I remember when I was obese I would always say, "I wish I was skinny so I didn't have to workout". But as I learned more and more about what healthy really is, EVERYBODY needs to workout! Let me give you an example...
Back in May of this year I met my young client Aleni. When I first saw her, I couldn't believe she had graduated high school. She was tiny! And Aleni was a runner. My goal was to strengthen her entire body so that she could go to college stronger than ever. To be honest, I was quite nervous to even train her. I doubted myself in wondering what I could even teach someone who already was an amazing athlete. After working with Aleni a couple times though, I was able to see where we needed to work a little more on. She has had ACL surgery, one side was stronger than the other, and we needed to strengthen her core. But the biggest lesson one had to learn was mind over matter. A month into training I had Aleni set up on the leg press. She did all 4 sets of 15 barely breaking a sweat. As she started to get back up, I told her to sit back down because I wanted to see how strong she really was. As I continued to load 45 pound plates onto the the press, her eyes got bigger and bigger. I informed her that she had the strength to do it, she needed to just put her mind into her muscles.
Aleni proceeded to knock out sets and reps from that moment on. She realized her strength wasn't about the person staring back at her in the mirror, but deep down inside her. Aleni's strength came from her desire to truly be better. It was awesome to see her grow over the summer not only physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Her passion for running grew as her strength and confidence in herself grew. (And the chick dropped 2% body fat!)
Like I said, my goal as a personal trainer isn't primarily to get a person to lose weight. My ULTIMATE goal as a trainer is to ENCOURAGE, INSPIRE, AND EMPOWER others towards a fitter healthier lifestyle. Wether it be gaining, maintaining, or losing weight... One must workout for their personal growth. It's about practicing self-discipline to make smarter choices. Not everyday is perfect, nor will every workout feel amazing. But it's the growth that happens when one makes the conscious effort to better the body and life that God has blessed them with.
It is my prayer you know your worth. It is my prayer that you'll look on the mirror and know your beautiful. It's is my prayer that above all, you know your own strength.
