Monday, August 10, 2009

I Am My Own Personal Trainer and #16 Moses Smith

I've had it with the business practices of Gyms! Some of them are just as bad as car dealerships!

My current gym (tomorrow it will be my former gym) has a great deal on personal training at $25 for a thirty minutes session. Which, this is what they told me when I inquired about it. So, I said sign me up. I told him that I want to take golf lessons soon, and I want to have as much range of motion as I can for my golf swing, and I also, of course, want to build overall strength and lose weight. No problem, but when we scheduled a session he tells me, "You know you have to buy eight sessions right?" No!, but I foolishly scheduled a session anyway. I thought, "well, I'll throw it on the credit card with all my other crap." But the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I'm not mad at the trainer. I'm mad at the gym for misleading me into thinking that I could train a la cart. My logic was that I'll use the training to get started on my way, and then I'll go to the gym to workout on my own.

So, tomorrow I am going to call and cancel the training and cancel my membership. I haven't' been to the gym in a while because I've been walking at home. Walking is a better workout for me than swimming.

I won't be recommending them to anyone else. I understand why they require eight sessions, but I don't understand why they mislead people. Especially considering that the hospital that runs this facility is a religious organization.

I have a book "fitness for dummies" that I will use to design my workouts.

I had an offer for free personal training from a gentleman named Jimmy, but his gym was too far away from my office. I wish I had explained things to him because he had some hard feelings about it.

Also, I had an offer from a local lady for free training, but I don't think her manager approved of the arrangement, and she canceled a workout at the last moment one day (I had my workout clothes on, about to walk out the door), and her scheduling was flaky. Also, she flip-flopped between two different locations, and again, it was a lot of driving to the gym.

Finally, there's coach Jack Eyer in my Business Networking International (BNI) group, and he seems like a great trainer with a great system, check him out at http://www.coacheyer.com/Sparks.html but I just don't want to spend the money. He would allow me to make payments, and he gave me a discount in exchange for computer help, but I'm starting to learn that those arrangements don't work out well.

I also must mention Tom and Robin. They are awesome, and I really appreciate the videos that they made for me, but it wouldn't be right to ask them for free training. I am confident that I can do this by experimentation and reading.


I must remember that personal training and gym memberships are luxuries. I can live without them. I'll just have to research and experiment. I already have 5 lb and 20lb dumbbells. I will eventually want a good weight bench and other dumbbells.

I'm just gonna use the money that I was spending on the gym to pay off some of my credit card debt. I really have to learn to prioritize.

Okay, now I've got that off my chest.

Next, today's food. I entered today's food in the diary. Tomorrow is my mom's birthday, and I got us a box of chocolate low cal fudgesicles instead of cake and ice cream. I'm glad I thought ahead and bought the small box because we split the box. I ate six of them suckers, and they were good. So, I went over my calories, carbs, and sugar, but I don't plan on doing that again any time soon. Besides the popsicles, today was a great food day. Also, I walked a mile this morning and worked out my upper body at home. I don't need no stinking gym.

Finally, the highlight of my day: I received an autographed shirt from Moses Smith, driver of the #16 HASA Toyota NASCAR Camping World West Series Car:


Thank you Moses. Your shirt really cheered me up. I have it hanging in my office for everyone to see. Also, I like looking at it from my desk. It really motivates me to keep on keeping on with my weight loss and exercise. You made my day!

Check out Moses Smith at http://www.mosessmith.com/ Also, vote for Moses as your favorite NASCAR Camping World West Series driver at http://www.nascar.com/news/features/mpd.poll.camping.world.west/index.html Be sure to vote everyday!

I have to start a NASCAR photo page. It will be coming soon.

Have a great Tuesday!

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View my food diary at: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/svinson6

View my exercise diary at: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/exercise/diary/svinson6

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13 comments:

  1. ive wanted personal training as well and i just couldnt justify the cost. im actually hesitant to join a gym in general due to the fees and the problems with cancellation, so i feel you there. it is possible to see results from a home program, as long as you have the umph to keep it up. happy bday to your mom!

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  2. Get Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred! It's $14.99 at Target and it will kick your butt. It's only 20 minutes so if you did that and walking, you would be getting a killer workout!

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  3. Heh Jill,

    I do the 30 Day Shred and it is a killer. However, every time I force myself to do it, I feel great the rest of the day.

    I have also found that if I do the 20 minute work out around 8:00 am; I am less hungry during the day - a win / win!

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  4. Stephen.
    Way to go! You have already accomplished so much. I work with Moses and we are so happy that the Tshirt made your day. I hope it helps. Let me or Z. know when you are ready for a smaller size and I will send one over!! I'll be rooting for you.
    Tara
    www.mosessmith.com

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  5. Hi Stephen ... Here's a thought. I live in Ottawa, Canada and there have been a few people around who have got free personal training if they go public with their weight loss. It is very good advertising for the trainer. It also keeps you accountable when the whole town knows about it. These people I'm speaking of, had regular updates in the city's newspaper. Maybe put out some feelers and see how it goes. I wish you luck. I totally agree with you as far as the gyms go, although I do belong to one.

    Take care!

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  6. Just be sure you check out anything you signed when you got your gym membership or your training sessions...a lot of times it's a contract, which means even if you don't show up for the sessions, you still get charged anyway! I know my gym is month to month but I have to give them a 30 day notice before I can cancel. If you have the motivation, you can totally learn enough on your own. I plan all my own workouts and go to the gym and kick my own ass!

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  7. oh, crap, the 30 day shred is hard core! if you want to try it (the dvd really is cheap), try it first with no weights. i tried it with 5 lb weights and it put me off of the dvd forever. its only 20 minutes...but its 20 min well spent! do it downstairs, if you can, as there is jogging in place involved and i woke up my neighbors jogging in place on the floor. and dont listen to her harangues until you are like 2-3 months into it. if you cant complete the exercises, just do your best. but it does get easier. like everyday it gets easier.

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  8. Seriously, check out "New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle," by Lou Schuler. www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting-Maximum-Muscle/dp/1583332383/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249842617&sr=8-1

    The women's version is just AWESOME, so I'm sure the one geared for men is just as great. Maybe you can even find it at your local library so that you don't have to actually buy it!

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  9. Here's to hoping your gym will let you cancel without a hassle. As Dana mentioned, many have nasty contracts that make getting out way harder than it should be.

    If you're in credit card debt, the gym and a personal trainer are certainly things you can do without. While the DVDs people are recommending are good, if you're having issues with spending and credit cards, I might even hold off on that. You've got walking. You've got a wealth of free resources on the internet. You can do it!

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  10. Great work on your incredible weight loss. I applaud you on your quest to have a much better body. I would disagree with you on your point of personal training being a luxury. Let me put it this way, if your car was broke down, would you try to fix it yourself, or would you take it to a mechanic skilled in getting your car back in working condition?

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  11. Hi Stephen! Just checking in on you since you haven't posted in awhile. I always look forward to reading your blog!

    I hope you were able to beat back that depression and are doing wonderfully.

    And I hope your weight loss efforts are coming along nicely too! If not, today's a new day! You've worked so hard and come too far to go back now. We must stay in the race, friend!

    Have a wonderful day!

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  12. Hey! Just found your blog. My husband and I are losing weight together, and I thought I'd try to find some "manblogs" for him to follow. I, too, have had bad gym experiences, so I'll be interested to see how this gets resolved. (right now we work out at home). Anyway, looking forward to sharing your blog with my hub as we go through this together!

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