Fifty shades of ....

... Florent Redon, my personal trainer.

I bet you thought I might be going to spill some juicy dating details...lol.
No this fifty shades isn't that kind of S&M, but it does include some torture tools.

As many of you know, I have had some knee trouble for many years now.  I'm pleased to say after surgery, taking a fall, doing physio, trying acupuncture and many hours with my personal trainer Flo, I feel that I am finally on the real road to recovery.

You already were introduced to Jim, my hairdresser.  He makes me look good. Well, Flo has helped me to gain strength and feel good. Now this selfie was taken after a tough workout today. I'm very excited to finally be at a place physically that I can get back into a routine of workouts that really make me sweat.  Yes, I like to sweat in a workout (note: I did not inherit this from my mom). The weight lifter in me did 100lb Romanian Dead Lifts today ....sounds impressive anyway.  And the Olympic champion in me improved my time in 500m rows by 20 seconds. Okay so I'm just an ordinary 49 year old exercising with a trainer, but at times it makes me feel like much more.

Did I mention the 200lb sled pulls?  The thing I have found about improving my physical strength is that, for me anyway, there is a correlation with mental strength.  Sometimes pure mind over matter in finishing a set, or holding my plank for the last 15 seconds is incredibly rewarding.

And I know myself, and I need the motivation of a trainer to keep me focused and work around my injuries (and let's face it - I come by my nickname Klutz #1 honestly). The French accent is just a bonus.

Merci Beaucoup Flo !