‘Hmm, skinny jeans, eh?” said my little boy when I returned from the shops one day in September. “They should fit you by December.” The jaw-dropping precociousness was more innocent than it seemed; born out of my panic at fitting into a bridesmaid’s dress for my sister’s wedding in December, just 11 weeks away.
For me, body size was always about the weight on the scales and what size I was wearing. In the run-up to my sister’s wedding, however, I decided that it would become more about gain than loss. Pains in my knees, breathlessness; at 38 this was unacceptable to me. I wanted to be able to run for a bus without feeling my chest was about to explode and, with rheumatoid arthritis in my family, I was not prepared to succumb to joint pain without a fight. I wanted to be slim, yes, but I also wanted to be strong.
Going to Marc Smith of Complete Fitness for the first time was like stepping on to a stage in front of a capacity audience and forgetting my lines. The last time I’d exercised was 20 years ago. Note to teenage self; do not give up exercising or you will find yourself a prematurely decrepit old sod with no power in your legs, a flat arse and clothes that don’t fit.
Agonising
After an initial consultation, Smith asked me to do squats. I soon found out what they were as I attempted to sit into an agonisingly invisible seat. After twenty – perhaps one for every year I didn’t exercise – squats, lunges and side-lunges later, I was unable to walk downstairs properly for several days. Yet somehow it felt good. The first, painful steps had been taken.
Smith says that when I first came to him, I looked a lot less healthy than I do now; my energy levels were low, my diet needed an overhaul and, at a very simple level, he needed to get me moving.
In week two he introduced me to the TRX equipment. “This uses the person’s bodyweight as counterweight, avoiding the necessity for free weights which can lead to injury,” he says. “For people who are time-conscious I also teach simple exercises that use the person’s own bodyweight, meaning that they can do the exercises at home.”
For me “it was about getting the whole body moving more functionally and getting the body up straight, incorporating all the joints”, says Smith. “We focused on the large muscle groups using the ball slam and using the cable machine for rotations, engaging the glutes [bum muscles], the lats [latissimus dorsi], the muscles below the shoulder blades and the transverse abdominal muscles.”
Having got me moving in the first two weeks, Smith measured my statistics using a Tinita BC1500 machine which measures (and is accurate in its inaccuracy, as Smith is keen to stress) the body fat, body water, visceral fat and metabolic age of the person.
In week four, something unprecedented happened. I found that I actually wanted to go to Smith’s studio. Despite the pain, I was enjoying becoming stronger and the buzz I was getting post-exercise. Smith is also unlike my expectations of a personal trainer, so, although he is intensely enthusiastic and knowledgeable about what he does, he doesn’t shout or make me feel embarrassed or weak.
I started to pay attention to my food. I decided I no longer wanted to consume 15 days’ worth of extra calories a year in biscuits alone. Smith told me to take a note of my food intake and he gave me a diet plan which I failed to adhere to correctly (I’d be a lot slimmer now if I had) but that I used as a guide. I no longer reach for the sweet treats because I’ve stopped buying them, I choose herbal teas so I’m not tempted to eat something sweet with them, and I glide smugly past the Italian bakery.
Energy levels
At this stage Smith noticed that I was beginning to see a change in my energy levels brought about by a change in attitude to my food intake, and this in turn made me more inclined to exercise. By week six I was able to squat, lunge and side-lunge; in the first couple of weeks I couldn’t do that at all.
He noted that my glutes had been activated and I was able to do the exercises and move on to the next level. Rather than getting me to move heavy weights, it was more about getting me to use my body functionally to avoid injury.
By then I was feeling more comfortable in my clothes and, indeed, in myself. My made-to-measure bridesmaid’s dress needed to be taken in and my knee pain began to diminish.
My mood improved and my skin seemed in better condition. My body fat had reduced by 5 per cent, I had lost half a stone, my muscle mass was up and my visceral fat was down.
Smith says my metabolic age was 55 the first time he measured me, but the more lean muscle I have developed, the lower this became: it is now 42. He reminds me of September, when I was reaching for the biscuits and crisps, was lethargic and had low energy. “The challenge now is to keep exercising; it’s about taking it slowly, making small changes to obtain long-lasting results,” he says.
I have dropped two dress sizes in 11 weeks, says Smith. “This was achieved without implementing huge changes and without the use of supplements or shakes. It’s about thinking about proper nutrition and planning your diet more effectively to obtain a different attitude to exercise and food.”
The day of my sister’s wedding dawned bright and clear, and the dress fitted. The night before, I had pulled out a pair of jeans I hadn’t worn for four years. They fitted me with room to spare. In the past I was afraid to go to a gym, but personal training in a private setting alleviated that embarrassment and has set me on a new road, I hope, towards a slimmer, fitter future. In the battle of woman versus jeans I have started 2015 with confidence.
“I’ll have you doing a 10km run next,” says Smith, with a grin.
Marc Smith charges €50 per hour and €30 per half-hour personal training session. See completefitness.ie
