I can remember when I finally made up my mind to get fit and sat down to look over my first program. I was SO excited! I was excited just like when I bought all the endless "weight loss gimmicks" off the T.V. and online. I was excited just like when I started the Atkins diet and bought endless diet pills. Everything I purchased, was instant gratification. I thought because I had purchased it, it was a done deal. Weight would magically come off and I would be skinny like all the magazine models. However, everything I purchased was full of promises, but not very effective. The one difference with my weight training and diet program was it took WORK on my end.
Weight loss was/is work and for me it looked like early mornings and late evenings. Weight loss looked like blistered feet, aching muscles and joints, growling stomach, and a desire to just jump in my bed and sleep off my soreness! I truly and honestly have been there! I hated trainers who I've trained with who were brutally honest to the point that they made me cry. I literally have been in the middle of a workout, eyeballs full of tears and fighting through every single set and rep. I've been there where I've laid down in the middle of the track bawling and praying to God that I could JUST GET THROUGH this workout! I GET IT, I'VE BEEN THERE!
And that's WHY I hate starting out new clients. I hate to tell people who sit in front of me full of smiles and excitement that this NEW lifestyle isn't that much fun. That this *ISH is REAL and this is going to take EVERYTHING within you to do. If weight loss were EASY, EVERYONE would do it. That changing a lifestyle that one has had for the last 10, 15, 20+ years is going to change more than just your body. That a lifestyle change might just mean losing friends who try to sabotage you and that the old habits you maybe used to have, might just need to cease. But tell someone who is investing in you as their trainer all of that up front. It's HARD. And that's usually EXACTLY how I wrap up our conversation. I tell my newbie clients, "this is going to be different, it's a lifestyle change, and it takes work! Be ready, I'm going to push you outside your comfort zone."
One client in particular has begun to open up as she has been training for 3 months. This was her recent facebook post that I was tagged in.
I love this post because the woman is real! There's nothing fake about her journey to get fit. There's been pain, tears, anger, bitterness, but from a trainers perspective and most importantly... GROWTH! This has to be the most rewarding part of my job. It's what makes it not a job... My job is about creating relationships where the individual gets to the point of trusting me enough to listen and take my advice. I can honestly say, most clients I start with, I swear they hate me. They come in with this poker like face that says "TRY ME". And with each client, I have to prove myself to them. Some don't take long, others are like a rock. I have to prove that I'm not full of empty promises and hat I will be there- that I'm not going to give up on them. Some move towards their goals like flowing water, while others... we have more white waters and waves. But either way, we're on this journey together. We're here to do this and I'm here for them. I'm not a trainer full BS or scientific talk that is unable to relate to people. I'm a trainer that truly cares and it's my desire that I can inspire, encourage, and empower my clients. To each their own on how they go about training, but my style is my own and I will meet each client at their level so we can grow together. It is my desire to help others.
BeBlessed
Alison
