Targeting Weakness
Got to the studio early today becasue I wanted to get a little cardio in before we started our workout at five. Todd had a pair of ladies working out in the time slot before my usual one and asked if I wanted to join so I thought, "what the hell, I'll double-up today". It was probably the best thing I could have done as the regiment he put them through was far different than anything that we were doing; hey, all the better to work different areas of the body. Besides, that's why I'm writing this blog anyways, so learn everything about Fitness 360 and experience it all.
We finished our session and before I started my five o'clock group Todd spent some time working with me on my "problem areas" and what I should work on and how we could tailor specific workouts for me. One thing that we looked at was that I was currently around 225 pounds, easily the heaviest I've ever been. Knowing Todd's knowledge of diets and nutrition we talked about various reasons why I was so
heavy but still managing to preform all the drills above average, jump well and run well. He surmised that I was carrying way too much weight in my torso and chest area and that toning that up by increasing muscle mass would therefore beging to burn away some of that fat.
During this past summer I had gotten done to a weight of 200 even, mostly thanks to weekends on the Delta wakeboarding and walking the golf courses and weekdays running up to 10 miles at a time. We agreed some of it was a dietary issue but also a cardio and workout thing that we would continue to look at. Todd thought that a weight of 205 to 210 would be perfect for my frame and where I already was with athletics.
The First of 2010… And Maybe The Last!
You're not going to get a lot of wisdom in these postings but here's a word to the wise, if you ever hear your trainer mention a workout called "Fight Gone Bad"... run. Very fast. I just got back from a nice relaxing weekend in Colorado. A lot of hot chocolate, big meals and good wine and then came back thinking I was refreshed and ready to roll. So when Todd suggested "Fight Gone Bad" workout for Monday afternoon the competitor in me thought I was ready for anything and said, "sure, let's do it". For the uninformed "Fight Gone Bad" is pretty much just as many reps as you can do of five exercises in 15 minuters.
First it's a minute of 12-pound medicine ball throws to the ceiling, then one minute of sumo squats with an 85 pound bar, then a minute of jumps on a bench, then a minute of push presses with that same 85-pound bar and finally a minute on the rowing machine. Then you get exactly a one minute break and do it all over again. Oh yeah... then you get another one minute break and do it for a THIRD time! It will pretty much take you to the border of exhaustion and cardiac arrest. Not only is your heartrate skyrocketted but your legs and arms burn; which I'm assuming is the point. The first set through I'll admit there was a little bit of a learning curve, trying to figure out the best way to pace myself and get as many reps as possible. Then in the second set I was exhausted but paced myself a little better, my number of reps fell off but by the final time through I was able to push through and increase my reps from the second time through.
I was proud to put up 388 my first time doing the workout. A number which I'm told was pretty good.Now if I just felt good about it when I got done! However, I can't say there's a better feeling that walking out of the studio in the evening having accomplished a hard workout and knowing you're making some progress. I felt productive but I think I'll shy away the next time someone suggests THAT workout.
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas…
Yes, you're reading the date on this post correctly. Christmas Eve and Todd was there at the studio willing to put me through the paces before the holiday season. I know it's been a week since the last post and I apologize to those out there just chomping at the bit to see the next chapter in this ongoing story but to be honest, writing would require me to sit down at my desk and frankly we've just done way too many squats over the previous four days!
Or maybe I'm just not in great shape yet... Hmm.. Regardless it's been a great week at 360. I'm found a rhythm working out in a group every atternoon with my two boys from St. Mary's. Each day is a little bit different than the next and Todd's been great about working different areas of the body so we're all getting a total body workout. One of the highlights of the past week has been an increased attention on pushing myself through Todd's guidance. There have been exercises such as agility and jumping that I'm excelled at and we've been able to make it harder and incorporate different techniques such as throwing a medince ball back and forth to me while I do ladder jumps and making sure that I'm not getting to comfortable. I love these exercises more than anything because it closely shadows basketball workouts I've done in the past that require you to do more than one thing at once.
Very rarely are you playing a sport and only running or jumping. You're dribbling, looking to score and also looking to pass so multitasking is at a premium. On the flipside Todd has also worked me up in areas that I'm weak in; most notably the fact that I couldn't do a proper squat, clean jerk or push-press - some of the most basic exercises that weightlifters learn early on. We started me at a very light weight and got my technique solid before I started working up towards heavy weights to see results. That example right there best exemplifies why personal training is so great in my mind. The fact that you've got someone looking at your form and realizing that you might be ahead or below the curve and adjusting accordingly.
The BENefits of Mackie
I decided to switch it up a little for my fourth day at 360. Ben Mackie, one of Todd’s first trainers to join the studio had an opening in his afternoon group so I jumped at the chance to get away from the balance balls and squats with the small hope that maybe we’d be getting into something that I would do well at. Having seen women twice my age (god I hope I’m right on that or someone’s going to be mad at me!) doing drills twice as good as me has left me the need to boost the ‘ole self esteem. Ben’s group was composed of a handful of his regular clients and he would pair us into teams, give us a dozen exercies to complete together. For instance we had to run three laps, 300 jump-ropes, 300 sit-ups... etc.
I could perform all 300 sit-ups and my partner, a co-ed from Pacific (thank you Ben!), would do all three laps and so on. It was a great change of pace and involved a great deal of competition against the three other groups. Finally, I thought, something I can really get into. And I did. Now I don’t know whether it was the exercies that appealed to me, the injecting of competition or simply the wanting to not look bad in front of a college girl but it was a great workout. Completely different from what Todd has previously put me through but also very, very effective. Ben’s workout had a certain degree of laid-backness to it but at the same time no one took it for granted and got after it. He, like Todd, kept everything fun but made me work to finish sets and get a little more out of myself. At the end of the day we’re all there only because we want to be there but it’s great to have someone like Ben in your corner getting you to the next level.
Just Getting Through The First Week
On The First Day…
I arrived for my first personal training session with Todd at 4:45 on Monday afternoon. The Lincoln Center studio location was busy as Ben, Lurysol and Todd all were working with a clients in various aspects of training. Ben had a group of three girls on mats working on reverse lunges as Lurysol was in the corner with a woman and Todd ran a group of four people through various circut trainings. I made my way around the gym, trying out the equipment and seeing what was available and of course comparing it to other gyms that I had worked out at. But it's hard to compart Fitness 360 in that way because it's not a gym. It's a personal training studio! I jumped rope, hit a few sets on the bench press and threw some punches on the heavy bag as Todd finished up with his 4:00 clients and called me over to join his group.
There were four of us in his group, a girl and two high school boys and myself. We started right at 5:00 and immediately got into a furious collection of jumping rope, step-ups and leg and ab exercises. We went at a good pace, doing some exercises for time like the "quick feet" and others working on perfect form and taking our own time. Todd observed all four of us at various points making sure that form was good and offering encouragement toward the end of our sets. Numerous times he came over and corrected either my posture or my balance. Having been an athlete my entire life I had done many of the exercises before but working closely with Todd helped me get the most out of them and realize that I had been doing some of them incorrectly. Our session lasted nearly an hour and I must admit I was sore but not exhausted at the end. I knew that was far from the hardest workout we would do but my goal was to simply keep good form and complete each drill without giving up or slowing down.
During the session Todd had noticed that I pronounced my left foot inward while jumping rope so following the session he said wanted to test my hip flexor and my flexability. Laying down on a mat he put me through a number of leg twists and stretches designed to help get some flexibility in my very, very tight left hip. He asked about my previous athleti history and any injuries that would cause it to be that tight - such as my ACL surgery I had while in college. Getting done with that "physical therapy" session I realized how great my hip felt in just twenty minutes of stretching it out. All in all the personal training session was great but really set Todd and Fitness 360 apart from everywhere else was the personal touch. I could have done those drills on my own but probably would not have pushed myself like he did. Observing something in my physical attributes and helping me with it was simply what sold me after one session. I wanted to continue to work out at 360 no matter what but my excitement in doing so has increased greatly with Todd's knowledge and ability to help me reach new levels.
