Shut Up Left Arm You're Drunk!

Today both of my arms are hungover and it's no surprise since they were obviously drunk at training on Tuesday.  You know "drunk arms" where you attempt to lift something and your arms go every direction except where they are supposed to.  See the video for an example of my drunk arms.  My left arm being clearly drunker than my right.

Which made me wonder about one sided weakness and the best ways to work on evening out.  It turns out what Mike had us doing is exactly what you should do to even things out.  So here is some advice for my left arm:

• Left arm - no more relying on the sober right arm to carry to load while you drink away.
• Use dumbballs instead of barballs (yes balls not bells...we’ve had this conversation).  This allows each arm to work by itself to complete the movement and doesn’t allow the stronger arm to do more than the weaker

•  Left arm - no more waiting until the right arm is done and then pretending its overall tiredness and not your left arm drunken lazines.
•  Use your weaker arm first. 

•  Left arm - you get off easy on this one. 
• Work each arm equally.  Don’t do extra sets or more weight with the weaker arm.  Using the same weight an reps will even them out over time.  

• Left arm - you won’t get off so easy on this one.  You will be my official beer lifting... I mean protein shake lifting arm from now on.
• Outside of the gym… use the weaker arm more for everyday activities… I suppose this is more of a use both arms equally instead of settling into the habit of just using the stronger arm.  Apparently it can also help you become more comfortable using it in the gym which will allow for better mind muscle connection. 

Right arm - Keep up the Good work!

~ Biz

Gym Fears

This week Heather was home faking a cold and so I again had the opportunity to work with a new victim, I mean partner. I love partnering with Heather and look forward to next week when she will be back but it's kind of cool to have occasional opportunities to work with different people. I bet it's interesting for Mike to work with so many different people every week. Everyone has something new to offer.

Meet JIF (Tamara) who stepped in to be my partner this week. At the end of the session I asked her what her favorite part was and she said the Kettleball deadliest because she was afraid to do it (due to prior injury) and that it was cool to do it safely with Mike. It got me thinking about Gym Fears and how working with Mike mitigates them.

Three Gym Fears and how Mike can help you overcome them:

Fear that you will get hurt or aggravate an injury

• If you are honest and realistic in communicating with Mike about your abilities and injuries he can monitor them, weights, reps, etc.
• Mike knows a MILLION exercises so if something is bothering you all you have to do is speak up and he'll come up with something else awful, I mean amazing, for you to do.
• Mike will train you to do exercises the right way so that you don't get hurt. He is then there to watch you and make sure you don't slip into bad habits.

JIF getting ready to kettle ball dead lift

Fear of not being able to do the thing you are trying to do. AKA fear of failure.   

• Mike's job is to determine what is realistic for you so. If you are honest with him about how hard/easy each exercise then he will learn your abilities he shouldn't ask you to do things you can't.
• If you can't do it then you can blame it on him. 

Fear of not being able to do the thing you are trying to do. AKA fear of failure. 

• Mike's job is to determine what is realistic for you so. If you are honest with him about how hard/easy each exercise then he will learn your abilities he shouldn't ask you to do things you can't.
   
• If you can't do it then you can blame it on him.

Fear that you will look stupid

• Mike works out of a small training only gym so there are very few people to see you look stupid unless you write a blog about it and post videos.


• You will look stupid. Get over it. You'll look hot later.

Success!

One more pic for the cleavage

So if you struggle with Gym fears consider training (at least with Mike) because it can definitely help.

What other gym fears do you have??



~Biz

The Pros and Cons of Balls

Why is it that I always find myself talking about balls?  Maybe cause balls are great for training... so much innuendo.    Today I'll go through some pros and cons of the Sweaty Swiss Balls that I love and hate so much.

PRO: There is A LOT of comedy to be had when trying to balance, squeeze, roll, and fondle balls
CON:  MUCH of the comedy is simply trying to get into position to start the exercises...

PRO: They work a lot of different body parts.  In addition to core activation each exercise works other areas too like shoulders, glutes and hamstrings.
CON: This means that ALL of me is sore for 2 days not just part of me...

