Wednesday, May 13, 2009

I'm back from Arizona, which is both good and bad if you ask me. Good because now I'm not being burned alive in the 3rd level of Hell a.k.a Tempe, Arizona, but bad because now I have to go back to training and 24 Hour Fitness, which I'm sad to say is a giant step down from a college gym atmosphere (at least there they have something resembling an Olympic lifting platform). So now, instead of getting to argue the merits of why I do what I do with people that care, I have to argue with the personal trainers about why I'm making noise or "intimidating their clients". Wow, I didn't know I was such a beast. Anywho, the point is, my training is going to have to change to accommodate the atmosphere I'm in, meaning many things:

  • A lot less Olympic lifts-apparently, doing a lift that involves a bar going over your head makes the trainers get all ansy in their pantsy.
  • Longer waiting for weights/equipment- even though the frat guys using the benches were using them to complete the latest "Arm Blaster" workout from Muscle and Fitness, at least they would let me know how long they would take. Now I gotta find a way to stay moderately intense while the 8th grader busts out his 12th set of 15lb dumbbell flys because he forgot what set he was on. Kids these days (sigh).
  • Less room for density training- since there is about 10 square inches of room to work with during rush hour at the "gym", I'm pretty much limited to one exercise at a time, which blows

Now, since my training will inevitably suffer a bit, I'm going to have to get creative (maybe even a bit medieval) on your/my ass. Can't do any kind of Olympic power lifting? Fine bitch, I'll do dumbbell jump shrugs. Longer waiting for Johnny to finish his seated hammer curls? Boom, jump rope. No room for density training? Bust out the kettlebells comrads! See, I guess this isn't bad after all. I get to become more creative and think on the fly when I can't use some equipment, or come with a new way to work the same movement pattern. 

The same can work even if you don't have a gym. If you have a park, go be a kid and do pull ups on the jungle gym and box jumps on the benches. Got a high school near by? Do some interval sprint training. Maybe you're an unlucky being and have access to nothing. Well, do some body weight training in your living room while you watch Days of Our Lives. So basically, the moral of the post is to tell you to be creative in your training. Gym setting can actually be more intimidating and less useful than the world around you. It's all up to your imagination.

P.S. Here is an example of something you can do just to get you started. This isn't the end all be all, just a basic example of something you can do at your house.

Squat Jumps x 10

Step Ups x 8 (each leg)

Push ups x 8

Pull ups x 8

Plank x 30 seconds

Rest 1 minute then do 2-4 more times.

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