Pain...it does a body good?
By Christy Smith
Please help. I think my personal trainer is trying to kill me.
The first two workouts with Jason were hard, but doable. It was all a big fat trick. He was easing me into feeling comfortable with him so that I would keep coming back. And then....things got ugly.
On my third appointment with him, we did more squats in one hour than I’ve done in my entire life. When I said, “I can’t do any more.” He said, “Give me four more.” 
And guess what? I gave him four more.
Turns out I’m a sissy. I don’t like pushing my body beyond what feels comfortable. I doubt if that’s uncommon, I mean who wants to feel pain? But, what I learned was that my brain was telling me to quit WAY before my body really needed to. Every time I felt like stopping, he had me do more, and every single time, I was able to dig down deep and find that inner strength…that extra umph…that enabled me to go the extra mile.
The biggest shocker of all? I liked it. I really did.
I practically hobbled out of there after doing all of those squats, and the whole next day I walked down stairs and sat on chairs like I was a granny. Did that mean he went easy on me on our fourth appointment? Oh, no. More squats! More lunges!! More butt dip thingys on the big ball!!! (that’s the technical term). He added even more and laughed at me when I snarled at him for working me so hard. I was dripping with sweat and felt like I had just ran a marathon. Fifty minutes of intense weight training is something that I’ve never experienced before, but now I can’t imagine working out without it.
Driving to my fifth appointment with Jason, I found myself really looking forward to beating my muscles into shape. I think I’m hooked. Or brain damaged.
I confessed something to Jason at this appointment…a realization that had hit me that morning. If he wasn’t generously offering these training sessions for free, I would have canceled on him. Probably more than once. There were several days that I woke up feeling under the weather, or just not in the mood to torture myself (go figure), but, since he is doing me such a HUGE favor, I felt like I had to go or else I’d be letting him down.
Also, if I was working out from home, I never would’ve pushed myself to do that “four more”. I would have quit. I don’t know how people do it all by themselves. It takes a very special, perhaps mentally unstable, person to become a workout fiend without an army behind them. My army is named Jason Minich. Sure, it’s me doing all the actual work, and I’m also doing things at home like eating healthier and getting some cardio in, but without Jason, I’d still be wandering around aimlessly on the treadmill gaining even more weight.
Essentially, this complete stranger is saving my life, and I will owe him much more than can be paid back with money. I’m very thankful that I have this opportunity, and I’m not going to let Jason down. In fact, next time, I’m going to give him five more.
Christy Beauchot Smith is the owner of DipsticksPreztels.com. She and her husband, Mark, have two young sons, Joshua and Jacob. You may occasionally find Christy behind the counter at Quilts & Ladybugs in downtown Columbia City.