Personal Training

Friday morning is personal training. I look forward to it every week. I've learned so much from all my various trainers, and there always seems to be something new to learn or a little bit further to push myself.

We started off on the treadmill. Lately my warmups have all involved walking but Krissi pushed it up to running pace. I pretended indignation but I was quite pleased that I was easily able to jog along and keep chatting to her. We then moved over to the Smith machine for some lunges. I hadn't done lunges on the Smith machine before. I remember that I used to be really impressed by anyone who was doing them. It's good to be doing exercises that I once thought were way too advanced for me.

I like the way Krissi gets me to set up. She really simplifies things. We started off with 10 kg on the machine while she checked my form, making sure my knees were tracking properly, that I had my abs locked on, and so on. The first lunge was a bit of a shock as I hadn't expected to go down so far so easily but I was ok after that. After we finished the first set, Krissi put the weight up to 20 kg, which was twice the weight I'd ever used to lunge with. The aim was for me to really feel it in my legs and the Smith machine would protect me from dropping it. Krissi was also watching out for me, with one hand on the bar.

Well, I really felt it in my legs. I think it's the first time I've ever felt the lunge in both legs, which was the whole idea. I was able to complete both sets but I was working hard on the way through. Krissi challenged me to do the last six lunges without stopping at the top each time, so I gritted my teeth and got through them. I was pleased to achieve that as I had been struggling.

We then moved to the chest press. With 10 kg on the bar I did the toss at the top, and handled it quite comfortably. I had my legs up in the air, crossed, and I was able to do that too. I hadn't been sure whether I'd be able to keep them up there, but it was pretty easy in the end. The legs in the air really do help to make sure that you're lifting with your upper body. Krissi added another 5 kg to the bar for the second set and we dropped the toss. I handled the weight really well. I think the most I've lifted on the Smith machine was 17.5 kg and it took me a while to work up to that, so I was pleased with 15 kg today. I think my strength has improved lately, which has been showing in my pushups.

We moved over to use the bent bar. I didn't ask what the weight was on this. It looked like 2.5 kg on each end and the bar weighs something like 5 kg as well. I can never remember what to call the exercise, but it's the one where you lift the bar in front of you until your elbows are at shoulder height. When I first went to the gym I couldn't do this as my tummy and my chest got in the way, but I can do it easily now, which I'm delighted about. I like this exercise as I know I have really good form with it. I'm also able to concentrate on lifting with my lats rather than my forearms. It took me ages to be able to work a specific muscle so I try to remember to enjoy it when I can do it successfully.

We headed back over to the Smith machine where Krissi put the bar right out of reach, shoved the bench back as far as it would go to the wall, and then sat on the edge of it, smiled at me and said "I'm going to give you my advanced abs exercise". Now, when a personal trainer smiles at you, you know you're in trouble. When they add the word advanced, it's time to run screaming from the gym.

Krissi demonstrated, making it look incredibly easy. She was pushing against the frame of the Smith machine with her hands as she lay on the bench. She raised her legs, lowered them to floor level then lifted them right up so that her backside came off the bench. I did a general approximation of this 10 times and then she had me doing the hover for as long as I could. I could feel that my abs were already struggling from the previous exercise, which was pretty hard work. I managed to last for 40 secs. After a rest we repeated the set, with a target of 30 secs for the hover. I absolutely bombed out on the hover. I think I might have managed 10 secs before crashing to the floor. I tried to start again but I couldn't stay up there. Krissi showed me a way to rest during the hover that doesn't involve lying face down on the floor, so hopefully I'll be able to do better next time.

It was a great personal training session. I felt like I worked really hard and achieved a lot today. Krissi paid me a lovely compliment at the end by saying that she wished all her clients were as much fun to train. I thanked her and she explained why she thought it was fun, telling me that I soak up all the information she gives and work at applying it. Thinking about it, I can see that a trainer would really enjoy having their clients listen to them and apply their words of wisdom. It must be encouraging. I know I love my personal training sessions, and I'm sure that enthusiasm comes over as well.

Oh, the interesting thing I learned was that I'm still picking things up off the floor as though I'm a big person. We were chatting and Krissi asked me to think about how I actually picked things up. I realised that I still stay fairly upright and lean over, rather than bending my knees. I'm going to have to consciously take advantage of my increased fitness and flexibility. I'm glad she asked as it's given me something to think about. I remember Leanne telling me once that I didn't have to roll over to get up off the floor as my abs were strong enough for me to be able to sit straight up from lying down. I love all these little physical achievements.

Yoga

Monday was a public holiday in Canberra, so I had an extra day in Melbourne which I spent pottering around with my parents. It was a lovely relaxing day. In the afternoon I tried out the Donna Aston Yoga set that I'd received for my birthday a couple of weeks earlier. It includes a strap and blocks, which I haven't used before, and was aimed at beginners. I was pleased to discover that it was a little easy for me. Mind you, there's still room for improvement.

Today I'd had great plans to get up and go for a run, but I just didn't get myself out of bed early. This evening I was off to Yoga as usual. It was a great session. I'm definitely becoming more flexible. Thank goodness. I'd hate to be doing all this work and getting nowhere.

Tomorrow I'm off to Melbourne for work, but I'll be back in time for the first Dragon Boat training session. That will be fun.

Personal training

A quick one tonight as I'm heading off to Melbourne shortly for the long weekend.

I had my PT session this morning. Isn't it amazing how difficult it is to describe pain sometimes? I still had a twinge in my leg, but I wasn't really sure what I'd hurt. It was kind of between my quad and my hammy. I felt like a dill trying to explain what it was, but Krissi took me seriously. I got the RICE and the HARM(R) talk, and now I know what to do next time it happens. If I'd only thought, I'd have worn my skins to bed last night.

I warmed up well on the treadmill, then we did light leg weights as maintenance on the leg press machine. I didn't feel any leg pain during those. As the day has progressed it's gotten gradually better and better, so I think I've lucked out. I was a little concerned about my run with the boys (Andrew and Andrew - yes, two nephews with the same name - long story) but I think I'll be fine for it.

