I didn't know what to expect when I went to see Cara from Corrective Exercise of Arizona. It was the middle of a work day and she told me to wear comfortable clothes.
She practices in the same gym that Kimberly and her partner Andrew work at, so when I walked in it was pretty busy. There were allot of women there with awesome bodies working on their 6-pack abs. Other trainers were there too, hollering at their clients in a boot-camp fashion encouraging them to do just one more...of whatever they were doing.
I was the only one wearing work clothes and I really felt out of place. I kept my head down and made a bee-line for the bathroom to change my clothes.
Well...shit.
I forgot to pack socks or sneakers. I was in my black patent leather heels and the LAST thing I wanted to do was stand barefoot on what could be a pee-sprayed, not to mention cold, bathroom floor. For a split second, I thought about just wearing my pumps with my sweats, but the ridiculous stares I would get quickly popped in and out of my head. The thing I love about Alpha-Elite Fitness though is that no one judges. Everyone is there to support and cheer you on, although we do have a good laugh at ourselves every once in a while. And, it was only the 2nd time I found myself in gym in 2 years, and I wasn't in that state of mind yet.
I tip-toed around the bathroom and walked outside after I changed. Cara had me lay down on a massage table and proceeded to gauge my range of motion by twisting and turning my limbs into various positions, seeing how far I could bend.
We already knew that my back muscles were out of whack. Years and years of slouching and hovering over a keyboard made my chest muscles become super tight. They pulled and rounded out my back.
I try to stand up straight, pushing out my chest and contracting my back, but it's exhausting and painful trying to keep it that way. Not to mention all the years of 50 pound back packs which I held over my right shoulder, made one of my shoulders higher than the other.
Fortunately, all of this can be corrected. Cara pointed to a whole wall of foam rollers. Black ones, white ones, bumpy, short and long. Then there were a few pieces of PVC pipe, roughly the same circumference as the the foam roller.
Now, I'm no stranger to the absolute torture a foam roller can cause. If you've ever rolled out your hip flexors you know what I'm talking about. But when Cara headed for the PVC pipe, it was the only time I thought to myself that I would tell a trainer that I wasn't going to do something. She proceeded to instruct me on different exercises to loosen up my back. It hurt like hell. Rolling up and down in certain sensitive spots, stopping on the painful knots until the pain went away. The fact that there is no give to a PVC pipe like there is on a foam roller really makes it effective. It also makes it feel like there's a 100 pound brick pressing into the deepest crevices of the fibers of my muscles.
That wasn't even the worst part.
The worst part was when she grabbed two baseballs and made me lay down on them in certain ways. It literally felt like I was stabbing myself over and over with a stake knife.
Now folks, I know this sounds simple, but I don't recommend you trying any of these on your own without being properly instrcted by a professional. I'm just giving general visions on what I was told to do, but you can seriously injure yourself if any of these items are placed wrong on your body. Not to mention there's proper hand positions to maximize the effectiveness.
We went onto the weights. Finally. Cable reverse flys and the like. I really loves those. I'm like a guy in the sense that I'll spend all day on upper body and never work on legs. But if you've ever seen a disproportionate form, it can be...well...disproportionate.
Right
Wrong
I broke into a sweat rolling out my body. It in itself was a workout. In fact, I was sore for two days afterwards. But just knowing what the correct 'feeling' of good body posture is, as well as working on all the exercises at home, I'm more limber and loose. I feel good and am well on my way to recovery. I can't wait to start training with Alpha Elite again.
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