My first visit to the gym was for an appointment with a personal trainer to assess my fitness levels and for her to help me decide what course of action to take to get the results that I am hoping for. Tania is a very fit, very pretty young woman, and being that I fancy myself at least somewhat knowledgeable about health and fitness, even though I have been slacking lately, I find her to also be very knowledgeable herself as she puts me through my initial screening.
My BP is good, 120/80 but I knew that, I am on Blood Pressure and Cholesterol meds, which I'm hoping to be able to cut back on if I get to a healthier, more fit state! Weight, at the gym, 192#, but hey! I just ate and have clothes on too, am I really that heavy??
My BMI reads an outlandish 29.7 which according to the charts puts me at overweight and very near obese!! How upsetting!! But Tania settles me down and assures me that this index is not an exact science and does not take into account fat vs muscle in the body. She says that her BMI is also very high. That is very reassuring because trust me, looking at her, not an extra ounce of fat to be seen on this girl, so I relax, just a little.
Next we measure Percentage of Body Fat. I begin to get nervous again. I really have been turning into a bit of a "dickydoo" lately, LOL. The reading comes up as a very respectable 20.36% According to most of the statistics I've seen, normal range for a man my age is 18 to 25 percent. Tania strokes me a little by telling me that I fall into the Good to Excellent range. I'm lovin' this girl more all the time!!
Now we move to the gym floor and she assesses my form and balance. I stand straight as she walks around me, checking out my posture, I do a few squats with no weight, stand on one foot, eyes open, which is no problem, my balance isn't bad for an old man. Then she says OK, now try it with your eyes closed! I know I'm in trouble at this point because when I was taking Yoga classes at the beach after first moving to Florida we used to try to do the same thing. It hasn't changed! I can't stay balanced for more than a few seconds without almost falling over.
The assessment is complete. Tania says I stand with my shoulders rounded slightly and need to work on strengthening my Traps and Lats, and go easy on chest exercises until I attain better balance between my back and chest. I chuckle and tell her that every man wants to max out with his bench press, and that's what I had been doing at home on my Smith Machine. She whacks me in the arm and says to just listen to her and lay off the heavy bench for a while.
Off we go to start a light workout. First stop is the Hammer Isolated Low Row Machine. She goes first, shows me proper form, and not to be a dirty old lech, but her form really is quite proper!! I do 2 sets of twelve under her guidance and can see why proper form is more important than heavy weight. The pulling in the traps I feel while maintaining proper form tells me that those muscles are getting a great workout.
Next is a Seated Row, which I am used to doing on my Smith Machine at home. Form is good, couple of sets and on to the High Rope Row. This one I'm not familiar with, and the positioning involved really does bring the core into play to maintain proper balance and form. We're going through the exercises pretty quickly and I'm already beginning to feel a nice burn. Standing Cable Rows and Cable Chest Presses, both of which I've never done before, finish up my first strength training session. Tania and I part, and I hit the treadmill to get a half hour of cardio work in.
In all this whole routine from analysis to finishing with cardio took about an hour and twenty minutes. Once I get into the groove of working out by myself I believe that I'll be able to get in a good strength workout in 45 minutes to an hour. I will still do most of my cardio by pedaling my bicycle and running outside. Running on a treadmill can never replace the feeling I get when I get in a good run along the beach or on the intracoastal waterway. My only concern at this point is will my knees be able to hold up to the stresses of running again. I always felt great when I was running 40 to 50 miles a week, and a 10 mile run was always the most exhilarating for me. I'd be happy if I could get to the point where I could run 30 miles a week again. 4 - 6 - 4 -6 - 10 would be fantastic. We shall see what happens. At the very least, I WILL RUN A 10k with my son and daughter in 2012, I GUARANTEE IT!!!
I do feel really good about the gym and I have one more session with Tania to go over whatever other exercises she recommends. As a matter of fact, I'm off to see that little darlin' right now.
I'll be back!!
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