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People at fitness gym are like family
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Jeanette Balmut has been selected to participate in the Year of You, a fitness challenge hosted by The Manteca Bulletin, CalFit Manteca and CORE Athletic Performance. Balmut is keeping a weekly journal, highlighting the strides and struggles of her fitness journey. These are her thoughts and feelings shared with you.

 

Day 29

Today is a holiday, no work, sleep in, enjoy the time off….NOPE, get up and get to the gym.  It’s packed!  Literally every treadmill was taken.  I decide I’m going to listen to my gym friend and try different things today. I do a little treadmill, a little elliptical, bike, and the dreaded Stairmaster.  OMG that is the hardest thing ever.  I only make it 2 minutes and I look around to make sure nobody sees me crawl down from it after such a short time. My heart is pounding.  I head back to the treadmill and finish off the hour.  

 

 Day 30 

Antonio has me warm up and we get right to work.  My first challenge is ok, I manage to handle it well then I move on to the next one. OH LORD, not good.  I have to do box jumps.   Let me tell you.  It was literally 6-8 inches off the ground and I felt like the biggest fool ever.  I had to look around to make sure no one was watching.  It was HORRIBLE.  I can’t believe something that looks so easy could be so hard.  Not only hard to do, but hard work.  I begged him to hold my hands and he kept saying, nope, I could do it.  Torture!  We move on to arms and triceps and then he says finish off with 5 minutes on the Stairmaster.  WHAT?  I did 2 minutes yesterday and thought I was going to keel over and die.  I did it though, the full five minutes.  I know you don’t think that’s very long but trust me … it is!

Antonio gives me a high-five and see you tomorrow.  I decide to do 30 minutes on the treadmill and jump on. I end up talking to a friend for 65 minutes and the time flies by.  I end up doing over 3 miles!

Day 31 

Today I start with the treadmill and move on to the other machines.  I actually do 10 full minutes on the Stairmaster.  I feel like I am a total stud.  Ten minutes is a lifetime on that … but I did it!  I do 60 minutes and then leave for an hour and come back for an hour of Zumba.  I tell my husband I am only going to do a half hour but I manage to do the full hour and once again LOVE IT.  I feel a little better with the moves and have a little more swag in some of the routines.  A few months from now I should be able to strut and look like I know what I am doing!  

I get home to a plate full of green leafy vegetables and some of the most amazing meat I have ever had.  Flank steak grilled to perfection.  

 

Day 32 

The dreaded “weigh in” and “measure” day.  I have to keep reminding myself that this is a process, not a quick fix ... it’s not coming off in one month.  I know all these things but I am still hoping for results to catapult me into the next month.  

Antonio starts the measuring.  With every mark he shakes his head and tells me over and over how proud he is of me.  He said it’s a good balance and I’m losing at the right rate and the right places.  He is always so encouraging. The perfect balance, tough but full of encouragement and positive “you can do its”!

It’s true what they say … your gym and gym-mates become like family.  CALFit has been so inspiring.  I love seeing Steve (the owner) every day.  He is always happy, always high-fiving and always there for a pick me up and a “you can do it”.  Many of the regulars have made it a point to stop by and reassure me to keep up the hard work.  I appreciate all of the support and really feel like the entire gym is pulling for me.  Not just me, there are plenty of people doing the same exact thing I am doing but not blogging about it.  I might be inspiration for others, but they are inspiration for me!.

After we weigh in and measure, I have a little boost of excitement.  I feel pretty good.  Honestly, I thought I would have lost more weight this month, but I know I am doing it right and its forever so I tell myself to keep it up and a month from now I’ll be down 25 pounds!.  

Antonio starts me off with some arms and core training and then we move on to mountain climbers. Oh wow, those are hard!  I beg for him to let me quit at 25 but he stays strong and keep going.  I manage to hit that 40 mark.  We do that 3 times and move on to the next exercise.  I look back at just 30 days ago and can see how far I have already come. I could NEVER have done some of this stuff a month ago.  Excited to see what a month from now will bring.  

Antonio reminds me that I don’t need to overdo the cardio.  With a regimen he has developed for me, I should continue to see the results.  He gently reminds me to “keep up the protein” and don’t under eat, that will NOT help the cause.

Feeling pretty dang good going home tonight! I had a good work out from Antonio, I had a 30 minute cardio and now I am going to have a great dinner from my hubby.  We pile my plate with lots of green veggies and some grilled chicken.  Mike reminds me I can literally have as much as I want of this.  

 

Day 33 

I arrive at the gym knowing it’s a weight training day.  I meet up with Antonio and after a 15 minute warm up we got to work.  Started with arms and core and moved on to squats while holding a 25-pound weight.  WOW, you don’t think 25 pounds is all that much until you are holding it above your head while running in place. After a few exercises we move on to LEGS.  I begged for leniency, to no avail!  Felt great and finished strong.  

 

Day 34

I charge into the gym this morning and tackle four of the machines.  Treadmill, elliptical, bike and Stairmaster.  Antonio suggests I increase my intensity and lower the time.  90 minutes was my idea and not recommended.  I need a hard 30-45 minute cardio instead.  I do each machine for 10 minutes except the Stairmaster, I do that for 15.   We all know that is my biggest problem area … the gluteus maximus is VERY MAXIMUS if you know what I mean!

I end out my day with a friend who suggests I try some stretching and yoga like exercises.  We spend an hour stretching, posing, and using the body ball and the floor mats.  It feels great.  I definitely stretched out some of my soreness and I left feeling energized.   

Antonio asks me to send me pictures of my meals I eat during the day and my work outs.  He holds me accountable for what is going in!  We grill up an amazing dinner. Tri-tip, Brussel sprouts (they are literally like candy, I could eat a plate full) and then a great salad.  I am eating 3 protein shakes a day and 2 meals (lunch and dinner). I am not hungry or feeling like I am missing out on anything.  

 

Day 35 

I wake up ready to take on my Sunday work out.  I head over to the gym knowing it’s usually slower on Sundays.  I do my cardio and once again space it out and use 4 machines.  I like mixing it up, makes it go super-fast and I feel like each machine is working something I need help with.  

I have said before that I have NEVER ran a day in my life before this journey began.  I have been trying to increase my running…if little at a time.  I have been increasing the time and the distance with each attempt.  Today I ran for 11 minutes straight, not stopping.  I know, I know it’s not that big of a deal (when my husband comes home today and says he did 11 miles) but to me it’s the biggest accomplishment to date.  I am literally so excited and proud of myself.  

Its movie day and I pre-pop my “smart pop” popcorn and take my water.  I splurge with a small handful of super-fruits and enjoy.  I feel like I conquered one of my biggest challenges.