Let Me Tell You A Story

I hope everyone is enjoying their Summer and have gone on vacation. Just around the corner school and football begins.

Let me tell you a story – or some stories:

A couple of weeks ago a young woman came in to speak to my wife about our services. She told my wife that she wanted to lose about 75 lbs., and they discussed our different packages.

She also said that she found it hard to make commitments, so she wouldn’t be looking for a long-term package. After further discussion she asked if she could come in for a complimentary session.

Now this woman is a couple of years away from 30. I met with her and she also told me that she wants to lose about 75 pounds because she has hopes of having children and she realizes that being overweight could complicate a pregnancy.

After just a few minutes into the comp session I had to have her lie down on her back and put a cold towel on her forehead. I actually cut the session short because I knew she wouldn’t be able to finish even a 30 minute basic session,

We then sat down to discuss our packages, and she said she wanted to only try us out – so she purchased 3 sessions, or one week. Needless to say, she only came in two times and told our fitness coach that she “was going to exercise on her own”!!

OK…now who is kidding who? This young woman is “never” going to exercise on her own. Not yet 30 years old and unable to do even the simplest exercises.

But, I will tell you where she is going to be at 30 years old…..probably 100 pounds overweight with high blood pressure and diabetes, if not something worse. And, what about the baby she so desperately wants? Even if she does become pregnant all that extra weight will be a hazard to her pregnancy. And when the baby comes….what kind of an example is she setting for her child?

As my wife often says….everyone wants to lose weight and become fit…but no one wants to actually do the “work”.

On the flip side, my wife spoke to a young woman a couple of weeks ago who has cystic fibrosis. She told my wife that she wants to become stronger because this disease has sapped her strength.

If anyone had the excuse not to exercise, this young woman does. But she wants to push herself to become more fit and healthy. The only reason she hasn’t started already is because her doctor feels that she isn’t ready. She told me she’s seeing her doctor next month and hopes to begin a routine as soon as she is cleared.

A few months ago we had a Groupon campaign. Groupon is an on-line special deal service, and we offered an Evaluation plus 2 Fitness Sessions for a discounted price.

I had a young woman come in a couple of weeks ago to redeem a Groupon. She was over 300 pounds, with a body fat index that was so high that it could not be measured. I did an Evaluation and then discussed the results with her. Not only was she obese and out of shape, but her eating habits were extremely bad.

While discussing her eating habits she told me that “In Williamsburg the restaurants give you large portions.”

What??? So if someone puts a whole roast pig in front of you it means that you should eat the whole thing??

She contacted me a few days later to say that she had asked for a refund from Groupon because the experience was “not what she expected.”

What did she expect? That she was going to a gym where they would just tell her what she wanted to hear? A gym where they would ignore her true needs and let her go on using their equipment without getting any real results?

My wife said that most people just don’t want to hear the truth; so when they “do” hear the truth they ignore it or run the other way.

I own a fitness studio which is, of course, a business. Bringing in new clients is part of that business.

But….fitness and health is more than just a job to me; it’s my passion. And it has been my passion for over 30 years.

It frustrates me when I see people, especially young people, being so flippant about their health. To some people being 50, 60, 70 or 100 pounds overweight is nothing!! They would rather go to a doctor and be prescribed pills for ailments that can easily be avoided with just a little work.

There’s that word again – “work”.

As my wife says, these people must think that miraculously the fat is going to disappear; they’ll wake up one morning 50 pounds lighter just by dreaming about it.

Well….that’s not going to happen. Nothing worth having comes easy. And most things that come easy are not worth having.