2.21.2012

Such a chicken in the weight room

Health Iowa visited my Personal Fitness class today. Health Iowa is associated with Student Health and offers many fitness related services on campus such as fitness testing, goal planning and evaluation, and personal training. Today we did some fitness testing. There were three main areas of evaluation: cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility.

For cardiovascular fitness we first took a resting heart rate then did a step exercise for 3 minutes. We then took another heart rate to see how our bodies handle the stress. I scored in the average range.

For strength testing we did grip strength, upper body strength (pushups) and abdominal strength (curl ups). All the females were forced to do kneeling pushups. I did 35 before I got bored and stopped. I scored well above average for that category. For abdominal strength we did as many curl ups as possible in one minute. I took it easy (because I HATE crunches and anything that resembles a crunch) and scored above average. I scored average for grip strength. 

For flexibility we took a few different measures: trunk lift, trunk extension, toe reach, and arm reach. I scored at the upper end of average in all categories except the toe reach in which I scored above average. 

After the fitness testing our class headed out to the track to either run or walk. I ran 1 mile in 7:23, my fastest timed mile!

When class ended I went up to the weight room. I wanted to do some upper body work and then try the deadlift, which I chickened out on last time. I started off okay. I did some machine chest flys and some lat pull downs. But then I spotted Tyler. Tyler is in my Personal Fitness class and he definitely intimidates me. He's very buff and works around the machines and free weights like a pro. I hate to say it, but I was embarrassed to work out in front of him. I was afraid he'd judge me for only squatting 65 lb. So I finished up with what I'm familiar with and left, tail between my legs. 

I need to make myself familiar with the weight room machines, norms, and etiquette and grow myself some confidence. I can't let fear of judgment get in my way of a good workout. 

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