I met my personal trainer yesterday (and today, actually), and he is really great! His name is Don. At first I was a little skeeved out by the fact that he is a boy, but I got over that quickly. Today we did my fitness evaluation (to see where I am now, and where we need to start).
The fitness evaluation consisted of measuring my body (biceps, bust, waist – in two places, hips, thighs, neck, and calves), body fat, and calculating my BMI. After that he had me hop on the elliptical machine to see how fast/steady my heart rate is during exertion. We went straight onto the chest and leg presses from there. I really felt as though I did well on both of the presses. I was able to do 10 chest presses at 150 pounds, and 10 leg presses at 280 pounds (even with a brace on my right ankle). Next was crunches, which I completed 50 in a minute. Don said that was really good to start. Last he measured flexibility. The problem here was that my disc prevented me from doing the test accurately. You are *supposed* to sit with your legs extended in front of you, feet about 12 inches apart, and reach forward. I could not do it. Honestly, I could barely put my left leg down flat on the floor. So, instead I stood and bent over to touch the floor. He said we can measure that way instead. Progress will be charted as I can put more of my hand (not just my fingertips) on the floor standing up. Who knows, though, maybe one day I will be able to do it the right way.
I am really excited to get this plan moving in the right direction. I meet with Don again on Monday. He said he will have a “food diary” for me, and some other nutritional information. I cannot wait. However, I will not be waiting to hit the gym again until Monday. Nope. I will be back there on Friday evening – for a hot date with that elliptical machine. We are going to be best friends, I think.
On a less happy note…tomorrow is going to be rough. One of my best friend’s mother passed away. Her funeral is tomorrow. This, of course, means food – and lots of it. I am going there with the intention of not grazing throughout the entire event. Here’s to hoping.
How is your week going? Are you getting closer to reaching your goal(s)?
-Erica
