Trainer time

I should have mentioned last time that I had scheduled a session with a trainer for this morning.  As I mentioned I've had 3 shoulder surgeries (which is why I quit lifting before) so last week when I got to my shoulders/traps workout it didn't quite feel right and I wasn't comfortable with the old way I used to do things.  It just seemed like a good idea to ask for help, and as such I scheduled a session with a trainer at 7 this morning.  Normally I'm in the gym a little after 6 but this was the earliest the guy took appointments.

Nice enough guy, and definitely knowlegable.  But sonofabitch if he didn't try to get me going on what he called a "high intensity, full body" program.  NOOOOOO!!!  We talked about it and I simply (and politely) explained that I was looking to develop good habits, the first of which is showing up in the gym 5 days a week.  I also explained that there was no way I would push myself on my own to maintain a program like this.  And oh yeah, it would probably kill me.

So he eventually realized my stubborness and showed me what I wanted.  I deferred to his knowledge (because clearly he knew what he was doing) and just explained that right now at least, that wasn't a program I was interested in.  We got started by talking about what I normally did for deltoids and then him arranging a better routine, one that isolated the deltoid by region and pushed the muscle to fatigue emploiying lower weights and slow, controlled range of motion.  We even worked in a circuit routine with front and rear delts.  I'm fine with circuit training, I can push myself to do that.  So we went over half a dozen movements (4 of which I know I'll do regularly...the other 2?  Well...lol) and moved on to dumbbell shrugs.  In the past I would use a U-bar but they don't have one at this gym (!), so dumbbells it is.  This can be kind of tricky as well for me because if I'm not using good form I can hurt my shoulders here, too.  So we went over that, I learned the proper range of motion for these and then knocked out 6 sets.  It felt great, I had no joint pain (but boy did it burn!) and then I finished up with a strong 30 on the treadmill.

Once I drop some more weight and build up my lean body mass I'll get another session with this guy and work on some more aggressive training.  But for now, and as I've discussed before, I just don't think that kind of training is right for me.