April 10, 2008

Not Sarah Connor

I've been going to the gym. I go in the mornings before work and I do a little cardio and then my PT routine. The PT routine is a set of rotating scapular stabilization and upper back/chest/arm strengthening exercises. I use a wussy amount of weight, and after a couple months, have not yet increased it, except for a couple of the triceps and lat moves. I'm thinking of increasing a few others soon, but basically I do the least amount of weight possible until it is so easy I can't stand it for a moment longer.

Anyway, when I first get there I do some cardio on the elliptical and while I'm chugging away with the "gym" playlist blaring I watch other people using the weight machines and generally freak out about their form. Usually I worry that someone is overextending their shoulders because that's my big problem. This woman today was really going for it. She was doing some kind of weighted arm raise (finishing with arms straight out to each side at shoulder height), and with each rise she'd strain onto her tip toes and throw her shoulders up and stick her chin out, and then jerk her arms up to the finish. Next she put her hands by her ears and started to thrust them up until her arms were going straight up to the ceiling. With each thrust to the sky, her chin flew forward, her back arched dramatically with her chest shoved way out, and again she'd jerk everything to get the hands up.

Maybe it’s a great way to get strong. I think it would kill me. I looked around for any trainers, maybe I could point one in her direction just in case, but there weren’t, and she disappeared.

Posted by allison at April 10, 2008 02:02 PM