End of Week #1

"Hero" refers to characters (fictional or historical) that, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self-sacrifice – that is, heroism – for some greater good, originally of martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence. (Wikipedia)





Rudy is my hero.





After only one week of working with Rudy, he has demonstrated integrity and keeping to his word. He told all of us participants that he will work hard and push himself right along with us, for us. All week long, he has done this. He is giving of himself for others good. He is helping them to make a change in their life and believe in themselves. 45 of us are participating in his 12 week program to serve as testimonials in his upcoming infomercial. This blog will serve to chronicle my experiences and progress.





Just spent a moment getting to know Rudy and you will learn that his message is about living like a Hero. He wants to makeheros of us all. Rudy comes from a background filled with adverse situations and challenges. However, he has risen above it, continues to face his challenges and time and time again puts others before himself.





He believes in the mind/body connection and is helping us to become heros in our own lives, overcoming our own challenges, by improving our bodies and consequently improving our minds. Every workout, we are faced with ourselves.


My challenge when I started this program was that I was 20 lbs overweight and steadily climbing. I used to be a fit blue belt in Kung Fu, but hadn't really been training more than 1 day a week if even that, for the last 2 years because I fell in love and spent all my time with that love. Here is the ad I responded to and the initial letter I sent to Karen Reif of Euro RSCG when first inquiring about the program:

LOSE WEIGHT AND LOOK AND FEEL BETTER Free 12 Week Program with Celebrity Trainer We are seeking committed weight loss testimonials for a television infomercial. Our 12 week program is a breakthrough fitness formula designed to remove obstacles that kept you from success in the past. This is a mind/body approach that helps people overcome and succeed no matter what your fitness level. You will be put on a custom eating plan and workout 4 days a week with a top celebrity trainer. With this program you are guaranteed to lose weight. You must be 20 to 60 years old, 15 to 100lbs overweight, motivated and able to commit to workouts 4 days a week at a gym in north county coastal San Diego. So if you want to look great and transform your body & life, email us at karenreif@earthlink.net Please include some basic info such as name, age, height, weight, occupation, and a few sentences describing why you want to participate. Please attach a recent photo.

Dear Ms. Reif:

My name is Arlene Paraiso. I am 32 years old and 5'4" tall. As an Executive Assistant at Sony Electronics, I sit in front of a computer for the majority of my day.

I used to be very active with martial arts, but once I met my now ex-fiance, I stopped working out because we wanted to spent every moment outside of work together. He is a US Marine and still in great shape because 2 hours of his workday always included exercise. Now we have broken up for over a week now and I am left feeling very fat and unattractive at my all time high of 140 lbs! I want to get back to 118 that I was when I met him 2.5 years ago. It is so hard now that I am in my thirties to get rid of this weight. Now that we are broken up and he has moved away, I have all the time in the world to devote to your program. My biggest obstacle is that I have never been this big before and weight was never an issue. I am not sure what to do. It is really hard to get back into martial arts at the level I was at when my endurance and energy is so low.
Please pick me! I have the desire, commitment and discipline. I won't let you down.

Sincerely,

Arlene T. Paraiso

P.S.The attached picture was taken this Monday. I try to wear baggy outfits to hide my stomach, but it is still obvious that I need to make some real health changes.

+++

I got the call from Skye the next day. I had to wait a week for my interview with Karen and then I had to wait another similarly semi-excruciating week to hear if I got into the program. Needless to say, I was ECSTATIC when I got the call!

This first week was already an incredible journey. I was losing sleep the week before it started. I must have been really anxious to get going. Wow! Looking back, every week was like a mini-journey in and of itself.

Day one: Weigh-in, measurements, before picture and interview

So C street is a weird one and I got lost in the alley looking for a 'bamboo gate' when I should have been looking for a silver gate with bamboo behind it... but once I got in, it was great. I wasn't sure where to go and a nice girl kind of pointed the way. Very soon I saw Karen and she got me started with paperwork. The nice girl that had helped me was sitting there talking with her friend and they looked like they were in great shape! So, being myself, I just straight up asked why they were there when they already looked so fit. It turns out that she (Alicia) and Cheri (spelling?) had already been through the program and were back for more! This was very promising news! I already knew I was in for something good because people were back for more! Weighed in and met Sal. I am 30% fat if I recall. Hard to believe that 1/3 of me is all just fat. Can't be good for me. Sal was nice, felt badly for him to have to stay in such a hot building. Met the makeup artist, also very nice. Powder needed to be very powerful because it was a HOT day! Finally the time came where I got placed in a group of six and got to meet Rudy Reyes in the interview. He certainly was just as nice in person as he seemed from his website. The interaction was positive and the group felt already pretty close.

When we had to say our name to the camera, Rudy actually recognized my name from an e-mail I sent him a few days prior, that made me feel very happy! It showed me we were going to be working with a genuine person who really gives a care about people. Everyday this week, that has been proven to me again and again.

We broke for lunch and already Rudy was working out. I guess he never eats unless he works out or he makes sure he works out before he eats. Something like that. I remember catching glimpses of his workout and thinking, nah! We won't be don't anything like that. That's just his own thing...but now looking back.. I bet we did those same kind of exercises this week. Wow!

