6 Months and Counting

I can't believe it will be six months since I started working out the with Sadist.  Some days it seems like it just started and other days it feels like it has been going on forever.  I just can't imagine a week without seeing his smiling face, though there are days I'd like to wipe the smile off his face. Six months ago I walked into the studio feeling flabby and round. Today. although the numbers aren't where I'd like them, the flab has diminished and the roundness has lessened.  In a year with minimal successes, I have to say this has been one of the few.  I am constantly giving the Sadist a hard time as he continues to challenge me more and more, it never feels like I'm getting anywhere.  Of course I have and Friday he chastised me stating "You just dead lifted a 25 lb kettle bell from a squatted position 60 times. You are definitely getting somewhere."  Yeah, yeah, yeah. I may be getting somewhere, but it doesn't always feel like it. As like many others, I am my worse critic. 

Last Friday, the Sadist and I got into a discussion regarding Zumba .  Apparently the studio Zumba instructor has been trying to get him to participate in a class.  He says it isn't going to happen, no way, no how.  One of his reasons for not doing a Zumba class included the fact that it was done in front the big mirror.   Of course he tells me this as I stand in front of said mirror doing dead lifts.  Let me just say, it isn't a great look on a good day and I'm not fond of watching myself sweat. When I pointed out that I worked out in front of the mirror all the time, he poo poo'd it stating that it wasn't while dancing.  He's been trying to convince me to do Boot Camp on Saturday.  I'm thinking a little trade may be in the works.  He trys a Zumba class, I'll try a Boot Camp class.  I figure all is fair in workouts and fitness.  I have feeling that I won't have to worry about Boot Camp anytime soon.  :)

They say time flies when your having fun, unfortunately, I've noticed it flies even when you don't.  I still can't believe it's been six months since all this started and it is only a few more days to a new year. It has definitely been a year to remember and I've had lots of stories to share.  I'm sure there will be many many more to come. 

Happy New Year!!!

What Now?

On Friday, I spent the day preparing to visit with the Sadist.  I was determined to not let him get under my skin and annoy me.  I was determined to be positive after a day of such tragedy and sadness.  I did a very good job as we worked on my legs with lifts and presses at increasingly higher weights.  For a change I was feeling pretty good.  Although it was challenging, it didn't feel insurmountable.  We worked on some arm presses, tricep exercises (no clue what they are called), and concentration curls.  Again, I felt the challenge but not the overwhelming feeling that I couldn't do it.  I was a little annoyed that he stopped me on my third set of bench presses at 19 reps.  I really don't like prime numbers.  I would rather do 20 or 15 or even 18, but 19 just feels incomplete.  All in all  it was a pretty good workout, even the ab exercises, but if you tell the Sadist that, I'll deny it all. 

The problem came when I weighed in.  I had been holding steady after losing 10 lbs, but 5 of those lbs made it back to me.  It was a crushing blow to my already fragile self-esteem.  I didn't have to think too hard about how those 5 lbs resurfaced as I have been very lackadaisical about my eating lately.  I've been drinking more soda and eating a little too much.  I have lacked the motivation to press forward and really work on my nutritional side of things.  After the weigh in I was feeling down and hopeless and felt like quitting, which I expressed.  That earned me a not so happy look from the Sadist, which I deserved.  I don't like disappointing myself but I also don't like disappointing him.  I came home, showered and then spent the evening thinking.  I was down in the dumps and feeling like a failure.  I knew something had to change, but that meant pulling myself out my pity party and that in itself is going to be a challenge.  Between work, school and now this, I haven't been feeling very successful. 

It is time to find a way out of this slump  and take some positive steps.  One way I have done that is to set up some very simple goals for the week with the help of SparkPeople.com.  One such goal is to drink 8 glasses of water each day, something I let slip by the wayside. So now my challenge is to keep myself motivated and on task.  I have made a lot of progress while working out which I can see by the way I look.  Now I want the numbers to reflect the new person I am becoming.  If there is one thing I know about myself, is that I'm not a quitter, even when I feel like that is all I want to do.   Luckily I have some great friends and family who have been in my corner through this and for that I am grateful.   It's time to call it a night so that I can get that good night sleep and start my day tomorrow fresh and alert.

I Don't Do Dips

After several months of hearing me talk about the Sadist, friends and family now know what he looks like and I finally know his last name. The funniest thing is that most are indicating that he looks to "nice" to be causing such angst.  Ha, they should know that it is always the sweet ones you have to look out for. I have to admit he can be very sweet but he is also a slave driver.  Worse part is that I pay him to work me to death.

The past couple of sessions have been pretty good, hard, but not so much that I felt like toppling over as I left the training studio.  Unfortunately, yesterday was not one of those days. All the warm fuzzies I was having about my trainer has now iced over, again.  He indicated that it would an easy day, which means that I wasn't going to like it and I was right.  He had me doing a circuit of push-ups, planks, pull-ups and dips.

Me:  I don't do dips
Sadist: You do do dips.
Me:  No, I don't do dips
Sadist: Yes, you do do dips.

This went on for the first circuit until I got to the dips, and I did dips.Although I did the dips, I still maintain I don't do dips.  Now this circuit would not have been too bad, had it not been for the balance ball and other fun play things to make working out so much more exciting. NOT!  At one point I was doing a plank with my arms perched on the balance ball when all of the sudden I slid and I yelped as I plopped on the floor.  I was a little stunned as I wasn't expecting that and neither was the Sadist.  It did help to ease some of my tension, but not all.  After going thru that circuit 4 times, my arms were sore, but I wasn't through yet.  I still had to do tricep presses, lat raises, curls and arm presses.  By this time my arms had gone past sore and into jelly mode.  We finished up this torturous session with 200 crunches on the ab coaster.  I am feeling those 200 crunches as I type this blog. 

As we walked to weigh in I told him to just add 2 or 3 lbs and call it a day.  When asked why, I said because I was hungry this weekend.  Sure enough as I stood on the scale it had indeed gone up.  I'm not quite sure how much since I've stopped looking at the numbers.  They were too depressing. 

I was looking forward to a nice massage, but that had to be postponed.  Both my muscles and I are very disappointed but next week when I do get it, I'll be so happy.