My Training Session with Tracie

by Britt Brewton

It was really great getting to meet all of you guys (uh huh!) and knowing that I am not alone in my obsession with the FIRM.

I thought I would contribute by describing my training session with Tracy Long this morning. First, let me just emphasize again how incredible this woman looked. Every step brought out all these leg muscles I never even knew existed. Wow. Anyway, she was also as nice as she could possibly be - I mean, we're talking someone who you instantly would want to be your best friend. I was relieved to hear how hard she had to work to keep her figure. I also was amazed by the extra-intense training she does before each video. I am sure you will hear more about that in the posts that will soon follow.

Well, my training session began with a nice long talk about diet. She said that few people realize that ~75% of your results are going to come from what you eat. Since my main goal is to drop the 20 pounds I gained during med school (ugh) we broke things down by meals. She recommended 30g of protein from each meal with 2 snacks in the morning and afternoon, for a total average caloric intake of around 1,800 calories. She stressed the importance of a food journal for 30 days until you get used to figuring out exactly how much of what is going in your mouth. She know the fat, calorie and protein content of her breakfast that morning, right off the top of her head! This woman really eats like this!!! Some examples of meals were:

Breakfast - smoothie, oatmeal or scrambled egg whites
Snack - protein bar or apple and small can of tuna
Lunch - chicken breast, salad, brown rice...
Snack - air-popped popcorn with Wt. Watchers butter spray
Dinner - fish, salad, sauted veggies

She also stressed drinking, get ready for this... 1 gallon of water PER DAY. Yikes. My bladder and I need to have a little talk...

Afterwards, we worked on form. I did lunges, squats, dips... and she offered pointers. Very useful! I know several people filmed their personal training sessions to use later.

When we were done, Brenda, Melissa, Alisa, Tracy and I all went across the street to the Planet Smoothie store that her husband owns. We got to meet him (very nice guy), chatted a little more, got a big hug goodbye from Tracy and had to head back home to Atlanta. This was such an incredible experience. I kept saying over and over to myself - I can't believe I am actually working out with Tracy Long! While we did not do a full workout in our training session like others did, I am grateful. I was so sore after the Master Class, I think it would have killed me. She really got me fired up and ready to kick my rear into gear.

Tracy felt that aerobics are highly overrated and that your body does not necessarily need the big recovery day in between each workout. She said that if your body feels good the day after a tough workout, it is okay to use weights on the next day too, just bring the intensity down a notch. I was always afraid of overtraining and would fit a Cathe Freidrich in between each FIRM day, but she felt that really wasn't necessary. For me and my weight loss goal, she recommened 3 very hard, heavy workouts a week with light days in between (she considered "light" to be: Hare, Strong Body, Nordictrack, Vol. 2, Vol. 1, step aerobics tape, etc.). She also suggested 1 super tough, 1.5 hour workout per week, if possible. She stressed the importance of sleep which your body needs to recover properly - She said she always gets atleast 8 hours per night. I am going to strictly follow her diet guidelines and suggested workout regimen for the next few months. I am really curious to see how it works. I will keep you guys posted on my progress if you are interested.

Well, I hope this helps. While she really seemed to tailor her suggestions to me personally and my weight goal, I am sure most of her advice would applicable to many of you out there as well. She recommended I read "Lean Bodies" by Cliff Sheats which really seems to explain in a little more detail all of the things she talked about. There is also a cookbook to go along with it with lots of protein-rich meal ideas.

Again, it was so nice meeting all of you FIRM believers that made it to Charleston this weekend.

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