Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Wednesday Workout Update

If it's Wednesday than this must mean that I've made it through another week of workouts - go me! But before I get to my recap, I have to tell you about this "doh!" moment I had a couple of weeks ago...remember the day after Thanksgiving, when I met one of my workout friends at a gym (she had free passes) so we could get some exercise in? Well, I was excited because all of the cardio equipment at that gym has individual televisions and I was looking forward to having something to distract myself while I jogged on the treadmill. So I got all set up, found the control for the TV, clicked to HGTV, got the treadmill started, and turned up the volume on the TV. Huh. I could see the little bars on the screen move, but no sound. So I watched the TV in silence. Now, to my credit, my friend and I were the only ones on the cardio equipment at that early hour of the morning, so it wasn't like we could see what other people were doing. But later on, as more people trickled into the gym, I realized that they brought their own headphones...and oh, whaddya know - there's a place to plug them in so you can hear the TV! Homer "doh!" to the max!

I know I sound like a real dodo-head, considering I've been working out since February, but the gym that I go to has a small cardio room, and while there is a TV in the room, we mostly don't pay much attention to it since we are doing small group workouts. So now I know. And I hope you've gotten your laugh for the day!

Ok, onto the recap. Monday was the Dirty Thirty in the gym - 30 reps of 10 exercises as fast as you can. I improved my time from 40 minutes in September to 24 minutes...but please know that box jumps are one of the 10 exercises, and I spent a lot of time in that 40 minute set trying to do one damn box jump. This go round, I just did step-ups on the box, which was 18 inches high...I am still in awe of anyone who can actually do box jumps, and there were a couple of ladies in my group who managed to do them!

The other fun thing about Monday's workout was that in the cardio room, we did six minute sets on a piece of equipment, with all three trainers (Brad, Andreas and Ellie, our newest cardio guy) posing questions that, if answered correctly, would buy us some easier time on the equipment...if we answered wrong, we got 30 seconds of really intense burn. The questions ranged from "what country produces the most vanilla?" (Madagascar, not Mexico like I answered) to German-born Andreas' "who is the chancellor of Germany?" (Merkel, not Kohl like I answered) to "what is Brad's favorite cartoon character?" (Batman, not Spiderman like we all thought) to "what was the final score of the U.T. vs. Nebraska game?" (13 - 12 - I should have known this as I watched the game!). Anyway, we all had a good time and agreed that the thirty minutes of cardio went by really fast!

Apparently I've blanked out whatever we did on Tuesday, so I'll move on to today - we did a 3-6-9 workout in the gym: 3 squat thrusters holding dumbbells (I had 12 lbs.), 6 push ups (from the toes) and 9 squats - do as many sets as you can in three minutes, rest for one minute, and do it again...and again...and again - for a total of five times. I held steady on five sets per three minutes, which was an improvement from the last time we did these, so I was happy. Brad keeps records of these crazy workouts and it was nice to see that my endurance is getting better - I had some several sets of fours and a couple of fives last time.

Now, you've probably gotten the idea that the whole "group dynamic" thing is a pretty big deal at the place where I go for my workouts. Most of the time we are either working as a whole or in pairs - and I have to say that this really motivates me, especially when I have a partner. Today in the cardio room, Brad had teamed up two people (Hi Jenny! Hi Kathleen!) for a 10-minute workout on the stepper - one person on the stepper, holding the 16 pound ball, which makes you use your core to balance. That person stays on the stepper for as long as they can, and then they switch...but the catch is that every time you switch, Brad increased the intensity of the stepper.

I watched them do this, knowing that I would be next...and quite frankly, was not looking forward to it as I really don't like the stepper very much. But, this is WHY I go to my workout place...to do these crazy things that I would never do on my own. Trust me, after doing this for nearly a year, I know how far I will push myself, and how much further I will let my trainers push me. And there is a huuuuugggggeeee difference! It's worth every penny to me for what I get out of these workouts.

And that's why I was shocked today when the woman that I was paired up with for the stepper workout threw the ball away as soon as Brad handed it to her. He then picked up the six pound ball and that one to her...and she knocked it out of his hands as soon as he offered it up. What??? Why would you come to a place like this and not do what your trainer is telling you to do?!? Color me shocked! So Brad told her if she wasn't going to do the exercise correctly then she wasn't going to do it as all. He sent her off to the rower, and I got on that stepper and stepped like no one's business! Let's just say that I was more than a little motivated to do well after that little scene...I surprised myself with seven minutes before I took a break and handed it over to a different woman, who finished out the set.

I don't know where this woman is with regard to her workouts. I do know that I've tried to make conversation with her over the past six weeks that she's been coming, and have been either shut down or dismissed enough that I pretty much keep it to "good morning" now. So I wonder - why does she bother?

15 comments:

  1. Your workouts scare me. They would have to have a couple of guys from the EMS on standby for me. You're freakin awesome.

    Weird about the other lady though. Your trainer has a lot of patience. I think I would have told her where she could put that ball next time she knocks it out of my hands. lol

    Hey, I did the same thing with the TV. I kept messing with it. I finally figured out that I should bring my headphones. Then I couldn't figure out where to plug them in. DOH!

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  2. I live in fear of falling and breaking a bone. I've never tried box jumps.

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  3. What Kelly said. You are made up of awesome. Those workouts are intense. Strange behavior from the woman, for sure. Although I'd react the same way if someone assigned me jumping jacks. I will not do them. Life is too short to do jumping jacks.

    Thanks for all you kind support - I do appreciate it.

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  4. Way to keep hittin' it, Shelley. I can't believe how hard you work - it's paid off for you big time, though.

    That gym lady sounds like she's got the wrong attitude for being in the gym. Crazy!

    Loved the doh moment. I've had too many to count.

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  5. Hmmm strange lady Shelley. Makes you wonder why she even bothers to come.

    I would love to be at a gym like yours. Your workouts sounds hard but fun and with lots of variety in it.

    My gym has a few cardio machines with a tv where I do have to plug in my own earphones. But I usually listen to my music and watch series with subtitles.

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  6. At least the drama keeps you entertained. Sounds more interesting than what might have been on the TV...

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  7. That is really weird...that lady has some "BALLS" to knock the ball out of the trainer's hands...I am getting a bunch of Asian spam too...all on one post where I talk about 'test drives' with the Bachelorette...

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  8. That woman sounds kind of strange. Does she read your blog? haha

    Keep up your share of the good work. It sounds like you're going to wither away to nuthin!

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  9. I would love to work out with you!

    I think trainers are what push you out of your comfort zone, which is really important to progress.

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  10. Shelley, I have never been in a gym so I wouldn't have known to bring ear phones! =)

    Strange about the woman. Maybe she's like me, one who prefers to workout alone. Maybe someone bought her a membership and she's just using it out of guilt or something. Who knows--it sure motivated you, but how sad.

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  11. Your workouts scare me, too. But I know what you mean about allowing others to push you farther than you are willing to push yourself. One of the many reasons I like my walking partner.
    All I can say about strange lady is that you never know where people are coming from, or what kind of day (life) they've had before you see them. She could be scared, autistic, have a man at home who doesn't value her as a person, or just simply be a jerk. The strangest part of the whole story is that she keeps coming back. Most people with bad attitudes just quit before the six-week mark, so there must be a story there. Only you can decide how hard you want to try to know the story.

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  12. Talk about awkward! She was crying by the way... pretty hard for a little bit. Not sure if she was frustrated with herself and her behavior, or just because she was mad. She left in a hurry too... maybe embarrassed (or, maybe not). She was having major issues with balance... I don't know how much of it was attitude and how much was fear. Either way, it was disrespectful.

    What I love most about our workouts is that we are pushed past "I can't do anymore".... surprises me when I realize that I actually CAN do more (and then even more after that). Feels great. And, we are challenged to step out of our comfort zones.

    I love working out with you! You and Kathleen make it so much more fun for me!

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  13. You hold 12 lbs while doing squats? Bad. Ass.

    I felt like I should be in special ed after reading the answers to those questions at Monday's workout. The fact that this type of punishment doesn't give you a complex amazes me.

    And, yeah, I totally don't get the attitude from the other woman. I can't imagine what it's like, as a trainer, to have a client throw something at me in a tantrum and still remain composed. He totally kept his cool in a potentially abusive/dangerous situation.

    You gave her the stink eye, didn't you? You're such a trouble maker.

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  14. Your workouts are amazing! Good for you.

    That woman sounds a little bit scary to me. It sounds like he handled it well, perhaps she's done that to him before.

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  15. You, my friend, are a work out "Bad Ass". I am in awe of you. Even if you did have a doh! moment.

    Thanks for all your supportive comments this week. I really have come to depend on your feedback.

    Hugs....ANd the odd woman was probably freaked out...I would be. I hoped she paid in advance...lol.

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