I recently gave up my gym membership.
I have had the same gym membership since I started my journey in April of 1999. I’ll never forget walking in there for the first time. I had bought the remainder of a friend’s long-term contract for a very low price therefore the gym staff wasn’t jumping to help me. I don’t even think they gave me a tour. I was completely on my own and scared to death.
I think I lasted 5 minutes on the treadmill that very first day.
But I kept coming back. I took inspiration from the fit bodies around me. I bought a copy of Weight Training For Dummies
For over a decade I kept going to that very same gym. I watched them expand, add new equipment and, unfortunately, go through what seems like hundreds of personal trainers. In fact, I often say I learned a lot about what not to do as a personal trainer by watching some of their staff as I did cardio.
Over time, as I learned more and became a personal trainer myself, I went to the gym less and less. I didn’t workout less; I simply realized that I didn’t need the machines, loud music or bright lights. I added pieces to my home gym and found that I liked biking, running and plyometric interval training more than the elliptical trainer. When we moved into the new studio space last April, I had even more equipment at my disposal and a new place to workout.
I’ve kept that gym membership up until last month, despite not going there for some time. In fact, my last visit to that gym, on a scouting mission to check out the “competition” was last summer. When the renewal notice came in April, I simply couldn’t find a reason to pay for another year.
So I let the notice sit on my desk. It was a surprisingly emotional decision. That gym was a huge part of the person I am today. I learned a new way of living in what had been my second home for over a decade. It’s like moving out of your childhood home to go off to college. But I knew it was time to let go. I am an entirely different person than I was on that very first visit. My future and mission had long outgrown those four walls.
Now I find inspiration everyday in my clients and my friends online. I push myself not because the person next to me on the treadmill is going faster but because I see my clients showing up everyday, pushing a little more and trying harder to be the best they can be. My mission isn’t just about my best, it’s about being my best so you can be your best. Thanks for coming on this journey with me. I can’t wait to see where we go next.
