At IFAST- Wednesday, August 27

Back to IFAST for my initial workout. Last visit was the assessment, and Bill will have a program ready for me at this point. I workout at home and have rarely been to gyms. A couple of times while travelling, and a couple of times around home at the YMCA to use their equipment and pool, and then on a day-pass basis. Six bucks for the Y for a day? Not a bad deal. So I wasn't sure what to expect when I got there.

Bill ran me through some soft tissue lacrosse ball and foam roller work and some mobility-based warm up movements. Then we went through all the exercises I'll do in the 4 week program he wrote. The mobilization warm ups are done daily, and there are two weight workouts that alternate, along with two energy system options on non-lifting days. One is a kettlebell swing ladder that looks like a ton of fun.

It was interesting to get coached, both to learn new movements and exercises and to see the correct way to do familiar ones. I guess it's human nature to make work easier to an extent, and after taking out all the 'helping' body motion and getting the movement done only by the target muscles at a controlled pace and tempo makes a gigantic difference in the overall effect. Take 1 arm dumbbell rows. I could crank out sets of 8-10 with 80#, now I'm using 50# at most and feeling it much harder. Form matters. A lot.

I soaked up at much as I could take in, Bill made sure I was okay with the program, and I drove back home for an afternoon back at work. I'm eager to start it all!

I am utterly convinced this approach, while a little late, is a great idea. If you've ever considered having a trainer, do it. You won't be sorry, you'll save time, get better results, and learn how to keep away from injury. If you're within striking distance of IFAST, you can't do better.