Tired, sore and happy

This morning I had my PT session with Krissi. I rode my bike there. It was a little chilly but not freezing, thank goodness. I headed off in daylight, which is a good thing. A few weeks ago I needed my lights at 6:30 am and I know that I will need them again soon, so I'm making sure I enjoy the daylight while it lasts. I hadn't ridden my bike for a week, but I was quickly back into the swing of things, changing gears whenever there was a slight bump in the road. It was a beautiful morning, apart from the cold.

We had the usual 10 mins on the bike, followed by stretching and then we got into it. I'm trying to remember what we did, but I can only recall bits and pieces. I think that's because I'm tired (and sore). I mentioned dead lifts to Krissi the other day. I've been doing them with Julia, and one of the other PT's at the gym mentioned to Julia that we were doing them wrong. She wasn't able to explain what the problem was, so Julia and I figured that she may have been concerned because I stick to the 30 degree thing with bending my knees. Even though I wasn't all that concerned, Krissi thought it would be a good idea to check my form. I really appreciated that Krissi would do that for me.

I've been doing them 'ok' but I find Krissi always takes me to a new level. I feel like I can do them even better now. I certainly felt them in my hamstrings more. I get a better explanation of the exercise from Krissi - experience really does make a difference.

After we did that, Krissi had me doing an exercise that involved balancing on one leg, holding a 5 kg weight and lifting the other leg. I've done it with her before. It's really difficult. I saw it in a magazine the other day as a 'great exercise', but I can't remember what they called it. I like giving it a go, as it's one of those exercises that you can see that you'll be able to measure your improvement.

I did the chest presses again with the same weight as last week. I managed a whole two in the first set before Krissi felt the need to spot me. She told me that I was doing the lifting for all 8 reps, but I know I felt more secure with her touching the bar. I managed four reps in the second set before needing actual assistance from Krissi. Getting the 8th rep out was a major struggle but she talked me into it.

I did some upright rows with the uneven bar. Krissi had me concentrating on lifting my elbows and keeping my scapula down. I thought it was pretty cool that I was able to actually concentrate on my scapula. Of course, that didn't mean it stayed down. *chuckle*

Krissi had me doing some ridiculous jumping from leg to leg thing with a resistance band. I'm glad I couldn't see myself. I could feel my abductors though, so the idea was good.

I'm having a quiet chuckle with my "I could feel my abductors" comment, as I have no idea if that's what the muscles are called. I just know I work them when I use the hip abductor machine at the gym. I'm referring to the outside of my thighs. I was trying to explain to Krissi where I hurt last week. She was kind enough not to laugh, but I did get told the names of the muscle groups in my upper back region.

We did some good abs work. A couple of 60 second planks (grr) and some fitball crunches that were harder than expected. A bit of a chat, and then I was off to work on my bike. I was really pleased with the ride. Instead of going the back way to avoid (a) the bicycle lane and (b) the really really really big hill, I figured that I'd give it a go. I made it up the hill. Mind you, after my Yass ride I knew that I could manage this hill. I felt safe in the bike lane. An added bonus was that I was at work, showered and changed, a good 15 minutes earlier than usual.

I rode home too. It's 10 km from work to my new home. The first part is hilly, but the last 5 km is pretty flat. I was really tired when I got home. I'm starting to feel the effects of today's PT session. I know I'll be fine tomorrow, but at the moment I could do with a massage.

As for the rest of the week, I managed to get the boyfriend (TB) to the gym on Monday morning. That was a major achievement. I'm hoping to get him there again over the weekend, but I'm not holding my breath. I did my PT with Julia on Tuesday. That was a great session. We managed to increase the weights on a number of my exercises. On Wednesday I was in Melbourne for work. It was an exhausting day. I left home at 5:30 am and arrived home at 8:30 pm, so I didn't get any exercise in. On Thursday I went to the pub with the gym girls for the WOW program. I figure that counts as almost exercise. :-)

As for the weekend, I'm playing hockey on Saturday and I'm having a massage on Sunday. It will be a relaxation massage as I'm a total wimp where pain is concerned. I'm looking forward to it though.