Sunday 14 June 2009

A tough but enjoyable end to week 32.

After Tuesday's PB in the Blaydon Race, confidence was very high going into Thursday's personal training session with Mark Fleming down at David Fairlamb's gym. Body stats were measured at the start of the session and I was pleased to learn that more fat had been lost and more lean weight gained. Moreover, my metabolic age is now down to 32! Regular readers will remember that it was 52 when I started training!

Half an hour in to the session, though, and my feet were brought firmly crashing down to the ground with a very tough workout indeed! Chin ups and various dips were on the menu early on and I was left shaking after that lot. I almost passed out during the interval session on the step machine. What a tart! 90 minutes later though I left the gym feeling invigorated after a really tough workout. These 90 minute sessions also gives Mark and I a good chance to talk about preparations and training for the USA. Although, there were times today when simple conversation was beyond me!

The follow up session, 24 hours later, involved more weights and I felt I coped a bit better than the day before. I wouldn't do half of the required work in the gym without a personal trainer and I would recommend one to anyone with motivational problems or who, like me, someone who likes to be really pushed to the limits in the gym. Why not check out David Fairlamb's website for more details. That's him pictured up above there.

The results that I've seen in some of David's clients are remarkable. Peter McCowie is one example. Peter was over 20 stone when he started training in November. I remember his first Beach Bootcamp where to say he had to take it easy was an understatement. Peter is now 14 stone something and completed the Blaydon Race last week in 46 minutes. As I said - REMARKABLE!

That brings me nicely on to Saturday morning, where I attended my first David Fairlamb's Beach Bootcamp in 4 weeks. Lots of running and the recent bike ride has kept me away but it was great to be back with both David and Mark Fleming overseeing the proceedings. David's section was mostly cardio on the beach section and Mark's was more concerned with resistance training in the old outdoor swimming pool area. As per usual, it was a brilliant session and it was topped off with 10 lots of steps in King Edward's Bay afterwards. What a great way to end week 32 of the USA 2011 training schedule!