She truly made my day.
After finishing our morning workout my wife wanted to pick up a couple of things from the store and while she was doing that I went next door to the local bookstore to browse while I waited for her, and while I was looking at the fitness and bodybuilding magazines this older lady starts speaking to me in a very loud voice.
“I know you, you’re into fitness and you were on the cover of that magazine.”
I turned to look at her and she continues on…
“My name is Irma and I am 71 years old and I was a personal trainer for over 40 years. I may not look like it right now but I still lift weights and do yoga and Pilates.”
Now this was obviously a very outgoing lady and the next thing I know she pinches a bit of a roll of flesh around her hips and continues, “I might have a bit more here than I should have but I am Austrian and I love my desserts, but I don’t have arthritis or high blood pressure and I am out walking every single day. I think I look pretty good for my age.”
I start to say that I think she does also when she just continues on…
“Everyday I am trying to get people in my apartment building, some as young as 50 or so to go for a walk with me and they tell me they are too tired. I tell them that you are too tired because you are not going for walks. I tell them that they need to lift weights but they look at me like I’m crazy.”
She proceeds to tell me that she is always trying to get folks to exercise. Then I find out she goes to the same gym as I do and it seems we have never run into one another because we work out at different times of the day.
Apparently she had recognized me from the cover shot and story in Beyond 50 magazine and went on to tell me that she loves the fact that I am trying to get as many people to embrace fitness as I can. She tells me that she volunteers at the local senior center and leads them in exercises and takes them for walks and tries to keep them active.
As I was telling her that I thought what she was doing was great she reaches up and wraps her hands around my left bicep and says, ” I really like your muscles.”
So with a growing crowd both listening to her louder than average (or necessary) voice and watching her holding onto my bicep though I am still smiling, I start to blush.
Here I was enjoying having met this wonderful gal but wishing that she would not only use her indoor voice but also unwrap her hands from my left bicep.
She finally lets go but then takes my hand in both of hers and says, “ I am so glad that I got to meet you. Getting to meet you has made my day.”
Wow. Here was a lady who had been a personal trainer for over 40 years, who volunteers to help keep seniors active and who pushes and cajoles folks half her age to get out and exercise and she was glad to have met ME, and meeting me made HER day.
“No,” I told her, “ I am the one who is really glad to have met you, and YOU have made MY day.”
I made sure to find out what time she was going to be at the gym next and both my wife and I are going to make sure to spend some time with her.
It is not every day that you get to meet someone this special.
How often do you get to meet a 71 year old lady who had been a personal trainer for over 40 years and who is still that active with that outgoing of a personality and who knows the value of lifting weights and exercise?
She just reaffirmed to me why working out and why getting others to exercise is so important.
She just reaffirmed why I am committed to getting other people to embrace fitness.
She truly made my day.
June 5, 2008 at 3:40 pm
That’s the cooooolest thing I’ve ever hear!
I want that to be me. I’m always talking about it with my body James. We are always making either steps in the right direction or the wrong direction. I just hope I can take as many forward steps as that old lady. Tell her Hey from Iron_Josh for me!