I’ve Been Slacking… (Not What You Are Thinking ;-) )

So, I just took a look, and I see that the last post I made here was when I was to sign up for the personal trainer.  I did do that, and I got in a good workout with the training rep, which he had thrown my way for free.  It was a very intense workout, as expected, and I felt great (but sore) after it was done.

I worked out on Saturday, another day on the elliptical.  I don’t remember and didn’t write down how long, but probably around 1/2 an hour.  I took Sunday and Monday off, and then got back to work on Tuesday, when I was supposed to meet with my regular personal trainer – Jay.

Turns out there was a problem with the schedule, and somehow Jay had been double booked, so they threw me another session for the confusion, and I worked out with a trainer named Jen.  She was very good, and I felt like I got in a good workout, but she seemed a bit weary about pushing me.  She started to realize I wanted to be pushed by the end, and she was definitely up to the task.  Another good workout followed by 20 minutes of cardio work.

Wednesday I went back in and did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, but this time I did a kind of interval training.  I did 5 minutes to warm up, then 5 minutes at a very intense speed, slowed down for 5, back up for 5, then slowed down for the next 5, followed by an even slower 5 minute cool-down.

My training session with Jay was rescheduled to today.  Wow!  He really pushes, and I loved it.  I think I almost collapsed before we got to the end, but part of me wanted to keep going.  We went through and got my measurements, talked about nutrition, and then got right to work.  I can barely remember the workout, but he documented it all and made sure to put it together for me on a sheet I have to use to record my workouts when I’m not with him.

I also have to fill out a food diary with three days of very detailed information.  He wants two weekdays and one weekend day, so since this is a holiday weekend coming up I’m going to record tomorrow, Sunday and then Tuesday.  My next meeting with him is on Wednesday of next week.

So, after reading all that, you may be wondering where I think I’ve been slacking.  Well, it is right here.  I’ve been slacking when it comes to recording my progress here in these posts.  I need to make this part of my daily ritual.  I want this to be second only to the workouts themselves in importance, because along with the documents Jay and I keep at the gym, I want a good record of my preparation.

I’m very excited about all of this.  Every time I work out, I can’t think of anything except hiking.  Well, that’s not strictly true, but it is on my mind during every workout.  I want to enjoy hiking as much as I know I would.  I enjoy it now, and it is exhausting and painful.  When I’m in better shape I know I’ll enjoy it more – much more!

I’m going to share with you a kind of personal story, then we’ll call it a day and reconvene here tomorrow, OK?  When my brother and I went hiking in the season before last, I was in better shape and much lighter than I am now.  I’ve actually gained almost 35 lbs in the two years.  However, I was still in poor shape and I found the hike to be completely exhausting every day.

On one of the final days we were hiking along as usual, with Mike up ahead of me.  I think it was just after lunch and we had left a shelter where we had stopped to eat.  I was already worn out, but we had a lot of ground left to cover.  We had a signal if one of us veered off the course for any reason – we would leave our stick and hat where we went off.

There was a blue blazed scenic trail along the way, which I saw the signs for, but I somehow missed Mike’s hat and stick at the entrance.  As I was approaching the trail I did debate going up it, but decided I wanted to just press forward on the main trail.

Mike waited for me at the scenic overlook, then when it seemed like too much time went past, he walked back to look for me.  He didn’t find me along the blue blazed trail, so he grabbed his stick and hat and walked back further along the trail until he ran into another hiker we had met previously.  He asked if I was behind, which I wasn’t, so he hiked up to find me further on along the trail.

I never told him this, though he’ll know now if he reads this, but I was kind of embarrassed.  I didn’t pass by his marker intentionally.  I was just so tired I didn’t pick my head up long enough to see it.  And he had enough energy to hike backward, then catch me, and then hike ahead again.  And the pictures didn’t do the overlook justice from what he said, so I’m sorry I missed it.

I don’t know how much better this hike coming up will be for me as far as this goes, but I’m hoping it will be much better.  Even though I’m going to be heavier this time around because I don’t expect to lose 30 lbs in the next three weeks (possible, but not likely), I’m hoping the conditioning work I’m doing will make it feel better.

Alright, I know, this was a very long post.  I had a lot of slacking to make up for, so I hope I did.  Tomorrow is just a cardio day, but I’ve been told I should be doing an hour, so that is the plan for tomorrow.  And in that post, I’ll have to tell you about one of the best things I’ve purchased to wear during my workouts.  I’m looking forward to wearing these on the hike too.  See you tomorrow.

Related Posts:

• Personal Trainer Day!!!
• Only Three Days Left Of Week Two
• Getting There – Slogging Along
• Week Two – Going Strong
• Half Way There (In A Manner Of Speaking…)

Personal Trainer Day!!!

First of all, I’m sorry I missed posting yesterday.  It was kind of a crazy day, and I didn’t get my workout in until almost 3 in the afternoon, and then I came home to a house full of kids, so I got a bit sidetracked.  Anyway, it wasn’t that much to blog about.  I did 30 minutes on the treadmill, not overly intense.  I knew today was going to be beyond intense, so I wanted to give myself a chance.

So, today I signed up for a personal trainer.  I had mentioned how much I wanted it, but that it was a bit of a stretch with my budget.  Well, today I was pleasantly surprised when Chris (the training sales guy) offered me a deal on the training.  It fit much more easily into my budget, and I couldn’t have been happier.

I’ve often repeated the idea that when you want something badly enough, the universe bends to help you get it.  That was how it felt today.  Once the paperwork was done, we got in a great workout, similar to the last one, but different as well.

We started out with a ten minute warm-up, then moved into the weight room.  He had me doing sets of bench press with 15 reps at a low weight (not sure how much) followed by squats with the ball.  The first one was a squat and hold, the second set 5 squats, hold, 5 more, then the last was 10 squats, each with a bench press in between.

Then we went back to the stairs, and with the ball he had me take two steps at a time (he wanted three, but my short legs just couldn’t reach) up and down three times, followed by shoulder work.  First set was 10 lateral raises followed by 10 front raises, second set was a raise and hold for both, and the third was 10 and 10 again.

We then moved deeper into the fitness room where he handed me two 20 lbs dumbbells and had me do what he termed the “farmer’s walk.”  I simply walked with one in each hand down at my side the length of the room, then at the far end he had me hold a curl position, back across and hold a shoulder press.  We did that twice.  Then came abs.

I don’t think I’ve ever pushed my ab workouts that hard.  We started with the ball held straight up, straight legs together, doing crunches.  Then bend the legs for 10 more, lift the legs for 10, then legs straight up for 10 more (well, as straight up as I could get them at that point ).  Then a second set without the ball, and skipping the straight up.  He then sent me to do what he termed the “worst mile.”

That was a treadmill workout in which I started at an incline of 1, and increased the incline by one each minute up to incline 15.  After a minute at 15 I dropped by 2 each minute until I was back to one, then finished out for 25 minutes.  I felt like a train wreck when I was done, but it was really good.

I can’t remember if I’m supposed to be recording everything I eat between now and Tuesday, when I meet my trainer for the first time.  I think I am supposed to, so I need to start that journal right away, since I’ve already had a snack since I got home.  Tuesday I think will be a measurement and set-up day, going over nutrition and such.  I’m not sure if I’ll get a workout in with him that day, but I assume I will.

There is still a lot of prep I need to do for June’s hike, but getting this moving was the most important.  Now it’s time to make the other dominoes fall.

Related Posts:

• Only Three Days Left Of Week Two
• Getting There – Slogging Along
• Week Two – Going Strong
• Half Way There (In A Manner Of Speaking…)
• Getting Really Sore

Only Three Days Left Of Week Two

Here we are, at Wednesday of the second week, and I still haven’t missed a single workout.  It may not seem like a lot to most people, but as someone who hasn’t done that much working out in a long time, it is a real accomplishment.  I’m very happy with where I am right now.

Today’s workout was a great one.  I didn’t do abs because the fitness room was closed, but I did 45 minutes on the elliptical machine at a pretty brisk pace.  And I was feeling so good and getting so into it that I had to force myself to slow down for my cool down and then stop at the 45 minutes mark.

Two more days of working out in the gym this week.  Then they are closed for the weekend because of the construction that’s going on.  So I have to decide if I’ll go to another location on Saturday, or if I’ll do something else.  I’m leaning toward walking to and from the gym as my workout if the weather is nice.  I may even go with my pack on to get the feel for that again.  It will only be about three miles, but I think that will give me enough of a workout after Chris kicks my ass again during my training session on Friday.

The one thing I would like to be keeping more diligent about is my diet.  I’ve slipped back into my regular eating habits of eating out and not choosing healthy stuff.  Since I didn’t make any dietary commitment yet, I’m not going to beat myself up over it, but I think eating better will help me feel better and give me more energy.

Also, with my hike coming up quickly (just over 4 weeks away) I need to start making sure I’m ready on all fronts.  I am going to spend a little time today researching hiking menus.  I think the last time I went hiking I had far less energy than I should have had because I wasn’t being smart about food.  I also need to get myself a pair of boots I can actually hike in, and I need to order the maps and guidebooks I need.

So much to do, and so much to get, and so little time.  But I’m excited.  I’ve made the decision that I’ll start out with my brother on the 22nd, most likely at the Delaware Water Gap, or somewhere just on the PA side of the river.  We’ll need to figure out how far we think we can get in 5 days so we can plan for where he’ll get picked up, and then I need to plan for the next 5 days so I know where I need to get picked up.

It’s hard to believe how much preparation and planning are required even for just a 10 day hike.  It really brings home just how much more preparation the thru hike will take.  But I’m really looking forward to that already as well.

Related Posts:

• Personal Trainer Day!!!
• Getting There – Slogging Along
• Week Two – Going Strong
• Half Way There (In A Manner Of Speaking…)
• Getting Really Sore

Getting There – Slogging Along

Today puts me 1/3 of the way through my second week, or 2/3 of the way through the two weeks (8th workout out of 12).  And let me tell you, today was more difficult than yesterday.  Here’s the thing…

Yesterday, after my workout, I came home and immediately mowed the lawn.  It really needed it (should have been done on Friday) so I wanted to get it out of the way early.  After I came in, I showered, and from there on out I was exhausted all day.  I mean, falling asleep at the computer exhausted – literally.

I went to bed before 9 last night, and although I woke up a couple times during the night, I slept until about 7 this morning, and I still woke up feeling tired.  So there are a few things I think might be going on here.

I could be over-training.  I don’t believe this one to be the case, but it is possible, so I’m throwing it out there.  I could also be coming down with something.  We’ve had some illness in the house lately, and this could be me finally coming down with that.  I hope that’s not the case, but it’s possible.

It could also be the weekend catching up with me.  I went to NJ this weekend.  Drove down on Saturday and drove home on Sunday.  Before we left, we ate at Wood ‘n Tap.  Then we took my mother out to TGI Friday’s Saturday night.  We went to Perkin’s on Sunday morning for breakfast, and then we went out again on Sunday night because we were too tired to cook when we got home.  All of the driving, staying up late and rich food could just be wearing me down.

Either way, I stuck to my guns this morning and got to the gym.  I did 25 minutes on the elliptical, a somewhat light workout.  It didn’t really help me feel better like yesterday’s did, so there is one other possibility for my feeling this way.  It could be mental.  My mind could be rebelling against the changes I’m making now that the euphoria has worn off.  I suspect this to be the most likely cause, and it certainly is the one I have the most control over, so I’m going to start working on that today.

I need to focus on how much I enjoy the workouts, how much better they make me feel, and how much I want to do this.  I want to keep this in mind all day today, trying to recall the euphoric feeling I had after the workout with the trainer as well as the days before and the day following.  This should be my last thought tonight before I go to sleep so my subconscious has something to work with tonight.

I switched the trainer to Friday so I can sign up at that time.  I’ve come up with a few more questions I want to ask him, but they probably won’t have too much impact on my decision, which has already been made.  That means that tomorrow I’ll be back to a vigorous workout on the elliptical followed by abs, just like yesterday.  Then Thursday will be lighter so I’m ready for the trainer on Friday.

Related Posts:

• Personal Trainer Day!!!
• Only Three Days Left Of Week Two
• Week Two – Going Strong
• Half Way There (In A Manner Of Speaking…)
• Getting Really Sore

Week Two – Going Strong

Today was the first day of the second week of my two week commitment, and I’m still on track.  I have to admit, today was the toughest so far as far as motivation to go.  I was feeling tired this morning, and didn’t feel like it.

But, as I promised, I made the decision to go anyway.  I’m glad I did because it keeps me on track, and I got in a really good workout.  I did 35 minutes on the elliptical with what felt like more intensity than I’ve had on the machines so far.  I don’t have any objective numbers to verify that, but it was how it felt.

