Shape Shifting

I'm starting to feel the shape of my body changing and I'm feeling stronger. It's a great feeling. I know I built a base for this when my doctor said I could start working out again at the beginning of November. I worked out 2-4 times a week, with 1 workout at Fitness Together, 1-2 spinning classes at the Y, and 1-2 weightlifting sessions at home or the Y.

But working out with a trainer 3 times at Fitness Together plus 2 spinning classes for the past week feels like my fitness level has accelerated amazingly. What a great feeling!

Today after doing a lot of squats, deadlifts, calf raises, and stair stepping, Sean led me in an intensive ab and oblique workout. The pictures are of my 2 favorite exercises from today. If you have a Swiss ball, the exercise pictured is a great way to have fun strengthening your abs while having fun. You just start by holding the ball with your arms straight and your legs bent and raised, lower the ball over your head until it touches the floor, raise it up and shift it between your ankles like on the left, and then lower your legs till it touches the floor. Keep your back flat on the floor, and you'll have nice sore abs tomorrow.

For the obliques, Sean had me lean sideways on a weight bench as pictured below, and then lower and raise my hips using my oblique muscles. A great way to isolate those muscles!

So with intense workouts like this, it's not surprising that I'm feeling my shape shifting.






What I don't like is how when I feel great, my mind is quick to undermine me. You're feeling good--do you know you're still 35 pounds over your ideal weight? Just think about what kind of shape you'd be in now if

you hadn't put on that 15 pounds this summer and fall. You'd be close to your ideal weight by the time you left for Nicaragua. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I remind myself that I am where I am and I can't start anywhere but from where I am. If I had been in better shape to begin with, I might not have won the contest and been given this opportunity. Enough with the self-hatred. I'm having fun, getting stronger, shifting shape. Life is good!

Preparation H

The H is for health, of course. What were you thinking? After 6 months of not being able to work out because of doctor's orders, I've forgotten how much preparation is involved in being fit and eating well. I have my first training session for my new program at 7:30 tomorrow morning. That means I have to get up early enough to have some breakfast, pack a lunch and snacks, pack up what I need to shower after my workout and dress for work. And in order to prepare breakfast and lunch, I had to previously purchased the food I need to be able to make healthy meals.

The amount of preparation it takes is difficult with the busy lives we lead. It would be so much easier to stop for a bagel after working out and get take-out for lunch. Actually, the easiest thing to do would be to shower and get ready for the day at home, and skip the work-out. I was excited about winning the Fitness Together contest because I know I work out much harder with a personal trainer. I'm seeing that another equally important benefit is that I can't rationalize my way out of tomorrow morning's workout. I have an appointment. How many times have I told myself something like, "It's too much to get everything together to work out in the morning, and I need the sleep, so I'll work out at lunch or after work." I don't know the number but I can tell you that it wouldn't take many fingers to count the number of times I actually worked out at the alternate times.

Hey--taking spinning classes two days in a row, followed by going to the Patriots-Jets game did not hurt my leg, even though getting from the parking lot to our nose-bleed seats was by far the longest walk I've taken since I broke my leg. It was worth staying up until 3:30 in the morning to wath the Patriots decimate the Jets. What fun!!!!!