The Initial Meeting

I remember the day I made the call to the gym to request a personal trainer.

It was a beautiful day outside that Saturday morning. The sun was shining brightly and there was not a cloud in the sky. Mom and Mema were in town, and they drove to my house to pick me up so I could spend some time with them while they were running errands.

I was feeling so frustrated with myself. Why was I not physically fit? Why, if I really wanted to be fit, was I not doing anything about it? I don't know what sparked those thoughts that day, but the more time went by, the more upset I became.

After a few hours, they took me back to my house and decided to come inside for a few minutes. I started up again about my wanting to lose weight. While mom and I were talking, I decided I was going to call up the gym and request a trainer. As soon as she and Mema drove away, I made the phone call.

A lady answered the phone at the gym. I told her I was wanting to lose weight and would like a trainer. She then asked me what type of trainer I wanted. I explained to her that my ideal trainer would be fairly tough on me, but I didn't want someone who would yell at me or talk down to me. (I have very limited tolerance for either of those things, so if they were to happen, I would completely shut down and my stubborn streak would take hold. Plus, that's just nonsense!) She asked me if I had a preference for a male or female trainer. I told her I wanted a male trainer, but if a female trainer fit the description of what I wanted, I would be willing to give her a chance. The conversation ended with her telling me that someone would call the first part of next week to schedule a training session. And that was that. I hung up the phone and felt relieved and excited. I'm going to do it this time! I am going to succeed! This is it! I'm not just going to talk about losing weight and being fit and athletic anymore; I am going to do something about it!

Not 30 minutes after I hung up the phone with the lady at the gym, a trainer called me. I spoke with him for a few minutes, and we settled on a day to meet and begin training. Anxiety began to creep over me as I thought of what this trainer would be like. What kind of trainer will I have? How will he treat me? Will he ask me to do jumping jacks? When will I have time to train? How much will this cost me? What if I don't succeed? At this point, I knew this was it; there was no turning back.

On Tuesday, it was gym time. I pulled into the parking lot and nervousness swept over me. I'm actually meeting my personal trainer today. What will he think of me? I look like a slob! Why didn't I go buy new gym clothes and shoes? Oh geez! This is going to be disastrous! I got out of my vehicle, took a deep breath, and walked into the gym.

Upon entering the gym, I told the lady at the desk I was there to see the trainer. He then came over and introduced himself. Oh no! He's nicer than I expected! Great. Now I REALLY feel like a failure. Where's the mean, 'roided out guy I was expecting? My anxiety rose as my self-esteem fell through the floor.

He walked me over to where his desk was, and he had me sit down so he could talk with me. We first discussed my goals. What was I wanting to get out of the training sessions? He appeared somewhat surprised by the specificity of my goals. (Purchasing training sessions was not something I thought of on a whim; this was something I've had planned for a while.) The discussion then turned to dieting and what I should(n't) eat/drink. Pop limitation was the biggest downer of that conversation. (I drank tons of pop at that time, Coca-Cola to be exact. Not diet, but REAL Coca-Cola.)

After the initial discussion, he had me do a few exercises. To be honest, I really don't remember what they were. I do know I had to get on the treadmill for a few minutes. I was having a self-esteem crisis, what with seeing all the physically fit people everywhere I looked and knowing I had some hard work ahead of me before I would reach that point. Once the session ended, we scheduled the next few sessions and I went home.

Once home, I remembered sitting on my couch thinking about the session and what changes were going to happen now that I started back to the gym. Healthy living will be my new lifestyle. Maybe I will finally be able to join a basketball and softball league. Perhaps I will finally regain the self-confidence I've been lacking to start dating again. My life will soon be changing for the better! I'm so ready!

I felt satisfied. What a relief it was to have taken the first step towards improving myself! Not looking on the outside the way I felt on the inside was really taking a toll on me. Not only that, but I was tired of feeling undisciplined. It was time to make a change.

This was the beginning of the rest of my life. This is where it all began...the initial meeting.