Week Four of my Training Diary

Week Four

I am proud to say that I have arrived. My workout today consisted of a million crunches, a mile and a half running on the treadmill, and countless latpulls, squats, and lunges. And I left there barely breathing hard! I feel stronger. As usual, dear reader, it would probably be best if Christina doesn’t get wind of this, or she’ll surely step up the intensity next time. So mum’s the word, ok?

The kickboxing continues to be fun. It is a new experience for me, and so does not feel so much like work. I am not very good at it, though – I think I look like a dork most of the time. My biggest problem is not holding my hands up, a lesson which Christina helps me learn by batting me repeatedly in the side of the head. She’s nice.

A word about Christina. She is a 5th degree black belt in karate, is a member of the USA WAKO Kickboxing team and has traveled all over the world participating in Kickboxing tournaments, not only as a Professional Kickboxer but as a coach for several other women fighters. Endorsed by Puma, she has appeared in over 200 newspaper articles and has been seen on NESN Sports, YM Magazine, The Maury Povich show and local news channels. She is a Cosmopolitan Magazine "Fun, Fearless Female" Award Winner, and she is in the Martial Arts Black Belt Hall of Fame. Pretty impressive, especially (to get back to talking about me) when you think that I have survived being trained by her.

I like the way I am feeling these days. It has affected my posture, and I think I have more energy. I plan to get some good exercise in this week, now that I am starting to get fit. Woo hoo!

Week Three of my Training Diary

For those of you who have just joined us, I had this crazy idea that I would try personal training for the purposes of writing an article about it. I figured I was the perfect person, as I am mildly averse to exercise in any form, completely out of shape, and terrified at the thought of personal training. And, in a moment of insanity, I chose as my trainer none other than Christina Rondeau of Rondeau’s Kickboxing, the woman who bills herself as New England’s Toughest Personal Trainer. She is a tireless worker, a champion kick boxer, and one tough broad.
I have had two sessions so far. The first can only be described as a nightmare. Seriously, I could not move the next day, and it was even worse the day after that. Lifting my coffee cup caused audible moans to emanate from me. It did elicit sympathy from friends and co-workers, but still it was not worth it. The second session was, by comparison, not so bad. I did not have the shakes upon leaving, and I got out of bed the next day without assistance. I was achy all over, but actually felt as though I might be able to do this thing.
Now I am headed in for my third session. I am hoping there will be some more kickboxing this week. This is new to me as a form of exercise, and so it is more fun than crunches and push-ups. Also, it is interesting to learn the various kicks and punches – I don’t think I’m ready to take on a mugger in a dark alley, but I think that a consistent kickboxing workout would make me feel a little more confident in my ability to defend myself.

5:00 pm

I have, I am proud to say, run 1 ½ miles today! Well, I did walk some of it, but I am still proud of this accomplishment. It was done in ½ mile increments, with crunches and other floor exercises, as well as kickboxing, thrown in between. Again, I am amazed that I was able to do this. Is my trainer’s encouragement really that meaningful? It must be. There is no other explanation.
You will be proud of me for this: I saw some items sitting on a shelf at one point and summoned up my courage to ask about them. “Say, Christina, what are the handcuffs for?” From the way she looked at me, I was figuring on an answer along the lines of “You talk too much. Drop and give me twenty.” It turns out they have a purpose (other than chaining people who talk too much to the treadmill): she told me she uses them during self-defense classes, helping her students to be able to defend themselves even if they don’t have the use of their hands. Interesting, huh? It allayed my curiosity without horrifying me!
Another word about the kickboxing: This is some cool stuff. I am obviously very much a novice in this arena, but I think I love it. It is clearly good exercise; all that footwork, punching and especially the kicking – she had me alternating between dancing around a bag and kicking it for one round – it is a good workout, strength-wise and cardiovascularly. But the surprise, at which I am only guessing so far, is the attitude. No wonder Christina walks around with a confident, don’t-mess-with-me swagger in her step. She could kick your butt! And I suspect that is a very good feeling. I think, when this is all over, I may go back and enroll in a kickboxing class.

The next day

Wonder of wonders. I am not stiff and sore today. That was fast! As I mentioned early on, I have enjoyed a certain level of fitness in the past, so perhaps that muscle memory is working for me after all. Whatever the reason, I am grateful. I was aware of it today when I was talking to a co-worker. “Yeah, so I worked out with Christina last night,” I said, kicking my leg out from my desk over to hers in my boxing stance, “and I’m really feeling it today.” And as I said this, I realized that I meant I was feeling increased strength, not pain. I realized the feeling was a good one. I felt a little bit powerful even. Those of you who have been following me through this should be standing up and cheering for me! What a transformation, in only three weeks. As usual, I would appreciate it if you did not share this with Christina, as I suspect she will use this information against me, upping the intensity at next week’s session. So this is just between us. But I am here to tell you that I am feeling pretty darn good.

