How to Build a Healthy Body
Almost 3 years ago I started exercising more as a way to combat depression and general cluelessness about my life. I signed up with a personal trainer at 24 Hour Fitness as a way to motivate myself. I’ve never been one to go to a gym unless it involved a bootcamp or spin class. I expected nothing less than entertainment and someone who would push me to the edge of exhaustion. Going to a gym was a boring chore and I needed someone to hold me accountable. My experience with a personal trainer wasn’t all that good. On the plus side, I was motivated. Who wouldn’t be after spending over $500 for 10 sessions?? I felt obligated to show up since I had shelled out so much money. On the negative side, my personal trainer didn’t really teach me anything I didn’t know already. The exercises were the same ones I had done during bootcamps. For all that money, I got someone to count and cheer me on.
One lazy afternoon I started to search for personal training schools. I figured it would make more sense to spend that money on educating myself about fitness rather than paying someone to be my personal cheerleader. National Personal Training Institute (NPTI) came up during my search. I was reminded of those cheesy commercials when I was a kid (way before cable TV) advertising for ITT Institute. The ones that came on late at night after the Tonight Show beckoning the unemployed and unhappy to attend their school. I had always associated the word “institute” with some for-profit school with the mission of ripping people off. Lucky for me I had a much different experience when I visited the class. I immediately connected with the director of the school when we started talking about a similar interest in meditation. When I learned that he incorporated meditation into the training and heard the students raving about the program, I decided to sign up. And my life will never be the same.
I received training in anatomy, physiology, nutrition, and kinesiology during the 500-hour program. At the time I felt completely overwhelmed with memorization of the insertion and origin of muscles and terms like force couple relationships and synergistic dominance. Looking back, I’m beginning to understand that I’ve been given a cryptic instruction manual on how to build a healthy body. So that’s what this blog is about. I want to share what I’ve learned so that you can build your own healthy body. The information on TV and the internet is filled with mixed messages about what do eat and drink and how to exercise. This is my attempt to cut through the bullshit and simplify things for you. I hope you find it useful. With love,Susan
