Asking for help

I didn't actually have time to blog yesterday between the gym, work, and catching up with a friend, so let's just pretend this blog is written retroactively. Today (Saturday) is a free-for-all kind of day for the HAWMC, so my cherry-picked topic is about asking for help. Also because it's currently relevant.

I'm pretty much the last person to ask when they need help, especially in the gym, because I like to appear self-sufficient and insanely strong for a girl. Also, asking for help just isn't one of those things that "makes you look good," and some days I just want to impress people don't want to look bad. Especially given that I rarely wear makeup to the gym, and generally if I do, it's yesterday's makeup. Yeah, I'm that dirty. I don't believe in showers. Nah, I'm just lazy when it comes to my pre-bed rituals. I do generally tend to wash my face (but leave my mascara on? Yup, oddball).

Well, as it turns out, one arm rows are my weakness, and I'm more than willing to admit that. I generally turn the bench around so I'm parallel to the mirror and I can make sure that I'm keeping my back straight instead of curving it. I have a terribly weak back--or so I like to think. Well yesterday, it just seemed too easy. It didn't feel like I was working the muscle groups I needed to, so I asked Pleasants to correct my form. Turns out he prefers the tripod method of one arm rows (instead of kneeling one leg on the bench, you put one arm on the bench for support in a tripod-like stance, with legs apart--for those of my friends that don't know much about lifting). So that right there was a major improvement.

As Pleasants walked away, the guy to my left was noticing my form and politely told me that I needed to keep my back down. Normally, I'd be kinda annoyed that someone was watching me, but this guy had good intentions. He said on more than one occasion, " Not to be sexist, but...you need to stick your butt out in order to flatten your back. Right now you're arching inward." I actually found this to be quite funny because: a. I've heard it before, it's just easier said than done because I'm no stripper girl that flaunts what she has like that, and b. Men (with purely good intentions) tend to be very wary about what they say so as not to offend.

By the time I walked out of the gym, I was fairly confident that I had succeeded in asking for help and correcting my form a bit. I still have a ways to go, because as I tire, my back continues to round some more. But at least I have a good starting point and was able to admit that I needed help. Lesson learned: when you ask for help, others will come to your assistance.