McFatty Monday Week XV: D

For the past 15 weeks I've been chronicling my journey from new momma to ms. hard body. My greatest strength, when it comes to making time for exercise, is knowing the kinds of activities that I enjoy and not wasting my time on anything else. I love activities that engage my entire body and demand endurance. I enjoy them so much that even if the day has been long, or my mind feels like mush, I am motivated to throw on my workout clothes and get myself to the gym. The 30 minute drive also gives me an opportunity to listen to my music, unwind, and regroup--something that all momma's deserve!

I joined LA Boxing back in December, and it's been really satisfying to belong to a specialized club focused solely on one sport. Every class is lead by a seasoned professional boxer, so not only are the workouts awesome, but the teachers are passionate and offer constructive criticism to help us become more efficient.

I'm no novice when it comes to personal trainers, so when Tate offered to give me a taste of personal training--boxing style--I was very excited! He paired me up with Jennifer "The Bolivian Queen" Salinas, a professional boxer with a record of 11-1. She is gorgeous and the only female boxer/trainer at my location. She leads a mean class on Saturday mornings.

I like Jennifer for so many reasons, including the fact that she tandem breast fed her two kiddos, and started training for her last fight (a knockout) just months after giving birth to her son.

She's quite a force, so I was a little nervous to train with her for the first time.

I arrived at 5:45, ran for 10 minutes and then stretched while I watched the tail end of a training session with another client--she's booked solid most nights of the week! When it was my turn, I climbed into the ring and pointed to my camera explaining that I wanted to film some of our work. She was into it, so I wrapped my hands, and donned my gloves!

After jumping jacks and a good stretch, we started boxing rounds.

Jennifer called out combinations and corrected my form in real time. In class, I find this face-to-face combat a challenge. I completely lose my concentration when there's a live person looking me in the face yelling combos and demanding "more power!", "more speed!", "faster!", "harder!". Not to mention keeping track of the combination while also coordinating my lower body to move in the right direction and without crossing my feet. During the training session I learned that I aim my punches too low and that I slouch. Oops! There's always room for improvement. And the cardio involved in executing three minute rounds is intense!

Next we were on to squats with weight plates, and leg raises. Then sprints (x 20) with more squats, standing rows, and then....ABS. In boxing, you really rely on your core a lot--so it better be strong. Absorbing impact with your abs is common, so we did an exercise where I contracted my abs and she thwacked me in the belly with her special mitts. I had never done this before so when you watch the video, don't laugh at me!! I think you can tell by the look on my face that I was thinking about my poor stomach, first stretched into oblivion carrying Roscoe, my abs separated during the pregnancy, and now pummeled. Will you cut me some slack? Pretty please?

Ok, then we began planks. On a ball. With a weight on my back. and along came Jennifer to poke at the ball to throw in an extra element of challenge. Round two, she came at me with those mitts again! After that, we did more abs, and then a thorough stretch.

About the time that I finished with sprints (30 minutes into the workout) I was feeling ill. Those one minute breaks just weren't enough!

Here's Jennifer:

Here's a training video I put together to give you a sample of my first session:

I lost .5 this week, which is better than staying the same, and way better than gaining! Training with Jennifer was so much fun. Her story is motivating, and her personality is infectious. I was sore for the three days that followed, which is always nice, and I'm looking forward to our next session!

This week's score: D

Cardio: B

Weight Watchers: C

Strength Training: F