For the first two months, I thought he was going to kill me.
A couple of years ago, my life fell apart. Right after losing my job due to budget cuts, I was involved in a bad car accident and was hospitalized for several weeks. I went through three separate surgeries and physical rehabilitation but still suffered from extreme pain in my neck, back and hips. This made it impossible for me to find a new job or even sleep well at night. I was faced with a mountain of medical bills and my car was totalled. I was angry, depressed and not much fun to be around. I blame myself for my marriage ending. I was suddenly alone, in debt, out of work and in constant pain. For about a year, I turned to alcohol and medication to make myself feel better. I made my situation much worse. My sister stepped in and signed me up with a personal trainer. Since I didn’t even want to get out of bed or leave my apartment, I wasn’t thrilled with her plan. She begged, pushed and insisted that I give it a try. With my sister paying for the sessions, I felt I owed it to her to give it a chance. I met with the personal trainer and explained all of my problems. He was not overly sympathetic. He designed an extremely strenuous workout program and we arranged to meet four times per week. For the first two months, I thought he was going to kill me. Improvement was slow and difficult, but I gradually started to look and feel better. The trainer also convinced me to start eating healthier and give up the prescription meds and alcohol entirely. I have completely turned my life around.