Training Days

I’ve been looking forward to writing this post all weekend, but finally have the time to sit down and do it now.  (On a side note – this has been one of the best weekends in recent memory, and I’ve spent most of it alone with Lulu, at home.  Sometimes I think we all need quiet weekends.  I definitely needed the “recharging” time).

I had been looking forward to meeting my new trainer all week, and I went into it with the mentality that the trainer was going through and interview with me.  I wanted to make sure that these training sessions (I have 17 of them) were used doing exactly what I wanted to be doing.  (As much as I loved training with Jimmy, there was a lot about our sessions that I realized I didn’t really like – all those football drills weren’t resistance training, which is what I sorely needed).

Robbie was friendly, confident, and shared many of the same philosophies that I did regarding training.  He agreed that our time together would be much better spent using weight machines, doing core work, and using bands for resistance training rather than doing cardio or those drills that I used to do with Jimmy.  I’m really glad that he said that from the get-go.  As soon as I told him that my doctor had outlined a nutrition plan for me to follow, I was surprised and encouraged to hear that he wasn’t going to try to get me to follow a certain prescribed diet plan.  Also, once I told him that I’m taking 12 different vitamins (again, as prescribed by my doctor), he completely backed off the whole “you should buy these protein supplements” spiel. Robbie took my weight and measurements (neck, chest, waist, hips, biceps, calves, thighs) so I’m looking forward to seeing my progress in a month’s time.

What I didn’t share with him was that I was going to get LapBand surgery.  I’m not exactly sure why – I’m committed to the surgery, and I know it’s the right choice for me, but I really didn’t want to hear him say that I wouldn’t need it to lose the weight as long as we “stuck to a rigorous training schedule.”  Because I tried that a year ago and it didn’t work.  (As we know, food is 60-75% of the equation, and that’s the part I have the most trouble with).  I told him that my doctor wants me to lose 30 pounds by Jan, and he said that he thinks that’s totally do-able.  (I’m actually hoping that I lost the required weight by the end of December, and I think that’s fairly reasonable, considering that there are 10 weeks until December 31st).

Robbie asked me what kind of a trainer I liked and I told him that I try to live up to or exceed the expectations placed in front of me.  That I’ll give it my all for as long as I can.  I don’t want or like having a “Jillian Michaels” type of trainer who yells at me, because I don’t find that motivating.  I told him that I love to learn, so I want him to teach me.  He said that his approach, after the initial two weeks where he’s going to observe and see how far he can push me, was to educate as he trained me.  He said that he wants to see me 2-3 times a week, and I told him that I could commit to 2 for sure, but 3 might be pushing it, depending on the week.

The thing is, now that I’ve moved to my new place, I really can’t afford personal training sessions right now.  They’re basically $50, which would mean $400/month if we meet twice a week.  I don’t have that much extra cash at all.  So, I’ll use these 17 sessions, which will take me to the end of the year, and then I should’ve learned enough to continue the weight training on my own for a while.  Because at the beginning of next year I should be undergoing the surgery and recovering for 2 weeks, and then I can continue weight training on my own.  At the end of May when I get my bonus check, I’ll revisit the idea of buying more training sessions and see if I feel like I need them.

I’m excited to get back to the gym on a regular basis, and I think Robbie will be a good trainer.  I don’t think he and I will have as much of a flirty rapport as Jimmy and I had, but I don’t think that’s a negative thing.  I think we’ll be able to keep it at a professional client/trainer level, which is perfectly fine with me. We’ve set up next week’s training for Tuesday/Friday, and I’m looking forward to it.

Proud Moment: After my training session (which lasted an hour, rather than 30 minutes like I thought), I was a bit worried about getting home to Lulu, but I decided to hit the elliptical machine first.  It felt great to be back on it, and I was doing great until about 10 minutes into it, when I had  a bit of a coughing fit.  I recovered and kept going, but decided that 20 minutes was going to have to be enough, because I really couldn’t push myself past that.  Still, I burned 415 calories, and felt amazing afterward. I really liked going on Friday afternoon, because I felt like I had already started the weekend off on the right foot before it even truly began.  I’m going to make it a habit to go to the gym on Fridays from now on.