Well, I know I’ve been promising to blog, but life has been a touch hectic of late. That said, I want to start recording some of what is going on as I prepare, from activities to thoughts. Given that I oft self-describe as a fat old cripple, one thing that may be of interest (or not) is my preparing physically. There is nothing I can do about age, and it would be better to say that I live in a well used [abused—author’s body] form that has done things from climbing up mountains to jumping out of planes. I would be lying if I didn’t say that I felt some of that use some days, but I can, do, and will get around.
Regular readers know that I started working out again in May, as while I can’t do anything about age and prior use, I can do something about the fat and general condition. I missed working out more than I realized, found a facility and staff on par with (or even better in some respects) than the facility in Huntsville, and have enjoyed it.
That said, a very dear friend said that I needed something more—and they were right. So, I didn’t fight when they hired a personal trainer to work with me. Goals being not just to get ready, but to work on core, flexibility and other issues. I’ve got the feeling that the trainer may have a different idea about “other issues” than do I, as well as potential problem areas.
The initial session has taken place, and it is/was pure assessment. That is, figuring out what type shape I am in and what needs improvement the most. There was expected news and there were some very pleasant surprises. In the unexpected, my percentage of body fat was higher than it should be. One look at my gut told that tale, but… Sitting flexibility wasn’t quite as good as hoped (right around average), but my resting heart rate was well above average, proving that the exercise done before has been paying off.
Being one who has had some interesting things happen to his own body, the trainer modified the pushup portion a bit because I had a bone spur removed from my shoulder several years ago. He quizzed me a bit about the surgery, doctor’s orders, and what therapy had been done afterwards. While he is far too professional to say so, I have the feeling he is not impressed with what (little) was done in the way of therapy. Well, I cleaned up on the modified pushups, almost maxing the scale. I was average on curlups/crunches, and we got a surprise on VO2.
VO2 is a fitness measure developed by a Swedish scientist and is done on a special stationary bicycle. I felt good about it and so did the trainer, who noted I was in the top three of those he tested. We were both surprised, however, when the score was much lower than anticipated. I didn’t expect to match Lance Armstrong’s score on the test, but we did figure out why it was lower than anticipated. Part me, part the way the test progressed. Next time…
There were some other things done, mostly measurements of me and getting an idea of range of motion, fitness of specific areas, and where to start. There is no way at my age that I can match a 20-something fresh out of training, but we are going to try and see how close I can get in the time I have left before I leave.
From the smile on the trainer’s face, send Tiger Balm. I think I may need it… To a special friend I don’t deserve, thanks. I think.
