Dear Trainer

Dear Super Awesome Trainer,


I would just like to take a moment to thank you for all of the hard work you've poured into me, errr, worked out of me. Without you the gym floor would stay much cleaner since I would be watching tv instead of sweating it out on the stairclimber. I would be much richer (training sessions, classes, supplements, heart rate monitors, food, etc. all really add up!) but also much fatter (which makes all of the above so much more worth it).  I would like to say thanks for showing me that it's not impossible for me to do a push-up from my toes (or 50 depending on your cruelty level for the day). I would like to say thanks for giving me the evil eye when I told you my favorite beverage was Diet Pepsi and making me do push-ups because I weighed myself in spite of what you said. And as a suggestion, I would like to ask that I never hear the words, "I'm going to time you" again while I'm sucking air on my 3rd set of reps. You have no idea what kind of torture that brings me. Thanks for all the "sweat equity" you've helped me put into that gym, by now there should be enough to build another one dontcha think? Oh by the way, the fact that you're not bad to look at sure makes it a little easier to survive those torture training sessions, although when the evil eye comes out all bets are off.

Sincerely,


Christina


Okay so 95% of that would never come out to my trainer (ha! Blogging anonymity at its best) it's still kind of funny to read. Truth is I adore my trainer. I've made no secret of my adoration for him. In fact, with some mad Google skills you can find a video testimony that I did for him awhile ago where I sing his praises for 3 minutes straight. I will have you know that all that praise did not get me out of a seriously brutal workout afterwards!

My trainer has not only pushed me further than I ever thought I could possibly go, but he's also showed me how to push myself. For the first time in my life, I am healthy. I am well within a healthy weight, bmi, and body fat percentage. I am eating. I am eating enough, I am eating healthy, and most importantly I'm eating. I've never been able to say that before when I was losing weight. I have learned so much since I started training with him. My brain is a wealth of knowledge about all sorts of food and fitness related tips, tricks, websites, articles, and other various information. I have started to create my own workouts and adapt old ones in new ways. I am starting to figure out how to use what I know to inspire and push my friends and family to become healthier and more balanced. Who would have thought that I, the princess of disfunctional eating habits, could be a healthy resource?

All of these good habits have combined to help me lose a total of 15 lbs. since December 2009. This has equated to over 30 lbs. of fat. Wow, that's a lot of nasty fat to come off of one body! I've dropped over 15% body fat since I started training with him, including 4 inches total since I started his bootcamp class in February. I have never, ever, been proud of my results until today. I've never taken the time to slow down, and listen to my body and do things the slow and steady way. Throughout this experience, I have become more in tune with my body and what it needs. In doing that, I lost any need for the latest diet fad or exercise craze. I know me better than I ever have before both physically and emotionally. I know what I'm capable off, and exercise has released a powerfully confident girl.

The best part? I'm not finished. The trainer told me once that until I can stand on an exercise ball, on one leg, while doing kettlebell presses (or something wacky like that) that there is always room for progress. I love that mentality, because while I am incredibly proud of my progress, I want to keep pushing myself further. I am standing at about a 25% bodyfat and now that I know I can go there, I want to see if I can hit and maintain 20%. I want to keep getting stronger. Instead of going to the gym because I feel like I have to, I go because I want to; because my body craves it. 


Fitness for me was a life changing experience. When I started to figure out the physical stuff I had the confidence to take charge in other areas of my life. Now that I've got that, I'm not stopping until I've pushed myself as hard as I can. It's going to be quite the journey, but I'm finally healthy enough to be up for it :O)

facing fear

Fear is a funny thing isn't it? It's completely intangible and yet one of the most crippling things possible. I must admit that even though I am physically strong, I am still mentally weak and often plagued by fear. I won't go into my list of quirky irrational fears but trail running is one of them.

I have not the slightest clue why I was  scared to run outside or even if fear is really the correct term for it. Several times this spring I've planned to hit the trail for a run outside and break away from the treadmill for awhile. I love me some treadmill runs and get a great workout on them, but when the only thing there is to look at is the sweaty guy lifting weights in front of you, it gets boring quick. Especially because no cute boys work out at 5:30 in the morning. I've been excited to try running outdoors and even bought cute new running shoes and gear but for whatever reason could never make myself actually go out and do it.

However, today that all changed :O) I had a free morning and it was beautiful and sunny so I told myself that I could either go for a trail run or I would have to go to the gym and workout. Running outdoors won by a long shot. Instead of heading out around my neighborhood where I could quit at anytime I went down to the trail that runs by the river, warmed up and started running. I was shocked at how easy it was right off the bat, much easier than any treadmill run. Before I knew it, I had run 2 miles without stopping. I thought I would have needed to walk a lot but I took my time pacing myself and slowing down when I needed it. I had been hoping to hit 3 miles total but 2 miles in I still felt good so I went another 1/2 mile before turning around.