It was so funny today at PT. I kept jumping off the leg press machine to go on to the next thing. After the third set I finally caught on and sat where I was. Yep, it was time to move. We did some chest presses and some triceps exercises and then it was time to go. I can't get over how quickly my PT session disappears nowadays.

I was going to go to Body Balance tonight, so I raced home, showered, frantically packed and headed off to the bus. I just made it .. the bus didn't. I can almost count on that bus being late, which is why I knew I could manage my packing this morning instead of doing it last night.

It was all for nothing though, as I managed to leave my phone at home in the rush. I had to head back for it instead of going to the gym. Still, I don't think I'd survive four days without my mobile.

Tomorrow I'm heading to the Royal Show. I love the Show. :-) On Sunday, I'm running around Albert Park Lake with the two Andrews. On Monday .. I haven't made any plans yet. It will just be nice to have the extra day off.

GOFC, Bike Ride and Yoga

This morning I checked the weather before heading outside. I'm glad I did as it "felt like" 0.5 degrees. I decided that I'd squeeze into my Skins instead of wearing 3/4 length pants. They seemed to fit a bit better today, which was a relief. I headed off towards Lennox Gardens, really enjoying the ride. While it was a little cold, it was a lovely day. There were lots of people out and about.

I was heading over the bridge when I suddenly realised that I didn't have my back pack with me. My immediate thought was "oh well, I won't be able to lock up my bike", which was quickly followed by a more panicked "my keys, my building pass, my phone". Yes, I was locked out of my apartment. I was tempted to go back home and call a locksmith but I realised that I wasn't even able to do that without my phone.

A quick review of my options and I realised that the real estate agent was my best bet. As they didn't open until 8:30, there was no point in going home, so I continued on to the GOFC. It was a circuit session, which involved fast steps in between the rungs of two ladders (lead with one foot then the other), jumping from cone to cone, a shuttlecock relay, jumping around a pentagram and a dodge and weave run around cones. We'd do 2 mins on an activity, then run / walk around the rectangle on the outside (run the long side, walk the short side) for 2 mins. We did the circuit once and then repeated it with 1 minute intervals.

After our warmup and before the circuit we did an activity that I can't think what to call. I feel sure that I should know its name. It involved a set of four cones. We ran up to the first cone, touched the ground, ran back and touched the ground, ran to the next cone, etc etc and then did it all in reverse. I was really slow compared to everyone else but I didn't sweat it. At the end we thought we were finished but we had to do it again. Fortunately we only had to do the first half. I'm finding that these "add ons" after we finish are teaching me that I still have energy in reserve even when I think I'm all done.

While we were doing the circuit I found myself running most of the time. I had warmed up by then and was in the zone. I really enjoyed this circuit last time so I'd arrived with a really positive expectation about this morning's session. I'm glad that I didn't allow the key fiasco to ruin my enjoyment.

Krissi rode with me the first part of the way home this morning, which was pleasant. I watched her fly up to the bridge while I went the slower, longer way. One of these days I'll be able to do that. We parted company once we crossed the bridge and I headed off along the bike path to the real estate agency. It was another 3.5 km past my place, so it was a good ride. I had to wait for a while for the staff to turn up, and then they didn't have the spare key/pass. The maintenance man had it and he thought he was about an hour away from my place. My property manager kindly gave me a cup of coffee and then I headed home.

As I had all that time to kill I decided to "steal a workout". I thought through my options. The main problem was going to be my bike as the lock was also in my missing backpack, so I decided to spend the time riding. It was such a beautiful morning that it ended up being a really pleasant way to wait for the maintenance man. Stealing a workout is a concept my brother shared with me - instead of sitting or standing around waiting, I go for a walk. This morning I managed to do an extra 60 minutes of riding on top of my usual GOFC bike ride. My legs are a little tired tonight, but it was certainly preferable to waiting for a locksmith and forking out the call out fee.

I'm convinced my forgetfulness is related to that time of the month. I missed out on Body Attack last night because I left another backpack at work. I'd changed into my runners, but I'd walked off without my exercise gear. There's not time to go home, get changed and head back to the gym so I had to miss the class. When I did get home last night I surrendered to the impulse to stay there but at least I made up for it this morning.

Tonight I was really tempted to do a yoga DVD instead of heading back out, but I overcame the impulse and went to the class. I'm glad I did, as the instructor does such interesting things. Today everything "flowed". We didn't hold the poses as long as usual. It was really pleasant and the time just flew. I feel quite relaxed now. During the class I had a couple of "oh no, my quads are going to cramp" moments but I got out of the pose and relaxed before getting back into it. I really think the yoga is doing wonders for my tight quads and hamstrings. Moments like those remind me that I've got to keep it up. There are a few other moves that I just can't do at the moment but I am seeing a real improvement in other poses.

I'm planning to run to work in the morning, if all goes well. I have everything organised at the work end. All I have to manage now is the getting up and doing it. This is the last week of the GOFC and I've decided that I'm going to try to run to work on Tuesdays and Thursdays once it's over. I have been debating about doing the Fernwood Miss Military Bootcamp, but I think I'll try to get into the regular running habit instead. I don't want to leave it until it gets too warm.

We're at the "buy the T-shirts" stage of the Dragon Boat racing. The practice sessions have been organised. I'm quite looking forward to it all.

PS The Global Corporate Challenge is over. I didn't get into it this year. My average step count worked out to be 11791, which equates to 7.5 km a day. The site is really busy, as people put in their final steps, so I'm not sure how the team went or how the leaders went. If I do this next year, I think I'll make sure I do it with a group of people I see regularly. I missed the daily interaction with the team this year. It's funny though - I'm thinking that 11.5k steps isn't many, as I did it without really trying, when a few years ago I'd have been lucky to do 3k steps a day. I love being fit and healthy.

Weight training and style consultation

This morning I didn't end up having PT as Krissi had a refrigeration emergency. Her fridge died just after the freezer was stocked up. If it had happened a few months ago, she would have been safe leaving the frozen goods outside (ok, Canberra isn't that bad).

Krissi phoned me last night to let me know that she might be late or a no show, depending on when her new fridge was delivered. What I want to know is how on earth she convinced them to deliver between 7 and 8 am. I'm impressed.

