I have a Personal Trainer. I had a gym membership but cancelled it as I never went. But after picking up an injury at the end of last year, a physio recommended I do strength work to prevent further injuries.
A running friend recommended a PT that was also a runner and I’ve been training with him since January. Last night was a particularly tough session both physically and mentally and I realised five things:
- I’ll never compete on Ninja Warrior
I would fall off the first obstacle that requires me to use upper body strength. Last night’s session was core and arms, with the arms being all bodyweight exercises. I struggled, swore and sweated my way through endless pull-ups and dips. My shoulders are still slightly shaky and luckily I haven’t had to lift my arms above my head yet today.
- But I’m stronger than I think
I did full sit-ups, with a weight, for a total of four and half minutes. When I started I couldn’t do one.
- If you put your mind to it you can do it
I really struggled with one particular exercise – pull ups with a narrow grip. I managed the first five, but needed to do a further 10, then 15, then 10 and then a final five. It felt impossible, my hands were slipping and I had nothing left. So I broke it down to small bits – two or three pull ups at a time – and completed all the sets. I could have given up (I think – although I may not have got away with it!) but I pulled up my big girl pants and got on with it.
- Even the worst and hardest things come to an end
The session was an hour. There was not one exercise I liked and all of them felt really tough. Then it was over.
- A bit of encouragement and praise goes a long way
Sometimes you need someone to tell you you can do it and it’s always nice to have your efforts recognised. I did my best to convince myself I was strong enough to get through the session, but without encouragement from my PT I would have picked up my water bottle and towel and gone home to eat pizza.