Week Two of Kim’s Personal Training Odyssey

I have mentioned this new adventure of mine to a few people and, whenever I tell them the person I have chosen to be my personal trainer, their eyes fairly pop out of their heads. “Christina Rondeau???” they ask, amazed, followed by, “She’ll kill you!” Not really what you want to hear.
But I’m ready for my next session. I have recovered fully from the first pain-fest, have gotten some great sympathy out of my friends – one even offered to come to my office and move my furniture while I supervised. How nice is she?!! I totally took her up on it. This will not last forever.
But I have tried my best to eat well – there is nothing like the pressure of a weigh-in to keep a person on a diet – and I have done some walking and even some crunches. This really is more than just a lark, I keep reminding myself. I have the opportunity to turn myself around here, to return to a state of fitness. And don’t we all want to be fit? There are just so many benefits; with the increased agility, you feel a lot less prone to injury, and you look better. You have more energy and zest, and of course you are healthier. And did I mention the whole looking-better thing? So off I go.

5:00

Just to set the stage: I walked into the gym just now, and my trainer narrowed her eyes at me, saying simply, “I feel mean today.” Yet another thing one does not want to hear! She chained me (figuratively) to the treadmill, where I alternated between walking and running until she said I could stop. Then there was more torture on some weight resistance machinery, along with – oh joy! – push-ups! I was surprised by how many of these I could do – she uses those twisty grip things which really do help – but it was still pretty pathetic. After this we graduated to a series of lunges, kicks and squats – at one point I was hopping, in a squat, across the room, then straightening up and running to the end of the gym and back. (I would prefer if you do not try and get a visual on that; it wasn’t pretty, I’m sure.)
I noticed that, after my having said that I liked the kickboxing last time, there was none of it this time. I think I will tell her that it was the crunches I liked best this week and perhaps we will skip them next time.
Upon my departure, I couldn’t help noticing that I was not dying. A good thing! My first session had ended in a mild low blood sugar reaction (not that I’m diabetic) -- I was shaky and light-headed. This time I managed to walk out and drive home without the aid of the large iced coffee I had needed the week before. Was she easier on me? Or is it maybe the faintest glimmer of hope that this is helping me already?

The next day

She was definitely not easier on me this week, if my difficulty in getting out of bed is any indication. Oddly, it is all different muscles that ache this morning, compared to last week. But they ache.
One little thing has occurred to me today, and I’ll thank you not to tell Ms. Rondeau: I would never have worked as hard as I did, were it not for her. In fact, I could not believe how hard I was pushing myself. I am generally a pretty assertive person; I don’t let people push me around as a rule. And I have never subscribed to the “no pain, no gain” theory. And yet, I was willingly straining myself to the point of loud grunts and groans. This, I’m thinking moronically, is what makes this whole personal training thing so successful. You put yourself in the hands of someone else to take your body and shape it up. And it may make the difference for me.

Inspiring

My RKB time has been inspiring in more aspects of my life than just working out. I work hard, feel good and am more motivated than ever. I love my gym and brag about it always. The gym inspired me to start a ceramic business, the one I've been dreaming about since college. I will be making mugs that look like boxing gloves. Though I'm still working out some ideas and problems. I plan to be up and running soon. Look for them in the Pro Shop.

Week One of my Training Odyssey

Training #1 – The First Day

9:00 a.m.
Today I am to begin my personal training. I’m the perfect person for this assignment, as I am completely out of shape! I am also someone who feels a sense of terror at the mere thought of a personal trainer. And I guess you could possibly say I’m a tad lazy, whatever. I’ve been in shape before in my life though, so I’m counting on some muscle memory. So my plan is to walk in with a sort of swagger and see if I can intimidate my trainer Christina Rondeau – ha! The woman bills herself as New England’s Toughest Personal Trainer. I wrote to her the other night, saying that, as much as I was looking forward to working with her, I was a little scared of her. Her reply consisted of these three words: "You should be." Yikes.
Will check in after our session.

5:30 p.m.
OK, this chick is a slave driver! Oh, she was mellow with me today, but I can see she is holding back. Lulling me into compliance, training me to obey her…
The training itself was varied – jogging, crunches, stepping, weight resistance and boxing. This last was the most fun, as I have never tried it before. (Crunches I’ve tried.) I learned two punches and three kicks and some of the fancy footwork. And she mixed it all up so that I was never doing the same thing for more than a few minutes. There is a sort of traffic light thing on the wall, where you have to keep going until the light turns red – oh, how I listened for the corresponding beeps by the end of the crunch sessions!
Upon leaving, after a jog around the block with another woman and a small boy (who both left me in their dust), I felt like a diabetic going into a massive low blood-sugar reaction. I knew there was a coffee shop around the corner – could not get to that iced coffee soon enough! I felt shaky and weak. I positively guzzled water (need to remember to bring my own next time). I didn’t feel achy or sore, but I had the feeling that this was yet to come. Still, I think this will be do-able.

