This Working Out Is Working Out

Tomorrow is my last training session. I have almost completed my mission, to come to New York and learn from someone I consider to be one of the best trainers on the planet.

When I became a fitness trainer three years ago, my classes were full of 20 year olds, the Young People as I like to call them, and I wondered how the hell they would deal with more life-experienced clients as they worked to gain experience in their careers.

I'm almost 40 and don't have time to spend 10 years getting that experience, so I want to learn from the best and for me that's Terri Walsh.

This trip has been amazing in so many ways, from the confirmation that I really am good at what I do, to the unexpected detours, random meetings and wonderful people I have encountered, I could not have asked for a more incredible New York experience.

My body shape has changed dramatically since doing the practice work Terri set me last year and as previously mentioned, no actual weight was lost, so when Terri measured me at the start of our training, I was slightly dubious that anything would change in the two weeks I was training, especially considering how much and what I have been eating.

So this morning when we did measurements again, the results shocked me... but in a good way.

I lost an inch (2.5cms) off my hips, a 1/4 inch (0.6cms) from my thighs, 3lbs (1.3kgs) and went from 13.6% body fat to 12%.

No change to my calves, upper and lower arm, which is good; I haven't got much to lose!

And given how much I've been enjoying New York food, the well-earned inch I added to my waist is no mystery.

I still heart you chopped liver.

So tonight I was out at a cute 'Irish Bar' called Lillie's, invited by a lovely English woman named Sue.

I met her while out to dinner at an Italian place in Ludlow street, with English Rob, and when she heard his accent, she sat down at our table.

Apparently they lived near each other in England, it was all very English and she invited us to her birthday party.

It was a lovely bunch of people, very chatty, lots of fun and a gaggle of gorgous gay boys.
I was restrained with the wine, obviously.

Best get to bed and rest up for my final session but for a Friday night on Delancey street, that's not easy.

I can't belive it's almost done and I have my final weekend in New York City.

Imagine that!

New York Food

Warning: this post may clog your arteries and leave you drooling.

For the most part, I have been eating really well while training, not wanting to waste my time, money & energy putting nutritionally defecient food in my body.

However, this is New York and there is an enormous range of interesting and delicious food here that I have never had before and just can't get at home, so this week I have been sampling some of the local cuisine.

Starting with my hot dog on Coney Island, an actual meat sausage wrapped in a white bread bun with ketchup & mustard, which was delicious.

I quickly moved on to the sweets, finding Eileen's Special Cheesecake at the end of my street, a wonderful little bakery that ships cheesecakes all over the country. Yes that is Eileen on the website and her mini Dulce de Leche is absolutely the best I've ever had.

I also needed to sample a burger and fries and this was ticked off the list at The Red Flame, a lovely midtown diner.

My friend Rob took me out to dinner at Sammy's Roumanian Steakhouse, where I had a giant rib of veal, which lasted for days; if that was the veal, I'd hate to see the full sized cow.

Also, I am now in love with chopped liver.

I did sample some amazing pastrami, but in deference to my arteries and digestive tract, went with the corned beef sandwich, at Katz's Delicatessen, just down the street from where I'm staying, and made famous by When Harry Met Sally.

Yes I sat at That Table.

No I did not re-enact That Scene.

Next on the list is a sinful-looking, heart-attack-inducing, sugar-coated, custard-filled donut-looking confection at Dean & Deluca, which will be my treat when I finish training this Saturday.

Mostly though, I've been very health-conscious, making regular trips to the wonderful Wholefoods Market and discovering the better value fresh fruit, vegetables, meat & seafood of Chinatown and Little Italy, as I make my way to the Studio each day.

I've tried never to take the same route twice and have found some delightful little shops, cafes and food stores; the trick is finding my way back to them. My $1 take-away black coffee from the Landmark Coffee Shop has to be the best value in town.

So much food, so little time.

Bootcamp Is (Relatively) Easy

I am feeling so much stronger, physically, mentally & emotionally this week for a few reasons;

a) no stinking jet-lag
b) adjusted to being on my own in a new city
c) having people to talk to is important for an extrovert like me and
d) doing a program of this intensity every day you can't help but build up strength & stamina in a fairly short period of time.

This last point is important if you are one of my training clients back in Australia.

You've all heard me banging on about a little bit everyday will get you where you want to be, well it's true.

I hit the ground running here, with a few obstacles in my way and have still managed to cope with what's being thrown at me; more than that, this week, I really feel like I'm on top of my fitness game.

It feels fantastic.

Compared to the 2 hour individual sessions, a 1 hour Bootcamp, even at 7am, does not kick my butt the way a 1 hour session at home used to.

It is absolutely a great workout and we Bootcampers all work hard, but I don't "hit the wall" and I feel incredibly energised after these sessions.

Having the whole rest of the day & night to explore New York helps too.

This level of intensity is not for everyone, certainly not for any sane person, but the principle of doing enough everyday to stay fit & healthy and challenging yourself with what is acheivable certainly holds true.

