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mongrelheart's fault.
26 Jun 2012 12:21 pmkaigouWent back to gym yesterday, complained to manager, and was set up with second trainer for meeting this morning to come up with workout plan. At one point he suggested kettlebells. Which, to be honest, I had no idea what they were. All I knew was that they're something used by crazy people. Like, say, my sole exposure (the aforementioned mongrelheart) being someone who's clearly crazy (in a good way) about athleticism, and when someone crazy like that complains about kettlebells and, uhm, something to do with kettlebells, I make a note that kettlebells = mad-crazy. Turns out they're just round weights with a single handle, instead of the old dumbbell types with the weight on either end of a handle. Oh. Okay. Not so much with the mad-crazy. (Clearly the mad-crazy is just M all on her own.)
Talking to the manager, I finally said (not quite losing my temper but close) that I felt like I'd been patronized (although the trainer's a nice guy so I'm sure he didn't intend to insult me, so much as just carry on with his assumptions about What Women Really Want, or something). When I'd asked about why the plan was for working out twice a week, what else was I supposed to do? The trainer had said, take classes. I told the manager (and told him I'd told the trainer) that if I wanted to do classes, I would've bloody well just done classes and skipped the cost of seeing a trainer. When I explained I don't even want to work with a trainer regularly -- just someone to check in on -- the manager wanted to know why it mattered. I said, because it's like the off-season: the coach gives you goals, and you go away and work towards them, and come back after so long, having met those goals and gone further.
(To the trainer today, I explained it's also because my brain says, "you should be stronger than this!" and my body says, "woah, it's been awhile." Having a trainer follow me around at this point is more humiliation and frustration than positive reinforcement. I need to get to a point where my heart and core are stronger, then I won't feel like a useless lump if/when I work with a trainer.)
Today's new phrase: skinny-fat. I was explaining about my joints, that I can't do the elliptical or the upright bike, or the leg press or squats/lunges, because it makes my knees grind. I can hear the last shreds of cartilege grinding, and while it doesn't hurt per se, it's a clear warning that if I keep going, the coming hurt will put me on my ass, possibly long-term. But! I can walk up stairs without a problem, I can walk all day, and there's no pain. My joints don't ache or swell or any of that stuff. It's just that I don't have much cartilege. So if I can go up the stairs, I guess that means I could try the stairmaster. The trainer scoffed and said, "don't bother with that. All it'll do is make you skinny-fat." (As in, weighing less because what you've got is lightweight fat, not powerful muscle.)
We never did figure out what's the opposite of 'skinny-fat'. Curvy-strong?
ETA: in unrelated news, got a copy of Bite of China, a Chinese show on regional cuisine. (First two episodes subbed in english; more coming, I hear.) OMG. Do not watch if you are even remotely hungry. Sooooooo good. Soooooo droolworthy.
Reason #4 for losing weight: so I can travel overseas and gain it all back by eating my way through various countries & cuisines. Except India. I love Indian cuisine, but I just don't think even with all my dedication that I'd ever be able to handle the spice-heat. When Indian friends say they made their family's dish "mild" just for me, and it still brings me to tears... it's probably a sign. Visiting India would probably be a lot of smelling but avoiding the tasting. Although come to think of it, Thailand would probably be in the same category. Which is okay; first on my list is Taiwan, then Japan, and I'd probably need a decade just for China alone...
mongrelheart) being someone who's clearly crazy (in a good way) about athleticism, and when someone crazy like that complains about kettlebells and, uhm, something to do with kettlebells, I make a note that kettlebells = mad-crazy. Turns out they're just round weights with a single handle, instead of the old dumbbell types with the weight on either end of a handle. Oh. Okay. Not so much with the mad-crazy. (Clearly the mad-crazy is just M all on her own.)Talking to the manager, I finally said (not quite losing my temper but close) that I felt like I'd been patronized (although the trainer's a nice guy so I'm sure he didn't intend to insult me, so much as just carry on with his assumptions about What Women Really Want, or something). When I'd asked about why the plan was for working out twice a week, what else was I supposed to do? The trainer had said, take classes. I told the manager (and told him I'd told the trainer) that if I wanted to do classes, I would've bloody well just done classes and skipped the cost of seeing a trainer. When I explained I don't even want to work with a trainer regularly -- just someone to check in on -- the manager wanted to know why it mattered. I said, because it's like the off-season: the coach gives you goals, and you go away and work towards them, and come back after so long, having met those goals and gone further.
(To the trainer today, I explained it's also because my brain says, "you should be stronger than this!" and my body says, "woah, it's been awhile." Having a trainer follow me around at this point is more humiliation and frustration than positive reinforcement. I need to get to a point where my heart and core are stronger, then I won't feel like a useless lump if/when I work with a trainer.)
Today's new phrase: skinny-fat. I was explaining about my joints, that I can't do the elliptical or the upright bike, or the leg press or squats/lunges, because it makes my knees grind. I can hear the last shreds of cartilege grinding, and while it doesn't hurt per se, it's a clear warning that if I keep going, the coming hurt will put me on my ass, possibly long-term. But! I can walk up stairs without a problem, I can walk all day, and there's no pain. My joints don't ache or swell or any of that stuff. It's just that I don't have much cartilege. So if I can go up the stairs, I guess that means I could try the stairmaster. The trainer scoffed and said, "don't bother with that. All it'll do is make you skinny-fat." (As in, weighing less because what you've got is lightweight fat, not powerful muscle.)
