Psh! This cough has nothing on me!
Around 10:00 AM, I was fueled and ready to hit the pavement for a quick & easy outdoor run. Although I’m not yet feeling 100%, I knew that sitting around on the couch would probably make me feel even worse, so my strategy of choice was to sweat the beast outta me.
Cant forget the pink bling on my head!
I came up with an interval outdoor run, as opposed to my other running workouts that are all on the treadmill. Talk about a booty kicker 
Treadmill-less Outdoor Run
CPT Check Up #2
Time is a-flyin’ and it’s time for another check on how I’m doing with my NASM personal training exam prep.
Due to the fact that this past month has been full of it’s share of shenanigans (Bahamas cruise, Thanksgiving, the holiday season in general), I haven’t been able to dedicate as much solid time to studying as I truly wanted to. Alas, I have completed chapters 5-8 and can guarantee that my knowledge only continues to expand!
Because these chapters were pretty much a deeper look into fitness assessments and individual parts of a workout (cardio, flexibility, core), I constantly found myself assessing my own form at the gym, as well as incorporating the new moves that I was learning into my workouts. I was even motivated to create a new strength program for myself which will consist of 3 nonconsecutive days of resistance training per week for at least the next two months.
What did I find the most difficult?
Hands down, I’m going to have to say that the chapter on fitness assessments blew my mind. If you aren’t familiar with the textbook you wont know what I’m referring to, but basically the chapter is 35 pages of details to take into account when initially assessing your client. Although I DID find this chapter the most difficult and was overwhelmed with all of the information, it was also my favorite one to study as it served as a reminder that I will be training actual PEOPLE and not the anatomy that I learned in the first 4 chapters.
If you don’t believe me, just ask Will how excited I became at Starbucks when I started the section on body fat assessments. Looney toon are the two words that seem to be coming to mind…
Strategies that I’ve Found Effective:
- Again, MAKE. FLASH. CARDS.
- Watch the exercise examples in the online supplements. Reading step-by-step guidelines in the book only did so much for me, but watching an actual person perform the moves really made them click.
- Try to stick to the schedule as much as possible. Even though this past month has been cray cray and prevented me from holding true to a daily study routine, the schedule helped to make the days that I was able to focus much more manageable.
- The workshop in general was a great hands-on learning experience and helped me (a visual learner) to learn-by-doing.
- Don’t stress. Life happens.
- Slow & steady wins the race (and in this case, hopefully passes the exam)
- Oh, and make friends with the people in your workshop 8)
Also of possible interest:
- My first check up
- NASM Live Workshop Recap
Disclaimer: Although the study materials were provided to me through The National Academy of Sports Medicine, the opinions expressed are completely my own. I did not receive monetary compensation for my review.
Today’s eats were pretty spectacular because no soup was involved
Spinach salad with purple cabbage, grape tomatoes, avocado, balsamic vinegar, cottage cheese, salt, and pepper.
An already-bitten rice cake with almond butter
Un-pictured gingersnaps
and dinner–
Grilled tilapia seasoned with garlic salt, along with roasted brocc, onions, and honey gold potatoes. Served with a dollop of ketchup for dippin’
THIS IS NUTS! I just realized that I had the same dinner (with different potatoes + green beans) on the same night that I did my first CPT checkup! And I’m pretty confident that was the last time I had tilapia too. Does this make me a fortune teller or something?
A bit to think about: Do your meals often repeat themselves?