Don't Complain at the Gym, Your Trainer is Always Right

Well, I'm at Best Fitness this week feeling like I'm not making any progress and complaining about it to my trainer, Doug. It was a stressful week at work and I just wanted something to be going right. "I want to be bigger, more defined, faster, faster, faster." He just looks at me and shakes his head as we head to the first exercise.

I stopped complaining for all of a minute. He shakes his head and tells me to shut up and lift, politely of course. In between sets, we start talking about goals and setting realistic ones:

• Below 20% body fat --> current 22%
• 200 lb squat --> current 185 lbs
• 100 lb bench press --> current 75 lbs
• 5 unassisted pull-ups --> current 1/2 a pull up, yes this exercise is my nemesis

Over the next 30 minutes my mood improves. Must be all those good-for-you hormones that are released that help build muscle AND elevate your mood. As I'm doing what I call a "form set" or the last set in the series where the weight is a bit lighter, you focus everything you have on the muscle contraction itself, holding each for a couple seconds and go until failure; Doug, being the great trainer he is, decides to video this set, focusing on my shoulders during the lat pull-down. Once completed, he shows me, pointing out every muscle pop, definition, shadow and movement. "You never get to see this part of your workout, your shoulders/back are already improved from when we took the photo of you doing the pull-down. So now will you stop your complaining?"

I just starting grinning from ear-to-ear. It was exactly what I needed to see and hear. Just remember, if you complain to your trainer they will prove you wrong and be extremely happy about it.