I now think I know how a race horse may feel. I’m pretty excited about starting a new workout program at Capital Fitness in downtown Madison. I’ll get into all the details about my workout in the upcoming months, but I just have to share with you the experience of getting evaluated by a personal trainer.
I’ve worked out a ton in the past by myself, but this is the first time I decided to try using a trainer. I expected someone who had giant muscles and a tiny head to be yelling in my face that I should lift another 500 lbs faster and that I must have “The Eye of the Tiger” in order to have success.
I couldn’t be more wrong.
I met with Brian and Pete who are two guys who are in shape, but definitely not total muscle heads. I think the most
interesting part was that in my initial evaluation they had me do a few simple things like:
1) March in place with my eyes closed
2) Hold a pole above my head and then bend my knees
3) Get on all fours and stretch out my right hand and my left leg at the same time.
The list went on and on. Nothing was strenuous and they both had clipboards and would occassional whisper to each other and write things down.
It didn’t make me feel self-conscious. I was actually more curious. Here are a few of the things I found out:
1) I have poor balance
2) I’m not very flexible
3) I’m out of shape
They explained to me that the way your body moves is just as important as the exercises you are trying to do. In other words, simply running five miles on a treadmill may not be the best way to get in shape and whatever exercise you’re doing proper form is a must.
I’ve heard people tell me I have bad form before, but that was usually at dinner parties. Stay tuned to find out how I’ll go from a guy with poor balance and stiff joints to a new and improved guy who can touch his toes easily and have a lot more energy.