If walking everyday is what you can do every day, then do it, with a strength session or two a week, you will notice day by day, week by week, the changes in your body, your energy levels and your attitude.

You CAN do more than you think, so Get It Done!

xxx

Halfway Point

The start of my second week of training couldn't be more different from the first.

Training in a two hour block is not the normal way this program works, but given my limited time, I'm basically doing double sessions. Not surprising it's hard.

I hit the wall in yesterday's session at about the 1 hour 20 minute mark, a good 20 minute improvement on last week and I had a protein bar on hand for just this purpose; a quick couple of bites, water and a short rest were enough to get me back to a good head-space and finish the session well.

I also picked up some coconut water the other day in a street product promotion and it was recommended for working out, "drink this after a workout and you won't even feel like you've worked out" - really? you have no idea of my schedule, buddy.

But it seemed to do the trick, along with the rest of the protein bar.
After a quick shower at home (I love that it feels like I live in this city) I was good to go out for the afternoon, and New York turned on a freakishly warm day of around 21C, much warmer than the same temperature at home.

I couldn't waste the most perfect day, my energy was great and I needed groceries, so I found a Trader Joe's on West 72nd street, with the intention of shopping, walking back through Central Park and coming back to cook before heading out for a quiet beer.

That is not what happened.

Groceries were purchased and I was walking through Central Park, all according to the plan when I saw the bicycle rickshaw guys who take tourists around the park, pointing out various "interesting facts", mostly involving which celebrities live where.

I haven't done many 'touristy' things and my legs were getting tired so I talked him down to half the price (I'm sure I didn't, it was likely inflated to begin with) and had a lovely ride around the lower half of the park, while sending texts to Kimi & Marcus to see if they wanted to catch up for a drink.

They were heading out to the Top Of The Rock, where I arranged to meet them just after 6pm for a 7pm admission. So there's me, riding around Central Park with my dinner ingredients in a bag, putting said ingredients through the airport-style security screening at the Rockefeller Centre.

Eventually hunger got the better of me and about 8pm I said goodbye to the lovely Young People (they are far more capable than I of going out drinking and clubbing every night in this town) and caught the subway home to make a late start on dinner.

"You look lost, can I help you" says a random guy at the subway station.
That would be Frank. He's a lawyer who works in the Rockefeller building and if I'd met him yesterday, would have saved myself a $22 evelator ride.

Long story short, he is the first New Yorker who has asked unsolicited if I needed help... and yes I am aware of the implications of that word.

I asked for his card, got it, emailed him and we're meeting for a drink tonight or tomorrow uptown somewhere.

I know what you're thinking and it will be fine.
My only intention is to have a drink with a friendly person and if he has other ideas well good luck to him.

He assures me he's not a serial killer and frankly I believe him. (you see what I did there? ;)

Out for beers last night I also met a lovely lady named Cid who is singing on Avenue C tonight around 11pm so if I'm remotely awake, and chances are not good, I may pop over to see her as well.

Right-o, Frick Collection awaits!

UPDATE:
I did meet Random Subway Guy for a drink at the Bull & Bear on Wednesday night.
Needless to say he was as good as his word on not being a serial killer and for all his self-depricating talk, really was nice guy. Thanks Frank!

Also saw a great play on Broadway called Jerusalem.
Another one ticked off the list!

Lovely People + Amazing Food = Great Weekend

I finished training for this week on Saturday morning.

My energy levels were quite low so in the spirit of taking care of myself, I gave Bootcamp a miss and went home for a snooze.

This turned out to be a very wise thing to do as the rest of the weekend was packed full of Fun and a little bit of The Crazy.

After my refreshing nap I headed uptown to meet my friend Rob at the Hilton where he has scammed a free room (to be fair, he is writing a review of the place) and we wandered about in that area of town, stopping at the Algonquin Hotel for some cheesy pics of us sitting at the Round Table.

I do love Dorothy Parker.
"If you've got nothing nice to say come sit by me".

Then we caught the train out to Coney Island for the sea air and a hot dog; the amusements were closed and the wind was cold but I did get to touch the Atlantic ocean. I know, not exactly a touristy thing, but I'm from an island surrounded by the Pacific and Indian oceans, and I'm strange that way.

After stuffing my face with a hot dog (yet to try some fries) and beer on the boardwalk, we caught the train back into the city and I had my second nap of the day to prepare for the Saturday Night Live "afterparty" I had been invited to. I received the text message of location and password to get in, all very secretive, and the starting time of 3:30 AM!!!

I am old, for me this is not a time to start a party, it is a time to be fast asleep.

Anyway, I set my alarm for 1am and met Rob and his hilarious friends James & Dominic at a bar near where I'm staying, with the intention of going on to the Very Secret Location. which we did.... along with about a zillion other people, all of them in their 20's and looking very fresh-faced for that time of the morning; chemicals may have been involved but I think they were mostly just high on youth. Ugh.

