adventures in personal training

subtitled: remember why i hate gold's gym so i continue in my search for a trainer. after weeks of no communication from the PT organizer at the on campus gym, i finally get a call from one of the trainers the other night. oh except she can't train me after work, which of course was THE first thing i said i needed when i originally talked to the organizer. the only space in her schedule is 6 am tuesdays (the one day i work in the center till 7 pm). besides she says, its too crazy with all the students at night that only one of their trainers on staff is even willing to train people after 4 pm. i say, yeah right it can't be that bad and take off for campus. there are literally at least 5 people waiting in line in each cardio area. insane.  actually we met with the head of the center during our orientation - he said they move over 4000 people through there everyday with 80% of them coming after 4 pm. then i remember how i got a free pass for the gold's at this welcome back festival thing i went to. maybe i should try them....don't know what i was thinking. i'm sure i don't need to go into any detail about how obnoxious the gold's people are. asking all their damn questions about goals and rank how serious you are about your goals 1-10. then he introduces me to this ******* trainer who is asking me questions while looking me up and down (they only have 2 trainers, both men). do i do low weights/high reps? no. do i do circuit training? i don't like it really. and you've lost weight? (add in raised eyebrows and other consdescending non-verbal gestures). how much weight? are you sure? and you are really happy where you are? how tall are you? (looks me up and down some more, more eyebrow raises etc). oh and their air conditioning is broken and won't be fixed because they are moving to a new building in october. it is 103 degrees outside and you're sweating like a pig before you even start working out... so which amazing and time-limited membership deal will work best for you??? i hate hate hate being treated like an idiot. or being treated like the average american woman who wants to lose 20 lbs. not that i couldn't afford to lose 20 lbs (i could secretly hope, but its not a public goal) but its VERY important to me that my trainer be on the same wavelength as me as far as not focusing on numbers or telling me where i need to be and what i need to do. there is too much mental stuff wrapped up in my weight loss that i can't afford to be with a PT or nutritionist or whatever who will jepordize that. i leave (of course). i call two more gyms when i get home. one number is disconnected, the other one won't open until october. very upset. next day i talk to well connected chiropractor who suggests all the places i've alredy been plus a community rec center. long story very short, i ended up having to buy another membership to the rec center. found a trainer who just moved to town, so has no clients yet but has one of the best certifications that you can have (not the earn-over-the-internet kind). one nice thing about SC - $30 a session!!!!! the good thing is that they have a pool, which i know would be really good for my back if i couldjust get over the whole putting on a bathing suit in public thing... *phew* so hopefully i am going to get back on track. we are FINALLY done with all our orientation activities and will be on our regular schedules this week. i've never been so excited to get some clients! ugg! we did get to go hiking in highlands, nc last monday. talk about a nice way to spend a work day....i have a pic i tried to put in the message but i don't know if it will come out. anyone know how to do it? maybe i'll just put it in my profile.

Andrea, you made me laugh out loud, I even read parts of your post to my SO and he laughed.  so at least you still have a sense of humor. I think the whole gym atmosphere is designed to intimidate us.  I have been a member at my current gym for over 5 years now.  There are no trainers, there are no scales, there is no regiment except for the circuit.  All we have are people that walk by and say "way to go Donna!!!" and move on to the next person.  LOL  I actually prefer this.  I don't like a whole lot of conversation at the gym.  I don't even make eye contact.  I like to work out, read a book and go back to my regularly scheduled life.  I am successfully able to do this 4-5 times a week.  I am not a ***** I just really don't go there to socialize.  I did, however, visit a new gym in the area and it was a whole lot of purple and gold and they sold a whole lot of stuff.  I think I would have gotten sick from the stimuli there, so I didn't go back.   I would like a few more tips on how to do things, but I honestly get those tips from the instructors that teach the various classes that I attend.   Good luck with the new training situation!!! Let us know how it goes. And girl, you got all that plastic surgery so you COULD wear a bathing suit in public.  go for it!

Oh I hated looking for a gym.  I was at Curves for so long that when I needed more then what they offered, just the thought of going into a gym like Gold's left a bad taste in my mouth!  I finally found a great place too.  I am so glad you found a trainer a  place that seems to be what you need and that you like. It is so hard to find that!!!  Good Luck!!

You poor thing. You had me laughing too when you were going over what Gold's Gym trainers were like.  I went to Golds once and I hated it, so I'm feeling you.  I'm happy you found a good gym now, though, and $30 a session is insanely cheap.  Best of luck, girl.

You had me laughing too with the description of the Gold's people. Sheesh, when gyms are good they can be GREAT and when they're bad they can be truly hellish! I find that chain gyms, on average, have more such fitness douches versus community centers or independent places. You REALLY scored with that $30/session! There is no such thing here, even at the Y.