Monday, September 14, 2009

Ahhh... Relief!

I'm going to be completely honest with you ladies... I've been a lazy bum lately and because of this, my back is flaring up, yes, more than usual. Can I blame it on the economy? I mean, it is affecting us all and I'm no different -- I've lost a few clients because of it. And being that I still need to eat, keep my clothes clean, buy my contacts lenses, and pay $3.17 a gallon for gas, I now have a part-time job. Thank you God! But in doing this, my workouts began to fall off, or I began to neglect them I should say. I had legit reasons of course - 'I'm tired'; 'Just 5 more minutes and I'm up'; 'I promised my girlfriend I'd meet her for coffee this morning so I'll get my workout in later, PROMISE!'; and when later comes - 'Oh it's too dark to go for a run now'. Yeah, a complete lazy bum! As a result, my back began to tighten and even the slightest movements made me grimace. OUCH! Not good... no es bueno!

I did continue my stretches though but I can feel weakness in my hips, my back and my groin. Ok ok, so I can’t blame the economy and I know I’ve spiraled in this madness long enough so it’s to the drawing board, time to plan out tomorrow’s workout. There’s no better way to get back into the groove of things than to just jump in – tomorrow I’m doing legs!

I wake up early, not allowing myself to hit snooze, and have a good breakfast. Rested and fueled it’s time to get to work….

Most of you know that I really don’t like going to the gym but I choose to go in this instance because I need some accountability. Everyone at the gym knows I’m a Personal Trainer so I figure it will be impossible for me to go in and be a slouch. Yeah, there’s a bit of ego involved but in this case, the ego gives a nice boost.

I walk in, say my hellos and pick my treadmill – the first one on the corner, the one everyone has to walk by. I plug in the iPod, set my speed at 8.0 mph, and with Madonna exploding in my ears, I go! I imagine people are saying, ‘She just got on that thing. I know she’s not breathing hard already?!’ I suck it up and keep it moving. 10 minutes, an elevated heart rate, and a few sweat beads later, the warm up is done and it’s time to work.

I position myself on the leg press, set my weight, take a deep breath, push, exhale. Again… and again… and again… 20! Shake ‘em out, go again. Presses… Lunges… Lunge Jumps… Squats… Hamstring Curls… Box Jumps… Whew! Now there are a few gentle streams of sweat rolling from the top of my head, down my back, to the waist line of my cotton shorts which soaks it all up. I mentally tell everyone, ‘How you like me now?! Slouch? I don’t think so!’ Three more sets and I can rightfully claim my crown as ‘Queen of the Gym’.

That last set was killer! Breakfast is wearing thin but I don’t stop until the very last hop onto the 18” box. ---- DONE!!!!

I finish my work on the floor and I stretch everything; my butt, my legs, my back. Umm… that’s good stuff. As I’m walking out of the gym, I realize that my back isn’t hurting. I stop, do a kick body scan, no pain.

I’m always saying that it’s keeping my body in shape that helps to alleviate most of my back pain. What, did I forget this? I guess I did for a minute. I was too busy wallowing in the fact that I’d lost clients; money was dissipating and basically ‘whoa is me’. Well, here’s proof positive that I was right and that endorphins are no joke!

Ahh… relief. Relief from the wallowing because in these times, I’m extremely grateful I was able to find a part-time job, and one I actually like, and relief from the weakness I felt overtaking me. I have too much pride to feel feeble for too long.

I think I’ll go to the gym again tomorrow and pick the most in shape, hard-working chick to be my inspiration. I want to use the rowing machine and I have to stay on it as long as she’s working out. If I can do open ocean rowing where the water is constantly pushing me around, I think I handle a stationary machine.

I’ll let you know…

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