Losing It, Part VII

As I near the end of the “I Lost It at the Gym” program at World Gym, I am finding it harder and harder to find a class that accommodates my schedule. This led me to take a class with Janet’s Jewels at the Fayetteville location at 7 a.m. on Halloween.

Now, I have two kids under the age of five at home. I am used to being up before 7 a.m. I am not used to working out at 7 a.m. though and I found this class to be among the toughest I have taken.

Janet, dressed as G.I. Jane from the movie of the same name, started by having us march our heart rates up. She then showed us the circuit we would be completing twice, one that included kicking, punching, weight lifting, jumping jacks and planks, lunges and tricep work, jumping rope and working with a large and heavy rope.

I like circuit training although I don’t know why, since by the end I am so exhausted I feel sick for a few minutes. One of the things I like is the variety. Some exercises, like the plank, where you lie down and keep your body up with your hands and your core muscles, are painful, but you know in 30 seconds you get a brief respite and 30 seconds after that you move on to something you might like better.

All of the groups I have met have been friendly, but Janet’s Jewels, all morning people I guess, were among the friendliest. They even tried to convince me to come back next Saturday and work with them one last time before the end of the program.

I told them “no dice.”

Janet was an energetic trainer (aren’t they all? where do they get that kind of non-stop energy?) so much so that she was going to do a 90 minute spin class later that morning. She spent some face time with each person in the group, making sure they were maximizing their exercises and getting the most out of the class.

I’ve commented before on being amazed at the motivation and dedication of the people in this program and those who roll out of bed when it is still dark to participate in a program like this are incredible.

We are heading into the final week and everyone is ready to make a giant push to the finish line. Every work out will be more focused and intense and every calorie will be scrutinized. I am even considering doing things like body wraps and colonics, just to get closer to my overall goal. What do wrestlers do to drop weight?

Two months ago I weighed in at a doctor’s appointment at 217. On Saturday, the scale said 207. It’s an official 10 pounds. I had hoped to be 200 pounds or below at the end and that doesn’t seem likely, but continuing to exercise and maintain healthy eating habits might get be there by Thanksgiving and certainly by Christmas.

Hopefully that’s the lesson that everyone takes from this program. They will be able to see some weight loss and improvement in their overall fitness and realize that they can continue to do what they are doing. It isn’t a hardship or torture, but rather a lifestyle change that they can live with.