PRO: The exercises are easily adjustable for different skill levels so they work well for partner training because we can each work at our level
CON: Its easy for your partner to kick your ass..

PRO: The exercises are fairly simply to understand.
CON: Imitation is harder than understanding...

PRO: Mike always has something new to add into the mix
CON: Mike always has something new to add into the mix...

PRO: I always like the idea of swiss balls before and after using them
CON: I remember how much they suck WHILE using them...

PRO: They use your body weight instead of added weight
CON: When working with weights it's because the weight is too heavy... with these its my body weight thats too heavy...

PRO: You get to play with balls
CON: They get really sweaty...

PRO: Mike mixes it up and does circuits with lots of different exercises
CON: Just when you think you are done he makes you do more dead bugs...or banging bugs which I'm sure I'll talk about another time.

PRO: You get to lie backwards over them at the end of the workout (trust me its amazing)
CON: You have to survive the workout to get to the end

PRO: I always survive and feel good about it.  =)

~Biz

Schedule Swapping and Consistency

Heather doing whatever they are called...
but they make her butt look amazing!

So just as soon as I get back from my snowboarding and think we can finally get back to a normal schedule I remember that I have to go out of town for work... sheesh. Then it turns out Heather will be gone as soon as I get back so our reschedule options are limited. I will say that getting the three of us on schedule is one of the harder parts of partner training (the rest is super easy?)

Thankfully Mike is always willing to work with us to find times to train (even when they are inconvenient for him). He was willing to squeeze us in just before I left town for Montana and right when I got back so we managed to keep 3 sessions in 3 week. Once again he is working with us and is now sacrificing his Sunday morning to train us before I leave so we don't have to miss a week. I am less than excited about giving up my bloody mary but sometimes you just have to makes those tough sacrifices. This leads me to some thoughts on consistency of a training regimen. Consistency seems to be critical. We've been able to keep our weekly session going for around 5 months with minimal interruptions... although I seem to remember Shannon (who's awesome) coming once to save me when Heather abandoned me for what I'm sure was an awesome work trip.

Bulgarians.  Not to be confused with Bulge-atarians

As usual I did a little googling and I found this that seemed to ring true:

For some people, it is common to become energized about working out and jump right in. In these cases, unless there is a long-term plan in place or some thought has gone into how the fitness activity will be sustained, there is often a drop off in enthusiasm, resulting in inconsistency. A well thought out fitness plan will go a long way in helping you to reach your goals.

I'm waaaaay to lazy to plan so Mike is my plan. I'm very much the type to go all in and then when unable to maintain it to give up. Having training once a week is sustainable and has allowed me to maintain consistency with a strength workout that I have never had before.

Having a partner is also key. Heather will yell at me if I try to flake out (yeah, she's pretty mean). Seriously having 2 people counting on your being there makes it a lot easier to keep it up and knowing there will be 2 smiling faces is a added incentive (and yes when Heather isn't yelling at me she does smile for about 30 seconds until we start swinging kettle balls).

For optimal results, you will want to build up to higher and higher levels of cardiovascular strength, flexibility and strength training. A gradual increase in intensity will allow your muscles, tendons and ligaments a chance to adjust to the strains and challenges of a fitness regimen.

Training with Mike each week allows for the gradual increases in difficulty. I am getting stronger even while I've been working on some injury recovery, travel, holidays... life in general. This is because of the consistency we've achieved (and good training of course).

~Biz

Banging training v 2.0

My Angry Balls are better than your Swiss Balls

Rockin' Balls

Following my Physical Therapists advice I notified Mike that I was pretty limited in my leg exercises.  Apparently Mike took this on as a challenge to see just how hard he could make us work anyway.  Let me tell you it hurts to sneeze today so he accomplished his mission.

There I was 1 minute late to the gym (as was noted by the always punctual Heather) and we started foam rolling and Mike tells us we are going to work with the “Swiss balls”.  My thoughts are “that sounds like fun”, “great that will give me a good workout without risking my injured knees” and “I like balls”.  I guess I was right on certain points and not others.

