Making it count.

I've been quiet- not avoiding my blog, just so busy with other things that I haven't taken the time to journal it all. And aside from just listing my workouts and some accomplishments along the way- I wanted to wait until I had something to say.

It has been a long time since I actively and routinely had strength training as a part of my life. The last time I did was 7 years ago while I was engaged to my husband. About halfway through our wedding planning- we dropped our gym/trainer membership because of cost and time - we both put on weight (me more, of course- because he eats, I gain) and then the rest is history. However, when we were at that gym and working out together, I felt good- was wearing a pair of my then "skinny" jeans and it was great.

After fairly easily losing 60 lbs from Nov 2009 to July 2010- I hit a plateau. I had a very difficult time getting the scale to move at all, up or down. I played with the same .2-.5 lb every other week. Then we started working 1x a week with a trainer at our gym. Originally, I was against this set up- because at this particular gym, I thought it would be a very one-size fits all mentality with muscle-bulk being the core goal. I'm happy to say I was very wrong. As something we can do together, my husband and I are now going 1x a week together for joint training at the gym. Our programs and exercises are very different and our trainer is a very good match for us- motivating but also pushes us in our individual ways. He's also inspirational- 61 years old and in incredible shape. If one (or both) of us is in the gym and not in a session with him- he's happy to help us with something or give us some ideas on what else we should do. He's working my core in ways I didn't know possible. I'm feeling ab muscles I haven't felt since I don't even know when.

5 weeks of strength training - 3 sessions with the trainer so far. I finally was able to lose 1 full lb last week - and I'm hoping for good/similar results this week as well. I will then be confident that I am breaking this plateau. This coming Saturday-we retake measurements to see our progress. I can't wait.

Oh, and those "skinny jeans" from 7 years ago? Today- I pulled them on and zipped them up with no problem. Guess I'm going to have to find a new goal. . . .