I saw a joke recently about evil masterminds in movies. It went something like this; if you’re an evil mastermind with an invincible fortress, make sure you test your fortress by showing it to an 8 year old kid. See if they find flaws you’ve overlooked. The reason for is the common movie trope of having the kid find some flaw in the defenses that somehow everyone else has overlooked. Now what does this have to do with health and fitness? Quite a bit actually.

I’m an expert on the gym workout. I’ve tried out a variety of workouts over the years, experimented with all sorts of exercises and refined my workout to the point where it’s a masterpiece of time saving mechanics, efficient and yet a complete whole body workout. Seriously, I’m quite proud of just how efficient I’ve become at getting the most out of my time at the gym. And yet…

Enter Kim

Last week I had a chance to work out with someone who isn’t quite an expert. Sure, she’s well read and has been working out for a few months, but she’s not me! (no, I’m not that arrogant in real life). I’m the expert! I’m the one who trains people for a living (well, at least as a hobby) and I’m the one running the fitness blog! So I went into this workout expecting to wow her with my super workout. I figured by the end of our hour together she’d be falling all over herself saying things like “oh Gal, you’re not just handsome but you’re also the most knowledgeable person I know when it comes to working out” or something along those lines. Then we started working out and that’s when it happened, my moment of truth, the moment at which I realized what all those evil masterminds feel like when the eight year old kid picks apart their defenses.

Well, it wasn’t quite that bad but it was a very educational experience. Rather than just sit there and be impressed, she asked intelligent questions. She wanted to know why I did things the way I did. She asked what I might do different. She wondered about variations and alternatives. She even suggested a few based on her reading and other workouts. For the most part, my impregnable fortre – er – perfect workout held its own. It is in fact a great workout and quite effective at doing what it’s supposed to do. However, having someone there who wasn’t afraid to ask questions helped me spot some flaws, make a few adjustments and just think about my workout in general in a way I hadn’t before. Are the changes huge? No, not really, but they’re changes nonetheless and that’s important.

Inspirational Quote Time!

Winston Churchill (the guy in the picture!) once said “to improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often” and I’m a believer in that sentiment. You and your body are not going to stay the same. You age, you change, the seasons change, your lifestyle changes, your schedule changes and your workout should change with all these things. No workout is ever perfect for more than a short amount of time, which brings us to today’s take away lesson.

Keep reexamining your workout. Think about changes to your life and what they mean to your workout. What should you change? What should you extend, shorten or modify? What should you add or subtract? Constantly look for ways to improve your workout and, if you run out of ideas, bring in someone else to workout with you. Listen to their questions, their suggestions and their advice even if you think you know better. Just like advice from an 8 year old kid can save an evil mastermind from an embarrassing defeat, a good workout with a relative beginner can save your workout from becoming stale and inefficient.

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Yes, I do some personal training on the side. If you’re in the Silicon Valley and interested, please contact me via the information posted on the contact me page.