Michigan and Notre Dame

This past Saturday, the city of Ann Arbor was under the lights for first time in the history of college footballhttp://indiana.sbnation.com/notre-dame-fighting-irish/2011/9/14/2425148/notre-dame-fighting-irish-vs-no-15-michigan-state-spartans-brian-kelly-mark-dantonio-megaphone

New You Personal Training

Getting Ready For The Beach

  Whenever I commit to working out, I always arrive at a point of discouragement after about a month in a half.  If I don't become discouraged by the scale that doesn't seem to show any positive results, I am bombarded with life's distractions and as always, I begin to slow down my work out regime.  It's right after I've decreased my workout and increased my unhealthy eating, that I begin to notice the positive results of the weeks of intensive training and cardio I've already put in.  The scale finally starts to show the results and the loss of inches finally reveal themselves.  I'm at this point now.  I've become busy and a little distracted with FOOD within the last two weeks.

I only have about a month left before taking my vacation.  I've decided to keep pushing myself toward my goals of toning and dropping a few pounds.  So I've forced my body to set intensify my workout.  My additional goal now is to do seven days of cardio, regardless of how busy I am or how late I get home.  Research says that it takes 3500 calories to drop a pound.  Well I calculated that if I burn 500 calories a day on cardio for seven days, I'll reach the 3,500 goal which will guarantee a loss of at least a pound per week.  In addition to that, I gain extra losses with healthy eating and less food intake.  

Fo me, working out goes beyond reaching my fitness goals.  It helps me with discipline and health.  It can be difficult to have discipline when living in the American culture where the message is love who you are and be happy.  While I agree that it is important to love one's physical self and to enjoy life, I don't agree with how these messages hinder people from living their BEST lives and telling themselves "no" sometimes.  Every great athlete, humanitarian and achiever has to have a tremendous amount of discipline.  For me, working out provides me with that opportunity to take control of my physical appearance and the needed opportunities to tell myself NO.  "No you will not lay down when you should be doing your cardio."  "No you will not eat fried food more than once a week."  "No you will not have two desserts within a three day period and No you will not quit!!" 

Back in the Gym

Back in the Gym

Now that I’m into my workout regime, I’ve been sore daily for the last two weeks.  As you know, each time a muscle group gets complacent it hurts like crazy getting those muscles back in tune with fitness.  Every time I get up from the couch, out of the bed, up from my desk and out of the car, I groan at the aching soreness that comes with every movement.  Ninety-nine year olds would probably be the only class of people who could relate to how I feel at this very moment.

Yet there’s something that feels so good about this aching soreness.  Unlike a headache or toothache that torments it's victim with torturing throbs, muscle pain is a deep penetrating ache that is only experienced with more movement of the effected muscles.  Maybe its knowing that the pain is causing reformation of those muscles, or that the pain is burning away the access belly fat that makes muscle soreness tolerable.  I've decided to endure the pain and forego the crying and complaining, which is for the weak.  My husband often tells me, “If getting in shape was easy, then everybody would be in shape!” 

Those who walk the beach with bikinis that reveal a sculpted, toned body, have endured the pain.  They’ve paid the price for their tight abdomen and continue to pay it on a daily basis with running and strength training.  Our bodies are amazing creations, crafted and formed with pure genius intelligence.  One thing about these extraordinary forms is they were made to move move, move!  Whenever a muscle sits for periods of time without strength training or cardio, it become extremely sore once its been introduced to movement again.  This discomfort doesn't discourage me though.  The soreness only lasts until the muscles are acclimated again; then, my once sore body craves the weight of the barbells and the push of the leg presses.  I welcome the soreness.  I wear it like a superhero wear her cape.  My husband tells me to take glutamine to help ease the soreness.  I tell him no thank you.  Nothing that's worth having comes cheap.  Becoming healthy can be painful sometimes, but its so worth it.

