Meet Your Trainers

"Meet your trainers for the month of July."

That was the declaration Jeff and Marisa (my former trainers) said to the current Transformation group that followed us (the original crew) after telling them to assemble in the gym for a game twist.  Standing before them as the "trainers" were four of us from last years' group.  The "new" group immediately started clapping with excitement to my immense relief.  Although those of us in the room from the old team had recruited most of the group, I wasn't sure how they'd like this new twist that took them away from their professional trainers and put them in our hands for a month.

It was a proud moment for me, a former couch potato who knew next to nothing about fitness, that not only did Jeff and Marisa trust us with these guys, but that they were happy about it.   And there was another twist:  if the eleven of us collectively could lose 50 pounds in the month of July, Jeff and Marisa would train all of us together for the month of August. Once those of us (Millie, Flo, Dana, and I) who had been on our own for a while heard that, you could believe that we were bound and determined to make it happen.  I felt my inner Jillian Michaels wake up and start to stir. 

Even better, my "client" turned out to be my buddy Rick who I helped recruit into the second round.  Throughout my year of the program Rick had been a constant support and cheerleader for me, and we couldn't wait to work together.

So to use a Hunger Games reference, it's back to the arena for a few of us original members.  Back to Tuesday weigh ins and being accountable on the scale again.  We've all been faithful in the gym, but this renewal has caused us to tighten up on our food choices and rekindled our competitive spirits. 

For our first workout together today, I decided to take it back to my old school workouts where I'd put on my music and wail away on the heavy bag.  I told Rick that every Monday was going to be Cardio Monday and we proceeded to do a heavy bag-elliptical machine circuit where we'd switch back and forth in five minute increments for an intense half hour that left us dripping with sweat.  At the end I almost felt like I had to throw up...always the sign of a good workout in my line of craziness. 

As I showed Rick how to punch the bag in the proper form, how to twist his hips as he struck, and shared with him how I used to come down and do this exact thing when I was first starting out, channeling all my frustrations with my body into that black bag to an angry music playlist, I realized how far I've come and what a cool thing it was to help someone else do the same thing. 

3rd 5K

So I said I was done with 5Ks for the summer due to the increasing heat...well I guess I was wrong about that.   When my husband, who obviously has caught the 5K bug from our race last month, said he wanted to do the local Blueberry Festival 5K, I grimaced. 

"It's gonna be hot." I said.

"You don't have to do it," he said. "I can do it by myself."  Ah reverse psychology, you know me so well.  Of course I was going to do it, if not for anything other than the shear fear that the minute I say I can't do something I'll be on that slippery slope back to my old ways. 

I prepared myself for the stifling conditions that usually accompany the Blueberry Fest (people literally fall out from the heat) but God blessed us with wonderful temperatures, a sunny day, and a shady flat course.   It was by far the biggest 5K I've done with upwards of 500 runners/walkers.

Like usual, my group (husband, sister and myself) got to the very back of the crowd that included my friends, cousins, and co-workers.  The music played, the runners stretched themselves in various positions, the serious competitors bounced up and down on their heels...and the three of us just hung out in the back making jokes and trying not to think about the miles ahead of us.  And then we were off...some of us faster than others that's for sure.

The hubs, my sister, and me...waiting to hit the road.

 

 

My friend and fellow fitness buddy, Vera, and I.

As with the other 5Ks I've done, I was excited to start, hated every footstep of those 3.2 miles, and then felt like a rock star as I crossed the finish line.  So maybe I wasn't finished with 5Ks until cooler temps...just as soon as I say I'm not going to do something, I find myself with some numbers strapped on going down the road.

A Week In The Life

• Monday morning is ushered in by the blare of the alarm clock and shock and awe that the weekend is over. 
• Have a lovely time trying to find gym socks that match in the load of clean clothes that were neglected in all-day trip to the beach the previous day. Give up trying to establish problem solving skills and decide instead on one with a green stripe and one with a pink stripe, hoping in the mad rush in the locker room no one will notice.
• Drag into work, the strap of the gym bag cutting into the freshly sunburned flesh on my shoulder with a sinking premonition of how good my sports bra is going to feel going on later. 
• Show up early to Sculpt class in anticipation of staking out my usual spot on the back row.  Put down strategic sticky note with name on it so that my spot won't get snaked while I'm in the locker room...realize others have done the same.
• Power through Sculpt in a standing room only crowd...chat between crunches with girlfriends set to a soundtrack of Pitbull and Lady GaGa.  Decide I have Cirque Du Soleil acrobatic skills while doing mountain climbers with gliders on my feet...lose footing and almost twist self into human pretzel and decide it is just the opposite.
• Creep out of bed to the cries of the Tuesday morning alarm, again shocked that it's already morning. Immediately feel yesterday's deep lunges and do a nice little rap of "ouch, ouch, ouch" on the way to the shower.
• Show up at the gym and realize that I accidentally booked the workout room for 3 instead of 2 so the girls doing Brazilian Butt Blast have the room instead of my group.  Improvise and lead the group in workout poker out in the gym.  Try not to think of what we look like doing starfish crunches out in front of everyone.  Also discover potential sabotage as the stopwatch my trainer loaned me cranks out the longest minute intervals known to man.  The girls and I conclude that it must be rigged.
• Wednesday brings with it hurting muscles and a challenging Step class.  At the end of the class I resemble one of the zombie dancers from the Thriller video and look as if I've traveled through a Brazilian rain forest.  Spend the rest of the day doing a fine Godzilla impression limping from my desk to the copy room and back.
• Roll into Tabata class today to see that the room has been set up in stations, one being fun with a hula hoop.   Realize quickly that all the Zumba hip swinging skills I've developed can't help me at all with the hula hoop.  Finish up the circuit rotating the hoop around my neck and work up a good enough sweat. The sweat continues to build until the plank rotation round and I'm literally sliding around the floor.  Attempt plank on flat yoga mat...too slippery.  Attempt plank on thick mat and continue to slide. Move over to planking on the floor and find hands continue to slide out from under me.  Decide that this adds to the challenge of my plank and soldier through to the mountain climber-glider round where the humidity increases my "acrobatics". 
• Collapse into chair tonight relishing the fact that tomorrow is an off day at the gym in anticipation of my third 5K on Saturday morning.
• Question my sanity again as I do before any 5K and decide to limp on off to bed.

"The Cure For Anything is Salt Water"

My sister and I after a day in the pool.

There have been a few summers in my life that I didn't enjoy very much because I didn't feel very good physically or about myself.  There have been a few summers I sat on the sidelines and watched everyone else enjoy my favorite activities (precisely what's going on in the "before" picture in my blog banner).  But for the most part I have been a summer-loving water baby. Last summer I attacked life with a new found vigor that came from my release from an unhealthy lifestyle and unwanted pounds.  This summer has started out, and is going to be, even better.  

Summer can also be a great time to boost your weight loss activities.  Some of the reasons why:

• We trade comfort food for healthier fare cooked outside on the grill.
• The abundance of fresh fruits and veggies: some of my favorites being tomatoes, corn on the cob, and watermelon.
• You always strive harder when you know you have to put on a bathing suit the next day.
• Water activities that make exercise fun.
• Fresh air that reinvigorates the spirit.
• You don't want to eat as much when it's hot.
• Added resistance from the sand brings an extra calorie burn to a walk on the beach.
• Fresh seafood, enough said.
• Summertime always brings out the kid in people, and what do kids do?  They run around, play, and burn calories.
• The higher temps and humidity makes you sweat more...and sweating is always good.
• And last but not least: everyone always looks skinnier with a tan.

I'll close with one of my favorite quotes: "The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea”~ Isak Dinesen.

Laser Tag Therapy

If you've ever worked out with a trainer, or a tough workout partner that pushes you, or even a challenging aerobics instructor, at some point, no matter how much you like to push it or how strong your commitment, your feelings toward them can get....how should we say it...cross.  It's an irrational feeling brought on by a moment of exhaustion and desperation, but it happens to the best of us.  Sometimes when they're pushing us to our limits for our own good, we just want to roll our eyes, stick out our tongues, and tell them "No I will not do 25 more squats, one more mile, 8 more reps"...you get the point.  A good trainer will push you beyond where you want to go, regardless of how mad that makes you.  The good thing is that the cross feelings only last momentarily and then you're left with a giddy feeling of accomplishment that makes you believe you can leap tall buildings in a single bound. That's the magic of trainers and I've been blessed to work with some awesome ones.

That being said, when a bunch of us got together to play laser tag, my trainer Jeff included, I was chuckling the evil plan laugh to myself at the fact that I got to shoot at him with a laser gun and - what luck! - we split up into teams of guys versus girls.  Stepping into the smoky, black-lit, rock thumping arena, I had two targets in mind: my trainer Jeff and my husband Eric.

As with many things, my laser tag game looked a lot cooler in my head than in real life...  I was in full-on James Bond mode in my head as I slid along with my back to a wall, laser gun in both hands, head going back and forth, looking in all directions for the enemy.  Creeping down under a low wall, I darted up briefly to take a few shots and then jumped back down to safety.  Yes, in my mind I was a combination of all the Charlie's Angels and Lara Croft rolled into one and Eric and I were in our own personal version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith.  In reality, I got off a few good shots but got hit equally as much if not more...let's just say my powers of stealth and battle strategy are in need of improvement.

All in all it turned out to be a great workout as we all emerged from the laser tag arena sweating like crazy.  I may not have won, but I got to shoot at both my trainer and my husband with a laser gun and that is prize in and of itself! ;)  It was good for the body and the spirit!

Get Up and Dance!

Until I found my way out of it, I never fully realized how held back I was by the way I used to live my life and the physical state I was in.   There is such a blessing in the hard work it is to constantly deny myself the food I want to eat and to push myself the way I do in the gym: the wonderful freedoms that are around every corner.   I don't think I could have truly appreciated them had I not experienced the cumbersome state of my former unhealthiness.  Reveling in this freedom is what keeps me pushing forward and makes every minute of this fight worth it.

This weekend I found the perfect place to revel: Wilmington's annual Greek Fest.   Let me back up for a minute to this time two years ago.  I was in the worst shape of my life and (unbeknown to me) about six months away from changing my life forever.   My husband and I headed out to the Greek Fest for the first time. It should have been a wonderful time but I honestly struggled even climbing on the trolley to head over to the event.   Not only that, at the time I couldn't walk very far or stand on my feet for any amount of time. I also couldn't handle warm temperatures very well...all traits that added up to having a miserable time at a spring festival.  I wanted to have a wonderful time, I wanted to walk around and see everything, I wanted to get up and dance the Greek dances with my husband.   None of those were an option for me at the time, and let me tell you, there is very little more depressing than watching what you wish was your life slide by.

Fast forward two years and many pounds lost later and I couldn't wait to head out to Greek Fest to celebrate my birthday with my husband and our great friends Millie (who's been by my side every step of the way, shedding pounds with me) and her husband Sergio.

Heading over on the trolley, feeling festive.

This year I knew I was going to enjoy myself very much and be able to do anything I wanted.  Our friend and Transformation Team member, Flo, was volunteering at the Fest and had promised to teach us the Greek dances.  Millie and I were totally excited and the husbands were, as always, along for whatever crazy ride we decide to take them on.  Everyone was starving so we sampled the food and vino first.

A toast to my girl! Love ya Millie!

The husband enjoying his lamb shank way too much!

We had an awesome time and hollered "Opa!" I don't know how many times.  Then it was time to work off our gyros with some Greek dancing.

Flo, Millie and I dancing round and round again.  It's blurry due to how fast we were going.

It felt exhilerating to hold the hands of my friends and my husband and dance round and round and round again to the wonderful music, knowing that two years before I sat as only an unhappy observer.  This time, my feet were light and my muscles endured for song after song (and Greek songs are not short by any means).  At the end of the dancing I was sweating, Step class style...the sign of a great workout!

If you're considering getting on a weight loss journey, or needing motivation to keep going or to start up again, take my advice and do it. Just do it.  It means the difference of sitting on the sidelines of your life or getting up and dancing.

Cold Showers And The Re-set Switch

A couple of days ago I discovered our hot water heater wasn't working the hard way by being blasted with an artic spray from the shower. Not my favorite way to wake up, I assure you.  After my teeth stopped chattering and my skin was no longer blue I began imagining the annoying process my husband would have to go through changing the elements out - and that was the best case scenario.   Shoes and coats and my collection of assorted tote bags and purses were hauled out of the hallway closet so that Eric could operate on the appliance, and miraculously after a few minutes of fiddling in the closet, it roared to life with a reassuring hiss of water being heated.  Grinning with with the joy that he could take a Sunday nap instead of spending hours worth of work on the water heater and a trip to the hardware store, Eric announced, "Just needed to flip the re-set switch!"

Wouldn't it be great if the same could be said of motivation?  Aren't we that have been on the journey for any amount of months in danger of becoming like the old hot water heater?  When we are first brand new and finding our first successes on the scales, we're fired up, full of heat, able to let the warmth flow on demand.  Then, over time and use, our temperature cools gradually...to the point that we may even cool off completely, letting those bad habits creep back in to decrease our temperature.  Sometimes there's a catalyst, a stressful situation or lack of results, that causes our breakers to trip.  What do we do then?

Simple: we clear out our closets.   We drag out not our collection of bags, shoes, and coats but rather our stresses, bad habits, and excuses.   We dig down past the clutter of life and find out what's wrong with our "machine."  Sometimes we simply need a re-set and sometimes we might need a little tinkering to make the machine work again...in the form of a nutrition over-haul or a mix-up of the workout routine.  

When an appliance stops working, we don't sit back and bemoan the reasons for it's malfunction.  We don't blame the appliance and resolve to live without it's services.  We simply repair or replace and move on with life.   Why can't we do the same for ourselves?   We don't resolve never to take a warm shower again when we know we can hit the re-set switch and be back in business.  The same can be said for getting back to business with weight loss, no matter if it's your first time re-setting your switch or the 575th.  The point is that you hit that switch.