“On a scale from 1-10, how committed are you to these goals?”
I pondered for a few seconds. If I say anything less than 10, what am I doing here?
I was sitting in the office of the personal trainer at the gym I’d just joined the week before. That sentence is nothing short of miraculous. For most of my life, I’ve hated three things: working out, gyms, and running. And here I sat, signing up for personal training, at a gym, to get in shape to run my second 5k.
It all started almost two years ago, when I decided I was tired of not fitting in my clothes and not liking the way I looked. I got back to my goal weight, and have maintained ever since. My success motivated Brian, who as of today, has lost 47 lbs.
That in turn motivated me to start running. And running our first 5K in November made me want to do it again. But since it’s cold outside in the evenings after work, I allowed Brian to convince me to join his gym. After the free fitness test with the personal trainer, I realized that I have a lot of work to do.
My goals now are to run a faster 5K, to strengthen my very weak core, and gain some much needed muscle, which will help my running. And stress relief, since I’ve discovered that the best way to turn off this crazy brain after work is working out for an hour.
But in order to reach my goals, I know now that I have to be willing to invest in them. I’ve failed often enough to know that I have to invest my time, energy, and money. That means working out when I don’t feel like it, paying for good shoes, workout clothes, and now, personal training. Investing in my fitness goals is really an investment in myself – my mental and physical health. And it proves whether or not I’m really committed.
I answered: “Ten.”
Three weeks in, and I’m already seeing results. I’m sore in places I didn’t even knew I had muscles, but my body fat percentage has dropped, and I’m on track to improve my race time. Best of all, I actually look forward to going to the gym.
Did you set health or fitness goals for this year? How would you answer the question my trainer posed?
