lessons learned in the gym

ok, i am not a gym rat. . . not even close. . . i'm not even a gym rat wanna-be. although i do own two pairs of gym shoes. . . that's gotta count for something, right??

anyways, i ended up joining a small group (read three women) with a personal trainer (more about her later) for 5 sessions, yep 5 count them. . . what was i thinking??????

obviously i wasn't but i have learned a couple of things. . .

lesson #1
a gym membership is worth nothing unless you actually haul yourself over there AND actually exercise. sweating while sitting in your car in the gym's parking lot on a hot day trying to muster up enough courage to go on in is NOT the same as working up a sweat while exercising inside said gym.

lesson #2
there is no such thing as flattering gym wear when you are overweight and outta of shape (read have too much shape in the wrong places). sooooooooooo stop the "as soon as i find something flattering, i'll go" self talk. . . it ain't happenin' sister.

lesson #3
your personal trainer is NOT your friend. . . let me say that again - your personal trainer is NOT your friend. she is the paid enemy of fat and flab. she is not there to boost your self esteem or help you attain your true center of peace. she is there to help you come to terms with the fact that you are now wearing a first grader around your waist and you're an idiot for not noticing and doing something about it sooner. (and may i remind you - YOU ARE PAYING her to help you come to terms with the fact that you are now wearing a first grader around your waist!!!)


lesson #4
"coming to terms with the fact that you are now wearing a first grader around your waist" involves PAIN. yes, it does. so i have become a big fan of ben gay, icy hot, aleve liquid gels, ice packs, and bags of frozen vegetables (frozen peas preferably - when i have used up all the instant and re-usable ice packs). i'm not a big fan of pain but i'm a realist and if a small amount of pain due to locating and using muscles i didn't even know i owned will have some health benefits, well then, i will continue to make numerous trips to walgreen's in search of more and better pain reducing products. besides, all my purchases - however small, but numerous - have to be helping to jump start the economy, right???

anyways, the good news - i'm afraid of my personal trainer and that fear has motivated me to stick to my diet and exercise more. (it has also given me nightmares and tension headaches. but taking the aleve liquid gels for the muscle inflammation seems to be helping with the tension headaches).

i'll let you know how it goes. . . two sessions down, three to go. . .