FeralGoth’s BodyBlog

We’ve been doing a relatively easy muscular endurance routine I’ve worked up for her (she has some health issues, and we’re primarily focused on wellness/accidentalweightloss/general strength at this point) but she’s already discovering that she’s stronger than she thinks she is - which is super cool.   A few more weeks of general conditioning and I think she’s going to be VERY surprised and happy with what she can do.   This whole process is actually really exciting to watch, and has helped me gather more respect for some of the lighter body/mind forms of exercise that I personally haven’t had much to do with in the past.  Of course, it helps to have a client who is so motivated to improve her health and is enthusiastic about learning new things.

A friend of mine was laid off of work a few weeks ago and is still searching for a job - when she’s not furiously interviewing or trying to get an interview, she’s working on a novel and trying to keep up her spirits.   For now she’s my workout partner on some days - since there is a very nice park by her house with one of those fitness trails (yay chinup bar…) etc.    So we haul a bunch of workout stuff out there at least once a week.  Luckily, we are in Florida so we can do this this time of year without our hands freezing to the handles of the kettlebells…  This last time was extra fun though - I had just gotten the "Advanced Russian Kettlebell" DVD with Phil Ross and was itching to try out the Swing to open hand catch move that was NOT ABOUT TO HAPPEN in my condo on the 3rd floor… the neighbors like me and I want to keep it that way - I also don’t want to make big craters in the floor!   The swing to catch is WAY too much fun, btw - I tried it with one of the babies - the 8k just to make sure I had the right idea - then moved up to doing this with the 12k - which was a little easier since the bell part was larger and easier to catch.  I’m pretty sure I can do it with the 16 and will try that next time - if not, it can just fall to the ground safely, no big deal - not like at home…  Proud to say that I have officially moved up to doing multiple sets of 3 pistols/side with the 16k kettlebell - which is a big accomplishment to me at least…
I’m really proud of my friend though, she made some great progress with her Turkish Get Up (and I figured out a few new ways of explaining some of the movements to people…) and her general flexibility has improved a whole lot over the past few weeks - she can now squat a lot deeper for instance.

A funny thing, she went to find the water fountain and I somehow ended up doing cartwheels in the grass, just for the hell of it - and I have to say - it is the weirdest thing if you haven’t done them since childhood - part of your body remembers being smaller for a split second - so yeah, for all the big burly fitness talk I sometimes do, I end up doing cartwheels and jumping rope in the park.  Its good stuff though, and a little cardio fun between sets never hurt anybody…
I finally posted a couple new pictures!!   I need to take some at the park during one of our crazy times - you will be amused.

I was thinking the other night, while re-watching Pitch Black for the 1,000th time of something VERY VERY silly: the fact that the Riddick Trilogy motivated me to do something (a few years ago and continuing to the present day)… and that is to train my upper traps.

I know… its not the most feminine thing in the world, but I think a defined neckline looks nice - on me at least, its probably not for everyone, and I’ve had to cut the neck binding off of a few band t-shirts so that they don’t get all tight and annoying, but these are small sacrifices…

What is something silly like that which has motivated you to train a particular muscle group, or adopt a new method of training/eating/etc. etc.???

So, there’s this small fiasco going on on the personal training forum, I posted a question asking how other trainers motivate their clients and nestled in with a bunch of good advice is someone telling me to "clean myself up" as if I am dirty or something?  (Dude, I gave up on that hippie deoderant YEARS ago… that stuff doesn’t work).  Some people continued to give some good client motivating ideas, while others chose to fixate on telling me things about how I look.   I know what I look like, and I know how people react to it… I’m 31 and this isn’t a freaking news flash.  The truth is, I’m not interested in the typical mainstream client, I may end up having a few, but the clients I’m most interested in helping are the ones who would never consider working with a barbie/ken looking trainer.  You know all those "fat girl" clients you don’t want?  Well, I don’t have a problem with them, and heck, I even want to help them improve their lifestyle.  They might not want to hire you because you’ll probably give them crap about what they wear to the gym… and since I won’t be constantly picking on them… they might do something crazy - like following my advice.
Which got me thinking… I was trying to remember why I hated P.E. back in school so much… it was because of the lame coaches always giving me a hard time about stuff NOT RELATED to my physical performance.  I would show up with a good attitude, never talking out of turn, never giving anyone even a slight bit of trouble.  For instance we had this one doofus who was supposed to be teaching us tennis, I had been taking private lessons on the weekends from a Dutch tennis pro and had developed a fairly wicked serve (he was not told about this), did he focus on teaching me other aspects of tennis?  NO, he gave me unending crap about the fact that I wore black socks to P.E.  This plus the blistering sun helped me to develop a rotten attitude about tennis.  Truth be known, I haven’t played since, which is a real shame, because I’m pretty ok at it and it may be a fun way to meet some new friends.   Socks aside, it seems like throughout my past, as long as there was some dang ex-football coach male teaching P.E. that same male was giving me a hard time about some aspect of my style (thanks for picking on my Chuck Taylors you jerk) which once again, had no bearing on safety or athletic performance.  I wasn’t even on a team for crying out loud, I was just fulfilling a graduation requirement.   At the same time, I sure *didn’t* have a rotten attitude about going to the YMCA and working out, or even participating in a step aerobics class (1993), no one gave me any bs at the YMCA…. and I got a better workout.
So…. what potential clients out there have had similar experiences?  As long as that client is wearing workout clothing that is safe, does not restrict their movement, and covers the legal areas then we’re good… I sure as hell will NEVER pick on anyone because of how they look when they’re my client, and if someone else does, I will support and defend my client so that they know I am on their side and want them to keep working out.  Would you continue going somewhere when you know that every time you went, someone would pick on you about something?   No wonder I keep meeting people who are afraid to ask others for help with fitness…

