Subtitle: Let's Talk About Linda!
You all know
Linda, my lovely cardio trainer. She is a ball of energy and just plain makes workouts fun, even when I'm not enjoying them at that exact moment (argh, the stepper!). She truly inspires me to go beyond what I think my stopping point is - and I'm always glad she gives me that extra push.
Not only does Linda train, she also works out with Brad in another group. Of course, since the only time I see her is when she is training my group, I've just heard rumors of how hard she works out. However, a couple of weeks ago, I got to witness Linda in action, and all I can say is WOW!
Case in point: Linda worked out with our Tuesday group (she had missed her workout that morning) and we did the Filthy Fifty - 50 reps of ten exercises each. The last time we did this was the infamous
"box jump" episode. We do this trying to beat our previous time...my previous time was 43 minutes (that box jump took a lot of extra time!). Linda's was 19 minutes. So while I was just trying to get through the entire set (and testing out my stomach muscles on crunches for the first time since the surgery), Linda blasted through the Filthy Fifty
TWICE. In less time than it took me to get through it once. And I was ok with it...I'm 10 years older than Linda, and let's face it, a heck of a lot less fit! But she was a sight to see - a whirling dervish in action! I was stunned at her focus and intensity. Girlfriend got the job
done! Oh - you know how I've been wanting
Samantha Harris arms? Well, forget that - I have a new goal...lovely Linda's back and shoulders. She wore a tank top while working out, and at one point when she was doing push ups while I was doing bicep curls, I looked down at her and was so amazed and inspired by her gorgeous back muscles! I want that! I told Linda she should wear tank tops while she's training us so we can be reminded of what can happen if we work hard. Really, really hard. OK, I might not get there...but I can try, right?!?
Updating my workout situation, as I predicted, my legs finally started feeling better on Friday. I don't know what I did, but that was too much pain for me. A day or two, I can take...but not five! MizFit suggested a massage might help, and while I didn't (and don't) have the funds for one now, I'll keep that in mind should this ever happen again.
I was able to go for a bike ride on Sunday and I think that helped get my legs ready for Monday's workout. We were doing an "Olympics" set with four minutes at each station in the gym, doing as many reps as we could, adding everything to get a grand total for the gold, silver or bronze. Except that one station was the wall-sit. A four minute wall-sit. For every time you rested, you got 10 reps taken off of your total count. I was dreading this one - I just knew I'd lose everything I'd worked for at my previous station! But guess what? I did it. A four minute wall-sit.
I know! I can't believe it either! I even asked Linda the next day if I really was doing it correctly, because I was still so shocked that I did it! She said I was. I will say that my legs were visibly shaking for the last 90 seconds, and there may have been an F-bomb dropped (quietly) - but I completed that dastardly wall-sit! Victory (and the gold) was mine!!!
You all know Linda, my lovely cardio trainer. She is a ball of energy and just plain makes workouts fun, even when I'm not enjoying them at that exact moment (argh, the stepper!). She truly inspires me to go beyond what I think my stopping point is - and I'm always glad she gives me that extra push.
Not only does Linda train, she also works out with Brad in another group. Of course, since the only time I see her is when she is training my group, I've just heard rumors of how hard she works out. However, a couple of weeks ago, I got to witness Linda in action, and all I can say is WOW!
Case in point: Linda worked out with our Tuesday group (she had missed her workout that morning) and we did the Filthy Fifty - 50 reps of ten exercises each. The last time we did this was the infamous "box jump" episode. We do this trying to beat our previous time...my previous time was 43 minutes (that box jump took a lot of extra time!). Linda's was 19 minutes. So while I was just trying to get through the entire set (and testing out my stomach muscles on crunches for the first time since the surgery), Linda blasted through the Filthy Fifty TWICE. In less time than it took me to get through it once. And I was ok with it...I'm 10 years older than Linda, and let's face it, a heck of a lot less fit! But she was a sight to see - a whirling dervish in action! I was stunned at her focus and intensity. Girlfriend got the job done!
Oh - you know how I've been wanting Samantha Harris arms? Well, forget that - I have a new goal...lovely Linda's back and shoulders. She wore a tank top while working out, and at one point when she was doing push ups while I was doing bicep curls, I looked down at her and was so amazed and inspired by her gorgeous back muscles! I want that! I told Linda she should wear tank tops while she's training us so we can be reminded of what can happen if we work hard. Really, really hard. OK, I might not get there...but I can try, right?!?
Updating my workout situation, as I predicted, my legs finally started feeling better on Friday. I don't know what I did, but that was too much pain for me. A day or two, I can take...but not five! MizFit suggested a massage might help, and while I didn't (and don't) have the funds for one now, I'll keep that in mind should this ever happen again.
I was able to go for a bike ride on Sunday and I think that helped get my legs ready for Monday's workout. We were doing an "Olympics" set with four minutes at each station in the gym, doing as many reps as we could, adding everything to get a grand total for the gold, silver or bronze. Except that one station was the wall-sit. A four minute wall-sit. For every time you rested, you got 10 reps taken off of your total count. I was dreading this one - I just knew I'd lose everything I'd worked for at my previous station! But guess what? I did it. A four minute wall-sit. I know! I can't believe it either! I even asked Linda the next day if I really was doing it correctly, because I was still so shocked that I did it! She said I was. I will say that my legs were visibly shaking for the last 90 seconds, and there may have been an F-bomb dropped (quietly) - but I completed that dastardly wall-sit! Victory (and the gold) was mine!!!