So I've been honest on here. Maybe a little too honest. I'll just keep going.
I've been VERY hesitant and slow about starting my Personal Training/ Fitness "career". I've had people for years tell me to let them know when I start teaching classes, taking clients, writing workout plans, writing meal plans…yet, I've done NOTHING. Here's why…
I think I'm going to fail.
The fitness industry is completely contaminated with all these lies. Get abs in just 15 minutes a day! 30 day challenges, super unchallenging classes/videos that have all these grand promises but aren't too difficult, etc. I just flat out refuse to change what I know about making a lifestyle change to sell programs and training packages. I know that people lose weight on these 30 day challenges- they even lose 2 inches off their waist! But I have literally never met someone who took that 30 day challenge and applied it indefinitely, making a completely maintainable lifestyle change out of it. If you have, that's awesome! I wish more did! But statistically, the positive outcomes long-term are just not there.
When people ask what I do, or how to lose weight, or how to make any changes, they almost never like my answers. You have to work really hard, when you don't want to, all the time. Potential clients - gone. I've had people tell me HIIT (high intensity interval training) is too hard. They can't get motivated to do it. They'd rather do a squat challenge that takes 10 minutes. I know HIIT is hard - it's the hardest training I've ever done. But when you do really really hard training, something amazing happens. Your body adapts. Your body changes. You get stronger. A lot of times, back and joint pain improves. And the endorphins and visible improvements are the most rewarding and amazing motivators ever. Why do you think Crossfit is so wildly successful? I understand that not everyone wants to become an athlete or a body builder. I get it. They want to "tone up". (Ugh, the T word). And the connotation that comes with "toning up" are workouts that are completely doable, a little challenging, but will ultimately make you "feel" like you are doing something. The problem is, have you ever seen a woman with sculpted, toned arms and legs that couldn't do 10 pushups or 10 squats without getting out of breath? No. They can always run like a cheetah, are super impressive in the gym, and can move some pretty impressive weight with some impressive form. So I'm not really sure where people think they can get like that with really short workouts and a mediocre diet - or a super strict diet for 30 days.
The training I do isn't 3 hours long. It's 45 minutes. I literally workout from 6-6:45/6:50 in the morning. I also want people to want to get stronger and more agile - not just see the number on the scale drop. Yes, you want to lose 20 lbs, but don't you also want to build some awesome muscle (which will make the weightloss even slower), be able to do things like pushups and squats, not ache when you sit in a chair for 30 minutes, be able to be more independent with things like moving furniture, carrying heavy things, helping in the yard or around the house without getting out of breath or hurting?
My hope with future clients is not to get them to a certain weight, measurement, or for them to complete a 30 day challenge. My hope is to change their mindset. All the concepts in the fitness industry are fleeting, the motivation dies off and weight comes back on. If you give someone a new way of thinking about their workouts, progress, and food- those are concepts that will carry on far after a fad diet would. Workout to get stronger, agile, fit. Become amazed at what our bodies can actually do. It's made to do way more than sit on a couch for 5 hours a night or flicking a thumb through Facebook endlessly. Become amazed at how quickly it can change and become stronger. When you set strength goals instead of weight loss goals, your workouts become more fun and more of a chance to get stronger. (Crossfit hook). You need those workouts to reach your strength goal (I want to squat 100 lbs, I want to do 50 pushups, I want to do a 3 ft high box jump). That mindset is long-lasting. View food as fuel to reach those goals. I like to tell people to take things 1 meal at a time. Don't think about the months of sugar and carb deprivation, just concentrate on the next meal that's coming and focus on conquering it-using it to reach your goals instead of setting you back.
The last and most major reason why I fear people won't come to me is because of this sucky fact: Weight loss is SLLLLOOOOWWWWW. With me, you won't lose 10 lbs a month. Sorry. You won't step on the scale each morning and another half pound down! There will literally be WEEKS where the scale won't budge. I just came off of a 2 ½ week streak at the same exact dang weight and I've been killing myself in the gym and eating like the healthiest woman ever. But what will happen is your body composition will be changing. The 3-4 lb weightloss in one week isn't fat. It's water weight. Sure, you feel slimmer. It's probably because you're either starving or dehydrated. A promise of slow weight loss= no takers. But that's how it works when you do it the right way and a way that is maintainable and a way that doesn't lead to binge eating.
When it comes to not wanting to workout that day, you're super extra tired, had a hard day at work coupled with 4 hours of sleep, I have always found one thing to help. DON'T THINK, JUST DO. It sounds so corny and stupid, but if I find myself making excuses as to why I should turn off my alarm and sleep in, go straight home to binge watch Netflix instead of workout, this saying will immediately pop into my head and I won't think about it anymore…just make the steps to go without thinking. It's funny how many times this works and I eventually find myself at the gym and have an awesome workout.
So there you have it. I'll tell you that weight loss is going to be extremely slow, you're going to have to be ugly sweaty - not cute sweaty- after your workouts. They're going to be hard. You have to push through and get your butt to the gym or outside to do something to help you reach your goals daily, and you cannot have binge weekends or "epic cheat meals". Even more, you'll need to log your food, cut back on your creamer (my problem), quit drinking soda (also my problem), get a salad and water when everyone else is chowing down on pizza and Dr. Pepper. Sure, there's room in macros counting (see previous post) to have a treat here and there, but consistency consistency consistency and discipline is key. It doesn't have to be life consuming. You don't have to count every calorie and weigh every ounce of food, but it sadly takes effort and a lot of it at times. Who's ready to sign up? That's what I thought. :)
So my hesitation is worry that no one will be interested. No one will want to sign up for these things. If there's another trainer or class out there that promises faster weight loss with less effort, they will be gone. The only way I'll know for sure is to try, but I'm so scared to be honest. I don't want to put all this effort into something to have no takers and embarrass myself or feel like a failure. It's something that is completely beyond my control - whether people are interested or not - and that scares the mess out of me. If I never put myself out there, I'll never get hurt or embarrassed. That's what I keep thinking. But I have to at least try. And if it helps one person then that's a success to me.
