A request from my brother.....an update on my workouts...

"I never asked for nothin I don't demand of myself
Honesty, loyalty, friends and then wealth
Death before dishonor and I tell you what else
I tighten my belt 'fore I beg for help
Foolish pride is what held me together through the years
I wasn't felt which is why I ain't never played myself
I just play the hand I'm dealt, I can't say I've never knelt
before God and asked for better cards at times to no avail
But I never sat back feelin sorry for myself

If you don't give me heaven I'll raise hell

'Til it's heaven - Jay Z (and sent to me by Thom, thanks kiddo, glad someone gets what makes me tick!)"

My brother Thom posted a comment on the blog yesterday... "hey, could you post a sample of your workout routine for us to get a sense of what you are doing at this point please. -Thom ". Happy to oblige, but before I do let me brag on my brother a little.

First of all, my full confession, I spent my entire childhood jealous of him and his metabolism. He could, and did, eat everything and anything and never gained an ounce. He was tall, thin and didn't have to work at it at all. As a fat girl who only had to look at food to gain weight it was maddening.

Unfortunately for him, as he has "matured" he has joined the real world with the rest of us and now has to work at his keeping himself in shape. He runs (daily?) and has recently dropped 42 lbs himself...going from 236 lbs-194 lbs. I am proud of you little brother!!!! For that and soooooooooooo many other things!!!!

PS..hey Gui, we have a new goal for the list..weigh less FINALLY than Thom (did I mention I am competitive too *grin*).

You can probably tell by reading this that Thom is the family member I have always felt the closest to. I was noticing yesterday on Facebook that he got a new bike...it had me thinking of our front yard and watching him learn to ride the first time *smile*.

Ok I'll stop having my moment and answer the question.

My workouts have really been a pretty constant pattern from day 1. Three days a week (when possible) with the trainer and 3 days a week of cardio. At my very first meeting with Gui he drew me this cute little diagram about needing to balance food, cardio and strength work and that has been the model from the beginning.

My trainer time is a 5 minute warm up on the treadmill and then 55 minutes of strength/weight/resistance work. Gui changes the focus regularly, but the major groupings have been pretty much heavy weight (which I LOOOVVVEEE and my body tends to respond well to) and endurance (which I hate). Most sessions are a variety of all muscle groups, but if we are doing back to back sessions we will divide them into upper and lower body days. Exactly which machines/exercises we do changes every session. It is one of the things I really like working with Gui, not only do I not get bored doing the same thing over and over, but it keeps my body from getting used to anything.

My cardio in the last 4 months has centered around swimming (although Gui would prefer if I brought more treadmill or elliptical back in). I love to swim and it is just where I feel the best. Right now I am trying to do a mile at a time, but  my cardio goal is about 45 minutes long. I do have a heart monitor (don't like it though) and have some zone defined workouts I should do more of, but I have to admit they are not something I enjoy (they are for the treadmill).

I know I have put all these things in the blog a while ago, but I thought it might be adding some tips/things I have learned about working out.

1. You CAN over workout, especially if you are not eating enough. I hit a plateau back in March because I was doing double workouts and burning too many calories. That was the point that we put my workouts at a 6 a week, 45 minute a day limit, and as much as I was annoyed at the rule originally, it has worked.

2. Seriously consider working with a professional. Having someone who can see when it is time to change things up is invaluable. Trainers are not just for the super fit and the super athletic. I have no doubt I would not be sitting here blogging this if I hadn't met Gui.

Working with a trainer is NOT cheap (I consider it an investment) but there are cheaper alternatives, such as group training or things like the "my coach" program through lifetime fitness where you meet with a trainer only sporadically to put a plan together and then execute it on your own. Doing this on your own only works so long.

3. The single best piece of advice Gui has ever given me, and YES when he said it I wanted to throttle him, but as usual he was right, was that deciding whether I was going to work out any given day can not be made sitting at home. It is too easy home on the couch to say "I am too tired, too busy, don't feel like it". We made an agreement in April that I would at least walk in the door at the gym, if I then decided I didn't want to work out, I could leave and neither of us would fret it (or at least he wouldn't say he was fretting it *grin*). This has kept me moving on days I totally didn't want to deal with it, and I have never regretted doing a workout afterwards.