My first assessment

Well, if this is how I feel after my first assessment, I don’t want to know how I will be feeling after a proper training session. I’m at my desk, feeling terribly sorry for myself because I can hardly move. All the muscles in my legs are sore!

When I arrived yesterday, Lodi asked me to stretch and warm up. Well, this was the easy part. After that, I had to walk on the treadmill for 1 mile. The purpose was to see how long it takes me to complete the distance. This measurement will be used as a baseline to measure my progress. The walking was pretty tough – not because I was out of breath, but because my legs hurt so much. They are clearly not used to doing anything more than my daily exercise of walking to and from the car lot.

Throughout the assessment, Lodi measured my heart rate and I had to rate my exertion level on a scale of 1-10. After the treadmill, I had to do lunges, squats and crunches (three sets of 10 each). These exercises were not as bad as I thought they would be. It’s only now that I’m really suffering.

I tried to gauge from Lodi’s expression how unfit I am and at one point, I plucked up the courage and asked him whether he has ever seen someone who is more unfit. I must say, I expected him to reassure me by saying there are plenty of people who are in worse shape. Unfortunately, after thinking long and hard, he replied: “well, I ONCE saw someone who was just as unfit”!

He commented on my shoes – a pair of cross trainers I bought twelve years ago – and suggested I invest in a pair of good walking/running shoes. Well, the thought that I would actually be running one day, makes me feel much better.

The next step is for Lodi to work out a training programme based on my assessment. He will also set out realistic goals I can work towards. I can’t wait to see what my results were!