Tennis

Tennis

This past summer, I wanted to steal some extra cardio time and venture away from the usually walking or jogging to nowhere, so I signed up for tennis lessons and I am loving it!  Tennis would offer me a goal at the end of my cardio of having played a game instead of walking the neighborhood or treadmill which leads me to no real destination other than having said I've completed my cardio for the day.  I had so much fun laughing at myself as I swung at a balls I totally missed or at the on ball I managed to send flying clear out of the tennis courts into a parked car through the open sun-roof. 

The local college kids from Grand Blanc Parks and Rec were the instructors.  They were patient with us old-timers and great to work with. One of the other students was also a college professor who had never played tennis.  

As I reflect back on the endeavor, I think about the irony of being in the position of student and having teenagers as my teachers.  It was a little embarrassing but at the same time, hilarious.    The students explained and demonstrated how we must angle the racket, swing the racket, make sure it goes over our shoulders, the correct position of our feet , where we should hit the ball, and on and on.  Somewhere in the middle of about the 6th directions, the other professor begged, “Can we please focus on one direction at time?" We’ve got too much going on and we can’t focus on learning just one thing.”  I had to agree with her.  It was a little overwhelming.  In that moment I felt so out of place and incompetent.  Its funny how we can be experts in one area and dumb-dumbs in another. 

With tennis, you don’t realize how many rules and techniques this sport has until you try to learn and play it.  There are different governing principles for when you have four players verses two, How you aim the ball when serving, when to use one hand or two.

And finally, another lesson I learned first-hand, is that tennis really, really works the muscles in the forearm.  Ask me how I know.

Working Out Again!!

I am one of the few women who happened to be "fortunate" enough to have a personal trainer for a husband.  You can imagine some of the speeches and expectations I hear sometimes.  Although, I've never had much trouble with weight and participate in some healthy eating and exercises, I have been rather slack lately and my sore muscles are a testimony to my lapse in hard exercise.

I love the concept of the Bootcamp.  Knowing that your "group" is expecting you to arrive kills the lazy thought of, "Ill just skip today."  There's an unspoken expectation that if we're getting our butt kicked, you had better get here and get your's kicked at well because we hurt and succeed together."

Well, this summer is going to be different.  I will use some of the topics of this blog to share my experiences and thought on heath and working out with you as I seriously get beach body ready for Mexico this December.

About New You

New You Personal Training Services is a company that was established in 2006 by my husband Eddie.  He set out on a journey  to become healthier and lose weight.  He wanted to change his family tree habits of unhealthy eating and lack of exercise.  Eddie started working out a few days a week at a gym near his job.  Because Eddie has such good interpersonal skills, his work colleagues began joining him at the gym and at Southwestern track.  He seemed to have a natural instinct for teaching people how to lose weight and tone.  I'll never forget his colleague Jackie who would walk around the track at Southwestern High school at a rate of .2 miles per hour.  Our 3 year old daughter would float past her time after time and we would all laugh.  Now (when she's cooperating), Jackie can run around the track, lift weights, do strength exercises and ultimately ended up losing over 50 pounds at 50 years old.

Other co workers began to train with Eddie and from this point, his company was formed as "New You Personal Training."  He's been successful with helping people lose weight, tone, and become healthier beings.  The greatest aspect of the business is watching someone uncover a confident "new self".  Watching their happiness and joy is amazing and feels priceless 

I've always participated in the work outs and I must say that I have had some good success; usually in the summers when I'm off work, but I've never seriously toned my body to it's potential.  I'm not like my husband.  He's one of the few people who actually enjoys exercising. He likes the burn of lifting and the sweat from cardio.  I'm one of those many people who do it not because I like it, but because I know I need to do it.  I don't enjoy the burn or the sweat. 

I'm always proud of myself when I'm done, but there's this battle within that I always have to win before beginning the workout routine.  The psychological confrontation I have with myself is a grueling battle, but one that I'm always pleased to have won at the end each workout session. 

 I'm going to push past my level of resistence and explore more challenging exercises.  I want to see the results of my determination and hard work.  I'm looking forward to taking you on this journey with me.