216. Took these before my move craziness. I took a few days off from lifting and eating my usual meals so I could focus on packing up and driving down to DC. And I’ve now arrived. Huzzah.
I’ve been back lifting for a few days, mainly with the goal of limbering up. Honestly, my favorite thing about being back in this city is walking to and from the gym.
On my way there, I usually take the time to pop on a few good songs and let the beat carry me, stretching and moving along the way — walking can be such a corrective motion. On my way back, I’m usually chuffed from a good lift, even if a bit weary, and I walk with a bit of pride — sweaty clothes, muscles worked over, a body on display.
This time around I maintain a bit more vigilant. With my gym being near the capitol center, the city sequestered by empty yet potentially loaded military bravado. You kinda have to have a humor in the paranoia we all have adapted by osmosis I guess.
I hit 275 for sets of 5 on zercher squats. All raw too. Just a while ago, I wasn’t able to hold 135 without pads to distribute the weight of the bar on my elbows. But here we are. Grunting through a heavy set. I think I could go harder, but what I enjoy most about these is the high demand for muscle coordination and bracing, which I’ve never been really good at. Or rather, which is challenging after my surgery.
Im currently working on wrapping up my personal trainer certification process. I have an interview set up next week at a local, high end gym that im excited about.
Having to sit down with the material and also think about what my practice would look like as a business has motivated me to consider fusing my interests and experience in bodybuilding, behavioral health, and the arts.
I’ve held a few outdoor fitness classes this year that have helped me explore this culmination. I held one on my last day before driving down to DC called, “Monsters on the Move.” It focused on bringing improv and simple fitness equipment like resistance bands to explore movement in a more emergent way. For this class, we focused on playing with being elves and goblins as different modes of movement. We pretended to be elves hunting in the forest, pulling resistance bands back as we would our bow — focusing on moving with grace but still strong. Then we also played around as goblins — my favorite being a dash with a sack of potatoes (backpacks) with frenetic foot work. A little HIIT there.
People seemed to really enjoy the space to have fun but still move around. My favorite feedback was from someone who feels shy about exercising — they said the class made moving feel inclusive and were surprised by how they could move.
Taking a step back, I’ve spent a lot of time treating bodybuilding coaching as my model for what I would do. But I’m more excited to communicate (and embody?) a style of fitness that is sustainable, dynamic, but still challenging. Ultimately person centered I guess.
Not gassing people up with false bravado.
Nor reinforcing harmful individualism.
Maybe, more about providing a well structured space to explore a dynamic, sometimes delight relationship with our bodies.
The words will come to me. These are things best left embodied sometimes, but then how can we market em anyway.
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