It looks so easy...

We launched into a series of exercises that I call 

“How dumb can you look while trying to do something simple with a big inflatable ball?” 

Here is what we did:

• “Sit on the ball and lift this weight” sounds simple enough until Heather loses her balance, I laugh at her and loose mine and we both have to start over.

Heather's a dead bug

• “Lift this ball with your feet and then move them up and down" aka windshield wipers.  This works out well until I lose my ball and it rolls into Heathers ball therefore distracting her and we had to start over.

• “Act like a dead bug” (hold the ball between your arm and knee while ‘hovering’ the other arm and leg) works fine for the first 5 but we have to do 30… 3 times…

Solid Sideplanks

• “Practice trying to close your legs while there’s balls  in the way” (hold the ball between your legs while you side plank).  Seeing as how I can hold side plank for as long as I can keep my legs closed (a full 10 seconds) this obviously went well for the 10 minutes it felt like we had to hold it for.
• “Play catch with yourself” Sure I love any exercise where I get to lie on my back and play with myself but lying on your back lifting the ball with your legs and grabbing it with your arms is a sit-up without having to sit-up.  You can’t fool me so easily so I repeatedly threw my ball at Heather in protest as she dutifully completed her “not sit-ups”

Last but certainly not least (unless there are other ones I’ve blocked out):

Yes they were clean

• “See if Heather wore clean socks" (Plank with a ball under your feet)  My plank looked spectacular the first time we did this.  I was all the way stretched out with my feet were on the ball and I was a long straight supported superhero.  I held it for a minute while assessing my manicure needs as distraction.  When we did this at the end of the workout I confidently rolled out to about my shins before losing my balance and falling off the ball with the grace of a drunken mountain goat.  I tried again this time stopping at my knees and slowly trying for a minute to convince myself that I could go further without falling.  I may have made it to my shins..

The one I blocked out

Then my favorite part of the workout:

•  “Trick Heather into standing up”. While lying on the gym floor in exhaustion I rolled my ball at Heather (an attempt at a Swiss Ball high five) my ball veered off course toward the hulk on the rowing machine and Heather, using that same adrenaline that new mothers use when saving their babies, jumped up and saved the ball before it lead to my pummeling (or getting a dirty look). 

As I left the gym my thoughts were “that wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be", “what a good workout without my knees hurting” and “I like balls”.  As a special treat when I showed up at my physical therapists office the next morning he said "I think today we will try some things on the swiss ball"  I didn't punch him.  Only cause he has a pretty face not because he didn't have it coming.

  ~ Biz (the Serious one)

Me not distracting Heather at all....

Stand In: A flashback to my first session

I finally got rid of Heather!  Just kidding I love Heather but as she was out of town last week I seized the moment to torture another friend.  Shannon agreed to be my fill in training partner and check out what training is like.  It gave me flashbacks to my first few sessions and a lot of thoughts that I had back then.  So for my first blog I’m going to flashback to some notes I made after my first session.

“Today I had my first personal training session.  I was excited and a little nervous because I didn’t really know what to expect as I’d never really been to a personal trainer before.  Things went well and it made me recognize what the value of having a personal trainer will be.  I will have someone else telling me what to do and expecting me to do certain things which will make me push harder than I would push myself.  Those extra couple repetitions or extra couple pounds of weight could really make a difference.”  

“I think every exercise that we did today was something that I would never have come up with on my own.  We used a lot of different equipment (but not many machines) and had a lot of variety in exercises which I think will be good for me and keep me interested.  At one point he said something about us being almost done and I felt like I hadn’t been there very long so I was obviously into what we were doing and not counting time down on the clock.”

 “I feel like a lot of the session was spent on assessment and trying to figure out for both he and I what I can do and what my limits are for different things.  For example he asked me “how do you feel about box jumps?  Can you do 10 box jumps?” Well, I have no idea cause I've never done a box jump, it's probably something I can do but even if I can do it I don’t know how many.  It was like that with a lot of exercises.  I didn’t know if I could do it at all, how many I’d be able to do or how much weight I’d be able to do.  Mike was good at assessing and everything we did was pretty close to where I needed it to be. He started me a little easier which is fine with me because there was no defeating moments where I couldn’t do what I was asked to do and instead I got to do more.”

“I’m sore and I’m not really very excited about how I’m gonna feel tomorrow.  Overall I think a lot of today was about not knowing what to expect, being nervous, getting kind of over that and he and I trying to figure out where i’m at.  That will help us figure out where to go next.”

One of the hardest parts of personal training for me was getting over the fear of getting started.  The anxiety, nerves, self-doubt, fear of failure, etc. etc. etc.  By my third session or so I had dropped most of those and instead look forward to training days as the days that I do something good for myself.  Training is still hard but the fear and anxiety is gone.

My newbie Shannon handled the session like a Rock Star and by the end I was exhausted on the floor and she was still smiling.  As I was the first time I'm sore and tired but glad I take the time each week to go see Mike for my "me time" in the gym.

~Biz

How Do You Make the Kale Salad Taste Better than the Doughnut?

So I had a terrible day today. Not catastrophic or importantly bad, just super annoyingly bad. Very little of it was in my control except for my response and I did a little angry ranting and a lot of stuffing. I have a stuffing problem since I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings. So instead I stuff it and feel sorry for myself as a martyr. That really does not make me nicer in the long run btw. It makes me passive aggressive.

One thing I actually didn’t do was go to the store and buy a bag of sugar filled something and scarf it down. It used to be a habit of mine. If I had a really bad day I would just say f*ck it and get a ton of crap. I thought about it today and the craving was there but not as powerful as it used to be. A new thought that I’ve been trying to cultivate was also there: how terrible I feel after.

To be honest I did have two glasses of wine but that’s a far cry from the Sin Dawg, chocolate covered raisins, doughnut trifecta that has graced my poor gut before. (My mouth is watering just thinking about them dammit dammit dammit.)

Let’s move on already. Kale salad, kale salad, kale salad. Okay, better. The really exciting thing here is some actual progress in changing an entrenched habit. I’m continuing to read Making Habits Breaking Habits and this week I learned the following:

1. We want intention to create our habits but that’s not always the case. 
2. Habits = intentions + past behaviors. 
3. So although I intend to never eat sugar again, my past sugar mongering will have something to say about that. The stronger the habit the less impact our intentions have. 
4. Strong habits are frequent (weekly or more) and especially strong if associated with a context (think: I’m in a coffee shop, what are the odds I’ll get the same thing I always do without thinking much about it).

So it’s very normal for strong habits to override the best of intentions. And my intentions won out this time! True, it was not a weekly event for me to sugar monger. And being on a lower carb, no sugar diet means my physiology isn’t screaming over the voice of my intentions. But hell, on a day like today, this totally goes in the win column.

Also I did about 140 kettle bell swings and a billion goblet squats and Biz made me laugh so hard during the Turkish Getups that I almost dropped the weight on my face. Another bonus, Mike checked my food journal and I killed it this week. It may yet become a habit…

The habits are working in the gym – in that context it’s easy to fall right into good habits – especially with Mike leading the way. I go and I feel so good. My butt hurts already but I’m getting so much stronger! Biz even on her worst days always has me laughing. Having the training appointment to go to was a nice diversion from the store and after, I feel good enough to skip the sugar stop on the way home.

Woo!

~Heather

I'm failing d*mmit! It's not my fault, right?

When in Rome...this is still not a
good decision - plus it was Utah, not Rome.

So I really want to lose some belly fat and I've been training for a while and yet there is that persistent belly fat! I am absolutely stronger and that is making my body look better thank you very much Mike! I also busted out a stupidly easy crow pose this morning at yoga with my bad*ss arm and core strength. But there are no pounds falling away. Or to be more accurate, there are about three pounds dropping and reappearing.

I don't believe it's about will power - will power is like a muscle and that muscle is helpful but will never be stronger than my mental craziness. For me it's about habits. When I fill out my food journal regularly, I make better decisions. I have to face how many glasses of wine? And is it really all that hard to drink 8 glasses of water? And h*ll yeah I burned that many calories!!

<Biz is AWESOME!

And then I fall away - a stressful day, a work trip, or a night partying. And invariably the next day does not get recorded either. One slip and it feels like I'm starting over again. Why is that? What is going on???

I don't know and I won't have the answer here but I have some ideas. I just starting reading a book called Making Habits Breaking Habits by Jeremy Dean. I am through just chapter 1 but so far so good. First thing - the whole 21 days to form a new habit really only applies to tiny goals. So I need to plan for more time and help or break my goals down into much smaller ones. Also, context is a big influence - from your general environment to the people you hang out with.

Bad context - anything with sugar in it placed where I can see it. It will get eaten. Period.

Good context - When I check in with Biz every day at 3 when my alarm goes off - I'm more likely to complete my food journal. If I'm having a crappy day, I get a pep talk and encouragement back because Biz is awesome. No matter how many days I slip up, when I see Mike once a week I get back on the horse.

When context changes, habits are more easily changed (a move, a new job, having a baby, getting divorced). So I'm thinking it's during these times where it's good to break a bad habit, but also watch out for your good habits! This is when they can slip. Sure enough, last business trip I did better than usual to start but fell off the wagon two days in and it took two days at home, a check in with Biz and a training session with Mike to get back on the wagon. ARGH!

I will say that Mike checked in on my food journal today. THAT HELPS! Accountability is a big deal. I think that will help especially in the beginning of habit formation when it's harder.

But we shall see! I'm hot on this habit thing and hopefully the research will give me some good guidance on how to move behaviors from hard to automatic. My #1 goal is to fill that journal out religiously!!!

On another note - today was haaaaaaaaaaard! But it was so good. Super intense starting with upper body and finishing with lower. It really pushed me mentally and at the end made the victory of the finish so very sweet. If only I can stay conscious enough to enjoy it.

Big thanks to my buddy Jim who came in for the next
session. Sorry I couldn't pay you back man - I fell into
a coma shortly after this picture was taken.

~Heather

It's All About that Bass

It was Booty Booty Day today in the Land of Mike Welch, Professional Butt Sculptor. I believe at one point I actually said, "I think my butt is actually going to just pop right off!"

It did not. It is still there but since I started working with Mike it seems to sit a bit higher than it used to. Lots of squats. LOTS. And deeeeeep. I would like to state for the record at no point did I sh*t myself. I know it looks like I was close but kegels have many bonuses (and per Mike you really should engage your pelvic floor when squatting - so you don't sh*t yourself!).

But as usual we started with warming up. Some evil stair climbing while I stared at a giant bruise on Biz's arm and distracted us from our burning legs by making up a true story as to how she got it (farm animals were involved and Settlers of Catan).

One of the reasons I go to a trainer is because I would never work out this hard on my own. The other reason is he tells me things like, "Do glute activation on your elbows to restrict lumbar spine compensation." It's a lot of big words but basically it's helping me protect lower back.

The next phase of the workout involved skipping and bounding (leaping diagonally forward right then left). This was great because it raises your heart rate, works on balance and explosive motion for strength. I have been trying to do some Tabatas between sessions and I plan to add bounding and skipping in with the flat out running. I will look weird on the bark path but I'm okay with that. I can re-inflate my ego but checking out my booty afterwards.

We then just did all kinds of squats and leg presses and single-leg-dead-leg-don't-make-me-lift-my-leg-again lifts.

We ended the session with Mike asking each of us what we needed for the next week. I needed to fill out my food journal and Biz needed to follow through on her PT exercises for her knee. Mike gave us our assignments and promised to check in with us next week. That help with accountability is a big deal.

I had to laugh at our friends Jim and Brenda as Biz and I filtered out and they started their warm up...they had no idea it was Booty Booty Day. Enjoy that foam roller and sweat-free brow while you can!

~Heather

What? You Mean I'm Only a Victim in My Own Head?

