Montauk Pioneer - October 10, 2008

Last week I shared with you what happened on my first appointment with Candice Monte, Fitness Director at Gurney's Inn. This week was my first workout appointment and oh boy, did I do just that! I met with Candice and one her trainers, Bob. Bob is going to train me on weights, stretching and my workout in general while Candice will oversee every aspect of my program. We went to the fitness center and I got on the stationary bike first for ten minutes for just a little warm up. Candice showed me some of the highlights of my report from our assessment appointment. My current body is 60.6% lean body mass and 15% of my body is excess fat which is the unhealthy fat that I really need to get rid of. The National Institute of Health reports that about 60% of the adult population is overweight and about 30% are obese. What about our children? I have noticed over the years more and more children are overweight. When I was a kid you rarely saw any kids overweight. Maybe because we were always outside doing some physical activity instead of sitting in front of a computer. Who knows but it is out of hand. Between 1970 and 2004 the number of children who are overweight or obese has tripled, according to NIH. I'm appalled by that information. Getting fit is not just about looking good but about being good to your body. I have a bad lower back and neck problems along with some other problems from a horrible car accident that will always be with me. Losing weight will help with that because as my abs get tight, they will help support my lower back and help my posture which in turn will help my neck. Everything is related to everything else. Right now it's like I'm walking around with an extra 50 pounds. Imagine if you had to carry that and how that weight would slow you down and put you in more pain than necessary

Calorie intake is another part of my health management program. I was taking in about 1,700 calories a day and now I'm taking in about 1,200 calories per day. Reducing calories is part of the reason why the weight is coming off, along with my exercise routine. I've talked about being at risk for a heart attack or other heart related diseases. The average adult's resting heart rate should be about 75 beats per minute (bpm). If you're RHR is over 90 bpm that is considered poor. Can you guess what mine is? Mine is 106 bpm. I am overworking my heart and putting unnecessary stress on it which are two common factors that can lead to a heart attack! Here is yet another reason why being fit is so very important.

This leads me to my workout session with Bob. After I did my ten minutes on the bike, we did stretches. Stretching is important so you don't pull anything and hurt yourself. I went on the treadmill for ten minutes after stretching and then it was on to the weights. First was the chest press where I sat up straight and pushed the bars forward making sure my elbows were up at a level position. This is important when doing this machine. I did a set of twelve reps and then on to the next machine to work out my quadriceps, the front of the thigh. I did a set of twelve reps and then back to chest presses 12 more times and then 12 more times of the quad exercises. I moved on to lat presses, working out my latissimus dorsi muscles which are the winglike muscles of the upper back under each arm. I did a set of 12 reps and then on to hamstring exercises, at the back of the thigh. I did a set of 12 reps for those, back to 12 more lat presses and then 12 more hamstring exercises. Moving on-ward now to bicep curls and tricep curls, which I did two sets of 12 reps each, alternating like the other exercises. We ended up with stretching and finished off with some abdominal crunches. I thought I was going to be tired but I actually felt like I could breathe better and I felt invigorated. If I were to do this with no trainer, I probably would have over done it, gotten too tired and then got discouraged to do it again. This is one reason why a personal trainer is so important. Bob did just the right amount of everything considering what kind of shape my body is in right now. I thought I would also wake up the next day not being able to move and that didn't happen either. My muscles felt slightly sore which is how I should feel but I wasn't in pain and I actually had a little more energy than normal. I am thrilled Bob is training me and I know that with each session, I will be that much closer to achieving my goal!