The TFP Health Club

Me and running are not on good terms. I can trace most of my lower body injuries to attempts at daily running.

 

Got told today by the gym's owner that I was, "spending to much time asking the trainers questions, they need to do other things".

WTF? Isn't that their job to help me out while I'm working out? I'm going to go by the local YMCA and see how they handle my questions.

I think that gym lost a customer. I shouldn't have to watch youtube to make sure my form is correct.

 

How much are you paying the personal trainers? I was a personal trainer for 8 years. I definitely made all my money on commission. I would show people stuff occasionally, but that was always with the idea of trying to land them as a client. Or to be seen as being helpful and professional. We would assist and spot people, but we were there to train people.

 

These are employees of the gym, not official trainers. There are only two certified trainers, the owner and another guy. I asked at the beginning of the gym membership if there were extra fees for asking about things like this and exercise routine help. There are no extra fees stated and she never said anything about paying more for anything. I'd pay extra if that is an option, but she never said anything about this before.

I don't ask for a full hour, just spot me once in a while and spend a minute or two making sure my form is correct. The last two weeks I've been asking a lot of questions, but it's because I got a new workout routine from one of those guys.

The employees have all been awesome in helping me (I work out alone and don't have someone to always spot me). The employee told my GF on her way out that he was sorry she said that and let her know I can ask him any question I want.

 

Oh, ok. Where I was we had mostly trainers, with a few fitness instructors. I started as a fitness instructor, doing initial evaluations and an initial routine with each new member. But we also had a full time cleaning staff and also a repair crew that covered several facilities. So that gave us time to focus on training.

 

Highlight today was cleans. My body just doesn't like deadlifts very much. I'll keep working them in, but I don't think they are a mainstay like squats or bench presses. So I did cleans today. Basically starting from a barbell on the floor, to racking it on the shoulders with an explosive movement. The work sets were 135x5, and 155x2x5. I'm going to feel it in the calves and traps for the next few days. But overall I was happy with it. 7.5 minutes of cardio. Woot!

 

I've been doing Romainian deadlifts lately. Works for me. I'm hoping they will help with real deads one day.

 

Blasphemy!

 

Is your goal to run better or get stronger? I know you know how easy it is to get faster at running. It's a lot easier than gaining strength. If you want to get better at picking stuff up, then pick stuff up. Get your running back to a maintenance level. You know you can always crank it up for a week or two. And GOMAD. Gallon of milk a day.

 

I was just talking to myself, really. My overall goal is to get stronger but it has a couple of * attached to it.

And I don't need a goddamn gallon of milk. I have good supplements. And Greek yogurt.

The hardest part about trying to get stronger while staying lean is the diet part.

I'm guessing eating a ton of whatever and lifting heavy would be fun.

 

Yes, the myth of staying lean while gaining muscle. Or you could do what works and pound the calories with the weights.

 

I just can't motivate myself to grow a duffel bag of blubber over my stomach. My knees are bad enough as is.

Hell, all you guys talk about is lifting heavy but wishing you could drop the gut weight.

My waist is the same size today as it was in high school and the military.

 

Go to hell!

 

And with a 365 deadlift.

 

Really? That's pretty solid. Raw or with wrist straps? Chalk, I assume?

 

Current 1RM. Raw, dude. Felt like a goddamn champion, too. Hands were total rubber.

Needless to say, being home this long and not doing it means I'm probably way back down.

 

The other day was squats, 275 lbs. First time the weight actually felt kind of heavy as opposed to me feeling weak and having crappy form. 3x6 for sets and reps. And since I know 3 sets isn't really enough for quads and hamstrings, I threw in a couple sets each of leg extensions and leg curls.

 

So I really enjoyed tonight's workout. I have been consistent the past few weeks and it's finally paying off. Things just went smoothly. I had more consistent energy and my form and technique remained tight. I finally felt like I was pushing myself as opposed to struggling through the workout. I also did a little interval running during the day, after being shamed here by @Plan9 with his duffel bag of blubber comment.

 

The gym finally got their wifi set up, which meant I could listen to random Spotify playlists...a good thing, since my playlist was starting to get a little stale after three weeks, despite rotating songs in and out. I didn't discover the "running" playlists until after running, unfortunately...but you can put in your preferred BPM/tempo, and every song will match that. Which is AWESOME, and I'm really excited about running on Wednesday.

Tonight is weights, and it's also the grand opening / ribbon cutting ceremony, so the gym will be open to the general public now. It will definitely be more crowded tonight, but hopefully more with people touring the building rather than on the machines. I haven't shifted over to working out in the mornings yet, but I need to do that soon. With the time changing this weekend, it should be easier to roll out of bed at 6 am. I hope.