The second half was definitely more mentally challenging. I knew what was ahead of me this time and by now, I was starting to get a little tired and very sweaty. I kept pushing through and told myself walking breaks were okay but whenever I stopped to walk my legs just kept pushing me forward. Kind of like that feeling you get when you don't slow down on the treadmill before jumping off? My legs always feel like they should still be moving much faster, that's how it felt. So I kept running and hit 5 miles right at the trailhead. I walked another 1/4 of a mile to cool down and then stretched out and headed home.

I felt so good afterwards. It was definitely very mentally challenging on the way back. I never wanted to give up because my lungs were burning or my knees hurt, only because I felt like I would never make it back or just started freaking out about the distance. I am definitely going to keep working on my mental toughness as I increase my mileage and speed.

Things I learned:

• I could be a runner and I love running
• Trail running is better than treadmill running- the scenery distracted me and made it more enjoyable
• I am tougher than I thought
• Fuel properly- first thing I did when I got home was make a HUGE salad best loaded with protein and veggies followed by a Clif Bar. I was starving to the point of dizziness- not good at all
• Hydrate properly- I am definitely going to have to start bringing my water backpack. I guzzled my water bottle (I had it in my car to free up my hands) by the time I was out of the parking lot and proceeded to drink at least 7 more within the next few hours (without a bursting bladder I might add). Thats 192 oz of water!!
• Good shoes make all the difference- a day later and no foot or knee pain at all
• Cardio can be just as effective outside as on a gym machine- I burned 1218 calories in 1 hr 8 minutes! That's insane (and also explains the ravenous hunger)
• I don't have to live my life in the gym to be healthy- greatest revelation of all :O)

 Post run/pre-crash happiness

Happy Saturday bloggies! I'm off to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday out of town so I'll be MIA for a few days. 

love love love :O)

why i believe in personal training

Before I jump into the goodness of my love and adoration for my personal trainer, I just have to give a big WOOHOOO because I am finally feeling better! I'm still a little congested but my energy is picking up and very little coughing still left, thank goodness! In fact, I was feeling so good last night that I decided to hit the gym for some light cardio. Well apparently, my "I'm feeling better" hormones kicked into overdrive because I started off with a 20 minute treadmill run and finished it off with a 35 minute "bike blast" spin class... aka how much can you sweat in 30 minutes of fast and furious spinning. I tried not to push myself too hard, and could definitely tell that I hadn't been in for a few days but I still burned  918 calories! I was really hoping to hit maybe 400 total so I was thrilled to see this number. I'm headed in again today for some much needed strength training, but I'm going to wait until this afternoon when my energy seems to be better.

Another bonus, the cracker binge of 2010/ being ridiculously pitifully sick helped me lose another 3.5 lbs! Which means that I am exactly 1.6 lbs from my lowest weight ever! Pretty excited about that, I never thought I would be able to get down that low the healthy way :O)

Which leads right into my post topic of why I believe in personal training. My super amazing trainer is directly responsible for how great I feel and look today.... However, I haven't always had the best experience with trainers.

When I was going to college, I joined a gym nearby the restaurant I was working in. I thought it would be easy and convenient to hit the gym there since I was working so much that I wasn't making use of my free membership to the campus gym (stupid mistake!!!) So I signed up for a membership with Oz Fitness. I was sweet talked into a pretty expensive membership with a very expensive training package by a tanned, heavily muscled, sweet-talkin sales rep. I started working out there and it was a really nice facility; I actually enjoyed working out there. I started on with a trainer who was very nice and genuinely cared about my goals. He put me through workouts so rigorous that I nearly passed out on several occasions. Keep in mind that I hadn't been working out regularly or eating very healthy at this point; I didn't really know how to do either very well. No matter how nice the trainer was, the workouts were so intense, that I physically couldn't get through them on my own. I really wanted to get healthier but he gave me no tips on what to eat, how to workout on days when I wasn't doing the strength routines of torture. Ultimately I spaced out my sessions further and further to put off the torture and ended up not using half of my sessions when I canceled my membership (I was moving out of the area).

Fast forward about 6 months later, I was even more overweight and unhappy. I still didn't really know how to workout effectively. Actually, I wasn't working out at all. I was in the midst of a stressful internship for the last part of my degree and didn't think I had the time to exercise. My wonderful parents intervened and offered to pay for my membership at Gold's Gym where they had just started working out.

I loved it, everbody was so welcoming and supportive! Plus I had both of my parents by me for support. I took this quote to heart every single time I walked into the gym...

