Two Quick Iron Stories

Here's a few quick lessons I've learned from the gym and my life lately.

Overcoming Brokenness Leads to Growth

Breaking my foot last year really change my perspective on training. I couldn't just go do only lifts or squats or deads.

I had two options: sit around and do nothing for 6 weeks while my foot healed OR find a way to overcome my brokenness to keep working. I chose the latter.

It was purely a selfish motive. I wanted to keep working out and probably show off how much of a hardo I am by still working out with a broken foot.

So I joined Lifetime Fitness down in Franklin. It is a very nice globo gym with a pool, sauna, and steamroom, I could use to sweat and relax at when not hitting the weights.

In order to get a good lift in, I had to completely re-learn lifting. Supersets with heavy lifting and explosive jumps were out. Lunges, cleans, squats, were OUT. Pretty much any moving from spot to spot, unloading plates, grabbing a drink of water, putzing around was OUT.

I learned to do hypertrophy work. Get a bench by the dumbbells, grab one or two sets of dumbbells and just figure out how to destroy myself in a very limited space and equipment. Or same with machines. Hop on a machine, do a ton of sets, figuring out how to change the intent of the lift through changing angles, changing range of motion, changing tempo, learning focused muscle contraction. It was really wild to learn so much about a thing I'd been doing most of my life.

Not only did I learn about lifting for me, but I got to see what "common people" did for lifting -- something that wasn't class facilitated, CrossFit, orange theory, semi private or private training.

It opened my eyes to how I can coach better, empower my personal training clients for the real world better, and program for my online clients better.

Instead of limitless space and options in a program, I now know EVERYTHING was limited, even programmed equipment for my clients might be taken and they'd have to adapt on the fly.

They can only adapt if I teach them well enough to know what to do without me around, which is my goal of training. I love my clients, but I want to impart as much of my knowledge to them so they can go do on their own.

So now my programming can reflect this if need be. It's part of my discussion with my clients -- what kind of space do you have, what equipment, what limitations?

Not only the physical space people lifted in, but also the MENTAL space. I could feel the anxiety people had walking around unsure of what to do or how they'd look. I could feel the braggadocios swagger of people who pretended to know what they were doing, but were really just scared children.

Taking these lessons, here is what I did the other day at the YMCA in Brentwood.

Let me set the scene. The Y is busy. Lots of people there after being locked up in their house from a snow storm. The Y is also under construction, so all the free weights are jammed in a small room. So not only is it busy, it's crowded, with lots of demand for equipment.

Miraculously the only equipment available was a bench press. So I hop over to it to get to work, knowing my time was limited (had about an hour to get a lift in and hit the sauna before needing to scoot to the next appointment).

So I pulled a single heavy dumbbell over to the bench, hit some warm up squats, bulgarian split squats and light bench press.

For my working sets, I did 6 sets of 8 Bulgarian Split Squats and worked up to a heavy 3 on bench press. Then put the dumbbell away and cranked out a few more sets of bench negatives.

I lifted for 35 minutes. And only did those two exercises. It was efficient and effective. Which is what I need to deliver to my clients day in and day out.

LENDING A HELPING HAND

A few days after that, I was at the YMCA hitting a lift in the same cramped and crowded weight room.

There were two tiny young ladies walking around in hoodies and one literally still had her purse on her shoulder.

They grabbed 10# DBs, stood awkwardly, and giggled out of embarrassment.

I asked if they needed help. (They did)

I showed them some quick super sets of reverse lunges and dumbbell bench press -- also showing them how to properly spot.

After supervising the first two sets then told them they were on their own to do it two more times through. (Teach a man to fish, amirite??)

As I was leaving after my sauna session, they were headed out as well.

They said they really appreciated it and they'd never lifted before.

I'm sure they were sore the next day.

It's more than being sore though, it could very well impact their health for the rest of their lives:

• They'll be less intimidated going to the gym

• They'll have more confidence in themselves -- wanna empower a lady? teach her to lift!!

• All the health benefits of lifting -- better health, better sleep, higher metabolism, less likely to get injured

• Heck, maybe they'll keep working hard and teach others some day?!

Best of luck Lena and Hajra! Y'all are going to do great!!