Gym: 30 December

Personal training kicked my ass almost more than figuratively. I woke up this morning feeling a little icky and wondering whether I should cancel, but I decided to stick it out and push through.

I had a chocolate almond croissant for breakfast about 2.5 hours before personal training. I thought, "Well, that's not the best thing to eat before working out." So I had some sesame tofu salad a bit later--fresh vegetables, sesame oil, and tofu. Chock full of vitamins and protein to keep me going, right?

Anyhow, after getting to the gym and working in 25 minutes of biking, I felt nice and warmed up. Then 30 minutes of personal training happened. Various types of pull-up rows (1 set = 10 at face level alternating with 10 at chest level)/push up (15 reps per set)/rows (1 set = 10 bringing my arms into a Y shape alternating with pulling my arms straight out like a T) in circuits using straps attached to a pole. Those were fine--my arms, lats, and pecs got a nice workout. The second half consisted of circuits with a Jacobs Ladder (50 feet, 60 feet, and 60 feet for the sets--my pace was a bit faster than a foot per second) with 5 push ups, 7 sit ups, and 9 squats before the next set.

I didn't get to the third set of push ups/sit ups/squats--after the third Jacobs Ladder, I started feeling funky. I needed a pause. I went to the bathroom. Sesame tofu salad came out my nose (and other parts of my face). I smelled it for a few hours afterward, even though I rinsed and rinsed and blew my nose tons of times.

That's a first. I've never worked out to the point of vomiting. I think it's a conflagration of various factors--already feeling icky (more cold-like, but still), eating horribly (Sesame oil? Crazy French pastry with chocolate, powdered sugar, butter, and almond paste? What the heck was I thinking combining the two?), and still not realizing that my body is no longer used to full-body aerobic exercises in quick sequence.

Something that might have made me puff a little bit two years ago now makes me upchuck. I'm constantly learning new things about my body's limits. I just wish I didn't have to learn that particular lesson, and I hope never to be in this place again--I eventually need to learn how to keep myself in adequate physical shape without a personal trainer.

Gym: 21 December

13 minutes of moderate intensity on the stationary bike followed by 30 minutes of what should be a moderate warmup but instead is a breath-sucking, soul-sapping personal training session. 4 "man-makers" (push up with hands gripping dumbbells, lifting each weight alternatively while still in push up position, standing up and lifting weights over head, then dropping down is a single rep), 10 medicine ball throws (throwing ball as hard as possible on the ground while squatting to catch it, then repeat), and 1 minute of row machine. Repeat 3 times. Then 5 assisted dips, 30 seconds plank, and repeat once.

Made me want to die a little less than last week, but not by much. Arms were immovable for days after last Friday's session and are still weak an entire week later!

Gym: 14 December

11 pretty intense minutes on the stationary bike, followed by 35 minutes of my first session with my new personal trainer (it's been almost 2 years). Squats, wall throws (squatting with a large, heavy ball; coming up and throwing the ball at the wall; catching the ball and squatting), push ups, horizontal pulls, more squats, and sit ups. I'm wiped!