Day 5 - February 4, 2011 - PERSONAL TRAINER DAY!

DAY 5 - February 4, 2011

Today was the big day–Meeting #1 with Justin.  He told me to eat a high-protein meal at least an hour before the session, so this is what I had:

Meal #1: 8:30 AM

GOAL: C = 46, P = 28, F = 8, cal = 368

• ¼ cup oatmeal (C = 14, P = 13, F = 1, cal = 75)
• ½ scoop protein mix, mixed in with oatmeal(C = 2, P = 13, F = 1, cal =70)
• ½ cup 2% milk (C = 6, P = 5, F = 3, cal = 65)
• ½ chocolate Special K protein shake (C = 15, P = 5, F = 3, cal = 95)

TOTAL: C = 37, P = 25, F = 9, cal = 305

Feeling sufficiently prepared, I hopped into the van with Mom, and away we went to EZ Fitness (it's a misnomer, I tell you).  The first thing we noticed was that Sue's van was not in the parking lot, but we went inside anyway.  We hopped on the treadmill to begin our warmup.  Halfway through, Justin walked by and said he'd be running late with his first client of the day, but we could just hang out after our warmup.  Sue wasn't there yet anyway, so it didn't really matter.

Here was my warmup:

• 3:30 with a speed of 3.5 mph @ incline of 5.0
• :30 with a speed of 3.0 mph @ incline of 5.0
• :30 with a speed of 3.0 mph @ incline of 2.5
• :30 with a speed of 2.5 mph @ incline of 2.5
• 5 minutes total

After we finished, Justin was still with his client and Sue hadn't arrived yet.  So, we sat at the front tables, chatted with several members who were coming and going, and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Justin eventually joined us.  We called Sue a few times with no response.  It was creeping closer and closer to 10:00 by this point, and our appointment was at 9:30.  Hoping everything was okay, we distracted ourselves by talking about Justin's new girlfriend (who is bringing C.S. Lewis into his life, so I think she needs to stick around!).  Finally, around 10:05, Sue rushes through the door, teary-eyed, because her driveway was so icy she could hardly get out of it and she was worried that Justin had canceled our session and that she had let us down.  Poor thing!  We assured her that it was just fine, and Justin even told us he didn't have another client until 11:00.  So, we continued.

First, Justin took some baseline numbers.  Always my least favorite part.  In October, I had a single paid session with Justin in which he took my baseline numbers, which include measurements of hips, legs, arms, and chest, as well as calculating a percentage of body fat.  My arms and legs went up half an inch, which he said was no big deal, and my hips and chest stayed the same.  However, my body fat percentage went up three and a half percentage points!  That was . . . shocking.  It was 29.7 in October, which is still too high, but it was 33.2 yesterday.  Ay-yai-yai!  To give you an idea of what it should be, females in my age range should have a body fat percentage of 10-18.  He said I can get into that range . . . but how???

Next, we warmed up . . . again (but with Sue this time) . . . on the elliptical.  Three minutes at 75 RPMs. Piece of cake It was easy!

Since it was our first session, we did a lot of "tests."

• Upper Body Fit Test

This was basically, "How many pushups can you do in a minute?"  Since we were weak females (heh), he let us do them on bars that were about three and a half feet off the ground (except Mom–hers was closer to four and a half feet).  Mom got 47, Sue got 39, and I came in at the back of the pack at 36.  Despite the fact that I have man arms, I've never had the best upper body strength.  Of course, Justin had to show us up and do 50, without the bars, but whatever.

• Lower Body Fit Test

Are you familiar with what is known as a "wall sit?"  If not, it's pretty easy to guess what it is.  You sit with your back against the wall on an imaginary chair with your knees at a 90º angle.  He had us hold it for as long as we could.  Mom got 1:05, Sue got 0:55, and I got 0:57.  We all felt pretty good about that because 0:30 is considered "good," 1:00 is considered "excellent," and 1:30 and anything beyond is considered "superhuman and you should have a series of graphic novels based on the prowess of your thigh muscles."  Or something like that.  I can get there.  My years as a horseback rider have given me really strong legs, but wall sits are still pretty tough!

• Stress Test

Bet you can tell this one's a fun one, eh?  It's a test to see how well your heart can handle cardio workouts.  The idea is to get as close to your maximum heart rate as possible.  Fun!  We each had a step elevated to 12", and for 3 minutes, we took steps to the cadence of "up, up, down, down," at around the rhythm of 120 beats per minute.  Mom had a hard time with it and had to quit about 2 and a half minutes into the test.  In the 3-minute stretch, Sue took 87 steps (each sequence of "up, up, down, down" counts as one step) and I took 83.  I'm still trying to figure that out, since we were both doing the same cadence at the same rhythm for the same amount of time.  Hmm.  Anyways, my heart rate got up to 184.  My max is 198.  (To find yours, subtract your age from 220.)  I fell into the "excellent" category, which is funny, because I would not come close to considering myself in excellent shape.  I was honestly surprised I could do that for the full 3 minutes!

• Core Strength Test

For this one, we each held a front plank for as long as we could.  To do a front plank, lay on your stomach, line up your elbows so they're underneath you're shoulders, and put your toes on the ground.  Then, lift your body off the ground so that it makes a straight line.  That's a front plank.  1:00 is considered "good" in the sense that, "Eh . . . it's not bad, necessarily, but it could be better."  2:00 is considered excellent.  Sue is a beast, so she got to 1:20-something.  Mom got 1:00 and I got 1:03 (which was beating my record by 3 seconds!  Woohoo!).


