Friday, March 7, 2008

Working Out at the Rec




"The Rec" is the affectionate abbreviation for the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Student Recreation Center, located on the SIU-C campus about a five minute drive from my home (unless I hit the eternal stoplight, which isn't really eternal, only 90 seconds. It just seems like an eternity.)







I started going to the Rec about a year and a half ago, after a friend of mine felt my newly skinnier arms and told me my triceps were flabby. Well! Trying not to be insulted, I had to admit she was right. I was slimmer overall, but despite having worked out with hands weights for a while, I wasn't very well toned and could sure benefit from some formal weight training.

Being an alumna of SIU I'm eligible to join the Rec Center, which is primarly for students. However, a lot of faculty and alums go there to swim, workout and fight off the ravages of growing older. I often see friends there, including quite a few people from my church.


This is Amanda, my personal trainer. Although by this time I know how to use all the equipment, I know myself well enough to realize that unless someone is there waiting for me to show up at the appointed time, I can--and will-- easily talk myself out of going to work out. So I pay the bucks and have a trainer work with me. Amanda is my third trainer, not because they dump me--honest--but because of the university's changing schedule. My first trainer was Lynn, who is the manager of the Rec's Lifestyle Enhancement Center. Eventually Lynn's admin duties began to overwhelm her and she had to pass on her clients to other trainers. Then came Michelle, with whom I worked for over 6 months. Michelle is working on her master's degree and last fall her class schedule didn't permit her to have a client at my regular workout time. Since I was accustomed to the days and times I wanted to stick with my schedule, so Michelle turned me over to Amanda.


Amanda is currently waiting to hear if she has been accepted at Temple University to get her PhD. I hope she is accepted, but that will mean she will be leaving in August--and I'll be getting another trainer. (sigh) I wish I could depend on myself to stay with it without a trainer, but when I'm snug at home, inertia takes over unless I have a specific appointment.



Before working out with weights, it's important your muscles be adequately warmed up and stretched to avoid injury. Sometimes I warm up at home, doing low impact aerobics to music; then I stretch, grab a quick shower and jump in my car to head for the Rec.


Other days I go in early to warm up on one of the high tech treadmills available. These babies do everything but fix you a cup of coffee!
















This is the weight machine I usually start each session on. It's my favorite since I get to lie down. It's a seated leg press and primarily works the quadriceps, the largest muscles in our bodies. As you push against the weight plate with your feet, you raise the weights on the left side. I'm up to pressing 230 pounds, which I feel pretty good about. (I think I started with 100.)













This is another leg machine, the front leg curl. Amanda took this shot. Note the mirror behind me. Both side walls are mirrors so you can check your form. I try not to look.


This is a hamstring exercise, and is the complement, or opposite, of the leg press. Judging by these "thunder thighs", I need to do more of them!



















After 45 minutes of sweating and straining on the weight machines comes the very best part! I lie down on this mat and Amanda does passive stretching of my legs and hips and shoulders and then gives me a brief neck and shoulder massage. The massage is to keep my right shoulder from seizing up, which it has a tendency to do because I have an impingement problem. The massage feels great, and afterward what I'd really like to do is curl up on the mat and take a nap!






But no, it's back to the women's locker room, hoping I remember the combination to my locker so I can retrieve my coat and purse and lock up my weight gloves and towel until next time. I go twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings,and I try not to let anything interfere with these appointments. The weather has not been cooperative lately, however, and I've only been able to get in one session a week since I got back from my trip to Antarctica. I can tell when I miss a session because the next one is more difficult. When I was gone for two weeks on the trip, I lost some ground, even though I was doing a lot of climbing, walking, etc. It's not the same as training specific muscle groups. Like the old saying, "What you don't use, you lose."



Since I began weight training at the Rec I am notably stronger. I can heft my mom's wheelchair in and out of my hatchback much more easily and I scoop up 25 pound bags of dog and cat food as if they were nothing. Even 50 pound sacks of birdseed are more easily maneuvered into my cart, providing they are up high enough on the pile for me to pull them off and slide them into the cart.



Weight training works for anyone at any age. You just need to proceed carefully, prepare your muscles with a warmup and take your time. Patience pays off big dividends in this arena.

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