Weekend Warrior!

My Friday night workout...well it was rough! Paul tried to kill me! I was huffing and puffing and didn't know if I was going to make it through. I keep thinking this has to get easier but each workout is equally or more difficult! I guess that is a good thing. My body doesn't remember what it felt like NOT to be sore! THe soreness has definitely improved, and I am amazed in the strength I have already gained in such a short time. But, I have said it before and I will say it again: this is harder than I ever dreamed it would be.
The awesome thing is that I am approaching Week 4...I have never worked out four consecutive weeks in my lifetime...seriously, never! And I am working out 8-9 times a week! That is crazy talk. My schedule is Mon/Wed/Fri at 5pm with Paul for an hour and then cardio on my own Mon/Tues/Thurs/Fri/Sat...and if I can Sunday.
I will be honest and say that I did not want to go to the gym today. In fact I finally pushed myself (with the help of my husband) to the gym at 5:30 this evening. When I get there, and get on a machine...I do feel better and I was able to push myself an hour on the elliptical. It felt great when I was finished. I burned over 600 calories! It just boggles my mind that just a few short weeks ago I was unable to complete 15 minutes on the elliptical machine...or treadmill for that matter. Last night part of my nine exercises included the dreaded stairs. Paul reminded me that the first week, it was incredibly difficult for me to walk up the stairs once...and last night I was doing three sets of 4 flights at a time (I thought I was going to die!...but I did it!). It makes me more determined and motivated to push harder when I think about how weak I was that first day in the gym. I have a LONG way to go, but I am making progress.
I plan to make it to the gym again tomorrow. I am going to try and get in over an hour tomorrow, or possibly two workouts. As of last week I was tied in second place for points with my competitors. The points are based on our participation, food journal, and we get extra points for every hour OVER 5 hours in the gym. We get points deducted if we do not reach the 5 hours. I am trying to clinch second place this week...and of course Mr. Sterling is pulling away with the lead in points! I really do appreciate Sterling and I truly hope for him to acheive his goals, he is an inspiration, motivation, and seems like such a wonderful person who is loved and supported by so many....HOWEVER he is also my toughest competitor!!! The guy is a machine in the gym, he is there sometimes 3 times a day! But it's okay...he gives me inspriation to work harder!