To Train or Not to Train

About a year ago the brakes on my IROC weren’t working so well. Needless to say this was a bit of a problem. In an attempt to save some money (I’m convinced that taking your car to a shop just allows them to rip you off) I decided to do the work myself. No sweat, right? I’ve worked on cars for the past several years doing minor things.

I did a little bit of research online and figured I’d go down to the local Auto Zone and purchase the parts needed to fix my problem. Sixty-five dollars later I was back in my driveway changing out the master cylinder (the thing that holds the brake fluid). For a competent car mechanic it may have taken them all of 20 minutes to change it out, but though I’ve worked on cars before, I’ve never been necessarily mechanically inclined. What should have taken 20 minutes, wound up consuming the better part of my day.

Nonetheless, I finished and was ready to take it for a test drive. Well, wouldn’t you know the problem persisted? I was lucky that the car could even stop from a 5 mph roll. So, I went back online to do some further research. I asked fellow car enthusiasts what the problem might be. “Air in the lines,” most said. Apparently, when you change out a master cylinder air will get trapped in the lines. Imagine that, I thought.

I called a friend who has been working on cars for several years and who actually could identify any tool you showed him. He had experience with bleeding brakes, so he came over and helped out. The process involved taking each wheel off the car and letting air out of the lines. Once around and still no luck. The brake pedal felt better, but not quite worthy of being safe. So, again we went at it, taking each wheel off. Again, no luck and again not much improvement.

Cold weather was approaching and if you’re familiar with Frostburg, MD you’ll know it’s not a fun experience to have to be outside during the winter. Seeing as how this car was just a weekend car, I let it sit all winter and figured I’d get back to it when the weather warmed up.

April rolled around and the weather was getting nicer so my buddy and I figured once again we’d bleed the brakes. Remember, this was something that we had already done twice. Looking back on it, I can’t imagine why I would keep returning to the same thing that just failed and left me frustrated.

So, here I was about four months later, and about $100 poorer (all that wasted money on parts that weren’t broken). I’d just about had it. The weather was beautiful and I just wanted to enjoy cruising around. I finally bit the bullet and took the car to a professional. After all, it would be worth them “stickin it to me” to enjoy having my car back. The shop called me up, explained what was wrong, and gave me an estimate on repairs. I was quite relieved that it wasn’t going to cost me as much as I thought.

Within one day they had my car fixed and on the road for under $200. I can’t say enough how nice it was to

find a reputable car shop that you can trust. By the way, if you’re ever near the Frostburg area and need car work done, look for Langley’s.

How could I have been so stubborn and cheap? Here I had wasted not only my money on trying to fix what wasn’t wrong, but more importantly I had wasted my valuable time; time I could have spent enjoying cruising around in my car.

Ok, so if you made it this far you might be wondering, “Great, so what does this have to do with me and fitness?” Let me post two simple questions. How much time have you wasted trying things that just leave you frustrated? How much money have you wasted in the process? Trust me; wasting time is far worse than wasting money. Take a few minutes to list all the things you’ve tried in the past to improve your fitness level. Then next to them (if you can remember) list how much in time or money you spent on those things that failed.

I just want to say this, stop wasting time and money and seek the guidance of a fitness professional. You’ll thank yourself in the end, and you’ll be able to learn how to enjoy living in a body that you love.

Mark Shields has a B.S in Exercise Science and specializes in those seeking fat loss. He was Sport-Fit’s 1^st Annual Biggest Loser Trainer for the Overall & Group Winners. You can find more free articles at his site www.fitnessxpressu.com.

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Filed under: Fitness

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