Dani's (Official) Day 1 - Oh. My. God.

Since Dani's initial consultation with me last week, we have texted back and forth many times about her workouts & meals.  Each message from Dani was filled with enthusiasm and questions.  Lots and lots of questions.  I don't mind questions at all -- that's how I know when someone is committed and excited.  The questions were along the lines of, "How much cardio is too  much for me in a week?" or "What workout will I do today?" or "Should I do cardio after I finish the workout you gave me?" and so on and so forth.  You can see from the questions that Dani is thrilled about working out and wants to be sure to do enough, without overdoing it.

I recommended to Dani, as I do for all my clients, that she arrive at least 15 minutes before her scheduled time so that she will have an opportunity to warm up before we hit the weights.  So it came as a surprise to me that Dani was not inside Strada's doors at 6:45 am.  I was even more surprised when Dani was not inside Strada's doors at 7:00 (her appointment time).  She knew our location: she was there (but late) for her consultation.  Not knowing Dani on a more personal level, I began to wonder if she is one of those chronically late folks.  Note to potential clients: I don't do well with Late. I make it a point to be at the studio at least 30 minutes prior to each appointment, usually I arrive earlier than that.   Yes, even for the 5:00 am appointments (who should arrive at 4:45 am, by the way).

I also wondered if she chickened out.  One of her messages the previous day said she was nervous about measuring because she hadn't really started the new meal plan until the day before.  And she asked if she would be able to walk after the workout I put her through.  She wondered if we would "pinch the fat," referring to a body composition evaluation. 

I sent a text to Dani asking simply, "Ohhhh Dani.....?  Are you on your way?"  After a brief delay, her response was (and I quote): "On my way. Over slept. Oh. My. God." 

I let her know that due to the timing of her tardiness and my schedule for the day, we would need to find another time that worked for both of us.  Turns out that 5 pm later the same day would work.  Dani offered her sincere apologies, assured me of her commitment to this plan, and promised that she would SHOW me her commitment from that moment on.  I believe she will. 

4:45 PM Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Dani arrives, shoes off, to the studio.  She apologizes profusely, takes some time getting organized, puts on her heart rate monitor and her shoes and we go to measure. 

Weight: 181.4  (-1.8#)
Waist: 32.5" (-0.5")

It is all good news!  We did pinch the fat, and it is high.  That is all I have to say about that right now.  We have a baseline set and a week into the plan, Dani has seen small changes.  Smiles abound!  I get Dani warming up on the treadmill.  My goal with warm ups is not only to get the blood flowing so that muscles & joints can prepare for more movement, but also to get the heart rate up.  The body should start sweating, hence the term "warmed up."  Increasing her heart rate to a moderate level will allow her body to stay warm throughout the remaining workout, and will cause her to burn more calories. 

We perform a workout that is focused on conditioning (adapting to maintaining a higher heart rate over a longer period of time) using movements based on leg and shoulder muscles.  I like to use a lot of combination moves which make the cardiovascular system work just as hard as the muscles we are training.  Things like Dani's new favorite, the Squat Row and the Lunge + Shoulder Flyes (Dani is caught performing below) are very challenging to the entire body.  However, I prefer to use the term "effective."  As in, "Client, be ready, this next move is quite effective."  

In the next hour, Dani burned 625 calories!  She also found time to dance and sing to the music playing over the speakers, so Dani's focus going forward will be to do just that: FOCUS.  As we get into heavier weights, which I feel confident she will handle soon, she will need to focus on what she is doing to insure she avoids injury!  I am all about having fun, but when it is time to work, it is time to work. 

All in all, I am proud of Dani and her level of commitment and I fully trust I will not have to see another message that says, "Oh. My. God." again...unless she is talking about how she can't move her limbs because of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).