I’ve only been at this job for a few months now but it only took a few days to see that when setting people up with their free training sessions, guys are a bit more hesitant to train with the opposite sex than the gals are.
I will admit I am no exception, wait…let me rephrase that, I WAS no exception! I came to Bozeman after a very successful stint playing football at the University of Montana, and a not so successful stint in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals after my body caught up with all the years of hitting. Because most my experience in the world of athletics has been dominated my male coaches, trainers, doctors, and nutritionists alike you’ll have to excuse me for thinking twice about how effective it might be for me to work with a girl trainer. Now this is not to say that I wasn’t aware of the ever rising presence of ladies in athletics. After all I’ll never forget my 6th grade wrestling match with Sunshine LaForge, or the time I was trying to impress a high school crush and broke a pole vault pole to show her my athletic prowess. And last but not least my 62 year old mother who at 55 decided it was a good idea to join a softball team. Although her speed was best timed using a sun dial it showed me a long time ago that girls are anything but foreign to sport.
All this aside, I was still of the mindset that anything a girl could show me I had already seen from a guy, and being the manly man that I am a girl could never work me like I used to! Now pay attention gentlemen… I WAS of the mind set. W…A…S…
My grand awakening came first from Leah. My first impression of her was simple: very sincere, personable and obviously in great shape. It only took a loooong 84 minutes to change that. All of that changed after my “warm up”. It was then that I knew this wasn’t going to be an easy breezy beautiful cover girl workout. Rather she was an intense, gal that wouldn’t let me stop when I thought my quad was going to burst and I was sure my light lunch was going to come up during the oblique side crunches. P.S. When did I ever get obloquies? The whole time she was putting me through stretch and cool down I was sure I’d need to take the rest of the day off. It was only after ten minutes in the sauna and twice as much time hunched over on the bench that I was able to return to my desk. Needless to say, she proved her point.
My second experience would come only after the delayed onset soreness faded away and my manly ego had time to heal its multiple bruises. Now Leah was away gloating in her victory and Kate took over the reigns. It started easier than the last, with ten minutes of stair climbers, jacks, and pushups but by the time I was dragging my body down the gym floor in a full plank it was de ja vu all over again. Memories of the week earlier came flooding back, my head was tingling, hip flexors on fire and the slight tinge of Fiesta Tortilla Soup was making a second appearance. Kate “the girl next door” was now Kate “all things evil” Murphy. Now the whole time she just kept saying “don’t be too bummed with yourself” or “you’re doing way better than I though”, as if to say she doubted that a 6’5” 296lb. guy wouldn’t be good at box jumps and ladder sprints. To that I would’ve said HA stinking HA…if the Fiesta Tortilla Soup hadn’t already taken over.
Girls-2 Colin-0
Let me say this to all manly men out there: There is nothing to be ashamed of, our lady trainers will not judge your masculinity or even think you’re less cute! (They’re married anyways) They will however show you things that we guys seem to forget or disregard and being useful. And needless to say it’s a pretty good view…
Author: Colin Dow, Membership Advisor, The Ridge Athletic Club