Fitness test failure

I met with a fitness coach today. I was pretty nervous going in because I've never belonged to a gym or anything like that before. As I mentioned yesterday, I met this woman who owns her own studio where she offers small group classes just for women. The classes focus on total body training as well as specific areas, so that sounded like just what I needed.

We spent about 20 minutes talking about my weight loss so far and my goals. This part was a little awkward because the coach isn't a fan of Weight Watchers. She was nice about it, but she basically said it hasn't taught me how to eat right kinds of foods to make my body feel good. She also told me I needed to stop weighing in weekly. I think her exact words were: "Throw out the scale."

I can see where she's coming from, but WW and weekly weigh-ins have worked pretty well for me over the past four years. I may have hit a plateau, but I feel like I'm a success story for the WW program. I can appreciate her holistic approach to fitness because I definitely agree that it's not just about food or exercise. But I didn't exactly feel supported in that moment. I'm willing to admit, however, that maybe I'm being too sensitive simply because I felt very self-conscience about taking this step.

Then came the "fitness test." The coach warned me before I showed up that she wanted to measure my current fitness level, but I was not prepared for the level of difficulty. The test, including a couple of minutes of warm up and cool down, lasted about 12 minutes total. I seriously thought I might pass out. With a few moves, I couldn't keep up the pace she wanted. I know that building physical strength won't be easy, but I can't be expected to do it in one session.

When it was over, the woman -- in a nice way -- basically told me I wasn't ready for the classes she offers. She suggested I complete a couple of one-on-one sessions where she could show me how to do each move properly. And she said I would get a better idea of how difficult the classes area.

On one hand, I appreciate the offer of one-on-one sessions because she only offers three-month packages and I'd hate to pay all that money and quit after a week.On the other hand, it made me feel like a failure. If my arm and back muscles are sore after just a few minutes of training, how will I ever make it through an entire class?

This feeling of failure has me doing a lot of debating in my head tonight. I want so badly to be in better shape, but what if I really can't do it? Am I feeling negative about my experience today because of self-doubt or is it possible this isn't the right program for me? But then I try to tell myself that it will get easier and I should at least try. And I did sign up for two one-on-one sessions. If I don't like it, I don't have to do it.