Exercise Experimenting

As mentioned in my last workout recap, I saw a personal trainer to evaluate where I'm at with my fitness level and talk about how to get where I want to be. On the plus side, I have developed a good amount of raw strength. On the down side, despite efforts and intentions to the contrary, I've got issues with my posture that are inhibiting my ability to actually exert that strength externally, because apparently my body wants to tap into it to stabilize kinks and curves that I shouldn't have. He broke down some of the basic elements of good form that I was missing, and he even took the extra effort of passing on suggested correctives and workout plans. On the plus side, it's gotten me to break out of my multiyear trends and try some different stuff, both in terms of individual movements and in how I'm approaching my routines themselves. They're taking longer than I'm used to, but it's not an onerous degree of difference, so I'm trying to stick with it. If nothing else, dabbling in something different should help re-energize me for when I go back to my old classics. At best, getting my body to adapt to something new will carry over to improved performance elsewhere. That said, it hasn't been a smooth road. The long and short of it is that my hips are seemingly wonky in two axes, so it'll take some work to straighten them out. Honestly, I've had some personal frustration about this. I'm having to step back with pretty much everything to break old habits and retrain my muscle memory of what my form is supposed to be. Some of this has just been a minor annoyance (e.g. not crossing my ankles when doing pull ups), but most of it has been a figurative and literal pain in the ass. However, one does need to spread beyond their comfort zone to drive growth. While I have some frustration with it now, I'm sure that'll pass with time and work. In return, at the very least, I'll get better at the movements I'm doing, and then I can go back to doing what I was doing before with a bit more in my arsenal. And in all likelihood, I'm expecting better returns that just that. The trainer is someone who I trust to be capable of critical thought and good judgment, he's well-experienced and well-credentialed in this line of work, and what he's said from his position of expertise lines up with my knowledge of general anatomical function and physics. So yes, it's frustrating and annoying for now, but effort and perseverence shall lead to advancement. All progress takes work, and I won't give up on this so easily. Onwards!