Slice-of-Life-graphic“Let’s do things a little differently today,” my trainer remarks as he picks up the 25lb. dumbbells for my squats.  “Try to get at least 15.”

“Okay,” I’m thinking. I’ve been using the 20lb ones for several years, how much heavier can these be?

A lot, I discover.

By the tenth rep I’m wondering if I can keep coming back out of the squat position and my heart is beating harder. I finish the 15 reps, though. We follow the squats with 15 pullups and 15 leg raises on “the chair.” Knowing I will repeat this sequence twice more makes me a little more tired, but I persevere. That’s what I’m here for, I tell myself.

“Instead of reps on this next set, let’s go for time,” he remarks. [love how trainers always phrase it like they are doing the exercise, too…wink.]

“Okay,” I think, wondering how much difference that could make.

A lot, I discover.

I wave the huge battle ropes (appropriately named, by the way) up and down a few times when Erik tells me to move in a little. O.K…. Oh. My. Gosh. This is so much harder. A little rest (30 seconds) and I’m doing push-ups followed by sit-ups. Three times I do this sequence, until the third time on the ropes I’m making these grunting noises like some cavewoman arm wrestling to retrieve a stolen club. The 13th push-up is only a push-down, and I’m castigating myself during the final sit-ups over not being able to reach 20 reps.

I’m exhausted, but kind of pumped because I haven’t pushed myself this hard in months. Then he asks, “Do you have time for one more thing?”

“Sure,” I sigh.

We move to the ski machine which looks like a rowing machine mounted vertically so that you pull down to make the wheel turn. “Hard as you can for 30 seconds and rest for 20 seconds.”

Knowing this is the last exercise, I find the grit to reach 130 meters. Then, not wanting to be a half-stepper*, I manage to reach the same distance the second time. By now, I can hardly breathe and stagger around for the 20 second rest. As I begin the last rep, I close my eyes because I can’t bear to stare at the numbers in front of me. “Just give it all you’ve got and see what you can do,” I tell myself. Erik chuckles as he tells me to stop and points to the readout. 130 meters exactly. Wow.

My arms are shaking all the way from my shoulders to my fingertips as I reach out to open the car door. I am aware of my leg muscles quivering down my quads, past my knees on through my calves, all the way to the arches of my feet. I consider using the cruise control on the loop to keep from having to maintain consistent pressure on the gas pedal but I resist.

I can tell that my abs will be sore in the morning. Mentally, though, I’m content. What they say about endorphins must be true because even after torturing myself for an hour, I’m mentally refreshed. I have pushed myself physically beyond what seemed possible to me when I walked through the gym door.

It’s going to be a great day!

*Allusion: Hank the Cowdog always accuses his sidekick Grover of being a half-stepper. It has become a classic line at our house.