When clients look towards their trainers, they should see the epitome of fitness.
Most personal trainers are able to keep themselves physically fit, maintaining a healthy diet and exercise regime. They work hard, getting results and pushing themselves. Fitness is their greatest passion and it shows. It’s no wonder that people who work so hard to improve are admired by those who are just starting their fitness journey. As trainers gain clients it may be easy for them to settle into the comfort of praise.
The client knows his trainer is fit, the trainer knows he is fit, and everyone becomes comfortable. This is the turning point for many trainers and fitness enthusiasts alike. They become comfortable and stop pushing themselves because they have the mindset that they have already reached their goals. The things they have already accomplished become the “foundation” of their fitness, and they settle into the comfort of what they have already done rather than what they are working towards.
A couple of months ago I found myself falling into this trap. I found myself working long hours and in turn, overlooking my fitness sessions. I was taking care of the easy sessions, but passing up on the serious ones. You know the ones I’m talking about… you’ve just finished an amazing workout, can barely breathe, you’re covered in sweat, and you look to the ceiling and feel so much pride you almost expect a fist pump from Arnold Schwarzenegger to come down from above. As a trainer, I found that once I lost that focus, time became distorted. I kept trying to think back to my last workout, and what I thought was a good workout “3 days ago” was actually more like a week or 2 weeks previous. Sure, I may have done a run or a 20-30 minute session in between, but a real adrenaline fuelled session turned out to be further away than I originally thought. When I found myself saying, “I remember when I could do…” I realised it was time to snap out it. At 25 years old, I am too young to reminisce!
When the stresses of work and life start to build, you need a blow out. Put your phone down, eliminate distractions, get out there and give it all you have. When I finally put myself through the hard workout again, I walked out of the gym with sweat running off me, I circled the car park a few times to cool down, and I felt absolutely electrified. A good hard workout brought me clarity. Ideas began to flow, and the traffic of my mind and stress simply faded away. I even received two fist pumps from Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, or so my hallucinations led me to believe.
If it’s been a while since your last big grind, get out there and get on it! You’ll be glad you did.