My NROL Experience

[missjane]

Hi Tom:

Your new workout is quite a departure from NROL! How are you liking it so far? It looks very challenging. You are so dedicated to working out, and I'm sure that trainer or not, you would always get that workout in!

So, with the new year here, any new goals for you?

[ToniL]

Hey there! I have been a lurker for awhile and one of my favorite reads is yours. I am so impressed with your progress, thank you for sharing.

Tom, consider yourself lucky at the trainer rates you pay . . . here in so cal the going rate is about $100-$150 per hour -- eeks! I love my trainer but he only gets to see me when I need help with a new routine. I think having a trainer can be a good thang/ bad thang . . . I like the idea of being accountable and having someone over see my workouts however it's also a good thing making myself accountable and being the boss of myself eh? I really don't need anyone to cheer me on when doing a routine I'm familiar with.

I look forward to reading about your new adventures in exercise.

Toni

[stingo]

Originally Posted by Victoria

Congrats on the extra sessions, Tom! Sorry the trainer didn't show today. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation. But, you did your workout anyway. Now, that's dedication. I'll be anxious to follow along with your upcoming sessions.

Thanks Victoria - yeah I was already there, so I was doing a workout whether the trainer was there or not. I've been working out so long I really don't need a trainer to workout but it was a nice addition to my routine - just not a necessary one.

[stingo]

Originally Posted by missjane

Hi Tom:

Your new workout is quite a departure from NROL! How are you liking it so far? It looks very challenging. You are so dedicated to working out, and I'm sure that trainer or not, you would always get that workout in!

So, with the new year here, any new goals for you?

Hi Jane, thanks for posting. Yes as I said in my earlier post, I'm used to working out - having a trainer's nice but not a necessity.

As for goals? I've a few in mind, but nothing concrete like a list, but here's a few...

Finally breaking this plateau and seeing some good results. (I'd say this is the year the shirt comes off, but I don't want to jinx anything.) A related goal would be to curtail drinking to 2 pints a week. Not that I drink all that much, but still...

To get more time in at the piano for practicing and to finally learn Bach's 1st 2 Part Invention - and then to move on to something else.

To get better at cooking - find some way of finding a teacher to help me along. And in a related note, getting back to cooking at home for myself more often again. Being lazy is not a good excuse.

Try to do more, more often (I think this is the general overarching goal). Try not to be lazy and get things done - whether it's reading a book, working out, or any other thing. But also appreciate the times I'm truly at rest.

Lastly, it'd be nice to have someone to share this all with. Not necessary certainly, but nice.

[stingo]

Originally Posted by ToniL

Hey there! I have been a lurker for awhile and one of my favorite reads is yours. I am so impressed with your progress, thank you for sharing.

Tom, consider yourself lucky at the trainer rates you pay . . . here in so cal the going rate is about $100-$150 per hour -- eeks! I love my trainer but he only gets to see me when I need help with a new routine. I think having a trainer can be a good thang/ bad thang . . . I like the idea of being accountable and having someone over see my workouts however it's also a good thing making myself accountable and being the boss of myself eh? I really don't need anyone to cheer me on when doing a routine I'm familiar with.

I look forward to reading about your new adventures in exercise.

Toni

Hi Toni - thanks for delurking and the very kind words. I'm not sure where you're at in SoCal but I'd venture a guess the cost of living is probably a lot higher there than in northeastern PA. One of the reasons I did go with the Y was because their sessions were cheaper than other commercial gyms in the area. (And yes, it's a great deal cheaper than the rates you quoted.) That and because my (now former) spinning instructor gave this particular trainer such good reviews.

Part of the reason I went with a personal trainer was reading the personalized programs in the logs here. Made me wonder if I was missing out on something. Plus I figured it'd be good to have some feedback as to progress, proper form and the like. So, I've about 15 sessions to see where this road will take me.

Do you have a training log set up here? If so, I should like to check in on your progress/notes.

[tcoy777]

Hey Tom,

Where in NE PA are you from? My wife is from just north of Erie, PA

[Biskit]

Hi Tom,

I'm sure you'll see the changes you desire in the new year. You have the stick-to-itive-ness to get there. The new workout looks interesting. What is a saxon side bend anyhoo?

Deb

[stingo]

Originally Posted by tcoy777

Hey Tom,

Where in NE PA are you from? My wife is from just north of Erie, PA

Erie's northwest PA (and in a long state like PA, that's a bit of a drive...) I'm in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area.

[stingo]

Originally Posted by Biskit

Hi Tom,

I'm sure you'll see the changes you desire in the new year. You have the stick-to-itive-ness to get there. The new workout looks interesting. What is a saxon side bend anyhoo?

Deb

Hi Deb,

If you check out this article from T-nation, you'll find the Saxon side bends close to the bottom.

[UConnJulie]

Tom, check out classes with your local recreation department or a local community college (especially if they have adult education classes) ... many of them offer various types of cooking classes (usually geared toward an ethnicity, and not necessarily focused on balanced healthy food, but you'd learn some good techniques that you could apply to healthy cooking).

[Biskit]

Originally Posted by stingo

Hi Deb,

If you check out this article from T-nation, you'll find the Saxon side bends close to the bottom.

Tom,
Got it, thanks. That does look challenging. I may incorporate it somehow. I like to do after-program stuff sometimes, just to try them and see how they fit.

Deb

[tcoy777]

yeah I know the area. Its very odd to think of where she is from NW, because the town name is North East PA. I guess North East of the Lake. It was nice to run up there this year in 20 degree weather and a head wind of 20+mph. Gave me a real workout.

[stingo]

Originally Posted by UConnJulie

Tom, check out classes with your local recreation department or a local community college (especially if they have adult education classes) ... many of them offer various types of cooking classes (usually geared toward an ethnicity, and not necessarily focused on balanced healthy food, but you'd learn some good techniques that you could apply to healthy cooking).

Julie - yes I've thought about the community college - I'll have to see what's offered when. And I LOVE ethnic cooking, as my latest forays were pineapple chicken lo mein and vegetable biryani. And yes, I'm more interested in techniques at this point - I know how to find the healthy recipes. Thanks for the suggestion, I appreciate it.

[stingo]

Originally Posted by tcoy777

yeah I know the area. Its very odd to think of where she is from NW, because the town name is North East PA. I guess North East of the Lake. It was nice to run up there this year in 20 degree weather and a head wind of 20+mph. Gave me a real workout.

Well if it's around Erie it doesn't get more northwest than that (and still be in PA). Although I've been to western PA before, I've never (to my recollection) been north of I-80. Perhaps when the weather breaks that will change.

[stingo]

A brief addendum: I checked my voice mail when I got into work today and sure enough there was a message from my trainer cancelling the session (I was off yesterday so didn't get the message). I called him back and set up an appointment for tomorrow at 2pm.

[stingo]

Oh, and Jane, to answer your initial question, yes the workout is different from NROL. A lot of technique to a lot of the lifts, many of which were new to me. I'm just now starting to get past the techniques, to get to adjusting the weights.