Sunday, April 16, 2006
Beating 15-Minutes of Cardio Terror
As many of you know, I’ve been working out with a trainer, Warren, since mid-June 2005 and it has been going well. I’m getting fit and feeling motivated to exercise on my own (e.g. jogging Sundays, walking four km home from work 3-4 times per week).
During my weekly session with Warren, I start with 15 minutes of heart pounding fear-inducing cardio on the treadmill; he has control of the speed, so there’s no slouching. I started this part of my workout around October last year and hadn’t been able to hit the 15-minute mark without jumping off at least twice to wheeze for a bit. I’ve been trying very hard to not stop, but to no avail; I usually jumped before 12-minutes. On Friday, I had a comfortable pace and just kept going. And going. And going. And I did it!! Yes, I did the full 15 minutes without stopping and let me tell you I was ecstatic. Now, of course, I have to keep doing it and Warren is sure to increase the speed, but I know I can do it now and that’s almost overwhelming.
At the end of my last workout, I confessed to him that my walk home is becoming almost too easy. He said I must be ready to start adding some jogging in then. I mentioned that would mean bringing exercise clothes to work and stuff, and he said, “you’re becoming one of us!” Although I laughed and said he was hilarious, I later thought a lot about that. Me, becoming someone who exercises? Someone who takes their exercise gear to work and works out after work. Me? Really? I never thought that would be something I could say was “just like me.” That was pretty overwhelming too, after a lifetime of fat.
During my weekly session with Warren, I start with 15 minutes of heart pounding fear-inducing cardio on the treadmill; he has control of the speed, so there’s no slouching. I started this part of my workout around October last year and hadn’t been able to hit the 15-minute mark without jumping off at least twice to wheeze for a bit. I’ve been trying very hard to not stop, but to no avail; I usually jumped before 12-minutes. On Friday, I had a comfortable pace and just kept going. And going. And going. And I did it!! Yes, I did the full 15 minutes without stopping and let me tell you I was ecstatic. Now, of course, I have to keep doing it and Warren is sure to increase the speed, but I know I can do it now and that’s almost overwhelming.
At the end of my last workout, I confessed to him that my walk home is becoming almost too easy. He said I must be ready to start adding some jogging in then. I mentioned that would mean bringing exercise clothes to work and stuff, and he said, “you’re becoming one of us!” Although I laughed and said he was hilarious, I later thought a lot about that. Me, becoming someone who exercises? Someone who takes their exercise gear to work and works out after work. Me? Really? I never thought that would be something I could say was “just like me.” That was pretty overwhelming too, after a lifetime of fat.
