THOUGHTS ON THE PROCESS

One of the things that I am becoming more and more convinced of as I study for my personal trainer’s certification is the psychological link in becoming more fit and healthier.  Some of the information behind these connections has always been known… one source of health and fitness tips featured a pamphlet from the late 1800’s that for the most part held up to what we know presently about fitness and exercise.  But what has not been as explored or connected quite as much with the desire to becoming healthier and pursuing being fit, is the psychology behind the process.

The brain is an amazing piece of equipment.  From movement, to conscious, to managing the function of our organs, the brain has even convinced us of our reality and significance in the universe!  I recall watching “The Biggest Loser” and seeing the trainers (mostly Jillian Michaels) yelling and demanding of the contestants.  While I think that being able to motivate a client is an important part of being a personal trainer, being considerate and thoughtful with regard to the client, is at least as important as creating the appropriate workouts.  

Coming to this realization, I have to accept that there will be some psychology involved.  Referencing the brain, one of its function is to get the physical body through its day as easily and painlessly as possible.  Stressing the body, by definition, is painful.  I remember being told as a soldier that I need to learn how to “be comfortable with being uncomfortable”.  For all the good that comes from exercise, the ability to persevre, is essential to achieving the health benefits of a good, balanced, exercise routine.  I do think that having the willingness to bear discomfort is one of the more underrated aspects of exercising.

The last topic I would like to discuss is the difference between exercising and training.  I feel that I have touched on this before in my journal, but I do think that I should go over the difference.  When you have goals, whether it is to fit into a smaller pair of jeans, or you want to bench press your body weight, you will have to observe a trainng program design to help you reach that goal.  Training is specific, working out to achieve a goal, and it usually will include diet and cardio programs as well.  Exercising will change your body, increase your fitness level, but will not necessarily change your physical appearance.  This is not to say that by exercising regualrly that you will not achieve many, if not nearly all, of the benefits from becoming more lean and healthy.

I hope to avoid talk of what the human body is designed for and is meant to do.  But there are enough positive outcomes involved with exercise to get and keep people moving.  It is only when those outcomes fall short of satisfying an individual that they will need to begin training.  Not only does training involve more effort, it also asks that you improve upon what you did in your prior workout, adjusted for your particular goal.  Anywho, I hear some deadlifts calling me and I am ready to answer them!

SURVIVED CHRISTMAS

School has started!!  I am taking American History and Critical Thinking winter term, and I am looking forward to possibly being done with Community College in 2017!  There are a bunch of thoughts that are awaiting moderation in my mind but I have to make sure that I do the hard work of achieving my Associate’s Degree first.

I will be adding tips on physical exercise and personal health tips on a regular basis in the New Year.  The topic of fitness will be a regular subject in this blog, but again, to expect one of those fancy blogs made for mass consumption would be a bit much.  I will focus on practical tips with either a video embed (more likely) of the exercise being demonstrated by someone or by me (less likely).

Right now I have been getting my news from the chyrons that run on the bottom of the screen on the televisions when I am at work.  I have no interest in following the comings and goings of the world beyond my circle.  In fact, I still find that I am unwilling to find out any more regarding national politics than I was when I was maybe 5 or 6 years old.  The thing about it is my understanding of things and with the broadness of said understanding, I am sure that there will be enough that occurs over the next 4 years that I have to deal with, intellectually.  But I am looking forward to shutting that part of my brain down for a bit and elevating other things in my mind that I may have been taking for granted.

...speaking of things that I am looking forward to…

These are two bodyweight routines that can be done at home.  You don’t have to worry about going to a gym or even equipment.  You don’t have to complete either routine right away… but it should be your goal that you can use to motivate yourself throughout your exercising. Personally, I would begin with the "Burns 1000" because you know for sure that once you accomplish the single round of exercises that you are assured of having burned 1000 calories. If anyone needs any further explanation of the exercises or parameters, just stop by and drop a question and I will do my best to find an answer for you!!

SINCE YOU KNOW YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE ONE... LET'S MAKE ONE THAT STICKS..!

I think that you can consider this your pre-resolution resolution..!  Many people are going to make promises to themselves, their loved ones, maybe even the medical professionals in their lives.  The reason that I am calling this a resolution is that the nature of my advice is given with the most important aspect of health and fitness… the understanding that the objective is not something that will reveal itself in a few weeks or even a few months.  As I picture conversations with clients in my future, the idea of improving one’s health and quality of life is paramount, and the physical changes have to be secondary to a person’s goal.

The main reason that the health and everyday function will be the main player in my approach to personal training is the comprehensiveness that losing weight entails.  For years, the dominant themes have been “calories in/calories out”  along with “just move” when discussing general health and fitness.  While I agree with the sentiment, the primary issue that has made weight-loss transformation shows watchable television, the complete transformation myth has saddled the fitness industry with unreasonable expectations.  And this is key.  Your goals temper your fitness approach and plan.

In order to have the complete body transformation that has been demonstrated on television shows and in weight loss ads, you have to first have a distinct goal so that you can base your expectations on.  Once you have that, be it an image or a number, you can map a strategy that will help you achieve your expectation.  The next step is prolly the most difficult of them all… the realistic formulation of a plan to safely achieve whatever goal or outcome of your fitness journey you are on.

Trying to make a permanent change through fitness is a mental process through which a person has to decide what they are going to give up in order to obtain their goal.  This is the lever by which the modality is moved by.  If you don’t want to do it, if you don’t want make time for it in your life, and by “it” I am talking about becoming fit,  you simply won’t.  An unmotivated individual has no reason to exercise.  When you ask a person who does work out, who does exercise, what moves them to do so, they often give a variety of reasons.  And having a reason to exercise is what has to be a major part of any fitness program… the want to do it.

Finally, losing weight and becoming fit are only related to one another.  That is why for my next entry, the difference between training and exercise will be the main topic of discussion.  They are not the same, nor are the rationale behind them the same.  Hopefully, my next entry will help clarify the difference and help whoever is reading to know the difference!

LITERALLY, JUST GET UP AND MOVE..!

HEREVWE GO..!

Never postpone change.  No matter the effective date of implementation, the moment to begin going into a new direction is in the moment of telling oneself that change is needed. It is in that moment, that change begins. For instance, I will examine the holiday weight gain and the New Year resolution to lose the extra weight as an example.

Sitting at home, watching football, after eating large helpings of food that would not be on a vegan’s plate and drinking more than a couple of glasses of wine (ok… I didn’t overeat… I HATE Thanksgiving food… and only could drink one glass of wine, so work with me..!), with both Christmas dinner’s, parties and New Year’s (resolutions) celebrations to look forward on the horizon, the thinking is we are going to just kill it in the gym in 2017!  I don’t think that I would be alone as far as having the initial desire to workout, but the question is what separates those who not only make it to the gym in January but all the way to their weight loss/ fitness goals from those whom the act of becoming healthier and fitter is simply conversation?  

Before I get to that I will share something with you… a recent Iowa State study made the claim that running 7 minutes per day is all one needs to gain benefits from running.  Not only is the duration very doable, the intensity does not have to be that high.  A good jog (maybe a brisk walk..?) down the block and back could give you most if not all, of the positives from a 3-mile run.  How cool is that?  I would not say that jogging down the block will be the way to reach all of your fitness goals, but it could be the start that a person needs to take on more healthful habits along with their running.  That being said…

As a teenager, I became enamored with Friedrich Nietzche.  I don’t think that I even “knew” what philosophy was but I did understand that reading his books’ would somehow shape me into the person that I hope to become.  One quote of Nietzche’s, in particular, has hung over my entire life, and it explains how it is that so many “want” things but not the will to achieve them -”If a man has a why he can bear almost any how”, not only gives the reason most people fail at their fitness goals but their life goals as well.  And yes, it is like that because becoming healthier is a lifestyle, not something that you do once or twice and then its “fixed”.  For many people, it is not about knowledge, nor is it about instruction… it is about finding that ineffable quality in oneself that defines for them their purpose for action and letting that determine their way.

Now with the scientific literature giving the green light for being “lazy” and improving one’s health you have to wonder what is keeping people from doing just that and improving their well-being?  This is where the difference in where people get their motivation and the role of a personal trainer comes into play.  For someone who is intrinsically motivated, the news about how simple and easy the steps to becoming healthier  is likely to be enough.  But for a person who is externally motivated, even with being told that “just walking 7 minutes a day is enough to change their future health outcomes is not going to be enough.  They need to be pushed, cajoled, and shown how to do what they may even know how to do without instruction.  Hence, the role of the personal trainer!

As a personal trainer, my job will be to augment a clients’ “why”.  It isn’t that people don’t have the information that they need to achieve the majority of their fitness goals… it is more that they need a little push to be driven by their own personal reason as to why they want to become fit.  Even with knowing that 7 minutes of walking each day can greatly increase their health outcome, I don’t think that people will “know” what to do.

That is my first fitness tip… walk 7 minutes each day.   I am going to add that the walk should be brisk without being taxing and that the minutes be consecutive.  With that, get out there and get moving!!

FILLING SPACE

TACTICAL

A few weeks ago I got a text from KT and her Mom.  It seems that they were having a conversation about KT’s heritage and our daughter has it in her head that she is “mixed”.  Her reasoning being that her father is half-white and she leans a more to the “black” in her!  I had a good laugh and it made me smile knowing that I am a part of their conversation and in KT’s thoughts.  The self-deprecating humor of the comment was not lost upon me, because my non-conforming character has always meant that my “authentic blackness” would be called into question.  Then the Rachel Dolezal story broke.

If you get my feed on Facebook, then you may know that I was captivated by her story.  Jezebel had an article on Ms. Dolezal and it brought tears of laughter to my eyes as I read it the Saturday morning after the story first broke..  I had never heard of anyone ever claiming to be African-American when they weren’t, and the anguish of “passing”, immortalized by the book and movies (there were TWO of them!!) of the same name, “Imitation of Life”, is at the root of the issues between light and dark-skinned African-Americans.  For Ms. Dolezal, this seemed to be an obsession of sorts for her, as her parents indicated her fascination with African-American culture in her youth.  After her parents adopted 4 African-American children, her obsession took her into an entirely unforeseen direction.

Maybe part of Rachel’s desire to leave behind her whiteness could have been due to the upbringing she endures.  Her claims of abuse notwithstanding, I have often  been given to ruminate on dysfunction in the social systems of families where faith is a critical component to the philosophy of how a family lives.  This is not to say that only religious families suffer from these kind of social and intra-family breaks from standard.  You could substitute “faith” for  “ignorance” and pretty much find a similar kind of problem within a family.  When I was a child, the saying “follow an ugly child home and watch an ugly parent open the door”, could have been just as easily be substituted with the word “stupid” or “ignorant”.  In fact, the PRIDE within a social community on their lack of intellect or desire of the pursuit of knowledge is one that simply staggers the mind.

...MEANWHILE

Still haven’t been able to confirm travel dates for Lexxie.  Going through her Mom is difficult, as she harbors an ill-will towards me.  There have been times where discussions have been smooth, but more often than not, she get angry and jumps the track, which unsurprisingly, leaves us with nothing accomplished.

I am progressing nicely towards my goal of lifting 1200lbs between my deadlift, bench press, and squat.  After I do that, my next fitness goal will be to find my legs and get back onto a regular running schedule.  I will do more cardio, adding kettlebell swings and combo exercises with lighter weights. And I expect to take my certification test in July, mid-August at the latest.

And that is that with that..!

ZERO WEEK

TACTICAL

I have made the decision to drop my classes this term and go back to school next term.  This has been a choice that I have agonized over for most of the term and now it the time for me to do what I know must be done.  Prolly give out more details (for those who are interested) the next time I decide to make a post.  What I want to do is assure you who are into my comings and goings that the goal has not changed.  I still intend to finish school and my ultimate goal is a BA in something.

Madison (my bike!!) is again being troublesome!  She needs new tires and it seems a new back wheel as well.  Along with my television being out, it is one annoying thing after another around here.  But THAT IS ALL THEY ARE and they are trivial annoyances at that. 

Again, there are no worries about me and school.  It could be worse… I could fail, have the marks go on my transcript and THEN that would be time to worry!!

FITNESS, FITNESS!

What you with this post is a compilation of my “before” pictures.  I have been hitting my marks this week so that I can get into a training cycle and really cut some pounds. 

Now this is more than Nixxie’s comment about “where is the six-pack” when she saw the picture of me and my sister at the latter’s wedding in November of 2010.  I do not want to be operating on achy knees and worrying about creaky shoulders  when I am 50 years old... in JUST A FEW YEARS FROM NOW!  Good condition is not something you begin and expect that things will have turned around in short order.  I know that I am not in the best of form and with the other complications I have regarding my health, this is an area that I am going to assert more, if not full, control over.

The weight that I am working with is 252 lbs which is what the nurse said when I went to the clinic for routine ‘script refill.  Saturday I plan on taking my measurements and posting them here as well, that is, when I get the chance.  Between the Ohio State – Nebraska game and Princess and her boys, as well as work, I may not be on the computer much if at all, I hope! 

Along with keeping track of my progress and sharing it here, I will also describe my routine and why I am doing the things that I am doing with regards to my aim for overall fitness.  My camera records so there is a possibility that you can watch a cat actually do his work.

Another thing that I will do this month is actually make use of where I work!  There are different machines and equipment at both (my gym) Anytime and Pinnacle Fitness (where I work) clubs that I plan on making good use of.  Both places have great resources in the trainers at both gym… almost all of the trainers at Pinnacle have BA’s in fields related to being fit, and of course Laura is a former world champion body-builder, and there should not be anything else needed for her resume or explanation of her qualifications!!

 Jenny, my supervisor at Pinnacle Fitness and Laurie, who runs the exercise classes!!

Laura and me at Anytime Fitness!

CLOSER TO LIGHTS OUT THAN LIGHTS ON

JUST GOOFIN'

I have a web cam on my lap top and was foolin' around with it. Me and pictures don't get along, no how and no way. But I wanted to take one and post it up here, so that maybe y'all would get a taste of what I am working with, since I talk about fitness and physical training as much as I do.

When it comes to that, I am no different than most people. A lot of the time you have pudgy or 'pleasantly plump' person advising you on how to get in better condition. I am certainly not that cat. There is a tape measure around here somewhere and I may take some measurements. Don't know if it would do much good because I don't have any numbers to compare them to.

There is this SMOKING HOT chick who does fitness videos. I catch her on You Tube and I like her routines, but she changes up so often. It seems she has four or five different routines each week and that is too many for me to be bothered with. I am going to try the one that popped up today and see what I can put into my routine.

I would say that her workout are based on being very intense and quick. You get a full body benefit, aerobically, body tone and strength, following at her pace. At the beginning it may be cool to be draggin', as you are getting used to the routine. But you are definitely going to have to pick up the pace if you want to see any results.

Anywho... hope the picture is well recieved. Take it easy, greasy... you got a long way to slide..!

I AM SOOO TIRED ..!

HOW LONG CAN THIS GO ON?

Getting up early is entirely separate from getting out on the road. Sometimes I sit and listen to morning edition or check out Guy Gordon and Karen Drew before the Today Show comes on. Sometimes, with the help or a little fatigue that has seeped into the very marrow of my bones, it is 8 o'clock, and I if I don't have anything to do ...

At the beginning of the month, I wanted to take full advantage of the good training that I did with my SFC, and I kept running and exercising at what for me, is a high level. Now, I try to keep my fitness on a training cycle similiar to the one that I kept when I was active. So that means I am one six or eight weeks cycles, and then I take a break.

Given the amount of work I have been doing, introducing new run routes as well as distances, I am sort of out of my rounds. Nothing detrimental, but still ...

Went out today, 'late' as I have been for the past few days to a week. In fact, my SFC gigged me about it, because she reminded me that I missed a couple of days of doing anything. But I write down what I do, and I did meet the minimum of four days of work. Still, I was feeling a little wore down.

I 'closed my eyes', and went on automatic. I have A LOT of things on my mind ... some of it has been difficult to process. That was another motivation to get out on the road.

THE RUN ITSELF

Did the short run today, but I decided to really see if I could push myself. I would like to get my mile time down into the 8-8:30 range, which means my 'Katie Holmes' goal of being under 4 hours for a marathon would be very doable. Another thing about running, is that it is really hard to run and think about down, negative thoughts. How can I think about non-solutions, when every step is about reaching the right conculsion?

The stitch in my chest is a indication that I am getting something out of it. Pain, discomfort is the price for anything worthwhile. At least that is what motivates me to making my run and getting the most out of it.

A short run, means that I am going to do a lot of interval training at the end. 'Interval Training' sounds better than sprint or speed work, because I am a lot of things, but 'fast' is relative to me and my times. Anywho, I went out and tried hard to burn out as I went up and down the street.

AND THAT IS WHEN THE FATIGUE POISONS KICKED IN

I love the feeling of nearly passing out, so I can't say that the crazy kids that play the 'choking game', aren't really experiencing something themselves. I mean I am seeing stars, and wobbling out in the middle of the street ... if a car was approaching, I couldn't have seen it. I would rely on my 'spidey sense' to get me out of the way. And given my track record with oncoming traffic ...

That is where I run the longer sprints that are a part of my workout. I mixed a few of them into the shorter sprints that I do, and I ran a bunch of those. Each time that I finished, I could feel my legs wanting to give way. A few times I thought I was going to pass out.

But it was training. What that means, is that I expect to have that happen and then push through it. Since I didn't pass out, it means that I could have prolly gone faster! So I actually feel a little frustrated, because I didn't go fast enough to be super fast or pass out!!

Near the end of each sprint, my body keeps on begging for me to quit. Yet because the body is a slave to the mind, I kept telling it 'one more' sprint ... then when I get that done, there is always 'just one more' to go.

I would get on a scale, but I don't want to risk being disappointed!! I mean, I look tighter, as well as feel it. Last time I checked it regularly, I was down in the low 220's ... no reason to think that I have ballooned up from there. Maybe I will get on this week, before I fly out, since it is on my mind.

STILL NOT RELATED

But 'this' and 'that' have been giving me the flux. I will deal with them later. Would rather take a break from 'my so-called life', and relax my mind and let my conscious be free ...

THIS IS, FOR REAL

SO MUCH WAY BETTER THAN SEX

This was a fight that took place last Friday, and I have been replaying in my mind.


Teddy Atlas says how there was only one thing that Fransico Figuerora had to worry about. Randall Bailey's style isn't one that is going to lead to his 'boxing' to a victory.


When you can 'crack', you don't worry too much about other things, and the 'delivery system' (I use that term as well, along with finding the right 'platform' to punch from) is what a puncher like that is trying to find.


I am sure that people would wonder if anything like that has happened to me, and while I have been knocked down and 'stopped', I can say honestly that I haven't had to experience anything like that.


Joe Tessitore says before they show the actual knockout, that 'the punch never really goes away when you've had it right from the beginning.' That is why I don't want people trying to 'help out' if things got tight. I mean, I know people can be carrying, and I know that there are more of them than there are us.


Yet I can help but feel that every time I throw my right hand, something like this will be the result.


BUT WHAT ABOUT THE LEFT HOOK?

In a 'brawl', the big right hand is the set up punch, the way that Randal Bailey uses the jab in this sequence. The difference is, that in a street fight, that right hand is being thrown 'fast and furious', to get there and get me close.


Is it instinctive? After as much training and thought put into it, it feels that way. I mean, I know as I am launching the punch, what is likely to happen when it lands, what kind of reaction I am going to get, and how I am going to follow up.

Unlike the straight right which is used here to maximum effect (and is not to be confused with the 'right cross'), the left hook is a 'short' punch and you need to be righthere when you let it go. That is why it is a punch that everyone else sees but the person getting hit with it.



But it also requires more to it than a long right hand. In an impromptu setting, I would use an overhand right, as more than likely, the person would be 'bigger' (read: 'taller'... besides, where is the fun in hitting someone smaller than me??) than me. Because it is such a violent punch, it usually accomplishes the task of getting me close while providing me with excellent cover.



EVEN I AM SURPRISED SOMETIMES



Right now, I am having a 'Pavlov Moment', thinking about how I would go about getting after someone ... ANYONE, for anything.

Where Randal used a 'hanging jab', I would have, in a fight used a quick, 'flash jab' to get close and 'turn' the hook over right behind it, to let the cat know that I can put that hook on him whenever I felt like it, and he'd have to worry about whether or not I could 'crack' him with the hook.

Slide step to my left, and a little bob to get in a half step closer. This is the 'danger zone', for the both of us. It is where the distance is such that either one of us can be reached by a big punch, unless the cat decides to circle back and out of range.



This fight was interesting, because as they say, 'styles makes fights'. Figuerora is usually an aggressive fighter, but Bailey is CLEARLY the bigger puncher. Not only that, Figuerora DOESN'T carry too much pop in his punches. He is a 'busy bee' fighter, winning on the volume of punches.

He is also the smaller fighter ... and he isn't overly strong when compared to Bailey. Teddy Atlas in both the pre fight and again in the post fight, talked about how there was only one thing to be worried about ... a lightening bolt. After all, Randall Bailey is called 'The Knockout King' for a reason.

World class power. I think I am going to go outside and knock the sh*t out of someone for old times sake!! (oh come on ... SMILE!!)

More of them ... kinda ..!

RANDOM THOUGHTS


Wow ... I love PJ Harvey. I would say right after Jill Scott, she is my favorite female singer.

I remember watching this performance when I was with Mookie. I happened to be awoke (much like I happen to be awoke now), and caught this performance. For some reason, I didn't even know she was still making music. I went out the next day to get this CD.

There are a bunch of songs on there that I like. No reason to skip over any song, they are all very good. She puts a lot of feeling in her songs, which attracts me. The content is real, not some confection created for the purpose of mass marketing. You have got to want to have her CD's on, and you have got to know she is going to run her nails down your back or slap your face for what ever it is you are doing or have done.

Good stuff!

YEAH, I KNOW ...

State lost ... still a sweet sixteen team. The getting past that to the final four is going to be hard. The NCAA is pretty deep with good teams, and you don't know which of the lesser known schools will get hot this year.

One of the questions I have, is what exactly is a 'mid major' or 'small school'? It isn't like they are any less expensive, is it? Any one who can give away a scholarship, isn't 'small' to me. I understand that other universities and colleges place more emphasis on sports ... why don't they let them go compete in their own 'open class' division? Pay the cats that they bring in from their impoverished rural areas and infested urban decay?

I used to have a whole spiel about that ... now, not so much. Think that there is definitely something shyster about the entire process. The basketball tournament is as foul as the football system. Seven, eight teams from one conference, with a record of 19 -11, while another school is 25-6, and they stay home. Doesn't seem right, does it?

IDES OF MARCH

I used to think of that phrase the same way I would think of 'PSK, what does that mean?'! A catchall kind of phrase that I would throw in, just to disrupt the conversation. Maybe something was going over my head, or I just felt like trying to change the topic. Sort of like Norm MacDonald's '... or so the Germans would have you believe', line he used on his run doing 'Weekend Update' on SNL.

For me, I use it when someone is talking about something and it is either something questionable or an attempt at manipulation. What ever it is, I have my doubts about what was said.

There was a little blurb on the AOL main page that had a link to the '13 Women to Avoid'. Of course they also had a link for the 'Men to Avoid' as well. Wasn't groundbreaking, but I thought they did alright.

EARLY SPRING?

That would be something, wouldn't it? But I hope it would mean that it got all the way up into the 70's in late May. That would be pretty neat, if a nice spring blended into a warm summer.

I have always thought that when the temperature is just a smidge warmer ... in the mid 50's, that is the best time to go running. As it is, I am stretching out my work on the road, bumping up my distance. Not necessarily to lose extra weight, though that is a part of it. I want to be able to run a marathon, which is why I am going to get a schedule of how I should up my mileage.

Right now, I can get a half marathon no problem. It is wrapping my mind around going thru that wall that has me 'stuck'.

