I managed to get to the Gym 5 times this week. The snow stopped play on Monday. The snow was easing a little by Tuesday and all the main roads were clear so thought I would see if I could get to the Gym. I rang and spoke to John who told me the drive was clear. I managed to get into the car park ok but the car park was a free for all and cars were dumped all over. I managed to position myself facing downwards so I could just slide forward and would be able to drive on the flat. I parked so no one would park in front of me, so I wouldn’t get stuck, and went in the gym. Managed more of the programme but nowhere near completing it all in one go. I was better prepared for the treadmill and kept calm knowing when it was going to speed up but still could not run as fast as it was going. By the 4th and 5th spike in the speed I was struggling, as I had not recovered from one spike when the next one came. I stopped it again with 5 minutes to go realising at this time there was only one spike left but there was no way I could do another speed increase. Went to go home and some idiot had literally dumped there car in the middle of nowhere in front of me. I tried reversing the car but I was going nowhere. Unsure who to ask I went back into John. Fortunately ‘the man who can’ was there and he called for back up. 3 men with shovels and manpower pushing me I slowly moved backwards and they freed me to go home. Wednesday I parked on the main road and walked. I was not risking the car park again. I spoke to Mark asking him what difference level 3 would make on the treadmill as level 4 was way too fast, I don’t do running and my legs certainly did not go that fast. He suggested trying level 3. That was much better, was still hard but at least I did manage to run at the same speed as the treadmill and the fast spikes were only for 30 seconds, which is more manageable. Still hard though and frightened I am going to whiz off the end feet first, as I panic, and keep a tight grip of the rail. I did manage the 15 minutes but it took a while for me to catch my breath afterwards. The X-Trainer is also hard at level 7. When I first saw the programme I thought the Rower would be the hardest for 3500m but it turns out that is the easiest thing in my programme. The resistance exercises were mainly new and I had to ask John to explain them. I was struggling to coordinate some of them so Mark demonstrated them for me on Wednesday to check I was doing them right. Thursday I was aching from the previous 2 days and struggled with the X-Trainer. Every time I let go with my hand to get a drink I nearly stopped, with the resistance being so high. I decided aching and being tired I had no chance of doing level 3 so I tried level 2 on the treadmill this was better. Friday I am having a day off to recover this week. Went Saturday and Sunday evening and managed the entire cardiovascular programme, not cracked the resistance programme yet though. Sunday it seemed easier and I even managed to beat the distances on the X-Trainer and knocked nearly a minute off my best time on the rower. How can you suddenly do it 50 seconds faster? Managed to complete 15 minutes on the treadmill at level 3 too. I managed to find confidence to let go and found it easier to run when I wasn’t holding on. I put the safety cord on as I did not want go whizzing off the end. Had to hold on during the speed up and slow down bit and for the last few peaks towards the end as my legs were wobbly and I did not want to fall. Sunday was exactly 1 year since my first day in the gym. I can’t believe where time has gone. At that point I had never been in a gym and was struggling to even use the X-Trainer & Treadmill. As well as the small weights I used. I thought my programme was hard then but it is not a patch on this new on I have got now. Mark has certainly upped the level and intensity.
12 months ago:-
I thought a X-Trainer was something to do with dog breeding;
Rowing took place in a boat on water;
A bench was something in a park;
Weightlifting was for men in the Olympics;
Clean and press was what I did with my laundry;
Resistance was not doing something;
Exercise was a task for my students to complete;
Cycling was travelling along a road;
Plank was a piece of wood;
Trainer was my job title;
Doms was a home visit;
A bridge went over something;
Rotation was night shifts and day shifts;
Crunch was a sound of eating a biscuit;
Flys were insects;
I was never seen in shorts;
I did not know you could ache and hurt so much after exercise;
I had never experienced Jelly legs;
I did not understand how someone actually enjoyed the gym;
timeforthegym 