Personal Training and Body Balance

This morning I headed off to Personal Training. After a warm up, we moved on to some leg work - single leg extensions and leg presses in the complicated looking leg machine. I normally use the easy one that has the weights already loaded. I didn't think I was working my legs all that hard, but my left knee was definitely tired when I was climbing the stairs at work later in the day.

Krissi commented on my good form on the leg extension. I told her that my knees had always been sore when I started at the gym, and so I'd worked really hard to have good form. I figured they needed all the help they could get. I'm really keen to get the form right when I exercise as I don't want to get injured. I like the way Krissi checks up on me. She's really good about giving me safety information too. It gives me a lot of confidence that I'm in safe hands.

After the leg work we did some chest presses and alternated them with pushups. Krissi told me my pushups yesterday were really bad (even I knew that!) and that I needed to forget everything I'd learned and start again. Instead of looking at the ground, I'm to look at my elbow. It seemed to help. I was telling Krissi that I'd been thinking about my fitness goals and that doing pushups properly was something I'd thought I should work on. Next thing you know, Krissi extended it to body weight exercises, and we're going to be working on pushups, chinups and dips. I tend to avoid dips like the plague, which tends to be a sign that they are something I should work on, and I'm like most women - I think chinups are beyond me.

There I am, thinking we'll be doing assisted chinups. Instead, Krissi sets up the Smith machine and a bench, and I'm doing the bottom part of a real chinup (close grip). Well, that's an exaggeration. I'm gripping the bar then stepping to the floor - hardly a moment when I'm holding myself up on the bar in sight. I predict that I'll be working on this for some time. Still, I reckon I'll be a really cool aunty if I casually do a few chinups for my nephews. LOL

When we got to the abs work it was a relief as I thought we'd be doing dips too. I hate them with a passion. Actually, they aren't as bad as I'm making them sound, but I'd rather do any other sort of triceps exercise than dips. Oh well, I'm sure they'll be good for me.

This evening it was Body Balance. I was looking forward to it, as it's a nice relaxed class. I struggled with the getting back up from the downward dog position, so tonight I asked the instructor for some help after the class. It made a lot more sense. Hopefully I'll start to get the hang of it.

I'm always amazed by the number of people who leave before the relaxation component of the class. It's the best bit. I guess they are probably too stressed to stay still for five minutes.

In response to your comments about the amount of exercise I do, it's really not that much. Tuesdays and Thursdays will be busy for the next three weeks - about 3 hours of exercise each day, but I take a lot of rest days. The difference lately is that I've started taking classes. I do 4 a week, two for cardio and two for stretching. The GOFC is meant to be a challenge on top of it all. That's one hour twice a week for four weeks, plus the bike ride there and back. I've cut back on doing weights while I'm doing the GOFC.

I look at the distances you all run, and you make it sound so easy. I think the main reason you think I do a lot of exercise is the variety. Well, maybe talking so much about it makes it sound like more than it is.

Isabelle, I was looking at my kitchen floor with disgust last night. It could do with a wash. It's on the agenda this weekend. The ironing basket is empty but that's only ever a temporary situation.