Positive Results by Sabrina

I’ve signed up for two gyms in my life. Coincidentally, both times, I signed up with my partner at the time. The first time, Ballys had a Biggest Loser promotion partnership going on and we had big goals. I took advantage of the free personal training session and genuinely liked the trainer that I was assigned to. I worked with him for the prescribed number of sessions that were part of the program I could afford at the time. I learned a ton from him about my physical training. I even appreciated the wisdom he shared with me about my relationship at the time. He warned me about what happens to couples who start a challenge together but don’t share the same level of commitment. Over the years, I would cycle in and out of the gym as motivation cycle through peaks and valleys, as it often does. I would gain and lose training partners and it would be a few years before I would develop the dedication that would allow me to show up at the gym consistently, solo.

The second time I joined a gym, I was excited to hear that they also offered a free session with a trainer. This experience was NOT as successful as my first one. Maybe because I was older and had such high expectations. Maybe because I seemed like the type of person who might be easily swayed by an ‘expert’ telling me what I needed to do rather than listening to what I said I wanted.

I was a single mom, working two jobs, trying to fit in as much as I could get done daily and weekly. I have always been a walker. At that time, I never dreamed of becoming a runner. I liked the stationary bikes with the wide seats that were low to the ground. I had back, knee and hip problems and could not afford to workout so hard in the gym that I was too sore to get through the next day for my children (PS I lived in an upstairs condo, lol).  

He told me my goals weren’t good enough. 

He made me weigh in and do a body fat scan, despite my objections.

I wanted to start small and commit to what I honestly knew I could do and he didn’t understand. His literal terms included “if that’s all you can do then you’re wasting your time.” And I believed him. He offered free support if he happened to be in the gym when I showed up. He told me to try it for a month or two and then get back at him when I could really commit.

As luck would have it, I got injured shortly after that. My hip and back got worse and I had no motivation to workout. I don’t think I stepped foot in that gym again for almost a year, especially not that location. I let his words play on repeat in my head and make me feel less than. I truly believed that I could not make a difference in my life because I could not commit to the 3+ days a week that he said I needed, so what was the purpose in even trying?

HE WAS WRONG! 

I know now that he had a job to do and probably had a limited scope of reference to guide his opinions. He was most likely trained in a certain manner, with specific guidelines. I may have been one of only a handful of mothers or women that he had worked with. Or maybe he hadn’t actually worked with any mothers and like many trainers, his references were all on paper. What he wanted to say was that I was wasting his time. Like so many people, he wanted the big before and after success story to help promote his talents and I did not fit that narrative.

When I was finally able to get back into the gym, I worked at my own pace. I built my own ‘Circle of Support’ and worked out my own routines based on the machines I knew and the successes I had when I was younger. My partner encouraged me to try the elliptical as it might be easier on my hip but would also give me a good workout. I continually got stronger and was able to work up to my own goals. I also continued to walk and workout at home, realizing that the gym was a tool in my arsenal, not the ONLY tool. 

As a Coach now, that’s one of the first things I help my athletes see. We all have goals and they must be individual to your personal life circumstances. Can you run a marathon with one day of exercise a week? Probably not. But not everyone has the goal of running a marathon. If your only goal right now is to climb a flight of stairs at work without getting winded, then your individual workouts are going to be different than mine. You absolutely can start with taking the stairs every Monday and using the elevator the other four days of the week. If you’re averaging 2,000 steps a day, your goal for next week should be closer to 2,200, not 10,000 just because that’s what your new watch says it should be. In real life, it’s important to make small, incremental changes. This helps guarantee that you can stick with them and they will have lasting change. I’ve told you this before and I’ll continue to tell you. We are training for the long term. We are training for life.

You can change your physical endurance, capabilities and strength with only the tools you possess in your home today. You can see the benefits to your mental health, stress management and general happiness after a few weeks of incremental changes if you’re dedicated, consistent and committed. Start with an honest assessment of what you want, what’s currently not working and where you can start making changes. And when you realize that you need a few more tools in your tool belt, reach out for help. You’d be surprised how many people are willing and able to actually listen to you and give you a hand!