We never did figure out what's the opposite of 'skinny-fat'. Curvy-strong?
ETA: in unrelated news, got a copy of Bite of China, a Chinese show on regional cuisine. (First two episodes subbed in english; more coming, I hear.) OMG. Do not watch if you are even remotely hungry. Sooooooo good. Soooooo droolworthy.
Reason #4 for losing weight: so I can travel overseas and gain it all back by eating my way through various countries & cuisines. Except India. I love Indian cuisine, but I just don't think even with all my dedication that I'd ever be able to handle the spice-heat. When Indian friends say they made their family's dish "mild" just for me, and it still brings me to tears... it's probably a sign. Visiting India would probably be a lot of smelling but avoiding the tasting. Although come to think of it, Thailand would probably be in the same category. Which is okay; first on my list is Taiwan, then Japan, and I'd probably need a decade just for China alone...
no subject
Date: 26 Jun 2012 11:23 pm (UTC)The point where I started to get less annoyed and more, just, flabbergasted (no better word) was this:
Manager: Most of the trainers tend to shy away from putting clients through too-strenuous workout. If they do it to someone not expecting it, it scares them and they never come back. But then, if other people see you falling off the machine at the end of a rep, that tends to scare them, too.
Me: If other people get scared because I'm working myself at my limit, they've got bigger problems no weight machine is gonna fix.
(Sheesh.)
Checked out the crossfit site, and there's one about twenty minutes north of me, but I'm locked into this gym (only five minutes from my house, handy) for now. I think I need to be solo for a bit, because if I get the least sense I'm on the same track as someone else, I'll start competing and push myself too hard. When I'm in better shape, that'll be fine, but right now, it's a danger.
Side-note: I scrolled through the various little videos and clicked on one for "Todd vs the rower", just curious (wasn't sure whether it meant 'rowing' as in erg, or rowing as in the weight machine). It's an erg, and the guy did a 300m piece but couldn't finish before he came off his seat. Holy crap, that was painful. Talk about bad technique, times ten. (Coming off your seat is prime instance of applying leg-power totally wrong.) I was about to close it and whine, but the second part of the video was someone instructing the guy on how to properly use the erg. Whew.
Though what twigged for me was the layback (end of stroke). The student was instructed to do just the slightest layback, and the trainer noted that on the water, rowers lean back considerably farther. (We do! I still do!) Which puts a lot of strain on your back, but rowers train for that. I'd never thought about that before, but maybe that's why my back remains decently strong to this day. (It's really really rare that I can ever do anything bad enough to make my lower back feel even a twinge, including lifting in the totally wrong way.) But still. The first half of that video was poster-child for what I usually see at the gym, so kudos to Crossfit if it actually has knowledgeable trainers willing/able to show how to do it right. Hell, none of the trainers at my gym have even recognized the sport known as 'crew', let alone shown any knowledge of the erg. Cripes.
no subject
Date: 27 Jun 2012 04:32 pm (UTC)Heheh... yeah, as irritating as this is, it is their concession to the average person who walks thru the door. They need to keep people (and $$) coming back. I mean, I can see where they're coming from when the client is a person who's completely new to this, someone who may never have exercised in their life. But for somebody like you who knows what's up & just wants to hop back on that horse, it is annoying for sure.
Heheh, I just watched "Todd vs the rower". I agree, v. painful! But good to see some proper instruction at the end.
Every Crossfit gym is different, all of them being independent franchises, but from my experience, the level of expertise of the instructors tends to be above & beyond the average big-box gym. Not sure but I wouldn't be surprised if rowing technique is part of the certification they go through.
no subject
Date: 28 Jun 2012 06:03 am (UTC)Most gyms do have at least one erg these days, it seems, but all of them stick the erg back in the corner behind the free weights. They're never with the rest of the cals machines, which frustrates me. Why can't I watch tv while rowing, same as those folks on the treadmills? Discrimination, oi. Although one gym I checked out (years ago), I asked casually about an erg, and the guy went blank for a minute before saying, oh, rowing machine! And then walked me over to some... thing. I don't know what it was. I told him, this is not an erg. It's a... something. For sculling a dinghy. With a fixed seat. Not an erg. He insisted it was an erg. I told him he was welcome to keep thinking so, but I'd take my money somewhere the people had a clue. Sheesh.
Don't know if Crossfit gets rowing training, but turns out one of the Crossfit franchises here in town co-sponsors a "learn to row" day for people to come out and see what it's like on the water. Which sounds great in theory, but I've worked with complete novices, and cripes, I hope those coaches get hazard pay. Novices. *shudder*
no subject
Date: 28 Jun 2012 08:15 pm (UTC)LOL, reminds me of the time I went into a Sports Authority store and asked if they had foam rollers and they had no idea what I was talking about. Seriously, a fitness store & the people who work there don't know "squat" (ahaha, I slay me)!
no subject
Date: 1 Jul 2012 04:11 am (UTC)*snerk*