Hutch lives in 48170 ... I have ran from there to my Dad's place before. but it is going beyond that, which is where my mind shuts down. I could take it all the way Downtown ... and that is my goal, to do it at least once before fall.

Okay ... eyelids are drooping! Night y'all!

EAT LESS, EXERCISE MORE

WHAT A WONDERFUL IDEA ..!



Really don't have a whole heck of a lot going on these days ... trying to get used to having a 'piece of a peace of mind'. Arriel left a comment about working out ... and I will try to answer her straight away, and not confuse her with anything.



With weights, any weight you can do ten reps (a rep is single count of any movement, from start to finish) comfortably, is a good place to start. It would follow that the next lighter weight you can do 12 -15 reps, and the next heavier weight you can do 6-8 reps. This applies to fitness machines as well.



Balancing out what muscle groups is another item than many beginner's and novice fitness types make mistakes on. You work out groups where the action 'pulls' the weight, together, and exercises that 'push' the weight, you do on a different day.

A better way to say it, is that chest and legs should be worked together and arms and back should go together. This is a general thing, and if you want specifics, fly me out and you will get the intense, full service treatment!

One of the reasons it helps to have a 'coach', is they can push you to the next level, if they know how to relate to you. 'Partners' are overrated. Blind leading the naked (which is the name of a way cool Violent Femmes release!). If you can get someone who knows a little bit about working out, or just look at others in the gym training, you will get a good idea about what machine and exercises do what.

...IF I WAS YOUR TRAINER...

First two weeks, 3-4 days of training would be as follows:
Bench Press
Dumbell Shoulder Press
Flye exercise
Leg Press
Calf Raises
Jog or Cycle for 20 mins.

The set count would be 4 sets with 8-10 reps, the objective to be set at 10 (I put '8', so that you wouldn't feel bad if you didn't get up to 10, but I wouldn't tell you that if I was working you!)

One of the things that I remember most about starting to work out as a kid, that I see get a short shrift in a lot of fitness magazines and stuff, is that working is working, and there is a benefit to it. I keep hearing about how after you do so many reps of this, then you stop getting benefit from the exercise, yadda yadda.

The problem is, on higher levels of athletics, I see people breaking the rules all the time. There are things that occur beyond measurement, so if all you have is a 5lbs dumbell, and you can do 3 sets of 50 curls, who is to say that it did not benefit you?

See, I have always thought you need to skip a day or two when working out big muscle groups like the legs and the chest, so that they recover. But your arms, calves (I know they are part of the legs ... but you can 'seperately' work them as well) back, and your stomach, you can train until the cows come home and get benefit from the effort.

What I have posted, is the classic Mark workout, particularly when I have been away from a gym. Gets your body used to making an effort, and after two weeks, that should be enough time for you to feel something, stronger, maybe even slimmer.

One of the lamest excuses that I hear from people, particularly women, is that they are embarrassed to go, because they don' want to get 'looked at', as fat and in poor condition. Uh, this just in: WE KNOW ALREADY! You think that people don't know that you are bigger than you may want to be, as you down the carmel strudel as you look longingly at the picture of Katherine Heigl, wishing you could look like that ... or Jessica Alba ... Rihanna ... you get the picture.

Another one that they use, is that they don't want to get hit on ... and that is a hard one to argue down. 'Keep you eyes on your luggage', is all I can say, and trust your instincts. If you go regularly, you will end up talking to someone ... is he on the make or no? IMO, most EVERY guy in a gym will take a crack at an attractive woman, working alone. Hey, it is what guys do. But it is a small issue, when you know that you are still going home to whatever it is there. Myself, I don't worry about people in the gym, trying to be anything to me. Never took home any numbers nor asked for them.

Be prepared for the long haul. A good six months to really see anything, but so much depends on you. The more you put in, the more you get out. One way is to re-frame it as something that is helping you, than something you have to sacrifice for. The reason diet don't work, is that they are DIETS! Subsitute the negative connotation by telling yourself you are doing something that is giving you something.

I will prolly do a little entry about stuff you can do at home that will help you out. It isn't easy but geez louise, it ain't hard! It is about effort, and if you don't give it, you won't get anything out of it.