A word to you, interview your personal trainers and ask if them questions based on your history. If they answer no problem we can fix you-- great. If they answer ummmmm ok. RUN. Don’t look back.
Hint: If they answer you can exercise on a fixed movement bi-lateral machine - unilaterally =RUN.
Stick with free weights/hammer strength/bodyweight exercises and try to get real strong. If you can do more than 12 reps with weight add more weight.
I really wish I could work with you and “teach” how to train and work with your shortcomings. Alot gets lost over the internet…
If you can find an athletic trainer-- with a background in Track/gymnastics thats way better than a bodybuilder/figure athlete type make sense?
[quote]FISCHER613 wrote:
A word to you, interview your personal trainers and ask if them questions based on your history. If they answer no problem we can fix you-- great. If they answer ummmmm ok. RUN. Don’t look back.
Hint: If they answer you can exercise on a fixed movement bi-lateral machine - unilaterally =RUN.
[/quote]
Thanx for helping me Fischer. Well I already asked her: “can I use the bilateral equipment unilaterally” and she said “YES, OFCOURSE YOU CAN”.
So I don’t know, maybe it is where I live but the personal trainers here are young kids who take a 3 month course- why I never bothered getting one before. This one has a degree in kinesiology though so is condsidered better but she is young and new there, maybe one year out of school and new in town, not very much experience, but I’d say she is the best trained one there. I don’t think she sees any problems in me really. She see’s my shoulder asymmetry now that I pointed it out and she did see me moving my arms differently (eg- right arm moves faster and is furthur away fron the body).
Anyway, that is why I am here at TNation- I said in my training journal that the stuff I have read here is FAR FAR superior to any information I have recieved from any physiotherapist I have seen. And really, the personal trainers here are more like workout buddies, and really I don’t need a workout buddy. I had that session for free and then felt pressure to buy 3 sessions so I did, so I will see her again.
I would love to find someone really qualified but I just don’t see that kindof expertise in my gym.
I did another unilateral workout on the bilateral machines and I felt great. Now I am scared again. Maybe personal trainers are like physiotherapists- everyone has a different opinion, a different program.
I don’t plan on using these machines for long. I have read that i need to give any program 6 weeks, so I thought I’d give it 6 weeks, twice a week. It’s really interesting actaully what I have learned from using those machine unilaterally- like my right serratus anteior and left bicep are way weak- I don’t think I would have learnt that with dumbells because I would have been subtly twisting to compensate.
thanx again
[quote]Reconstruction wrote:
hey Yo mamma- thanx 
I was looking for your training log but couldn’t find it. Do you have one? I would like to go look at it…
[/quote]
I don’t have one. I haven’t lifted in 13 months due to poor health. I’ve been swimming and doing yoga recently.(Yeah, yoga. OK, anybody who knows me, stop laughing now, or you’ll get a beating!)
I need to work my way back slowly, and hope to start lifting again in 2 months or so.
Hi Yomamma, that is too bad about your health- I hope you get better soon. I think Yoga is excellent and very difficult- especially power yoga (ahstanga) with all the pushups (chatauranga’s) etc. I wouldn’t laugh at yoga at all. Though it strikes me as more for muscular endurance rather than strength per se- such all all those warrior poses.
Anyway, I do hope you start lifting wieghts again, I would be very interested in following your program.
[quote]FISCHER613 wrote:
Any compensation by torso involvement is stability work and will be present during either side working. Now if you are leaning/compensating too much lighten the weight and start over.[/quote]
Stability work is good for your core and good for you, it won’t build imbalances.
But, to answer your question, a lot of people with stability problems or injuries or who need special focus do bilateral machines unilaterally.
[quote]Elaikases wrote:
[quote]FISCHER613 wrote:
Any compensation by torso involvement is stability work and will be present during either side working. Now if you are leaning/compensating too much lighten the weight and start over.[/quote]
Stability work is good for your core and good for you, it won’t build imbalances.
But, to answer your question, a lot of people with stability problems or injuries or who need special focus do bilateral machines unilaterally.
[/quote]
Thanx!