Redefine beautiful!
Showing posts with label Adrienne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adrienne. Show all posts

Friday, January 14, 2011

The Trainer Seeks a Trainer

Adrienne demonstrating one of my favorite exercises, the simple squat using one of my favorite pieces of equipment, the TRX Suspension Trainer


 When my friend and fellow blogger, Adrienne and I decided to get together for brainstorming, I never realized how darn productive it would be.  A few years ago, Adrienne and I taught a group fitness class together just after she had become a certified fitness trainer.  While she had always been interested in fitness, she soon realized that training wasn’t her cup of tea.

Look at this form!  Elbows at a ninety degree angle at her lowest point and her shoulders are stable even when she pushes back up to fully extended arms.
The push-up, as performed by Adrienne, is one of the most effective upper body exercises and most convenient!
I have been a fitness professional for many years and, like most who’ve been doing the same thing for a long time, have been feeling a bit stale.  I told Adrienne I wanted her feedback from the perspective of a client, and one who knows my profession, on some of my exercise and training techniques.  She was all for it as she, too, had a need that I could help her with; to get her fitness “groove” back. 
The leg shoot is a great exercise for strengthening the hips and outer thigh.  She smiles through her pain!  Just remember point the knee towards the floor then extend the leg with the toe pointing towards the seem of the ceiling.

The result is a great trade off: she gets the resistance training, flexibility and core work she wants (sorry, it is really hard to inflict quality pain on yourself like a trainer can do!) and I am getting valuable feedback from her unique perspective.

She can't smile the whole time!  Yep, the lunge is fantastic for  the butt and thighs and can be performed on the floor or on a step for versatility!
Adding biceps curls and this exercise goes places!
What was my lesson today?  I learned that there is always something new our bodies crave in the form of variety.  Most often it takes a professional to show us what that is.  It could be a new twist on a standard exercise or a more comprehensive approach to create a desired result.  Our bodies are meant to be challenged and every so often, with something brand new!

She is focused!
The triceps dip is another excellent arm exercise as it tones and strengthens the backs of our arms.  Remember to exhale with effort!  And Smile!
It helped me to understand how important my profession is.  I discovered my creative trainer self again and I saw how the challenges I presented to Adrienne had given her a new sense of passion with her fitness program.  

So, I am looking forward to seeing her regularly for training.  She trains the trainer in me by being the client that needs my services!  How simple is that?!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

What Inspires Me to Keep on Moving!

I woke up with a tired, achey body.  I had felt a cold coming on for the last few days, and wouldn't you know it, as soon as I have the house to myself, I feel yucky.  I didn't feel like doing anything including training my clients, but I knew I had to.  I needed some kind of shot in the arm to get me motivated.  Before going to work, I read fellow a bloggers post and thought about what inspires me.

 Marchelle, my Bodeci Body of the Month, was my first client this morning.  She inspires me every time I work with her.  She started coming to me for fitness training about two years ago.  She was beautiful and slender, but felt weak and lethargic.  She also had severe imbalance issues as a result of losing her L-5 nerve due to bone cancer.  (The first doctor she went to said there wasn't much they could do and gave her a few months to live!)

Marchelle doing "dips"

The L-5 nerve is responsible for the muscles of the glutes (butt), hamstrings, calf and the muscles that flex and extend the foot.  Almost all of Marchelle's butt and right leg became numb; she referred to it as 'being asleep'.  She also had drop foot, a condition making it difficult to walk.  What first inspired me about her was her decision to have the strongest body of her life, without limitation.  (Here I had been complaining about a stupid cold!)  Her list of goals included:
  • More energy
  • Better balance
  • Overall strength and endurance
  • Coordination
  • Get back on ski's

Marchelle saying, "Hurry up and take the picture!" while performing squat/ rows with the "TRX straps".

I haven't seen many work as hard as Marchelle at her fitness program.  She has improved 200% from when she started with me.  The strength in her right leg has increased 200%!  Marchelle has toured Egypt, Spain, Italy and has gone skiing since we first began.  She has a lean 17% body fat and she is in her fifties!  (She is wearing her bikini to a pool party this weekend, maybe I'll get a picture!)  Today she said, "I wish everyone could feel as good as I do!  I am just so lucky! 


Oh, by the way, Marchelle will live to be a very fit old lady!







Time for a little break!







I felt like having something sweet, but there is absolutely nothing in my house with sugar in it that I want.  I decided to make my yogurt plum sauce parfait and do what Adrienne did with her popcorn; dish up a serving and put the rest away.   






This cup was my Grandmother's.  I love it and use it a lot.












I served it in grand style.  I drank water poured from my pretty blue wine bottle and enjoyed the treat slowly.  Nice break!


Do something that makes you feel good today!