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September 13, 2018: Getting it Right

Today I had my first training session at Body in Balance, in downtown Palmer. Finally, I really think that I am on to something. For some time I’ve wanted to work with a personal fitness trainer, but I have not had good luck in landing one. There was a trainer at Peak Fitness, just a kid who knew nothing at all about training. Then there were Pilates classes, yoga classes, Tai Chi classes, and Body Awareness/Feldenkrais classes. I did not, in any of the above, get any individual feedback. I remember with yoga, as the teachers grew more popular, the classes grew in size. Finally, they were so large that when I moved my arms or legs an equal distance off my mat, I’d bump into someone.

Alys on Divide Ride at Butte House
Alys on Divide Ride at Butte House


I even started going to yoga classes at 7:15 a.m. The teacher soon developed a grumpy attitude because she had too few students on hand, hence too few dollars coming in.

The problem is that there are just too many people out there, clamoring for fitness related attention. And the teachers teach to the masses because this is where the money is.

I also have worked on my own, mainly on the Feldenkrais lessons. Don’t get me wrong, all this training has served me in very good stead. However, I have for some time sensed that individual training would best serve me.

My trainer’s name is Ben, and he’s the newbie at Body in Balance. He recently moved to this area, and last week he got married. He’s a large fellow (aren’t most fitness trainers) with very short hair. He does not stand still. He seems to have boundless energy and is totally committed to teaching fitness. I’d call him a new age jock.

I came into the gym and he had my workout sheet in hand, on a clipboard. He isn’t one for idle chit chat – we got right to work. I can’t remember exactly what I did, just bits and pieces. Some of the things I did, like the glut lift (lie on back, raise knees, and lift butt) I’ve been doing for years, on my own. However, I had not been given directives, in this instance inhale on the rise and exhale on the drop, or press my feet into the floor when rising.

And there are things that I have noticed and wondered about, but lacking expertise in this area, not dealt with it. For example, Ben noticed when in doing one exercise, that my pelvis was making a cracking sound. He said that my hips may be rotated inward, but most definitely there is something going on there.

All the agility, balance, and strength exercises were in sequence. I would do one thing, then another, and then do that one thing again. The second time I did that one thing, I did it more effectively.

My lack of detail in describing the exercises I did today is deplorable. But I do know that I am on the right track. I hope that in a few weeks’ time I can say “finally.”

Next: 256. 9/14/18: Hi Ho The Dairy Oh, A Hiking We will Go

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