The Eye of the Tiger

Today marks the end of my 1st week with my trainer! ::happy dance:: Today also marks a big moment for me. (Seems as if I am having more of those lately, huh?) After getting a hot stone massage yesterday, I took a looooong nap, which interfered with my nightly sleep routine. The result? I woke up at 4:45 this morning, sore and cranky. I debated texting Eli with the old "my foot hurts" excuse. Granted, my foot/achilles does hurt, but I knew from earlier triumphs that it would feel better after working out. I also reminded myself that backing off now would set the tone for more absences. 

When I got to the gym, I told Eli I almost skipped. He asked me why and I was completely honest: I hate cardio. He said, "Even on your bike?" I explained that if I was outside, I was fine but the machines drive me batshit crazy. He said, "I got ya. We'll fix this." We then did 5 min on the bike, the elliptical and the rowing machine. I must say, I felt a bit like a Biggest Loser contestant on the rowing machine. We went for distance and I apparently cranked out 500m much faster than he expected. 

We then went downstairs, where I met these bad boys for the first time:

HOLY SMOKES! By the end of the various workouts we did with these suckers, I was pretty sure Eli was training to be Bob Harper and I was in a "last chance workout." Such a simple motion, but such a high heart rate. I was in heaven though, as I felt like an athlete again. I told him I felt like Rocky Balboa, training to beat Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, using all the primitive tools as training aides. Eli laughed and said, "Just wait."

Before I could scream "Adriaaaaannn", he'd busted out these beauties:

I admit, I was a bit worried that he'd taken my movie reference a bit too seriously, but I put them on anyway. Talk about a feeling of empowerment! With Eli being a trained boxer, he knew exactly which techniques to use and he was able to watch my form. We started on the punching bag with jabs and cross body shots. He then broke out his mitts and told me to do upper cuts. Holy screaming arms, Mick! My heart rate topped out at 178 and my arms were on fire. Yet, I ended the workout feeling more powerful than I had in a long time. I, indeed, have the Eye of the Tiger...HA! 

Ok, I'll stop with the lame movie references, but using them proved my point of what a trainer should be: attentive and adaptable. Eli heard my reference, knew I loved movies and used that to motivate me. I walked into that gym, dreading my workout. I walked out feeling like this: