Trainee

Thirty-seven years and 3 kids have made me – how shall I put it – MUSHY; or perhaps a more polite way to phrase it would be weak. Society would label me skinny and I do agree that due to exceptional genes and a moderate amount of running and hiking I’ve been able to stay pretty slim even after gaining obscene amounts of weight during each of my three pregnancies. I’d even go as far to say as I don’t look so bad . . . with clothes on.

Alas I live in the desert and wearing jeans and sweaters is not really feasible year round and soon I am going to be forced to put on a swimsuit so I have taken the inevitable leap of hiring a trainer. As I mentioned above I do enjoy hiking and running and have been known to occasionally ride my bike. I also “play” at the weights when I go to the gym and I am pretty dedicated to my weekly kickboxing class but I am not very hardcore particularly when it comes to strength training. Boy was I in for a very rude awakening!

I scheduled my first session with the trainer for this past Saturday which was unfortunate considering I had to travel last week to Atlanta for work. This meant I did not exercise in any form for 4 days, got WAY less sleep than I normally would, and ate and drank like I was back in college. (Okay, maybe that is stretching it because I certainly did not eat filet mignon in college and drank a bit more and it wasn’t nice red wine). 

So on Saturday I attended my weekly kickboxing class, ate a protein bar, and rolled into the gym with my friend (and partner on this adventure) Kris ready to kick some butt. Three minutes in and I was ready to throw up like the weaklings on Biggest Loser. I found out quickly just how weak my muscles have gotten particularly my abs (did I mention 3 large pregnancies). I did my best to power through by chugging water at every available moment and willing myself to try as hard as possible and reminding myself that I was paying for this torture.

It will be a bumpy ride but if my current soreness is any indication it will be well worth it. No pain, no gain – right? I’ll keep you posted.