Getting Stronger

Getting Stronger

 As promised I am going to post regularly as I make progress with my getting fit effort.  This is the end of my fourth week in the new life style that I’ve chosen for myself (in an effort to make quality of life as important as length of life).

For some unexplainable reason I thought that I would be past the feeling of pain after 30 days.  I guess I didn’t take into account how muscular I am (I mean how many muscles the body has).  My Personal Trainer has been working (developing) different set of muscles in an alternating way so that I don’t burn out (read-give up).  He is brilliant at what he does and explains everything as we go.

One of many things that he explained is that he is building up my body in the sequence that is most beneficial to the overall effort.  The way I understand it is that every set of muscles that we strengthen in turn supports the next set that we will be working on next.  Therein lays my misconception that I would be past the pain within 30 days or so.  About the time that I improve one area of the muscular skeletal system we begin working on the next and as the famous song of the sixties said, “The Beat Goes On!”

As you read this post keep in mind that I am slightly better at writing than I am at understanding what I am presently doing with (to) my body.  Another misconception on my part (and this is really big), is that I thought that since I was paying for the Personal Trainer, I was kind of in charge (the boss).  Not so at all.  I get to input all I want (I actually think of myself as putty in his hands to be turn into a sculpture) but he calls the shots, and that is an authority assumed when you hire the trainer.  I’m not complaining, and I will be the last person to cry uncle, but he has been pushing me beyond what I thought I could handle. 

As an example of pushing me he’ll say give me 12 repetitions of whatever the exercise of the day is, and of course I am eager to please both of us, but I will maintain the count silently, and just as I reach 12 he’ll say give me just 5 more, and he will count out loud 1, 2, 3, 4, and stop.  He continuous to be very supportive and takes pride in my effort. So it’s hard not to try harder for both us, but this is not a 20 year old body we are working with.  I would describe my body more like 1968 Mustang Fastback found in some barn out in the country covered with a tarp, and in need of lots of loving care. Maybe even some rust in places.

Enough of Woe Is Me; I am actually very happy to still be fully committed to the plan, even if my limits are being pushed.  Today I was supposed to meet my wife for lunch at a certain time, but I was late.  The reason I was late is that after working out for just one hour, I was so exhausted that when I got home, I thought I would lie down for just a minute on the couch, and next thing I knew I had slept for 30 minutes.  I was only late by 30 minutes; gee I wonder where the 30 minutes went.

Someday I will look back at the beneficial aspect of the effort, and not even remember the pain.  Stay tuned for another progress report soon.  The best is yet to come…