I like to do crazy things and call myself adventurous because of them.
My latest crazy adventure is signing myself up for the Battle of the Sexes at BCS Fitness. The concept is this: people on mybcs.com email to apply, and two guys and two girls are chosen to compete against one another. The contestants get eight weeks of free training and nutritional support at BCS Fitness, and the winners (guys or girls) get an additional eight weeks of training free. Updates are posted on the message board and BCS Fitness gets the advertising out of the contestants posting experiences and successes.
Of course I had to throw my name in. The possibility of getting in shape and being asked to write about the experience sounded right up my alley. I haven't been writing so much in recent months, and I blame a lack of material/inspiration. Lots of blog-worthy things happen during my days, but most of them are student related and I just don't want to get anywhere close to the line of breaching confidentiality.
I realize that I am not severely obese and in need of immediate health intervention. However, I do have clothes in my closet that I really like that also don't fit me anymore. The last two summers I've worn a swimsuit that covers as much of me as possible, and it ain't great. I recently did full blood work lab tests at a doctor's office check up, and I found that my cholesterol is pretty high. I've never once thought about my cholesterol! I realize that I'm headed down a slippery slope, gaining a few more pounds every year and slowly creeping up in sizes and down in health. If I don't do something, then I could be in really bad shape in twenty years. I sporadically go to the gym and I sometimes eat healthy food, but I can easily be talked out of a trip to the gym in favor of a cheeseburger.
So I entered, and I got picked.
Game on!
Wait...what the hell did I just do?
On Tuesday, I went for my first workout. Brad, the fitness guru, talked me through some nutritional stuff and asked me to work out with my group but only go about 80% because he needed to do some baseline tests for the contest. I have no concept of what 80% means, but I think I did okay.
Then the fitness testing began. I don't remember the exact order because I was a little nervous, but I do know the first thing I did was a plank. He wanted to see how long I could hold it.
"Ha!," I thought, "I've done planks in a class at my gym and I don't suck at them. I'm going to impress him with how well I can already do this!"
I started my plank, feeling focused.
After about a minute, he said, "Okay, that's ten seconds."
What? I knew I had been down there at least three times that long, and I was starting to shake. I think I made a comment about the strange time-warp continuum that must be at play in the gym, and then I very shortly fell to the ground.
So much for me being in "not that bad of shape."
I did as many push ups as I could (I'm pretty sure it was single digits), and a couple of other tests I don't remember. I could touch the floor with my knuckles while bending at the waist, so I took that away as my one win.
I may not be in shape or strong, but it must be because I've spent so much time working diligently on my flexibility. (wink,wink)
Then came the real challenge of the day. Measurements.
When Brad measured my waist and said the number, I thought I might have a panic attack. In that moment, I realized that I had agreed to have the size of waist posted on the internet. That, in and of itself, is true insanity. Not adventurous, only nuts.
I'll be no more specific here than "not small," but you can check out the mybcs thread if you really want to know.
Once I recovered from almost blacking out - not because of the workout but because of the measurements - I had Brad and one or two of the people in my group standing there telling me over and over again, "It's a starting point. Everyone has a starting point." I took a deep breath, and got a little bit excited that the number had already, because of the day's workout, started getting smaller. I thought about my favorite pair of jeans and knew that I will be wearing them soon.
Honestly, I do love my current gym. It has great people and facilities and offers me flexibility in workout times. But if I had measured my waist at my gym by myself I may have just made myself feel better with a little ice cream shake on the way home. If you know me, you know without a doubt this is true!
I've worked out one other time since then, but that will have to be saved for another post because this one is already too long. I am working really hard to make good nutritional choices, and I hope I can post recipes and tricks I learn along the way. Brad did tell me to try to get 100 grams of protein every day, and I've realized that could be very hard for me. He made some suggestions I'm going to try, and I'm sure I'll find a way.
While I may be a little nuts for doing this thing so publicly, I'm thinking the results are going to make me very, very happy.
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