Keep Going

So I met with Reggie again last Friday and yesterday [Tuesday]. I'm not sure if "feeling the burn" is a good thing. Am I improving? I sure hope so. On Friday he had me do, what he called, "Reverse push ups" on this bar. He said go... and I was like I am going! I know...more work to do. He told me to get a workout journal so that he can put in what types of programs he has given me to do, so that in a couple months I will be able to do all of them on my own.

Yesterday I met with Reggie again. His primary focus was working on my arms. Luckily I stretched afterwards or I am sure it would have been quite painful getting dressed this morning. When I am not working with the trainer, I have been told to complete 35 minutes of cardio. staying within my fat burning heart rate, and then 10 minutes of cool down staying in the lower section of my fat burning heart rate. I also need to try to stay 2 minutes [center] and 1 minute on each side of the "plank" move. The center position has proven to be quite difficult as my core lacks the strength needed to stay in the position for 2 minutes. I am at 45 seconds and my arms give out.

Some members of the team have found it difficult to find inexpensive flights from Chicago to Seattle. So we are still on the lookout for either group deals or specials. Hopefully we will find something soon.

Blading

Yesterday Mark J. [a member of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Charity Climb] and I decided to head up to Devil's Head Ski Resort just north of Madison, WI to ski blade and snowboard. The wind was a bit cold, but the sun was out, which helped a bit. If I closed my eyes I almost convinced myself I was blading in Grand Targhee...[almost :) ].

Beginning

I have 5 months and 19 days left to train for climbing Mount Rainier. I completed my fitness evaluation at X Sport Fitness in Libertyville, IL last Thursday and realized I have some work to do. I began seeing a trainer Reggie that Friday and he isn't going to cut me any slack. I could barely move that Saturday. When I sneezed, coughed, laughed...my abs felt like they were going to rip apart. I took a break that weekend and started up with Reggie this past Tuesday. He put together a circuit training program for me that day and after a couple minutes I could already tell it was working. And now today, the third day of training, Reggie let me take out some aggression through boxing. It is up to me to complete some cardio work for Friday and Monday before our session next Tuesday, February 20th, 2007. I am really fortunate to have this opportunity to not only push myself physically into great shape, but raise money for a great cause.