My long-awaited personal training session finally happened yesterday. The trainer was very nice and helpful, offered me lots of little tips and ways to remember proper form. I kind of wish that I could afford to hire a trainer for once a week on an ongoing basis and just turn over my whole health and fitness routine to a “higher power” so to speak. Alas, at $70/session I really can’t afford it.
I learned a bunch of upper body exercises with the free weights, four different leg machines, a good mat abs workout and two ab machines. I’m sore today but not horribly sore. The main benefit was just demystifying and un-scary-ifying the weight room for me. I’ve always felt really intimidated and self-conscious in there. Once I started workout out I didn’t even notice the other people at all, and I didn’t feel like they noticed me.
I still want to find a solid “program” to follow, mainly because I know how much I enjoy ticking off check boxes and progressing through a program. Body for Life seems to be popular among some of the blogs I’ve been reading online. Anyone have experience with that one?
Lastly, when the trainer was asking me about my goals (overall fitness, run a 10k race without dying, improve my 5k time, fit into designer jeans (ok, I didn’t tell her that one but it is a dream of mine)), she asked me to find some pictures of what I think of as the “ideal” body and shape that I would like to work towards. I haven’t been able to find anything! I do NOT want to be rail thin. I don’t want a six-pack like the women in fitness magazines. I don’t even really care about wearing a bikini. I’ve looked at pictures of Katherine Heigl, Gabrielle Reese, Kate Winslet? I don’t know! Help! The trainer also mentioned that I could send a photo of myself at a younger age… I still haven’t been able to find anything.
In other news, I went for a run after the training session. I’m following the Hal Higdon 10K training program now, so 2.5 miles, out to the lakefront, around the point and back home. I ran pretty slowly and it still felt pretty intense. It was in the 70s outside and I’m not used to running in such hot weather or sweating quite so much. It felt good, though. Lots and lots of flowers are blooming and the new leaves on the trees are just starting to unfurl. I saw some cute dogs and ran up some little hills. No heart rate monitor, no watch. I didn’t even look at the time when I left, so I don’t know how long the run was. Probably 30-40 minutes.
I’m officially graduated from Couch to 5K. I did all of the workouts and I ran a 5K race. I have an idea for a “wrap-up” post where I go back and evaluate my mental state, feelings, fitness level etc. week to week based on older posts… that might take a while, though, so stay tuned!
April 23, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Do you know a couple of people who might want to share the trainer-time? That’s what my husband and I and a friend of ours do. It’s a lot cheaper that way. The three of us work out with the trainer for an hour. And we’re all three at different fitness and strength levels, but it works out fine.
The one time I ran at near-80 degrees it was very hard, so congrats on running in the heat. I’m concerned about the summer and running, are you? Personally, I think it’s safe to say I’ll get slower, but I figure if I keep it up I’ll be crazy-fast in the fall. That’s how it works, right?
Good for you for jumping right into the 10k program. I am going to wait a couple months and do 3x week 30 minute runs for a while. I want to give my body time to adjust to this new running thing … I think I ramped up a wee bit too fast at the end of c25k and my knee is complaining as a result. I’m not in horrible pain, but I don’t want it to get worse. This is all about getting healthy, not breaking myself, I figure!
It sounds like you had a lovely run. I’m jealous … you have a nice place to run, it seems!