In another post, I mentioned that I had joined a gym for the first time in my life. I grew my muscles the old fashioned way, by hard work. As I am getting older, work isn't all that hard anymore. Maybe that's because I do less of it. So I joined up to lift some weights, perhaps ride a machine or two, and get back in shape. And, the gym has a pool. We used to have a pool here at the LittleBIll compound, but it started to rust out, so it is no more. It was only good for floating around with a beer anyway. Besides, swimming outside in December isn't exactly my idea of fun, or even sanity.

I've been there about two weeks now, and have had several adventures there. One thing that is included in the swingeing fees they charge is a couple of appointments with a personal trainer. They set me up with a young gentleman whose father is four years younger than I am. It is an interesting relationship. He is not quite sure what to make of me, and I am taking orders from someone younger than my own children.

I had my initial appointment with him shortly after joining up. I was supposed to meet with him last week, but had to reschedule due to squirrelus interruptus. Today we met up again so he could take me through a personalized workout plan. I learned a few things. One, I had been just moving weights around on the various machines up until today. He walked me through a bunch of exercises, starting out with the exercycle, or whatever they call it. Then it was squats. I felt like telling him when you get older, you do lots of them anyway. I kept my mouth shut though, because I didn't want to give him the impression I thought he didn't know squat.

I was a little miffed at the weights he was suggesting for me. "I thought, I can lift way more than that!" Well lemme tell you something. By the time I was done, I was lucky to be lifting my feet off the floor. The last exercise probably made the least sense, but it was kind of fun. I had to take a 10 lb medicine ball, lift it over my head, and then hurl it to the floor with all my strength. I told him, "I'm already good at this one!" Every now and then something goes wrong in the shop and a piece of wood will impact the floor at near relativistic velocity. It doesn't improve my situation any, but it makes me feel better. By the time I did 10 reps of that though, I was ready to quit. Fortunately, it was the last thing on the list, and he was expecting my reaction. He told me I did better than he expected. Either that means I am in better shape than I thought, or I look even worse than I am. I will choose to believe the former rather than the latter.

There's no way I am going to join the musclehead crowd though. That's the group of guys there who spend what looks to be most of their life pumping Iron. Some of them have bulging muscles in their eyelids. I am going to have to stop looking in the mirror there though. I understand it is good for proper form, but it also keeps reminding me that right now I sort of look like a snowman in the sun with the way the weight is sluffing off of various parts, and none of it symmetrically.

Three cheers for the snowman!

I also understand the hard time learning from someone much younger than you. I became a supervisor when I was 27 and I found out in a hurry that there is little to no work ethic in my generation and younger. I prefer to hire employees in their mid 40's and older. I've had several employees that had a hard time learning and listening to me because I was so much younger than them and I had to learn how to show my respect for them and work even harder than them to gain their respect.

I also understand the hard time learning from someone much younger than you. I became a supervisor when I was 27 and I found out in a hurry that there is little to no work ethic in my generation and younger. I prefer to hire employees in their mid 40's and older. I've had several employees that had a hard time learning and listening to me because I was so much younger than them and I had to learn how to show my respect for them and work even harder than them to gain their respect.

For me it is more weird than hard. I have no patience at all with arrogant, uppity people regardless of age, and it shows through no matter how hard I try for it not to. But this kid is very polite, respectful, and from what I have seen so far, knows his stuff. I have no problems taking orders from someone like that. It is just strange for me.

By contrast, there is a kid who is almost the same age who works part time at the local woodworking supply store. The kid is a total jerk, and I suspect that no matter where he ends up, he will always be that way. I cannot stand having to deal with him. Beyond being arrogant, he has nothing to be arrogant about. He is a total novice, and is nothing more than a glorified clerk. But, he seems to think he has become some sort of expert by virtue of standing next to some machines for a while.

I do a lot of teaching for my business, and for most people, my business is their hobby. I get doctors, engineers, lawyers, all sorts of people who could buy and sell me many times over. Most of them are older. I have even gotten quite a few fellow professionals who have come to me to fine tune some of their skills. You are absolutely right. Respect for the other person is essential. And just because I know more about one thing than they do doesn't mean I know more about everything. That is a huge mistake that most people seem to make regardless of their place in life.

