Notes by Nectar

I had my first full session with Trevor on Sunday morning. I was nervous and dreading it. I was mostly dreading it because I would see how unfit I’d become over the last few months. I was also annoyed because I couldn’t find the one rubber band I have that held my hair in place and didn’t want to spend the entire session fidgeting with my hair.

I did a 5-minute warm-up on the cross-trainer and then began the 20-minute treadmill workout. It was simple:

• 1 minute at a speed of 5 km/h
• 1 minute at a speed of 7.5 km/h

I did that ten times. I was pleasantly surprised to find there was no incline. I asked him about it and he said the first session was just for him to evaluate how fit I was (not very). Throughout the workout Trevor would ask me how I felt on a scale of 1 to 10: 1 = sitting on the sofa flicking channels on a remote control; and 10 = finishing a marathon. After the first 10 minutes I felt like a 5 or 6 and my number gradually increased. Trevor asked me if I wanted to stop at 15 minutes but I said I wanted to do the whole 20 minutes. But by the last minute I was really out of breath. I had a break and drank some water.

The second 20-minute circuit consisted of:

• Toe touches x 30 seconds
• Rest x 30 seconds
• Mountain climbers x 30 seconds
• Rest x 30 seconds
• Leg raises x 30 seconds
• Rest x 30 seconds
• Burpees x 30 seconds
• Rest x 30 seconds
• Rest x 1 minute

I did that four times. The normal interval is 45 seconds of exercise and 15 seconds of rest but Trevor said to begin with 30/30. The circuit wasn’t too painful – apart from the burpees. I was tired by the end of it – but in a completely different way from when I finished on the treadmill.

I had some more water and we went on to the final 20-minute exercise: cardio.

As we were running out of time, Trevor told me to do just 5 minutes on the bike at a resistance of 8 and to keep the speed at or above 7 km/h. I thought it would be easy but after just 1 minute I could feel the tops of my thighs starting to burn and at 3 minutes Trevor reduced the resistance to 5. It was exhausting, but again in a completely different way to the two previous circuits. And to think I’d have to do that for 20 minutes!

Again, it was the hardest I’d worked in a long time and I felt a little bit proud of myself. I asked Trevor how many times a week should I do the whole workout? He said if I did it at least three times I’d see a noticeable difference in a month. Jesus – when would I fit it all in? Right now there aren’t enough hours in the day for me. But I would make it happen.

When I got home I figured out the only way to measure my progress was with photos. I stood in front of the mirror in my underwear and took front and side view photos from my neck down. Don’t worry, I would never subject any of you to those! I passed out early that night but woke up several times in the night to get water – I was so dehydrated!

On Monday morning I woke up expecting to have sore abs but they weren’t too bad. That day after work I went to the gym and was shocked to see two other people there. And they were people I’d never seen before. While I was doing the 20-minute walk/run on the treadmill, two more people came in who I hadn’t seen before. That’s five people in the gym at the same time! When I finished on the treadmill I was exhausted and was irritated that none of the benches were free – so I left. Looking back, I realise it’s a stupid excuse but that’s how I felt at the time. And 20 minutes is better than nothing, isn’t it? By the time I went to sleep, my abs were starting to ache as Trevor said they would.

I didn’t work out again until my session with Trevor on Thursday morning. I started with 5 minutes on the cross-trainer and then did the following circuit:

• Jabs (3-lb weights) x 30 seconds
• Rest x 15 seconds
• Combined squats/shoulder press (3-kg weights) x 30 seconds
• Rest x 15 seconds
• Combined lunges/lateral raises (3-kg weights) x 30 seconds
• Rest x 15 seconds
• Tricep dips x 30 seconds
• Rest x 15 seconds
• Combined dead lift/row x 30 seconds
• Rest x 15 seconds
• Cardio x 4 minutes
• Rest x 1 minute

It was TOUGH! By the third and fourth rounds my shoulders were aching, especially during the lunge/lateral raise exercise. The 4 minutes of cardio consisted of 30 seconds at an easy pace and 30 seconds at a sprint. In the first two rounds I used the bike – 30 seconds at level 1 with an RPM of 60 followed by 30 seconds at level 10 with an RPM of 90-100. In the third round I used the cross-trainer – 30 seconds at level 1 at a speed of 6 km/h followed by 30 seconds at level 10 at a speed of 8 km/h. In the last round I used the treadmill – 30 seconds walking at 5 km/h followed by 30 seconds of jogging at 7 km/h but with an incline of 3.0. It was intense.

Trevor asked me if I’d enjoyed it. And actually, in some weird way, I did. I felt like I was really working out like I hadn’t done in a long time. Now I just need to do the workouts he’s given me to complete on my own.

I didn’t work out again in the week, but I woke up on Friday with really sore shoulders and legs after Thursday’s workout!

Low point of the week? Not making it to the gym between sessions. I’m just so tired all the time…

High point of the week? Working out like I really mean it – after such a long time.

Weight loss? Let’s not go there.

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