He tried to kill me but I survived
OMG, I love my trainer! Wayne is so awesome. I got to be his guinea pig today for a new training regimen. He decided I was to be first partly because he knew I would thrive on the challenge and partly because my BMI went up last week instead of down. We're calling this one "The Pent-omg I can't breathe-fecta." :) He was nearly as sweaty and out of breath as I was since he usually does about half of the exercises with me. He pushed harder on the stairs, though, pulling his knees past waist high on each step. I was lucky to get my feet high enough not to trip. There were a couple moments where I thought I might puke, but he let me breathe for a minute before pushing me on to the next exercise. Seriously killer workout.
We started with 60 seconds of 'mountain climbers', down on hands and toes like at the track starting line, without the butt high in the air, then switching feet. Then we dropped right into 10 per side of 'channel changers' (lol I love some of the names), which is basically a plank position and then reaching out (and I mean all the way out straight) with one hand like you're using the remote on the tv, alternating sides. From there, it was climb right up onto the treadmill, which was already going at 3.5 mph and 15% incline. No idea how long I did that for, really, but I think it was about two minutes. He just wanted me to go as long as I could without grabbing the handles/railing. This is when the idea that he was trying to kill me first entered my mind. But he wasn't done with me yet. We walked, somewhat slowly so that I stopped wheezing, halfway to the stairs (about 40 feet, I'd guess) and did lunges the rest of the way. When we reached the staircase, he had me RUN (omg, I'm gonna die) up the stairs FIVE TIMES. He did the lunges and stair run with me, leading the way. That helped keep me motivated and moving, but my legs were lead weights. If you're thinking "dude, I'd be ready to puke after all that" then you know how I felt. :)
We strolled back to the floor area where we started so that I could grab my water and try to get my breathing under control. As soon as I stopped huffing and puffing, he had me down on the floor starting all over again with the mountain climbers. He cut me a small break on the treadmill, knocking the speed down to 3.2 mph, and also only made me run the stairs four times, but made me start doing lunges sooner and we did the far staircase this time. Again, he did the lunges and stair run with me, trying to get me to race him. I couldn't keep up, but I didn't fall on my face or puke, so I'd say I won. Except... then it was time to do one more set. OMG. He only asked for 45 seconds of mountain climbers on the last set, which I barely managed (partly because my wrist hurt, but also because I was having a hard time pulling my legs back up to my chest) though I really wanted to do the full sixty seconds, but he still made me do all of the 10/per of the channel changers, which I fought through with shaking legs. I must have looked pretty pitiful by then because he backed me off to 2.8mph and timed me for a minute on the treadmill - still at a 15% incline though. Lunged halfway to the stairs, no walking this time, then he made me crouch down and walk sideways the rest of the way, switching sides halfway there. Four trips up and down the far staircase again, one in which he thought I could take the stairs two at a time. Ha, right. I managed to keep running, but there was no hop or spring anywhere to be found. My heart rate was sky high by the time we walked back to find my water bottle. I like to work between 155 and 165 when doing cardio, with the occasional sprint taking me over 170, but this had me feeling closer to 180. Thankfully, he let me cool down for a few minutes before working me more.
With the 'Pent-fecta' done, Wayne grabbed the 18# body bar and took me into the studio - MUCH cooler in there. The new torture was dead lifts into curls into shoulder presses with the bar. I ripped off 20 without too much difficulty, although I don't think I could have gone much past 25. While I was doing those, Wayne was setting up aerobics steps against the wall. Two stacks - one of 4, the other 8 - and I was supposed to do five box jumps onto each, starting with the lower height. I could just see myself missing and really getting hurt on this one, so I asked if I could to the taller step first. He liked that, but he knew I was a little freaked about it, so he brought the one down to six spacers. I said that I wasn't sure I could do either at that point, but I'd try. I managed three hops up to the high step before my legs decided not to cooperate. Tried the lower step, but only managed one good hop before I started one footing it. Wayne let me do a modified step up that was mostly a single leg hop up before having mercy on me after a few rounds. Did not like failing to perform, but there was just nothing left after the mountain climbers, the lunges, and the stairs. Finally, we did three sets of grapevines back and forth across the studio, then hit the mats and stretched the legs and hips completely. This will be my Monday routine, to start the week with a bang, then crank up the weights the rest of the week along with 30 minutes of cardio.
The session ended up being closer to an hour and a half. No worries, Wayne says, any down time he has he'll gladly spend showing me more stuff. New management at the gym, being client oriented instead of dollar oriented, has him loving his job again and I'm one of his favorite clients. He sees my dedication in how often I'm there and how hard I work, and is pleased to help me achieve my goals, paid or not. So, I'll be thanking him with home cooked food here and there. :)
Oh, and I finally got to see pictures of Wayne when he was competing. Holy smokes, that boy was RIPPED and HUGE! His abs were like speed bumps!! He's still huge, just not quite in competition trim anymore. Actually, I think he looks better now, but wow, I can appreciate the hard work and dedication that went into getting there.
