After 10 sessions

SO, I'm now at my 10 session progress update!

I'm still really enjoying my sessions with the personal trainer and am about to sign up for October. We're moving onto some muscle building sessions now as well as continuing with the fat burning - and I feel it's probably about the right time to do so.

I'm getting very good at push-ups - up to 3 sets of 14 (and I think I may go up to 16 next session, but we'll see!). I did tricep push-ups for the first time last session - and goodness me, they were hard. I've done them before in Body Combat - but clearly I wasn't doing them quite right. I guess that's the problem with group exercise classes verses having a personal trainer, the instructor really can't go around perfecting everybody's technique. Well, I managed three sets of four (!) which sounds desperately pitiful - but I know I haven't really worked my arm muscles for a long time. We'll see how quickly I get on with those!

Here's my progress image:



This week I really feel my core getting stronger and I think there's quite a good six-pack waiting to burst out as the extra fat starts melting away. I think the definition visible here is enhanced by there being a line created by the way I was sitting. Anyways, I think it's still impressive and it's certainly the most visible any six-pack has ever been - so I'm pleased. I also feel much stronger there, and I can't wait to see how it all progresses over the next few weeks.

Nutrition for non-cooks

This has been a very busy week with lots of work and driving - I really can't wait for October and the semi-calm that comes with it. Despite being busy I find that once I get the exercise habit going it's quite easy to keep it up (although having my personal trainer does help)

However, with my busy life I often find it's my diet that goes to pot first. Today, for example, I had to get up at 5:40am and drive from my home in East London to Beaconsfield. I then teach, with lunch at the pub, teach again and then drive the 2 hours back home by 7pm. I need to do it all again tomorrow. Fitting in healthy eating is difficult if I don't plan ahead.

Although I admit it's difficult, I have found a few ways of making it easier and I thought I'd share them with you in case you also find it difficult to eat healthily on a busy lifestyle - and in particular for those people like me who found their biggest problem was not eating enough!

Surprisingly, the first thing I'd say to anybody starting out on a major health change is not to stress about eating enough. Within a few weeks I found my appetite changed and I had to eat more to sustain the increased energy I was expending. The much talked about energy buzz you get from exercise also kicked in around this time and I found myself actively seeking out healthier, more nutritious foods then I'd eaten before.

Shopping can also be a problem when you work as erratic hours as I do. It's impossible for me to commit to a weekly shop and whenever I did I'd buy food that would go to waste as I never really knew which nights I'd be in the house for dinner. I've found it much more economical to go to the supermarket (which is, admittedly, two minutes from my flat) and just buy what I need on a daily-ish basis. Since doing this I haven't had to throw anything away which is a major change for me!

With the waste issue I'd also recommend working out which healthy foods you actually eat. Funny how when I have thrown food away in the past it wasn't biscuits or crisps, but fresh fruit and vegetables I'd bought and never wanted to eat. If there's food you don't really enjoy eating you're not going to eat it. Foods like oranges, bananas, peaches and strawberries fell into this category for me. Instead, work out the core set of fresh fruit and veg you know you'll enjoy eating and just stick with those. My list is:

Apples

Grapes

Blueberries

Brocolli

Tomatoes

Watercress

Asparagus

Pistachio Nuts (unsalted)

If I ate a portion of just those foods every day then I'd be well on my way to eating my 5-a-day.

I'm also not a cook. I do enjoy cooking, but only if I have plenty of time to do it properly. After a long day it's the last thing I feel like doing. So, keep it simple is my motto - a chicken breast on the George Foreman, some steamed veg, and some whole beans will do me fine. You don't have to be adventurous to be nutritious.

For the rest of the day I've bought a big tupperware tub and use it as a "grazing box" with fruit and nuts to chomp on all day. The grapes and berries are ideal for this.

The other thing is if, like me, you're not actually "fat" you can slip in little treats here and there without much worry. This week I've had a MacDonalds and I think I'm OK! My body fat is still dropping nicely - down to 14% this week

One Month In

So, it's now the end of week 2 of my intensive sessions, and one month since I started seeing my personal trainer. So far I'm still really pleased with how I am progressing, and am starting to see and feel many health benefits. The major ones for me are:

1) Food - My appetite has shot up which is great news. I'm actually getting hungry, and finding it easier to eat healthier foods instead of junk. Yes, I still have the odd bit of bad food - but overall my diet has been much improved with more fruit and veg especially.

