August 15, 2008

Personal training kickoff

I just had a kickoff to personal training at my gym (to be trained, not to become a trainer. That goal totally fell by the wayside). I had no idea what to expect – I assumed she’d be putting me on a treadmill to see how fast I could go, or having me benchpress ridiculous weights to see how strong I was. Not so! Instead, she gave me this cool functional fitness thing that was really easy, but allowed her trained eye to see imbalances in my body. Here’s what I learned:

My shoulder are very very narrow – I should add 2-3 inches there to achieve a “perfect” hourglass figure. My waist should also go down a few inches, with my goal being 24. She said my eating habits sound good and the waist will shrink naturally… let’s pause there for a sec.

So the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to move toward more of a raw diet. I do fruit for breakfast, veggies for lunch, and then for dinner I tend to “splurge”… but by splurge, I mean make something still healthy, but usually cooked and usually with either fish or meat. And it’s amazing – I lost 3 pounds the first week of the challenge (also the first week I started eating like this), and another FULL pound this week (even though I’ve been slacking on the workouts)! Look out, competitors, I’m totally going to rock this! But I have to say, I’m shocked at my results so far – last winter when I was calorie counting and working out like crazy, I was only able to lose 2 pounds a month… often less. Raw foods seem to be the way to go!

I haven’t been posting most of the “recipes” I’ve been making because they’re not so much recipes. For example, my favorite lunch recently:
Dice yellow squash, zucchini, carrot, onion, pepper, celery. Add 1/2 cup black beans (yes, I realize that when I use canned black beans they’re not raw, but I’m easing into the “raw” thing and I haven’t had time to sprout my own). Sprinkle liberally with cumin and chili powder
It’s absolutely delicious, completely raw (except for the black beans), totally healthy, and amazingly filling. Other things I’d recommend are this recipe for blueberry pie. I made it for dessert last night and it didn’t come out nearly as pretty as that picture (which is why I’m posting the link instead of my own version), but it was still totally amazing.

Anyway, my point is just that I’m loving the raw foods diet, and I really think that’s what’s finally helping me drop some of the weight. The trick is if I can keep this up while travleing – may be difficult!

So back to the personal training session. Olga (yes, her name is Olga and she’s Russian but she’s really tiny… not quite the Hellga I pictured when I first heard her name and that she would be my trainer) said that my waist would naturally shrink, so I’m hopeful she’s right on that. My legs, however, she said were absolutely perfect! She had such a discerning eye and such criticism for everything else that I was ecstatic to hear that she thought my legs were awesome… yay, running! My body fat (using an admittedly unscientific caliper test) is about 26%, and she said she’d like to see me get down to 15%. WHOA. According to my Tanita, I don’t think I’ve ever been below about 23%… I would be seriously cut if I were at 15%! Bring it on, baby!

We then got into various exercises designed to see what my tendencies are when actually moving. I did squats (with no weight), various balance tests, hip flexion tests, etc. The overall verdict: my upper back and my core are very weak, and in general, the front of my body is ridiculously stronger than the back. She explained it as having a line splitting my body in half, and that the front half was awesome while the back half kind of sucked. It was cool to think of it that way!

So we’ll see what the next session brings, when we actually get into a workout instead of just tests. I’m really excited and inspired, so hopefully this will provide just the kick in the butt I needed to really get myself looking awesome.

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13 thoughts on “Personal training kickoff”

  1. HOW FUN!
    Id love to have a trainer just so I knew someone was mizing things up for my lazytooeasilyplateaus a**.

    and olga sounds amazing (love the cut bod in half notion).

    cant wait to see what you think as you two train together—

    Miz.

  2. Great job on the raw diet. I love veggies and fruit, but not sure if I could hack it.

    Interesting how Olga described the body as front and back. You’ll have to keep us updated on how things go.

  3. I would totally get a trainer if I could afford it… Especially if they knew what they were doing, which it sounds like Olga does! And that pie… I might have to make that this weekend. DELICIOUS looking.

  4. wow she has high hopes for you, doesn’t she! a 24 inch waist and 15% body fat? i don’t even aspire to be that thin and cut in my wildest fantasies. ok, maybe my wildest, but i’m so not disciplined enough to make it happen. you should post before and after pictures!!!

  5. Sounds awesome, girl! I totally loved working out with a trainer and got some great results. Can’t wait to hear/read your adventures in transforming your body to be one ripped chica!

  6. Do you have any idea what kind of factors went into her deciding she wants to see you at 15% BF? I was given 19% as a BF goal “for my body type” and just wondered if she said what determined yours?

    Welcome to insane veggie consumption 😉

  7. Sounds like a helpful trainer. I need to find a good one. The pie looks yummy!! Great job on the raw diet. I’m vegetarian but not sure if I could do the raw thing, I don’t know if I have the willpower! I guess I could do it if someone was handing me the food prepared already but otherwise I’m too lazy!

  8. best of luck! i’ve always been kinda tempted to have a personal trainer. i’m not really in to working out with friends, but i think a trainer would motivate me instead of make me feel bad about myself. post some of the workouts she puts you through as you move along!

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