I went to the gym and worked on my weights program. I only had half an hour so I did the four legs exercises - lunges on the step, single leg extensions, fitball hamstring curls and duradisc one legged rows. At this stage I'm just learning to balance on the duradisc - 3 reps of 60 seconds. The rowing part will come later. I'll go to the gym tomorrow and do the rest of the program.

The reason I only had half an hour is that I had to do housework this morning because the style consultant was coming over. I was out of bed at 6 am and the house was spick and span by the time I headed off to the gym. I think I've inherited this compulsive need to pretend my house is immaculate from my mother. It's not all bad though - I got her legs. As she's got spectacular legs that's probably fair exchange for the odd bout of manic housework.

The style consultation was great fun. It didn't take all that long. We went back through my wardrobe and identified a few new combinations with my old and new clothes. I told SC how it was all going and she was delighted by some of my new purchases since we went shopping. I got some advice about a few things as well. For example, I'd worn one of my new skirts with a top I had but I tucked the top in so I could show off the belt on the skirt. For years I've not work a tucked in top as I'm usually trying to hide my tummy, so I wanted to check if this was an acceptable way to wear the outfit or if it was a fashion faux pas. Fortunately, tucked in is fine. (I'm having a little chuckle at myself for actually caring!)

I had a lesson in applying makeup and then we did the fashion parade. I tried on all sorts of combinations of my clothes and had my photo taken. SC will send the photos to me and I'll post a few on here. I showed SC a before photo of my face as I came across it the other day. I really hate that photo but I'm very proud of the transformation.

I'm all dolled up at the moment. I rang a few friends and arranged to go out for dinner, as it seems a waste to spend the evening in. One of my friends is coming around after work to see my new clothes and my incredibly neat wardrobe. It will be fun showing it all off.

On the weekend I'm off to Floriade. I'm also planning to go for a run and I might make it out for a bike ride just for fun. I keep meaning to do that, but it rarely happens. I need a riding buddy. Maybe I should put up a notice at the gym.

GOFC and Yoga

Today's GOFC session was a lot of fun. I missed this session during the last challenge so it was all new to me. We headed over to a sunny patch of grass to warm up and Brad brought a medicine ball with him. I was quite intrigued.

Mixed in with the usual warmup activities we did a few new ones. The one that amused me most was putting our thumbs into our armpits then rolling our arms around. It has this whole eggbeater look to it. I was expecting to take off into the air any second. Mind you, one of our later activities made me very glad that we warmed up our shoulders.

Once we were warmed up I discovered what the medicine ball was for. We were doing "cardio cards". Krissi had a selection of cards, which each had activities. Whenever she blew her whistle during the session we were to run over to her and the person who got there first would get to choose an activity. In the meantime, we were walking or jogging along in two lines, with the back pair carrying the medicine ball. When Brad blew his whistle, the back pair passed the medicine ball on and then ran up to the front of the group.

The cardio cards had a mixture of activities. I managed to get to Krissi first one time, but only because I was the closest to her at the time. I got a "team choice - 2 mins or 20 reps". We decided on 20 reps thank goodness as it was pushups. Some of our other activities were "overhead medicine ball relay" where we passed the ball overhead, "sideways twist medicine ball relay" where we ... yes, you've got it ... passed the medicine ball sideways to the person behind us, dip relay where teams had to complete 100 dips, walking lunges (that didn't come off a card - that was trainer's choice!), run around the gardens, and overhead shadow boxing for 2 mins. The last one sounded easy and it was, for all of 20 seconds. I was extremely glad when that one was over. I also hated the walking lunges, although I did learn how to do them better. I was stopping between each lunge but Krissi explained to me that I needed to push through off my back foot into the next one.

The weather forecast had been for -1 and frost, but it didn't feel that cold at all. I enjoyed my bike ride there and back today, although I got off to a late start. I realised I should occasionally pump up the tyres, so I checked them this morning. I was wishing I'd checked them earlier, as I was in a real rush to get to Lennox Gardens in time. Mind you, being in a rush meant that I rode a bit faster. I don't really push myself on the bike at all, so riding under pressure was probably good for me.

Having managed to get to GOFC so quickly, I felt that I should be able to get home as quickly. I was puffing and panting but I managed it!

Tonight I went to Yoga. I had a word with the instructor about my sore lower back last week and she advised me to keep my abs locked on during the stretches. I tried hard to do that today. I guess I'll find out later in the week how well I managed. There are so many things to think about that it's easy to forget to do something. Still, I might not notice my back as my shoulders are burning tonight. That is probably a legacy of the shadow boxing.

Bike ride, Group Fitness, Style Consultation and Body Attack

This morning I headed out to the Outdoor Group Fitness session on my bike. I was looking forward to the ride, hoping to see the swans again, and generally at peace with the world. Then I got outside. It was raining. Lightly, but definitely raining. I seriously considered turning around and calling someone for a ride but I talked myself into riding in the rain as it wasn't too heavy.

It seemed like a sensible idea for all of five minutes. I cruised along, feeling proud of myself for not letting the elements defeat me, until I realised the rain was getting heavier. And heavier. Now, it's an outdoor fitness challenge I'm doing, so the course isn't cancelled for inclement weather. I realised I'd better keep on going and hope that the rain didn't get any worse. Eventually, I was riding along thinking, "I'll get there so Krissi knows I was going to come, and then I'll ride home again straight away. I can't do this. I can't exercise when I'm all wet." I was nearly at the park when the rain stopped. Thank goodness!

We did boxercise this morning. It's one of my favourites. We started out with a warm up that involved jogging and punching. It was fun once I got into it. We kept changing what we were doing. For example, we'd go clockwise in a circle, punching forwards or sideways or up in the air, then we'd change direction, then we'd touch the ground with our left hand, and so on. We then played a numbers game which was amusing. When a number was called out we had to clump into groups that size. If you didn't get into a group you ended up doing pushups. I managed to get in a group each time, which was good except I missed out on doing the pushups. It's weird how the pushups seemed like winning in reverse.

