W27, Day 4; Exercise Questions

 Yesterday I'd planned on going to the gym, but was so pooped that I skipped out, so today I made sure that I went after a work training.  I have to say that going to the gym is a big time commitment.  This is probably my biggest negative issue with going--I am a total time freak.  I hate to see it slip by, to be late, or to feel I misspent it.  I totally know that exercise is a worthwhile endeavor, but I do hate to see losing an hour and a half go by (one hour to work out, the rest to get dressed, drive there, check in, etc.)  On the other hand, I have to remind myself, what else would I be doing?  Losing an hour of Facebook, t.v., reading, or general puttering around isn't going to kill me.   Quite the opposite in fact, maybe the exercise will strengthen my body, heart, mind.

Sometimes getting myself to the gym can be challenging because I don't think that I feel like going, but once I'm there it's fine.  I do my thing on the elliptical.  It's funny but the first day I did the elliptical I thought I was going to die in the first minute.  Three minutes in, I thought I wasn't going to be able to go on.  I stopped at least four times in that half hour to rest.  Now I can do it all the way through without a break, though I often stop for about 30 seconds somewhere at the twenty minute mark to try to make my right foot stop tingling (it goes numb by the end if I don't).  I feel somewhat accomplished.

During the second half of my workout, I do things like squats, lunges, crunches, and weights.  There also I see little bits of growth.  For instance, the first day I did squats it was really hard and I was sore for days.  Now I feel it when I do the squats, but I'm not sore the next day.  It's interesting how something can be very difficult when the trainer shows it to me, but within a few times of doing that exercise during my workouts--like lifting weights--it's a lot easier.

Honestly, it kind of makes me wonder if I'm doing it wrong or something because it's too easy.  While I wait to ask the trainer, I'm upping the weights on most everything I do.  From my last two sessions, I notice the trainer doesn't seem to want to make me push myself anywhere near my limits.  Should an exercise be difficult to do?  Should I be sore?  If I'm not sore or I don't feel like it's hard to do, is it still beneficial?  Some of weights the trainer gave me just seem too light--I don't feel anything.  Should I stick with her plan anyway or push myself to keep upping the weights?  I just want to get the best outcome for my time.  I don't want to go on and on if it's not beneficial, but I also don't have any exercise background.  I don't know anything about weight training.  Anyone have an answer?

P.S.  This reveals my inner dork, but I sort of like using the weighted bar because it makes me feel like a Jedi.  Watch out for my lightsaber!