Do You Smell Cheese?

Tomorrow morning I have an appointment with a personal trainer. I do not know who it is, haven't met him, have no idea what his qualifications or experience are, but I am already skeptical of him. It is an odd thing that having been a PT for nearly 17 years now and having worked with athletes of all abilities (weekend warriors to Olympians) I have gained a certain amount of knowledge of the human body and how it works. I understand exercise, the pros and the cons, and I have met my fair share of personal trainers along the way.

It is a bizarre thing about the healthcare profession (regardless of which branch), we may understand the best way to do things an the benefits of certain behaviors, but we don't always follow our own advice. Have you ever noticed how many doctors and nurses smoke? I rest my case. Knowing what to do is only half of the battle - and actually the easy half.

Doing what you know you should do is the most difficult part.

Tomorrow morning when I meet my personal trainer, I have a choice to make. I can choose to be Dr JAson A Craig, PhD, MCSP with a PhD in muscle physiology and a long career teaching orthopedic physical therapy who knows what he should do and doesn't feel that he needs the help, or I can set my resume aside and submit to him and seek his help and assistance. I feel the outcome of clinging to my credentials and resume will ultimately result in a fail in the challenge I have set. Following the second option, submission and acceptance of help from wherever it comes, will not guarantee success, but it will certainly help.

So here we go. My FAT in his hands - literally, as we take all the measurements. I think I will take some 'before' photos to remind me of the FAT man who ate the skinny guy inside.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

P.S. - Note to self, wear clean ...... (inside voice, inside voice)