The boxercise session was the usual punching and then doing some other exercise. We did pushups with jabs, squats with hooks, lunges with uppercuts, and short sprints with combos. Then we played ambush, which is also fun. One person is punching and the others in the group tap them on the shoulder from behind, run away, then turn around and put their hands in position for a particular type of punch. It's quite amusing, especially when someone my height is trying to indicate high punches for someone much taller.

It started raining during the session, but fortunately it stopped before I had to ride home. On the way I kept my eye out for the swan family I saw on Tuesday. They were out and about, and the five cygnets were still fluffy balls of grey. It was terrific to see them again.

I had the morning off work today for the shopping expedition part of the Style Consultation. It was so much fun. My credit card is now a little melted, but it wasn't as expensive a trip as I'd expected. SC and I shopped solidly for three hours. We worked from a list SC prepared when she went through my wardrobe. We started off in a lingerie shop, where I was introduced to a contraption that gives me a much firmer waist. I also bought a pretty bra - nothing like the Enell but probably an engineering wonder all the same. We then headed off looking for some clothes, which was fun. I bought a few different outfits, in some great colours. I also ended up with two pairs of shoes, a pair of jeans, some costume jewellery and makeup. Now all I have to do is manage to put all this together with some semblance of style.

Oh, we managed to buy everything on the list, except for a pair of trousers and a casual jacket. We substituted a couple of skirts for the trousers and we decided to give the jacket a miss for now. I'm really looking forward to wearing my new clothes and mixing and matching them with my existing wardrobe.

This evening I headed off to Body Attack. The instructor for tonight's class is terrific and it's always good fun. I was feeling tired but I decided to give it a go anyway. I'm glad that I did, because I managed to get through it, even though I found it a little hard. I figure that by the end of the GOFC I'll be fit enough to handle the two sessions on the one day without feeling exhausted.

After class I decided to tell the instructor how much I enjoyed her classes. I'm sorry I didn't do it before today as she was so pleased. At least I did it today.

As for tomorrow, I have personal training in the morning with Krissi, and Body Balance in the evening. On Saturday some of the girls are going for a run. I might join them. I haven't managed to get out for a run this week. It's still been a great exercise week, and there's been a little running in the GOFC, so I'm not fretting about it.

Fitness test and Yoga

At this morning's Group Outdoor Fitness Challenge we started off with a fitness test. It consisted of a beep test, an agility test, pushups in a minute and a 1 km time trial.

I got to level 3-3 in the beep test. Back in May I started at 3-2 and finished at 4-1. It will be interesting to see if I make a similar improvement this time. We didn't do a warm up run first. The beep test has its own built in warm up, but I think I might have needed a longer one. I was quite sore when we started today, from Body Attack last night. I've made a mental note - don't overdo it before the fitness test on the last day!

For the agility test I managed 21.9 seconds. Last time I did it in 23.4, so that's a definite improvement over the past few months. I was really pleased about that. I did fewer pushups than last time but they are much better quality now. I managed 22 in the minute.

The time trial was interesting. I missed the one at the end of the running course. I'd decided for that one that I didn't care about the time. I just wanted to run for the whole kilometre. I was the first runner, and the others followed in 30 second intervals.

I took off a little too fast I think. After about three minutes I had to stop to throw up. I'm not sure how much time I lost - maybe 15 seconds. I got myself running again, but at a much slower pace. I was struggling, but I decided I was going to run the rest of the way.

When I was within sight of the end Krissi was encouraging me to run faster, but I didn't have it in me. There were two runners right behind me, but I managed to get across the line first. I immediately threw up again, which was a little embarrassing. It felt so good when I stopped. ;-)

Anyway, I ran the kilometer in 5:55. I did it in 5:48 during the running course. I think if I hadn't thrown up on the way I would have done better than that. I just have to figure out how to pace myself better. What I am pleased about is that I ran the whole distance. I had to take two walking breaks during the first time trial back in early June.

This evening I headed off to Yoga. As ever, I enjoyed it. We started off on the floor, with a lovely relaxing meditation. I was encased in a blue ball of light that gradually turned to white light. I kept thinking about work stuff and kept having to clear my mind again. It's quite a challenge to stop thinking.

I keep feeling as though I'm improving and then doing something that just goes to show how far I still have to go just to manage the beginners' poses. We did something called the rabbit, which had me falling over onto my forehead. Fortunately, not very far but I felt like such a klutz. I'm in awe of the more advanced moves.

There was a hilarious section where Michelle just sat up and watched us for the second rep. We were lying on the floor with our hands stretched out and palm to palm, and our feet also stretched. We were supposed to roll ourselves completely over and back by using our abs. It sounds a lot easier than it is. It was fun trying though.

I'm going to keep going to this class though as I feel great after I'm finished - really relaxed and mellow. My flexibility is improving too.

Enell bra update

My goodness it's a strange looking contraption. I don't know what I'd expected. I'd seen photos of the bra on a model but it looks a lot different in real life. I wore it this morning to the GOFC. After I tried it on, I did a little jogging on the spot and thought, "Hmmm, this isn't going to work. I'm glad I only bought one." I figured I must have ordered the wrong size, as so many people swear by the bra.

The leaflet that came with the bra suggested that I should build up to using it, so I figured the GOFC would be a gentle introduction - not full on running, but a bit of effort. I meant to pay close attention to how it felt whenever we were running, but I completely forgot. In fact, I didn't even notice, which I think has to be a good sign.

When I got home, I was delighted to see that I didn't have the usual red marks from tight straps. Without having done a proper run, I am pretty sure that this bra is a winner.

Edit

I forgot to mention my bike ride this morning. I rode to and from the GOFC. It's getting light so much earlier. I made it up all the hills, and I rode down the scary hill as well. Even better than that, on the way home I saw a pair of black swans with their grey fluffy cygnets. They were right beside the bike path so I got an excellent view. I was wishing I had my camera with me.

Body Attack and Ceroc Dancing

This morning I had planned to go for a run, but I got to bed way too late last night. When I woke up all I wanted to do was roll over and go back to sleep. I debated getting up for a while, and then I remembered that I was going to do Body Attack this evening and the Group Outdoor Fitness Course tomorrow morning. I decided that rolling over and going back to sleep was incredibly sensible.

