Graduation

I graduated from the National Personal Training Institute on Saturday with a 4.0!  I really enjoyed the class.  I learned so much about exercise, anatomy, nutrition, and how to be a personal trainer in the class that I feel I have a really good foundation to be a great personal trainer. 

I'm looking forward to starting out as a personal trainer. 

One Final Down, One To Go

I took my first final today, and I did really well.  I got a 99.  I spent the better part of the last day and a half studying.  My next final is on Saturday, so I'll probably be studying during every spare minute between now and then.

There is one thing I should probably do this week besides study.  My class is over (except for the finals) so I no longer have a gym membership since my membership was through the school for the 6 months of my personal trainer certification course.  I better get myself signed up somewhere.

Have great workouts this week.

40 Days...

...until my last final at the National Personal Training Institute.  That time will go by really fast.  I have found learning more about anatomy and physiology really fascinating.  It has also been really fun to train people from my class at the gym.  I've gained a greater appreciation for goals.  Nutrition has always been one of my interests, and I'm really glad that I know more about the basic building blocks of nutrition, especially as it pertains to training at the gym.

Here are some other things I learned:

• All your strength gains happen during recovery. 
• It's important to get enough sleep.
• If you aren't getting enough sleep, it is really easy to stray from your healthy nutrition plan.
• Have a goal for training at the gym.  Long term goals are good, daily and weekly goals help you get there.

Yesterday was a great day at the gym.  Martina and I are personal trainers for each other on Saturdays.  We decided to workout together on Saturday so that we could see what our 1 Rep Max was for Deadlift.  We were both trying to deadlift 185 pounds and both of us got 185.  185 is what women have to be able to lift in order to make Team for strength.  (Your name and deadlift weight, or rowing time, or what have you, goes on the wall in the back of the room along with the names of everybody else that also made Team.)   I tried for 195, but that didn't happen.  That bar loaded to 195 was just not going to get more than a few inches off the ground.  I've never seen a bar that I was trying to lift bend like that before.

I learned yesterday that there is a real focus and clarity that comes with lifting really heavy weights.  I've always liked what Baron Baptiste (founder of the Baptiste Power Yoga Institute)  said about weightlifting:

On a recent trip to Los Angeles, I went to one of my old haunts, Gold's Gym, in Venice Beach.  That particular gym is like the world mecca of bodybuilding.  Arnold trained there, as have countless others.  When I told a friend where I'd gone, she laughed and said, "I love it....the big yogi pumps iron?"

"It's all yoga," I told her.  "On or off the mat, it's yoga."

Even if I'm in the creme de la creme of the weightlifting world, I'm still putting all I have learned in my practice into action.  I'm using my ujjayi breathing for stamina and presence, my abdominal lock for core stabilization, a focused gaze for calm determination, the Master Principles of Alignment for healthy form.  Yes, I'm lifting weights, but beyond that I stay aware of my edge, practice maintaining equanimity, and use my intuition to know when less is more and when to push further.

So yesterday, I found my "edge" as Baron Baptiste would say.  I look at my experience yesterday in Deadlift as one of the really great accomplishments that I achieved in my class.  It's an exercise that I wasn't very familiar with prior to the start of the class, but it became one of my favorites early on in the class. 

Now I'm just trying to think of what else I want to accomplish before my class is over.  Maybe I'll try for 195 again closer to the end of class.

Have a great week.  I'll get much better at blogging again in about 40 days.  I'll try to post a little more frequently until then.

     

Diet Dr. Pepper

After drinking 20 ounces of Diet Dr. Pepper, I am still thirsty.  I'll be drinking water the rest of the day since I'll be strength training tonight.

Milestones

I reached a milestone weight today:  160.0!  I've been wanting to weigh 160 for a very long time.  My goal weight is 158.2, so I am nearly there.

My First Practical

I had my first practical exam in my class today.  We were given a list of 8 exercises, then our instructor would choose one from the list for each of us to teach him.  I went last in the group and he asked me to teach him how to do a barbell squat.  Barbell squats are not my favorite exercise, but I'm getting better at them.  Barbell squats are my instructor's favorite exercise (he can squat at least 440 pounds), but I was able to focus on how I would teach the exercise to a beginner.

I taught him how to do the movement without the bar first.  He intentionally made a mistake, rounding his back which is very bad in a squat.  Then he made another common mistake which was taking the bar off the rack too high on his neck (the bar should be on the traps or upper shoulders), which I corrected immediately.

I got 100 on the practical.  Wahoo!   

End Of a Short Hiatus From Workouts

I took a short hiatus from my usual 5 workouts a week while I was out of class and off work and my trainer was on vacation.  I accomplished the things that I planned:  got my haircut and used my gift certificate for a free massage.  I also accomplished a few things that were completely unplanned such as my spur of the moment trip to the mountains when I lost power during a thunderstorm, and clearing out my fridge and freezer after everything went bad due to the power outage during the thunderstorm.

One thing I didn't accomplish:  going to the farmers market on Saturday morning.  Didn't see much point since the power was out and the area wasn't in great shape.  Better luck next time.

I went back to work today, and tomorrow morning I will go back to the gym.  I rarely have time any more to just workout on my own, so it will be fun.  Side planks and compound rows will be part of the workout tomorrow.  I've been thinking about side planks since Sunday which was day 3 of my no workouts week. 

Starting next week, I'll be back to a more normal workout schedule.  I'll have workouts Monday through Wednesday, workout on my own Friday morning, and workout on Saturday.

It's July which means my classes are half way over.  :)