I’m down a personal trainer. No, I haven’t fired him. Or even worse, he hasn’t quit on me. It’s nothing personal to me. It’s his knee. Josh’s meniscus is in such a position that if he walks on it, he could shred it completely. He also has Grade 1 strains on his MCL and LCL. All those initials spells SOL for me…temporarily. Josh’s surgery is on Thursday and he anticipates training me on Saturday. He’s every bit the badass… even in debilitation.
Meanwhile, I’m going it alone. It’s weird how our sessions have already become a significant part of my routine. We started at the beginning of June. Between my UK vacation and his knee convalescent, we’ve probably worked out 20something times together. Even when he’s not here in person, I’ve texted him progress or questions as they relate to my FitBit obsession or yoga. He has me doing dreadmill homework. And this month, he has wandered into my dietary life trying to rev up my metabolism. I’m having my Vega-One bar within thirty minutes of waking up. And then, I have two eggs following my workout.
I never thought I’d enjoy these personal training sessions as much I do. I feel healthier and stronger. In yoga, last week I held the boat pose with both feet off the ground…three times. Before all this core strengthening, I could only manage -on a good day- one foot off the ground and once or twice… never thrice. On the dreadmill, I’m clipping at 3.5mph and 7.5 incline and nudging my way to jogging. I’m coupling this all with stepping with my FitBIt. My daily goal is 15,000. For a couple weeks, I scored it everyday. Right now, my report says I’ve averaged 13K steps daily over the last seven days.
Less than three months in, I’m all in. I’m committed! And I feel the difference. Both Josh and Jen have warned me to stay off the scale. Since muscle weighs more than fat, they know I might find the numbers discouraging. I mostly have listened to them. I’m always curious. And the scale has shown terrific results followed by horrific setback within days. I know the scale evaluating my progress is a nasty habit that I need to break. The real improvement is reflected in my body’s optimal movement. The best test is its increasing ability to positively respond to a motion request.