It figures that yesterday was 45 degrees and raining.
I'm so tired of the cold weather - yes, I said it. The person that LOVES winter, that loves the cold weather is saying ENOUGH ALREADY!! I want to be outside so that I can RUN!
The weather is not what this post is about.
Yesterday, once my parents arrived, the plan was for me to take my mom to my gym for a work-out.
I really haven't spoken about my mom much on my blog. So maybe a little background on her is in order.
My mom is 49 years old. For the past couple of years, she's struggled with weight issues - just like me. I have never thought of my mom as "obese". On the heavier side? Maybe. That was mostly because she has brought 6 children in to the world - and that does havoc to a woman's body.
A couple of years ago, however, she was diagnosed with diabetes. That scared the living bejeezus out of her. She was determined to do whatever it took to be able to handle the diabetes with losing weight, eating healthy, and exercising regularly. She has managed to do just that.
In the past couple of years she's lost, gained a little, lost a little more. She went from a 220lb woman to sitting at 177lbs and losing. Her determination has really pushed me - and I know that my success has really pushed her.
Anyway, so my mom has been working out at home for a long time now. Every day she walks on her treadmill, and has recently started using a crunch ball to add some intensity to her work-out. Last weekend, I invited her to join me on my 5K run while I was at her house...and she went. Yes, it was a little bit of a struggle for her - but she finished it. She even ran during several parts.
So, yesterday, I told her I was going to take her with me to the gym and let her see what it is I do to work-out. She was going to get the chance to see how much I have been able to accomplish - fitness wise - and get a sense of why I have grown to love going to the gym.
We got there, and bless her heart - she was so worried about what she looked like. I told her that it didn't matter - no one was going to pay any attention. She is so small, now, that she fit right in to scene of the other gym patrons.
I decided to take her through my entire work-out...informing her that she could back down the intensity at any point, if she needed to.
We started out on the treadmill. I set mine to a 3.3mph walk with a 2 incline for my warm-up. She opted for 3.1 at a 1 incline. I did my usual intervals, 2 min jog/ 2 min walks. My mom decided to up the intensity and incline of her walk. I informed her we would do 15 minutes on the treadmill. Even though she didn't opt for the interval jogs, I could see that she wanted to. The last 2 minutes, she decided to jog with me - and she did a great job. I know that she could have done all of the intervals - but she didn't want to push too hard, and I understand that.
Next, it was time for a little weight work. Now, my mom has a permanent shoulder injury that disallows her from participating in any upper body weight work....no problem, I sat her on a leg pull machine. While she did 15 reps on each leg and then 15 reps with both legs, I went about and did my two sets on the stair stepper and the lat pull. Then - it was on to the Wave Runner.
I've spoken to my mom about the Wave Runner. It's a skating simulator - and it REALLY pushes your legs. I only stay on the Wave Runner for 5 minutes - because that's really all I can handle right now. She did the 5 minutes with me - and pushed through every bit of burn that she encountered.
After both of our legs were feeling the effects of our work-out, thus far, it was on to a 15 minute elliptical ride. I love the elliptical. I think it has become my new favorite piece of gym equipment. I got on, started out at level 5 went up to level 7 and pushed myself to stay above 100 strides per minute. My mom was determined to stay at the same level, but had to back off the speed a little. After the elliptical, I couldn't have been more proud of my mom. We were both drenched in sweat - and she had stayed with me through every step of the work-out. To have a nice cool-down session, we moved to the stationary bike to finish up with a 15 minute ride.
It was so nice to have someone at the gym to work-out with - especially my mom. I love her new found passion to be fit and not just lose weight. I love how her determination pushes her every step - because I know that she doesn't want to be made to feel like she can't keep up with her 200lb daughter. Age definitely has no effect on my mother - no matter what, she's got heart..and she's gonna push herself with every beat of it.
It's so nice to have something like getting fit in common with my mom. We can share our successes, our failures, our setbacks and our achievements. The competitive nature of us both keeps us on our toes. She's not going to let her 29 year old daughter "out-exercise" her and I'm not going to let my 49 year old mother "out-exercise" me. We bring it out in each other - and it's in the most healthy of competitions.
Till next time. ;)
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Speaking as a mom...there is nothing in the world that mothers like more than spending special quality time with their kids. Especially when our kids are grown and have kids of their own. And your choice for your mommy and me playdate couldn't have been more perfect!
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