Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

 

I know more than I thought I did. Going into this, I assumed that my form was wrong on basically everything. I know there are certain things I can do well, but that doesn’t mean I’m doing them 100% correctly. Well, turns out that I was. Granted, it was only a few moves, but that still gave me confidence. After spending years in the gym I had actually learned and improved. Made me proud.

I enjoy being critiqued. Having someone watch every move you make can be intense. Especially when you’re doing a move you’ve never done before. That being said, it was very comforting having someone there to correct my form. To tell me I needed my chest up or my knees together. It made the movements hurt in all the right places and gave me the encouragement to finish a set strong or even go up in weights.

I need accountability. Emelia and I were right, paying someone to meet us at the gym really did get my butt out of bed. I have always liked working out alone. I don’t really like classes or working out in large groups. I like to listen to my music and get in the zone. I wasn’t sure if I’d even like working with a personal trainer, but I do. By week four, my body was already transitioning into going to bed earlier and waking up more willingly.

Speaking of waking up — I work out better in the morning. I’ve hit the gym at all hours of the day and night. Sometimes with crazy schedules, you need to be flexible. I have found that it’s best if I wake up before anyone and get my workout in before the day takes over. I’m not burdened by the stress of the day. When I plan an afternoon or evening workout I find that it’s more likely to get pushed back or canceled because other things have come up. When I’m working out before I’m even supposed to be awake, nothing else can get in the way.

I’m stronger than I give myself credit. When I work out alone or with Emelia, I will pick a weight I feel comfortable and do what I can. It will hurt, but rarely am I sore the next day. Our personal trainer pushed us. I did two to three reps more than I would have if I was alone. Every exercise I was pushed beyond what I thought I could do. I was also forced to do moves that I don’t like. Most of the moves I don’t like, is because I’m not good at them. So having someone say OK now we’re going to do jump squats for 30 seconds, I didn’t have a choice. I’m now doing a hard move that I’m not good at for longer than I ever would have made myself do it. Oh, and we’re going to do that move two more times.

I had a phenomenal experience working with a personal trainer. If you’re thinking about it, do it. I learned so many new moves, I know how to properly execute them and I’m more confident in my form. My body is also trained to wake up early, so I kinda want to keep going and see what I can accomplish before the year ends.

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams.