I am already getting e-mails and private messages (most from other group fitness instructors might I add) about how I am knocking on the group fitness world...blah blah blah. Did you guys not read my part 1 blog???? Please read thoroughly before you send me such nonsense!!! And the fact that I am NOT finished with the series. There is more! I'm a group fitness instructor myself so why would I know it??? Geez! SMH! ANYWAY...moving on.......
Ok, so I talked a little bit about what types of training/workouts I did. WHen I FIRST started, I didn't know what the hell i was doing. SO I started off with the group fitness classes. Before that I was just walking on the treadmill and kind of watching what others were doing in the weights section and tried to mimic them. I remember the first group fitness class I went to. Bodypump. A class using weights. High rep lower weights. You will not see anyone deadlifting anything over 150 in there. Hell, I don't think I've seen anyone DL anything over 100. Like I said because it's high reps...and at a pretty fast pace might I add. I thought that this was "THE class". That this class will get me toned and buff and lookin all hot. Boy was i wrong. Don't get me wrong, it's a GREAT class. And sometimes if I want something different I'll take that class. Just for the hell of it. It's a good class!
As I said in part one....i was only becoming a smaller version of my fat self. The group fitness classes were a start for me. It got me moving. AFterall...ANY type of movement is better than just sitting on the couch. But After about 5-6 months of nothing but treadmills, ellipticals, group fitness classes, stairmills, and the occasional dumbells, I came to a stall. No matter what I did nothing seemed to work anymore. I decided to invest in a personal trainer. Now as we all know...personal trainers are expensive! I had my "lasik eye surgery fund" stashed away. I asked myself....no contacts/glasses or a better body? I chose a better body and emptied my lasik fund and hired Jason Urbanski--the head trainer at the gym I was working out at. Let me tell you....BEST investment I've ever made! I told you guys before I've worked with other trainers before...which is why I was so hesitant about hiring another one. I've been dissapointed before, but EVERYONE at the gym had good things to say about him. So I decided to give him a month and "test him out". I'm sorry. I'm vain as hell and I wanted to look good. I was sick and tired of being fat and "ugly."
Here is the man I always referred to as SATAN. This was March of 2010. He is gonna KILL me for posting his pic, but whatever! I want you guys to see the man who has changed my life!
I'm not gonna lie. I hated him. I thought he was mean, and hard. but that's what i wanted. I didn't want anyone to hold my hand and say everything will be ok. He didn't. He only pushed me harder and although till this day he denies it, I think he was trying to "break me". He hasn't. haha. After 6 weeks we weighed in and I lost 19 lbs!!!!! You see, not only was Jason a personal trainer, he was also a strength and conditioning coach. TRUST me when i say they are different from your typical "follow you around the gym with a clipboard" personal trainer. We trained 3 times a week. A lot of those were consisted of extremely heavy lifting and his psycho conditioning workouts. When I say psycho I mean PSYCHO. Biggest loser workouts on TV has NOTHING on Jason Urbanski. I would cringe everytime we had to lift heavy! I thought I was gonna "bulk up." I was still doing a lot more cardio and doing group fitness classes. But I began to have a lot of "aha" moments with him. Here is a good example of "less is more".
For the longest time I would be doing these hour long cardio sessions. Jason's words? WASTE OF TIME. The "steady" cardio. Even the group fitness classes I have to admit was steady of moderate intensity. This is why I like teaching spin. For those who have taken my class know for climbs and attacks, I have my class load up as much as possible on resistance and pedal as hard as they can before the break where they "release" the pressure and resistance. Kind of like sprinters. For about 30 seconds to a minute they will run as fast and hard as they can until it's over and then they recover. This is also known as the HIIT (high intensity interval training). A method I like to use is go as hard as you can for a minute...till you're about to pass out...then for a minute recover...then repeat for about 10-12 times. I don't know about you...but I prefer the sprinters body over the marathoners body. If you like the "marathon body" look, then please...by all means proceed with your long cardio sessions. To each its own.
In my case the group fitness classes were not enough. I had to get a trainer. Of course being healthy and in better shape was a plus......but one thing I observed while training. All those people who did hours and hours of endless cardio on the machines and hours and hours of group fitness classes...all looked the same. No real changes in their physique. yes, they might lose weight, but I never really saw the "transformations." It was only those who incorporated weight training and worked with good trainers that I saw transformations starting to take place. I am the perfect example. Now....if you are one of those who had a great physique transformation with just group fitness classes alone and cardio alone, i applaud you. But it wasn't working for me and based on what I observed at the gym (trust me I was there 5-6 days a week), I didn't see much of it. Even the group fitness instructors who taught like a zillion classes a day all looked the same. Again, I am NOT knocking anyone. It's just NOT the look I wanted. Incorporated with HEAVY weight training and MINIMUM cardio is when my body started to change. Part 2 is long enough. I feel like I'm rambling. But I will end with this: I've done it ALL! From group fitness classes to P90X to infomercial stuff. What did it for me was not just heavy lifting, but working with a strength and conditioning coach. In part 3 of the series I will get into how strength and conditioning workouts have accelerated my fat loss AND how the "less is more" really does come into effect. I will also talk about meeting new coaches who I thought I would NEVER find....and incorporating other new workouts.....even kettlebells. I'm still hesitant to release the sports bra/shorts fat pics so I will leave with this. Maybe in part 3 I'll have the guts to post the mortifying pics.
Before I even knew what a gym membership was:
And me today:
Part 3 coming soon which will consist of what I am doing NOW and what type of strength and conditioning workouts I am doing with hardly ANY cardio. Just once a week. =) And I like that cuz i HATE cardio!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment