Out With A Bang

Little did I know when 2010 started, that I would finally start a successful weight loss journey. How many times has my New Year's Resolution been to lose weight? Let's see...I'm 39 years old...at least 30 times. Tonight during our workout, Trainer Mike said, "If I would have told you eight months ago that you would be doing this exercise (I can't remember which exercise he was talking about specifically...could have been deadlifts, lunges with barbells, stability ball chest presses or some new thing on the stability ball for my butt) would you have stayed?" Duh...probably not...but had I known how much running would be involved I wouldn't have stayed either. Yet, I didn't know what an emotional change this journey would result in either. Based on the scale and pics and clothing sizes there are significant physical results. The mental results are 100 times more rewarding. I'm a changed person. 2011 is 25 hours away. BRING IT!!! I'm looking forward to shedding more pounds and inches, increasing my running ability, and all of the other challenges Trainer Mike can conjure up. As we are saying farewell to 2010, (I don't know about all of you, but it's been challenging for me and I'm kind of glad to say...SEE YA!)I look back with pride at what I have accomplished and immense gratitude to an incredible trainer and friend! THANK YOU, Trainer Mike. YOU ROCK!

I walked into the gym tonight and Trainer Mike's girlfriend had just endured a workout. She wasn't lookin so good. I could tell it had been rather intense. So when he said to me "Are you ready?" I was kind of hesitant to say yes, but before I could reply he said, "There's no way you could be ready for this." And just like that we hit it and we didn't stop. It was intense. In a series of multiple sprints this girl grabs a mat and plops down right in my path. I had been doing this for a while and it wasn't just her she had two friends with her who weren't working out and they were having a little giggly chat time. As I prepared to take off on a sprint, Trainer Mike said, "Run as close to her head as you can. I can't believe she sat right there. It's not like she didn't know what you were doing." Me being the client that ALWAYS(insert sarcasm) follows directions, did exactly as I was told. That girl looked at me and said, "Oh am I in your way?" I didn't stop to respond...kept on sprinting cause that's how I roll. I don't have time for that nonsense. As I was trying to repress the feelings of nausea that were overcoming me it was time to try a new exercise. Here's how it was introduced. "When we came into the gym tonight Sean was doing this and it looked really cool. You're going to be my first guinea pig." Don't you think you would just be falling over to try an exercise with a intro like that? My response was "Are you kidding me?" It was a squat with a 40 pound barbell into an upright row...for just 20 times!!! Here's what you need to know...as I'm sitting in my pjs in my comfy bed writing this blog...my butt already hurts and it's just been 2 hours since we finished the workout. I can't wait to know what this is going to feel like tomorrow. I think it was a combination of that exercise, deadlifts, squats, and lunges that have really talked to the glutes. That's okay...they need to be talked to and they're not used to it so they're just talkin back a little bit. Trainer Mike decided that "since we went out like Johnny Carson last time we would go out with a bang like Ronald Reagan tonight." 2 sets of sprints, 5 regular pushups and 20 fingertip pushups followed by 30 crunches and 20 military jumping jacks. Yep, I wanted to fall on the floor when I was done. Yet, I wouldn't expect anything less.

Since Trainer Mike referenced Ronald Reagan, I feel that so should I..."There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect." Thus far in my journey I have learned that I had built walls and barriers that loomed over me and that I alone...not food...restricted my own success and debilitated my health. Please know, I still struggle with food. I still see it as my enemy sometimes. I am still challenged by food. However, I now understand that my thoughts about food and my lack of knowledge about food are the enemy. Not the food itself. (Okay...seriously...cake is an enemy to me. Truly an enemy!) Nevertheless, in 2011 I will tear down more walls and barriers and learn how to be friends with food and use it to my advantage. I look forward to it!