It's excellent to hear that you are going to a gym and also that you are doing it with a plan. Too many people say that they are going to join a gym and just walk a treadmill. They'll buy sporty looking outfits and trendy shaker bottles that match their new bluetooth headphones and that means they are getting in shape. Well... not really. I don't really call them out on it because at least they are getting up and moving. That is more than many do!

I can empathize with the way you felt about the light weights. Years ago before my injuries, I did serious weight lifting. So when I started going back to the gym and I was using just the barbell or 10 lb dumbells, I was ashamed. Didn't care about anyone else, I just knew what I was capable of before. However! Starting off with very low weights gives us the opportunity to learn proper technique. Done properly, the squat & the deadlift are the two most beneficial exercises a person can do. The entire body is used in those two exercises. Every major muscle works, the central nervous system is taxed, and the skeletal system is stressed. Done improperly, there is nothing worse for the body. Every major joint and muscle +connective tissue is at risk!

So if your trainer is worth anything, he will definitely be taking it easy on you. He should also not be telling you to do circuit type training since you are going to have so little reserves at this point post op. One thing to talk to him about if you haven't already, is he familiar with physical therapy exercises? Those are ones that you should mastering. Very safe and vitally important whether or not you have an injury.

It's excellent to hear that you are going to a gym and also that you are doing it with a plan. Too many people say that they are going to join a gym and just walk a treadmill. They'll buy sporty looking outfits and trendy shaker bottles that match their new bluetooth headphones and that means they are getting in shape. Well... not really. I don't really call them out on it because at least they are getting up and moving. That is more than many do!

I can empathize with the way you felt about the light weights. Years ago before my injuries, I did serious weight lifting. So when I started going back to the gym and I was using just the barbell or 10 lb dumbells, I was ashamed. Didn't care about anyone else, I just knew what I was capable of before. However! Starting off with very low weights gives us the opportunity to learn proper technique. Done properly, the squat & the deadlift are the two most beneficial exercises a person can do. The entire body is used in those two exercises. Every major muscle works, the central nervous system is taxed, and the skeletal system is stressed. Done improperly, there is nothing worse for the body. Every major joint and muscle +connective tissue is at risk!

So if your trainer is worth anything, he will definitely be taking it easy on you. He should also not be telling you to do circuit type training since you are going to have so little reserves at this point post op. One thing to talk to him about if you haven't already, is he familiar with physical therapy exercises? Those are ones that you should mastering. Very safe and vitally important whether or not you have an injury.

I see men there who are both older and smaller than I am lifting weights that I would not even begin to contemplate. At first I felt somewhat inferior, because I know I am stronger than the vast majority of the population, just on the things I have had to lift or move that no one else around me can do. And I interact with a lot of people. But then I started watching technique closer, and could see lots of stuff being done wrong. These guys may walk out the door all puffed up, but they are headed for some serious injury.

This trainer is giving me a program to get my muscles back in shape much in the same way he would for injuries, and he knows all about my surgery. He knows I don't want to be Arnold Schwarzenegger or anything. He advised me to start light, take it slow, and move up 5-10 lbs per exercise in a few weeks, after I get the hang of things. We were actually laughing together about the muscleheads. He is a swimmer, so he trains for that. And he seems to have a very good outlook on balance in a person's life.

There are some real meat heads at my gym as well. I used to try and talk to some of them, but we are coming from very different directions, I don't even bother trying to clue them in on what they are doing wrong. Sometimes people have to fail before they want to learn. I know that was my problem when I was younger.

I signed a contract for personal training at my gym for a year. 3 visits a month isn't a lot, but it's all I can afford right now. I was going to just focus on aerobic activity, but a good point was made that weight training will help me maintain/increase muscle mass which is essential to losing weight and maintaining my loss as well as things important to me like core strength.

