Uncomfortable.

I have a new post up on Lemonade Life that is about my reflections on having a personal trainer after my first week. Rather than cross-posting, I figured I would just post a link. Please go read and let me know what you think!

Next week I will start my 5 session pack, where each sessions is ONE HOUR rather than half an hour, so I’m sure I’ll have some stories from that.

Speeding Things Up.

Last night, I had my second personal training session. This was much more intense than the first! It involved doing a circuit of squats, a stair stepper and push-ups, plus a couple of other things. Over and over again. My thighs hurt so much! But I also know that’s good because my thighs, hamstrings and calves are going to be the muscles I’m working the most when I’m cycling in August. I definitely think it was a smart idea for me to get started on my training now, rather than waiting until spring when I would only have a few months to get my body ready for that kind of intensity.

My blood sugars stayed pretty steady throughout the entire workout, but I know that once I start doing more endurance training I will need to talk with my CDE to make sure I don’t go low or high. I probably won’t want to take the same amount of insulin for the entire Ride, but I also don’t want to undercut the amount of insulin I take because then I’ll go high and get ketones. Since most of this is trial and error, I would appreciate any suggestions you have!

My diet has thus far not budged an inch. I know what I put inside me has a huge reflection on the outside. But habits are habits, and cravings are cravings, and “I don’t have time to cook when I get home at 9:00 exhausted!” is, well, sometimes unavoidable. I can’t afford to sign up for Weight Watchers because I’m already paying for not only the gym, but also for the personal training. I wish I was one of those people who naturally disliked chocolate or sugary-sweet things but, alas, I am not.

Maybe someday I will be in the same peak physical condition as Michael Phelps and will be forced to consume 12,000 calories everyday. Okay, hopefully not, that makes my stomach hurt.

The Assessment.

Last night I had my first personal training session with Timothy. It was mostly an assessement so he could get to know my individual fitness level, which on a scale of 1-10 (1 being a sloth and 10 being Lance Armstrong), is probably around a 2. Because hey, at least I can walk!

Having a personal trainer is actually kinda fun. At least Timothy is. He’s very upbeat and energetic, which definitely rubs off on you. He’s also self-depracating enough to make fun of himself when he gets a little too happy about working out. He seems to be a good read of people too, so I’m glad that he’s my personal trainer and not some nutjob like tmana mentioned in her comment on the last entry.

We spent about fifteen minutes going through my medical history and getting myself weighed and analyzed. I’m 196 lbs. but I don’t remember what my BMI was… it was a lot higher than I thought it was, that’s for sure. We made my 1 month goal to be at 190 lbs. but Timothy thinks I can do better than that. We’ll see…

We went through a series of stability and core exercises so he could see how my body moves. I have lower back issues which he says shows up in how I bend and walk. He says the core exercises we’ll work on will help that a lot. Hopefully just by getting stronger, working on my breathing and respitory strength will help a lot when I’m ready to do endurance biking. Starting off slowly with my overall physical fitness seems to be a good place to start anyway.

The JDRF actual provides some coaching and counsel, which I plan on taking advantage of in the late spring and early summer. By then, I should be ready to team up with others who are doing the ride to go on some practice rides. There are some really pretty areas up near where my boyfriend lives so it will be fun to explore up there. I hate working out at the gym, so I figure once the nice weather hits I’ll be hitting the trails and the sidewalks a little more often!

Two more session next week… one on Monday and Wednesday.

The First Step.

Despite my enthusiastic post on Monday, this week hasn’t gone exactly according to plan. Namely, I got food poisoningon Monday at lunch! Yuck! I was totally out of commission the rest of Monday and part of Tuesday, and I still didn’t really have the energy to go to the gym Tuesday night.

Which made me all the more determined to hit the eliptical machine tonight! I did a thirty minute work-out which burned 250 calories. Then I was going to do some stretching on the mat, but it was crowded so there wasn’t any room for me. That’s when I decided to do something I had been thinking about doing for a long time: sign up with a personal trainer!

Gearing up for a big physical endurance challenge like a ride is a big deal and since I’m ridiculously out of shape, I knew I needed the guidance of someone with more experience who could get me in shape the right way. I met with a personal trainer, Timothy, and we discussed some of my options. I decided to sign up for a trial pack of 3 sessions for $79. After that, I would be given the option to sign up for a 5 or 10 session pack, with the $79 credited to that total cost. Basically it’s like getting 3 free sessions! Woohoo! (Just FYI, this offer is at the NYSC in Hoboken, but lots of gyms have these kinds of special offers so I encourage you to check out your local gym to see what they have going on).

My first personal training session with Timothy is tomorrow night! Then I will have two more next week. Then I’ll have to sign up for the full-length sessions. I’m not sure which pack I want to do or how often I’ll do them. Perhaps just once a week to start out. These personal training sessions are NOT cheap and I don’t want to burn through my money too quickly.

I’ll let you know how my personal training session goes tomorrow!

The Ride Begins.

It’s been listed on my 101 Things in 1,001 Days list for some time now. But I have finally decided it’s time to follow through on this particular item.

I have decided to register for a JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes.

I have to admit, I’m a bit scared.

I’m in the worst shape of my life. I’ve gained weight. I’m not very strong. I have lower back problems. I can’t even climb to the top of my 4th floor walk-up without getting a little out of breath.

I don’t even own a bike.

But I am determined that in the next seven months, I’ll be able to turn my life around and bike at minimum 32 miles in the Ride to Cure Diabetes taking place in Killington, Vermont at the end of August. I am considering it a 24th birthday present to myself (my birthday is only a couple of weeks prior to the event). I am a mere five hours south of the Ride location, and Vermont is one of the last states on the East Coast that I haven’t been to.

I am very excited, but there is a lot of work I need to do to get ready. Luckily, I have access to some of the best medical minds, physical fitness pros and biotechnology the diabetes community has to offer. My continuous glucose monitor helps me keep an eye on my fluctuating blood sugars, while my insulin pump allows me to finely tune insulin doses depending onwhat I’m doing and where my blood sugar happens to be at that moment. My doctor is incredibly encouraging and I have a wonderful support system through the diabetes online community.

I will be chronicling my preparation for the ride through new workouts, a better diet, constant calibration of my insulin requirements and my overall mental attitude. Through all of this, I’ll be asking for support in my Ride. My goal is to raise $4,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation although the minimum I must raise is $3,000. This is instead of my usual Walk to Cure Diabetes fundraising. I will participate in the Walk to Cure Diabetes, but I won’t be raising money for it.

Thanks for reading and hope you’ll join me on the ride of my lemonade life.