I had my first session with a personal trainer today. Yes, it’s time to get things back in shape. I came across a picture of me while I was rock climbing back in the mid-80’s. I was as skinny as a rail, almost unheathy. While I don’t EVER want to be that thin again, I would like to drop 50 lbs, sort of. Having referred to the "season of gluttony" recently, my goal is simply to not gain any more weight through New Year’s Day, then work on the actual reduction. Possibly in time for next Furman’s Homecoming, it would be nice to have dropped a couple of pants sizes.
It’s hard to admit the need for help. Especially since I used to be so active. I’ve got a bike machine. Heck, I’ve got a half-way decent bike. I’ve got a kayak and a lake in the backyard for paddling. So what’s the problem? There’s much to be said for having a set excercise program. There’s also the comparison of my slob-like status with much more toned physiques. However, much more than that is the motivation created by paying a monthly gym fee.
So today I established my baseline, and tried out a few of the machines. My first attempt was on a stair-stepper. I lasted exactly two minutes before my legs started to turn to rubber. I was just about to give up when I decided to try a plain-old treadmill. I say plain, but it was anything but. This thing had it’s own LCD TV with cable hook-up. Since I had overdone it on the first machine, I decided to start slowly. It was actually too slow, and I would up fighting the machine for 15 minutes. The second set was at a more normal walking speed, and I found I could tweak the speed as I needed as the session went on. Before I knew it, I had a thirty-minute cardio workout under my belt.
The last time I was a member here, I maintained my weight around 170, and was in the best shape I had ever been in. I’m hoping to get back to that state, but I know it will take time.