This is not really a place I would ever have really seen myself working had you asked 2 years ago but somehow here I am.
You can't work at a place like this and not be shamed into trying to get into shape. The most perfect bodies (and judgmental eyes) come in and out the doors all day. I had just begun trying to "shape up" a bit during massage school because I felt like I couldn't market massage as a health benefit if I waddled into the room. (I also have bad lateral turn out so the descriptor of "waddle" is really not that much of a hyperbole.) After getting a job at this gym I had to kick things into higher gear. I started trading massages for personal training sessions with my trainer Lisa at the first location I worked at. I learned a ton from her and we started putting together some fitness plans/goals so I could get in shape for Ginger's wedding.
Having been a "fitness baby" I was learning a lot of things really quickly from the PT time and I started to see results. By the time Ginger's wedding rolled around I had lost quite a bit of weight and was pretty happy with the results. I did however want to put on some muscle. I've always wanted a nice chest, arms and back (who doesn't?) and I thought while working at a gym spa, surrounded by knowledgeable personal trainers is probably going to be the best time in my life to get it together.
Since Ginger's wedding my goals have changed from weight loss to muscle gain officially. (Hopefully weight loss will continue as I gain more muscle and increase my metabolism but the body only does one of those at a time really well I've been told.) Apparently the best and most effective move for total body muscle gain is a weighted squat. So of course I want to do squats.
Problem.
I have ridiculously tight hamstrings and calves from being overweight my whole life. My pelvis has tilted and elongated my quads resulting in ridiculous flexibility in that direction but tightened my hamstrings leaving me unable to even do a straight legged toe touch. Apparently, flexible hamstrings are pretty necessary to doing a squat. So while I've known for months now that squats are the way to go, I haven't been able to do one even without weight because of my hamstrings. I can't get fully into the squat position without falling over so you don't want to put a huge bar on top of me before hand.
We've constantly been working on increasing my flexibility to try and get my body able to handle a squat and today was the day to really go for it. We started doing squats on a medicine ball (trying to touch my butt to the ball without falling and without flaring my knees) first to get the form down. I could cheat and grab a stabilization bar if I needed to but slowly my form improved and I got deeper into the stretch. Then we added the bar with no weights (which is still pretty damn heavy).
This hurt. A lot. Apparently the flexibility level in my back is pretty low too because even just holding the bar felt like it was ripping my shoulders out of socket but on we press. The added weight actually helped get deeper into the squat and wasn't terribly difficult to lift. I have pretty strong legs if I might toot my own horn...not much else on my body is strong but legs seem to develop some power when they carry around a fat guy all day for 20 years.
We added weight and it started to get more challenging but I actually enjoyed it. (Who am I?) There are apparently some exercises I actually like. Squats, dumbbell rows and overhead presses being the three that immediately jump to mind. I feel like that meathead I always secretly wanted to be. Lisa, knowing my goals are 90% aesthetic, told me that once I added dead lifts to my repertoire then I'd have a routine that would make me into that meathead princess I hoped to be. Lisa has learned that I enjoy two types of exercises, ones that make me feel like a badass (see above) and ones I can pretend are dancing. She's slowly putting together the complete "Meathead Princess" routine. You can bet there will be a workout DVD coming out of this. Reserve yours today, it's gonna fly off the shelf.
LOL
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