Training Time!

Weeeee Happy Monday! Just kidding. The only thing Monday's are good for is a good day of clean eats, and a rest from training. But don't tell my trainer. I mayyyy have snuck that rest day in. Whoops. 

I've mentioned it a few times now that I've hired a trainer. Kind of. Gosh knows I can't afford to physically have a trainer beside me whenever I workout. Nor do I believe any trainer would want to be with me at 5am. So the next best thing? This guy.



Meet Luke. I knew him from one of my old gyms, and being a triathlete, urban race participant, rugby player, personal trainer, and also a certified strength and conditioning specialist, I decided to get in touch with him for some training advice once I signed up for the ride. This turned into me hiring him to make me a custom training program. I've learned enough about myself to know that I'm going to do way better if someone else is telling me what to do, rather than telling myself what to do. It was absolutely worth it to have the program made for me, and for a very reasonable price (this coming from the cheapest girl ever). It incorporates what I need to make it through the 200km bike, as well as working on other weight-training goals and injury prevention specific to my injury-prone self. 

So far, I'm not sure if he's the devil, or the best trainer ever. Although the workouts are balanced, they kill me. Every. Single. Time. It gives me something to work at though. The training is split up by month, so I have a month to set my own mini goals within the workouts, which has been fun for me (don't laugh, this is my kind of fun). 

I made it pretty clear on my info sheet that I filled out for him that I don't follow diets, or meal plans. Instead of telling me what to eat, he told me how much to eat and left the rest up to me, which I also like. We're experimenting with my calorie intake right now to try to figure out what is going to work for me. 

I took some progress pictures before starting up with this training, so we'll see in June how I look and how I do at the ride. I don't have any doubts at this point though. 

I can't recommend Luke enough. I'd put him up there with James Wilson I think. I love James' program, as you've possibly read, but it's something else knowing that this program was custom designed for me and my goals. 
If you want to get in touch with him, you can visit his facebook page here, or you can email him at lukeveens@gmail.com. 

Have you ever worked with a trainer?
Do programs work better for you?