Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Wow...I actually do have hamstrings...and I feel them!

So I am loving having a gym again. I obsess over the schedule, trying to figure out all of the classes I want to take and how I am going to fit them all in. I also love love love that their treadmills are so NEW and so high tech and smooth and that they each have a tv! I have never been able to watch tv on the treadmill because it is usually across the room and up really high, and I'm just not that coordinated, I have no desire to fall of a treadmill in front of 100 people. But with the personal tvs it's ok, and I think I am really going to appreciate this since the majority of my long runs for the Marine Corps Marathon will be happening over the summer, when it is still in the triple digits here.

I also for the first time have had a session with a personal trainer. Two free sessions come with membership, one for lower body and one for upper. Yesterday I did the lower body session....Let me just tell you, if I had any delusions about having retained some of the muscle and endurance I earned training for the Mardi Gras Marathon...they are gone! I am a huge weakling gasping for breath. I broke a sweat just doing his 7 minute warm up on the cross trainer! To save a little bit of face, however, he explained that no one uses these machines properly, they all just shift weight left to right and bounce up and down, which is apparently wrong. Your hips are supposed to be motionless, with all the effort coming from your legs...and this is WAY harder. (Well, maybe you all use these machines right, but looking around I noticed no one there did!). The super embarassing part was that after he had ramped me up to a heart rate of 185 or so we took it back down...the next heart rate check he thought I would be at like 120 or so, and I was still at 150! He seemed surprised for sure, and said, 'Wow, it should really have come down faster than that...'. The next time we checked it was still at 130, so alas, I am very out of shape! (I did have two cups of coffee right before at a late afternoon meeting, and I'm going to continue telling myself that that had something to do with it)...

Today I'm going for Killer Core and Pilates Sculpt. I am so happy to have my classes back! Only unfortunately (according to the schedule, anyway) step classes do not seem as populare at this gym as they were at my last, which is a total bummer....I love multi-step and step circuit....they only have two step classes and both are weekdays in the a.m. :(

Needless to say, I think I will have a much better grasp on strength training going into this marathon...hopefully it will help!

8 comments:

Jess said...

It is nice to have those personalized TVs on the dreadmill. Especially if you can select movies to watch while on there. It makes the 'mill slightly more bearable.

Lauren said...

Awesome! You make me want to join a gym, a real one.

That's why I never use those crosstrainers. I know I'm not doing it right, but I never could figure out the right way.

And coffee helps you burn more calories while exercising if you drink it right before, so that's a good thing :P

P.O.M. said...

Now I feel guilty for never going to my gym (that I have been paying for for about 9 years!)

SisterSarah said...

Now I feel guilty too--I've been good about the running but haven't been to the gym in over a month. I know I'm supposed to be doing Body Pump too to supplement my running days. Crap. I'll go tonight. Sigh.

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

I have no desire to fall of a treadmill in front of 100 people. ...

Understandable, sister, but you have to admit, it would make for a great blog post.

And ... Funny!

Good luck w/ the personal training.

Charisa said...

Ohhhhh, have fun with all the new gym classes - sounds great :)

Unknown said...

I love the TVs on the treadmills, it is so much nicer than the high-up group TVs. And yay for gym classes, fun!!

Marcy said...

It's totally going to pay off! You'll see ;D