2) Alcohol - Since I've started the intensive sessions my desire for a drink has magically shrunk. It hasn't been a conscious decision, I just haven't felt like having one. In the last two weeks I've had a mouthful of wine, and one pint of beer. It was something I wanted to cut down, so I'm pleased one of the side effects is a desire not to drink anyway!

3) Sleep - My body clock is certainly timed with an "early to bed, early to rise" rhythm - but often I would wake up at 3-4am and not be able to get back to sleep. I expect my sleep wasn't of a vey good quality. I'm now taking the supplement ZMA and I can feel the quality of my sleep increase dramatically. After taking it I'll be asleep so quickly, and wake up around 6-7am feeling full of beans! One side effect seems to be crazy, weird, dreams - I haven't experienced anything like this yet.

The sessions are still pretty much cardio-based circuits or runs around the park - and the good news is that being pushed by the PT has really resulted in some real fitness gains. Most noticeable is the number of (full) press-ups I can do (3x12reps) compared to when I started. Yesterday we also worked at full steam for 30 minutes - which was difficult, but do-able. As my PT says, you have to work your body to make it change.

..and change it seems to be doing. My PT took my measurements again and found some interesting changes from those we took a month earlier. My weedy arms didn't change in size and neither did my shoulders or neck. My (apparently very muscular, and big - in a good way) thighs increased a couple of cm's. However, the biggest change came around my waist!

When we took the measurement 4 weeks ago I have to say I was pretty shocked at the reading of 34" - I'd always believed my waist to hover around 32". So, let's allow for a margin of error and say 33". The reading today came back at 30" which is what my waist is when I'm healthy. So, without having to change my lifestyle too much I've already got my waist down to a better size.

I have also purchased some body fat monitor scales so I can start tracking my progress. I know these scales are not 100% reliable - but I seem to be getting fairly consistent results from them so far. Here's my stats:

Height - 5ft 8" / 173cm

Weight - 70kg / 154lbs / 11 stone

Body Fat - 14.5%

I was actually quite surprised and relieved to see my body fat at the healthier end of the healthy scale. It basically means I don't have as much fat as I thought I did, and that aiming for a fat % of 10-11% over the next few months is not an insurmountable task.

My week in re-cap:

MON - 20-min Interval run on treadmill + Body Combat 60-min

TUES - PT - Running Circuit - 60-min

WEDS - REST

THURS - PT - Park Circuit - 60-min

FRI - REST

SAT - PT - Park Circuit - 60-min

SUN - REST

Ideally I would have got another interval run or row in there - but never mind!

..and finally, my progress pictures:

After 5 sessions

So, I'm at the end of my taster sessions and am convinced in the benefit of having a personal trainer. I've signed up for three a week in September so hopefully I'll start seeing some good results :) Bit of a bummer this week was that while collecting my bag from the airport in Cyprus I leant a bit funny on a railing and (think) I bruised a rib. This meant I couldn't go as hard on the training as I wanted to.

August is busy for me, so I've not had a good chance to get my extra sessions (non-PT) or Body Combat in very much. That is changing now as things start to slow down for the winter.

I've also noticed quite a big change in my appetite in that I'm getting hungrier, and have ordered a box of different supplements to support my increased training. One of the best things about having the personal trainer is that you do end up going for the three sessions a week - whereas in the past sometimes I've skipped on the gym for 2-3 weeks at a time. Having the sessions booked in (and paid for!) certainly helps you keep the habit going.

Today was my first running session in the park, and it left me feeling pretty zonked afterwards. It involved some jogging, sprinting, and hill runs intermixed with some sit-ups and press-ups. One thing I have certainly noticed is that the press-ups are getting much, much easier very quickly.

Here's my photos after the 5 sessions.

So, even with the small number of sessions I think there's quite an improvement already. Let's see how it progresses!