We are the half way mark! After last weeks final session, I was a bit disheartened with my energy levels. So I made a conscious effort to add more food to my diet. I was advised to be reaching that 2,200 all the time, but I found it hard to break my calorie deficit mentality. It was what got me to drop 30 pounds, with alot of exercise of course, it it was hard to break out of that mindset. Adding more food , without the ability to run, scared me.
I have always had body issues, and these really came into play this week. Looking at the scales and my body, I wasn’t happy with what I was seeing. Davy was upfront from the start, disregard the scales, but I find it hard. It can almost become an obsession. It is a bit of a mental battle to refrain from it. It was not helped with work getting in the way forcing me to change my workout schedule. By the time I got back into Davy’s after last weeks session on Friday, it had been 4 full days. I was keeping up with my walks mind you, bringing the dog off, just to clear the head more then anything though, stop that feeling of shame. I was disheartened though going in on Wednesday, but willing to bust my ass.
Session One :
Chest and Back was on the cards for today. Before I start though, I do have to compliment the flexibility of Davy. The workout was due to be on Tuesday at 5pm, but due to work commitments I had to request it be changed to the following day. He could not of been more accommodating, and I felt at ease heading into Wednesday workout. I did my twenty minute warm up ( Like Andre Pirlo I hate warming up!) and I was ready for a tough session. I was encouraged to see my strength has improved immensely over the five weeks. Davy recommending upping the weights, I barely noticed that extra sets were added. We kept to what we know with 4 blocks of super sets, each with two exercises, each exercise had four sets, each set have at least 15 reps. The burn was real! The feeling was surreal, and my shame was eased.
Session Two :
Leg F’N Day! The Joys! It has to be said the mobility exercises and stretching has helped with my squat range, who would of though eh…. It was squats into lunges, just like the previous days session, the sets were up. I actually felt a bit of a hamstring pinch with the lunges, before it would of been rehabilitating and force me to stop. However you are held accountable when you work with a personal trainer, and there was no way you want to stop. The session was tough and the weights were very heavy with extra 20 kg weights going on the leg press machine. It was tough, and for the leg presses Davy was helping another client. So it was all of me, it would of been easy to cheat the sets, let your mind tell you that 10 reps were enough. However, the training is designed to set you up for life. Perseverance and form becomes embedding into you. If I was to stop when I wanted to, I would of letting myself done. Literally push through it, and that is what separates you from the person you want to be, as opposed to the person you were. We did more for legs, but it was the final exercise that creased me. The Prowler.
Over the last weeks, I have been introduced to the prowler. Basically it is a sled designed to keep your core tight and your feet moving quickly by pushing the sled forward. Up, back, up, back on the course is one set. It is hard enough to do one set, and my heart dropped when Davy instructed me to do eight. Not only to eight, but do eight with an added 50 kg. I wanted to stop after two sets, but I couldn’t. The marker was set and it needed to be smashed. Sure the last few sets were slower then the start, but just like my legs, it was done. After the last set, my legs gave way, as I hunch over watching the sweat puddle underneath my bowed head. A giddy and awkward smile adorned my head as I lifted it, the sweat flooding down my face, reaching the corners of my mouth. Job Done.
Session Three :
Vinny was on hand today for today’s shoulders and arms session. The man is such a positive energy in that gym, fountain of knowledge and just a sound chap. Despite you wanting to call him every name under the sun during a workout. Ultimately it is all for your benefit though, so you refrain from the name calling. I mentioned to Vinny I wouldn’t mind doing some core stuff at the end of the session and a light bulb went off in his head. Today wouldn’t be a shoulder day, today is a HIIT session. HIIT exercise sessions generally consist of a warm up period followed by repetitions of high-intensity exercises separated by medium intensity exercises for recovery, then a cool-down period. The high-intensity exercise should be done at near maximum intensity. My god, this was something unexpected, thankfully I had my porridge for the day. 35 seconds on and 15 seconds on, this was strict. Cross trainer, squats, bear walks, bur-pees, flutter kicks, planks and more. My heart felt like it was going to explode, begging for time to move faster. 35 seconds may as well been 35 minutes with the 15 second rest period going in a blink of an eye. By the time I was done, I felt like I couldn’t give anymore.
However I needed to give more, why? Well i had a stag to look forward to. You see I was meant to be in Newcastle this weekend for my cousins stag party. That got nixed due to the ‘Rona, so I was heading down to Wexford. With that on the horizon, I needed to get the arm pump on. Vinny laughed but obliged, he understood. We blasted out a arm session, with me genuinely feeling I was about to spew my porridge. I left after a shower on a high and ready to attack the night. I deserve a few whiskeys after that week.
