Friday, January 9, 2009

A New Round of Personal Training

I met up with Denise, my favorite personal trainer, at the gym Wednesday night after surviving the Zumba class. We talked for a while, and then I scheduled time with her for another 10 sessions of personal training. It starts tonight.

I'm not nearly as apprehensive about it as I have been in the past. I almost feel a sense of excitement that she's going to be 'torturing' me tonight. That's an odd feeling for me. I couldn't quite figure it out, until I had one of those "aha!" moments after reading an article on SFGate about how to choose a personal trainer. Suddenly, I understood my new found excitement and loss of apprehension.

The article was written by a local personal trainer, and some of what she said describes Denise's style of training and are important characteristics to me:

"... you probably want a little more from your workouts than just instruction. I believe a good trainer can make you do what you cannot, or most likely would not, do on your own ..."

"... she should be able to motivate you, push you, encourage you and inspire you in a way that works with your abilities and your own style. Beyond the fact that having a regular appointment can help get you into the gym ... you should leave your sessions knowing you accomplished something you probably wouldn't have undertaken by yourself ..."

"... A good trainer should not make you feel lousy. Tired? Yes. Sweaty? Yes. Sore? Maybe. As if you are a hopeless loser who can't do anything right? No...."

"...There's a difference between motivating and berating ..."

Wow. These are all so true for me. Especially the last two quotes - I'm always tired, super sweaty and a little sore. But never ever have I felt like a hopeless loser who can't to anything right - Denise is always very positive, encouraging and kind, even when she's being tough. And never once has she even come close to berating me for my size or limitations because of my size - she accepts me for who I am and for what I'm working on and always motivates me to push myself a little further.

I think of Denise more as a friend than just a person that I do business with. And I owe my deepest gratitude to her - she helped to save my life by getting me up and moving.

Until next time,

Kel




No comments: