making progress...slowly

Things are getting harder in the exercise department. Diet department, too.

I've been seeing the trainer, Mark, for about three weeks now.  I'm not feeling the pain nearly as much as I did that first week.  And what a painful week that was! I had to use the handicap toilet stall so I could use the railing to lower myself down. For the most part, I don't have any soreness the next day. That's good for me, but it also means Mark will work me harder. That's actually a good thing, but it doesn't feel like it in the moment.

Last Monday I did mostly arm work, like sumo squats with a kettle bell; reverse lunges with a kettle bell, which alternated from side to side; and kettle bell swings, to name a few.  And push-ups, of course; that will never go away.  Surprisingly, my aren't weren't sore the next day.

Last night was a combo of arms and legs.  Or quads, I should say.  More sumo squats with a 20 lb kettle bell; an exercise where I hold a weight in each hand, squat down and touch the floor, and then come back up and press up over my head; squats where I slam down a 12 lb medicine ball when I go into the squat; and a few other things.  He had me start using the barbell, which didn't have any additional weight on it...yet.  I know that's coming soon.  Mark then showed me the plank position, which is much harder than it looks. My base time is 15 seconds.  Not great, but it's a start.  It was a very tough workout and I was so tired when I finished last night! I'm a bit sore today, but not as bad as that first week.

My "home work" for the next week or so consists of:

• Jogging in place, jumping jacks and mountain climbers, alternated three times for a total of 8 minutes
• Total of 50 walking lunges
• 3 sets of 20 body squats
• 3 sets of 15 squat jumps
• 4 sets of how ever many push-ups I can do:  I still can't do a full push-up, but I'm getting there.  I can do about 7 to 8 per set now.
• Plank, as long as I can hold it

Mark measured my weight and body fat last night for the first time:  226.4 lbs and 38.4%.  Not terrible, but I have some work to do.

I have to say, I'm definitely not in the mood to do it today, but I will do it anyway.  I want results and I eventually want this extra skin removed.  It's mainly my abdomen that's an issue.  When I was doing the squats where I had to touch the floor with the weights, my stomach was definitely in the way and prevented me from going down farther. It was annoying.

I'm enjoying the whole experience overall.  I feel like I'm getting stronger, I have a desire to be more active, and Mark is a great trainer.  He's patient, but firm.  He's not like the trainers you see on The Biggest Loser.  Although some trainers are like that and it works for some people, that's not something I would want. He makes me work, but doesn't yell at me; he's encouraging.  He's also a fountain of information. Since I have guidelines to follow at my surgeon's office, Mark doesn't try to swing me to his side of the nutrition spectrum.  He gives me tips and tells me to use what I can, but also work with the surgeon's office.  I listen to what he has to say and try and incorporate what I can, like sticking to hard cheeses (much less processing) and limiting salt.

Well, I guess I should go do my exercise routine now...

(But I'd rather be doing this!)