Alexander Training

Personal training and strength programs in Austin, Texas.

Lessons Learned

There is No Finish Line

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A long time ago, a client asked me a question that broke my heart. “I’ve been doing this a couple months now. How long will I have to keep doing this?”

<<SHOCK on my face>>>

“Forever.”


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You gotta keep going! Why would you stop? Why would you not keep going? Exercise is good for us acutely and chronically. 

It makes creators more creative. 

It makes athletes more athletic.

It makes all of us more focused and patient.

It improves blood sugar levels.

It improves sleep and recovery.

The Process is GOOD

I could see the sadness on her face as I answered. And, I can see how that’s devastating, to think you’ll always be working for something just outside of your reach. 

That’s not how it goes though; it IS within your reach, and you keep reaching! 

Along the way, you attain many things that make your life better, and make it more worthwhile. 

Imagine you have 30 pounds of fat to lose. You picture it in your mind. You’ll feel so confident and happy with the “new” body you earned. You’ll love your clothes and the inhibitions you shed. You’ll feel GREAT when you get there.

The thing is, you’ll feel great when you’ve lost 10 pounds, too.

You’ll feel great when you’ve lost 15. You’ll feel great when you put it on your calendar to go to the gym 3 times this week and you do.

This is true of any goal. Let’s say you’d like to increase your deadlift 50 pounds. YEAHH that’ll feel great when you get that! (Be sure to video, ya know it doesn’t count otherwise.)

You’ll feel accomplished when you’ve increased it 20 pounds, though. 

You’ll Feel Great Along the Way

You’ll feel great all along the way, as you make progress. There’s nothing that says you’ll only feel great AFTER you reached your goal. 

This is because exercise is good for you acutely. Exercise is good for you NOW. Every day. 

Go do something good for yourself today! 

Press On

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I had the greatest client session yesterday and wanted to share with you the lessons learned. 

My client let me know before her session that she was not feeling up to par. Nothing catastrophic or contagious, but that we might need to take it into account. 

Since she let me know ahead of time, I was able to look at her program and keep in mind some potential adjustments. Some Plan B’s, if necessary. 

When she got to the gym, we discussed specifics and decided to go ahead with the plan, take a little longer warm up time, and assess along the way. 

The workout included bench press, squats, and barbell rows, so it wasn’t no sissy workout, yall. We left off a couple of the heaviest sets for bench and squats, but she still did 80% of the planned session.

Romanian deadlifts were added in, and a lunge superset was cut. 

It worked. She left feeling refreshed and not run down. 

Press On

Appropriately timed, Dave Draper wrote in his weekly column, published today 10/24, “We press on. Something hurts, we assess it curiously and work around it. We lift and learn.”

Currently published at https://www.davedraper.com/dave-draper-columns.html the column is titled “A Chill in the Air”.

I love that! That’s exactly it! You don’t have to quit if something is off. Try to keep your plan, and make adjustments as you warm up and get feedback from your body.

Things She Did Right


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  • She let me know what she was feeling, and in time to make adjustments if necessary

  • She was honest about her capability

  • She trusted me to try the program, to “press on” 

  • She gave it a real go- hard work, adjusted for her body’s condition that day

  • And, she updated me.

    Talk about a happy trainer! That message made my day. 

Lessons Learned

Follow Dave’s advice, and assess curiously. Don’t immediately write off your plan. Start with a slow warm up, and if you feel good, if your body gives you a green light, progress. Continue to use each set as an indicator for the next.

You might need to adjust, but you might not. Have you ever felt a little off but had a great session? Sometimes you surprise yourself. Let me know; I’d love to hear your stories!