In my last post I shared with you why I started my fitness journey. After overwhelming feedback about how helpful this post was, I decided to share with you how I did it.
During the Fall of 2014, I registered at a small fitness center near my house. I started going once or twice a week. I wasn’t very consistent and did not really follow any special training – but it was a start. By the end of that year, I got word that the fitness center was closing down. I remembered there was an LA Fitness not too far from me. When I registered they offered me a personal training session. I went the next day and liked it a lot. It was a great option for me because it kept me accountable. I couldn’t keep my trainer waiting and was forced to push myself. At this point, I was going to the gym three times a week. In the summer, I got a pass for my husband and he started to come with me. He wasn’t very happy about it at first. Once he found out his friend Steven had a membership there as well, he was eager to start a team. I would meet with them after my personal training sessions.
Once I got to the point where I felt stronger, my personal trainer encouraged me to weight lift. Initially, I could only lift the bar, but I was determined to keep going. Around this time, my husband and I went on vacation. We were so determined to stay on track that we utilized the hotel fitness center every day of our vacation. He asked me if I wanted to start training with him and his friend Steven. After our vacation I took him up on the offer. I would lift light weights 3-4 times a week and would see my trainer once a week. This routine lasted for a while, until my trainer left LA Fitness. Nonetheless, I was confident in my ability to continue progressing. I had a team by my side and I knew I could accomplish anything with their encouragement. Every day of the week one of us would text about when we were going to the gym. We would work out together and rotate sets – even though I could only lift half of what they could. J
By the time fall of 2016 came around, it was time to add some cardio to our training. We were doing chest/biceps on Monday; back/triceps on Tuesday; shoulders/legs on Wednesday; chest and biceps on Thursday; and sometimes back/triceps on Friday. This was great, however we weren’t doing enough cardio. Most of the time, after a late lifting session, we were too tired. To get us to our goal, we started going through our routine a little faster, and attending a spin class at 7:15pm. After a few months of attending spin class once a week, Steven told us he had a dream about completing the Iron Man triathlon before his 40th birthday. On to the next challenge we go J
I’ll start by telling you about me as a runner. I used to run a lot back in Switzerland. I even did two marathons with my best time being 4 hours and 15 minutes. When I moved to the United States 11 years ago, I thought that I would have more time and that Florida had the perfect weather for me to start training again. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. Initially, I was too busy learning English. But the reality of it is, I was not used to the weather here. It can be extremely humid and unbearably hot. Flash forward to when Steven mentioned his dream of competing in Iron Man, this triggered a desire in me that I had not felt since moving to the United States. It was finally time for me to actualize this goal and start training for a triathlon in 2017! I will provide more details in my next post. In the meantime if you want to follow my training journey, follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/severine_photography/.
I know how important a team is when you’re just getting started. It helps hold you accountable and can be your motivation through the toughest of days. Let me know if you’d like to be a part of a private group where I can share my training plan with you and you can keep me updated with your progress. If you don’t want to be in a group, and you still want someone to help you get started, send me an email at severine.wider@gmail.com.
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