Catching up...
Friday was my first training session with Natasha. I was really nervous, for many reasons. A few years ago, I went to a trial training session at the YMCA. I picked one of the trainers who, from her profile, I really admired. She gave me a good long workout, almost an hour. She was ok, she chatted with other people while waiting for me to finish sets, and didn't really pay much attention to correcting my form or anything, but I didn't know anything about what personal training should be like so I just tried my hardest and kept on pushing. It was a tough workout, and I worked very hard. And the next morning, I couldn't get out of bed. I couldn't walk. Nick had to help me pick up some crutches, I was in that much pain. And I am not a wuss when it comes to pain. It was really that bad. I was on crutches for 5 days. I called the gym to talk to the trainer about what I should do, wondering what happened. She made me feel like it was entirely my fault, that I clearly wasn't in good enough shape or well enough prepared/informed to have done that kind of workout (wait a minute... isn't that her job to adapt a workout suited for me personally??) and she didn't offer me any real solution other than I should have stretched more after the workout (which I had done anyway). Then she went on to explain that if I was going to continue with exercise, I needed to adapt to some soreness. I may have been reading between the lines a little too willingly, but she basically told me to suck it up. Not too pleased with that response, I contacted her manager. She proceeded to tell me if I was unhappy with the training session, I should have picked a different trainer. The woman I had chosen was known for her tough workouts, and I should have gone with a trainer more suited to my needs and not such a high-intensity one. I was offered a free session with a different trainer, but the manager also seemed to hold a lot of disdain for my situation. Again, maybe hearing what I projected onto the situation, I felt nothing but contempt for the poor fat and unfit girl who couldn't handle a workout. I ended my membership at the Y shortly thereafter.
Already knowing Natasha and her style of workouts soothed me somewhat in that regard, but I was more so worried about my performance. I didn't want to be the person who could only do 80 lbs on the leg press while everyone else started at 150. I truly did not want to be embarassed. Which is odd, because you would think that a good trainer would not make you feel inadequate, no matter how you preform, as long as you try your hardest (and no, she did not make me feel like I didn't do well. I also did 190 lbs on the leg press, but that's not the point =)
In the end, it all went well. It actually lasted about 45 minutes; we went through a full body workout on the weight machines and did core and back exercises and stretches on the mat afterwards. She had me do 10-15 minutes of cardio on my own time before we started. My next session is tomorrow and I am actually looking forward to it. I was sore on Saturday, but nothing debilitating and nothing I wouldn't expect from a good workout.
In other exciting news, I got a call on Thursday to teach again at the school I was at last semester, filling in for the same teacher, for the month of September and possibly longer. The fact that they have now asked me back is such good news; I must have done something right. I will be teaching math again, I think grade 9's and 10's this time, which will be very different from my 11's and 12's of last semester. But summer school has made me at least a bit familiar with the curriculum, so I'm in not too bad of shape to start. I hope it just keeps on extending; teaching is definitely right where I should be.
The summer seems to have disappeared; we just got back from a weekend of camping (in 4 different storms I might add) and our last two weekends of summer are already filled. I feel like I had so much planned for this summer, and haven't done a thing. I wish I had've gotten more of my goals done, but summer school made July a faceless blur. At least I've been reading from my book lists; I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns (from my fiction list) and it was a great (and sad) story, and am currently reading from my non-fiction list, The End of Food, which is also a riveting read that I am hoping will change my feelings and perceptions on food and help gear me towards better and healthier eating.
At least I have 919 days left to get wroking on all the others!
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