The best dinner conversation

Sometimes the best dinner conversations happen over chips and salsa and a 32 ounce margarita. Jeff's look of shock when I ordered margarita special of the night was calmed when the waiter delivered my margarita....and it wasn't 32 ounces. Whew....it could have been a loooong morning after.

Maybe not 32 ounces, but it was enough!

Jeff and I went to dinner and, as usual, the conversation turned to work and working out....or as in this case: BOTH! I explained to Jeff that I am interested in going to GRIT(r) training. Recently, we had one instructor go to training and he lost 10 pounds in two weeks. Another husband/wife instructor team went to training and the wife lost 35 pounds! Hmmmm, very intriguing.

Typically, Les Mills instructors have to be sponsored by a licensed club. Now that I work full time as a Les Mills Club Coach, I have the opportunity to attend any training I would like. A few weeks ago my manager asked when I was going to go to GRIT(r) training. GRIT stands for Group Resistance Interval Training. It's a HIIT workout: 30 minutes of high intensity interval training and there a 3 different formats: GRIT Strength, GRIT Cardio and GRIT Plyo.

Here is a sample of the GRIT Plyo class....45 seconds of the full 30 minute class!


I am a little terrified. I mean just because I am an IRONMAN does not mean that I am ready for HIIT training! Yes, I can endure....not sure I am ready to push my body to the point of puking however.

BUT...I'm a sucker. I'm registered for training on July 20th. I'll be heading to St. Louis for the weekend to take my first steps toward becoming a LES MILLS GRIT Coach. In my job working as a club coach, I've had GFM (group fitness managers) tell me they get better results from GRIT than clients do working with a personal trainer on a regular basis. So why not?

The only problem is finding a local gym where I can coach people through GRIT. During our great dinner conversation (and maybe it was the margarita going to his head), he tried to convince me to purchase the GRIT license and offer the group personal training format here in Tremont.

WHOA! Say what? The license for GRIT(r) is not cheap. I would have to have at least 6 paying clients just to break even every single month. Jeff's rational is that there are a large number of people who look to me for health & fitness advice, or attend my classes. As my friend, Jen, says, she's "A Carla Groupie". She follows me from class to class because she likes my teaching style and knows that I am knowledgeable. I walk the walk. I talk the talk.

I still pause. For once, I am being the rational one, throwing up arguments on why this won't work or why I shouldn't do it and Jeff is playing the role of the dreamer, the risk taker. He still firmly believes that I should do it. His belief in me and my abilities are so humbling. How did I become fortunate enough to marry someone who believes in me 110%?

As our conversation evolves, I discover the real root of his reasoning. He wants to become my first client. He wants me to kick his ass and get him back in shape. I have to say the idea is definitely appealing, but I've decide to wait and see how my training goes. My training DVDs should arrive in the mail this week. I will be mixing up my workouts between marathon and HIIT training. I see lots of burpees in my future.