What's frustrating for both me and my trainer is that the auto-immune is causing us to have to start with RIDICULOUSLY light weights (like 12# - 20# for upper body and 60# for lower) in order to not trigger auto-immune flares. I feel like such a pansy. But, I keep reminding myself that even if I am using no weights, it's still more exercise than I was doing before, so it's still progress.

I have a goal to someday be able to do a pull-up.

I signed a contract for personal training at my gym for a year. 3 visits a month isn't a lot, but it's all I can afford right now. I was going to just focus on aerobic activity, but a good point was made that weight training will help me maintain/increase muscle mass which is essential to losing weight and maintaining my loss as well as things important to me like core strength.

What's frustrating for both me and my trainer is that the auto-immune is causing us to have to start with RIDICULOUSLY light weights (like 12# - 20# for upper body and 60# for lower) in order to not trigger auto-immune flares. I feel like such a pansy. But, I keep reminding myself that even if I am using no weights, it's still more exercise than I was doing before, so it's still progress.

I have a goal to someday be able to do a pull-up.

Is that for one arm, or two? I am really hoping you say two, since mine started me out with 20 lb weights for a lot of arm stuff. But then I am doing around 100 for some other large muscle groups. And I can lift 120 lbs with one arm. I know that because I have to move my bucket full of wheel weights around from time to time, and it weighs 120 lbs.

Three times a month is a lot more than I am getting, but I have the most basic of packages. I get two consultations according to the membership rep, but then the trainer said I would be getting a third from him in a few weeks. According to what I have read, I will be allowed a pair of consultations every three months or something like that.

Good luck with the pull up. I was never very good at them.

Two arms. Single arm stuff we're sticking with 5#.

@@LittleBill

Lifting at the gym was intimidating to me when I started two years ago. Working on your form then adding weight is a great way to start out. I'm an old fart in comparison to many at the gym. I love seeing results. I'm amazed in how far I've come. You can take this to any level you want. Own your bad ass self. Always a group of the high five meat heads at every gym. You will also meet some great supportive people.

17 kinds of people you will recognize at the gym:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/sallytamarkin/runners-yogis-mansplainers-oh-my?utm_term=.it3oBBy56#.efew661VG

Gym wildlife:

https://youtu.be/n1GUQVo1Lps

Literally laughed my ass off!

Two arms. Single arm stuff we're sticking with 5#.

@@LittleBill

I feel better now that I am not totally sissified, but I hope that you progress quickly with it.

Lifting at the gym was intimidating to me when I started two years ago. Working on your form then adding weight is a great way to start out. I'm an old fart in comparison to many at the gym. I love seeing results. I'm amazed in how far I've come. You can take this to any level you want. Own your bass ass self. Always a group of the high five meat heads at every gym. You will also meet some great supportive people.

17 kinds of people you will recognize at the gym:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/sallytamarkin/runners-yogis-mansplainers-oh-my?utm_term=.it3oBBy56#.efew661VG

Gym wildlife:

https://youtu.be/n1GUQVo1Lps

It takes quite a bit to intimidate me. Some of my political activism has required me to face down both law enforcement and media, sometimes at the same time. But I do wonder about some of these folks at the gym, how they do what they do without hurting themselves. That list helps.

Do you know where a mansplainer gets his Water?

From a well, actually...

@@LittleBill

I'm a regular now. No intimidation to be on the weightlifting side of the gym. Is it bad for me to wish I intimidate people with my muscles? lol I don't but I can dream.

@@LittleBill

I'm a regular now. No intimidation to be on the weightlifting side of the gym. Is it bad for me to wish I intimidate people with my muscles? lol I don't but I can dream.

I have the kind of build that even if I lose all my fat, I will be around 300 lbs. A friend of mine once told me I intimidate people just standing around. Add in a Darth Vader voice and you get the idea.

But a woman with muscles? I suspect lots of people find that intimidating. They're probably just too skeered to say so!

@@LittleBill

That's why your littleBill at 6'1" I'm 5'5" Yep, you win. I'm intimidated.

Fear me! lol