Personal Trainer- FAIL

I received an email regarding a free orientation with a personal trainer at the gym I belong to. So I went last week and she kicked my ass. We worked out for 10 minutes and I was ready to die at the end. Which either means she's a great trainer or I'm really out of shape.

We sat down at the end of the session, the part where she takes of her "trainer" hat and puts on her "sales person" hat. She took out a notebook and showed me a variety of prices: half hour sessions one time a week for four weeks, half hour sessions two times a week for four weeks, hour sessions once a week for four weeks, etc.

At that point in time I did not have the extra money to spend on personal training. It was not the responsible thing to do. No matter how hard she pushed. The responsible thing was to go home and sit with Patrick and discuss our budget. We both have received some very exciting promotions at work and it was time to update mint.com with that information. So we sat down and went through everything and it worked out that I could afford the extra $140 a month to meet with the trainer once a week for a 30 minute session.

YAY!

It was just a matter of time until I signed up with Mary, my very first personal trainer.

I called her last night to see if she was at the gym so that I could sign up with her. She wasn't there, so I left my name and number with the receptionist. It wasn't more than 10 minutes later that I received a phone call from an unknown number and it was her. I was excited to set up my first appointment for next Monday at 6pm. I would go directly to the gym after work, do cardio on my own for 45 minutes to an hour and then get my ass kicked for a full 30 minutes.

But, Mary didn't remember me. I shrugged it off because she obviously has other clients and meeting with one person once is not something to remember them by. But then she quoted me $150 for the four sessions. I shrugged that off too. $10 extra wasn't a big deal. Maybe I saw it wrong the first time. I'd figure it out, it's only $10 and our budget had a little extra wiggle room.  I told her I would come in Tuesday night at 6pm to pay and we would start our sessions next week.

I had been feeling mixed emotions all day about going in to pay for the sessions. I had the money set aside. I had the mentality that this is the right thing. But something didn't feel right. I was already feeling buyers remorse for spending so much  money on myself.

So when I got to the gym and Mary said it would be $160 for the four half hour sessions it didn't take much for me to tell her that she originally quoted me $140. She said she'd check her notebook, but came back saying $160. I simply said "That's out of my budget" and I walked out.

$20 over budget is not that big of a deal, and again there was wiggle room. But what happens if I keep wiggling? What happens if next month I see progress and want to keep going and it turns out that the prices increased to $180 or $200? What happens if our personalities don't match and I'm stuck with her each week for a month?

She called shortly after I left. I let it go to voicemail because I knew it was her and I was not in the right frame of mind to talk to her. She left a message and offered me 5 sessions for the $160 price, meaning one session free. Not good enough.

And at this point I'm in the mentality that I can (and will) do this on my own and prove to her (not that she cares or will ever know) and to myself that I do not need to spend $140 (or $160) for someone else to tell me what to do in order to become healthier and in better shape. Yes, the motivation and being held accountable by someone once a week would be helpful for me, I know that that is something I need in order to succeed, but I don't think that I was going about it the right way.

I am more than capable of using the gym equipment properly on my own. I am more than capable of sticking to a scheduled workout. I am more than capable of getting to a healthy weight range, a healthy BMI and a healthy body fat percentage on my own.

I mean, clearly. I have done oh so well on my own this far...

But to be positive, I am using this as motivation to schedule my workouts for the next week and start on my workouts for the month of August. I have already decided that my scheduled workouts will be posted in multiple locations so that I see it everywhere I go (bathroom mirror, refrigerator, car, work desk, etc). I have no excuses not to do this.

I can not wish the weight away and expect results. I cannot wish for runners legs and expect results. I cannot wish for a smaller backside and expect results. I cannot wish for the after body without putting in all of the work to get there. Hard work and patience. I am lacking in both.

Here's to getting that after body. Here's to putting in the work to get there. Here's to making the healthier choices. Here's to my future. Here's to success!