Aw, nuts.

When I woke up this morning, I definitely remembered I worked out with Trainer #2 yesterday.  Oh-em-gee my boo-TEE!  I swear, it feels like I should be able to crack walnuts with it.  

Like, I feel like my bum should look like this under my clothes:

Seriously.  It feels THAT tight.  And not only do I feel like I could crack walnuts, I'm also kind of walking stiffly, too.  Well, at least that's what I was told this morning when I tried to roll myself out of bed.  Nope, no hopping straight out of bed like I was doing two weeks ago.  Not yet anyway.  

I know that the first two weeks or so are sometimes uncomfortable due to using muscles that haven't been used in a while or used in a new way.  I know it WILL get better and I WILL be able to look back at all of these posts and laugh at myself.

Waking up like I did and walking like I had no knee joints, I decided to skip cardio again today.  I did talk with Trainer #2 later in the morning and it was suggested that I do about 30 minutes of cardio three times a week starting next week now.  That way, my body has started to get adjusted to these workouts.  So, as I had planned on doing both last week and this week, I'll stay on my normal 7:30 am routine and will only do cardio on my non-PT days which will be Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  I was actually expecting to be assigned about 45 minutes of cardio, so I was pleasantly surprised to have it be less.  (I almost feel like only 30 minutes is cheating somehow, you know?)  

That's another thing about this.  The sessions are only 30 minutes long which I figured would be a breeze, buuut... negative.  We don't waste time.  We're working the whole time, and not only are we working, but we're working HARD.  Or at least I am.  The trainers never seem to break a sweat for some reason?!  Haha! The workouts haven't been easy by any stretch--I guess they're considering me to be more advanced--, BUT it's nice to be able to get in and out in 30 minutes instead of the long hour and a half that I could easily spend trying to fit squeeze everything in on my own.  It actually helps me to streamline my daily schedule and make sure I fit in a workout.  I'm just finding that I'm spending less time working out in general.  Can't complain about that! 

Seriously though, the workouts are great and I feel like I'm hitting everything I need to muscle-wise without having to research and plan it all out first.  Nice!  Normally, by the time I finally figure out what I want to do workout wise, I've lost the motivation or time to actually DO the workout.    

Anyway, next week I start doing cardio.  I just have to get up, get it done, and be done with it.  No excuses and no flabby summertime booty!

Trainer #2, Workout #2

Confession time...  

I did not make it to the gym yesterday to do the cardio I had planned on doing.  I had some work stuff that required my attention and I ended up coming in nearly two hours early to take care of everything.  That's how it goes sometimes, but it's not something I'm going to allow to completely derail me.

Then, last night, I did not eat like I should have.  I know everyone has a different definition of not eating well (typically greasy burgers and fries, fried foods, etc.), but I don't really compare what I eat to what anyone else eats.  I just eat what I know my body needs to have.  Last night I did not do that and I feel like today's workout suffered because of it.  I'm almost positive it did.  It's kind of like giving your car gas with water in it.  It just doesn't perform like it's supposed to and like you know it can.  

Yes, it felt like a double whammy to me to not workout then not eat well on top of that.  No, I'm not beating myself up about it ('cause "ain't nobody got time fo that"! Hahaha!), but I WILL use it as a reminder that I need to give my body good 'fuel'...  

This morning I worked with Trainer #2 and before we even got started, I was informed that it was a "300 style" workout.  Yeah...  If you've ever seen the movie "300" and seen the BODIES that are in that movie?  They're like, woah!  Do a quick Google search. Seriously.   

Before I even got started I knew I would be tired by the end of it.  Haha!  I did some new things I've never tried and it was a great change of pace.  I know the trainers basically have an encyclopedia worth of workouts in their heads...  Just tons of different exercises to work each different muscle and muscle group, you know?  That book was opened up for today's workout, for sure!

I did a total of 6 exercises, 3 rounds of 25 reps with each.  Oh. My. Gosh!  Trainer #2 confirmed that it was a tough workout, so I didn't feel too wussy...  I was definitely having to push myself through each exercise -- and so was #2.  Haha!  It was really nice to have a cheerleader pushing me on, telling me I could do it, especially when I was ready to stop which was about halfway through the workout.  I was SO tired at the end of this workout!  The good, I've-just-had-a-great-workout kind of tired.

It took me a good 10 minutes to fully recover from before I grabbed my gym bag and hit the shower.  I have a yummy smelling bodywash that I reserve to be used ONLY after I've worked out (otherwise, I just use a plain bar soap), so between my special bodywash gel and a hot, shower with no interruptions?  I felt very refreshed.  #2 definitely has made me work my muscles to exhaustion in a way that I haven't seemed to be able to do myself.

You know, I don't stress too much about bathing suit season, but I AM curious and looking forward to seeing how much I can do between now and then.  That's only three good months out, so it's just right around the corner!  Yay!

Trainer #1, Workout #2

Well...  This morning didn't quite go as planned but due to last night's prep work, it didn't phase me as badly as it very well could have.  I got up to the club today and found out that there were septic issues again.  I really didn't change much about my morning with the exception that I knew I'd have to run home to shower when the workout was over.

I worked with Trainer #1 again today.  The workout was great.  We only did about 10 exercises, but the way we did them?  Woah!  My arms are nice and tired, and I'm very curious to see how everything feels tomorrow and Wednesday.

I left the gym sweating, red-faced, and tired.  The good kind of tired.  I'm not sure about my current weight but will likely weigh myself at the end of the week or early next.  I've been so busy working out and recovering that I haven't really paid much attention to it actually.  No complaints there!

Tomorrow will be a cardio day.  We didn't do much legs, so it should go well.  Definitely looking forward to it!

Lessons Learned

It's Sunday night and I've just finished wrapping up some cooking. I just couldn't seem to get ready in time in the mornings, likely because I added an extra 10-30 minutes to each morning.

What I've been doing hasn't worked like i want it to, so I had to figure out how to shave time off of my mornings.

I can't change the time the bus runs (7 am), but I CAN change the two five-minute drives I was making to the gym and back home again. I would workout, come home and eat, shower, and go to work. By bringing my packed gym bag and using the gym showers, I'm automatically saving 10 minutes a day (and saving gas, too)!

What about breakfast or post-workout meal? Last week I had scrambled eggs with sautéed veggies almost every morning. Unfortunately, I don't have a stove at work. Just a microwave. I've brought packets of instant oatmeal with me and that works OK. Protein shakes are quick and easy, but I don't feel very satisfied when that's all I have, so I've got to do something else...

I found an easy recipe on Pinterest. And when I say easy? I mean stupid easy! I am a huge fan of almost anything pumpkin, so this was perfect for me -- pumpkin muffins. How simple? Two ingredients simple. One can pure pumpkin and one box of yellow cake mix. That's it! 350 degrees for 20-25 min. SIMPLE. I did a quality assurance taste test, so I can confirm that they're good.

Soooo, for breakfast this week I'll have pumpkin muffins. For lunches I'll be having brown rice, mixed veggies, and Jamie Eason's turkey meatloaf muffins (SO good!). For snacks, I'll have a turkey muffin and/or cut up, leftover celery from the turkey muffins.

I've got everything packed and ready to go, food wise. I just made everything while I was cooking dinner for the kids. It really wasn't that much work surprisingly.

Workout wise, my upper chest is a bit sore, but it didn't got to the point of not being able to function. I'm feeling longer, if that makes sense at all? I'm not quite five feet tall, so it's always nice to feel long. Haha!

Now, to go pack my gym bag so I don't have to rush around in the morning and do it. I'm looking forward to what Week 2 has in store!

Trainer #3, Workout #1

My morning started off by waking up about 45 minutes late.  Boooo!  I seriously have NO idea how I slept through or silenced my alarm, but I knew I had to be at the gym for my 7:30 am PT appointment, so taking them to school wasn't an option since I knew I'd be late.  I had all three kids up, dressed, and ready before the bus came.  I even made it into the gym about 5 minutes early or so.  Mom of the Morning right here folks!

I'm not sure if it was from waking up late and rushing around or not, but outside of my hamstrings feeling tight, I feel so good!

I haven't bothered to weigh or measure since I got my measurements on Monday, but I actually feel leaner already.  Tighter.  No marked difference in my clothes though I'm not expecting to see that big of a difference in one week.  

I am trying to really be aware of what I'm eating, more fresh fruits and veggies, more water, less bread and sugar...  I know that if I can keep this pace up, I'll see some results.  I'll probably weigh myself early next week depending on how I do this weekend.  I know that diet plays a big part in everything, so I want to be sure I don't ruin this week's hard work with eating crap food this weekend, you know?! 

I'm going to aim to get in tomorrow morning for some more cardio to round out the week, then will take Sunday off to recover.  I'm really curious to see how much I can do in one month if I really work at it.

Car-dee-ohhhhh!

This morning I woke up and, outside of my hamstrings being extra tight thanks to the straight-leg deadlifts, all of the soreness feels like it's starting to ease.  Of course, tight hamstrings = passing the potty test.  You know what that is right?  Like, when you workout your legs so hard, it's hard to sit on the pot?  Yeah.  That.

