My New Personal Trainer Seemed to Have the Olympics in Mind

Written by Loredana Arion in Lifestyle

Illustration of a woman holding a forearm plank while a personal trainer crouches beside her, holding a stopwatch

After *le pam-pam left, I said it was time to get to know a few other personal trainers. Perhaps stop getting quite so attached to the first person who managed to convince me to exercise.

Well, a few months with a different personal trainer followed. I was still going to the gym with *le husband, but now there was a whole new training style to get used to, along with someone completely different from our first trainer.

And I noticed the difference.

The first trainer had managed to keep me coming back. The second seemed determined to find out just how far we could take that achievement. I had a little exercise and toning up in mind. Judging by the workouts, he was also considering a possible appearance at the Olympics. 😅

Quite ambitious, considering that not so long before, I’d counted getting myself to the gym as a significant part of the effort.

I’d come with modest goals

Let’s get one thing straight: I hadn’t joined the gym with any athletic ambitions. I wanted to move more, tone up a little and, ideally, keep the habit going longer than a single membership.

That last part mattered quite a lot to me.

I already had plenty of experience with getting started. That burst of enthusiasm when you buy a gym membership and, for a few moments, feel as though you’ve sorted out the whole exercise situation. Then you remember that the membership also requires you to turn up.

This time, though, I was actually going. I’d made it through the first two months at the gym, the initial muscle soreness and the surprise of finding myself returning voluntarily.

All right, perhaps “voluntarily” needs a little qualification. But I was returning.

In my mind, that was already enough progress to deserve being handled with a little care. The new trainer took a more demanding approach. Much more demanding than I’d expected when I thought we’d simply carry on with someone else.

Different trainer, different dynamic

By then, *le pam-pam and I had got to know each other. He knew how to motivate me, when to challenge my pride and how to get me to try again, even when I was convinced I had nothing left.

I’d grown used to him. To his personality, his workouts and the understanding that, despite my running commentary, I would eventually do what I was supposed to do.

Changing trainers meant starting that part all over again.

Not getting used to the gym itself, but getting used to working with a particular person. You quickly discover that two personal trainers can have very different styles, even when you turn up with exactly the same goals and the same willingness to negotiate how much effort is involved.

Which, in my case, was considerable. 😄

The new trainer took the workouts very seriously. Meanwhile, I felt as though I was trying to keep up with a slightly more athletic version of myself than the one I knew.

A version who probably wouldn’t have felt the need to point out quite so often that she’d only come to tone up a little.

Olympic training. Mine, apparently.

Over the next few months, I had plenty of time to establish two things: he expected a lot, and I was still the same person who wanted to exercise without turning it into a competitive pursuit.

I’d come for a little toning up. Judging by how seriously I was being put through my paces, I seemed to have already qualified for the Olympics.

I wasn’t sure which event, but I didn’t dare ask. No need to give him ideas. 😄

I counted turning up at the gym as a small personal victory. The workout promptly reminded me that turning up was only the beginning.

And that was my problem with the whole situation: I liked the idea of being someone who worked out. The part where I actually had to work out still required some persuasion.

Apparently, the new trainer didn’t consider that contradiction a good enough reason to take things a little easier.

*Le husband was there. But apparently on a different membership.

I went with *le husband, and although we had the same trainer, he didn’t get put through the wringer quite like I did. This felt slightly unfair, especially since I was the one who’d written that he was the lazy one. 😄

Perhaps that was where I’d gone wrong. I’d given him a reputation for being lazy and myself a reputation for being capable of more. Now I seemed to be dealing with the consequences.

I don’t know why more was expected of me, but I could appreciate the trainer’s dedication and still wish for a little of the treatment *le husband was getting. We could at least have taken turns, just to keep things fair. 😅

How firm should a trainer be, anyway?

Looking back at when I first started going to the gym, I have to admit that I’d asked for a firm trainer. Someone who wouldn’t entertain all my negotiations and who would help me get past my tendency to give up before I’d even started.

I can hardly pretend I’d expected to go there just for a chat.

Still, somewhere between what I’d meant back then and the experience with the new trainer, there had been a slight difference in interpretation. I’d pictured someone who would keep me on track. This came with rather more intensity than I’d anticipated.

And perhaps that was why the change felt so significant. I’d been sad to lose the first trainer because I’d grown used to him. With the second, I kept comparing what I already knew with what I was discovering.

Two different styles. The same me, still trying to find my feet with this whole exercise business.

A little toning up, taken very seriously

If I had to describe those months, I’d say they were a meeting between my modest goals and a trainer who took his job very seriously.

I hadn’t suddenly developed a passion for competitive sport. My original goal hadn’t become any more ambitious, either. I still wanted to move more and tone up a little.

But I was beginning to understand just how much changing trainers could change your experience at the gym.

Including how nostalgic you might become about the first one. 😄

So, if you were wondering what happened after *le pam-pam left: a few months with a new trainer, a very serious approach to exercise and the feeling that I was preparing for a competition I didn’t remember entering. 💪