I heart my trainer

This past July, 15 minutes before being picked up to go the airport, I was putting the last few items into a small suitcase that I intended to carry-on for my flight to London. My mom, sister, and I were taking a 10-day trip to England and France. Many hours of planning had preceeded this moment, including several conversations about the appropriate shoe choices for a trip that would include miles of walking every day. (My mother knows me all too well--style always trumps comfort in my shoe collection.)

As I leaned over my bed and picked up the smallest suitcase I've ever packed for at trip, a sharp pain ripped through my lower back. I cried out words I cannot put on this blog, dropped the suitcase, and leaned on my bed. For several minutes, I couldn't move because of the pain and the lack of strength to support myself. Finally, I was able to stand up and carefully get myself out the door and into the car to go to the airport. Needless to say, I checked my bag and spent the first half of the trip nursing my very sore back while walking around London and Paris in ugly, but sensible, sandals.

When I returned home, I decided it was ridiculous and embarrassing that a 34-year old woman would pull a muscle in her back by picking up a light-weight suitcase. So, I joined a health club near my home, but knew I would need someone to hold me accountable for using it. I forked over enough money to buy several nice pairs of shoes and signed up for a small group fitness class that meets three days a week for an hour each day and is led by a personal trainer.

For the first three weeks, it was okay. I was trying lots of different equipment and completing intervals of cardio on the elliptical machines. I wondered daily if I was making any progress, but when I asked my trainer about tracking my progress with data, he said I would not see any noticeable improvement for 6 months.

Then, during week 4, we had a 'substitute' trainer, since our normal guy was on vacation. During the first workout with him, Paul walked around as we sweated our way through a series of exercises and made several small suggestions to me to correct my form--lean back more, keep your elbows in, stand a little farther away from the machine. Then, he stood and watched me complete a few more reps to ensure I understood the corrections before he moved on. During our cardio workouts, he provided speed or incline settings to make sure we were pushing ourselves. That week, I got a lot of 'thumbs up' from him, which did not mean 'great job,' but actually indicated I needed to increase my speed or incline to work harder.

I needed that. And I appreciated that he was paying attention to me as an individual and pushing me when I needed to be pushed. Starting with week 5, I switched to Paul's class. The class meeting time is not as convenient, but the benefits of working with him far outweigh the drawbacks of being at the gym at 7 p.m.

Since I have spent my entire adult life avoiding any kind of physical activity, I've reflected a lot about why I'm so motivated to exercise now (sometimes I even go to the club on 'off days' and work out by myself!). Here's what I've concluded:

• my trainer cares about me as an individual; he knows my goals and can tell the minute I'm not working toward them with my best effort (see: 'thumbs up')
• my trainer provides me with personalized feedback at every session; the changes he suggests are small and manageable enough, so I never feel overwhelmed
• my trainer makes sure I can complete the task properly before he leaves my side
• my trainer collects data on my progress
• he weighs, measures, and pinches me-it's not as bad as it sounds
• my trainer has a plan and sets goals
• exercises are selected prior to our arrival and we are provided with a printout of the cardio workout, so we know what's coming next
• my trainer never asks me to do something that will result in a feeling of failure
• I'm always able to run for the required length of time and lift the required amount of weight
• my trainer takes an interest in who I am outside of the health club and shares things about himself--he wears women's socks, by the way.

Take the word 'trainer' and replace it with 'teacher.' Now, we're onto something...