let's get physical

'you're clothes are getting tighter.' that was all it took. a close friend at work said this to me in passing a few weeks ago and it stuck with me. so much that i was determined to do something about it. and make them do a 180 when they see me walking down the hall one of these days... 'my clothes are getting WHAT?' HUH? =) we've been friends for 7 years so it didn't offend me it got me thinking... you're right.

so i did what any paranoid, body insecure woman would do... i joined a healthclub. just dove right into that one complete with a personal trainer. i've had 3 sessions with him and have 2 more to go.. he just might kill me before the last one. let's hope not, but i thought i might die after our initial session.

i was never intimated by exercise equipment. not until day one with anthony. he took me to a stairclimber. not an elliptical machine, not a nordic track thingy that you move arms AND legs in the upward motion...no this was a true STAIR climber. a treadmill with moving steps instead of a flat belt. 5 minutes was my destination on this thing... i thought, '5 minutes, sure no prob.' after 2 minutes, i started to realize i could potentially pass out. 3 min marked the time at which i thought i might fall off the damn thing, 4 minutes = turning it off and running out of there screaming. 5 minutes was my salvation. anthony turned it off and congratulated me on making it thru. i wanted to now kill him!

we stretched and stretched and then moved on the upper body strengthening. this was surprisinig easy for me. granted some parts were difficult, but for the most part, i could do it. i guess carrying around matilda for so long really did some good for my arms. so after working out my upper body our time had come to an end. we set up a time for my next session. had i known then what i know now... i might have quit altogether... the day after the upper body workout... just answering my desk phone at work was painful. but i loved it. at least i knew something was happening.

session number two marked the beginning of one of the most painful things in my life... lower body strengthening. we walk to the treadmill and i'm excited because i'm confident and able on this sucker... (i do speed walking on this on my off-days with anthony) i get on... he sets it up for like 5 minutes and asks, 'have you ever run?' 'from what? i thought to myself. but i said the wrong thing outloud, 'no, i can't really run.' 'well you will today.' and with that, the speed goes from 3.0 to 5.0 and i was literally off and running. my balance has never been what you might call, good. i'm super, ultra clumsy. so instead of running like a normal person on a treadmill, i ran like a freak on a treadmill. i held on. i couldn't NOT hold on. i felt like i was gonna fly off the back of this thing a la jackass style. so i apologized to anthony for my misgivings in the way of running and asked if i could hold on... he said yes and i finished my 5 minutes holding on for my dear life. then the real torture began at minute 10.

i never realized how out of shapy my legs are. yes, they're fine for walking, even walking fast, running and weight lifting - not so much. we begin with light lifts on various machines for the lower body. at about rep #6 (out of 15) my leg began to shake and quiver.. and NOT in a good way. anthony was very supportive and kept talking me thru it. whenever i wanted to give up, he stood by me cheering me on. and i needed it because without it, i would have given up on myself. but anthony wouldn't let me. and i'm thankful for that. we ended the session with 5 minutes on the elliptical machine. i feel like a super dummy on this thing. i know everyone bounces the same odd way on these things, but i feel extra goofy because of the double d's i'm packing. i feel like they bounce more than they should during the work out... so i hated this part as well.

all in all, i feel great, am eating better and enjoying that too. just this morning, the same friend who started me into this new workout situation said, 'wow, you look really good. your waist is so slim. what are you doing?' i wanted to punch them, but instead i just said, 'oh nothing much.'