Find James at the Gym

I've finally made the plunge. Yep, I've finally come to the realization that just going to the gym a couple of times a month and doing 30 minutes of cardio isn't exactly doing the trick. So I took the financially-painful step of hiring a personal trainer (a move inspired by our friend Jeff who has gotten some awesome results from his personal training program).


Where I've been spending more time lately. (11/19/06)

There are three main reasons for doing this. One, I wanted to develop a more effective workout that will help me lose weight. Two, by setting up appointments with a trainer, I'm much more likely to show up for the sessions and far less likely to create excuses not to go. And finally, because it drives me crazy to pay for something and not use it, I'm much more likely to take advantage of the program.

Since November 6, I've been working out with a trainer 3-4 times a week. Each session consists of 30 minutes of weight or resistance training, followed by 30 minutes of cardio (whereas before, when I was doing it on my own, I was only doing cardio). The reason for the weight training is to increase my lean mass, which will actually cause me to gain some weight at first. But they explained that with more lean mass, I'll increase my metabolism and burn more calories, which will make it easier for me to lose weight in the weeks to come.

The first week or two was painful. Literally. I would have muscle pain and stiffness for days afterward. Now that I've been doing it for a couple of weeks, I don't.

On one of my first sessions, the trainer had me do some sit-ups (the type where he holds your feet down and you lift yourself up). I don't even remember the last time I did a sit-up. Junior high, maybe? The first time the trainer asked me to do them, I managed to do a whopping four sit-ups. Within a week I was up to 27 sit-ups!


Some inspiration. (11/16/06)

To help motivate me, Tim put me on a program. For every 5 lbs. I lose, he's going to give me one new Cube World block (those little interactive blocks with stick figures that live inside, and when you connect them, they interact with each other). I got two of them just for signing up with a trainer. Although I haven't lost any significant weight yet, I am feeling better and healthier. So that's good.

Well now that I put this on the blog and told everyone I know, I guess I have to show some results now. Stay tuned.