I Will Survive

Today I had my first Training session....



Before I get into the nitty gritty details, I want to go through a quick run through of my day before the training session. I think that in order for the next 6 months to be successful, it will be important to not just chronicle my training sessions and nutrition, but to also be honest about motivation (or lack of motivation) before, in-between, and after sessions.

So before my first training session I was really nervous. At first I wasn't really sure why I was nervous about working out - it's not like I haven't done this before. But somehow this was different. And then it occurred to me that all of my "laziness" when it comes to working out was about to reveal itself. I also realized that because I am taking this step, I would no longer have any excuses to be lazy. Here I was allowing myself to be vulnerable to another human being besides my husband, and I seemed to be okay with that. Ludicrous right?

3:00 pm rolled around and I found myself checking into my first training session. I had a very vague idea of what we would do during this session but I knew that in the end it would all be worth it. As I checked in I noticed that the gym was nearly empty, and this seemed to comfort me a little. In my mind, having an empty gym meant less people around to judge the lazy athlete haha. But it calmed me down enough to get through the entire session without thinking of the people around me. At that moment, I realized that everyone in that gym - at some point in time - was in there for the same reason: to get healthy/healthier.

The training session for today started out with some paperwork (it almost felt like a trick). My trainer asked me what my goals were and what I expected out of my training sessions. I told him that I really wasn't worried about numbers on a scale, but that I wanted to focus on tightening and toning my body back up. I wanted to feel comfortable in my own skin again and be proud of my body. He seemed to be impressed with my answer because he said "Awesome answer" and then moved onto a very vague nutrition break down (which I'm not going to discuss yet because, frankly, we didn't really talk about it either).

Once all of the paperwork was completed we got down to the actual workouts. We did a quick run through of some warm ups to do before I met with him, which in themselves, felt like a workout all on their own. They were brutal, but they hurt so good! (Tomorrow I'll post the details on the warm up exercises in case you need a good stretch)After our warm ups, my trainer proceeded to kick my butt...in the nicest way possible. With a smile on his face he made me do one legged squats for a minute on each leg. Once those were completed, we moved onto push-ups, more squats, balance exercises, and finished off with a 6 lap sprint.

Before I left, we briefly discussed what the next 6 months would look like. I would train with my trainer once a week for an hour and the other times that I came in to the gym on my own (I committed to coming in at least 3 times a week, so once with my trainer and at least twice on my own). He also asked me to use a Calorie Counting app until we met again so that I could show him exactly what I'm intoxicating my body with. He wants to use that information to build a nutrition plan for me based around things I like and already eat.

By the end of the workout and discussion, I was seeing black spots and breathing incredibly hard. But the most important thing I recognized was that I was proud of myself for pushing through every exercise. Today I felt motivated to not let myself be seen as the lazy athlete, but as the hard working athlete. My hope now that I've gone through the first day is that I will keep the motivation and maintain the hard working athlete image in my mind. I WILL SURVIVE!

Don't Let the Title Fool You

My name is Rebekah and I am a lazy athlete.


I am nowhere near as fit as I used to be in high school. I've gained weight, stopped working out as much, and honestly have simply let life get in the way. In high school, I competed in Track & Field as a Sprinter and Pole Vaulter as well as in Swimming. However, now that I am in college, without the frequency of competing in some sort of sport, my body feels like it has hit a wall and has simply plateaued. And if that wasn't enough, because I don't have sports to motivate me to be in shape, I just don't workout. Or when I do, my workout consists of a 10 minute treadmill run/walk (30 on a good day), and maybe some weights - and even then, my lifting is pretty pathetic.

During my first semester at school, I tore my ACL, MCL and fractured my shin bone during a track meet. The first few months following my surgery were easy when it came to working out. For the first month I had Physical Therapy, which meant that even if I didn't want to workout, I had to. The next two or three months after that, I needed to rebuild muscle that I had lost due to my injury, which was motivation enough to go to the gym. But then school started again and I couldn't find the time to workout, so I just didn't go.

Since then, working out has come in spurts. Some months or weeks I feel really motivated and ready to get back into shape. But the motivation only lasts until I run out of breath running on the treadmill (sad I know). That, or when I do go to the gym I don't know what to do and I lose motivation and become bored fairly quickly. So today I finally took a step that I probably should have taken at least a year ago: I got a Personal Trainer.

The whole purpose of this blog is mainly for me to keep myself accountable by chronicling my 6 month journey with a Personal Trainer. However, if anyone decides to read my blog, I hope that my health/fitness journey inspires other people to take whatever step is necessary for them to become more active and healthy. I am hoping that this new step will finally help me take control of my health again and be healthy.

Now I should explain something. Yes I am doing this because I want to lose weight. But I am not trying to lose the weight because I think I look fat. Sure, I have a muffin top and some belly fat. But these are not my main goals for working out. Lately I've noticed that because of my weight gain, I don't have as much energy to do what used to be easy. I have cravings that are out of control because I have let them get that way. And worst of all, I feel like I'm settling because its a whole lot easier to binge watch on Netflix than to get out and be active. I want to feel comfortable in my body again, not for other people but for me.

For the next 6 months I will be blogging at least twice a week about my training sessions, nutrition, and things that I am improving on or need to continue improving on. This blog is going to be brutally honest. I want people to read my blog and understand that going through this isn't easy or fun all the time. I also want people to see how it works - or maybe doesn't work, but for my own sake I'm really hoping that it does haha. I'm going to get real about the struggles as well as the triumphs.

So don't let the title fool you. Yes I am a lazy athlete. But this will be a guide for any other lazy athlete or  just people in general who need a guide into the uncomfortable world of health comeback. So join me or cheer me on. Either way, it's going to be an adventurous 6 months!