Ouch!!

I had my first personal training session at the gym on Tuesday and I survived (although I’m not sure I can say entirely in one piece)!

The day one programme was brutal and consisted of three circuits, two lower body and one upper/core.  Each circuit has to be completed 2-3 times and comprises 4 exercises to completed without a rest break.  The lower body circuits involved weights, plyometrics and what felt like a million squats and lunges of different varieties. 

The upper body/core section was purely body weight resistance (I naively thought this would be easier)... it turned out to be worse than the lower body sessions.  Seriously think I need to lose weight – I can barely even hold my own body off the floor, how pathetic is that.  I worked so hard during the session that there was an actual puddle (not just a smear, but a puddle) of sweat on the mat beneath me... gross eh!  To make matters worse, I seem to have turned into one of those purple-face, grunting, groaning gym-goers... how ladylike!!

When I woke up on Wednesday morning, I could not move my legs (and that is not just me being over dramatic).  Every inch of my quads were sore, I have never felt muscle pain like it.  I had thought my leg strength wasn’t too bad but obviously the previous day’s workout had properly kicked my butt!  By the time I made it downstairs (on my backside) I decided that some gentle exercise would help to loosen my quads up so I decided to hop on the turbo for 15 mins and gently spin my legs out.  Of course by ‘hop on’ the turbo what I really mean is painfully take about 5 minutes to lift my leg high enough to clamber aboard.  That was the least of my problems, after 5 minutes my legs actually felt worse so I decided to stop.  The problem was I was stuck, I just could not get off.  It took me nearly 15 minutes to get off the bike.  Looking back, I’m sure it must have looked hilarious, but I was not amused! 

The soreness continued the next day and even when I woke up this morning the muscle soreness was still ever-present (although at least I could walk somewhat normally).

I had my second personal training session this morning and had serious concerns about my ability to complete it with such sore legs, but I figured ‘no pain, no gain’ right? 

So, the day two programme once again consisted of three circuits of four exercises.  This time the first two circuits comprised alternating upper/lower body exercises using weights.  The final circuit targeted the core.  I made it through and feel great that I managed to complete it.  I really can’t wait to get going with this programme as it really feels like I am giving my whole body a good workout.  During the session, we also discussed how to change up each exercise to make it harder to prevent the workout going stale and to keep the body guessing.        

Goodness only know how my legs will feel tomorrow...!!