The last thing I had to do was my 'before' shot. YUCK! But even that was kind of pleasant because once again, the people were pleasant. What could have been very harrowing, wasn't quite bad. Plus just trying to imagine that in 3 months I most likely would be back and looking F-I-I-I-NE! Or as my sisters like to predict, I will look like a "Victoria's Secret" model. hahaha Wow! Could you imagine!? Not many Filipino VS models, but hey maybe thanks to Rudy Reyes, there might be one very soon! After the program, if I just grow 5 more inches and lose 10 years off my age, I may have a chance! I kid I jest. BUT I am looking forward to wearing some old favorite dresses of mine again. I wonder if we will have a 'wrapup' party? That'd be fun! I guess I may be getting ahead of myself being that we are only on the first week...

9/8/08 Monday: First Workout

When Rudy said 'just move', he wasn't kidding. We just moved! For an hour or so with nothing more than our bodies, a floormat and a pair of dumbells. That day, was the sorest I can ever remember being from just a 1 hour workout. My legs were done! I could sit and I could stand, but I needed the assistance of my arms to get from one position to the other. Rudy broke us in good. He didn't everything right along with us. I was still excited for the nest day.

9/9 Tuesday: Second Workout

We met outside and were placed in groups. I got to be with two guys and some of the awesome returning girls. We rotated three stations and never really stopped to rest.

1. 10 dips, 10 pushups on med bar; 10 dips, 10 pushups on low bar; 20 mountain climbers on the lowest bar. Run the parking lot back and forth. repeat. End with 10 pullups
2. 10 dips, 10 high-knee step ups, 10 two footed jump-ups on each leg on low tire, repeat on high tire
3. Trail of Tears. Run up and down the mountain until time is called.

All the while, my group was so motivating. Poor Adam helped me with my pullups and I think he got more of a workout than myself! Saleem and all the other women just were so encouraging and motivating. We got through the stations and then Rudy had one more challenge for us. A sprint in pairs up the trail of tears! Incredibly, I was able to burst up the hill faster than any of the other times I had done it that day. I was spent, but felt accomplished. Body was still super sore!

9/10 Wednesday: No workout

9/11 Thursday Workout of Week One

We warmed up outside and then worked out in the room inside. The big problem this day was that I got a cold! By the time I was at my desk, my throat and eyes were burning! I didn't know what to do. Rudy told me that he works out and keeps doing all the things he likes to do, except he rests more. I took this advice and skipped the morning session on Friday to rest more and then prepped myself for the 7pm workout that night. I was worried, but knew all I had to do was keep moving, even if it wasn't going to be great.

9/12 Friday: pm session

I don't know how or why, but the soreness was gone this day and the workout seems not as tough as Monday. It was amazing! I am not sure why, but I heard the morning session did spinning and during the night session we stayed in the room and did free weights and matwork. I don't mind. It was still a great workout. Love hearing Rudy give us all assurance and cheering. It's also great to watch him as an example.

9/13 Saturday Morning

Hey, I still had a lingering cold, but I only get 12 weeks with Rudy as my trainer/teacher, so I'm going to push myself to learn and experience all that I can. There are only 40 or so people in this program and I get to be one of them, and there are some people in SD right now wishing they had this opportunity, so yeah, I headed up to Moonlight beach and workout on the sand. It was great, crazy hard! Challenging yet fulfilling. We did sprints in the sand and then a set of 20 pushups, 20 step-ups, 20 dips and then 20 crunches. Then back to sand sprints, then back to the sets of 20, then one more round after that! I think since I am not all about 'having great form' and more about 'just continuing to move', it takes the pressure off of me performance wise. I just keep going. One my body is stronger, I will work on form more. Ava was my group leader, she was the bomb. I was really proud of everyone in our group. Afterwards I was able to just sit and chill on the beach, watch the waves, talk to people...introduces Tracy to Shannon. Shannon is an actress/voice over actor and Tracy is a cartoonist/voice over actor as well. Turns out Tracy and I actually have the same buddy too. A local comedian names Dat Phan. Small 'world' San Diego it is. Had breakfast at Naked Cafe in Solana (LOVE THAT PLACE, gotta go back there. I will tell more people about it!), then the rest of the day was mine! Usually I have to jet to get ready for work or something else so Saturday was just an all around good time. Even if you don't have to make up a class, you should go sometime! I'm going to try to go whenever my schedule will allow.

So, that's it for week one.

I feel the group pulling together in class and via e-mail. I just got Karen's last e-mail about her excitement for the after pictures. I am really excited too! I can't wait to see the 'new' everybody!

I hope I can lose it... I am one of the smallest in the group with about 15 to 20 lbs to lose... they always say the last ten is the hardest... I hope I can do it! I am generally small with very small wrists and ankles, so I used to fool myself about not needing to lose weight or that I look alright. I'd say, "Women NEED curves." "Fat is good, we need it in case we get pregnant." "I'm voluptuous, that's just my body-type now that I am older". I know all of those reasons are really only half-truths.

I also used to be able to fool myself about what I put into my body. Something like a dozen cookies was just a treat because 'just once in awhile doesn't hurt. It's not like I eat it all the time'. This program is really ingraining it into my head that it so DOES matter what you put in your body! I look to eat 'live' food and avoid all fried and processed foods. I see food and take a moment to ask myself if it is going to help me or hurt me.

I really look forward to the day I can no longer grab my belly with both of my hands and shake it around. Yeah, I can do that... hopefully after this program I will never be able to do it again.

I only have 11 more weeks left with this fabulous group, fabulous Rudy and his fabulous support team. I gotta give it my all! I hope that positivity and hope stays!

I feel stronger and but tighter, but I still have a long way to go. I don't 'see' results yet , I am only just beginning to feel them.