For so long I have been averse to using a personal trainer. For a lot of people, whether experienced or not, it can be a quite daunting prospect.
I am used to training to some degree, whether it was running, soccer, or weightlifting, I felt comfortable in my training regime. That was the problem though, the comfortability, the plateau I found myself in after my own recent weight loss. Despite thinking I was busting my ass, I was not getting the results I wanted. Overtraining, constant fatigue, but not willing to make a change. I was not educated in the mechanics of what I was doing, and because the scales were going down, I didn’t care, I was comfortable in my ignorance.
In the later months of 2021, I had utilized the services of a counselor to discuss various issues, in hope of improving my mental health and the results were tremendous. It is always ok to ask for help, and that realization allowed me to come to terms with the fact I needed help with my body. Not just for aesthetic purposes, but to get tips on how I can stop that lethargic, tank-on empty feeling my body had experienced for the longest time.
No doubt the shadow of the guy I have chosen to bring me on my journey is certainly daunting anyway. Davy Jones is legitimately one of Ireland’s strongest men, basically, the man gets results. He has achieved great results for himself and his clients in the past, and if I stay motivated I have no doubt I will too.
The first thing Davy told me was that the scales are not gospel, a strange notion for a guy who has had a love/hate relationship with the scales for 20 years. Davy listened to my goals, which are to lose body fat and tone my body. With that information, he constructed a plan to get me where I want to go. Taking various measurements, taking notes on my diet. No doubt as a vegetarian, this would pose a more difficult meal plan than normal, but Davy did not shy from the added obstacle.
I went to our first session on Tuesday the 4th of January apprehensive, nervous, but full of hope.
First session :
We started off our journey by working on the chest and back. The back was always a weak point for me, and training on my back with a strong man, I was more than apprehensive. Thinking I would be deadlifting all session, however, I was pleasantly surprised with the session. The word ‘supersets’ can put people off, the concept of a superset is to perform 2 exercises back-to-back. So this is where we did one chest exercise before doing one back. We operated on a low weight and high rep basis. Which is generally the anthesis to the way I was accustomed to training. In the past, I strived to just max out on the weight and things like form sometimes took a backseat. Form is king though to activating my muscles and that was the focus of today’s session.
In total, we did six exercises, which does not sound like much, but each exercise was compromised of three sets and 15 reps. What started off as manageable became challenging. Despite the lightweight, I started noticing I was working muscles I had not previously been using. It was a strenuous workout, which was a shock to the system, especially considering I have been training on and off for years. Going particularly hard at it in the last six months, dropping 30 lbs by myself. I was training nearly every day in some form, without giving my body a rest, and I burnt out. Every session became a chore, but not today, I was energized, I was alive.
I left that day with a smile, my muscles were tired, but I was smiling. I turned on a bit of ‘Alice In Chains’ on the way home and sang along with Layne Staley at the top of my voice.
Second Session :
The day I was dreading…….legs. For the longest time, I have refrained from doing legs, why? Because I love running. The mental stimulation it has brought me over the last few years, particularly over the pandemic has been a huge boost to my well-being. When the gyms reopened last June, I made the decision to always skip leg days, due to being unable to get out for a run for a few days after it. Unfortunately, I started experiencing issues with my IT band and recently it flared up bad, with my knee buckling 5k into a 7k run. Davy took all this info on board and called me on my silly notions, in a nice way. My legs are under-developed in certain areas due to my negligence which was focusing solely on running for all my leg needs.
So squats were on the cards, no avoiding that. What followed was an hour of probably my most enjoyable time in the gym for the longest time. Pushing yourself to your absolute limit, under the tutelage of someone you do not want to let down. Every rep became more difficult, every finished set was a relief for my strained muscles. I learned various things about my posture, about my body, and why my IT Band may be causing me issues. The prior few days I was limping about, but coming out of the gym that day I felt strong, despite finding it hard to navigate the stairs!
Third Session :
Thursday was a day for a walk, my legs were seriously feeling the workout the previous day. However I was back in the gym Friday, this time training with Vinnie. On the cards for the day was shoulders and arms. I was always quite pleased with my shoulder workouts, enjoying them, normally going into supersets. This session was unlike anything I had experienced before. Each exercise seemed to activate muscles I never realised I had. The constant encouragement felt like Vinnie was feeling the exhaustion in my body as well, and as a team we pumped out the final few reps. To be fair he lifted his fair share himself spotting me after I tasted failure towards the end of each set. To paraphrase the Kings of Leon “OHHHHHH my shoulders are on fire.” We blasted out a bicep and triceps workout, which was a super-superset to say the least.
On the Saturday morning I went for a cycle to help loosen the legs, and not further impact my injury. My legs where roaring at me every time I tried to move, so I needed to get the blood flowing. That was followed up by an ice & epsom salt bath, under the suggestion from Davy. It seemed to help, my legs in particular started to feel somewhat normal again.
Next week I will get more into the diet side of things as Davy has a look at my intake. I actually have struggled to eat 2,200 calories required. I think that comes from the calorie deficit mentality I have had over the last few months. I understand I need to fuel my body though, like a car, for so long I tried to keep going with the tank on empty. It’s is time now to fill up, hit the next gear and get to where I want to go. It is a journey man!
If you want to make a change, you can contact Davy on 0892528904 or email [email protected].
