Training in an unfamiliar place ... the gym

I generally feel like I can hold my own when it comes to athletic endeavors. I can run (duh). I can play softball and volleyball. I can throw a football (a spiral even) and run a route to catch a pass. I can dribble and shoot a basketball.

But put me in a gym (away from the cardio machines), and I am completely lost. I don’t know what to do with weights or how to stretch. I don’t know the proper form. I don’t know the proper terms. I feel completely out of my element.

So, last night was completely comfortable for me.

Actually it was … well except for that last set of push-ups. 

Ack! Uncomfortable arms!

Last night was my first session with Chris from Peak Wellness. We went through some moves I’ll be doing in Phase 1 of my program. He was patient. And explained and demonstrated things … many, many times. And he was the reason I was comfortable in an unfamiliar environment.

We started with foam rolling (I hear great things about this, but I don’t do it … err, until now – it’s on my plan) and rolling calves with tennis balls. They both felt awesome in an “ahh, this hurts but it feels so good” way.

Then, things got serious: push-ups, split squats and cross leg-ankle rock (without the crossing of the legs and rocking). I did three sets with eight reps of each (look at me use these new terms).

Feels so good on the calves

Next up: band pullbacks, single-leg dead lifts and side-lying clams. I did three sets of each with 20 reps of the pullbacks (which got surprisingly hard … does pulling on a band sound hard?) and eight reps of the dead lifts and clams.

The fun part of the night: medicine ball slams. I slammed a medicine ball into the ground as many times as I could for 30 seconds. I did three sets with 30 seconds of rest in between. 

Now this is fun ... but my arms hurt

We wrapped up with stretching that felt pretty darn good. I was even familiar with one of the stretches. 

I do this after every run.

It's pretty cool to know that I have a program made for me. The things I did last night (and will continue to do) all support my goal of becoming a better runner. 

Do you feel comfortable with weights? Do you know what to do? Do you use a foam roller? Have you ever had a session with a trainer? Do you like push-ups?