For the last two weeks I’ve been at my local gym using the stationary bike for my cardio work-out to give my IT band a rest before my first marathon. I love to people watch and the gym is definitely a great spot for that, especially when you’re pedaling for all you’re worth and going nowhere. Listening to Joe Scarborough talking in front of me on the “Morning Joe” show on MSNBC I found myself rather intrigued these last two weeks with a group of people in the gym at the same early hour as myself (and my husband and our friend we carpool with).
Depending on the day, the group has anywhere from 6-12 people working out together. I could hear them behind me all lined up on treadmills being coached through whatever type of running they were doing and then followed them as they relocated around the gym. I’ve watched them do walking lunges with shoulder presses, weight lifting, routines on the Bosu ball, floor exercises, intense ab routines, and various stretches. I knew it wasn’t a class on the gym’s group schedule, otherwise I’d have been in it. I thought maybe they were all training together for the same race, maybe a triathlon. The whole group seemed to be pretty fit, but one woman in particular stood out. She has the muscle tone that I hope to one day achieve and would run, not walk, from one side of the gym to the other just to return a piece of equipment. Her energy is incredible and I can relate to it, but only after two large cups of coffee. She is a woman I admire at 6 a.m. and I can only imagine that her life is fast-paced, healthy, and diverse.
Finally, my curiosity got the better of me this week. I was doing my abs and stretching in the area of the gym where some equipment is stored and the group I’ve been watching was putting away Bosu balls. I stopped the ball of energy as she was walking past and asked her what the group was training for. She gave me a huge smile, a firm but not intimidating handshake, introduced herself as Amy, and explained that it’s not training but a class that she and the others take. Amy pointed out the instructor to me and as she was sprinting over to finish the class grinned and said “I live for this!”
When the class was finished I introduced myself to the trainer, simply known as B, or B Good. He told me a little about the class but more about the success of the people in the class, his background, his philosophies, and his training style. What I liked was his mantra, “Say what you mean, mean what you say.” He holds each person accountable to the goals they set for themselves. Some have the goal to work-out once a week, others to lose weight, some to compete at a certain level. His expectations are high and they match his intense training programs, but the foundation of his students’ success is in developing mental toughness to achieve goals. B makes sure students are honest with themselves about their goals and that they are taking the steps necessary to achieve those goals. If one of his student’s goals is to lose weight but turns in their weekly nutrition chart and lists beer with dinner every day, B will not sugar coat the fact that this doesn’t fit with the weight loss goal.
Simply watching B’s group is motivating and I hope to learn more about his philosophy of fitness. All I know right now is that if he said “drop and give me 20,” I’d do it.