I got the kids on the bus this morning without a fight.  I stopped moving for a minute as I watched the bus pull away and quickly remembered that my legs were sore.  Really, my butt and calves are probably the only parts that aren't sore...  I really didn't feel like doing anything other than sitting right back down on my un-sore butt and enjoying watching the news in a quiet house.  Instead, I forced myself to get dressed and drug myself out the door.  Knowing that one of my trainers would have asked me where I was this morning was just enough of a motivation to stay in the 7:30 am workout routine.

The hardest part about getting into a routine or habit is the actual getting INTO the habit.  You know, because once you actually DO get into a habit, it's hard to get out of it.  Kind of like brushing your teeth.  You do it without thinking (out of habit) and miss it when you don't do it.  Especially in the mornings, huh?!  (Um, morning breath anyone?  Eew!)  I know myself well enough that I know if I can MAKE myself do something for about two weeks, I'll get back into the habit.  That's it.  Only 14 days...

So, anyway, after fighting the strong (like, SUPER strong) urge to stay home, I got dressed and got out of the house.  Once I got to the gym, I eased my way to the treadmill, not really knowing what to expect once I forced myself to start moving.

I did an easy walking warming up for about 5 minutes then ended up doing a slow and steady jog for the next 20.  I chose to do the "Random" setting on the treadmill, so I would see a peak coming and force myself to at least get over the peak.  Once I was on my way back down, I figured I could jog until I got to the bottom of the peak.  By that time, I was recovered enough to make it up the next one.  Around the 15 minute mark, I felt like my legs were made of lead, but I forced myself to keep going.  I know it felt unusually difficult due to how hard I've worked the past few days, but the concrete shoes I was lugging around?  Ugh.

Anyway, my workout ended with me burning 243 calories, 2.16 miles, 30 min (including warm up and cool down).

I was sweating buckets afterward but overall felt pretty.  If I hadn't worked out, I'd have been more sore and I know I would have regretted the decision by lunchtime.

I'll be training with Trainer #3 tomorrow and have a pretty good idea of what to expect (I think?)...

Trainer #2, Workout #1

This morning I woke up expecting to be even more sore than I was yesterday.  Normally, when I hit the weights so hard, the soreness really doesn't hit me until the second day after the workout.  I was pleasantly surprised!  I was a little stiff getting going, but warmed up pretty quickly once I drug myself out of bed.    

I got the kids ready and off to school, the husband off to 'work', and got myself dressed and out the door.  I got to the gym and went straight to work.  A quick, weightless warm up, and we were off.  About 10 minutes into the workout, I could feel my pulse quicken.  Another five minutes or so later, I could feel a good pump.  Twenty minutes in, I glanced at the clock and was having to dig deep to finish the last 10 minutes I knew I had ahead of me.  By the end of the workout, my face was flushed, I was sweating, and I felt energized!  It was challenging but not so hard I didn't think I could do it.  

I've heard the saying that working out once a week with a trainer is better than five workouts by yourself, and now I totally get that.  In all honesty, I've probably worked harder these past two workouts than I ever have on my own, and I think that says a lot since I workout pretty darn hard!  I just like to push myself, but this was different.  Kind of like a weighted cardio session if that makes any sense at all?  On top of the challenging workout, being as busy as I am in the mornings, it's nice to get in and out, without having to spend an hour in the gym when I could be doing other things.

Anyway, tomorrow should be interesting to say the least!  I'll be coming back in on my own and doing some cardio, though I'm not sure at this point if it's going to be "hard cardio" OR "recovery cardio".  Haha!  

Only day 2?!

Soooo, after yesterday's workout, today it hurt to...

... Walk
... Use the restroom
... Wash my hair
... Get dressed
... Walk through the store on a hunt for balloons
... Brush my teeth
... Sneeze
... Answer my office door
... Open a letter
... Pick up my makeup applicator off of the floor
... Jog
... Reach up high
... Reach down low
... Put on my boots (so much so, in fact, that I opted for flat slip-ons instead)
... Cough
... Sit down
... Climb into and out of my SUV
... Make dinner
... Lie in bed
... Do laundry
... Breathe

The nice thing about all of that is that I know that in a week or two? I'll be doing all of that BETTER!

Day 2 - Ouch

Weight: ?

Woke up sore ALL over, but needed to do something. Decided to do the elliptical to try to work out some of the soreness.

Easy Elliptical, 241 cals burned, 2.88 miles, 30 min total (includes 5 min cool down)

Pretty dang sweaty but feeling pretty good! Ready to grab a good breakfast, too. :o)

- Amber

Trainer #1, Workout #1

This morning I woke up 30 minutes before my alarm clock was set to go off.  Booo!  I guess I was anxious and excited to see how things were going to go?  I dunno.  I just know that I got up and was wide awake before the alarm and before the kids even started stirring.  Awesome.