9:30 p.m.
I’m home tonight from dinner out with friends. I was supposed to catch up with another friend afterwards, but had to cancel – I am wiped out! I am thinking I will take an Aleve and hit the hay. Feeling sort of worn. I had to think twice (before saying yes, of course) about a glass of wine at dinner – I felt as though I was already a little tipsy – are these the endorphins you hear about? It was nice to get my mind off my muscles for a while though. Off to bed with my book.

The Day after Training #1

8:00 a.m.
I think I’ve made a terrible mistake…
My sleep was fitful at best – I could not get comfortable! And this morning, I literally had to lift my arm with my other hand to position it so I could get myself out of bed. I know I sound pathetic! The worst is my upper arms, which makes lifting my hand to, for example, brush my teeth an exercise in pain management. I was planning to move some furniture in my office today, but there is no way I can even attempt that. Thank God I don’t have to go back there right away. To that place. I am going to keep a good attitude, though. After today.

4:00 p.m.
A quick check-in. 24 hours out, and the pain is still mildly shocking, but I’ve felt worse. I mean, I have given birth to two people… but that was a while ago now. And, at the risk of being overly biological, I have been peeing like crazy today. This could have to do with the gallon of water I drank last night. But I like the feeling of being well-irrigated. Anyway, I got someone to rub some ointment into my shoulders, and I even walked home from a friend’s house just now. So it does appear that I am going to live…
I am supposed to go out dancing tonight, though… might be a tad comical. Will check back in a day or two…

Water, Water, Water!

I read this article about the importance of drinking water and thought I would share it. Everyone’s body needs water, yet most of us don’t drink enough of it. Some times it’s hard to resist the temptation of coffee, soda, juice or other flavored beverages (even flavored water is enhanced with either sugar or artificial sweeteners, plain old natural water is best!). Remember, the more you exercise, the more fluid you'll need to keep your body hydrated! Stay strong, stay healthy and drink up!

"Water plays an important role in weight loss. Water contains zero calories, has no fat, no cholesterol, and is low in sodium; therefore, it appeals to those wanting to lose weight. Water is also an appetite suppressant. The more water you drink, the less of an appetite you will develop. This is another reason why drinking water can potentially help those who are trying to lose weight.

It is a well known fact that increased water consumption helps metabolize stored fat. In order to do so however, the kidneys must receive a sufficient amount of water. If the kidneys are not receiving enough water, they will end up relying on the liver for help. When the liver is working on its' own, it breaks down fat and distributes it as energy to different parts of the body. However, if the kidneys are not getting enough water, and need to rely on the liver, the liver no longer breaks down fats in the body. When the liver is overloaded like this, it causes it to store fat in the body instead of breaking it down. By consuming water, the liver will continue to metabolize fat instead of storing it in the body.

Increased water consumption also effects different parts of the body that help us to lose weight. Generally when we drink more water the endocrine gland's function will improve. When there are signs of improvement an increased amount of fats are used as fuel.

So, the more water we drink, the more fats will be fueled. Drinking water also reduces fluid retention, and causes the body to store less fat. Normally when we don't drink enough water the body will try to store as much fat as it can under the skin. However, when we consume a sufficient amount of water, it makes it harder for the body to store that fat.

Finally, water consumption plays an important role in weight loss. The more water you consume the more weight you will lose, and the less fats will be stored in the body. Also, the more water you drink, the less likely you will develop an appetite. Overall, drinking water is important whether you are trying to lose weight or not, but if you are, it makes a huge difference if you drink a sufficient amount of water." Fitness magazine

Stay Motivated!!!

Hey ladies (and a few gentlemen)!!! I just wanted to write my own little post on the RKB Blog...For those of you taking the Biggest Loser Challenge and those who are not...be sure to stay motivated and keep up with classes! Even just one extra mile after class on the treadmill is a big help for improving endurance and figure. Remember its about how long you run, not how fast you run, especially for weightloss. If you are trying to increase the speed and take time off your mile...great! But if you are looking for weightloss...take it easy...and anybody can run! You can run at a 3.0 or 3.5 if you want to. The fact is, is that you are forcing your body to move...stay on those toes and push yourself. Walking is great too, but if you can push yourself enough to run then do it! Your bikini or short trunks will thank you later! Also, for those kickboxers who are testing this week...GOOD LUCK! If you have been asked to test, Christina obviously knows your ready. Trust in yourselves...dont worry about not being ready because if you were'nt she wouldn't have asked you..! Remember those RKB shirts and stay focused and dont slack on your technique. Speed is great but dont lose technique because of it. Good Luck all and Stay Motivated throughout this winter....Summer is a few months away...Beach Beach Beach!!!!

All best...lots of love!!!