Tonight is going to be a short entry, as I really should get myself to bed. I HAVE to get up tomorrow for the GOFC and I clearly need to catch up on some sleep.

I enjoyed the Body Attack class. I was able to take it up another level in intensity today. I felt like I worked really hard and got maximum benefit out of the time.

I'd forgotten about Ceroc. My friend, Mel, and I decided a couple of weeks ago that trivia was getting a little dull and that we'd try something else. Ceroc Dancing is what we chose. It was a mad scramble to get there. I raced home from the gym to shower and change. Then I didn't have any cash, so I had to find an ATM. I was a couple of minutes late and it had already started, so there wasn't time to stand around feeling selfconscious. It was heaps of fun and I'll definitely go again.

Personal training and Body Balance

This morning I had my PT session with Krissi. We started off with 10 minutes on the treadmill. It gave us a chance to catch up on each other's news. While we were chatting, Krissi asked me if I'd join her in a challenge .. clearly she's worked out that challenge is the right word to get me sucked in. Of course I said yes.

We're going to run up Mount Majura. She walks up it each week with a client and thinks it would be a great run, but her client isn't up for it. The path is a bit rocky in places, so it would be a good test for my improved balance. We'll do it one Saturday morning, fairly soon. I'm sure she'll have a few more people coming along. Lola is already signed up for it. I love that the Team Black Women are so crazy!

During PT we did some squats on the Smith Machine, some barbell lifts for my shoulders and some abs work. Before we got started, I asked Krissi to check out my flexibility as there's all this stuff I can't manage in Yoga and Body Balance. I was concerned I wasn't flexible enough, but it looks as though it's my stomach being in the way. I guess that problem will eventually disappear. It's good to know my flexibility is ok.

This evening I did Body Balance. I like the new one .. the transitions between moves don't seem to be so fast. Either I'm keeping up better or they've slowed down. There's heaps that I can't do, so I have plenty of room for improvement.

One thing about Body Balance, it's very relaxing. I was all mellowed out at the end of class. It's a great way to end the working week.

Tonight I went out for dinner with some friends of mine. It was a lovely evening. I managed to confine my talking about running to the odd anecdote! Easier said than done, isn't it?

Body Attack

I'm really enjoying Body Attack. I love being able to do it. I still take the low impact option for some of the exercises, and I wimp out on some of the abs work, but I'm definitely improving. For the first time I did some bouncing on the knee lifts and I'm starting to get the hang of the sideway single knees. If they called it "hop sideways" I would have gotten it sooner.

I'm pretty coordinated, but today I felt particularly klutzy when we were supposed to raise both arms while doing knee repeaters. I'm going to have to practise that one at home! I just couldn't get the arms and legs working together.

My knees were a little tired, so I kept a few of the moves low deliberately, as opposed to not being able to keep up with the high impact option. I'm really keen to do Body Attack, but I don't want it to get in the way of my running!

Tomorrow I have my PT session with Krissi, and there's a Body Balance class in the evening. I've been really happy with my exercise program lately - lots of variety, which is keeping me interested. I've got the Group Outdoor Fitness Challenge coming up, and Dragon Boat racing, and Spring into Shape. It's all looking good. :-)

Personal Training and Body Balance

This morning I had my first personal training session with Krissi. It was at 7:30, which seemed so late! For the past two years I've been catching my bus at 7:22, so it felt really strange to be heading off to the gym instead of to work.

This morning we went through my program. Krissi made a few changes. I'll have to get down to the gym over the weekend and work through it while I still remember it all. The leg press is getting changed back to leg extensions and Krissi is reordering things so that I exercise to failure. My one armed one legged row is turning into a more difficult exercise on a balance disk. I wasn't able to do the row part so I'm going to be timing myself on the disk while I make feeble attempts to row. Before I do my fitball situps, I'm doing a chest press with my legs in the air to keep my back on the bench and a toss and catch at the top, which I know from one experience adds quite a burn.

The fitball lifts have turned into something harder too. I don't know what to call them, but it's another fitball exercise that involves rolling the ball in towards me, lifting my hips and squeezing my butt. When Krissi does it, there's this lovely straight line from her shoulders to her knees. I had my tummy in the way, but I know the straight line was under there somewhere.

No more bent bar, which I don't mind. It was fun for novelty value, but I'm quite happy to use free weights. We didn't get to the abs exercises yet but at the rate I'm going, my abs will be worn out with all these classes.

Tonight was the new Body Balance and we ended up with three instructors in the class, which meant one could do the beginner's move, one the intermediate and one the advanced. It was a really nice routine. I got myself all tangled up on some of it, but I know I'll improve with time.

Tomorrow I might go running with some of the running crew. I'll see how I feel.

Personal Training and Body Attack

Today I had my last personal training session with Leanne. I will miss her a lot. Her enthusiasm and encouragement really helped me to progress with my health and fitness goals. Leanne is the one who got me running outside. It took her a while to convince me, but she did it. I'll always be grateful for that. Leanne also helped me to realise that I was giving up too easily when an exercise got hard. Now I try to do a little more than I think I can before stopping.

Today's training session was a little relaxed, as it was the last one. I warmed up for five minutes while I checked out the photos of Leanne's brand new niece. Leanne checked out my one-legged one-armed row, which has been coming along really well. We then did squats with a step - squatting on one side and then jumping across and squatting on the other. In between sets I did a very tragic version of burpees. I am able to manage the jump up and the pushup. It's the transition that I struggle with.

After that it was twisting crunches on the fitball, then the plank. I found it really difficult after the speed I'd been going at for the other activities. I felt really shaky when I started so I took a few deep breaths and thought, oh well, I'll be lucky to make 30 seconds. I stopped when my lower back started to hurt. To my amazement, I'd lasted 60 seconds. I was really pleased about that. I'm glad Leanne explains the exercises and how to know when to stop. Apparently, when my lower back starts to hurt my abs have pretty much given up, so there's not much point continuing on. On the basis of my new "don't give up straight away" approach to exercise, I try sucking in my abs a bit tighter to see if my back will stop hurting. If it doesn't, I stop.

