Sunday, April 4, 2010

Fitness Friday


This is YOU Gal Toni, recently I decided that although late in the game, I needed to introduce weight training into my routine. I’ve lost 40 pounds, but notice that I’ve got a little jiggle going on and want to firm things up. When we appeared on the show the second time, Dr. Oz gave us resistance bands and suggested that we use them in addition to our 10,000 steps. Dr. Roizen had suggested via email that I do lunges and squats. Another Wellness Warrior, Bonnie, had a killer routine that she has posted on facebook, but I decided that I needed some real hands-on training.

What I did was schedule an appointment with a trainer named David at the fitness center at work. The session was only 30 minutes and it was free, so I left my desk, changed, let David know that I was there and I got on the treadmill as I arrived about 10 minutes early. As I ran, I thought, I’ve got this in the bag, 30 minutes, who can’t do 30 minutes?

David came and got me from the treadmill and we headed over to the dreaded free weight section of the gym. We talked and established exactly what it was that I wanted to accomplish. We finished the conversation understanding that I don’t want to be buff like my Olympian cousin, Mechelle Lewis of the 2008 US Olympics Track and Field team, although she is beautiful.

We started with form; my goal was to be approximately 1 inch away from a mirror moving my body into a seated position without ever touching the mirror. We practiced that several times and I got better, so I moved onto actual squats while holding a 35 pound bar. What I liked most about this exercise is that I had a target. I had to get my butt on the bench and get back up.

We moved onto leg presses, and for some odd reason David believed that I could press 160 pounds with my legs, and then he thought that I could press 90 pounds with just 1 leg. As I was working he said, “I’m going to work you today, tomorrow you’ll feel it and Saturday you won’t be able to walk!” Whoa! I explained that I needed to run a 10K on Saturday. David announced then that we needed to stop. Part of me said, Stop? We are just getting started! But the other part said, Thank you, lawd! Later that day, I posted my feelings on facebook. My friends and family said how proud they were of me, and they reassured me that I can do it. I knew that this was hard work.

I woke up the next day only to feel pain in my legs and neck, but this was good pain, the kind that you get when you know that you’ve been working. As I sit here and reflect, I would like to partially quote R. Kelly, who said, “My mind is telling me no, but my body is telling me yes.” My mind is telling me, Toni are you serious? Really?! But my body is saying, Let’s do this! For that reason I’m going to keep going.

When times get rough for you or starting seems to be difficult, remember that you can do it. Don’t forget to solicit help from friends and family that have your back. For those who are negative, I’ve always been told “let your haters be your motivators.” Work to prove them wrong, but most of all, work to accomplish your goal because YOU are worth it.

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