Also, I don’t think I mentioned in my posts last week that I moved my appointment with the trainer from Friday to this coming Wednesday.  I may move it again because I don’t really have the money to put down to get the training started yet.  I’m working on coming up with the money, and hopefully by either the end of this week or sometime next week I’ll have it.  I don’t want to waste his time or mine, so I don’t really want to go for the free session until I can sign up for the training.

I’m feeling kind of exhausted right now, so I guess that’s about all for today.  Must be the weekend catching up to me.  I’ll be back again tomorrow.

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• Personal Trainer Day!!!
• Only Three Days Left Of Week Two
• Getting There – Slogging Along
• Half Way There (In A Manner Of Speaking…)
• Getting Really Sore

Half Way There (In A Manner Of Speaking…)

Today was another light workout.  I did 35 minutes on the treadmill, then two sets of 15 crunches with 15 leg lifts.  I’m feeling really good.

And, I’m 1/2 way through my two week absolute commitment.  Now, that of course doesn’t mean that I’ll stop working out at the end of the two weeks.  I’ll need to make a further commitment at that time, but for now I wanted to keep the first stretch short and manageable.

Not much else to say today.  I’m headed for NJ, so I’ll be back on Monday with more updates.

Related Posts:

• Personal Trainer Day!!!
• Only Three Days Left Of Week Two
• Getting There – Slogging Along
• Week Two – Going Strong
• Getting Really Sore

Getting Really Sore

Today was a very mild workout compared to the last two.  For today’s workout I did 25 minutes on the stationary bike, and didn’t push it too hard.

I had to drop one of the girls off this morning at 9, so I didn’t get into the gym until about quarter past.  Also I had stopped yesterday at the spin cycle for a few beers, then had a couple more after I got home.  I’m not sure how much either played into how I felt today, but I was also so sore in my shoulders last night that I could barely move them, and they weren’t much better this morning, so I knew it would be a lighter workout.

I’m not at all disappointed at all with this though.  My commitment was to get to the gym and work out without fail each of six days this week and next.  The plan was to take Sunday off in both weeks, so I’m still on target for meeting that commitment, which makes me very happy.

And even though my shoulders hurt, it still feels good.  I know that this soreness is a byproduct of the muscles getting worked, and I know that it means I’m working out hard enough to make it count.  I do need to stay aware and be sure I don’t go overboard, which today’s workout plays into perfectly.

Aside from the soreness, I also feel like I have more energy already, which makes me very happy.  I’m sure that is a product of not only working out but also eating better, so I’m definitely going to continue down that path too.

BTW – It appears that the post I wrote for yesterday is gone.  I did about 35 minutes on the elliptical and it was very intense.  I think that may have contributed to the shoulder pain.

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• Personal Trainer Day!!!
• Only Three Days Left Of Week Two
• Getting There – Slogging Along
• Week Two – Going Strong
• Half Way There (In A Manner Of Speaking…)

My Fitness Evaluation

OK, I may change my tune on this tomorrow, but today was awesome.  I went to get my complimentary fitness evaluation at the gym, which I already knew was a sales pitch for personal training.  I had forgotten how great it is to have a coach.

Today’s workout was the most strenuous workout I’ve had since I was in college, which was many moons ago.  Definitely the hardest I’ve pushed myself since I played organized team sports.  It felt awesome.  There I am, wanting to curl up into the fetal position and cry, and the trainer is telling me I only need to do 5 more…

Well, maybe it wasn’t quite that intense, but it was close.  And I absolutely loved every minute of it.

We worked the quads, glutes, abs, biceps and shoulders today.  Here is today’s workout:

3 sets of 3 reps up and down a flight of stairs with a 7 lbs medicine ball held at the top of my chest, followed by 15 seconds leaning against a wall in a squat position
3 sets of 15 arm curls with just the curl bar followed by 15 squats with the 7 lbs medicine ball
1 set of 15 straight leg crunches, followed by 15 bent leg crunches, followed by 15 lifted leg crunches
3 sets of 15 military presses with (I think) 10 lbs dumbbells (could have been 15 lbs) followed by 10 forward arm raises with the same dumbbells
1 set of 15 crunches with one bent leg and one raised on right side, followed by the same with left leg raised, followed by 15 crunches bringing legs up at the same time

It was positively excruciating, but in a really good way.  I’ve made the decision that I’m going to sign up for the personal training, because there is no way I’ll see as much progress on my own as I will going through this kind of training.  Did I mention how I’d forgotten how good it is to have a coach?