Soo… my friend got laid off from her job, and her boyfriend is taking the next week off for his birthday (has too much vacation time saved up)- and I got a "free week coupon" for their gym in the mail… so we’re doing a week long gym swap.  Normally I work out at home, in the complex’s weight room, or at my alma mater - so a change up is always a good thing.  Granted they’re members at LA fitness, which is not my favorite, but its big , not crowded and has a lot of stuff available.  But there’s a dresscode… DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUN!  Thankfully I actually have "athletic shoes" now, but they also require stuff that is not "street clothes" and that means I’ll be bringing out the "yoga pants".   Their gym is never fully prepared for my booty to show up, so I will be choosing the more conservative pants for this coming week - that and my friend is a bit on the insecure side so I don’t want to drive her nuts either - last time I was there, some guy walked by me about 20 times (not exaggerating).  I chalk it up to my weird hairdo and that seems to make her happy.   Hey, I don’t care, its all good.   I’m also always interested in checking out how people are at other gyms, what kind of goals they seem to be working on, etc. to add to my mental database I hope to use for personal training someday soon.  Also - to see what their trainers are like AND to have someone measure my bodyfat - see if I’m doing this thang right, you know??   Don’t worry, I plan on getting other opinions from the university etc. and not just from an hourly employee at a corporate gym.

So, last night, for the first time in over a year, my boyfriend decided to go to the workout room and lift some weights.   Previously he had only been doing cardio - and I found out why - about a year ago a trainer (during his free "trial session") told him that he just needed to do gobs and gobs of cardio to lose weight (he’s fairly large, especially around the middle) and not to worry about lifting anything.   GAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!  I didn’t find out about this until last night!  The good news is, he had been talking to a friend at work who was about his size 6 months ago, then began a program of lifting and moderately higher intensity cardio (elliptical machine), reasonable eating etc. and is now a nice healthy weight and feeling better.   After talking with this friend several times about his workout/success, he came to me last night and said, can you show me how those elliptical things work, and I’m going to lift a little too.  Granted, he did NOT like the elliptical machine, but kept at it for a fair 5 minutes, vowing to up the time gradually.  He then used mediumheavy weight on several upper body machines for 2 sets of 12 reps each — he experienced a little "ow, I haven’t done that in a really long time" but came away with a sense of accomplishment.  This morning when he work up, he still have that sense of accomplishment AND a little more energy - most importantly I think he feels like this is something he can do that will make a difference in his health and appearance.  Boy howdy can he complain though…. some of it is at least funny - during shoulder presses he says stuff like "AAAAAA!! Thats it!!! I’m saving up for lipsuction!!!" to which I reply, NO you may NOT borrow my shop-vac!

Yesterday my boyfriend really started to notice that I’m looking and feeling better - he remarked "wow, I didn’t realize how much the junk/rich food had been effecting you" I could then see that he was also thinking "I wonder how much its been effecting ME".  Later in the day he sent along an email with product links to treadmills he was considering - I didn’t have to say a thing.   So apparently the "by example" thing was working, I just needed to be more patient.  Glad I did, now I don’t seem like a nag and he’s making the decisions to be healthier for himself - which should "stick" better I think.

I’m buying a copy of the ACE 3rd edition Personal Trainer manual with the study guide and sample test this week - I can’t wait to get this info.   Has anyone taken the  "hands on" seminar?  It sounds really cool - especially since my "experience" has mainly been from going to the gym myself, and talking with trainers, bodybuilders there.  Also - if anyone has some study tips for the ACE certification, then I’m all ears!   I’m a good test taker (ACT, SAT, GRE were not so bad) so the idea of taking a test isn’t intimidating, I just want to make sure I know what to expect.

Looks like my "business neighbor" (their warehouse is near mine and we hang out sometimes) wants to get rid of a treadmill for cheap - $200… it looks like a nice one - I’ll get the model number next week hopefully so I can get the full 411 on it.  Looks like it needs a replacement handle so I’ll definately need to get that model number so I can track down the part

One of the reasons that I’m seriously considering buying the treadmill is that my boyfriend, who is overweight and has some body image issues does NOT like to go to the gym or work out in public.  Last time we went to the gym together it was not a good time - I like working out and actually enjoy going, so I am sometimes surprised at his reactions (and honestly funny facial expressions) he makes if I say something like: "HEY! Let’s go to the gym together!"  He did hint that he would be more comfortable doing his cardio at home…. if he had a treadmill at home with his music and tv….   not sure if he knows how easily I could obtain one :)  Granted, I wouldn’t mind having one around - I get antsy on rainy or days when the heat index is 98+ and would be happy to pound out a little cardio walking, so even if he was bluffing with the "treadmill at home" statement, I’d end up using it on cardio days.

I’m not a nag, and I never want to be, but I know that his Dr. has recommended quite firmly that he lose some weight with diet and exercise.  So far I’ve tried the passive "by example" method and that doesn’t seem to be working - what are ways that you’ve have helped encourage a reluctant spouse/partner/friend/whatever to start in on a healthy lifestyle?