In It to Win It!

I may have mentioned before that exercise is a lot more difficult for me than maintaining proper nutrition.  I got my nutrition in line almost three months ago; the exercise is only going on one month.  But I’ve been thinking lately that something must be wrong with me.  You see, I’m beginning to…well…like it!  “It” being exercise; crazy talk, I know.  I must have pulled something in my brain during my last strength training routine, because this can’t be a sane individual talking.

I guess it’s not so much the exercise I like as the feeling I get that lasts from about 10-12 minutes after I start until long after I’m finished.  It’s total energy, optimism, accomplishment, and confidence.  And that’s pretty good motivation to get my formerly lazy hide on the treadmill or doing a strength training routine – that and the fact that the co-worker who complimented my weight loss on Friday has now taken to nicknaming me “Skinny,” which I assure you I am far from being.  (The smile this has put on my face, though, may even make me break my two year old policy of not giving Christmas gifts to co-workers when the holidays roll around this year).

But…in what must have been an act induced by endorphin drunkenness, I e-mailed my trainer last week (who really is great – you can reach her website under “Resources” on the right hand side of the page – FITT Solutions – here in the Atlanta area) to do something I never thought I would do – I told her that my strength training routine had some exercises that were getting too easy for me.  She e-mailed back and told me to increase the weight on a few of them – that sounded cool.  But then she also told me to work my crunches up to 250-300 per session!  Come again?  Her fingers must have gotten a little slap happy on the keyboard and added unintended zeroes on the end of those numbers, I thought.  Sheesh!

And then, in a split second, I decided that I was in this to win it, and I was going to do whatever she said, grin and bear it, and only complain if something physically hurt me.  She is an expert, after all, and a really nice person to boot, so I just had to trust her on this one.  I e-mailed back a simple, “Thanks!” proud of myself for my new-found resolve and commitment.  (Though she also  reads this blog on occasion, so I guess in some sense, the jig is us for yours truly looking like a happy camper on that one.)  I’ve advanced from 40 crunches per session to 160 per session in the past week, and I’m damn bent determined to make it up to 300 before my next session with her in a couple of weeks – nothing like a good challenge to get “Skinny” motivated!

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