2 months ago I never would have thought I would be able to do what I can now. A little over a month ago I broke down and finally got a trainer.  All of those surgeries on my wrist and leg have weighed on me over time, physically and mentally, and I was done letting them control me. I had to find out what I was still capable of because, in my mind, I had allowed myself to believe I was destined to be weak forever.

I’ve known my trainer for some time now. I met her right after I broke my leg and took a job at Lifetime Fitness in order to force myself to walk. Her name was Cassie and she was a nutritionist and trainer there at the time. You wouldn’t believe the transformation from then to now for her. She was absolutely never overweight in my eyes but I watched her go from a “normal” human being to a high-standing triathlon athlete.  Her physique absolutely changed in the 10+ years I have known her and I knew she could help me to do the same thing so I went to her for help.

My first training session I was nervous. I had trained with other trainers before and inevitably I ended working with them either due to cost or injury.  I went in, I had already had my nutrition meeting so I knew the facility somewhat and I waited for my first session.  We did all kinds of things I didn’t think I would ever be able to do starting with push-ups.  Yes, yes, yes they were leaning push-ups, but I really never thought I would be able to do them so I never had tried. Those push-ups were hard but I hung in there. I’m sure the first few sessions are difficult for any trainer who sees the potential in their clients but their clients don’t see their own potential right away. That  would be me through and through. I needed someone to push me, to show me what I was capable of. I needed someone to tell me to suck it up and just do it because it was going to make a difference in my long term health. I DID NOT need the Diabetes and I was terrified it was coming if I didn’t do something.

I made it through my first 3-4 sessions and I could see that I was making progress. I was getting stronger but I wasn’t able to take advantage of it because my wrist was a mess so I decided to see if I could do something about it.  I bought some straps with hooks on them so I could use them to lift the weights without putting so much pressure on my wrists! IT WORKED! Holy cow it worked.  Cassie kept telling me I was strong but now that I had these straps I’m able to actually lift real weight. I’m actually, truly, getting stronger more quickly! I totally did pull-ups. Assisted pull-ups but pull-ups none-the-less.  I was pretty sure that would never happen.

Now, I’m the type of person who puts on muscle for a while before I ever see the results on the scale. Muscular is my natural body type so I have a tendency to gain muscle before losing weight. For the first time ever, instead of gaining weight, I stayed the same for the first few weeks because Cassie had changed up my eating habits and I was actually gaining muscle but I was also losing fat at the same time! After the first 8 sessions I had actually lost 4 pounds but 4.5 inches between my neck, waist and hips.  Like Whoa!  Progress!

I will update this post more as I make progress but I feel like if you’re on the fence and afraid due to an injury – just take the leap and find a trainer you’re compatible with who you respect and know will keep you safe. Do it dang it.  You have so much to gain from just giving it a try.