Don't laugh too much, but I've just started a course to become a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer. So I'll be blogging some of my journey as I go, including some of my class discussions and assignments.
This course is designed to prepare me to sit the NASM PFT Certification exam, which is supposed to be quite hard, so I plan to study a lot and do the exam as soon as I've finished the course. Luckily the course is a new course being offered by the College I work for so the tuition is paid for under my employee education credits! Yes it really is a great place to work! Our first discussion was about the Optimal Performance Model from NASM and how our current workout compared. Here is my post: NASM's OPT model is a five-step model according to the information on the website [I don't have the textbook yet!]. The five steps are stabilization endurance, strength endurance, hypertrophy, maximal strength, and power. This could be contrasted rather starkly to my current exercise routine, which is based entirely on random acts of strength, usually involving carrying bales of hay, 50-lb bags of feed for my horses, or two 30 pound toddlers, along with several bags of groceries! I have had multiple periods in my life when I have been in pretty fantastic physical shape, working out regularly, feeling great, and feeling very happy with myself and in myself. This has been alternated with some serious physical and health challenges, including being pregnant three times in four years. I lost the first two pregnancies (the first was twins), the second with serious physical consequences including a rotated pelvis. My last pregnancy was with the twins who are now two, and I was mostly on bed rest after week 15, which is pretty darn rough on the old body at 43. Talk about atrophy and deconditioning! So getting back into shape after having the twins has been very difficult. Three times I have started out, way too enthusiastically and with a male trainer who was way too gung-ho, and each time I've injured myself - two rotator cuffs and one knee. This is a total drag, as not only do I have a very busy full-time job that I often spend 60 hours a week at, but I also have a lavender farm, the three kids and a sick hubby who can't lift more than 20-lb. Luckily I relish being busy! I also found the gym that I used to love was no longer a good fit, as the "go-all-out" boot camps were a short cut to injury - being based on a hybrid cross fit model. Anyway, that's why, when I saw this course had a bit of space in it, I thought I would jump in and just take the class so I can be my OWN personal trainer! That way I can make sure I'm not relying on others to avoid injury. I worked out yesterday at my local YMCA, which is rather low key so that's perfect - with so many old people I'm pretty sure they're not pushing members past our limits! I think I will be focusing on machines for a while until I get the stabilization down and my weight down... This is a work in progress!
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AuthorHi! I'm Erika and I'm an info addict! I love travel, vacation rentals, online education, primal and paleo living, crunchy (ish) parenting, holistic nutrition, lavender, bees, animals, technology, and sustainable living. This blog is a central space to pull together my research and writing on a wide variety of lifestyle topics! I hope you'll join me for a few minutes and share your thoughts in the comments :) Archives
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