Loving me...

This has been a long time coming. I think I am finally in a place where I am beginning to love ME again. For years I didn't. My body still isn't as slim or hard as I would like it to be, but that is OK.

Last week Superman measured me again. I lost big in several places, and actually gained a quarter inch on my biceps. When he's training me, Superman likes to occasionally provide extra resistance by grabbing the machine and pushing/ pulling to make the negative harder. It's kind of become a game to us. Thursday I was doing preacher curls and he was trying to pull the bar down (and I had to prevent it). He literally had to stagger his feet and work to pull the bar! He's commented that he didn't expect his part to be so HARD :)

Quite often lately, he tells me that I am the strongest female client he has, or I squat heavier than any female gym member he knows of. A few weeks ago I had a surreal moment during a session with him. I looked in the mirror, and noticed the way my arm and shoulder muscles were moving before I noticed my love handles. Honestly, the love handles aren't bad anymore...

feeling the love...

I'm definitely feeling the love lately.  I've not seen JC in 3 or 4 months, but we text regularly. Last night we had one of our text conversations.and once again when the conversation is over I felt loved. He basically told me that I am hardcore, and that he always has my back.

Shy and I have been getting to know each other, and become closer as friends.  He and JC both tell me how awesome and strong I am :) Shy and I actually done cardio together as friends (vs trainer-client) several times this month. He did a Y challenge that consisted of a virtual half iron man. I didn't officially do it, but our little competition is the kick in the butt he needed to stay motivated. ..so I ran and biked like crazy for a few weeks. As kind of a fun  reward for all the hard work he puts in to helping me, I took him out for a triple cheeseburger last week. We sat and ate (I got a triple too) and talked and laughed. It felt really good, and we both want to do it again. Which brings me to my next thought...Shy's blog name doesn't fit him anymore. He's changed so much over the last 5/6 months, and around me he is anything but shy. So from here on, he will be "superman".

Supergirl ?!?

Shy calls me Supergirl. It's our semi private joke. He looks a lot like superman,  and one day I told him that when I finish one of his tough workouts,  I feel like Supergirl. He told me I might as well be Supergirl when I do them. I know I'm not the strongest woman in the gym, but I feel like Shy genuinely is impressed by what I can do,  and how hard I work. Yesterday he told me how nice it was to be able to verbally correct form--that is something JC used to say.

Earlier this week I hit a new squat record!  My new 1 rep max is 200 pounds :) I'm so proud of it, and ive watched the video so many times. This was one time I really truly thought I wasn't going to do it. I went all the way down, got half way up and got stuck! Shy started saying "bust it...bust it...drive...drive" in my ear, and I felt his wrists tap my ribs and I found that last little bit of strength to finish it. He told me later he was just a few seconds away from helping. ..

opportunity knocks...

Last week one of Shy's coworkers approached me and told me that one of the female attendants had gotten a new job and would be putting in her notice. Shy confirmed it, and both men told me that I should apply for the job!

I am honestly not sure I have the formal experience the job description calls for,  but Shy,  the girl quitting,  the guy who told me about it, JC, pretty much EVERYONE, says I'm perfect for the job. So I submitted my application and hope to hear something soon.


Yesterday I took my second set of progress pics since I started training with Shy. The changes aren't huge, but they are there. My obliques are more defined, my love handles are smaller,  my belly is flatter. ..and I think my quads are more defined. I'm quite pleased!

am I dreaming?

The last week or 2 has been so freaking amazing that I keep expecting to wake up and find out it was just a really vivid dream.

Monday I did my April challenge,  and even exceeded my expectations. I had hoped to get up to 30 hanging leg raises, but in the end, I ended up getting 35 good reps and 5 half reps. Shy wanted to be right there when I did my challenge, but he ended up having an appointment at the last minute. As soon as his client left, he came over to me and begged to see the video before I could even upload it to Facebook. He was super impressed, and was bragging to a bunch of different people.

On Tuesday we worked on heavy squats. The last time we did heavy squats I realized I was very close to body weight. I really wanted to do at least one squat at body weight, but that would require me to add 15 pounds to my previous record. I told Shy that I had a number I wanted to hit, but first I had to break my previous record. When I broke my previous record he asked me what the number was and I told him "when I stepped on the scale this morning I weighed 187.2"  he looked at me and said "want to do it?",so we did. I squatted 190. If that wasn't already amazing, after that we went outside and he helped me flip tractor tires

Several times this past week people have approached me to tell me how awesome I look. On Thursday I took ds1 to a psychiatry appointment at the hospital. The doctor hadn't seen me in 4 months, and she commented on my weight loss. Then a few seconds later asked "you're okay right?" It almost sounded like she thought I was sick and that's why I lost weight! Two other gym members have approached me this week to tell me how skinny I look, including one who used to work with another trainer over the summer. She said she had to do a double take to make sure it was really me because I look so much skinnier.

The weight loss of the last few weeks continues. I've lost almost 4 pounds in the last 3 weeks. Lately my pants have been feeling like they are falling down so I went shopping yesterday to try on the next size. I can actually button and zip a pair of size 10 stretch jeans now! That is only one size above goal. And I still have 20 pounds before I am considered overweight by BMI standards. How can I be clinically obese,  but wear a size 10?

amazing progress!

Last week I took my normal progress pictures. My March pics were taken just days after I started working with Shy. The changes are awesome! From the side my belly is noticably smaller, and you can see definition that wasn't there before. From the front you can even tell it is flatter!

Last week Shy offered to sit down and work on a nutrition plan with me. He can't do it in hisoofficial capacity as a trainer, but he can do it as a friend.  In the last 3 weeks or so I have lost 2 pounds, so I'm excited to see what results I get after he gives me advice!

The challenge is going to be awesome! Shy brought in his "ab straps" for me to use,  and I've been practicing my leg raises. Don't tell Shy, but I am hoping to do 25-30 (my goal is 20). Shy is picking my May challenge!

a tricky situation. ..

When I first started to work with Shy,  I told him he didnt need to worry about anything being awkward or doing anything to upset me...that only ONE person had managed to do that,  and it was bad enough I should have told the boss but didn't.

So today we were talking about how "mean" Shy is,  and I told him what I told Buff-- you only have to worry if I stop smiling. If I cry,  you should be scared. So then he says "a while back you told me there was a situation you should have reported,  but didn't. ..what happened? ". So we went into the office and behind closed doors I told him what happened, Iincluding the fact that I believe CC thought it was ok because he thought I had a physically intimate relationship with JC.

The tricky part is that Shy and CC seem to be friends,  and they do still work together. They are even Facebook friends. The last thing I want to do is cause animosity between coworkers. So I only referred to CC as male staff member. After I told him what happened,  Shy thanked me for not telling him who it was. He says he tends to feel protective of those around him,  and he might be tempted to get physical with the person.  My heart just melts knowing that I am within Shy's circle of protection.