Our Adventure Continues

“political correctness is a cancer that is destroying our society”

(obviously said by a gun-totin’ American)

Once again I find myself in a place where I over-commit my time. It’s so easy, and I love to be busy, but there is a limit–I know I’ve said it before.  This imbalance usually becomes more noticeable when Dustin’s schedule opens up… he’s left with more free time and I get jealous. Similarly, if Dustin has work to do on weekends, I’m left with more free time.

I know that being a student sucks the life out of you. (I’ll attribute it to too much thinking.) Basically we have never been on the same schedule. Ever.

UNTIL NOW folks. (okay, another week to finish classes and final papers but…)That’s right. Dustin’s got a regular full-time 8-5 job! He’s amazed at how much less scheduling there is to do compared to juggling classes/homework/midterms/finals/part-time job/speeches/etc./etc. but he’s also in the real working world now—clients, trainings, meetings, office politics, money (whaaaat?!). How exciting!

So…transitions…I like change.

I am transitioning from being a Personal Trainer at a gym to starting my own private training part-time. Now, just saying that has so many thoughts floating around in my head…business cards, tagline, logo, personal mission statement, how will I brand myself, client before/after pictures, website, location, is it like the drug trade where trainers have their own territory (yeah, too much Breaking Bad lately), how much will I charge, should I buy more portable gym supplies, should I register as a small business, oohhhh all these scary thoughts.

And then I have to remind myself…this business is all about PEOPLE—meeting people, connecting with people, helping people. That makes this task seem so much more fun. I would love to meet people for a living. And I love enriching people’s lives. I like taking people out for coffee and talking, but I can’t remember the last time I ever did that. Sad. I’ve been told there are so many strangers out there who are looking to train with me…they just have to meet me yet. Haha. I’ve got to get out there!

So, behold, Part 1 of my training journey…more to come…

PS.  Seriously–Business card/logo designs welcome. Yes, please email them to me. I am not creative. I want simple, classy, modern, cool—not cheesy. No dumbbells or photos of boobs or abs on the cards. Not even arms or nice quads. No photo whatsoever. Tabula Rasa. Like I’m starting with a blank slate with my clients. Maybe some clean straight lines intersecting or something. Lemme know.

I just want to let you guys in on a little Old Town Pasadena GEM we’ve gotten to know quite well in the last few months.

It’s a little amazing Japanese grill-at-your-own-table place called GYU-KAKU. I accept all pronounciations, especially considering their amazing Happy Hour prices (You won’t find $1 Beer anywhere else in Old Town.  Jackpot? I think yes) and the fact that Happy Hour runs from 9-11:30pm.

One of the servers is a young woman my age I train at the gym, and she HOOKS US UP. like no other. She’s awesome.

Gyu-kaku is also great because the environment encourages conversation. You sit there with a grill in the middle of the table and grill your meat right there. Service is quick because there’s nothing for them to cook.

Anyway, we are quickly becoming regulars…so much so, that they already know me as “J(protecting her identity)’s personal trainer” and they’ve asked me to flex multiple times. (Though not lady-like at all, of course I oblige…I work hard for these arms)

If you’re ever in Old Town Pasadena, you’ve got to check it out. And I guarantee you won’t be disappointed if you go with us

2008

…barefoot in the Malibu sand

…wearing our most expensive clothes

…surrounded by (many, but not all) family and friends

…basking in the late afternoon sunlight

…long hair, short hair

…watching dolphins swim past

…sharing smiles, hugs, laughter and happy tears

…feasting and dancing

I married my best friend.

2010

…barefoot in the Malibu sand

…calming waves

…observing a wedding on the beach

…watching a whale swim past

…enjoying time together

…short hair, long hair

…laughter, holding hands, cuddles

…in our classy clothes

…walking around the Getty museum

…feasting on sushi

With you, Dustin, life is good.

…the girl sleepwalking in Paranormal Activity (remember those creepy scenes?! freeeeakyyy) at 4:00 this morning when I was sub-consciously awakened by a 4.4 Earthquake.

Obviously still in my REM sleep at that hour, my body was shaken awake (but not my mind) by some noise and I stumbled out to see why the heck Lewis wanted to go outside to pee so dang early. (%&*$ dog, making noise at %&^#*four in the $@^#%$  morning…he’s gonna get it…)

Lew was still lying on his beanbag chair, didn’t even bother to look over. (Guess he doesn’t have to pee. (Repeat expletives.))  ”Goodnight, little bug”

I crawled back to bed only to have Dustin imply that my getting out of bed felt like an earthquake.  (Btw, NOT the first time he’s mentioned that…LOL) Thanks a lot, sensitive husband. I know I hit the chocolate pie a little hard last night, but I exercise a heck of a lot, come on now.

