Wow – it’s been a long time since I’ve actually posted anything but I’m back now with an update on what I’ve been up to. Since the new year, the gym has gotten quite busy and I’ve picked up a lot of new clients. I’m having so much fun training all of them and helping them reach goals they never thought were possible. In fact, yesterday I had a client (Hi Lia ::waving::) do her first unassisted tricep dips and first unassisted pull-up. I got so excited I started jumping around and squealing in the gym! Besides being super busy with training clients, I’ve been trying to get better with my own diet and training as well. I’ve always eaten healthy foods, but like the rest of us I get lax sometimes. I re-implemented a goal to have protein and a fruit and/or vegetable with every meal. I was surprised by how hard it was at first – apparently I wasn’t eating as healthily as I thought – but it’s back to being second nature now.
I’m also back to lifting heavy again. For several years, I competed in figure competitions and spent hours every week in the weight room. By then end of my competitions I had burned out on lifting so I took a break. I returned to lifting when I started teaching Bodypump and that was fine and kept me in shape but lately I’ve been missing being really strong again. I’m making it a goal to lift twice a week in addition to Bodypump. Some weeks I hit that goal and some weeks not but I’m going to keep plugging away. I also would like to add more variety to my overall fitness and prioritize my own health and fitness so I’m hoping to start working out 8-10 hours per week. Currently, I regularly workout 5.5 hours per week so I have a couple more workouts to add in. Here’s a sampling of some of what I’ve been up to:
Sundays: exotic dance and belly dance – I have a client who owns an exotic dance studio and has been giving me lessons. It’s fun, challenging, and harder than your might think. One week after my exotic dance, I noticed that there was a belly dance class happening right after my lesson so I decided to stay. It was also a great workout so I’m trying to make it back.
Mondays: Pilates reformer small group and teaching Bodystep – I’m totally hooked on Pilates! I started taking reformer personal and small group training back in September after several clients recommended it to me and it really is fantastic. I love it so much that I’m in the process of getting Pilates certified. I
Tuesdays: teaching Bodystep – I’ve been a Bodystep instructor for about 4 years and its an excellent strength and cardio workout every time I teach it.
Thursdays: mat Pilates, boxing small group, and teaching Bodypump – When I started Pilates, I started on the reformer but in order to get reformer certified I had to get mat certified first so I started taking mat classes. At first, I didn’t love it but now that I’ve been at it for a while, I realize how nice it is to be able to take a full hour to practice all of the mat pilates exercises that I learned in training with someone else doing the teaching. On Thursdays I also take a 30 minute boxing conditioning small group with one of my fellow trainers that is an awesome workout. I end the day teaching Bodypump.
This week, I haven’t managed any additional workouts because I’ve been under the weather but I’m hoping next week to get over this cough and congestion enough to get in an additional upper and lower body resistance training workout plus some time in the pool since one of my big resolutions is to improve my swimming endurance enough to swim 30 minutes non-stop.
Soo… that’s what I’ve been up to lately. Lets see if I can blog a bit more consistently in the next few months.
-Erin
Erin Mays Fitness Training 