New Frontiers

You know that saying, “When one door closes, another door opens?” Well, have I got a story for you about just that.

At the end of the summer, my trainer informed me that he would be leaving my gym to make a cross-country move—but that it wouldn’t happen until sometime around winter. Despite my excitement for him, thoughts of a total body apocalypto death scene started playing in my head.

The thought of my fitness crutch partner in crime leaving is kind of terrifying. I have been training with my him for over two years now. Through his guidance and education—counterbalanced with my…errr…
“comforting” diet—I’ve managed to move from soft to semi-soft.  I’ve learned a lot about muscle mechanics and combination movements to maximize workouts. I’ve learned about percent body fat and muscle mass composition. I’ve learned about body weight workouts and CrossFit. I’ve even learned to be incredibly effective at dodging monthly measurements!

With him gone, who will hold me accountable? Who will design new and fun workout cards for me each month? Who will physically wreck me in between cards to kick me off of plateaus? Will I slip into laziness? Will my body bloat out in protest? HOW WILL I POSSIBLY SURVIVE SLEEPING IN ON FRIDAY MORNINGS INSTEAD OF WAKING UP EARLY TO TRAIN?!?!

Well, guess what? I quote GoT here…Winter is coming. And it’s coming fast. My trainer is leaving the week after Thanksgiving.

You know what that means.

Doomsday approaches.

Naturally, there are other trainers at my gym. And most of them are damn good (I know this because of all the creepy people watching I do while working out. I’m like a secret shopper for trainers…). But after some long thought and debate, I’ve decided that I won’t be signing up to work with another coach once mine leaves in just a few short weeks. Instead, I’ve decided to cut out the middle man—and become a personal trainer myself.

…….CURVE BALL!!!

Surprised?

Me too.

Right around the time my trainer gave his original notice (eons ago), I stumbled upon an online offer for a discounted personal training certification program. I chewed on it for a little bit, wondering if it was worth the monetary and time investment, but I guess I waited too long. Before I could make up my mind, the offer had expired. I chalked it up to fate. Wasn’t the right move for me.

Flash forward to last week. My trainer tells me his final day at work is coming at the end of November. And the NEXT day, I get an email that the online offer is back again. So I’m thinking, “THIS IS FATE, BACK AGAIN! THE WORKOUT GODS HAVE ANSWERED MY QUERY!!! I AM SUPPOSED TO DO THIS.”

However, as the most risk-adverse human that ever walked the planet, rather than impulsively purchasing, I took it to my close friends and family—whom I like to call The Cabinet—to assess if this was a good idea or just a gym rat delusion.

Long story short, I got some good feedback and decided to go for it.

So now, I have a TON of PDF materials saved on my hard drive, six months to study, and one voucher to take the certification exam.  Better not blow it.

I decided to go ahead with this primarily for the educational capital. For the cost of three sessions with my trainer, I have access to material that I can carry with me indefinitely. Rather than relying on someone else to analyze my body, assess my performance, and design my workouts, I’ll be equipped with the knowledge to do so myself. Not to mention, I’ll never have separation anxiety with a trainer again. Good ol’ frugality and self-reliance at its finest.

So here I go—with no real intent in mind beyond educating myself and trying something new. But who knows, maybe this process will lead me to new frontiers of the personal and professional variety.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see—though I’m betting if I can survive the first month of studying without crying, throwing up, or throwing things, I’ll have a pretty good indication...

Happy Monday! Hope you all do something a little crazy yourselves today!

Check out my first client. So fly.