Leanne then had me doing an abs exercise where you start in a crunch position with your legs bent and then touch your feet on one side then the other so you engage your obliques as well as your middle. That one had me giggling, but I could feel it doing me good.

Tonight I headed off to Body Attack again. I remembered to wear the right bra, so I was able to do more of the high impact stuff. It felt good. I really like being fit enough to work at that pace. I also like that my knees are holding up to it so well. My left knee has been a little sore this week, as I sort of twisted it slightly on a tussock of grass when I was running to work. I could feel it tonight, but only as a slight sensation that had me making sure my knee was in the right position when we did the lunges.

My favourite part of Body Attack is the running track, followed by the agility track. By the time we get to that one, we're half way through the class. It's fun stretching out for a run and I feel like it's a bit of a break. I'm not sure that it's meant to be one, but it certainly seems like one.

Tomorrow morning, I have my first personal training session with Krissi. I am so pleased that she's agreed to take me on. I half expected that she wouldn't be able to fit me in when I can get to the gym, as she's such a popular and busy trainer. I was going to ask her to add me to a waiting list for the first available session. Anyway, she's put herself out a little to take me on, which is extremely kind of her.

I had been going to run to work tomorrow, but I'm more than happy to be changing my plans. I'll have plenty of opportunities for my running commute and there was only one session that worked for both Krissi and me. Tomorrow night I'm planning to do Body Balance. On the weekend I want to get out on my bike. I haven't been out riding for weeks now.

Krissi and Brad are running another Outdoor Group Fitness Challenge in September - 8 sessions over 4 weeks. I'm signed up for it already. I enjoyed the last one so much.

Running commute and yoga

I finally did it - I ran to work this morning. I've been wanting to do this ever since I started at my new workplace so I was really pleased to be able to cross this off my 'to do' list.

I'm not sure exactly how far it is - a bit less than 5 k's I think. It took me 35 minutes, I wasn't trying to run fast and I took a few walking breaks. My next few goals will be to get halfway without stopping, then to the top of the big hill, then to the office.

There was one stretch I was a little concerned about. It's on a major road, where the road goes across a series of three overpasses. I had to move onto the bike path with the traffic behind me. Fortunately traffic was pretty light and the bike path was wide enough for me to feel safe, so it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. If it had been I would have had to either run on the other side of the road or take the walking path option.

Now I have to get some more clothes to work for my next run. I did pretty well with remembering things. I wish I'd thought to have my usual breakfast at work - at least I know that for next time. I also could have done with a clean pair of socks. I found it amusing was that I was pink for half the day. Mind you, I felt fantastic - I was in a great mood all day. I love those extended runner's highs. On the way past the big hill on the bus, I found myself breaking out into the hugest smile. I've been checking out the route for so long now that I felt an enormous sense of accomplishment to have finally done it.

I rang my brother to tell him what I'd done. He's the one who inspired me to become more active, and I knew he'd understand exactly how I felt, even though he's not a runner. He was as encouraging as he always is. It's great to know that I've got his support.

I don't think I would have felt nearly as good if I'd gone running with the girls, much as I enjoy running with them. I would have worked harder - I'm sure they would have run for longer than 35 minutes - but it wouldn't have been the goal I've been dreaming of for so long now. I'll save the bike ride / run combination for another time.

I want to go out and do it all again tomorrow, but I'm trying to remember that I haven't been doing much running lately and I should build up my time again slowly. I'm going to try to work out a run / ride combination that lets me get my gym work done too. I'm going to choose a 10k training program and base it on that.

Tonight I had yoga. I realised half way through the day that I'd forgotten to stretch after my run. Instead of doing some stretches then, I thought I'd be able to rely on yoga to catch up. Silly me. I wasn't able to do one of the earlier stretches because my quads were too tight, and then I started to cramp up during some of the other moves. Another lesson learnt.

Still, by the end of the yoga session I was feeling relaxed and mellow. We did classic yoga tonight - lots of sitting. One of the poses was a great shin stretch - sitting back on our heels with our toes stretched out rather than flexed. Leaning back from there to put our hands on the floor behind us was the move I couldn't do because of my quads. I'm sure it would have been a good quad stretch under normal circumstances.

We were doing a plank type exercise in yoga tonight, which had me remembering JayKay and her 60 second plank. (Well done JayKay!) Anyway, we were getting into plank position and then out of it a few times, checking that we had the position right. Then we got back into plank, lifted one leg and then held it. Not for 60 seconds, but long enough for me to count to 10. We then did the other leg. Some of the class were lifting the opposite arm as well. I didn't even try. While we were doing that series, it felt like I was up really high when I was in plank position. It wasn't until I was walking home that I worked it out. My normal plank position is on my elbows but I was up on my hands, so of course I was higher. When I got over the 'Doh!' factor, I was pretty impressed.

I've realised that my back is really tight. A legacy of all the sitting at a computer I guess. I'll have to find some exercises to work on that. I am going to buy myself a yoga dvd to do between classes. I've got a pilates book but I think the dvd will be a better option for me. I find stopping to read the next exercise really breaks up the rhythm. I guess if I persisted I'd learn the routine, but I haven't got that sort of patience.

Anyway, I've got to go and pack all the stuff I want to leave at work for my next run. Chuckle. I've also realised I'm going to need more running clothes, bike panniers (still haven't gotten around to buying them) and I'm sure I can dream up a few more 'must have' accessories.

Some quick replies to comments:

Celeste, yes, I had to laugh at myself for forgetting my precious building pass too.
Em, that would be lovely.
Kathryn, I'm sure you'd enjoy Body Attack. Wear cross trainers though! I finally thought of it last night and it made a big difference.

Body Attack

Tonight was the launch of the new Body Attack. I've only been doing Body Attack for a short while, so I was expecting something different. The only thing that was different was the music. All the moves were pretty much the same in pretty much the same order. I felt a little disappointed, but it was still a good workout.

I took the low impact option more than usual as I forgot about the bounce factor when I was packing my gear this morning. It was one of those forgetful days today. This morning I left my brand new building access pass at home. I also managed to leave my heart rate monitor at work.

I've managed to get myself organised enough to have toiletries and a set of work clothes at the office. Now all I have to do is run to work. Mind you, tomorrow morning some of the people from the running course are going for a run behind the War Memorial, so I might do that with them and then ride on to work from there. I'll decide in the morning.

Other than that, nothing much to report on the exercise front. I had a pretty relaxing weekend. I did manage to sign up for Spring into Shape. I'm going to do the 8 km series. Now all I have to do is get out there regularly and train.

I sacrificed exercise for beauty

Tonight I headed to the gym for Body Balance. I was in a bit of a rush so I raced into the gym, got changed and went to buy some water on my way into class. As I breezed through the lady behind the desk asked me if I was going to attend the personal style session that the gym had organised. I explained that I'd been really tempted to do this but had decided that I needed the stretching from Body Balance. That's when I was offered the carrot - if I came to the style session, they'd use me for the makeup demonstration.

Well, talk about a pushover! I struggled feebly on the hook for all of five seconds before caving. I made it look good though, as I checked to see if there was a Body Balance class on over the weekend. I've done a deal with myself to get to it on Sunday.

The personal style consultant was excellent and I am pretty sure that I'll book myself a package. It will involve three sessions - a wardrobe consultation and organisation, personal shopping and hair & makeup advice / wardrobe consolidation. It looks like I'll have to do it during normal business hours so I'll have to check at work to find out if they think they can manage without me for a few hours! I'm sure they'll be fine.

As it happens, it's probably just as well that I didn't do much exercise today, as I'm a little sore from yesterday. I keep reminding myself that rest days are an important part of the program but I don't tend to plan them in. They seem to occur without effort. (This is where a blushing smiley would look appropriate but I'm too lazy to work out how to do one. You'd never know I was a programmer.)

Andrew, the chocolate frog started out as a joke. A little over twelve months ago, one of my project teams needed something done that was outside of their control. Various attempts to make it happen had run into the "you're the contractors, we're the client, we'll do what we like" attitude that seems to regularly get in the way of partnering arrangements. I told them I'd make it happen and was jokingly offered a chocolate frog as a reward. I saw it as just part of my job (that's what managers do after all) but the people around me thought I was working a miracle. I laughed at them one day when they were discussing whether or not I'd earn the frog and told them to "make sure you frame it before you give it to me". I didn't think anything more about it but when their project was successfully delivered I was awarded a framed chocolate frog. It took pride of place on my desk until I changed jobs and was a useful reminder to the team and myself that we could get the seemingly impossible done when we needed it to happen. Now it's on display in my loungeroom.

While I'm posting on a non-exercise day (I'm not counting the little bit of walking I did today as exercise) I thought I'd give you all an update on how my new approach to my health goals was going. My eating was completely out of control - I'd be so good on weekdays during the day but would then blow all my effort in the evenings or on weekends. To tell the truth, I didn't think my new approach would do much more than stop me feeling so miserable about it, but the difference has been amazing.

For example, even though I was "trying hard" I'd buy myself snack food at the supermarket that I kidded myself that I wasn't going to eat all at once. Since setting the new goals I find myself uninterested in buying snack foods. After all, corn chips don't meet the "quality food" goal as a general rule - too many calories, too much salt. I'm not feeling as compulsive about snacking. Earlier this evening I found myself thinking about eating, decided I'd eat strawberries rather than biscuits, then looked at the time and chose not to eat them so close to bed time.

I was pleased for a few reasons - first of all, I had bought fruit (that's the food group I struggle to eat), secondly, I recognised that I was looking for something to eat out of habit rather than hunger, thirdly, I hadn't felt like snacking all evening, and fourthly, I managed to meet my goal of not eating within two hours of bedtime.

This evening I decided to go for a bit of a browse through blogland. I love following the links from your various pages. Tonight, I revisited some of Kathryn's links and I came across a new website, 43 Things. It looks like it might be fun. With all my talking about goal setting lately, it was a good link for me to discover.

Personal training and Body Attack

This morning I had my personal training as usual. After warming up, Leanne handed me a 2 kg medicine ball and had me do lunges around the gym, raising the ball over my head while I lunged and lifting my knee up in between steps. Usually we just walk across the gym a couple of times but today she had me travelling down to the group fitness room. Not only did we go further than usual, I was able to chat to Leanne while doing them, which is pretty cool. Mind you, my arms were tired when we stopped.

While I was chatting away I was thinking back to how I used to feel about lunges. I always found them a real challenge, especially as I used to experience pain in my left knee when doing them. It's taken a lot of work to get to the stage I'm at now, and I really enjoy being able to do them now. All that hard work to strengthen my left knee has paid off.

We were working my legs today, so Leanne had me go straight to squats, while throwing the medicine ball. We did 40 of those, and then did 'rested' by doing some pushups with the medicine ball. I didn't think I'd be able to do them at all, even on my knees. Leanne got me to try on my toes first, and I was able to get into position ok and try a couple, but that was as far as it went. I didn't trust my balance enough to bend my elbows. On my knees, I was able to bend my elbows, so I did two sets of 12 pushups. Leanne encouraged me to use my chest and my back, which had me thinking. I finally understood that I could use my back on the way up and I found it a lot easier. I think my pushups are going to improve out of sight.

We then went back to legs and I did 2 minutes of knee repeaters on the step. I was really getting into it and Leanne commented on the fact that I was doing them much faster than in the past. My cardio fitness is really good at the moment and I'm definitely enjoying the benefits.

After that I did a set of a combination of two jumps on the spot and then squats. I did some addition later, and realised I did 60 squats this morning. My legs are definitely tired now. After that we finished with a couple of fitball exercises, one which was kind of like a rolling plank and one which was a butt exercise. It felt like a great workout. I am really going to miss these sessions with Leanne. It's the last one next week. There's a chance I'll have to travel down to Melbourne next week. I explained to the boss that I'd really really like to be in Canberra next Thursday morning. Hopefully he can make that happen for me.

