Got My Butt Kicked by Brutus!

Image from Popshopology

So this morning was the first day with my new trainer.  :)

His real name is Will-  but Brutus is more fitting for someone whose sole responsibility is to whip me into crying sniveling submission.

No crying.... yet.  And I say yet, because I am quite sure that eventually he will push me further than *I* think I can go (and when I'm tired and uncomfortable- thats when the tears come-  after the swearing like a sailor ).

Our sessions will be an hour long.  The first twenty or thirty minutes were about what I've done up to now, what my eating schedule is, and what my goals are for the future.  Then it began...

With an evil laugh like Dastardly Dog, we set off to the torture chamber   personal training area.  I had told him my concerns about running on treadmills and the problem I have with my feet, and thankfully he is an anti-treadmill trainer - score-.  Since running is my, pardon the pun, achilles heel, we focused on that for the day.   Once I come back from vaca, he'll have my whole plan laid out for me.  Can I briefly just say how flipping excited I am to come back from vacation?  I seriously must be a glutton for punishment.

So, in order to have a strong and healthy run, according to Brutus, I need strong hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors and lower back, which will support my abdominal cage and help me with a more successful run - ie less effort more stamina.

He showed me how to do a proper squat.  Which in all honest, I have always flown a bit blind on the proper form.  Yeah you can watch people do it on workout videos or in an exercise class, but I highly suggest you have someone watch your mechanics so you really know what a squat should feel like.  From the very first correct squat that I did, I could immediately feel the difference between a correct squat and an incorrect squat.

In a correct squat there should be absolutely NO stress or ache or pressure on your knees.  If you are squatting correctly, all of the "burn" should be felt in the back of your thighs and your glutes (that's where I felt it anyway).  With my proper squat technique I was able to do SIXTY  yes, six zero squats today.  (Not all at once. Brutus had me doing circuits of 20 squats a circuit-  and by the third circuit oooohhhh lordy I felt the burn.. oh boy did I feel it)

 

Slow Fat Triathlete by Jayne Williams

I am getting a bit ahead of myself.  Last year when I trained the first time, I had read in Slow Fat Triathlete that she had joined a running club to get the most out of her running (  we all know how my foray with the run club went)  -  if you are new to my blog  here's my recap of my first run session with the run club  Gazelles of the Serengetti .  Anyhow, she mentioned in her section about running club that they had to do all of these warm up exercises in which she would swing her legs up, or out or do some combination of puppet-like movements and it made her feel like a total idiot.  Yes,  those very same movements, Brutus had me do to warm up.  I jogged.  I kicked my legs out in front of me.  I lifted my knees up like a drum major at homecoming.  And yes, I felt like a total idiot the entire time.  But- it's good for me.  So, looking like an idiot or not, I will high kick the heck out of my legs until the cows come home.

After my kick kick step - jazz hands-  routine,  we went into the meat of the torture  workout.  We did three circuits of squats, legs raises and something called a Burpee-  which is most certainly cruel and unusal punishment            athletically stimulating. If you haven't had the pleasure of experiencing a Burpee, perhaps I'll bring the ole' video camera to the next session and post a V-Blog.  Essentially, you put your hands on a flat surface, kick your legs back as far as you can (either singly or together) and bring them forward again.  I did it both ways,  the two legged jump began putting stress on my arches and balls of my feet, and was burning pretty bad, so we changed to the singular variety.

The words "Times Up" Never sounded sweeter.  And I'm not even gonna lie.  I had to "stretch out" (ie sit on the floor and stretch and then huff and puff and stare) for a good oh, five minutes after the workout just to get enough feeling back in my legs to tackle the stairs.  Yes, it was painful.  But it was sweet sweet pain.  And seriously I can't wait for more.  How sick is that  :)  I've become a glutton for punishment.

Anyhow,  I fully intend to at least do these few exercises while I'm on vacation.  I can't come back having completely fallen behind again.  I leave on Friday morning, but I intend fully to be in the gym every day this week until then.  I asked Brutus to monitor my gym activity, and that if he doesn't see me checked into the club every single day, I gave him full permission to kick the ever living snot out of me on Saturdays to make up for the missed days.  Oh man am I looking forward to this!  (Is it possible to still be high on endorphins twelve hours after a workout?)

Have a great weekend!  Go out there and do something challenging!