We also did an overall fitness evaluation, went over my goals, where I am now (body fat %, fitness level), talked about nutrition (only a little bit, not extensively – that’s part of the training package), and then at the end we went over the training packages they offer.  I don’t think it’s overly expensive for what they offer, so I’m going to need to cut back to make it work.  But make not mistake, I’ll make it work.

Because I seemed somewhat on the fence, he did offer me another free session on Friday, so I’m already excited to go in and get that workout going.

Has anyone else used a personal trainer?  I’d love to hear about what your experiences were – good or bad.  Please tell us all about it in the comments section below – but please don’t call anyone or any company out by name, OK?

Chris

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• Personal Trainer Day!!!
• Only Three Days Left Of Week Two
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• Week Two – Going Strong
• Half Way There (In A Manner Of Speaking…)

Day Two – So Far, So Good

OK, today is the second day of my commitment to get to the gym and get back into shape, and everything is going according to Hoyle.  Let’s look at yesterday after the gym first, and then we’ll get to where we are today.

So, yesterday, before I went to the gym, I had an English muffin with peanut butter for breakfast.   After I got back, I had an early lunch of a turkey meatloaf sandwich (leftovers from the other night), and then a snack of some beef jerky later in the afternoon.  Last night’s dinner was chicken picadillo, a recipe out of a healthy cookbook Donna purchased at work a while ago.  It was delicious, and we had it with rice and peas and a salad.

This morning, because the gym is going through renovations, I was afraid the weight room would be closed at 6:30 like it was yesterday, so I went early.  Because of this, I didn’t walk down there today, which bothers me a little because it is sunny day, though cold.  But I did get up an hour early so I could get there and get in a workout before they closed the room.

Unfortunately, it was unnecessary because they were not closing the weight room today, but since no one there seems to know the construction schedule it is better to play it safe.

No matter, because I got into the gym again!  Two days in a row, and I’m feeling really good.

Today’s workout was as follows (done in this order):

This workout took me about half an hour, which is what I expected.  Some of the exercises were definitely taxing, like the lunges and leg lifts, so I’ll continue to use the same weight, sets and reps.  The only one that felt too light was the bent rows, so I’ll up the weight on that next time to 25 lbs.

I didn’t eat before I went.  Breakfast was at about 7:30, and I had two egg and American cheese sandwiches on English muffins.

Alright, I know that’s a lot of detail about everything, but I’m hoping by being completely transparent about what I’m eating and my exercise routine I’ll catch anything that might sabotage my effort before it becomes a problem.  I’m also hoping that anyone else in a similar position (overweight, out of shape, and wanting to do something very physically demanding) might find this all useful as well.

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• Personal Trainer Day!!!
• Only Three Days Left Of Week Two
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• Week Two – Going Strong
• Half Way There (In A Manner Of Speaking…)

CRAP!!!

As I’ve often said, no good deed goes unpunished.  My good deed for today was attempting to upgrade my version of WordPress.

This blog was running on a very old version, and had apparently been installed using a tool I don’t remember, so I had to go through a completely manual upgrade.  I did go through and back everything up, but I can’t seem to restore the database, and the theme doesn’t seem compatible with this version.

CRAP!

So, for now, I’m working on updating the site to get it at least back to looking OK.  I’ll need to find and customize a new theme, so the site may look a bit hokey over the next few days as I find the time to do that.

The good news is that the post I put up yesterday, and the one I was working on for today, I still have in a text file on my computer, so I’ll just have to input them again.

I’m going to have to believe that this is all for the best.  It feels like Sunday was a starting over point for me anyway, and yesterday was the real beginning, so maybe it really is a good thing.  I know I’m just trying to convince myself of that right now, but…

Anyway, I’m sorry for the appearance of the blog.  Until I get it fixed up, which I don’t have the time to do today, this will have to do.

CRAP!

BTW – if anyone knows SQL really well and would like to see if the previous posts and comments might be salvageable, please leave a comment below.  Thanks!

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