Finally at 10am when I was able to read my blogs and check facebook, I read that an earthquake ACTUALLY happened. And it wasn’t Lewis but some form of Paranormal Activity that woke me up at 4am to check on Lewis and Dustin and protect my family. I’m such a head-of-household mother hen protecting my pretties.

But today, I’m tired. ugh. Time for that double shot.

1. A perfect temperatured sunny day (Sunny and 62/17)

2. The availability of so many delightful ethnic foods (my current favourite is Pita Pita) FYI - I had never eaten real (not-made-from-a-package) guacomole–much less eaten a real avocado until I moved to LA. It’s amazing how much my palate has grown! More random authentic delicious foods since living here include: Pho (Vietnamese), Taco Truck, Pad Thai, Indian, Ethopian, and LOTS of SUSHI.

3. Saying good morning to sweet little Lew-dog when he is just waking up.

4. Watching Criminal Minds and Law & Order SVU with Dustin. Any more suggestions of a good TV Series?

5. The rush of  a) finishing a marathon b) finishing a GOOD workout c) being sore 2 days after the workout d) successful training/clients reaching their goals and e) leaving work on a Friday evening

6. Eating delicious airpopped popcorn and drinking orange juice. Fabulous combination.

7. Sleeping in, and sleeping in, and sleeping in some more.

8. Snowboarding, then leaving the cold to go back to summer

9. Vacations and/or Visitors!

10. Google Reader updating me everyday on everyone’s blogs. I feel so connected and educated! Thank you, Technology.

They’re pretty normal and do regular things.

Apparently it’s the hottest new workout. I tried The Bar Method last night in a cute studio in Old Town Pasadena. I absolutely love trying new workouts and new classes. I wish I could do a new (note: FREE) class every week.

-The instructor was very very nice and knew everyone by name. She paid special attention to the newbie (me) and corrected a lot of my angles during the exercises. The studio lighting was soothing, and then music changed every 2 minutes or so according to the activity we were doing.

-The flooring felt like a gymnastics floor (I wanted to jump on it so badly) and each wall had one of those parallel ballerina bars.

-The class consisted of high reps, minimal movements (”squeeze those inner thighs together..but I don’t want to see them moving!”, and lots of stretching and posture tweaks. Because when you do standing back leg pulses for 36-40 reps your hips are bound to become uneven. I was thinking about my posture and angles the whole time.

-I am SO NOT a ballerina - my legs are all wrong, not to mention I have bulky muscles. BUT I walked out of there feeling about 2 inches taller and well stretched out.

Here’s a video of a class: The Bar Method (because I still can’t figure out how to imbed the video with wordpress..ugh)

And here’s the Bar Method website for more info: http://www.barmethod.com/

It reminded me of how important the angles are when traing. If the knees or tips or elbows are off just a few degrees, the movement works completely different muscles. Or, in some cases, can really damage the joints. I will definitely be watching for the little things. Maybe it really is about quality vs quantity….in food AND exercise.

Now if only I could get the boys to try THIS kind of non-beer-belly type of bar method…lol

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know some great news. This is why I do what I do.

38 yr old “K”, is one of my favourite clients. He has training sessions 2 times/week and does an additional 30 minutes of cardio 5x/week. Mentally he functions at about the age of a 12 yr old, and t 280 lbs, he’s the biggest person I’ve ever trained. When he started with me back in early December he was unsure of himself in the gym, hated sweating, loved Big Macs and fries, had a lot of balance challenges, and was timid around strangers.

Into his 2nd month of training, we weighed him and he became very discouraged. He was working so hard in the gym and the scale budged only about 6 pounds. Slow weight loss is common for people beginning a weight training and cardio regimen–it’s not uncommon that someone might even gain weight in the first month because they build muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, but soon that muscle will metabolize a lot of the fat in his body. Also, building muscle and losing fat at a consistent rate is healthier and he is more likely to keep the weight off.

I told him to think about his success in terms of inches. We took his body measurements and he was down 10 inches from his shoulders, chest, waist, even his neck. We were very happy with that!

Last week, after another month of training, we took his stats again.

Again, he lost another 8 pounds, but in only 1 month he had lost

–pause for dramatic effect and building excitement–

17 inches from his neck, shoulders, chest, and waist! Incredible.

In his 2 months of regular exercise, K has become more confident in the gym, faster at his 18″ step ups, can balance and do situps on the big swiss ball, is more outgoing, and can run at a 5 mph speed for 10 minutes at the end of his cardio. He feels like he belongs…and has become quite the jokester in our sessions.

Something tells me it doesn’t end here…

There is a building excitement over what could happen in 2010.

Really, our lives could go in any direction–work or school. We could live anywhere, almost anywhere we want in the whole country. We aren’t tied to anything. Have you ever been in this situation? How did you choose where to go? I’m greatly anticipating change and I love this feeling.

We just have to make sure we don’t get pregnant!  LOL