Finding perspective, reaching goals and finally getting it.

I find that the best relationships whether they be between lovers, friends, co-workers, clients, family, whoever they may be are the relationships that you never stop learning from. This (being what I'm about to talk about) especially could not have come at a better time for me in my career. I really am reminded I have the best clients.

I have a client who I see several times a week. I actually picked up this client outside of the studio so I make personal house calls 2-4 times a week. This client of mine has been by far the most committed I have ever had. They have also been the client I have struggled with the most as far as reaching goals and really changing our programming to fit injuries and  weaknesses to really get results. We have had some great discussions and some great breakthrough moments lately that I have just been dying to share because I know someone out there could use this advice. Mind you, all of this advice is coming from the brain and mouth of my client, not me, and it is really, truly brilliant.

My client is a recovering alcoholic and is very proud to now be sober. They are always telling me stories of the things they went through and the things rehab taught them and how they have had to apply all of this to their life to make them a stronger person. Just the other week we were finally seeing a HUGE breakthrough in performance and endurance. We went from barely be able to hold a plank with good posture to a 2:30 min plank with perfect posture. Seriously! That is the best barrier breakthrough I have seen so far in my career! I was astonished and asked them where did that come from?! This is what they said to me (not verbatim but it is close):

"Keyton, I finally stopped and asked myself what my real goals were and why I wasn't getting anywhere. I was honestly struggling so much with making goals that seemed so unreachable. It is so hard for me to stay motivated like that. I then remembered what I learned in rehab. Never promise you wont drink again. Make the promise that I wont drink today and worry about tomorrow when it gets here. I say the same thing with my diet. Today, I'm going to eat right and exercise. Tomorrow will be tomorrow I will worry about it then. I can only promise today"

Breakthrough.

Take these words from one of the strongest people I know and I bet you will see results too.

Promise today. Worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

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The unreachable, never to be reached?

I apologize for the 6 month hiatus from posting blogs but it has been crazy busy and I promise I am back and will post regularly (maybe not monthly, but regularly). It has been a rough few months as well with my career and my drive to do this job that I love so very much. The love and my passion for exercise science will never dwindle as long as I'm alive but the effort it takes to get to people and to get people to actually stick to a plan that is long term and indeed does work and change their life has proven to be nothing but exhausting and extremely uphill. Humans are very set in their ways. This is regardless of gender, age, race, health, education, background, or status in the world.
One of my very best friends just two weeks ago stood pointing a finger in my face screaming at me how ignorant I was for telling her how unhealthy and how much waste of time the Atkins diet was. THE ATKINS DIET!!!! YOU REMEMBER THE DIET PEOPLE DIED ON?! YEAH, THAT ONE! I will refrain from getting on that soapbox. That horse should be dead and buried already. I still have clients two years into training that are still getting on the scale every day. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. They come in so ecstatic they lost 2 pounds that day. And when they come in the next day 3 pounds heavier they blame me. I'm not doing my job correctly, they say. I had clients who are still smokers who think smoking really can't be the reason they aren't seeing results. "It's just smoking. What does that have to do with exercise?" REALLY?! I threw an empty water bottle at them that day, no lies. I did that. That is also the reason I say 'had' that client. I can't work with someone who refuses to work with themselves.
It is so discouraging, friends. I don't know how many times I have to say this before it sets in. I am not here to sabotage you. Why would you reach out to me for help and then tell me I'm the one that is doing it wrong? Do you think I do this solely for the money? Because if that is the reason let me tell you up front my income from training alone wouldn't pay me through a single month of bills. I do the things I do and I do the side jobs I have to so that I can be there as your coach and help you change your life. That is a commitment I make every day of my life. I did not get into this business to be the trainer that brags about getting paid to work out. Want honesty? In the past year alone I have lost 5 pounds of muscle because I have given up my time to workout so that I can bring you on as a client to give you your time to workout.
I love my job and I have so much fun doing what I do but I also take it very seriously. I take your body and your program very seriously. The hours I spend a week actually training you I spend just that much time away from you making your sure program is exactly what it should be and every rep planned before I see you next. All you have to do is trust me and meet me halfway. Just meet me halfway.
These are words not only from my mouth but from a lot of other Fitness Coaches as well. All extremely talented and very well educated, might I add. We do what we do because we are passionate. The passion to take you and change you for the better is what we live for. The best of us study and keep up with the ever changing trends and we research to find out what are good changes and what are bad changes. And from that we come up with your workout plan. The lesson in all of this? Trust your trainer. Trust can be a HUGE factor in getting results.