So full disclosure – I rarely want to go to my training session. It’s always at the end of my workday and all I really want to do is pour a glass of wine the size of my head and feel sorry for myself (I even like my job so it’s that stupid). Then I go and not only do I feel good but I feel GREAT! I feel F*****G GREAT!

Mike’s positivity and Biz’s incredibly hilarious sense of humor are a big part of that but there’s more. There’s something about the high intensity mixed with full body strength training that gives me the biggest boost of feel-good hormones or neurochemicals or something. I’ve noticed it when I do one of Mike’s recommended workouts on my own too. Nothing shuts up that stupid self-pitying voice in my head like rising to a challenge, even if I need help getting my lazy arse there by having to meet my workout buddy and trainer. Worth it.

I’m sure there’s some science out there to explain it. I used to work in mental health and I wonder how it affects brain chemistry. I always used to recommend exercise to clients but never strength and circuit training specifically. It’s really the best high because not only do you feel better physically but you can feel good mentally about doing something for your health…and eat a much larger dinner with a head-sized glass of wine with no self pity needed.

A few other things I learned:

•  Mike knows how to make it just hard enough to bring me to the edge but not so hard I give up and try to punch him with my dead arms.
• You can’t take a good pic of a kettle bell swing with a cell phone camera.
• It’s very hard to take a pic of Biz doing a kettle bell swing without getting substantial cleavage in the picture.
• It’s a better workout if you’re laughing most of the time.

:)
Heather

In The Beginning...

I first met Mike in my running group and liked him immediately. He’s very laid back but energetic and an incredibly positive person. He held a free training about fitness screening at his private gym, Genuine Fitness. I thought that personal training was outside of my budget, but when I talked to Mike, he mentioned something about partner training. I had recently asked my friend Biz to collaborate with me on filling out food journals. Biz is one of the funniest people I have ever met and I completely enjoyed spending time with her. Lucky for me she was willing to go to the training sessions with me and split the cost.

There were some assessment components to our first few sessions including a medical history and that really uncomfortable, creepy test where they pinch your fat and you feel like maybe you don’t look as hot as you thought in those running pants. Mike also took some measurements of various parts of my body and my weight.

This all happened over several sessions so that we still had plenty of time to get a workout in. One of the things I really like about Mike is that he is not interested in putting us on weight machines and telling us to go forever. We do a lot of natural body movements with weights or just using our own body weight. It feels more natural to me and like there’s a benefit to it rather than me learning how to bench press 1,000,000 pounds which I have no need for my everyday life.

So far the results have been a lot of soreness. I know that means I’m getting stronger, but boy am I feeling all 37 years of my life after every workout. And well into the following week as a matter of fact. At this point I’m pretty sure I’m working on my general strength level, and once I’m not so sore all of the time we can start working towards some of my specific goals. I am already noticing that my healing time has diminished since the beginning of the training.

As far as my short-term goals are concerned, I might enter a running race before August, but if not, my goal is to train for the Hood to Coast. Hood to Coast is a relay race from Mt. Hood to Seaside, Oregon. I’m usually one of the slowest runners on the team. I get on the team because I’m willing to run downhill. The 1st leg is straight downhill on pavement and wrecks your body. I have run for many years, however, I have not run very many miles. Most of my running friends are marathon runners and they wrecked their joints long ago. I would love to be less sore at the end of the race as I have been in previous years while not losing any speed.


Side Note:

These are the things I want from Partner Personal Training

• Clear setting and review of goals and the mini goals to reach the larger goals.
• Tracking of success/growth in training activities.
• A clear explanation and understanding of the purpose of each training session and its activities. I’m spending weeks and weeks being sore and for what?
• Homework and check in on the homework.
• Results of the tests and measures – fat caliper thing and no results or benchmarks?
• Use my name more and give me more encouragement and compliments.
• Ask me how I’m feeling and re-frame it into something positive if I go negative.
• Consistency and direction on how to warm up and cool down. It’s different every time. I want to be taught how to warm up and come ready or be able to come early and grab a treadmill and foam roller and save our hour for the things I need my trainer for.

~Heather