I'd rather get schooled, er, trained

I have to admit, the first time I walked into LA Boxing for a personal training session I was nervous.  Honestly, I was so scared my stomach was doing back flips.

I'd never really had a personal training session before, so I did my homework. I learned I was going to be partnered up with Donte Brown, so I looked him up on the local LA Boxing website.  The site said he had been training for over a decade, had been a trained boxer for even longer, and that he was one of their best.  And then, there was his photo that said, "mmm-hmm, I know you may think you're gonna live through this, but I'm gonna try my best to show you otherwise make you have a workout the likes of which you've never seen before."

What, you don't get that from the photo?  Well, I guess it reads more "I'm bad ass" than "I'm gonna kill you," but I was already freaked, so I took it there.  Oops.

Turns out, in real life, he is all smiles.  Immediately my freak-out level went from a 9 to a low 5 when I met him.  (If I were a sane, mildly healthy person, it would have been lower, but I'm not.)  I promptly told him how scared I was and he said not to worry.  I didn't believe him, but I figured the chances of me actually dying that day were slim, so I gave it a go.

First up,  I ran up and down four flights of stairs for what seemed like eternity, but was probably only 4 or 5 minutes.  I got a little light headed, but still felt like I'd live - at least for a few more rounds.  Then, I went through a few more tests - jumping jacks, squats and lunges, and more running while punching with dumbbells.  I have no idea how I made it through all that. (I get winded just climbing up my own steps with a load of laundry, people.)  But I did, and he was there, cheering me on the whole time.

Not all of the sessions have been the same as that one, but one thing that is consistent is teaching.  Donte is determined to turn the gym into a world-class boxing gym, so he not only makes you sweat, he teaches you something.  I'm pretty sure I have an ugly boxing technique, but at least I'm learning.  We do combo's and drills in the ring, on the heavy bag, at the speed bag and at the double end bag.  Thankfully, he knows that when I'm getting too dumb to do know my jab's from crosses - or when I'm turning green - that I've pushed myself to the limit.

He has listened to me during class and knows what is going to motivate me.  He knows I'm determined to not be one of the last walkers back to camp on my next Susan G. Komen 3-day for a Cure walk, unlike previous years.  So he urges me to run a little longer.  He knows I miss the buff shoulders I used to have in high school, so he makes me do punches a little higher.  He knows I want to slim down, so he makes me work hard for the whole. entire. hour.

And even when I think I'm feeling sick, I still end up amazing myself that I can run laps around the gym while carrying a 16 pound sledge hammer.  (I took a picture as proof - those are my feet at the top of the picture.  I couldn't hold the hammer anymore or even take the picture myself because my muscles were shaking. Donte gets the credit!)

In summary:  Personal Training + LA Boxing + Donte = GOOD.



Disclosure: As a participant of #Fitbloggin' 10, I was offered (by LA Boxing) three months free membership, free personal training, and merchandise - all in exchange for blogging my *honest* opinions once a week.