I survived the first week!

Wow - my first week of actual fitness training I completed today. That was fast! I survived moving from being a couch potato to making an attempt at fitness. I guess you would say I am moving down this road, slowly but it is not a race but a journey that will provide the study with the results they need. I know it will probably help me as well improve my over all health.

I still feel a great privilege to be in this program. I was unaware of where the funding was used from the many funding drives that the different fund raising groups goes. I volunteer and collect funds door to door for a number of groups and I can now see first hand where some of the money that is raised is going. It is a behind the scenes look at how my small contribution of volunteering pays off working toward intervention in disease. Next time I am volunteering for door to door fund raising I will be thinking of what those funds will be doing when they are allocated.

Parking can be a bit of an issue here it seems. I found a parking spot around the back but the entrance was for hockey so I had to take a puzzle route through the complete complex to get to the sign in area. I won't be parking in that area again. Not only is it difficult to find your way to the front desk you also have to maneuver your way around 8 year old boys scrambling down the hall unsupervised with their hockey equipment. A sight to see to say the least.


When I arrived I met Sue. Another slim, petite and friendly blond. She used to be a nurse and now she is a trainer. I also met Alexandria again. She is a lady I met on Thursday evening who also joined the same week as I have. We both started on the spin bikes. Those seats are NOT designed for women's butts that is for sure. The seat that Alexandria sat on was designed for men and she had to move to the elliptical instead. Her seat was just to uncomfortable for her. My seat was better but not great for a big butt however I finished my 5 minutes and moved on to the elliptical. I don't mind the spin bike and would rate the experience at a 7 out of 10 however that is only because the seat could have been more comfortable for a heavier person.


There was another lady on an elliptical and she was moving at the speed of light. I am looking at her and thinking I am a sad excuse for an exerciser and then the trainer mentioned that she had been in the program now for 6 months and she is now at that level. It looked pretty easy for her. She is definitely inspiring however quite a bit skinner than I am. I still enjoy using the elliptical and so far it is one of my favorites. May be it is the variety of moving more than one part of the body at the same time or perhaps it is just the view of the outside. I am not sure that this point.

Our next introduction was to the rope machine. Interesting. Pulling a rope from above your head using hand over hand movements above your head and pulling down on the rope. This seemed to make my arms and shoulders tired quite quickly in after one minutes I was happy to move on to the rowing machine. I would rate the rope pull as a 6 however once I am able to use it better will probably be ok with it.

After the rope machine Alexandria and I were off to the rowing machine again. Still not my favorite piece of equipment because it is awkward to get into and on top of that there is no view, not much to see. I did however survive the 5 minutes I needed on there. I can see the befits of using the rower and will make sure I incorporate it into my schedule but will want to get it over with as soon as possible to move on to a machine that has more interesting things to look at when I am using it.

I jumped off the rowing machine and walked around the track twice to cool down and then learned how to use the stretching machine. Pretty neat piece of equipment that will stretch you all out after your work out. Sounds a bit mid evil - like a stretcher where they put your feet and your hands in irons and then use a lever to crank a big chain. This piece of equipment is much more sophisticated and it is easy to use with detailed instructions right on the machine so there is no missing what to do for each one. I think there were 5 or 6 things to do. I would rate using this machine as a 9 out of 10.

When I got home I got a burst of energy and cleaned my laundry room that I had wanted to clean for awhile. It was a great feeling. I feet a bit more energized than I have in the past. Not sure if this physiological or if it real but it felt good. I hope this is the start of good things to come.

I asked the trainer why everyone that is a trainer that I have ever seem is always young. What happens to trainers when they get old? Are they all trained out....use up and or in some back room? She explained that there were quite a few of them still around and explained her age. Looks are deceiving...I guess exercise makes you look younger. Now all I want to know can it turn back the clock. I want to be Cinderella......I'm looking for the glass slippers but when I look down there are my gym shoes....maybe in the weeks to come my Versa will turn into that pumpkin and transport me. Alas it will probably be hard work and perseverance and the encouragement of the trainers that will move me toward this goal.

I am finding it easier to want to go to the fitness centre when I know that there will be other people there my age. I have been at fitness centres before but everyone is years and pounds younger than I am so it is a bit disheartening. It really didn't want to make me go back. I felt out of place. So far I have not felt that way with this study. I am seeing plenty of people in my age group so it is encouraging.

One thing that I am noticing and have noticed in the past when I have used a fitness centre is that they do not seem to be equipped for heavy overweight people who want to work out. Of course these are people who really need to use the facilities and would like to try. You ask why I say this.

The seating for the equipment is uncomfortable. They are not designed to encourage the overweight and obese to use them. Being overweight it is confidence issue when going to the gym in the first place because everyone is much fitter than you and then faced with using equipment that is not designed for someone with your current physic and current body structure is definitely discouraging. A small seat that disappears when you sit down and all you can see if flesh hanging over and the seat seems to feel it is jammed into your body. Sure you can say this is the excuse of a person who has not worked out however we need to encourage the public to improve their health. Today it is reported that society is becoming more and more overweight and unhealthy and the design of these facilities does not focus on helping this segment of the population to want to use these services. It seems that there are services at fitness facilities for the youth and the fit but nothing for the unfit, obese and elderly. It is interesting that you see very few middle age people using these facilities. These comments are observations only and in no way reflect the quality of this trial.

Today I was in range (111 - 117) for 17 minutes and my average heart rate was 114. I don't know if that is good or bad however it is where they want me to be so I know that it is good.