Monday, January 26, 2009

another contemplative career change rambling


recently i have been working out with various friends and it has been a good time. nicki joined my gym and we had a pretty serious workout session as she was giving me frequent dirty looks and cursed interval sprints. she needs to get stronger in her upper body as she has aspirations of being a firefighter. on saturday i worked out with dan and phil and i ran them through a typical workout i do. they both did well although dan kept mentioning that he thought he was gonna pass out...i think that means he just needs to work harder. phil discovered that something is not quite right when he tries to deadlift, but he did well with the squat.

i think the point of this is that i enjoy working out with people and enjoy any teaching or coaching that goes along with having a little more experience on the subject. i obviously don't know enough to really be a trainer, but it is nice to find a subject that does not involve videogames, drinking or watching tv that i actually find fascinating and enjoy. along with this is a very strong interest in nutrition and how it goes together with training. more and more i am nerding out on this stuff.

going back to school to pursue something like becoming a nutritionist or trainer is definitely something that runs through my mind, especially when i am feeling particularly tired of and frustrated by my boring computer job. currently i am a little hesitant in working with others as i feel like i am in that limbo area of knowing enough to get myself into trouble, but not enough that i can confidently give advice on these subjects. i want to help, but am not in any way trained to assess someone's strength and other various issues. i read stuff and know how things work with my body, but i realize that that perspective is very limiting. for instance, dan broke his arm in high school (not my fault) and because of this he has some pretty uneven shoulders. he tried some dips and it did not feel right. i wanted to try and give him some different exercise that would work better, but i was not confident in having him try something else, as i did not want to fuck his shoulder up. phil was having trouble maintaining his form during his deadlifts and i guessed that it was his hip mobility, but had no real expertise or experience to really explain why i thought that was the issue.

(phil rounds out his lower back and has a painful expression)
me: that doesn't look right phil.
phil: no shit. it doesn't feel right either.
me: hmmm...i bet it's a lack of hip mobility.
phil: why do you think that?
me: i dunno.
phil: ...
me: i guess this exercise is not for you.

another thing to consider is that if i were to ever become something in training or nutrition, i would need to look the part as i don't think people like taking advice from do as i say not as i do types. i picked up a program called precision nutrition, that dave and i plan on studying and following. it seems to do a really good job of explaining the basics of nutrition and how to apply it. i think that it could serve as a good indicator of whether or not i really have an interest in this type of thing. also, it will hopefully help us lose some weight.

i realize that i have been writing and whining about this stuff a lot lately, but writing it out helps me gather my thoughts and will hopefully lead to some sort of action. if anyone has any lifting or nutrition questions, post them in the comments and it will give me a chance to research it and give you a (hopefully) helpful answer. even if you don't really need to know, make something up, it will give me some practice and something to do when i am bored at work.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

what other leg exercises should I be doing than squats? I do lunges with dumbells but not sure if thats really hitting my hamstrings.

kevin said...

lunges are good too. you can vary them up by lunging in different directions (side-to-side, backwards, etc.) you can vary your squats as well. having different standing widths makes a difference and i can show you front squats which activate your core more. you can try single leg squats, but start with a bench or seat behind you. finally, good mornings are great for the posterior chain.

Jess said...

Sometimes rounding the lower back is caused by insufficient hamstring flexibility. Maybe tight hip flexors too?

I guess Phil should add some Yoga to his fitness regimen.

david said...

why does my rotator cuff hurt really bad?

kevin said...

are you sure it's your rotator cuff? we should check out my inside/out dvd. also i found 2 good stretches that seem to help alleviate should pain: levator scapulae stretch and the sleeper stretch which really works on internal rotation.