Fitness journey with Sayuu: Unscripted Conversations

… I got a Personal trainer!

I wanted to share my story on my fitness journey before I start sharing my healthy meals (or my idea of what I think is healthy) and acting like I’m a know-it-all about all things health and fitness. I might just have a similar story to many people about how I decided that caring for my body through fitness was an empowering tool.

Here’s the thing. I’ve been going to the gym for more than three years now, spending hundreds of hours on an elliptical and treadmill. Honestly, my relationship with the treadmill has led me to believe that they are sent from hell! Anyway, what I wanted the most from the gym was resistance training. Still, I would always wind up hanging around the weight machines, bodyweight training, and, if I am entirely honest, struggling to read the instructions. From all this information, you have gathered that I did not get the result I was looking for. What result was I looking for anyway? I wanted to tone up my body, build more glutes and gain some muscle definition on my back while essentially taking care of my body my metabolism.

My ultimate goal was a free-weight area. Not only would it give me the result I’m looking for, but lifting weights also just looks so badass! However, my recurring nightmare is dropping a 25kg barbell on my feet or breaking my back. Dumbbells and barbells genuinely just scare the light out of me.

Anyway, after all of this, the next logical step was to get a personal trainer. This was not a very easy task. With the internet and social media allowing people to be whoever they want to be nowadays, you will find many people claiming themselves to be personal trainers. So, I took it upon myself to visit the fitness studios in my area and “interview” the coaches. What I was looking for was someone who knew anatomy well and also had rehabilitation and physiotherapy certification. Why? Having someone with great experience and understanding the body structure and using different muscle mass to do specific movements would be safer and more efficient than doing it by myself. After going to at least 8 fitness studios, I finally found the person I was looking for!

Dashuai was and has been fantastic to work with. We set up my goal: body recomposition, meaning losing some fat and building some muscle. I already have strength in my lower body, so the goal was to sculpt my upper body, especially my back, so I can look good in those backless tops in summer!

As a beginner, I struggled with free weights. My body felt unstable when doing movements like squats or deadlifts. These movements paired with weights felt very new and made me feel a little bit nervous. Dashuai was there to help me find balance and correct any movements I was doing wrong. The first couple of days, my body hurt so much I wished to lend it to somebody else while I rested! In terms of time management, I tried to train on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after work; on the other days, I had conference calls in the evening. I found it too exhausting, then I reduced it to only 2 days. With time I felt comfortable as my trainer continued to challenge me. After a few classes, it’s safe to say I look terrific in a bikini! Okay, on a more serious note, I felt I could control my muscle better, and I could feel the increase in strength. I can lift heavier, and also I can complete more reps.

After almost an entire month of training with Dashuai, I have come to recognize the self-empowerment that comes with this fitness journey. It has improved my overall wellbeing; it took a while for me to stop feeling like fitness was a chore or a punishment. Instead, it is a tool to care for and strengthen my whole body. There is a slight change in physical results, but I do not feel it is very significant. I am patient as I am aware that resistance training is not done overnight. I am not in a rush, but I definitely do feel I keep getting stronger. A personal trainer was quite expensive for me, but I still think it has been worth it. Working with Dashuai has been amazing, and he has really taught me a lot. Weight training is all about technique, and I am really hoping to get the most out of this to do this on my own later in the future.

xx

Sayuu