Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Accumulate This...

Accumulator workout again today. I'm not sure whether it was harder than the one last week, but it sure seemed to be at the time. There were so many times in the workout where I thought I'm not going to be able to finish. I'm going to have to quit. I'm actually going to have to quit. At one point, I really thought I was going to pass out. Not a joke; it was that demanding on my body. I had to stand for a second and make sure I had my balance before going to the next thing.

I was frighteningly close to having my mind made up that I was going to skip tomorrow. I had myself convinced that my body needed a break; that I wasn't strong enough; that missing one day wouldn't hurt...

Then I got home, and a couple of things changed my mind. First, I stepped on the scale. 186. I've lost two pounds this week. I weighed twice just to be sure. That was a nice thing to see after such hard work.

Now, I know that sometimes scale-hops can be deceiving; maybe I was dehydrated. Maybe tomorrow at my official weigh-in for the week I'll be at 187, or even back to 188. Weight fluctuates and you have to pay attention to the trend, not the daily numbers.

But the second thing that happened can't be taken away from me.

I have a pair of black jeans that I have to wear a loose shirt with, because the waist is tight and I get a muffin-top with them. This morning, I put those jeans on.

No muffin top.

That's right; I officially see a change in my body. My black jeans fit me better now. It's a small step; those jeans are still three sizes bigger than I want to be wearing. But it is a visible, notable change. And boy, did it feel good. It felt really, really good.

So this made me think of other improvements I can see in myself. My running has improved; my push-ups have improved; I don't get winded going up and down stairs anymore; and, as I mentioned before, my blood pressure is back down to the low side of normal.

So, unless I wake up tomorrow morning with a fever or my eyes swollen shut or missing a limb, I'll be at boot camp in the morning.

It's worth it.

1 comment:

MarkSF said...

Hi Nena,
Sgt. Ken posted about your blog on Facebook so, as one of his longer term (since 2002, with injury breaks unrelated to boot camp itself) San Francisco recruits, I got curious and read all your boot camp posts. Not that you need it, but I wanted to give you a big HOOAH! for your commitment to your own fitness and to boot camp. Sgt. Ken and the people who assist him are the absolute best, not just as fitness trainers but as motivators, people and friends. And I wanted to share with you my favorite piece of advice about Sgt. Ken's boot camp. One day early in my boot camp career I was struggling to get to the top of one of SF's big hills and had to stop. I was told that it was okay to stop, but to remember where I stopped and to make sure I pushed myself further the next time, even if it was only a little bit. I've applied that advice not just to running but to everything we do in the SF boot camp and, for that matter, to lots of other stuff in life. Anyway, it sounds like you're doing great! Good luck in your fitness journey!