How Having a Kid Prepares You to Work With a Trainer

"Stick your butt out." "Use your legs." "Push through your heels." "Hold at 90 degrees." "Squeeze your shoulders together." "Pull harder." "Keep your muscles engaged." And the ever popular, "Suck it up Sally," followed by a dirty look from me (or an occasional f-bomb, depending on if I'm grumpy), then "Really Larry?" To lighten the mood and eliminate my grumpiness. Yes, I have been told all these things and NO, my trainer is not a jerk. He's usually encouraging me during my heaviest set or correcting my form so I don't hurt myself. The man (Doug) will physically poke me to indicate which muscle should activate during the exercise, will pull my shoulders together to demonstrate how much they should engage during the set, he will move my hands apart on the bar to make sure the grip is accurate and will stand over me or so close while spotting me that if we weren't at the gym people would talk. All of this is a huge invasion of my personal space, so why doesn't it bother me?

The answer is simple, I have a child. I learned 9 years ago, and am reminded everyday, that my space is not my own, it's no longer personal. Those of you with kids, I bet you understand this perfectly. It's somewhere between childhood and adulthood the concept of personal space develops. You see elementary kids standing in line and they are all touching each other (teacher yelling at them to keep their hands to themselves), smushed against each other, faces inches apart breathing on each other, all without a care in the world. Jump ahead to adulthood...picture a line of adults waiting to get concert tickets or the new model of Xbox or PlayStation, for the most part everyone is evenly spaced out. Think of an elevator, if there's room, people simply don't stand next to each other. When you're walking, you don't walk directly behind someone, not only is that totally creepy, it's bound to get you pepper sprayed. We even have a name for adults who invade people's personal space, they're called "close talkers." These are people who seemed to have never left childhood and will constantly touch you and put their heads right in front of yours while talking.

Prior to becoming a Mom, all these things would totally freak me out. I was the queen of stay at least 2 feet and 3/4 inches away from me, don't touch me, don't stand next to me and sure as hell, don't breath your stinky coffee-breath on me. Fast forward to today. My son still likes to be around me. He will grab my hand and hang on me when he doesn't feel well. He walks directly in front of or behind so we end up stepping on each other. He sticks his face in mine and does something goofy. He will poke me and pull me, he will wedge himself in a chair made for one with me. And my personal favorite, he insists on draping his hands AND legs over me when watching TV then falls asleep. I have no personal space, but I'm actually ok with that. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I just need a little alone time. That's when I lock myself in the bathroom. Then usually the cat tries to get in. But all of this has served a purpose, it has made me realize that if someone comes within the 2 foot radius, it's ok, I don't get agitated or freaked out. I'm ok with standing next to someone in the elevator and sometimes do it on purpose to watch people's reactions. This also allows my trainer to effectively spot me, making sure the bar doesn't crush my skull or let me fall backwards while squatting and make a giant ass out of myself. I'm used to being poked and legs and arms being moved to better locations. It's now just normal. The exception that still stands is someone skulking behind me, there's a good chance I'll turn and round-kick your knee.

What are you thoughts on personal space? Do you have boundaries or could care less?