Bridge Over Troubled Water

You may have your heart set on some new workout apparel in anticipation for your big debut at the gym, but I highly recommend that you fix your mind on the thought of hiring a trainer and spend your money in a manner that is going to be most productive. I am not going out on a limb here to say that if you heed the counsel of that fitness professional you might just need to acquire some new clothes in the future anyway. But at that point, the purchases may be as a result of the wonderful progress you have made and not just because you feel the need to fit in. The pun was intended. Don’t concern yourself with looking like everyone else by wearing the latest fun, fitness fashions. Focus on the things that matter most: guidance, expertise, wisdom beyond the gym setting, nutritional advice, encouragement, motivation, and accountability are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. You may need to lean heavily on one who knows the ropes before you can go it alone in the gym. This does not mean you are weak, in any sense of that word. Rather, it is a sign of someone who desires to become further educated, completely committed, and put forth the hard work which is necessary to reach your stated personal fitness goals.

“The time has come to turn about and face the future. This is a season of a thousand opportunities.” -Gordon B. Hinkley  You can expect that this new year can be filled with new adventures. Your journey can take you anywhere you want. Your help-mate in the gym, your trainer will jump start your travels with a very personal approach. This is all about discovering the best in you and enthusiastically seizing the day. Indeed, it can be filled with numerous, exciting prospects. Starting an exercise routine without the assistance of one to direct you and correct you is like an unsharpened pencil–no point. If you lack confidence or feel that you are not competent, looking to one whose sole desire is to help you face the future fearlessly and turn your weaknesses into strengths is most crucial. Your trainer is a teacher, and taking advantage of their counsel is the best manner in which to begin an exercise program. It is not wise to simply observe others at the gym and hope to copy their approach step by step. They very well might just be winging it because they, too, are relatively new and inexperienced at this endeavor. There is no guarantee that you’ll get anywhere by simply mimicking the actions of another you determine must know what he or she is doing. You only see them for the short time you might be in the facility together. On the other hand, a trainer can simplify things greatly for you. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”-Mark Twain  One objective of your trainer is to help you see the expanse of the gym floor for what it really is-just a big room full of organized rows of equipment. You learn line upon line, precept upon precept. What seem to be endless rows of machines, transform by the help of a trainer into manageable tools to be able to do specific movements, and the beauty and simplicity of each movement and purpose for each operation is unfolded right before your very eyes. “Everything is hard before it is easy.”-Goethe  Please do not make this part of your journey more difficult than it has to be. Your mentor, your sensei for all things fitness related will ease you through this process. There is nothing that you cannot overcome with the helping hand of a trusted advisor and friend.

Your trainer can be the bridge that carries your from your humble beginning across the sea of confusion and uncertainty to a place of confidence and competence. “When you’re weary, feeling small. When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all. I’m on your side. When times get rough, and friends just can’t be found. Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down. When you’re down and out, when you’re on the street, when evening falls so hard, I will comfort you. I’ll take your part when darkness comes and pain is all around, like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down.”-Simon and Garfunkel