This evening I made it to Body Attack. I hadn't had this instructor before and she seemed really high energy while chatting before the class. As usual, when confronted with somebody new, I was feeling a little anxious about keeping up. I shouldn't have worried. The instructor kept showing us the low impact options and I was able to keep up with the high impact option about two thirds of the time. It was a great calorie burn. I'm definitely going to keep this class in my repertoire.

There were lots of star jumps. I'm really pleased to be able to do them. I was checking out the class in the mirror to see how far behind everyone else I was with these. To my delight, I was quite a bit ahead of some of the others. It's a great feeling. Mind you, I'm not getting too carried away with myself. Those mirrors are quite unforgiving. I was definitely the 'biggest' girl in the room, and I was horrified to see my tummy bouncing up and down with a life of its own. Anyway, I figure I have to get over feeling horrified as it's going to bounce. I did the two bra thing again, and felt quite comfortable, even though there was a lot of bouncing going on there too.

There's a lot of change happening at the gym. Apart from Leanne leaving next week, there are other people who have disappeared from view. Two of the slim coaches are leaving this week. They are both lovely ladies, and I'll miss seeing them around. At least I knew they were leaving, so I've had a chance to say goodbye. I do wish the gym would let us know what was going on. My favourite receptionist has gone, and I didn't even know she'd left. I saw her at the shops recently and didn't stop to talk as I thought I'd see her at the gym. I hope I bump into her again, as it would be good to be able to wish her well in her next endeavour.

I finally got building access at work, so I'll be able to start my various 'exercise' commutes - running, walking or riding. I haven't done any of these yet, because it would have been too much of a hassle to get to the showers. I could have tried the commute on the way home but I really prefer running in the morning and I have a complex about standing around in the foyer in my cycling gear while waiting for someone to sign me in. That's all sorted now. I'll have to ride my bike out there on the weekend, just to confirm that I can cope with the hills.

Chilli and Yoga

I learned an important lesson today - don't eat too much chilli before an important run. I got up this morning, feeling the after effects of last night's dinner, which was delicious by the way. I was hoping that I'd be ok for my run, but I ended up having to miss it. I was dressed and about to ride off on my bike when I had to head back to the bathroom.

Unfortunately, that means I missed the time trial and I also didn't manage to run three times in a week. I was telling myself that if I ran this evening I'd make that goal, but that didn't motivate me to get out there. Instead, I chose to go to Yoga.

We did Power Yoga today, which was just as well as the room was freezing. Tonight's moves were dynamic and we were mainly on our feet. To my surprise, part of the way through I was seriously considering stopping to take off my warm top. I was too caught up in the moves to take the time to stop. It was really cool to be moving from one thing to the next and keeping up for a change. I do like the slower pace of Yoga.

The other thing that is surprising me is how quickly I'm progressing with the various moves. My balance is heaps better and my flexibility is increasing by leaps and bounds (or twists and stretches). Fortunately, before I start thinking I'm an expert, we did a seated stretch today that reminded me just how far I have to go. I wasn't able to do it at all. The stretch started off in a half lotus, and involved leaning forward with a straight back. All these people could lean right down over their legs. Not me. My tummy was in the way, my back was tight, and my legs were saying 'that's far enough'. Another move that completely defeated me involved stretching one leg up when seated. Apparently there's a two legged version that's called the hairpin. I was thinking that I probably didn't need that level of detail yet.

Anyway, I was going to do my weights program tomorrow morning, but I might go running instead. That leaves weights as an option for Thursday's pt session.

Oh, I have signed up for a dragon boat race in October. The gym is putting a team in to a fundraising event of some kind. There'll be two training sessions and then the race. It should be a lot of fun. The team is going to be half staff and half members, and some of the Team Black Women have already entered. Thank goodness for the power of email!

Weights program

It was good to get to the gym tonight. I got stuck at work and so was running behind time. Mind you, being there later meant that the gym wasn't as busy, so there was an upside.

I worked my way through my program, but I did check whether or not I could do the lunges without weights first. I was due to put the weight up, so I did, but I really felt it in my quads when I did the leg press, so I ended up dropping the weight on that one. I did a lot of stretching during the program and after it. I even did the downward dog a couple of times to stretch out my calves and hamstrings.

I was checking out the dates on my program. It's almost two months since I started this one. It doesn't seem that long. One of the goals for the program was to manage five fitball pushups on my toes, so I gave it a go tonight. I was able to get into position, but I wasn't doing the pushups properly. It's still progress, as I wasn't able to balance on the ball in pushup position at all. I'll have to keep trying with that one.

I've been watching the personal trainers while I've been exercising. They all seem fine. I'll talk to Krissi first as I'm hoping that she will be able to fit me into her schedule. If she can't, then I'll have to book some sessions with a new trainer as August is nearly over. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have to travel for work for the next couple of weeks, so that I don't miss any more of my time with Leanne.

Thanks for the kind comments on yesterday's post. Your support is really appreciated.

Body Balance

On Friday morning I headed off to the gym. I had a tight calf and hamstring so I tested them out with a lunge without weights. It was painful, so I skipped my weights program and concentrated on stretching instead. It certainly helped, so I felt fine about heading back to the gym after work for Body Balance.

I was keen to do BB as I'd been reading an article about Yoga for runners which said that the downward dog is a great stretch for runners. It works the calves, the hamstrings and the glutes. As we'd done this move in BB before I was sure that I'd get a good workout for my sore leg. As expected, we moved through the downward dog a few times. In Body Balance the moves are much quicker than in Yoga. I struggle with getting through the sequences, for example, fold over, hands on the floor, move your leg back into a lunge, move your other leg back, do the downward dog, glide down through a plank into a cobra, back into downward dog, foot forward, other foot forward, unfold and salute the sun. All this in next to no time! By the time I got myself down into the downward dog it was time to do the next move.

All was not wasted however, as towards the end of the session we did some serious stretching. This included a variation of the downward dog that involved lifting one leg into the air. Well, that really did stretch out my calf and hamstring. I'm a convert!

Today has been a rest day. My calf is still a little sore. I'll see how it goes when I run tomrorow.