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?

Teaming with Peak Wellness to be a better runner

I don’t like strength training. I find it boring. So boring I’d rather do any form of cardio than do strength training. Run stairs? Sure. Elliptical? Yes, please. Sand volleyball? Of course. Just please, please, please don’t make me do strength training.

Running on the treadmill at the craptastic gym is
not my favorite, but I'll take it over strength
training ... probably not the brightest idea.

Oh? What’s that? Strength training is good for me? It’ll help me be a better runner? Well, someone’s going to have to force me to do it.

Chris Kelly from Peak Wellness recently contacted me and said he would be that someone.

Pretty cool, right?

Even cooler? It’s just not strength training to be doing strength training. It’s strength training personalized just for me: Jina, the runner who wants to be faster. 

At our initial meeting, Chris and I talked about my goals. As a runner, I think a goal is always going to be to get faster. Part of that process? Losing some extra weight. So, my goal for the next three months: lose 15 pounds. In the process, Chris said he can help me be a better, more efficient runner. Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’m lacking energy on my long runs. Chris said we can work on that, too. Wow. All of this from strength training? Why have I avoided it for so long?

I want to come across finish lines faster and stronger.

Oh, yeah. I don’t like it, and I didn’t have anyone to push me to do it. I’d do some here and there, but never with any consistency. And, I was never sure of what to do or know if I was doing it right. Thank goodness for personal trainers like Chris.

Of course, with a trainer comes someone that will push you even when you don’t want to be pushed. Don’t get me wrong, this is definitely a good thing, but sometimes I’m sure I’ll feel like it isn’t. But, in the long run, it’s all good … right?!?

At our initial session, Chris had me do some exercises to get an idea of where I was physically. I did push-ups, squats, lunges and planks (including a difficult knee to elbow plank – I was really surprised this was the most difficult thing for me to do; I could not keep my balance).

From this session, he developed a personalized program. We’ll meet once per week to go through the workout and learn the moves (and learn the lingo … I’m severely lacking in strength training lingo).  

You can follow my journey and progress right here on Behold the Turtle. You can follow Peak Wellness on Twitter, Facebook or their website.