And so concluded my first training session.  Justin will be busy coming up with some exercise plans for the 3 of us (we call ourselves "The Three Chicks"), and I'll let you know how we do with them, as well as the trips we take to the gym when we're not meeting with Justin.  Mom unfortunately was just diagnosed with endometrial cancer, so she'll need surgery here within the next few weeks.  While she's recovering, all 3 of us are taking a break from meeting with Justin, but Sue and I will still be going to the gym.  Mom's upset that she'll have to go back to square one, but she knows–and I think you'll agree–that getting rid of this cancer is the more important thing right now!  She'll be just fine.  This is a very easy cancer to eradicate, and God is good and He'll take care of us!


Justin advises eating protein after a workout, because the body is looking for food and one of the energy reserves it taps into is your protein.  Protein is what your muscles fibers are made of, so you don't want your body eating away at all that hard work you just did!  So, I ate the "second half" of my first meal of the day:

Meal #2: 12:00 PM

GOAL: C = 46, P = 28, F = 8, cal = 368

• ¼ cup oatmeal (C = 14, P = 13, F = 1, cal = 75)
• ½ scoop protein mix, mixed in with oatmeal(C = 2, P = 13, F = 1, cal =70)
• ½ cup 2% milk (C = 6, P = 5, F = 3, cal = 65)
• ½ chocolate Special K protein shake (C = 15, P = 5, F = 3, cal = 95)

TOTAL: C = 37, P = 25, F = 9, cal = 305

The rest of the day went like this:

Meal #3: 2:00 PM

GOAL: C = 46, P = 28, F = 8, cal = 368

• 1 piece pita (C = 24, P = 8, F = 2, cal =140)
• 2 tbsp hummus (C = 4, P = 2, F = 4, cal = 50)
• 1 slice whole wheat bread (C = 13, P = 2, F = 1, cal = 70)
• 2 oz. tuna (packaged in water) (C = 0, P = 10, F = 1, cal = 50)

TOTAL: C = 41, P = 20, F = 8, cal = 310

Meal #4: 4:30 PM

GOAL: C = 46, P = 28, F = 8, cal = 368

• 2 broiled chicken tenderloins (C = 0, P = 23, F = 1, cal = 110)
• 1 apple (C = 22, P = 0, F = 0, cal = 80)
• 1 chocolate peanut butter Special K protein bar (C = 25, P = 10, F = 6, cal = 180)

TOTAL: C = 47, P = 33, F = 7, cal = 370

Meal #5: 9:30 PM

GOAL: C = 46, P = 24, F = 7, cal = 325

• 1 garlic butter pollock fillet (C = 0, P = 16, F = 3, cal = 90)
• 1 cup Mrs. Grass Chicken Noodle Soup (C = 19, P = 5, F = 2, cal = 110)
• 1 slice whole wheat bread (C = 13, P = 2, F = 1, cal = 70)
• 1 tbsp. strawberry jam (C = 12, P = 0, F = 0, cal = 45)
• 1 capsule fish oil (C = 0, P = 0, F = 1, cal = 10)

TOTAL: C = 45, P = 24, F = 7, cal = 325

DAILY TOTALS

GOALS:

• C = 230
• P = 140
• F = 40
• cal = 1840

CONSUMED:

• C = 207 (-23)
• P = 127 (-13)
• F = 40
• cal = 1615 (-225)

Overall, it was a pretty great day.  My personal training session was a lot of fun.  I can't wait to go back!  Which is happening next Wednesday at 9:30, by the way.  Justin is a very encouraging, motivational person who doesn't make me feel like I'm a failure if have a slip-up.  The picture I had in my head of a personal trainer was that super mean woman from NBC's The Biggest Loser.  She's in better shape than I'll ever be, but if I had a personal trainer like that, there's no way I'd want to keep at it.  Justin isn't like that at all.  It also helps that I'm doing this with Mom and Sue.  It's great to have a support system.  While I was discouraged by my body fat percentage, I'm hoping that being more conscious of the fat I'm consuming will bump down those numbers.

Also, in regards to having Mom and Sue there, my competitive side comes out around them.  That could be a bad thing, because I don't want to push myself farther than I should and end up hurting myself just to beat them.  But on the flip side of the token, it could be a good thing, because it encourages me to push myself farther than I thought I could go.  Several times, especially during the wall sit and the front plank, I know I would have quit if I hadn't looked up and saw them still toughing it out.  So, my advice for today: get a workout buddy!  It'll keep you accountable and challenge you to give that extra push to reach your fitness goals.  Plus, your buddy will be able to make sure you're still going to the gym and eating right and so on.

I forgot to ask Justin those questions.  Gosh darn it.

Physical Activity for the Day:

Note: Read everything above.  I have another fitness evaluation in 4 weeks.  Hopefully we see some improvement by then!  (Or, maybe I'll have another one after Mom's surgery and recovery period . . . hmm.  Even more time for improvement!)

Questions for Justin:

• None today!

Did you drink all three Stumpies?

 . . . no.  I only got through one and a half Stumpies.  I was going to bring Stumpy to work with me last night and keep it behind the counter so I could sip on it here and there, but I was in a rush when I left and forgot it.  After I got home, it was a little late to play catch-up.

And I have no idea what some of the bullets are red and some of them are black.  Huh.