Taking it to the streets - (Losing it, part II)

After a week of (incrementally) moving from Jonesboro to Fayetteville, and eating poorly on the run, I was expecting the worst when I stepped on the scale at the start of the second meeting of Weigh Waaaaay Less. I started on 200 pounds (last week's weight) and goggled as the bar sunk. I had to push it back a notch and start from there, meaning, despite eating fast food for much of the weekend and meeting friends at Taco Mac on Friday, I had lost weight. I am down to 197.5. Thank you moving, kickball and pulling my kids (65 pounds total) around Zoo Atlanta and up the hill to my car on the way out.

Monday marked our first full class together and because of the beautiful weather, we did a boot camp style workout in a nearby neighborhood. The looks we got from the residents as we jogged, did squats and push-ups on their street were priceless. We did three circuits of jogging two-tenths of a mile, squatting for (what felt like) two-tenths of a mile and 15 push-ups. Because we started and ended with push-ups, we did 60 in all. I was very impressed with myself for doing regular push-ups and not doing them on my knees.

Here’s a rule I want to share with everybody - on a day where you are going to work out - drink a lot of water. I was not hydrated very well when we started and it felt like my legs were going to explode after that first circuit. It was very uncomfortable and probably pretty dangerous. Luckily, I re-hydrated myself and stretched out a bit and felt fine afterward.

Even though it was the first time we had worked out together, I can feel our team spirit. We were very encouraging of each other and had some laughs as we shared what was going on outside of “I Lost It At The Club.” I’m also fairly certain everybody lost weight from week one to week two, so we are on our way.

Lastly, Sheila, our trainer, taught me about intervals and how they can be used on any of the machines at the gym. Intervals are a way to maximize your workout and keep you engaged and pushing yourself on the machines. Basically, it works like this - you increase the difficulty each minute until you can’t take anymore. At that point, you go back a bit and start over, stopping at 30 minutes. This will be a big help for me because typically I just zone out and watch TV on the treadmill and don’t really push myself.

That’s also one of the reasons I have to give it up for programs like this and classes that the gym offers. I know I won’t push myself if I am working out alone. With this program though, which gives me teammates who are going through the same thing I am and a trainer who knows I can go just a little bit more, I push myself to the limit and then a little bit over it.

I can still feel the aftermath of Monday’s workout - probably because I’m still hustling boxes from one house to the other. I like the little aches in my muscles though - it reminds me that I’m doing something and that people are counting on me to continue working hard.