Because for me, my journey started there. I tried group exercise classes

Pictured above is BodyPump but my favorite was a brutal Functional class and Zumba :O)

And sweated my way through many hours of cardio (not all at once!) I dropped about 5 pounds instantly, but I was nowhere where I wanted to be. Enter super trainer #1... He came along and listened to my frustrations, understood and took to heart what my goals were, and gave me strength routines that helped me push myself. He was gentle and caring, and very concerned with my progress. It was the first taste of exercise success that I had and I loved it. I did ST #1's workouts for a couple months but eventually stagnated and didn't know what to do next.  

Enter Super Trainer #2 :O) He saw me working out one day and walked up to me and just said "hey, I saw you working out the other day and I think I can help push you to the next level, are you interested?" I said yes (not knowing AT ALL what I was getting myself into) and said that I was frustrated and if he could promise me results I would do whatever he told me to do. He looked at me and told me "good, that means you're ready and if you do what I say, I will promise you that I will get you into the best shape of your life." And I never looked back. His workouts were intense. More intense than Oz Fitness Trainer's were but he told me every step of the way how each exercise was working my muscles and why it was beneficial for me. He told me exactly what to eat and why it was good for me. He told me food to avoid and why I didn't want them in my body. He gave me homework assignments to research food, make my own meal plans, research exercises that I wanted to try, find fitness inspiration. He didn't just give me killer workouts, he armed me with knowledge about my own body. He empowered me and showed me how strong my body could be. He pushed me harder than I've ever been pushed, but saw when I went from exertion to failure. He kicked my butt when I was slacking, motivated and encouraged me when I was defeated, and supported me in every way possible to make sure that I met my goals. With him I gained 11 lbs of muscle and lost 15 lbs of fat in one month. Results I never thought possible.

Since then, he convinced me to do a bootcamp class that I never would have even contemplated before. I tried it, and loved it. It pushed me in ways I never though possible. He's taken me and 2 other badass chicas on for group training in the kinesis room-- a lot of smooth functional movements.

Looks unassuming doesn't it? I can assure you, it's not :O) It's about 1000 calories an hour brutal. Full of enough rows, lunges, plank crawls, bear crawls, burpees, pushups, ab moves of death, and squats to make you want to puke. But I love it.

My experience with personal training has empowered me. I feel like there is nothing I can't do, and that is all because of my personal trainer. Even though I'm in great shape now, I keep going to him because he keeps pushing me. He told me until I can do one legged kettlebell swings on an exercise ball (yeah try to picture that! Craaaaazy!) that there is always room for improvement. I now know how to push myself harder even without him, fuel my body with the right foods for me, and enjoy a healthy lifestyle.

So if you're thinking about personal training, try it! Don't be discouraged if the first one doesn't work out, it's like the perfect pair of jeans... sometimes you have to go through a few duds before you find the perfect one. Believe me, it's worth it :O)

My Goals

In order to fully understand the crazy logic behind my posts, I feel like it's good to talk about what my goals are. I'm always telling people that "I want to get fit and healthy." And they look at me and nod encouragingly and say "good for you!" I think they really mean it (I have some great people in my life) but what does "fit and healthy" mean to me?

I feel like I should say that first of all, my goal is not to lose weight. Well, not in the traditional sense anyways. Throughout all of my dieting  failures experiences, I have been scale obsessed. To the point that I was weighing myself about 14- 20 times a day. Definitely not healthy. Especially because that number at any given point of the day, determined how happy I would be for the rest of the day.

So now I have banished the scale to a box, and weigh in on the same scale about once a week. This way I have a ballpark figure of what I weigh and my progress but it no longer defines me. It has actually been quite freeing. And sure, I would love that number to go down, realistically another 10 pounds, but that's not one of my goals that I am actively reaching for right now.

When my trainer first body fat tested me and told me that God-awful number, he said "we need to get this number lower more for your health reasons than for vanity." I took that to heart and am currently focusing on lowering my body fat and upping my lean body mass.

My current goals are:

• Eat a well balanced diet with limited sugar every day (usually easier said than done in my world!)
• Exercise at an intense pace at least 6 days a week
• Stay within my calorie range (currently 1500-2000) and nutrient range (40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat)
• Less body fat, more muscle

Why do I torture myself 6 days a week at the gym? What do I want to get out of this? I want to run a marathon. I want to be able to do pushups (on my toes) and pull ups (yes more than one). I want to lose a little bit of jiggly fat. I want to go rock climbing. I want to have kids and be an active mom. I want to wear a bikini without nitpicking my body's flaws. While all of those are worthy reasons of regular sweat fests, that's not why I do it. I drag myself to the gym 6 days a week at the ungodly hour of 5:30 a.m. because exercising helps me be more at peace with myself. It helps me like myself better. It helps me be okay with my flaws. And because its fun :O)