Monkey Blog

Whenever I read about reasons why people end up giving up on the gym boredom seems like it is always one of the main reasons. When I’m at the gym lots of thoughts go through my head.

"Ow, this hurts."
"Just have to make it through two more reps."
"I can’t believe I can lift this much more weight now."
"OMG this is heavy!"
"I really enjoy this particular exercise."
"Ew, who left a giant sweat puddle?"
"Oh no, they’re playing that Rob Thomas song again. "
"Yay! I gained weight."
"****! I lost weight."
"Wow, this pump feels amazing."

But I never, ever get close to thinking "I’m bored." I can’t wrap my head around how someone could think that. An intense gym session is such a rush. It’s the opposite of boring. Is this because I’m a cardio slacker? If all I did at the gym was walk on a treadmill then maybe I could understand.

After experiencing both for roughly the same amount of time I still haven’t decided which one is better.

Working out with a partner has a lot of benefits.  The most obvious one is always having a spotter.  With barbell benching my personal trainer would have me attempt weight that I would never even consider trying by myself (one rep max type lifts).  Dumbbell benching is also so much easier with a spotter.  Having him hand me the dumbbells when I’m ready is so much simpler than when you’re alone.  When I start doing heavier weight it’s not the benching itself that gives me trouble, its getting into position that is really awkward.

Another difference with working out with my trainer is that he pushed me way, way, way past my comfort zone.  When your arms are jelly and you don’t think you can do another rep he can give you assistance and you keep going.  Straight barbell curling comes to mind especially.  I remember thinking “There’s no way I can do another one” but he wouldn’t let me stop.  A little help with the upward movement and there’s another rep!  If you’re alone and you can’t do another rep with good form then than set is over.  The problem is that he pushed me too hard sometimes.  There were two instances in particular where I almost blacked out and we had to stop the session for that day.  When I’m on my own I can pace myself appropriately and if I need to take a longer break no one is watching the clock.

Having a workout partner can also be a lot of fun.  My trainer and I really shared a lot of laughs.  He’s a funny guy and we joked around a lot.  When I started out I thought of going to the gym as something I had to endure to look the way I wanted to.  He helped me understand that it can be a fun activity even though you’re working harder than you ever have.  Of course people can take this too far.  I shake my head at the people I see standing around and talking endlessly.  You’re at the gym people!  Work out!

Of course there are negatives also.  The biggest problem I had with using a personal trainer was the damage it did to my wallet.   Ouch ouch ouch.  I definitely would have continued training with him longer in a perfect world, but the amount of money it was costing me made that impossible.  Also getting my schedule to match up with his was extremely annoying.  Want to work out on Sundays?  Sorry, he doesn’t.  You’d rather work out really late at night?  Sorry, be here at 8pm!  I love being able to make my own schedule.  When I ditched my personal trainer I quickly switched to working out four days a week (instead of three) at times that were convenient to me.

I think the most glaring difference about working out alone is accountability.  Success or failure all rests on your shoulders.  You don’t have anyone to blame but yourself if you slack off or don’t get the results you want.  I’ve continued to make gains on my own.  My personal trainer gave me the knowledge and motivation to continue on my own.  Is being on my own better?  I’m still not sure, but I’m enjoying the ride.