I now think I know how a race horse may feel. I'm pretty excited about starting a new workout program at Capital Fitness in downtown Madison. I'll get into all the details about my workout in the upcoming months, but I just have to share with you the experience of getting evaluated by a personal trainer.
I've worked out a ton in the past by myself, but this is the first time I decided to try using a trainer. I expected someone who had giant muscles and a tiny head to be yelling in my face that I should lift another 500 lbs faster and that I must have "The Eye of the Tiger" in order to have success.
I couldn't be more wrong.
I met with Brian and Pete who are two guys who are in shape, but definitely not total muscle heads. I think the most interesting part was that in my initial evaluation they had me do a few simple things like:
1) March in place with my eyes closed
2) Hold a pole above my head and then bend my knees
3) Get on all fours and stretch out my right hand and my left leg at the same time.
The list went on and on. Nothing was strenuous and they both had clipboards and would occassional whisper to each other and write things down.
It didn't make me feel self-conscious. I was actually more curious. Here are a few of the things I found out:
1) I have poor balance
2) I'm not very flexible
3) I'm out of shape
They explained to me that the way your body moves is just as important as the exercises you are trying to do. In other words, simply running five miles on a treadmill may not be the best way to get in shape and whatever exercise you're doing proper form is a must.
I've heard people tell me I have bad form before, but that was usually at dinner parties. Stay tuned to find out how I'll go from a guy with poor balance and stiff joints to a new and improved guy who can touch his toes easily and have a lot more energy.
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, it is another gorgeous Monday, fit for another great show at the Crystal Corner tonight.
Through locking ourselves in the barn on Irish Lane, tossing some ideas around, as well as a few choice beverages to...
Hey everybody, we were thrown for a loop by the twist this week, but were able to make one of our "oldie but a goldie" songs fit the mold.
We have a few songs that we have played consistently over the years, and we are very happy that we will be...
We just received word of what this weeks twist is, and...oh boy. We need to take our "signature song" and cut it to only 2:30 without going over. Amberstein does not simply play 2:30 versions of our songs...so this could be interesting.
Last...
In 1984, Rockwell rose to number 2 for 3 weeks in 1984 with "Somebody's Watching Me." The backup singer for the song was Michael Jackson. How did Rockwell get Jackson to help him? Well, Rockwell's real name is Kennedy William Gordy and he...
Have you heard the song "Rumble and Sway" yet on Triple M?
The singer sounds like a raspy blues dude who's definitely been around the block a few times....but surprisingly, Jamie N. Commons is only 23 years old!
He was born in England, but...
Last week, I decided I would try one new, healthy food a week, and asked my facebook friends to make some suggestions.
The first thing I tried was mango. I'm sure I've had other mango flavored things, and mango as part of something else, but...
There's only one thing that might be worse than the Neil Diamond/Barbra Streisand duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." And that's Jonathan Suttin doing his best crooning...doing both parts. Most unpleasant.
A lot of people liked this song...
Artist: Alchemilla
Hail From: Boston
Song: 'The Wheel'
Album: Diamonds From The Penny Arcade
Sounds Like: Hole, Pearl Jam
In Their Words: "Alchemilla had been trying to write a ballad for a little while but it wasn't happening. There...
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, it is another gorgeous Monday, fit for another great show at the Crystal Corner tonight.
Through locking ourselves in the barn on Irish Lane, tossing some ideas around, as well as a few choice beverages to...
Hey everybody, we were thrown for a loop by the twist this week, but were able to make one of our "oldie but a goldie" songs fit the mold.
We have a few songs that we have played consistently over the years, and we are very happy that we will be...
We just received word of what this weeks twist is, and...oh boy. We need to take our "signature song" and cut it to only 2:30 without going over. Amberstein does not simply play 2:30 versions of our songs...so this could be interesting.
Last...
In 1984, Rockwell rose to number 2 for 3 weeks in 1984 with "Somebody's Watching Me." The backup singer for the song was Michael Jackson. How did Rockwell get Jackson to help him? Well, Rockwell's real name is Kennedy William Gordy and he...
Have you heard the song "Rumble and Sway" yet on Triple M?
The singer sounds like a raspy blues dude who's definitely been around the block a few times....but surprisingly, Jamie N. Commons is only 23 years old!
He was born in England, but...
Last week, I decided I would try one new, healthy food a week, and asked my facebook friends to make some suggestions.
The first thing I tried was mango. I'm sure I've had other mango flavored things, and mango as part of something else, but...
There's only one thing that might be worse than the Neil Diamond/Barbra Streisand duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." And that's Jonathan Suttin doing his best crooning...doing both parts. Most unpleasant.
A lot of people liked this song...
Artist: Alchemilla
Hail From: Boston
Song: 'The Wheel'
Album: Diamonds From The Penny Arcade
Sounds Like: Hole, Pearl Jam
In Their Words: "Alchemilla had been trying to write a ballad for a little while but it wasn't happening. There...
I now think I know how a race horse may feel. I'm pretty excited about starting a new workout program at Capital Fitness in downtown Madison. I'll get into all the details about my workout in the upcoming months, but I just have to share with you the experience of getting evaluated by a personal trainer.
I've worked out a ton in the past by myself, but this is the first time I decided to try using a trainer. I expected someone who had giant muscles and a tiny head to be yelling in my face that I should lift another 500 lbs faster and that I must have "The Eye of the Tiger" in order to have success.
I couldn't be more wrong.
I met with Brian and Pete who are two guys who are in shape, but definitely not total muscle heads. I think the most 
interesting part was that in my initial evaluation they had me do a few simple things like:
1) March in place with my eyes closed
2) Hold a pole above my head and then bend my knees
3) Get on all fours and stretch out my right hand and my left leg at the same time.
The list went on and on. Nothing was strenuous and they both had clipboards and would occassional whisper to each other and write things down.
It didn't make me feel self-conscious. I was actually more curious. Here are a few of the things I found out:
1) I have poor balance
2) I'm not very flexible
3) I'm out of shape
They explained to me that the way your body moves is just as important as the exercises you are trying to do. In other words, simply running five miles on a treadmill may not be the best way to get in shape and whatever exercise you're doing proper form is a must.
I've heard people tell me I have bad form before, but that was usually at dinner parties. Stay tuned to find out how I'll go from a guy with poor balance and stiff joints to a new and improved guy who can touch his toes easily and have a lot more energy.
