Working out with Lesley

My trainer, Lesley, likes to do what's called "burn out" at the end of my sessions. That's when you've worked about as hard as you think you can work, when you've hit that point where your legs are liquefied, shaking, and weak, when you don't think you can actually do one.more.exercise.... then she says "Awesome! Do 10 more lunges and 10 more squats!". After she peels me off the sidewalk, I am grateful. I want to work my muscles to the literal point of exhaustion so they will use all the protein I am consuming to repair themselves to bigger, leaner versions of themselves. 

I am left with just enough oomph to walk to my car and drive home. It's divine.

Our training sessions have thus far been outdoors, around her home. I enjoy this so much more than a gym. Last night as the sweat was rolling down my body I was atop the bluffs in my home town, high above the Mississippi River, enjoying the beauty of huge thunderheads rolling off to the south and the sky to the west turning pink and orange as the sun dipped to the horizon. As I lunged and squatted and dipped my way down the street I couldn't help but think how very majestic nature is to behold. It can sometimes be hard to focus on how majestic when you've just run up 38494972 stairs and your lungs are screaming for air and your thighs are screaming "what the fuck!?!"

Last night was the trifecta of difficult, too. Not only was yesterday the dreaded first day of my period, I frequently suffer from blinding headaches (another sign of hypothyroidism) and the one I had last night was a real pisser. Add to that some tummy trouble and the idea of going balls out in my work out was, shall we say, less than appealing. But I knew if I called and tried to whine that Lesley would tell me to get my butt in gear. No whining, no excuses. It paid off. The headache was more manageable after sweating it out last night and I feel fantastic this morning. That first step can be torturous though. Which is why I love working out with a  trainer. It's all about accountability, man. That's what this blog is about and that's what my work out partner is about. In addition to her correcting my bad form on lunges and benefiting from her creativity ("Here, hold these 3.5 pound balls above your head and walk up this steep hill") she also keeps me honest. While Lesley and I are friends, she's probably not going to drive over to my house, drag me out of bed, and shove a foot up my ass to get going.... but just knowing that I will disappoint her, that I will have to answer for my actions, helps me get going on those harder days. 

Yes, yesterday was a good day. All first days should be, eh? Lots of motivation and determination. Eating Paleo is never really all that hard. My partner made the most delicious baked chicken last night (he's a fantastic cook and supportive as all get out... I'm a lucky girl) and I hoovered that along with steamed broccoli, asparagus tossed in olive oil and garlic and pan fried, plus a small serving of carrots. I detest cooked carrots but I needed another color besides the green of my other two veggies so I forced myself to eat them. I did not get to the gym for an official weigh and measure to go with my before pics (which Lesley snapped last night and they are AWFUL!) so I'll get in there this morning. First challenge of the 'new' lifestyle.... I have a client meeting at 10am at Panera. I made this appointment before I made the decision to be done with the tempting tasty treats of life. Now, later when I'm at my goal weight and my body has stabilized, having one tasty treat at the old Bread Co. won't be a huge deal so long as it's an isolated incident and not an every day or even an every week occurrence. Unfortunately, day two is not the day to go there. Instead I'll be having black coffee with a little bit of cream and I'll be taking my own Stevia packets. Wish me luck (or strength of conviction, probably). 

Chantel