PROMOTION
I believe that there’s something for everyone in the gym, you just need to find it. I’ve tried the treadmill/cross-trainer rigmarole but it wasn’t for me. I’ve tried weight training and, for a while, I thought I’d found my ‘gym thing’. But although I enjoyed it, the results started to level-out.
I had to take a few minutes before I could get up and complete the final stretches.
I needed to mix things up a bit and make my work-out feel worthwhile again. So I took up the offer of a Personal Trainer at the Y Club Manchester, hoping I’d get some guidance and gymspiration to get me back on track.
I met with Rich, a friendly and knowledgeable PT, at the Y Club’s gym. We went through my measurements (weight, height, blood pressure and body fat), my diet, and my goals – namely building more lean muscle and reducing my overall body fat.
I fall into the ‘normal/healthy’ range for someone my age and I already visit the gym regularly, so Rich said I was in a good starting position to get the results I wanted.
The first session was a full body workout. I started with a quick warm-up on the rower and then got straight into it with lat pull downs, squats, chest presses, lunges and more.
They were all familiar moves but Rich has a way of getting one more rep out of you. He’ll set you a goal and if you get there, he somehow makes you want to do another…something I’ve really struggled with in the past.
I was already feeling the burn. We moved round the gym and at each piece of equipment he pushed me to my limit.
Sometimes he used something called a ‘rest pause’ where he would see my posture slump or my arms wobble and tell me to stop for five seconds then continue. This tactic really helped. On my own I’d deem myself too weak to finish, or worry about risking an injury, but the ‘rest pauses’ let me regain some of my strength and complete all the reps properly.
Towards the end I did what Rich calls a ‘Finisher’. And finish me it did. A painful combination of burpees, press-ups and mountain climbers, I was to do as many rounds as possible in three minutes. By the end I was exhausted and had to take a few minutes before I could get up and complete the final stretches.
It was tough. But it hasn’t left me dreading the next session. I left feeling good about the work I’d put in and excited to continue towards my goals. I will be working with Rich at the Y Club once a week for the next seven weeks whilst continuing to train on my own. Check back to see how I’m getting on in a few weeks.
Want to try Personal Training at the Y Club? Visit the Y Club website or call 0161 837 3535.
