Shoot yourself in the foot-part 1

We often are our own worst enemies. We seem to know the very best ways to trip ourselves up. Here is the first of several sure-fire methods on how to shoot yourself in the foot exercise wise. Remember what my jr. high principal use to say? "A word to the wise should be sufficient."
Heed his advice and avoid these pitfalls. Here's number one:

1. Do-it-yourself

The Do-it-yourself exerciser is "in-de-pend-ent". They do not require any instruction from anyone at anytime. They "vant to be alone darling" which is just fine generally. However they can't possibly know all there is to know about any given subject matter. In our present culture, in the age of information technology, it is IMPOSSIBLE to stay completely current and up-to-date on most topics. Therefore in their desire to be self-reliant (a very American trait, yes?) they are closing themselves off to multitudes of information which could be very important to whatever they're trying to accomplish.

As a personal trainer and fitness professional, I spent huge amounts of time on-line combing through fitness sites (good, bad and ugly), reading trade journals as well as popular magazines
and often conversing with colleagues about a fitness topic. This is my passion and I'm happy to spend my time this way.

Why reinvent the wheel? If a professional has the expertise and experience, why not take advantage of that? I guess the do-it-yourselfer would rather come up with a better wheel
(or it that mousetrap?) than heaven forbid, ask someone for help.

My advice: enlist some professional help and make your life a lot easier. You don't necessarily have to hire a trainer (although I'm almost always in favor of that-remember I have an agenda).
There's a ton of helpful information presented in classes or guided practices (like Masters Swimming, running clubs, etc)

And goodness sakes' don't shoot yourself in the foot. That hurts!

In health,

Laura