I'm sorry if I didn't get to your blog yesterday - I had an absolutely horrible headache in the afternoon and nothing I did would get rid of it, so I went for a lie down. It means I didn't get to visit as many AtoZ blogs as I wanted to.
I'm feeling much better today :).
Which is a good thing because I'm having my first session with a personal trainer today. Wish me luck.
James has been Rob's personal trainer for over a year and has helped him a lot. Rob originally decided to get one because he has hyper-mobile joints and he was having a lot of problems with his back and hips. James had helped him come up with exercises to make sure his joints aren't forever trying to pop out. Rob feels so much better these days.
Hence my decision to see what James can do for me. :)
You see I have talipes (club foot) in both feet. This means my ankle is virtually immobile and I cannot put my heels on the ground (I walk on the ball of my feet and toes all the time). When I was born it was much worse, but I had operations at 7 and 8 to lengthen tendons and reset all my toes to straighten my feet (I think they treat earlier and differently these days, but this was back in the 70s) - back then I walked on the side of my feet, which was worse (see below). My cousin once asked me how I walked without snapping my feet off when we were small before I had the ops.
I can't jump or run (never have been able to - when we were kids in the playground and used to play jumps the only way I could get over anything was to throw myself over it bodily - scared the crap out of a couple of teachers ;)) and these days I can't stand for huge amounts of time, which, as you can imagine, makes the job of a personal trainer harder. I'm also not great on balance because I'm standing on my toes and my ankle doesn't move to help me maintain my centre of gravity. James is willing to have a go and see if he can come up with an exercise routine that I can do, so yay! :) You'd be surprised how many professional don't have a clue - I've taken classes and things before and been looked at blankly when requesting an alternative to something I simply can't do.
He's coming at 12 after he's finished with his other clients at the gym. I am very lucky that we have space in the library so I don't have to go embarrass myself in front of lots of other people for my first session ;)
If I don't reappear after that it's because I've been put through my paces and I can't move! ;)
Have you ever had a personal trainer? Did they help? If you haven't would you ever consider it?
hi Tasha - sorry you felt awful yesterday .. sometimes these head things happen. I hope Jamie can help you .. at least he's prepared to put himself into your shoes and see how you feel with the ideas he comes up with .. he sounds a huge asset. It's now 12 .. so he'll be with you shortly .. I suspect you'll be tired, but pleased as I'm sure he'll be helping you ..
ReplyDeleteCheers Hilary
It was so much fun :) I'm not sure I will be able to lift my arms come tea time, but I had a blast. He worked me hard, but within my limits - he's lovely. I shall definitely be doing this again next week. I love boxing (which we did last) - it's so much fun.
DeleteMy daughter was born with her feet slightly turned in. For the first couple of years of her life, I must have taken her to the doctor about five times. They would always tell me the same thing - "She'll grow out of it. Otherwise, if you want it now, she'll have to have surgery." I decided to trust that she'd grow out of it. Today, she's 23, and her feet are almost normal. They do turn in a little. But that doesn't stop her from running 5K, 8K, 10K and half marathon races. ~~~~ You have a more severe condition than she had. I'm happy to hear you'll be working with a personal trainer. It may be painful at first, but the personal trainer will do wonders for you. ~~~~ Thanks for sharing a bit of your personal life.
ReplyDeletePrecious Monsters
I'm glad your daughter grew out of her problem - I have always wondered what it would be like to run.
DeleteJames is lovely - I can now feel parts of my body I was not aware I had, but I had a great time. I am going to meet with him weekly from now on :)
I'm a fitness instructor - and I know that once you start thinking carefully about what people can do (rather than what they can't) there is a way around most issues. Hope you have a great time :-)
ReplyDeleteI did thank you - James is lovely and came up with lots of exercises I can do. We did a circuit a few times and boxing at the end - I love the boxing, it is awesome :D When I can't move tomorrow I shall probably be cursing his name, but I am sure I will have forgiven him by next week and we can do it all again :)
DeleteAs a PE teacher, I often had students who needed alternative ways to do things. Usually we could make it work. I was also fortunate to work at school where students were wonderful to each other and that made it work too. Hope James works you hard in a good way.
ReplyDeleteHe did, thank you - had a wonderful session :) Have reconnected with muscle groups I'm not sure I've ever acknowledged before, but it was a lot of fun.
DeleteI never had a personal trainer. I would like to have one that came out to my house, but I think I will just be doing what I can with the help of books and videos. I'm glad you session went well!
ReplyDeleteIt's actually a completely different experience from trying to do it yourself. I had no idea, but it seemed so much easier with James there to egg me along. I finally get what my husband has been trying to tell me :)
DeleteI've never had a personal trainer, sounds like this one put you through the wringer (in a good way). Glad it was a positive experience, and that you're feeling better, too! :)
ReplyDeleteNew single from Adam Lambert and awesome session with personal trainer - couldn't ask for more today :)
DeleteNever had a personal trainer (like Shamu never had a personal trainer). Kudos to you for pushing yourself in spite of your difficulties.
ReplyDeleteCherdo
www.cherdoontheflipside.com
Thanks - as my parents always taught me, just have a go :)
DeleteI've had physical therapy (severely broken leg and several leg surgeries), which included hydrotherapy, but never had a real personal trainer. My gym offers personal training, but that could get pretty expensive.
ReplyDeleteI hope you feel better soon!
I do hope the physio helped your leg. Some personal trainers are expensive and if you wanted one every day it would be very expensive, but I'm going for once a week like Rob does.
DeleteI've had a couple of personal training sessions, but I didn't enjoy doing the program me they set out for me, so I tend to go to group fitness classes instead or just read on an exercise bike for a while…. Good luck! I hope he finds a solution for you.
ReplyDeleteI believe that communication is paramount in a relationship between a person and personal trainer - one of the things James kept asking me is was there anything I really hated :).
DeleteHope you don't get too worn out! But a trainer who is willing to work to improve personal difficulties sounds like a good one. Hope it all goes well.
ReplyDeleteSo far so good, thank you and I don't even ache hideously this morning - I'm amazed. The whole work down after the work out thing actually seems to work :)
DeleteI hope you have the good kind of sore muscles--the kind that lets you know you accomplished great things!
ReplyDeleteI can definitely feel the muscles, but I can still walk, which is nice :) There have been a couple of times where Rob has over done it and can barely move the next day (I think it's a man thing - having to push too hard every now and then ;)).
DeleteI had two sessions with a personal trainer, but quit because he was just in the business of selling me lots of sessions, when I wanted to work independently most of the time and just check in periodically.
ReplyDeleteI taught yoga for a couple of years, and I loved working with students who needed modifications. Often the students themselves came up with their own, and I loved that! A good trainer or teacher will work with you where you are. Good luck!
Ah, James is happy to come up with a program I can do every day and meet with him once a week :) Some of them do seem to be all about the cash though - or just have their clients sitting on a bike or on a running machine their whole session, which isn't exactly hard to do on your own is it? James seems to be very good at finding interesting circuits to do.
DeleteSounds like you were a good instructor :).
Thank you.
Sounds like a painful affliction and I hope the trainer was able to help you, Tasha, especially if he's also something of a physical therapist.
ReplyDeleteHe was very good thank you - I did lots of work sitting down (on a chair this time, but will be on a yoga ball once I strengthen my core some) or on the floor - which is great for me. It's my upper body that needs most of the work anyway since, due to the way I walk, everything below the knee is a lost cause and my thighs and backside are made of cast iron anyway :) Just need to get rid of the flab on top of the muscle.
DeleteI'm glad to hear (from the comments) that the training session went well! It sounds like you had some painful times growing up...! I can't even imagine.
ReplyDeleteIt did thanks - lots of fun. It wasn't fun sometimes, but c'est la vie :)
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