CardioGrl’s BodyBlog

I’m so nervous and excited at the same time!

Starting a new position today, PERSONAL TRAINER! YEAH!!! me fat ol’ me a Personal trainer… 

It’s like I’m in some kind of a great dream that I don’t want to wake up from!

I’ll know my schedule today, I need to figure out how to deliver the news that I have two vacations scheduled, a surgery, and a few days off in between… argh….hope that they don’t fire me .

Wish me luck!!!!

My dream came true!

This is it for me, I’ve completed my Personal Training course, I’m testing this Sunday, Practical at 9:30am.  And written 100 multiple choice afterwards. 

There is so much to remember, so many things to go over.  I love this subject, love kinesiology, love it, but can’t help and feel absolutely nervous.   So many thoughts, so many fears, will I measure fat properly, will I take measurements correctly, will I remember how to properly warm up the tester? What about Flexibility Assessments, the stretches, all the tests, Par-Q, risk stratification … sigh. 

I’ve been busting my ass everyday reading and reading, all the acronyms are driving me out of my mind, GXT, THR, Systolic/Dystolic,  FIT principle, Training methods; Continuous, X-training, Interval, Fartlek.  Phosphagen System, Glycolisys, Lardosis {excessive curvature of the lumber spine}, Kyphosis {Excessive curvature of the thoracic spine}, Scoliosis {Lateral Curvature of Spine}, Agonist, Antagonist, Synergist, SITS (Four muscles of the rotator cuff, stabilize the shoulder; Superspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor, Subscapularis).  How do I not confuse Biceps Femoris with actual Biceps, Lactate Threshold, Slow twitch type I fibers generate low force resist fatigue.  Type IIa- Fast twitch, generate high force, resist fatigue, Type IIx- fast twitch generate high force and easily fatigue…Oy.. my head.

My friends say “Hey M, don’t worry, you’ll pass, look at the average Personal Trainer, an idiot” (Which I personally take offense at, but hey you’re supposed to accept friends for who they are), my answer is always the same “If they’re certified they’re far from idiot, please don’t repeat this ignorant statement”. 

Part of this whole certification program is 20 hours of Internship.  Another issue that I’m stressing over, I mean, what do I do? Just approach a gym manager, any gym and say “hey I’m here to be your slave for the next 20 hours?!?!?!”

How do I calm these nerves of mine?  I’m going to need all the help that I can get it seems!

I am scheduled for a training session in about two hours.  Part of an interview for a luxury spa that I’m trying to get a job with.  I was told that the woman that I’ll be training is five feet tall, 110lbs, in tip top shape and no health issues that prevent her from performing any training. 

I never trained anyone in my life.  Though I’m almost done with school for my certification, we’ve not gone over an actual training session though I’m very familiar with most gym equipment.  It’s so weird for me to be tossed to the lions like this.  Not putting her through tests or reading her Par-Q information. 

I’m thinking of an overall body routine, something like standing overhead barbell triceps extensions, hammer curles, cable internal rotation, Cable crossover, Ab cruncher, Barbell shrug behind the back, straight arm pulldown, One arm dumbell row, hyperextensions, dubbell lunges, and plie lunges. 

I’m puzzled about the warm up, is it ever part of the training session? Do I put her on a treadmill for an 8 minute warm up?  Do I stretch her?

I’m so nervous, what am I going to do?!?!?!

It’s been a while since I wrote, thank you for emailing me the reminder.  I’m a bit busy these days.  My certification program is taking much time, but non the less it’s amazingly interesting. 

Tomorrow we cover Physiology.  I tried reading ahead, the names of the bones, ligaments, connective tissue etc is driving me insane.  I hope that we are not expected to remember them all for the exam. 

Training and Weight:
  

I continue to workout regularly even though I skip updating the Workout tracker on occasion.   

I did skip a workout yesterday, but instead we skied all day! Interestingly not a single muscle is sore .  Working-out pays off! 

My weight is not dropping much in fact, in the less month maybe 1/2 a pound or so.  But my body fat percentage dropped by one percent.  I just find it hard to believe that I, at a quarter inch shy of 5′6 will go through the rest of my life weighing 145lbs with something like 20% body fat.  Why can’t I be like the really slender muscular women? Is my skeletal structure this big?!?!?! . 

Frustrations, frustrations, frustrations! 

My certification program starts on the 10th of Feb.  I’m getting more and more nervous.  I’ve read and re-read the chapters that I’m supposed to, in the Fitness Professional’s Handbook.  And some things are still not making sense.  I still can not figure out some of the forumulas, particularly the chapter on VO2 max.  I hope that in class it will become clearer.

On the other hand, I am very thrilled.  I am hoping that it’s not just a temporary insanity and that for the first time in life, I will enjoy work for a living .

I’m required to read a whole bunch of chapters before the first class for personal training starts on Feb 10th.  The book name is Fitness Professional’s Handbook, Fifth Edition.  I’m covering chapter 5 on Cardiorespiratory Fitness.  I’m stuck on how to calculate CRF (Cardio Respiratory Fitness).  Which can be expressed as follows:

 * Liters of oxygen used by the body per minute (L * min-1)

* Milliliters of oxygen used per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml * kg-1 * min-1)

*METs, multiples of resting metabolic rate, where 1 MET = 3.5ml *kg-1*min-1

 So a person with the ability to use 35 ml * kg-1 * min-1 during maximal exercise is said to have a CRF equal to 10 METs (35 / 3.5 = 10)

I keep reading and re-reading and I just don’t get it. 

HELP ME!!!!