When You Finally Realize It’s Time for a Change

Who’s had that day when you finally realize what you’re doing isn’t working and it’s time for a change? Well, that day recently happened to me.  My working out on my own just hadn’t gotten me the results I wanted or needed and so, I knew in my heart that it was time to do things differently and that meant I had to hire a personal trainer.  

I had debated this with myself for a long time now.  That whole – Oh, I don’t want to spend money on that; I’m not a real athlete like my husband and twins; I don’t have time to commit; I can do it myself…all excuses I told myself to avoid the inevitable….

So, I sat down with my list of excuses and figured out why each one was not valid.  Then, I figured out that it was time for me to make this happen.  No more excuses. I wanted to get fit and be a runner again!

I don’t want to spend money on a personal trainer.

Well, I don’t need to spend money on a gym membership, because we have a full gym in our building that no one is ever in!  Plus, our day-to-day expenses have dropped dramatically with the kids at college.  So, in the grand scheme of things, the cost of a trainer can certainly be justified.  Although money really is not something holding me back from hiring a trainer, the reality is, if I tell myself it’s about money, I feel less guilty about not doing it.

I am not a real athlete like my triathlete husband, NCAA diver son, and daughter who is a dancer.

Well, all true, but I’m still an athlete – I am a runner!  I may have health limitations to overcome and work around, but I love running and if I put some time into it, I can get my groove back!

I don’t have time to commit.

I will call BS on myself on this one.  The kids are in college, so we are empty nesters; trihubby is up between 4:30AM and 5AM each morning; and I work from home for goodness sake!  Then, trihubby comes home and has his second workout.  So, in reality, I have from 5AM-8PM to fit in 1-2 hour training sessions a week.  That is 75 hours of time that I can squeeze 2 hours out of.

I can do it myself.

Yeah, sure that’ll happen.  When we were living in Austin, I had an awesome trainer and a running group. When we moved, I lost both.  

After my running fall, hubby’s accident, and the move, I realized I wasn’t making time to do it and I am far from an expert!  Having a certified trainer is better all around and especially for this middle-aged woman who needs a real focus on body types and has limitations due to rheumatoid and osteoarthritis.  I have resolved myself to the fact that I am not a personal trainer and in fact, most likely doing myself harm by potentially doing the wrong exercises for me.

The big impetus to my change came when my thoughtful hubby, after hearing me talk about this for awhile, bought me a groupon for a 3 month membership at the Hilton gym down the street.  It included one training session and one massage a month.  I loved it so much, I got an executive membership and bought an additional training package, because I loved him so much.  My goal now is to actually do a half marathon.  Who’s with me?

This is not a New Year’s Resolution; I don’t really do those.  This is me making a commitment to get this done and continue getting fit.  Besides, come on, if you are paying for a service, doesn’t it make you more likely to use it – all those unused gym memberships in March aside.  Let’s see how this goes…

What Have You Decided Wasn’t Working in Your Life and Needed a Change?

Dana Zucker

I am a home cook that does things my way. In my kitchen, I make breakfast, pack lunches, prepare snacks, and cook dinner. During the week, we eat real food that is homemade, organic, and local. On the weekends we do explore more of our local restaurants. I bake my own bread, juice fresh oranges every other day, and make my own kombucha and other weekly favorites.