! Because I am overweight, I feel like it's apparent that I am not in my element & I'm lacking knowledge in how to get myself fit!
I am not accountable to myself! Like I said before, I have all the best intentions but I am easily persuaded to give up a trip to the gym for anything remotely more interesting. I'm the only one depending on myself right now to get healthy. It's a work in process putting myself first, and something that I still trying to accomplish.
I have a meager routine when it comes to weight loss and no routine when it comes to getting fit. I'm involved in a weight loss program that has it's ups and downs (at least on the scale). And for the fitness, see above regarding my fear of the machines.
Oh, I can see clearly now!
So hear it is....I'm putting my best sneaker forward! At least for the next month anyway! I've made a commitment to a group of women at work. We're involved in a fitness competition at a local gym. We are full of enthusiasm, support and a goal (myself included)! I am now accountable to people other than just myself. They are relying on me to do my part in winning this competition and I don't want to let them down! Since I work with these people, I can definitely trick my brain into applying my work ethic into all this! We're already planning on doing some workouts at lunch! Best of all, we have a trainer for the next month who's job is help us build our endurance - Not to mention that I have an ex-Olympian on our team for additional guidance!
Am I the heaviest one on the team? Yes! Am I the oldest one on the team? Most definitely! And really, I thought I would care a lot more than I really do! Maybe I've just gotten used to weighing in every week. Maybe I finally figured out that the # on the scale doesn't measure how good or bad of a person I am! It's just a number! And hey, I look at it this way - I figure that I'm an asset to the team because I'm the one that has the biggest opportunity to improve! And I tell you what, today we had to do some endurance tests and I kicked butt on my time for the plank pose!
So I will be back more often from here on out! I will post my process of this crazy fitness competition that I've gotten myself mixed up in! For the first time in a long time, I've found a purpose other than just trying to get the # on the scale to go down! It's about proving to myself that I can do this! And I will!
Bring it....
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