Thelma is only two weeks away from the end of her strength training challenge and the results are clear to see. Despite the hormonal past week, she’s still going strong.
It’s been an eventful week to say the least, everything and everyone has been coming at me, or at least that is how it feels. People probably haven’t been coming at me at all but it’s ‘that time of the month’ so in my world everything small is amplified. I feel extra tired, extra grumpy and extra impatient, add into the mix the fact that my body is already fatigued from the intensity of my workouts and the reduction of calories over the past week and you can imagine that I am in a don’t-mess-with-me kind of mood.
My emotions and hormones are all over the place but luckily I have a coach in Clara that has been through this process several times and just gets it. Let me tell you ladies, if you are looking to compete or go through a transformation yourself then you need a patient coach that is prepared to listen to all your whinging, pleading and complaining because trust me, there will be lots of it. She has heard it all from me but takes it all in her stride and calmly reminds me why I started this journey and the process in the first place. One of the biggest things that I’ve learned is that any coach can give you a six pack, but at what cost? This transformation has tested me to the limit big time and without Clara’s calming reassuring words and guidance I simply would not have made it this far.
She just understands that sometimes I need to leave the gym to get my daughter from school so although we never skip sessions; my plan is flexible enough to be able to make up the lost session later on in the week. She also gets the forty-something- year-old-woman’s-hustle which I am sorry is just lost on some coaches and trainers. Our bodies are different, once you get to your late thirties or forties and beyond everything starts getting lower and lower, which is why I believe that you need to lift something heavy to tone up and stay in shape. Losing tone becomes a major concern once you get old and being in her forties herself Clara understands this which is probably why she has women of that age group lining up to be coached by her.
Aside from my pre-menstrual state of mind, I can see that I am leaning up big time, the boobs have gone but I don’t mind that to be honest. It’s nothing a good padded bra can’t sort out. The bum has gone and I mind that because I don’t do the flat-aka –cardio-bum- look. My goal is to get a bubble butt that doesn’t move and that you could bounce a coin off. I know that its reduction is down to all the fat that I’ve lost in that area and my bum can be built back up again especially with all the squats and dead lifts that I am doing and to be honest it’s the firmest it’s been in a long time so I’ll take that for now.
The tummy is looking flatter and I can see some definition too. Nothing flaps down when I do my plank type exercises either which is major and it seems like the diet of chicken, fish and vegetables is clearly working and I am overjoyed because losing my cheat meals has to account for something. All the muscle I have packed on over the weeks is starting to show through as all the cardio sessions I am doing now are stripping off what has been hiding underneath that fat and I love it.
My hips have slimmed down rapidly too which has been a major concern for me and I am wearing clothes that were previously too tight. In fact this enabled me to revisit parts of my wardrobe that I had reserved for the charity shop because they were too small. I am also lifting weights that I never even imagined I’d be able to lift so I can see that I’ve progressed massively from when I first started.
The best part to date though, has been my confidence which is sky high at the moment and I can finally see that all my hard work is finally paying off and I just need to keep the momentum going for the next two weeks so I can get the best result possible.
Contact Thelma’s trainer Clara Mosha: claram@fitnesschoices.co.uk
Clara on Facebook
Twitter: @UPTByClaraMosha
Thelma Mensah is a personal trainer and founder of the uber-cool blog kicksandkit.com.
Read more from Thelma’s strength training challenge.
What REALLY happens in a weight training programme
Week 2 Strength training challenge
Week 3 Strength training challenge
Week 4 Strength training challenge
Week 5 Strength training challenge
Week 6 Strength training challenge
Week 7 Strength training challenge
Week 8 Strength training challenge
Week 9 Strength training challenge
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