So, I got to the gym a few minutes early expecting to ease into a nice warm up, but my trainer was ready to go so we went ahead and got started.  I doubt I'll ever complain about getting started on my workouts early since I've got so much to cram into my morning to be able to make it in to work on time.

I was told it was only the warm up, but it sure enough felt like the start of a workout!  I had been working primarily on my cardio for the past several workouts on my own, so no weights involved except for during classes.  Even at that, I can't remember when I took classes regularly...

We started out with a few sit-ups and back extensions.  During the second set of sit-ups I did, I was already wondering what I had agreed to.  I'd say it was because I was scared, but I'd totally be lying.  After having three kids and three c-sections (meaning I've had my lower abdominal muscles cut through three separate times), my core is my most difficult body part to strengthen.

With most things I'm not good at, I push through them until I AM good at them.  Period.  So, Legs?  Beat 'em up!  Arms?  Let's go!  Back?  Yes, please!  But Abs?  I seriously just want to give up before I even get started!  Ugh.

Yes, I KNOW that it's all for the greater good, BUT given the choice to work abs or any other body part?  I'll pick the other body part each and every time, doesn't matter what it is.  So, right off the bat I can see that working with a personal trainer is going to force me to work muscles I don't like to work.  

We did a bit of abs/core work, legs, back, and chest.  Due to the type of workout I was put through, I actually did cardio work without ever stepping foot on a treadmill, bike, or elliptical.  So for those of you who don't like to do cardio, there you go!  At the end of the workout I was nearly out of breath as if I had been for a run, so I walked for a few minutes on the treadmill to cool down.  Then it was over.  I was in and out in less than 45 minutes.  Yet another perk of personal training is that if you've got a busy schedule, you're guaranteed to get in a good workout in a short period of time.

My 'before' pictures have been taken.  I have my current measurements.  Not sure if I really want to share those or not, though I do have them if I chose to share them...  I'm not really concerned with the numbers as much as I am concerned with making changes.  I DO know that my quads are already super tired, so I know that either tomorrow or Wednesday is going to be pretty rough and I'll likely have a bit of difficulty using the restroom...  (TMI?)

Tomorrow, assuming I can walk, I plan on doing some cardio.  I'll keep you posted!

In Health,
Amber

Let the fun begin!

Let me start by first welcoming you here!  I only plan on tracking here for the next 30 days, but depending on how the personal training goes, I may continue on afterward.  We'll play that by ear.

So, a quick background on me?  I've been working out off and on for the better part of 15 years.  I was introduced to running by a cousin of mine that was in the military and had come to our house for a week-long visit one summer.  At first it was hard, but I continued with it after he left and quickly became hooked!  I continued running until I started dating a guy who was into weightlifting.  I ended up joining the gym where he was a member and would hit the weights with him before I went to work.  I've been into weight training ever since.

I have taken breaks here and there over the years when I simply did not take time for myself nor did I make time for myself like I used to.  Frankly, I was just busy taking care of everyone else and didn't make myself a priority.

Now that I'm the general manager of a health club and I'm at the gym pretty much all day long, you would think that I could workout all day long if I wanted to, right?  That's a big NEGATIVE!  I still have to work so, just like everyone else, I workout as my schedule allows.  This means that I have a small window of time after the kids get on the bus and before I have to actually be at work.  I understand that not everyone can workout before work, but it works for me.

Why do I workout?  I workout for the health benefits--primarily stress relief--but it doesn't hurt that it also allows me the flexibility to not have to live off of 'rabbit food'.  (What can I say, I like to eat!)

I would imagine that you are wondering how all of this came about, huh?  First off, no, it wasn't my idea.  During a manager's meeting about two weeks ago, I was assigned the task of working out with a personal trainer for the next 30 days.  The owner thought it would be a good idea to have a personal understanding of the differences and benefits of working out on my own versus working out with an experienced trainer, and I totally agree!  I've been so busy since my trip to Chicago last year (then it was the holidays, then the flu) that I've really not focused on what I know I should be focusing on.  So, on a personal level, I'm curious to see what kind of changes I can make in 30 days if I really focus on what I'm doing by training and eating appropriately.

Anyway, I'll be meeting with three different trainers once a week, so I'll be doing personal training (or "PT" for short), three times a week.  Terrible, right?!  Haha!

I'll be blogging here in an attempt to give you an insight into what's going on, so if you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments.  I hope you find this to be helpful!

In Health,
Amber