Learning New Things Every Day....

No...not me.  Not YET! 

So, last night I DID go to the gym and worked out.  I actually did 3.6 miles on the bike in 10 minutes...a leisurely pace that opened up my knee a bit, but didn't overly stress it.  It felt good to be on the bike since I wasn't planning on doing it at all.  But with Angie there working out with me, I knew if I totally trashed the knee she'd be right there to help if I needed it, so I gave it a shot... with her blessing!  Can I tell you how WONDERFUL it is to have your PT become your great friend and training partner?!?!  She's a HUGE blessing in my life!



She also taught me new things last night.  Resistance/Weight training will be just as useful for me in the long run as cardio fitness will be.  Honestly, I haven't really given the same kind of effort to my circuit training as I have been to my treadmill and cycling.  I've seen such incredible weight loss in the past few months since I began working out in the gym as well as the pool, and I attribute most of it to the improvement of my cardio fitness and my ability to really work hard now on the treadmill and bike.  Obviously, since I still have a lot of weight to lose to reach my goal, I have been focusing on the things that I believe are making me drop weight quickest.  Also, I'm training for a 5K in late September, and the bike and treadmill are really great ways to do that.

What Angie taught me, though, was that cardio workouts are only one part of what I need going on in my training.  I also need to be replacing fat with muscle...and that comes from resistance/weight training.  Did you know that muscles burns calories for you...WHILE YOU'RE SITTING STILL?!?!?  I had NO idea!!!  Like more than 7 TIMES more calories are burned by muscle!  WOW!  This is how fit people stay trim and lean...they burn way more calories during the day...sometimes without doing anything at all!  (Well...there's a lot more to it in all fairness...but still...this is a CLEAR advantage to having muscle versus having fat!)

So, last night, I was really working out just as effectively when I used the machines for weight training as I do when I'm pouring sweat on the bike and treadmill.  I was just working on a different aspect of my overall fitness.  The scale isn't going to be the best measurement of my success and progress this week, I suspect.  I'm not too sure it's going to move much.  My pedometer isn't really registering a lot of steps for me while I'm resting my left knee!  But I do believe I'm still working in the right direction.  Maybe now I even have a more clear vision of what that direction is.

Thanks, Angie, for the lesson!  You rock!