My legs are like jello

Well, so we know what personal trainers do now. I used my free 1 hour of personal training with Peak fitness today. It was interesting, I didn't really kjnow what to expect. You hear about celebs working out with their trainers all the time, but I guess I never really thought about what they actually do for us "normal" people.

So, I started off by filling out a questionnaire about my health, my goals, etc. Which ended up being quite difficult cuz the guy talked to me through the whole thing so I couldn't concentrate. I ended up just writing BS for some of it just to get done. Questions like "what have you done in the past, why haven't workout programs worked for you?" blah blah. Then he calculated my percent body fat with some odd contraption like a cross between a home blood pressure monitor and the sensors on the ellipticals or stairmasters. Supposedly it sent a very small electrical current through my body to detect fat and stuff. I don't buy it. But, I'll get to that later. So, then we go to the elliptical machine, and he tells me to hold on to the handles, lean back and bend my knees (it reminded me of crouch marching!) and put my weight on my heels. I felt like I looked like a complete moron But, DAMN, did it burn and really work out the thigh/hip muscles. I had to pretend that there was a glass of water on my head that I couldn't spill, because you're not supposed to bounce at all when you're running on the elliptical machines. I want anyone who regularly works out on one to try it and tell me how hard it is! It's damn near impossible to keep your head still and not move your upper body. Dude kept tell me to stop it. I had to do 4 minutes forward and 4 backward like that. That was the hardest 8 minutes I've ever done on the elliptical. He told me that that's all you need to do, that those 8 minutes do more than 40 minutes of how most people do it. Yipes. I could feel it in my legs to know that it was working, but I still can't really see that only 8 minutes works one out as much as 40 mins of any kind of running. Interesting. But, my legs did want to buckle when I got off.. man!!

Next, we went to the various weights. First was some big giant contraption that I did squat type things with, just a bar on my shoulders, no weights. I don't like squats, I'm always afraid my knee is going to pop or give out, so that wasn't that fun for me. It did burn, but I never feel like I give it my all when I'm doing them. After that, I did one of the nautilus machines that I often do, the hamstring pulls where you're laying down and bending your knees back to your butt with the weight. I only did 35ish lbs, but after like 50 of 60 I was struggling for the last 10. That I can get into. Then we did some shuffle squat step with a resistance band. Again, I felt like a moron and like people were watching me. But, that was something I could do regularly, even at home if I get a band. Then we did abs, most of the exercises I already do, so didn't learn too much there. We did a new one with an exercise ball that hurt after 15.

So that was that. The guy told me that some people just have the personal trainers work with them every time they work out and they don’t have to think about what they're doing, just follow the commands. No, not for me. He of course tried to get me to sign up for more sessions. I might go back to do one for arm workouts or something, but it was annoying having him in my face all the time. I can push myself, I just need a starting off point to learn more. Which, I did tonight. But, like I was telling Alice as I was reliving my experience, I need my workout time to totally zone out. I like taking an hour out of my day to just get into my routine, music and/or book. I like running for 35+ minutes and zoning out. So, we’ll see how it works out.

So, back to my rant on body fat and BMI and such. According to this little contraption dude used, I have 32% body fat. "Above average" (in the good direction) is 22%. So, I need to lose 10% of my body fat,.which according to dude is totally doable, average with correct workouts and diet is 1-2% a month. He didn’t do anything with BMI, but when I've calculated it with the formula or with an online calculator, it always comes up high. But, none of these methods take into account that muscle weighs more than fat or that short people with a lot of muscle are different than tall people with a lot of muscle. The only true fat calculator is the underwater tank thingy dingy that's really fancy. (I learned this in one of my health & fitness classes). My point is that anyone, including myself, looking at me would never say I'm obese. I could stand to lose 10-15lbs and tighten up areas, but I'm not the picture of obesity, and I'm healthy. I can run around without getting out of breath, do crazy amounts of ab workouts, etc. . And, according to BMI charts, that's where I fall. But, I'm short and muscular, so it's not accurate. Everyone I meet always asks me "What sports do you play? You don't play sports, you're so athletic looking." So, I know I shouldn't be upset or worried about numbers, but it bugs me that people will look at a number like that and assume someone is an out of shape slob or that they're fat. The trainer never said anything specific about my body fat or what healthy is for an individual person, and I feel that he should have. Because it does vary from person to person. And weight can't be broken down into muscle versus fat to know exactly how much of each someone has. Bah, words are not working for me right now. I explained my 'argument' to Alice earlier, and we had an intelligent conversation about the invalidity of BMI and other such measures and it made sense. Now I feel like I’m not making sense. Maybe I can rephrase it later.

My legs are feeling a bit better, I stretched and jumped on the trampoline while watching Joey, which randomly returned to NBC tonight. What's up with that?? I almost missed it, Alice told me it was on.

Now I'm bored since I've already worked out tonight. I'm sitting on the couch with my laptop tying this in word, and will have to transfer it via my handy dandy flash drive later. I really want wireless internet!

OH! I went to the tax guy with my dad today, and he says I'm going to get a fattie refund this year! Like, $800 something type fattie. How about that?? I kinda don't believe him, until I have the check in my hand. Especially since I had to pay so much last year. But, something about going off of my last filed W-2 or whatever and my income being listed as my Footprints income for the whole year so that makes it a bigger refund. !? I dunno. But, I'm like 'hmm, what can I do with $800??' I should put it right onto a credit card to start making a dent in all that I owe thanks to Success' failure to pay me ordeal. But, I need 2 new tires and new brakes, so that'll almost take it up right there. UGH! But, at least if I really do get it, that’ll be something I won't have to charge, I can just pay it.

Speaking of Success/Failure, I got a copy of the letter Bill sent them. He gave them till Friday at 5pm to contact him and pay me what they owe me or face further legal charges. Maybe if they don't respond, we can sue them for emotional damages and for 2 months of not working. That'd rock, and be about $5000 and could pay off some serious credit card/parental loans. I hate owing so much freakin' money. It drives me nuts. I was so close to paying off my 2 credit cards before I left TCH and moved.. granted I do have almost $2000 tied up in rent deposits that I'll eventually get back or apply towards the next place I buy or rent.. oy. Money sucks. It should just not exist. We should pay bills with kindness. Heheheh.

Guess that's a long enough post for now. Gotta go shower and get all the workout funk off me.