Finishing Strong

Boot camp didn't kill me, so I knew personal training wouldn't either. But the question that always nagged me before each session: can I do what Denise instructs me to? What if I can't - does that make me a wimp? Every Saturday morning and Monday evening for the last four weeks, I've had a sense of dread as I headed to the gym, which was accompanied by a feeling of excitement and challenge.

Each of the 8 sessions with Denise were great. Some of the elements were the same each time, but there were always new, exciting (if you can call it exciting!) and more challenging exercises designed to push me a little further. There was always 'the dreaded wall sit' and stretching and treadmill time. I graduated from butt crunches to doing a bridge with one leg crossed over the other (graduated was Denise's spin on it); I had to do about a million squats while holding some hand weights; increased the hand weights to 8 and 10 pounds on some things; did some weight training for my legs on some machines; and increased the number of ab crunches (for lack of a better name) I'm able to do at one time. The final move last night at the end of our session was for me to lean back, hold a ball out in front of me, and turn the ball from side to side while in that position. Now there's the victory - I could barely do just the crunch move 10 times at the beginning and now I can hold it and turn from side to side! Who would have guessed....

Denise was so great during this session. Not only is she extremely knowledgeable about diet, exercise and all things healthy, she is funny, upbeat, encouraging and understanding. She knew how to push me to do one more set or try one more pound or make me hold it for another minute without making it seem like it was torture. We laughed a lot while I was sweating like a maniac, which made me not think about how hard it was to do what I was doing. She also helped me find my own courage to continue to work hard even when I didn't feel like I was getting any results. When the podiatrist grounded me last week from the treadmill and pool and I was ready to throw in the towel, Denise reminded me that at least I showed up for our session, which meant that down deep inside I really didn't want to throw in the towel, and that we'd find a way to work around my ankle problem. And we did!

So, now that it's over, I feel a sense of accomplishment and can see some improvement in my overall being. I don't jiggle and wiggle in certain places like I used to. I can tackle at least 15 minutes of cardio, be it the treadmill or bike, and can probably do more if I set my mind down to it. I can do the wall sit for at least 2 minutes. And I LIKE exercise.

Bring on Boot Camp Session 2!!!!!!!!!!!!

Until next time,
Kel