From Fat to Fit: The Daily Perks of Personal Training

Many of my clients seek out personal training because they’re overweight. Christine is one of those clients, and over the next few months she’ll be sharing her progress with us. This post was originally published on June 17, 2013. I'm reposting it here, on the new blog.

The great thing about exercise is that once you get started, it gets easier. I’ve found that to be very true in the last few months of personal training.

Before I found Andrea, I kept telling myself that I needed to get my butt in gear and go for a run. But I had the hardest time getting myself to do it. It felt like an insurmountable challenge to even put my workout clothes on. How on earth was I going to actually going to get out the door?

That’s all changed in the last few months. I meet with Andrea three days a week, and we mostly focus on strength training. I do a short warm up on the stationary bike each time, and my heart certainly gets pumping when I’m doing those leg presses. But as Andrea would tell you, it’s important to have dedicated cardio time as well.

On the days I’m not in personal training, my cardio exercises vary depending on my schedule. Some days, I can only fit in a short walk and some stretching. Other days, I will run and walk three miles and do my bridge series. Some days I’ll play volleyball or another team sport with friends, and this past weekend I hit the archery course while I was on vacation in the Sequoias.

What I’ve learned is that’s it’s really important to balance your more challenging workouts with ones that are pure fun. This variety keeps me excited for my next workout, and it also means I’m exercising different muscles throughout the week.

So go ahead, take an easy walk one day. Just balance that with an intense workout on another. The important thing is to stay active and refuel in healthy ways.