At this point I realised this was not an afterparty at all, just some publicity thing that pretty much anyone could get an invite to.
When the door guy said the club wouldn't be open to 4AM!!!! I was completely over it.

I did not feel special.

So I jumped back in a cab and went home for about 5 hours sleep.
The plan for Sunday was to catch a train to visit Rob's friends JD & Hannah, the hour-long journey was good althought slightly surreal having had limited sleep the night before.

What a great way to top off the weekend!
I met Hannah, a gorgeous american who is just so much fun and her partner JD, who is British, also very funny and made sure my wine glass was never empty; for that he may be my new BFF.

They were so kind and welcoming, it was an absolute pleasure staying with them.
We had a great dinner (thank you Rob) and talked like we'd known each other forever.
Well they had, I was just the random friend of a friend from Australia and I couldn't have felt more at home.

Really good people.

Thank you both so much for your kindness & hospitality.

So here I am, back in the city this morning and ready for my second week of training.

Game on.


xxx

Toys For My Boy

One of the funnest things I've been up to on this trip has been looking for cool things to bring back for my son Max. He's almost six.

Before I left, he would get slightly complainey about me going, ususally at bedtime or when other things weren't going the way he would like them to and he has said in the past that I'm alright but that Daddy really is his favourite and he loves him more; I'm completely fine with this as I'm not precious about being a favourite parent, but in a moment of weakness, I did promise him a present for every week I'd be away... 3 in total.

He brightened up after this and I knew that if the prospect of presents cheered him up, he would be completely fine while I was away.

He did actually ask me to be away longer at one point, so his present quota would increase. Smart boy.

So I've been slowly going through my list of places where I might find fun and interesting things for a boy.

Evolution, a weird science shop, is quite close to where I'm staying and has the most amazing collection of bugs, fossils, stuffed animals, anatomical models and other fascinating objects. So dinosaur tooth it is.

The MoMA Design Store is on the same street and has some really interesting kids books, games and bits 'n' bobs, so Dinosaur Coloring book and Weird Facts book are also ticked off the list.

Yesterday after training, I caught the subway uptown to FAO Schwartz, thinking it would be the most magical place full of the best toys and was slightly disappointed. It certainly was full of toys, and if you're a kid, I'm guessing the layout would be quite impressive, but the toys were all things I could find elsewhere and the experience of walking through just didn't compare to Hamleys, which is our first stop every time we're in London.

I did get him a little Lego Something from there though... wait, I've exceeded my limit of three presents haven't I? Whoops!

Well more training this morning, only an hour though, followed by Bootcamp and then my weekend is free.
Possibly going to Coney Island today (thank goodness for my friend Rob who is over from London and knows his way around) and I'm really hoping the SNL afterparty info comes through.

PS Rik, please don't read this to Max, so he gets a surprise :)
xxx

What A Difference A Day Makes

My first serious training session with Helen at the studio was great and very challenging.
She's a great trainer and we get on really well.

Monday's session was Technique Study*, the exercises I've been doing daily in preparation for this trip, and although it was a lot, nothing I hadn't already done.

Yesterday was a little different and I really got a taste of what it's like to be a newbie again and put myself in my clients shoes.

Helen really worked me hard for two hours and although I had a banana during the workout (yes, I really did need to re-energise, thank you Terri for having healthy snacks on hand), I was completely drained at the end; somehow I thought going food shopping on the way home was a great idea and came home quite tired and emotional, needing to eat, rest and cry a little... okay a lot, which I did.

Note to self: take snacks to training, come straight home after training & eat quality protein immediately.
Do not deviate from this plan. For any reason at all.

After a snooze at the apartment I took myself out for dinner down one of the little streets across from the apartment and went for a drink on my way home just to be out and about with people.

I'm so glad I did because I met two lovely girls, Alyssa & Gabrielle; they are The Young People ie: 20-something, we started chatting, I asked what is interesting to do in the area, and Alyssa tells me she works for Saturday Night Live, one of my favourite shows and would I like to come to the after-party this weekend!

Bless her heart.

When I booked this trip in November, I was disappointed to learn that SNL tickets are on sale via email in August. That's it for the entire year's worth of shows, August.
But this is way better! :)

Hopefully it pans out and I'll definitely need a super-early night and a nanna-nap to get there as it's a live show that finishes about 1:30am; so I'll need to wake up around midnight just to make it.

Bootcamp was this morning so I spent the rest of the day travelling uptown to the Natural History Museum (where my camera broke) and wandered through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum.

Now that jet-lag has finally been defeated, I have a better sense of what I'm doing with training and how my energy levels will be, this week is just getting better and there will defintely be more exploring this amazing city.

Hopefully I can get a new camera tomorrow and post more pics.

xxx

*Tech Study: Do This Everyday
10 Push ups then Straight Arm Plank x 3
Squats (elbows to knees) x 40
Lunges x 20 each leg
Squat Balance x 20
Plank, Lunge, Balance x 20
Kneeling Supermans x 20
Crunches x 20
Side Crunches x 20
Butt Lift Crunches x 20

You're welcome!