(Trying to be a) Fit Mama

I had a mini-win at PT today.

 I've been doing PT weekly-ish since July this year. I'm not a gym person and if it hadn't been for my friend recently finishing her training to become a PT, I probably wouldn't have tried it. I'm a bit tight with money and I don't like the idea of paying someone to do what you (should) be able to do at home!


Well, I never did any exercise at home and the situation was getting bad. In an attempt to curb my anxiety/depression as well as actually use my private health insurance, I began to see my amazing friend and PT once a week. I justified the cost with the private health insurance rebates and also supporting a woman who has been through so much and sets an incredible example of fitness and health.

 To see her story, you'll need to check out Better Yourself Personal Training on Facebook. It's inspirational, trust me.

 So, there I have been: weak, tired, anxious with occasional bouts of depression. I know that I don't look like I need to lose weight, but I felt that perhaps I could tone up a bit and repair my diastasis recti from seven full-term pregnancies.

 When I first started PT, I was really - REALLY- sore after each session. But I got hooked to the endorphin-rush after each session as well. Within a few sessions, I felt much stronger and I actually liked exercising and looked forward to my sessions. I even did a few sessions on my own during the week!

 My initial push-up (girl push-ups, but don't tell my PT I called them that - haha!) rate was about 5-7 each time. I do HIIT, so I roughly repeat three 'sets' of exercises. Each time I repeated the set, my ability to complete push-ups went down from 5-7.

 Eventually I plateaued about 7 push-ups for the first set. I've been stuck at that rate since about August!

 Well, today when my PT said, "OK, push-ups...." I dropped to the towel enthusiastically (no, really!) and began my set. To my utter surprise, I managed 10 before I started to struggle and I got 12 done in total! Each set reduced from there, but it felt really good!

 Gradually over the past few months I've gone from major post-workout pain from push-ups to a bit of nice-feeling tightness after sessions involving push-ups (don't tell my PT or she'll up the ante!).

 Overall, I'm amazed at how much better I feel since doing regular exercise - even just once a week with a few missed sessions in there. The challenge now is to keep the sessions going throughout the week with some accountability with some mummy-friends.

 And of course the other challenge........giving up chocolate and beer...... !

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