Fitness Base

Hi,

My name is Patrick.  I will be doing my first sprint tri in 2 weeks.  I'm currently 225 lbs, down from 285 about a year ago.  When I decided to get back in shape, I was so worried about my body that I was afraid to exert myself lest my knees (or heart) gave out.

So I ended up signing up with a personal trainer.  My initial thought was I hoped he would know how to work me without killing me.  Well, sure enough he knew how to work me and almost (figuratively) killed me in the early days, but little by little I started to get a fitness base.  More importantly, I got the confidence to push myself without fear.  After about 6 months, I "graduated" with 40 less pounds, discipline, a fitness base, a knowledge base, and confidence.  From there I started running, biking, and swimming, and still try to hit the gym twice a week on my own.

I owe my trainer big time.  Without the base I was able to achieve with him, I'm not sure how far I would have gotten.  I know that personal training is expensive, but it really, really helped me.  In fact it may have been the key to it all, because over time I realized that my weight loss goals turned into an overall long term lifestyle shift.  And I think that part came in part from just having a trainer around talking about life and fitness between sets.  It was very inspiring.