We started with 60 seconds of 'mountain climbers', down on hands and toes like at the track starting line, without the butt high in the air, then switching feet. Then we dropped right into 10 per side of 'channel changers' (lol I love some of the names), which is basically a plank position and then reaching out (and I mean all the way out straight) with one hand like you're using the remote on the tv, alternating sides. From there, it was climb right up onto the treadmill, which was already going at 3.5 mph and 15% incline. No idea how long I did that for, really, but I think it was about two minutes. He just wanted me to go as long as I could without grabbing the handles/railing. This is when the idea that he was trying to kill me first entered my mind. But he wasn't done with me yet. We walked, somewhat slowly so that I stopped wheezing, halfway to the stairs (about 40 feet, I'd guess) and did lunges the rest of the way. When we reached the staircase, he had me RUN (omg, I'm gonna die) up the stairs FIVE TIMES. He did the lunges and stair run with me, leading the way. That helped keep me motivated and moving, but my legs were lead weights. If you're thinking "dude, I'd be ready to puke after all that" then you know how I felt. :)
We strolled back to the floor area where we started so that I could grab my water and try to get my breathing under control. As soon as I stopped huffing and puffing, he had me down on the floor starting all over again with the mountain climbers. He cut me a small break on the treadmill, knocking the speed down to 3.2 mph, and also only made me run the stairs four times, but made me start doing lunges sooner and we did the far staircase this time. Again, he did the lunges and stair run with me, trying to get me to race him. I couldn't keep up, but I didn't fall on my face or puke, so I'd say I won. Except... then it was time to do one more set. OMG. He only asked for 45 seconds of mountain climbers on the last set, which I barely managed (partly because my wrist hurt, but also because I was having a hard time pulling my legs back up to my chest) though I really wanted to do the full sixty seconds, but he still made me do all of the 10/per of the channel changers, which I fought through with shaking legs. I must have looked pretty pitiful by then because he backed me off to 2.8mph and timed me for a minute on the treadmill - still at a 15% incline though. Lunged halfway to the stairs, no walking this time, then he made me crouch down and walk sideways the rest of the way, switching sides halfway there. Four trips up and down the far staircase again, one in which he thought I could take the stairs two at a time. Ha, right. I managed to keep running, but there was no hop or spring anywhere to be found. My heart rate was sky high by the time we walked back to find my water bottle. I like to work between 155 and 165 when doing cardio, with the occasional sprint taking me over 170, but this had me feeling closer to 180. Thankfully, he let me cool down for a few minutes before working me more.
With the 'Pent-fecta' done, Wayne grabbed the 18# body bar and took me into the studio - MUCH cooler in there. The new torture was dead lifts into curls into shoulder presses with the bar. I ripped off 20 without too much difficulty, although I don't think I could have gone much past 25. While I was doing those, Wayne was setting up aerobics steps against the wall. Two stacks - one of 4, the other 8 - and I was supposed to do five box jumps onto each, starting with the lower height. I could just see myself missing and really getting hurt on this one, so I asked if I could to the taller step first. He liked that, but he knew I was a little freaked about it, so he brought the one down to six spacers. I said that I wasn't sure I could do either at that point, but I'd try. I managed three hops up to the high step before my legs decided not to cooperate. Tried the lower step, but only managed one good hop before I started one footing it. Wayne let me do a modified step up that was mostly a single leg hop up before having mercy on me after a few rounds. Did not like failing to perform, but there was just nothing left after the mountain climbers, the lunges, and the stairs. Finally, we did three sets of grapevines back and forth across the studio, then hit the mats and stretched the legs and hips completely. This will be my Monday routine, to start the week with a bang, then crank up the weights the rest of the week along with 30 minutes of cardio.
The session ended up being closer to an hour and a half. No worries, Wayne says, any down time he has he'll gladly spend showing me more stuff. New management at the gym, being client oriented instead of dollar oriented, has him loving his job again and I'm one of his favorite clients. He sees my dedication in how often I'm there and how hard I work, and is pleased to help me achieve my goals, paid or not. So, I'll be thanking him with home cooked food here and there. :)
Oh, and I finally got to see pictures of Wayne when he was competing. Holy smokes, that boy was RIPPED and HUGE! His abs were like speed bumps!! He's still huge, just not quite in competition trim anymore. Actually, I think he looks better now, but wow, I can appreciate the hard work and dedication that went into getting there.